Summertime & Butterflies

Five

"So... just tell me again why you wouldn't give Cutie McHottie Rock star your number?"

Olivia looked up from the colouring book she was doodling in and rolled her eyes at her sister. "Seriously?" she asked as she selected a bright green crayon for Queen Elsa's braid.

It had been three days since the night out at the bar and while Olivia wanted to just brush it off and exaggerate the story to when she, the nearly middle-aged schoolteacher, turned down the handsome rock star, Stephanie was having a hard time letting it go.

"But he's so cute!" Stephanie whined, leaning against the island counter and resting her chin in her palms. "And super nice! And those dimples!" Stephanie threw her head back and groaned. "You're so dumb!"

"Shut up," Olivia retorted, her choice of words causing her niece, Mia, to look up from her own colouring page and shake her head at Olivia.

"We don't say shut up in this house," she informed her aunt, repeating a phrase she'd been told many times herself. "And we don't say dumb either, Mommy."

"Sorry, honey," Olivia and Stephanie said in unison. Stephanie giggled at Mia's scold, but Olivia kept her head down as she focused on the colouring book in front of her.

"But seriously, Liv," Stephanie pressed on, her comment causing Olivia to groan so loud that the dog, curled up under the table, lifted his head and got to his feet, vacating the room. "This dude was into you! And he wasn't just looking for a piece!"

"How do you know?" Olivia scowled.

"How do you?" Stephanie retorted. "Is it really so hard for you to accept that a super cool guy would actually want to hang out with you because you're super cool and gorgeous and awesome and everything wonderful, and not just be trying to take a peek at your vagina, no matter how awesome it may or may not be?"

"It is pretty awesome," Olivia answered, sounding bored. She'd heard it all before - incredulous aunts, shocked cashiers, drunk older men. They all fed her the same stories, wondering how she was single when she farted rainbows and sneezed pixie dust. And sometimes, she'd buy it. it. She'd re-sign up for Plenty of Fish, talk to a handsome man with a good job and no kids and she'd wonder if he could be the one to sway her. They'd go on a nice date, have an innocent good night kiss and by noon the next day, the unsolicited eggplant pictures were flooding her MMS inbox. She'd stopped thinking it was the men. It had to be her.

"Well, Harry wasn't thinking about your awesome vagina!" Stephanie shot back. "He was thinking about your smile, and your laugh, and how cute you were when you blushed!"

"And how do you know all that, Madame Stephanie?" Olivia asked, lifting her hand away from the colouring book so Mia could flip through the pages and find another blank one she would try to colour on for five minutes. This kid was single-handedly keeping the logging industry thriving.

Stephanie grinned mischievously and held up her phone. "Maybe you didn't want to give out your number but someone did!"

Olivia paled. "What did you do?" she asked, her voice filled with apprehension. "Stephanie, I swear to God..." She gripped her stomach and stared at her sister. The youngest of three girls, Olivia was used to her life being meddled with - though it didn't mean she enjoyed it or had gotten used to it.

Laughing, Stephanie came and sat at the table beside Olivia. "Calm down," she told her sister, still grinning. "I gave mine to Louis, because he's interested in meeting Jeff and the team. It's not all about you, you know," she added, punching Olivia's arm playfully.

Olivia leaned back in her chair and let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God," she determined, shaking her head at Stephanie. "God, you suck."

Stephanie stood up, smiling brightly as she positioned herself out of arms reach. "Oh, there's just one more thing..." she added innocently.