Chapter Ninety – A Good Ending to a Good Day

Olivia ran a brush through her hair and tied it up in a knot that she hoped would keep some of the dripping water off her shirt. It wouldn't work perfectly since her hair wasn't quite long enough but at least it was something. As she made her way out of the bathroom and back toward the kitchen Suvi followed her. He had left a large puddle outside the bathroom door, and little trails of water and wet paw prints followed him where ever he went. Olivia winced slightly when she saw them. She'd tried to dry him off, but it obviously hadn't worked that well.

"Clarissa? Do you have a towel I could use to clean all of this up?"

Olivia waved at the floor as Clarissa looked up.

"It's fine. Just leave it. The boys are making just as much of a mess. I'll get it later."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. Don't worry about it."

Olivia smiled and joined Clarissa in the kitchen. She had Suvi sit down on the inside door mat so he wouldn't continue adding more water to the floor. Even if Clarissa didn't seem to mind if her floors ended up resembling a pool more than anything else, Olivia still didn't feel right about turning Clarissa's house into a wet disaster.

"Thank you for letting me join you."

Clarissa almost laughed. Olivia had become so much a part of the family that she was simply expected to be at events. There was no reason to say thank you anymore.

"You're always welcome, Olivia, and really, I should be the one thanking you. When you're with Ben he's so much happier. Truly. He lights up when he sees you and is much more carefree when he's at your side."

"I'm a lot happier with him too."

"Good. Now don't think the day is over yet. We still have one more tradition."

One of Olivia's eyebrows quirked up, and she smiled.

"Oh?"

Instead of getting a verbal response Clarissa headed to the freezer, pulled out a large box, and set it down on the counter with a solid thunk. She then thrust her hands out in a "ta da" gesture, which made Olivia laugh.

"Popsicles?"

"Of course. Every year after the fight we sit outside and eat popsicles. It's part of the tradition. We're adding to it a little bit this year though."

"Oh?"

"Nobody can be left out," Clarissa said as she waved at Suvi.

Olivia blinked dumbly as she tried to figure out what exactly that meant. Noticing her confusion Clarissa headed back to the freezer. That was enough to trigger the meaning in Olivia's mind, though she could hardly believe it. There was just no way, right?

"You bought Suvi popsicles?"

"Yup, though I think technically it's ice cream."

Well, apparently there was a way. Olivia laughed softly, her eyes glittering. First homemade dog treats and now ice cream.

"What is it with your family and spoiling my dog? Spoiling him with the craziest things too."

"I guess it's just something that runs in the family. Here. They're peanut butter flavored Pawsomes. Think he'll like them?"

Olivia took the box and looked at it. She'd never seen anything like them before and didn't really know what they were besides the brief description Clarissa had given (which was basically all it said on the box). They looked cool though.

"I'm sure he'll like them. He loves peanut butter flavored treats."

"Well perfect then. Once the kids get down here we can go eat them."

She'd barely finished the sentence when the front door slammed shut as Ben and Kinsey walked in. There was a thudding of footsteps running up the stairs that Olivia had to attribute to Kinsey since Ben appeared in the kitchen a moment later.

"Toss me a towel, Ris?"

"You realize it's right in the laundry room and you could just get it yourself, right?"

She obviously wasn't too annoyed about getting it for him though because she tossed him a towel a moment later. Ben quickly dried himself off and draped the towel around his bare shoulders. Now that she didn't have to fear getting drenched Olivia took a moment to admire him. Sure she'd seen him without his shirt before, but that didn't mean it was any less nice to see. Ben noticed her looking and grinned at her, his smile quirking more to one side than the other. A blush lightly colored Olivia's cheeks and she dropped her eyes, though a smile remained on her face. Ben stepped past her toward the kitchen counter and lightly ran his hand over her arm as he did.

"What, no fudgesicles this year?" he demanded as he looked at the box of popsicles.

"Nope. Fruit flavors. Chase likes these better."

Ben wrinkled up his nose.

"How do you not like fudgesicles?"

"You'll get them next year. Don't whine. You'll be just as bad as the kids."

