Family Affairs

Chapter Six

A year later

"Nana!" Oliver yells, stumbling over to Ally and holding his arms up.

Ally was sitting at the kitchen table with Tori as they talked about Lauren and Blake's relationship.

Ally bent down and picked the little boy up, sitting him on her knee. She ran her fingers through his hair and gave him a toy to play with. "Blake is good for Lauren. She brings out a confidence in Lauren that we don't see very much."

Tori nods her head, glancing at Oliver who had decided to put the toy in his mouth. "I agree, it's just going to be hard on them both when Blake and I move back to Jersey for a while."

Oliver leans back against Ally as he chews on the toy, he always got in trouble for chewing on them.

"Mom, I think O ate my homework!" Dinah complains, walking into the kitchen with Octavia squirming in her arms.

"You're moving?" Ally frowned. She glanced outside at the two girls who were lying in the grass. Turning her head back, she pulled the toy out of Oliver's mouth and then looked up at Dinah. "She couldn't have eaten your homework. It was probably Lillie."

The dog lifted her head from her basket at the sound of her name and tilted her head to the side. She looked like she was frowning as if she was offended by the comment. She barked softly and shook her head.

"Yes, in two weeks. Blake hasn't told Lauren?" Tori asks with a small frown.

As soon as Ally is distracted again, Oliver began chewing on the toy again.

"No." Ally shook her head, looking back at Tori. "She hasn't." She took a sip of her coffee and looked back out of the window at the two girls on the grass.

"Mommmm," Dinah whines, trying to get Octavia to stop squirming.

Ally turned her head back to Dinah. "Put her down in her playpen." She said. "She's quite happy with her toys." She pulled the toy out of Oliver's mouth.

Groaning, Dinah puts the little girl in her playpen and walks off.

Octavia and Oliver were small for their age but only Oliver seemed to be starting to talk and he could walk.

Ally took another sip of her coffee and looked back out a the two girls on the grass. "They seem really happy right now."

Lauren was lying on her side, her head resting on Blake's arm while Blake lay on her back looking up at the sky. Lauren had fallen asleep.

"They do, I don't want to separate them but I have no choice, Blake won't stay with her dad." Tori says softly, looking toward the two girls.

"Why?" Ally asked curiously.

"He's an alcoholic, that's why we got divorced." Tori responds, smiling sadly at the thought.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I would offer to let her stay with us, but I'm not sure how Marcus would feel about that." Ally said.

Oliver began shifting in Ally's arms, before a soft cry escaped him, his lip started bleeding from chewing on the toy and accidentally biting it.

Ally looked down at the little boy. "Well, that's what you get for chewing on the toy. You know not to do that." She said.

Looking up at her, the little boy continues to softly cry.

Ally sighed. "There isn't much I can do about it. Maybe Tori will have a look at it if you ask nicely."

The one year old looks toward Tori nervously before looking back at Ally. "Nana," he cried out.

Ally looked at him. "Ask her. She doesn't bite."