'Dad! Hey, how'd it go?' asked Lydia, as she walked downstairs and saw only her father in the living room 'Did you lose Delia and the kids?'
'No' laughed Charles 'They're in the kitchen putting the shopping away'
'Shopping?' asked Lydia. Charles nodded 'Thank you Dad, you didn't have to'
'It was no problem sweetheart' said Charles 'How'd it go here?'
'It went fine' said Lydia 'Tori, tell grandpa who you met'
'Barbsy and Adam from the attic' said Victoria, lifting her head sleepily off Lydia's shoulder 'They're really nice. And they're my aunt and uncle' her eyes grew heavy and soon she was fast asleep on Lydia's shoulder.
'She's met them then?' said Charles as the two of them walked into the kitchen
'Yup' said Lydia 'Hit off straight away. They love her and she loves them even more'
'Thats good' said Charles 'It'll be good for her to have people around. And they can probably take her off your hands during the day'
'True' said Lydia. In the kitchen doorway, Lydia stopped her father 'Listen, Lex and Will don't know about the Maitlands or Beej. I'm working out how to tell them. Just please don't mention it'
'Ok sweetheart' said Charles. He kissed her forehead and walked into the kitchen followed by Lydia. 'Hey guys, how's it going?'
'Good' said Alex from her perch on the kitchen bench 'We finished putting stuff away and now we're making afternoon tea'
'Oh what is it?' asked Lydia
'Fruit platter with melted chocolate' said Delia 'Not exactly healthy but oh well'
'Sounds lovely Delia' said Lydia. She sat down at the table and adjusted Victoria a little. 'How was today?'
'Good' said Alex 'I'm allowed to wear shorts or skorts which is amazing' said Alex 'and then you its just the school polo shirt, which is just navy blue. Whatever shoes we want as long as they're in closed and appropriate. Its not as bad as I thought it'd be'
'Thats good honey' said Lydia 'So we'll be getting you new shoes or no?'
'I'll see' said Alex.
'Ok. Will how about you?' asked Lydia
'Good. Same as Lex apart from the fact that I don't have to wear skorts' said Will, going over to his grandmother and stealing a bit of the banana she was cutting up. 'Why's Tori asleep again?'
'Because she's young' said Lydia. Will nodded and stole another bit of banana.
Will, Alex and Victoria were all currently checking out their new bedrooms and were arranging them in the way they wanted, or in Victoria's case trying to shove as many as your teddys on your bed as possible.
'How should I tell them about the Maitlands?' asked Lydia, looking at her parents, who were staying to help Lydia put the kids to bed.
'Just tell them?' suggested Charles 'Be like, hey! our house it haunted by my second parents.'
'No' said Lydia 'You know those 2, they'd never believe me'
'True' said Charles. They sat in silence before Delia clapped her hands together, making Lydia and Charles jump and look at her.
'Oops sorry' she said, grinning at the startled father/daughter duo 'How about you just send them into the attic to put a couple of boxes up there. If they see the Maitlands, they see them and you explain, if they don't... then we'll work something out'
'That... could work' said Lydia slowly, nodding and looking at Delia 'Delis! Thats amazing. Thank you so much. This could definitely work. I'll do it tomorrow after and we'll work from there.' she hugged her step-mother
'You're welcome dear' said Delia 'Want me to go give Vicky her bath?'
'That'd be amazing. Thank you' said Lydia gratefully. Delia chuckled and walked upstairs. Lydia turned to her father and sighed 'Dad, how am I going to do this?'
'Do what sweetheart?' asked Charles
'This' said Lydia, gesturing around the room at large 'Look after this massive house, 3 kids, write a novel and keep up with my photography requests'
'Come here cupcake' said Charles. Lydia smiled and snuggled into her fathers side on the couch. Charles ran a hand over his now fully grey beard and looked at his daughter 'Y'know, you look so much like your mother'
'She had blonde hair' said Lydia
'Actually, when we met she was a brunette' said Charles. Lydia's eyes widened
'Why did you never tell me?' she asked 'Its been 33 years of me alive on this planet and neither of you thought to tell me?' she shook her head 'Thats bad parenting dad' slowly her smile slipped into a look of worry and Charles stroked his daughters hair.
'Lydia, I know this is stressful for you. With Liam away and all of the kids being at challenging ages. But you can do this' Lydia raised an eye brow at him 'You can, and you have Adam and Barb. They'll help you.'
'I think I'll be fine' said Lydia 'I just wish that I knew when Liam was coming back'
'He'll come back' said Charles 'I promise'
'But how do you know that?' asked Lydia, sitting up and looking at her father. 'How do you know that?' tears welled in her eyes 'Dad, you don't understand how hard it is. Having the constant fear of unknowing and the uncertainty of whether or not your husband will come home. If the last kiss you ever received from him was the last. Not know what to tell your kids when they ask when their dad will be back. You've never experienced that dad. Yes, I know mum died from cancer but at least once she was gone, she was gone. Gone... forever. But I don't know where Liam is. No one does. They haven't contacted me in months and I haven't heard anything from him. I just... don't think I can cope with losing anyone else...' she let out a sob
'Lydia, I know' said Charles sadly. Lydia pressed her hands over her face, trying to muffle her cries so her children didn't hear. Charles shifted closer to her and wrapped her up in a tight hug. Lydia buried her head in her fathers shoulder and just cried. Charles did nothing but gently rock back and fourth and rub her back, knowing that every now and again everyone needed a good cry.
'Sorry dad' giggled Lydia, pulling away and looking at her fathers shoulder, which was covered in tears and saliva 'I think your shirt needs a wash'
'No biggie sweetheart' said Charles 'Feeling better?'
'Well, I'm still worried but I think I needed that' she wiped her eyes and saw the black on her hands 'Ugh, I gotta go wash my face before the kids see me' she stood up and Charles did too, putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
'Delia and I'll do bedtime tonight' he said 'Go relax or see Adam and Barb. We'll sort it out. Take a night off. I'll come to you if anything happens but they're good kids, they listen'
'Really?' asked Lydia. Charles nodded 'Thank you so much'
'Its alright sweetie, I know everyone needs a night off' they walked upstairs together.
'You know where their bedrooms are?' asked Lydia. 'Tori's in my old room, Wills in Delia's old office and Lexi's in your old office'
'You gave them big rooms' laughed Charles
'They're good kids, and they're coping with everything so well. They deserve it' Lydia hugged her dad and gave him a kiss on the cheek. 'Thank you so much for this. I really appreciate it'
'No worries sweetheart' said Charles, 'Relax for a while, we'll come tell you when they're in bed' Lydia smiled and opened the door to her bedroom. Charles waved at her and went to go get his grandchildren. Lydia went to one of the boxes on the floor and unpacked all her photo albums. There were ones of her mother, her father, her children, her husband and a few of the Maitlands which she kept with herself. That night, Lydia curled up in bed and looked through photos, trying to not think of the fact that she hadn't heard news of her husband for months.
YOU ARE READING
I'm Home
FanficLydia Deetz returns to her childhood home after many years of being away. However, things are tougher for her now, being a mother of 3 children and wife to a man in the army. Will the Maitlands and her parents be able to help her through her struggl...