Family Feud: Can Harmony Prevail in the Chaos?
Ch 8: Unraveling Parental Bonds
Everyone threw up in the bushes as they went out of Grand-Aunt Ruth's house. Lori got out a xylitol-sweetened breath mint, and puts it in her mouth while swishing it around to remove the foul smell.
"I don't want to visit Grand-Aunt Ruth next time!" Lola said, wiping the vomit from her mouth.
"We're doing this every weekend." Lynn Sr. said to his daughter.
"Be sure to bring Lincoln next time!" Aunt Ruth called out from her window.
"Yes, we'll bring Lincoln next time!" Rita responded to her aunt. She opened the door to the front passenger seat, Lynn Sr. gets in the driver's seat, and signals the sisters to get inside.
The Loud patriarch starts up the van, and then begins to head to somewhere instead of home.
"Dad? Where are we going?" Lori asked, swallowing her breath mint.
"We're going to the therapist, we booked a meeting with her today." Lynn Sr. responded to his daughter.
"What time is she in her office?" Lynn Jr. asked.
Rita shrugged her arms. "Ask Elizabeth."
"You didn't bother asking for the work hours?" The jock said, crossing her arms.
"She is in her office at 8:00 AM," Lynn Sr. looked at his watch. "Dr. Lopez leaves office at 7:00 PM, it's 9:30 today so we can talk to her about our problems."
The ride was quiet, until they arrived at a large building that is used by doctors, therapists, and dentists alike.
"Is this the Royal Woods General?" Leni asked.
"No, Leni," Lori told her younger sister. "this is a building where therapists, doctors, and dentists work in, it is not the same as Royal Woods General, where only medical personnel work in."
Lynn Sr. parks Vanzilla in the parking lot, everyone got out and into the building where they were talking with the receptionist.
"Hello, how can we help you?" The receptionist said in a welcoming tone.
"We booked a meeting with Dr. Lopez at 9:30 this morning, can you tell us which floor she's on?" Lynn Sr. said to Eloise.
Eloise looked at the list of floors. She looked for Dr. Lopez's location. "Dr. Isabella Julietta Lopez is on the 4th floor, third door from the right."
"Thank you." Rita said as she and her family go into the elevator. She pushed the number 4 button, as the elevator chimes and its doors close.
They ascended to the fourth floor, the elevator chimes, meaning that they reached the fourth floor.
The doors open, and the Loud family (sans Lily) step out of the elevator. The elevator's doors close as the machine goes back down to the ground floor.
They saw the third room from the right, and they sat on the leather seats. The sound of the AC running and people talking were heard in the background.
The sound of footsteps were heard as a 30-year-old man approached them.
"Were you the ones who booked a meeting with Dr. Isabella J. Lopez?" He asked them.
"Yes, yes, we are." Lynn Sr. said to the woman.
He looked through her list of guests. "Dr. Lopez wants to see you in her office, Lynn Loud Sr."
Lynn Sr. got up and walked into Dr. Lopez's office. The landscape can be seen outside the glass walls, and the sofas were soft and comfortable.
He sat down in front of Dr. Lopez.
"Hello, you must be Lynn Loud Sr., yes?" Isabella asked the patriarch.
"Yes, I am." He responded, his look distraught.
"I would like to know about you and your family, Mr. Loud, could you explain your family's personalities and the issue that you're facing?" Dr. Lopez asked.
"Well, I have a wife named Rita, and, we had eleven kids together." Lynn Sr. explained. "Ten were female, and only one of them is male, listen, I…I don't know how such an occurrence like this can actually happen, but I think my wife had a lot of egg cells or something…"
"What are their names?" Isabella replied.
"The older sisters are, Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, and my namesake, Junior, the middle child is my son Lincoln, and the younger ones are Lucy, Lana, Lola, Lisa, and Lily." Lynn Sr. responded.
"List down at least some of their hobbies or habits."
"Well, my eldest, Lori, she has a talent for playing golf and…me and my wife trust her to keep the other kids at bay when we're gone shopping, or on our anniversary date. Leni has a talent for fashion, and, if you don't believe it, she can turn a bathroom curtain into a holiday dress, Luna shares my taste for pop music, hard rock, and country music, and Lynn Jr. has a love for sports."
Dr. Lopez listed down the five elder sisters' hobbies. "What about your son?"
"Well, he likes drawing comics and has a passion for art, but he doesn't really show it due to being constantly ordered around by his sisters. He…is sitting in the hospital right now…" Lynn Sr. sniffled. "We…we don't spend much time with each other as father and son…"
Isabella felt some sympathy for the man. "Do you love your children?"
"Yes, we do love them, but when they go berserk or act like sharks chasing their prey, me and my wife were not quick to step in." Lynn Sr.'s voice began trembling. "It…it was our fault our son was in the hospital…my friend reprimanded me for it."
