blues and greens (barson)

viii.

Olivia stood in the kitchen working on breakfast fifteen minutes later.
The shower in her en suite could be heard, as well as distant, beautiful singing while Rafael showered.
She was certain he'd requested it to calm down following their conversation and agreement for tonight but she wasn't upset that she was cooking alone.
Soft footsteps appeared in the hall behind her as she was serving pancakes onto a plate that already had fruit on it.
Olivia turned, expecting to see Noah, but found Aspen looking at her nervously.
"Rafa has a wonderful singing voice," the young girl said quietly.
Olivia's face broke into a smile, "he does. He's taking a shower but he'll be out soon if you want to tell him."
Aspen nodded and looked back toward the bedroom door she'd closed behind her.
"How did you sleep?" Olivia asked as she moved to put the now empty pan in the sink.
"Good. Did you know Noah talks in his sleep?"
Smiling, Liv nodded some, "I do know that he does."
"I was scared at first because I didn't know who he was talking to but once I found out he was asleep it wasn't so scary and I was able to sleep again."
"Good, I'm glad you were able to get some sleep. I'm sorry we don't have a bed for you yet but we'll get it all figured out, okay?"
"The camping bed was okay. I've always wanted to go camping."
"Noah has too, maybe we can sometime," Liv's face was beginning to hurt from the smiling but she was happy, talking to Aspen.
"Why was that man mad at you last night?" Aspen asked as she and Liv moved toward the living room to sit and wait for the boys.
The older woman considered for a long moment, "well, do you know what expectations are?"
"Like when my teacher expects us to be quiet in the hall?"
Nodding, Olivia said, "the man, he's my friend. His name is Elliot."
"Friends shouldn't yell at you like that."
"You're right, they shouldn't. But, Elliot expected something and I told him that his expectations were wrong and that upset him."
"He still shouldn't yell at you."
"I agree. Elliot and Rafa aren't friends, though. So Elliot thinks I'm being a bad friend for spending time with Rafa."
"But you're friends with Rafa and Elliot shouldn't be mad at you for spending time with your other friends even if they aren't friends."
Olivia looked at the little girl, she was bright beyond her years and it was very clear, "you're right."
"One time my friend Amanda was mad at me because I had a sleepover with my friend Ruby because Amanda and Ruby don't like each other very much because they think I can't be best friends with both of them."
Liv nodded, urging the girl to continue.
"And Amanda didn't talk to me for two whole weeks because she thought I liked Ruby more. But that's not true, they're both my friends and when I told Amanda that they're both important to me she forgave me. So, I think you should tell Elliot that him and Rafa are important to you and that you have to spend time with all your friends sometimes and he'll forgive you."
Olivia was quiet for a long minute, considering what Aspen had said. She wished it would be that simple, but she knew it wouldn't be since there were more feelings involved.
"Can I ask you something?" Liv looked at Aspen again.
"Okay."
"What would you do if, say, Ruby had a friend that you don't like very much but you knew that the other friend made her really happy?"
"If Ruby is happy then just because I don't like the other friend that doesn't mean I can be mean to them, Olivia. I want my friends to be happy and just because I don't like someone that doesn't mean I should tell Ruby that she can't hang out with them."
Olivia nodded, she looked at the floor and then back to Aspen, "you're very smart, you know that?"
"I won the spelling bee," Aspen smiled.
Liv laughed because that was the first thing the young girl had said in the last ten minutes that made her sound like a six year old.
"My dad didn't like my mommy's friend Martin and he used to get mad at her when she would hang out with Martin and I tried to tell him that Martin made mommy happy but that made dad upset. He said mommy was going to leave us for Martin but that's silly because Martin and his husband Billy don't have a guest room. So I think maybe it's just boys think that girls shouldn't be friends with other boys sometimes."
Taking mental note of the names in case she needed to search them later, Liv smiled, "I think so too."
"Is it girl time? Should I come back later?" Rafael's voice came from the kitchen.
"No, it's okay, Rafa. We're talking about how Olivia's friend Elliot shouldn't be mean to her," Aspen reported diligently.
Rafael gave a small, amused smile, "that's right. He shouldn't be."
"He shouldn't be mean because you make her happy and if he was really her friend then he wouldn't be mad because we want our friends to be happy. Right, Olivia?"
"Right," Liv couldn't help the smile that took her face.
"You're very smart," Rafael tapped Aspen's nose as he came to sit with them.
"Olivia said that, too," she giggled, "I told her she should call Elliot and tell him that both of you are important to her."
"Did you now?" Rafael asked, glancing at Liv.
"I did."
As if to be saved by the bell, Olivia's phone rang in the kitchen. She stood and walked that direction, scooping it up. She glanced at it.