🌹Every Rose Has Its Thorn🌹

Chapter Ten ~Broccoli

Josie and her son are sitting next to each other on the couch, both shocked by little Lou's outburst. Alex felt sorry for his mum, the last couple of months he has noticed his mum is smiling more and he really likes that. He wants his mother to be happy and he is okay with her having a boyfriend. He thinks it would be nice to have another man around.

"I will go talk to her," Alex says before he stands up and walks to the door of the living room but he stops and turns around.

"Mum, I'm really glad for you. You deserve to be happy with someone." he says before he walks into the hallway and up the stairs. Josie smiles a little, happy with her son's words but her smiles falls when she thinks about her daughter. She didn't expect this reaction from Lou and is shocked, even a little hurt.

It is the first time Josie wants to introduce someone to her kids, she thought they would have been okay with it, see how it would go. She doesn't understand why Lou reacted like that, her father has been in a relationship since the divorce. Why would this be any different? Why  does the little girl think it is okay for her father to have a relationship but not her mother?

For now Josie decides to push any thoughts about it away, she will give Lou some time to get used to the idea and talk to her brother and tonight or tomorrow she will discuss it with her but she really hopes the little girl will turn around.

While Josie prepares dinner she calls Harry they talk about their weekend and their plans for the coming week but Josie doesn't tell him about the talk she had with her kids. Harry tells her a hundred times how much he is missing her and promises he will come to the shop the next day for lunch and bring food for them with him, without even realising it he gives her comfort. She knows he will be there for her when she needs him.

When dinner is ready she walks up the stairs to tell her children to come down. She knocks on Alex door and goes inside, her son is busy building a Lego castle and is so engrossed that he doesn't even hear his mother enter the room. Josie puts her hand on his shoulder and Alex looks up.

"Sweetie, did you talk to your sister?" she asks, curious and worried at the same time.
"I did, I tried to talk to her but I promised not to tell anything." he said. His loyalty towards his sister warms Josie's heart and she smiles fondly at her son.
"You are the best brother Lou can have. Thank you!" Josie kisses Alex's head and turns around.
"Go wash your hands, dinner is ready." she says before leaving her son's room. Josie goes to the room across from Alex's and takes a breath before she knocks, she doesn't hear anything but still enters the room. Lou is drawing at her desk, she looks up but when she sees it is her mother she immediately turns around again.

"Loulou, dinner is ready. Go wash your hands and come downstairs." Josie tells her daughter, Lou's reaction when she entered the room tells her not to start about Harry.

"No, I'm not hungry." Lou tells her mother on a distant tone.
"Lou, I understand you are confused and upset but in this house the rule is, the ones who are home eat dinner together. So go clean up and get downstairs" Josie says sternly. She understand her daughter is upset but she still has to follow the rules. Josie turns around and goes downstairs to plate the food.

The food is on the table and Alex and Josie are ready to eat, but there is no sign of Lou.
"I will go and get her." Alex says and goes upstairs. Josie hears Alex talk on a very stern tone to his sister before she hears someone close a door and two pairs of feet come down the stairs. Alex comes in the kitchen, rolling his eyes, followed with an annoyed looking Lou. They sit down and start to eat but it's completely silent in the room and the the tension is palpable.

Thinking it is a topic that her daughter will likes, Josie starts a conversation about the sports day that they have the coming week at school. Alex enthusiastically starts to tells he will go to an indoor ski slope and how much he is looking forward to learning the basics of skiing.
"You are going ice skating, right?" Alex asks Lou who only shrugs her shoulders while she keeps pushing around the food on her plate.
"May I leave the table?" Lou interrupts Alex and Josie's conversation.
"We don't leave the table without eating our vegetables." Josie says and she sees her daughter hasn't eating anything.
"You and your stupid rules." Lou groans.

"Lou!" Josie says, raising her voice. "After you eat your broccolis and put your plate in the dishwasher you can leave the table." Josie reminds her daughter. Who suddenly looks up at her mother, her eyes are filled with anger and hurt.

"I don't like broccoli and I won't eat it" Lou pushes her plate away, jumps up and walks away.

"Lou come back here right now!" Josie yells after her daughter but the girl doesn't come back. Josie falls down on her chair confused, Lou never acts up like this. She knows the rules and follows them, until today. Is this all because I'm in a relationship? Josie wonders.
She decides to not call her daughter out for it at the moment but tomorrow morning when she and Alex will eat the leftovers from today's waffles, Lou will have to eat her broccolis first.

The next two days Lou's behaviour only gets worse and for once Josie is happy that the kids will go to their father's for five days, she needs a breather.

Unfortunately she can't let her daughter leave before they have a talk. Tuesday evening, after her shower, Lou is reading a story in her bed before she goes to sleep.

The door of her bedroom is open so Josie walks in without knocking and sits down on the edge of the bed, facing her daughter.

"Loulou, can you please put your book away?" she asks but the girl acts as if she doesn't hear her mother. Josie already is more than tired of her daughters behaviour and just takes the book out of Lou's hands.

"Hey!" the girl says annoyed.
"Now we are going to talk." Josie tells her.
"I understand you are upset because I'm dating someone but I would like you to stop behaving like this and please talk to me." Josie rubs her daughter's leg but she is staring in front of her like Josie isn't in the room. Josie is getting desperate and doesn't understand why Lou is acting like this.
"I'm sure, if you met Harry you would change your mind because he is amazing. Please Lou!!" the kid's head snaps up and she looks at Josie like she has seen something disgusting.

"I never want to meet him, I don't want him around." Josie swallows hard, shocked about the mean reaction of her daughter.
"Mum please go away, I want to finish my chapter and go to sleep. Good night!"

Josie gets up, feeling defeated. That night she cries herself to sleep, not knowing how to handle this problem.