story 2

Three figures crept into the room where their Mommy slept. Daddy was gone, so they could go in there now. Abby, Lindsey and Sophie. The boys were still sleeping. Silly boys. Sat meant fun day with Mommy. They spent all day playing or going to the park. Olivia woke to hushed giggles. That meant she had missed Grant. Oh well, she would tell him tonight. She rolled over and grabbed the nearest giggler and pulled them into bed with her. Most days began this way. Pretty soon the giggles would reach the boys and they would come sleepy eyed into her room as well. They would all curl up on the bed and turn on some cartoons. Until their stomachs told them they needed some breakfast that is. Then Sat meant pancakes. Lots of them with sausages and milk.

She stood at the sink washing up. She was thinking about Grant again. He had to know. She had been trying for weeks to tell him. More days then not lately he stayed out. It had been over a week since she had seen him. She couldn't get a word in when he got home drunk. She decided today she had to do it. She was going to go to the office and tell him. Meetings be damned. Her neighbors were a nice retired couple. They watched the kids for her when she had to run errands that didn't require so many extra helpers. They were in their 60s and had grown kids and grand-kids as well. Sometimes the grand-kids would visit and play with her kids. She had called them and asked them and they agreed. They always did.

She shivered as she walked into the office high rise where Grants office was. It was so auspicious. Large contemporary sculptures and black tile and walls and ceilings. She left like she was walking into a tomb. She took the elevator to the 8th floor. Grants' office. Funny how after all these years, this was one of the few times she ever entered here. It felt cold and unwelcoming. His secretary sat at a large oval desk in the center. She didn't even know her name. Funny how this part of his life was such a mystery to her. He didn't talk about the office or work. They didn't really talk at all. How different her life had turned out. She swore up and down she would not live like her parents had. Her Dad always gone. Her Mom busy with the ladies groups and volunteer work. She had never seen her parents in an embrace. To be honest she had rarely seen them at all. Now, all these years later, here she was doing her best not to raise her kids the way she had been raised, but still in a marriage that was not at all what she wanted. Her Dad had everything to do with that. If life had gone the way she wanted, she would be in a very different place now. It made memories of Adam come flooding back. His dark black hair and crystal blue eyes. His sharp features and the dimples in his cheeks when he smiled. Tyler and Sophie both had the dimples and the icy blue eyes. She lived her life how she wanted to, but with one thing missing. In her dream, the Dad was there beside her with her always. To be honest her dream man never looked like Grant either. Oh, there was no mistaking it. Grant was gorgeous. Blond hair, blue eyes. 6' tall, athletic build. He was every woman's dream. But the reality was not so handsome. He was smart and calculated. He knew he had a good catch with her. The richest girl in the city. The one everyone wanted to date and be friends with. Other then socializing at functions and events, they did nothing. She begged him in the beginning to come with them, just this once to the park or on a picnic. Grant was always to busy. He worked every day. Even Sun. She gave up asking after the first year. She was too busy then with the twins and one on the way. When she gave birth to Brandon, he had been away on business. He had also missed the oldest twins birth. His father had been ill and he had flown out to see him. Ended up being minor. Not that she wished her Father in Law ill. They were sweet. Unfortunately they lived in West Virginia and she and Grant lived in California. Grant was embarrassed by them. He had grown up poor. They did the best they could and he had been able to afford to move out to California to live his dream life. Then when the girls were born. He had a date to play golf. It was too important to miss. It was business. She understood right? She hadn't. Once again she was alone bringing her precious girls into life. He had come after his game and loudly voiced his disappointment over girls. He had drunk too many vodkas with his dinner she supposed. He hadn't even gone to the nursery to see them. To this day he barely acknowledged them. Oh, they were pretty and perfect for his picture to put on his desk. His happy family image. Not that she would change a thing. No, even in her unhappy life with Grant, she had 5 perfect beings. They were her everything. Soon to be more.

She was pulled from her musings by the Secretary clearing her throat.
"Can I help you?" she asked turning her nose up at her.

Olivia looked down at her clothes and then back up at the snooty woman. She was wearing jeans and a tee shirt with her children's school name printed on it and a cute pair of crocs. Not cheap, but not designer either. They were comfortable. Grant always complained she dressed so common.

"I"m Olivia Spencer." she said, watching the woman's eyebrows shoot up so far they almost got lost in her hair line.

Secretary lady was dressed to the 9s. Blue designer suit and a silk shirt underneath. Olivia owned one similar to it. Grant insisted and she relented. It made her feel like her Grandma in that thing.

"He's not in" the woman continued as her eyes swept over her in disdain. "He has meetings away all week actually. You didn't know?"

Olivia was suddenly ashamed of herself. She didn't know. She had no idea what her husband did or where he was when he wasn't home. They had grown so far apart over the years. It became routine. He brought home the money and she raised the kids, took care of the house and was his pretty decoration to take out to parties and events. She cleaned up nicely when she had to. Sad, how one got used to things that one became complacent.

"Oh, yes," she stuttered. "I knew that, I must have forgotten. Can you tell me where he is currently? I left my day planner at home."

Once again she was given the disdainful look. She flipped through a book in front of her on the desk. Her brown wrinkled. This was a big law firm. Over 20 senior lawyers, her husband one of 20 or so Junior lawyers. Confusion filled the secretaries eyes.

" I'm sorry Mrs Spencer, I don't know. It's usually written in my schedule, but it appears I have no other information."

Olivia left defeated. This was not what she planned. This wasn't what she wanted. She made up her mind on the way home to pick up her kids that she would talk to Grant tonight, drunk or not. He hated her pregnant. Then she was not her perfect self. She lost the weight after giving birth and worked hard on her figure. Heck chasing after 5 kids was enough exercise in and of itself. He still complained about her being fat sometimes. She never got back down to the size 6 she had been when they married. Laughing at herself, she patted her stomach. After 3 pregnancies, she never knew if it would be a single or double. Her track record was doubles. After two twin pregnancies and only one single birth, she wondered what her odds were. The doctor told her that it was just a fluke. That her first twins were fraternal and the second set identical. Oddly, she had a funny feeling that this too was twins. They couldn't tell yet when she had been to the doctor. Only confirmed what she already knew.