Dr. Lopez then looked away for a bit, and turned her focus back to her client. "Away from the sad and mean-spirited stuff, can you tell me more about yourself?"
"Well, about myself…" Lynn Sr. cleared his throat. "I am now 44 years old, my birthday is on the 25th of May. I work at an IT support company, and I hate my boss, he always pushes his employees around like pawns."
Isabella giggled. "Let me guess, you're one of those people who complain about work and stuff, aren't you?"
"Let's just say, I only complain about my boss." Lynn Sr. replied. "He always grumbles here and there about our work. I'm friends with one of the richest people here who moved in recently."
Isabella listed down the information on her clipboard. "Do you want to tell me more about yourself?"
"Well, a year ago, we were happy when my daughter Luna and I met Mick Swagger face-to-face!" Lynn Sr. sighed blissfully. "We didn't know that Mick Swagger would actually come to that party, in a disguise!"
Outside, Rita and the girls were there. Lori sat there while staring at the glass walls, she sat in a fetal position near Leni, the 17-year-old really wanted to go home and berate herself for nearly killing her brother that Sunday afternoon.
"Did you and your son have fond moments of your own?" The psychologist asked him.
"Yes, we did." The Loud patriarch answered. "We rode on my father's steamboat when we went away to Hurricane on my birthday, we camped in the forest, and that's all I can say…"
"What do you say about your wife and daughters?" She asked.
"My wife is beautiful and lovely, she cares a lot about our children, our daughters have diverse personalities and talents, our son has white hair due to poliosis." He replied.
"I see, I'll talk to your son on the telephone, or, I'll talk to him in person when I get the chance." Said Dr. Lopez. "May I speak with your wife?"
"Of course, are we done?" Lynn Sr. asked.
"Yes, we're done." Isabella replied.
Lynn Sr. stood up from the sofa, and went outside. "Rita?" He called out to his wife.
Rita looked up at her husband.
"Dr. Lopez wants to see you next." Lynn Sr. said to her as he sat down with their daughters.
Rita went into Dr. Lopez's office, she sat down on the sofa and Dr. Lopez sat on the armchair.
"Hello, you may be Rita Loud, yes?" Isabella asked her client.
"Yes, I am, Dr. Lopez." Rita replied.
"So, Mrs. Loud, do you fear your children?" Dr. Lopez asked.
"Heavens no! Why would I fear my children?" Rita replied to the therapist. "It's not like that I fear my children, it's just that…whenever they act like sharks chasing after their prey, we hide away in our bedroom…and it led up to that sight, I saw my son sprawled out on the floor covered in blood and injuries…I-I couldn't bear to see my son like that, now he's in the hospital…"
Isabella felt some sympathy for the poor woman. "I sympathize with you, Mrs. Loud. I know what it feels to lose one of your kin."
Rita cleared her sinuses before continuing. "My eldest daughter is dealing with self-loathing, she hates herself and won't stop until she sees her brother in person…she even cries every night and berates herself everyday…even throwing away the dress she bought from the mall…"
Isabella was concerned. "It isn't to the point where she had to drink, smoke, anything about drugs, right?"
"No…it's just level 1 self-loathing." The Loud matriarch said. "Nothing else…she just wanted to see her brother, that's all…"
"Now focusing on the happier and bright stuff, did you and your son have fond moments of your own?" The therapist asked.
"We did, I brought him to my job as a dentist, and we rode on roller skates together with a horse pulling us towards our house." The matriarch confessed. "He gave us some mugs he made for our birthday, and they were a bit, y'know, ugly, so we took it to a pottery professional, and I bought him a sweater with a cat's picture on it, I didn't know where he put it or last left it."
"Looks like the mother's more closer to the son than the father." Dr. Lopez thought to herself. "Can you tell me about yourself?"
"I am 43, my birthday's next month, I work at Feinstein's Dentistry, not going to lie, being a dentist is boring." Rita explained.
"Do you want to clarify more about yourself?" Isabella asked.
"No, that's all." Rita replied.
"What can you say about your children? Do you express your love and affection towards them?"
"Yes, I care a lot about my children, it's just that Lincoln doesn't get enough attention, because the girls needed the same thing. My daughters have diverse personalities and talents, two of them are identical twins, and they fight each other often."
"The most common thing about twins…" Isabella commented in Spanish.
"I know right?" Rita laughed.
"We're done here, I want to see your daughter, Lori Loud." Isabella said as she looked at her guest list.
To be continued in Ch 9…
A/N: Hey, sorry that chapter eight took a long time to write, it's just that I've been busy with stories and other stuff. If you like my stories, you can review me, or just talk to me on PM.