Part one. Several more to come. I hope you enjoy!
-Olivia
"Jesus H. Christ." I curse. I've landed on my ass outside of my parents' house. My shoulder strap on my Steve Madden bag has caught in the door of my taxi and yanked me down to the dirt covered, butt pain causing, bruise inducing earth.
I stay on the ground contemplating taking a nap there after the long flight and the ride from the airport to the house. My shoulder throbs with pain causing me to rip the purse from my arm, dropping it into the dirt. A dust cloud floats up from the bag and infiltrates my nostrils and throat, sending me into a coughing fit.
"Are you alright, Miss?"
Ah yes, the cabbie. He's seen it all, hasn't he?
"Just fine. Thank you. Just taking a moment."
He nods his head down at me from inside the car and tips his hat as he waits for me to gain some composure over myself.
He will be waiting forever.
"Lennon? Is that you?"
I hear my father's voice boom through the yard. I have been spotted.
I push my red hair out of my face and look up at the giant man. He is well over 6 foot tall, broad shouldered and gray. He has grown a beard since last time I seen him, it sparkles in the sun like glitter.
"Hey pop." I call as I pull myself begrudgingly to my feet.
"Why on earth are you sitting on the ground?" He asks, his British accent is a salve on my heart. It's been too long since I've been home.
My mother met my dad at a concert in the 60's. A little band called 'The Beatles'. It was love at first sight and they have been together ever since. My dad, a straight laced British lawyer with a wild side for music, and my mom, a flower child from Southern California who believes that love should be shared and deodorant should be banned.
They were the oddest couple but somehow they have made it work, and work well, for the last 50 plus years.
"I was just, ummm..." I start to explain.
He picks up my bag and a rumble of laughter rolls through him. "You fell, didn't you?"
He takes my hands, like he always did when I was a child, and inspects them for scrapes. I'm no worse for wear.
"Maybe." I smile and he just shakes his head.
"Come on, Len. Mom's inside."
I reach for my purse, the one I will now refer to as 'The Betrayer: The Causer of Falls', when dad shoos me away and hands a wad of money to the cab driver who is watching us suspiciously. He pops the trunk and we retrieve my luggage before he speeds off in a cloud of dust.
Dad hugs me and looks me over, pushing my hair, identical to my mother's, out of my eyes.
"You look beautiful as ever, my girl."
I hug him tight and take his hand, facing the house I grew up in.
It looks no different from the outside but I know inside has totally changed. Mom never liked things to stay the same too long. And I wasn't the least bit surprised when I stepped inside and choked on the heavy cloud of incense smoke.
"Len is here, darling." My dad calls into the empty void. I see her nowhere but I know she is around. The incense, Yellow Submarine playing in the background, and I can hear her humming along.
