Better than before, and growing list of worries

The drive back home was very quiet, for Lillian pondered to herself about what had happened today. She had her own anxiety about this whole kid getting bullied at school situation.

Lia finally broke her classmate's nose because she had been silently enduring his verbal intimidation all this time. Lillian had no assumptions about Lia getting bullied at school. Frankly, she predicted Lia getting special attention like with her music teacher, Evelyn, rather than wild gossip spreading about questioning their relationship. What enraged her even more was meeting a parent who expressed his dislike outwardly, which blew Lillian's mind off her expectations. This was the reality that Lillian had always assumed, but facing it through the little girl was disheartening.

Being treated as different in society for one's preference had always been sensitive. In Lillian's case, she had never worried about what others thought of her in all her life. Even during Giselle's absence, the number of times she had dated both men and women, Lillian still remembered how she received criticism from the very few who knew her identity. All those past relationships never made Lillian feel the burden because they were mainly aimed at pleasing Lillian from losing herself to insanity. She just wanted someone to make her forget about Giselle and the empty void in her heart. Years passed, and now she had finally been able to confess her feeling to Giselle and even decided to live together. It wouldn't have bothered me if it were only the two. Having a little girl go through such trouble at a young age because of their nature broke Lillian's heart. She was completely withdrawn from feeling anywhere near enthusiasm. The fact that Giselle is returning today also added more to her anxieties. Lillian worried how Giselle might react upon hearing Lia's fight with her classmate. Up until then, she never once glanced at Lia's side. Now peeking at the child, Lillian noticed something different.

Lia looked very content from before. As if nothing had happened and it was another normal like after-school driving back home. Lillian was startled to find her mood very serene following such a tragedy.

"Did something happen? You look- very calm," Lillian asked out of curiosity.

'Did this child go crazy, or is she masking her feelings to appear casual because she didn't want to worry others?' Lillian thought to herself while waiting for Lia to answer.

The little girl hesitated before admitting how she had misunderstood her friends.

"What do you mean?" Lillian followed.

"Lilly, you know how Mrs. Beth said that my mother got bullied and that she never made friends?"

That was another shock that Lillian encountered today. Even when they were together back in high school, Lillian never knew what Giselle had gone through in her life. She might have had a guess, but when Mrs. Beth barely painted the picture for her, Lillian was left speechless.

"Y- Yeah, she did," Lillian replied restlessly.

"I thought that my friends won't understand, but it turned out that they didn't know how to react, and that's why they couldn't help me," Lia explained, the reason behind the vulnerable distance between her friends.

"They didn't know how to react? I'm confused," Lillian asked in doubt.

"Lillian, they couldn't understand the concept of two women- in love, so-"

"Oh..."

"Well, my father told me everything. So I can understand!" Lia remarked.

"Cool."

"I told them that I don't care what others are going to say, but I will support my mother and you!"

Lillian was finally able to leave the loop about Giselle's past with the help of Lia's sincere words. The little girl exerted pride in supporting her mother, even if it included a stranger from the past.

"I wanted my mother to be happy, and I think she deserves it all."

The confidence that Lia possessed impressed Lillian. She just stared at this little girl in awe and found how she had momentarily lost that confidence. Lillian felt guilty about herself for being such a weak-willed.

"So, don't you worry about me. I can take care of myself," Lia vouched proudly at last.

Lia's confession moved Lillian to the verge of crying out some ugly tears for her age, but she didn't encourage herself to do so. Instead, she remembered something else. Such heavy words coming from a young girl were beyond belief, but Lillian doesn't want Lia to grow up so fast. She wished Lia to love her youth without having to worry for the adults. Not so fast!

"I agree that you are a very strong-willed girl, Lia, but you are still a child. Therefore, next time when someone tries to bully you, tell us right away so that we can help you. And it's okay if your friends don't know how to react. You can always talk to them if they are willing to hear."

"They did ask me to tell your story."

"What was that now?" Lillian gaped.

"How you and my mother met! The same thing that I asked you."

"Haha…" Lillian blindly smiled through the conversation, grasping how many people invested in hearing her story. For a moment, she thought about writing a book, which then instinctively depressed her, for it wouldn't be a romantic story since the two had barely had a chance to create intimate memories.

Lillian sat back in her seat, comfortable to continue driving on the road. Out of all the concerns, Lia's was on the top of her list. She knew things had happened but hoped to make Lia feel better and move forward from this bitter incident. And as Lillian saw the little girl doing better than expected, she grew a little reassured.

Just then, Lia's voice struck again to add more hope. The little girl promised never to let this happen again and apologized for her behavior today.

"Even if it happens, promise me that you will tell me, anytime- anything," Lillian waited to appeal.

"I promise."

"Good then!"

And just like that, Lia's smile returned to her.

"Now, Lia, until I come up with a story about this whole incident, let's keep this fighting under the rug," Lillian playfully uttered on the go.

Lia looked confused at first but then realized where Lillian was aiming for.

"You want me to hide it from my mother?" Lia asked.

"Well, Giselle is coming back from a very exhausting book tour, so it's up to us to make her feel comfortable," Lillian reasoned.

"You want me to lie to my mother?" Lia asked again.

"Not right away, just delay it a bit. We can slowly tell her so that she won't get all worried. You know- my reputation in taking care of you is also on the line!" Lillian implied.

The little girl thought for a while before going along with the suggestion.

***

Evening approached as Lillian let Lia completely free. She even joined her to watch a movie, play around the house, and spend some time reading. The reason why Lillian went along was very simple. She had too many running thoughts and dreadfully needed a distraction to keep her from going crazy. Despite Lia's maturity to handle all the troubles at school, it still bothered Lillian. The fact that Lia had gone through something that her mother did in the past disturbed Lillian and the future she dreamed of living with Giselle. Lillian couldn't be bothered in every intimate relationship she shared with someone in the past. However, with Giselle and Lia, she never wanted them to get hurt. Lillian wished to protect them and make sure not a thing would harm the two. And today's incident was a failure in her vision. She wasn't able to realize the bullying. Besides, she only came to learn about it later from the vice-principal. Lillian worried about what might have happened if the principal had been present to handle the matter. Lia's behavior from today shouldn't repeat. Moreover, the little girl shouldn't have gotten bullied in the first place. All such worries consumed Lillian's mind to frighten her. Thus, she desired to drive herself out of such said concerns by getting involved with the activities. Plus, she wanted to give company to Lia to make sure she wasn't affected by what happened today.

**

"You finished this one too?" Lillian asked in awe.

"Yes- It was a pleasant read!" Lia replied.

"Give me another one!" she boldly added.

At the beginning of living together, Lillian found out that Lia liked her storybooks, so she went out to buy some. Lillian ended up buying more as days passed and added those books to her collection, keeping it safe to surprise Lia every time. However, the little girl caught Lillian in action as she found the bundle of new books. Lia ended up pleading with Lillian to give her one. The more Lia started reading, the more books Lillian bought for her.

Lia followed as Lillian walked to her library and scanned all the way through the hallway to pick a book finally. She handed it over to Lia, and the little girl quickly ran through the pages to comment.

"There are no pictures in this book!"

"Well, this a little hard level for your age, so-" Lillian exclaimed.

"It's okay! I can read it," Lia said to walk to her room, but Lillian recalled to stop and ask her about dinner.

"When is mom coming back?" Lia asked.

"She should be on the plane now, so it might take an hour or two. But she'll be here soon- so?"

Lia stood in a dilemma considering dinner when a fantastic idea popped into her mind.

"Then- how about we cook something for my mother?" she suggested.