Chapter 34 - Life

Lucy rolled over and felt the warmth of Nicole beside her the following morning. This was the kind of morning she loved. She was a little hungover, and a little bit tired. The party had finished quite early over at Cam’s, but Nicole had insisted on continuing it at home once the kids were in bed. She smiled to herself as the memories of the night before flooded her head.

Nicole murmured in her sleep and tugged Lucy closer. “I love it when you do that,” Lucy whispered against her hair.

A few more minutes of peace and then she heard it, the whirlwind that was Storm, singing at the top of her voice. Rolling away slowly from the source of her love, she quietly climbed out of bed and pulled her robe on.

Closing their bedroom door quietly, she adjusted her eyes to the light. Bright sunshine beamed through the kitchen window and lit up the room.

“Storm? Wanna keep it down a little bit? Everyone’s sleeping.”

Spinning around, Storm stopped singing. “Sorry, Mama. I’m just practicing.”

Smiling at her, Lucy opened the fridge. “I guess we better get you some breakfast.”

“I’m not hungry, I’m just excited. Can you believe that I, Storm Owens, am getting acting lessons from Shelly Hamlin? I mean, I know that Michelle is Michelle and it’s no big deal in the sense that she’s a neighbor and all, but Mama…Shelly Hamlin is a star!”

“Yeah, baby, it’s a big deal.” Lucy sat down at the table and patted her lap for Storm. “Come sit with me.”

It didn’t take much persuasion for Storm to do anything that Lucy asked. Their bond was as strong now as it had ever been.

With Storm perched across her lap, Lucy fussed with her hair. “You know, this is a really exciting time in your life, right? Not just that you’ve got the acting bug, but in general. You’re ten years old, and you have your whole life ahead of you. Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.”

Storm frowned at her. “What does that even mean?”

Lucy grinned. “It means, try lots of stuff before you make one thing the most important. Spend time with friends, hang out, play…be a kid.” Storm went quiet. And Lucy tilted her head to look at her, lifting her chin with her finger. “You want to talk about something?”

“I just…I don’t want to be like him.” And by him, Lucy knew she meant her father. The man who had hurt her mother, and then herself. The man who could never hurt her again physically but who would always haunt the back of her mind.

“You could never be like him, Storm.”

“Not horrible, I know I would never be horrible like him, but…he was a failure, wasn’t he?”

Lucy nodded. “In some ways, yes, I suppose so.”

“He could have been good, he could have been a big star of the football field, and yet, he ended up how he did…hurting Mommy.”

Hugging her close, Lucy kissed the top of her head. “And that’s the reason you’re going all out to be a big star? So you can be better than him?”

Storm nodded. “I never want to be anything like him.”

Lucy thought for a moment, and then she stood up, carrying Storm in her arms. “Let me show you something.”

She walked them quietly to Rain’s room and found Summer in there too. The door creaked a little, and she made a mental note to oil it later. “You see that?” Lucy whispered.

“They’re just sleeping,” Storm answered just as quietly.

“Yeah, without a care in the world. You know why?”

Storm shrugged. “Cos they’re tired?”

Chuckling, Lucy shook her head. “Nope, it’s cos they have the best big sister in the world. They know that no matter what, she’s going to do everything to make things nice for them…like when you helped me paint their rooms, and then you helped Mommy with the furniture choices…and remember what you told her?”

Storm shook her head. “No.”

“You told Mommy that they needed to have big kid beds, because they weren’t babies anymore, and we needed to stop treating them like they were.”

“Oh yeah, I did say that,” Storm said a little loudly. Lucy closed the door and walked them back over to the table.

“You have a big heart, Storm, and you’re smart, and honest, and there is no way you will be a failure. Because you see people. You see right through them, and you always know what to do for the best.”

“Do I?”

Lucy nodded again and reached for Storm’s hand. She brought it up, and using one of her fingers, she drew it softly down the scar of her face. “You knew me before I did. You saw me, the real me, not the scars, just me, and you knew how to make me talk. You will never be a failure, and you can do anything in this world, absolutely anything, so try it all before you set your mind on something completely.”

“Thanks. I’d better get going. Michelle will be expecting me.”