Grinning, Ben winked briefly at Olivia before turning back to his sister.

"But Clariss-sa," he whined in perfect, dramatic imitation of a young child. "I like fudgesicles bet-ter!"

She shoved his shoulder to push him away from her and he broke out laughing.

Having had more than enough of Ben's antics, Clarissa called upstairs, "Come on guys! Let's go eat our popsicles before your uncle drives me nuts."

There was another round of pounding footsteps as all three kids raced downstairs and careened into the kitchen. Tommy darted by and went to grab the box of popsicles, but Clarissa picked it up first and held it out of his reach.

"I've got these. You all go outside."

"Okay, okay."

He grabbed his brother and they raced outside at maximum speed. Apparently they figured the faster they got there the faster they'd get a popsicle. The rest of them followed at a slower pace, Ben grabbing his shirt along the way. Everyone sprawled out on the grass, attempting to find the driest spots possible (except for Suvi who didn't really care if the ground was wet underneath him or not).

"Alright, what does everyone want?" Clarissa asked as she peeled open the popsicle box.

"Blue!" Chase and Tommy shouted nearly simultaneously.

"Hey! I said it first. The blue one is mine!" Tommy protested.

"You did not! And I called it!"

"Boys, relax. There are two blue raspberries. You can each have one."

She handed her sons the blue popsicles, and they tore the wrappers off with a gusto before popping their popsicles into their mouths. They would both have blue tongues and lips before long.

"Kins, you want grape, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Ben? Olivia?"

"I want brown. You know. The kind that tastes like a fudgesicle," Ben replied.

Clarissa lifted the box threateningly and gave him a dark, narrow eyed glare. Ben ducked back and covered his head, but he was laughing hard the entire time.

"Lime! Lime! Geez, don't kill me with a box of popsicles."

"It would bounce right off your stupid head," Clarissa grumbled but handed him his requested flavor anyway.

Olivia took an orange one, and Clarissa close cherry for herself. The minute they set Suvi's down and peeled the lid back he poked his nose into the cup curiously. One lick was all it took for him to realize he absolutely loved ice cream. From the way he was going at it Olivia doubted there would even be a speck left when he was done.

Ben shifted back and pressed his back against Olivia's. She grinned warmly and settled more firmly against him. It was comfortable like that and she figured she could remain the way she was for a while. Totally content, Olivia stuck the popsicle into her mouth. It was surprisingly good despite being a 90% sugar kids' flavor. Not that she would ever want another. The company was what mattered more than what she was eating though, and the company was fantastic.

Silence fell over the little group as everyone sucked on their popsicles. When Suvi finished his ice cream he flopped over onto his side and stretched out in the grass. Olivia seriously hoped the spot he was sleeping in wasn't too soaked and muddy. She gathered up his cup and dropped her own stick into it when she was done. Most of the others looked like they were done too, though Chase and Tommy were eying the box of remaining popsicles. Olivia smiled, shook her head in amusement, and tipped her head back so she could enjoy the sun on her face. The warmth felt absolutely wonderful, and the gentle breeze was an added bonus. It was so nice.

And then suddenly there was added pressure on her back and she was pushed slowly forward. If she let it continue she would be completely crumpled over and basically touching her nose to her toes.

"What are you doing?" she asked, unable to keep all of the amusement out of her voice.

Ben had leaned back, basically forcing her to bend over, and was contently soaking up the sun with his eyes closed. He might have been comfortable, but squished the way she was, Olivia definitely wasn't.

"Using you to sunbathe," he replied without bothering to open his eyes.

Olivia choked back a laugh. He made it sound so totally reasonable.

"Sit up for a minute," she told him as she reached back and poked his arm.

He did as she asked, and Olivia swiveled sideways so she was sitting perpendicular to him. When he lay back down he could rest his head on her lap. The new position worked perfectly fine for him, especially when she started running her fingers through his hair once he'd closed his eyes. Her touch was already like a drug to him, but he could definitely get used to the feeling of her fingers running through his hair too. It was just as good. Maybe even better since he got to rest his head on her lap in the process.

Author's Note: Only ten chapters left to go!