Take Me as I Am

“Mom!” Summer yelled. “What are you doing here?” she asked, giving her mother a hug.

“Can’t I just come to see my two girls?” Faith asked as she wrapped one arm around Summer and the other around Olivia. “I wanted to see how you two were holding up,” she said, looking down specifically at Olivia.

“I’m okay,” Olivia said with a weak smile. “I’m a thousand times better now that you’re here, though. How did you get out of the hospital, though? Does the doctor know?”

“Of course the doctor knows!” Faith told them as she let go of the girls and walked over to the couch to take a seat. “Do you honestly think I could have gotten out of the hospital, onto a plane, and here without the doctor realizing it? Of course he signed off on it.”

“Does this mean you’re in remission?” Summer asked.

“Yep,” Faith said nodding her head with a huge grin on her face. “I mean of course I still need to go see an oncologist to make sure everything’s okay, but as of two days ago, I’m cancer-free.”

“Mom, I’m so happy now!” Summer cried.

“How long are you staying here?” Olivia asked.

“As long as you girls want me to,” Faith answered.

“Yay!” Summer exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Faith.

“Okay, enough about me,” she said turning to the girls. “I want to know how you two are doing. I heard when I first walked in that you and Pat had a fight,” she said looking at Summer. “And, from what I heard, I agree with Olivia. You were kind of hard on him.”

“Mom!” Summer yelled. “All Pat cares about is his image! He doesn’t give a damn about you or Liv. He cares about how he and his team look.”

“That’s not true,” Faith said.

“Yes, it is true,” Summer told her.

“That’s not what it looked like when he came with you to Florida to visit me,” Faith said, remembering the first time she had met Patrick in the hospital.

“That was different,” Summer said.

“How?”

“Him and I weren’t together then,” Summer told her.

“Sum, you know that doesn’t mean a thing. Yes, Pat can sometimes care more about his image than other things, but overall, you know he cares more about you than anything else. He loves you,” Olivia told her.

Summer simply rolled her eyes. “Summer, you need to listen to Olivia. She’s right. And, I think you and Pat just need to talk things over, and sort everything out,” Faith told her.

Summer didn’t reply, so Faith turned to look at Olivia. “And how are you?” she asked her.

“I’m doing okay,” Olivia answered. “I mean I wish they would stop putting my entire life on tv, but I can’t stop it,” she added with a small smile.

“You need to just ignore everything they say about you. I do,” she told her. “And how have things been on the job front? I know Summer said that the Blackhawks offered you your job back, but you turned them down. Why?” Faith asked.

“I’ll tell you the same thing I’ve told everyone else,” Olivia said. “I’ve caused more problems for the Blackhawks than I’ve helped them.”

“Did you like that job?”

“Of course I did!” Olivia exclaimed. “I loved that job, but…”

“No buts,” Faith interrupted. “If you love that job and they want you back, then you should go back.”

“I’ll think about it,” Olivia said smiling at her.

“And how have things been with Jon?” Faith questioned.

“Great,” Olivia said, a genuine smile spreading across her face.

“That’s what I like to see!” Faith exclaimed. “A girl who smiles at the mention of her boyfriend.” She turned around to look at Summer. “See, this is how you should act when I mention Pat.”

Summer rolled her eyes at her mother. “Olivia’s always been like this with Jon. She’s head over heels for him.”

“Well, good,” Faith said. “Now, when am I going to get to meet him? I mean I’ve met Pat already, but never Jon.”

“I’ll call him and ask him when he’s free,” Olivia told her.

“Well, invite him over to dinner. And, Pat, too,” she added. “I want to get to know both of those boys better.”

“I’ll call him,” Olivia said. “But, it might be a bit before we can arrange something. They have a couple of games coming up this weekend. But, I’m sure after those are over, they can come over.”

“Well, whenever fits into their schedule,” Faith told her. “I’m planning on being here for a while, as long as that’s fine with my girls,” she added.

“Of course!” Summer and Olivia said at the same time.

“Well, invite them over so I can get to know them better. I have a feeling that both of them will be in our lives for quite a while.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Summer muttered.

“Sum!” Olivia yelled. “You know that you are completely in love with Pat, just like he is with you. Yes, you two had a fight, but that doesn’t mean you’re breaking up!”

“I’m just so angry with him right now!” Summer admitted.

“I know, but I’m sure in a couple of days, everything will have already blown over, and you two will be back to normal,” Olivia told her.

“If you say so,” Summer mumbled.

“I do say so,” Olivia said with a smile. “You just wait and see.”