Take Me as I Am

Olivia finished setting the table, waiting on the boys to arrive for dinner. For some strange reason, she was actually nervous for tonight. She didn’t really know why; she was positive Jon was going to get along with Faith just fine, but still the butterflies were floating in her stomach.

She looked over to see Summer sitting on the couch, her arms folded, flipping through channels. “Sum, will just cheer up already?” Olivia asked. “I don’t know why you’re so upset that I invited Pat. Faith wanted him here. And, he is your boyfriend,” she added.

“Yeah, the boyfriend I am currently angry with,” she said, not taking her eyes off of the television.

“Sum, it’s been how many days? Get over it already!”

“Easy for you to say,” Summer said, looking over at her. “Your boyfriend’s not a complete idiot.”

“And neither is yours,” Olivia told her. “Now, get up and go get dressed!”

“Fine!” Summer sighed, standing up and walking towards her bedroom.

Five minutes later, the doorbell rang, and Olivia walked over to answer it. “Hey,” she said when she opened the door to see Jon and Pat standing there. She kissed Jon and welcomed them in.

“Faith and Summer are just finishing getting ready,” Olivia told them as they walked in the apartment.

Patrick looked over at Olivia. “How pissed is she still?”

“Sum?” Olivia asked, and Patrick nodded her head. “Yeah, she’s still pretty upset,” she told him. Then, she added in a low voice, “But, just so you know, I’m definitely on your side.”

“Thanks,” he said with a laugh.

“What are you thanking her for?” Summer asked, walking out from her bedroom.

“Summer, stop,” Olivia ordered.

“Listen to Olivia,” Faith said, walking out into the living room. She looked over at the two boys. “Pat, it’s nice to see you again,” she said with a smile.

“You, too,” Patrick replied.

“And you must be Jon,” Faith said, looking over at Jonathan. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you from these two girls.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too.”

As the dinner went on, Faith and Jonathan got to know each other more, and they were currently cracking jokes with each other and telling stories of Olivia.

As Faith began to tell another story, Olivia interrupted her. “Okay, we can stop talking about me,” she yelled.

“What?” Jonathan asked. “I love hearing about when you were younger,” he said, putting an arm around her and kissing her temple.

“Well, let’s talk about something else,” Olivia said.

Faith looked over at Summer and Patrick, who had yet to say a single word to each other since they had sat down at the table. “Okay, you two need to say something to each other,” Faith told them.

“I have nothing to say to Patrick,” Summer said crossing her arms over her chest.

Faith rolled her eyes and said, “Pat, you were wrong with what you said to her. Apologize. Sum, you are being way too hard on him. Apologize.”

Patrick looked over at Faith with wide eyes. He couldn’t believe she wasn’t taking her daughter’s side in this matter. He looked back over at Summer, who refused to look him in the eyes. “Summer, I’m sorry. I was completely insensitive, and I’m sorry I was worried about my image. I should have been more worried about you and your family. I love you,” he said sincerely.

Summer sat there, staring out the window, acting as if she hadn’t heard a word that Patrick had just said.

Faith stared at her daughter, waiting on her to say something. As the silence in the room grew, Faith couldn’t stand it any longer. “Damn it, Summer!” she yelled, and the other four sitting around the table all whipped their heads around to look at her. “Get off your damn high horse, and apologize to him. You’re obviously in love with each other. Now, he just apologized to you. You better do the same!”

Summer stared at her mother for a few moments in shock. Had her mom just yelled at her in front of everyone? She couldn’t remember the last time Faith had screamed like that.

Summer turned to look at Patrick, who looked into her eyes. Suddenly, she realized how inappropriately she had been acting. “Pat,” Summer began. “I am so sorry for the way I’ve been acting. I was just upset at all the reporters, and I took it out on you. I love you, too,” she told him.

“That’s the daughter I know,” Faith sang as she watched Patrick lean over and kiss Summer.

“So, I’ve solved one girl’s problems. Now, I’ve got one more to go,” Faith said a few minutes later.

“What do you mean?” Olivia asked, looking over at Faith.

“I need to get you to see that you shouldn’t let Sokolov control your life,” Faith told her.

“I don’t understand,” Olivia told her. “I’m not letting Sokolov control my life. I’ve been trying to ignore all the press, like you told me to do.”

“I’m not talking about the press right now.”

“Then, what are you talking about?”

“You’re job,” Faith said simply. “I don’t understand why you won’t take your job back. You say that you loved it, and they want you back. So, what’s stopping you?”

“Are we back on this?” Olivia asked. “I already told you that I’ll think about it, but honestly, I think I’m going to do them more harm than good. I mean I’m the reason they had to find a new coach and the reason that it’s caused a bigger deal than it should have.”

“Olivia, you are not the only reason that Sokolov was fired,” Jonathan told her. “He deserved to be fired.”

“No, he didn’t,” Olivia admitted. “He was a good coach. You guys had an amazing record with him. He was fired for personal reasons, and that should have never happened.”

“Yeah, he may have been getting us wins, but that isn’t the only thing that makes you a good coach,” Patrick spoke up. “He was working Dale, trying to get what he wanted. He didn’t deserve the job, and I’m pretty sure most of the team was happy when they found out he was fired.”

“Pat, it doesn’t matter. To anyone that isn’t a part of the Blackhawks, it was a stupid mistake. All they know is that he was getting you guys win, and now you’ve got a new coach,” Olivia told him.

“Who cares about everyone else?” Summer asked.

“I do,” Olivia told her.

“Olivia, I think you need to really think about this and think about what you really want out of life,” Faith said.

“I will,” Olivia said. When everyone looked at her with skeptical expressions, she said more emphatically, “I will.”