With her lips pursed to one side, Lola stood with a group full of other parents and family members of performers... Including Carrie, who was too nervous to make eye contact with the young blonde.
Instead, they stood across the room from one another, about a million other people separating them, luckily.
Lola wasn't actually going to go, but then she kept replaying the phone call she had with her mother and she had to.
And since Jason had to stay behind with Alice, she convinced Crew to join her... After all, it was his sister too.
"That was kind of cool." He was lingering next to her, flipping through the pamphlet they'd gotten when they walked in. "I bet I could do a ballet kick." Crew joked, though he didn't receive the laugh he was expecting.
"I can't believe this..." Lola was trying not to stare, but it was impossible.
It had been years since she'd seen Carrie, but she was recognizable, even with the lip fillers, gray hair coming through the blonde roots and an aging face... She was still the woman that picked her up from school each day, took her to all of her school dances, helped her pick out clothes at the mall, and laughed with her until their stomachs ached.
Besides Karen, Carrie was the most reliable person in Lola's life for a long time, and when she saw her, it all came back.
Crew shifted awkwardly, not sure what to say in moments like that. "Things happen, huh?" He wasn't picking sides- he didn't do that anymore.
His parents marriage wasn't his problem... He only had enough time to focus on one relationship and that was his own.
Lola nodded lightly, eyes falling to the ground when she caught Carrie glancing around the room. "Mom is so much prettier..." she mumbled with a soft smirk on her face.
He couldn't help but chuckle. "I agree." Crew knew they weren't being very nice, but... Carrie hadn't been nice when she tried to ruin their family, so he didn't feel too terrible about telling the truth.
Just a second later, the double doors came open and a bunch of the dancers stepped into the hallway. But even through the sea of college students, Lola caught a glimpse of Vivian, who, for a brief moment, looked exactly like Clancy.
It might have been the long hair that was pulled back into a clip, or soft smile, or maybe it was how nervous she looked.. Either way, it caused the older woman to sigh.
"Lola?" She creased a brow softly, heading right over to them. "Hi," Vivian was beyond surprised to see them, and even more shocked when Crew pulled her in for a quick hug.
"That was cool, kid." He assured, a sweet smile trailing across his face.
He looked so much like Lindsey, it was almost amazing how strong genes could run.
"Thank you so much for coming tonight." It meant the world to her, really. "Your mom called me this morning and told me what happened to Clancy, and I'm so happy that she's alright." Vivian was gentle and kind... She was all the things that Lola wished she could be in moments like that.
Vivian was like Clancy... that was it.
"She's going to be back on her feet in no time." Lola was a thousand percent certain of that. "Mom and dad are so upset they couldn't make it tonight." She added, making it a point to ensure that she didn't refer to them as my mom and dad....
Shaking her head, her blue eyes grew softer. "I told her not to worry about it on the phone. Being there for Clancy is the most important thing in the world." She didn't want them to feel like they owed her something by coming to see her perform, because they didn't.
She was just so thankful that they wanted to be apart of life.
Lola nodded lightly, a soft smile on her face. "Do you have plans tonight?" She wondered, eyes traveling towards Carrie, causally.
By then she was talking with another woman, not even focused on her daughter, which was sort of odd to Lola.
That was one thing about Stevie that she was suddenly very grateful for. Her mom used to come with flowers in hand to all the performances, even the cheesy college plays Lola did... She was there- proudest mom in the crowd. But then again, she had to remind herself that there was a handful of years that Stevie wasn't that mom... Instead, for awhile, she was the mom that didn't show up to anything.
"No, my mom is going out with some friends, so I'm just going home." Vivian shrugged lightly, even though she didn't seem at all let down by that.
Creasing a brow, the older woman paused for a second before she replied. "We would love to take you out to dinner to celebrate such a great night...?" She wanted to, she really did.
Her parents would have done that, in a heart beat. That's just what they did for their kids- they took the time to show them how proud they were, and Lola wanted to do the same.
"I would really like that." Vivian didn't hesitate to lean in, giving her sister a quick hug.
Nodding lightly, the blonde patted her shoulder. "Me, too."
~~~
"Clancy said you really like art, too?" Crew was sitting on the same side of the booth as Lola, staring across at Vivian, who had been pretty quiet.
She was shy- it was obvious, but understandable. To meet your father, his wife, and three siblings at eighteen couldn't have been easy, so he gave her the benefit of the doubt... He even tried to sympathize with her, though it wasn't that easy.
He'd been through some stuff, but nothing like that.
"I do, yeah." She nodded lightly, pushing the lasagna that she ordered around the plate with a fork. "I really enjoy painting, and pottery art." Vivian mentioned, which caused Crew to smile softly.
"There's where all the talent went." He nudged his older sister softly. "Clancy and Vivian took it all." He joked... sort of.
Lola let off a subtle grin, nodding her head in agreement. "You fit right in..." she admitted, even though it wasn't that simple to do so.
She wanted to be mad- not at Vivian but at the world. How could her parents, who had already been through so much, go through this, too?
Stevie had done enough- she'd experienced enough... Finding out her husband had a baby with another woman seemed devastating, in Lola's opinion.
It just didn't seem fair, but then she had to remind herself that a lot of times, life isn't fair.
"Thank you so much..." Vivian knew that it wasn't easy for Lola- it was just her personality.
She was tough- it seemed as though she had to be and Vivian wasn't going to hold that against. Whatever strong front Lola held was built up long before she found out about another sibling...
Lola reached across the table, taking the younger woman's hand in hers. "Don't thank us, Vivian...." She shook her head softly, eyes meeting the identical ones from across the table. "We're sisters..."
