⊹ Chapter 3 ⊹
It's For Sheep
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"Stop! Connie!" Violet giggled as her boyfriend continued to press kisses against her cheek. "You're soaking wet!"
"Maybe we should go dry off together then?" He smirked.
"Shut up!"
"Come on! I'm sure we could find a way to warm each other up."
"Definitely not you creep." Violet snorted rolling her eyes. "I'm going to go help your mom and Laurel with dinner while you go get changed."
Conrad sighed pouting towards his girlfriend. He could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't going to give in to him. So with one last pleading look he stomped into the house soaking wet. The Fisher boy could hear the red head behind him giggling as she followed him into the house.
"Hey guys!" Violet greeted stepping into the kitchen.
At the sound of Violet's voice Belly internally groaned. She was sitting at the kitchen counter chatting with the moms. Both Susannah and Laurel were busy prepping the food for dinner.
"Hey sweetheart!" Susannah smiled happily at the girl. "They didn't get you huh?"
"Nope, but Conrad did come over and hug me after he got out of the pool."
"They threw Connie in?" Laurel asked shocked. She didn't think Steven or Jeremiah would ever dare throw the older Fisher boy in. They're both way to afraid of what he'd do in retaliation.
"Oh no." The Montgomery girl laughed turning to look at Belly. "Isabel actually pulled him in. And I have to say it was pretty funny."
"Oh god. I can just imagine the look on Connie's face." Susannah said with wide eyes.
"I don't think he minded. He was actually smiling." Belly shrugged finally joining the conversation.
"He did look pretty happy." Violet nodded agreeing. "It was nice seeing him like that."
Susannah smiled sadly at the girl. She knew how hard it was for Violet to put up with her sons mood swings. Both women could agree that it was rare to see Conrad actually enjoying himself recently. Even if he wasn't moody around Violet as soon as he'd be around other people he'd close up.
"Is something wrong with Conrad?" Laurel asked worried.
"I don't know." Susannah sighed. "He's just been a little moody lately. I think it's because Adam's been working so much recently. But I'm sure he'll be fine."
"Speaking of father's you should call yours and tell him we got in safely." Laurel ordered pointing at Belly.
"Uh, why don't you tell Steven to do it?" The younger girl groaned.
"Because I'm telling you. He misses you guys when you're gone."
"Yeah, but he'll see us at the end of the summer." Belly shrugged.
"No, he'll be here for the Fourth."
"Wait, he's coming here?" Belly questioned with wide eyes.
"Of course. He always comes for the Fourth."
"Oh." She sighed. "Where's Mr. Fisher?"
"Oh, he's in London." Susannah replied awkwardly. Violet could tell that she didn't want to talk about Mr. Fisher at all. She didn't know everything that was going on between them but Conrad had told her that his dad was an asshole. "They got him going back and forth. He'll join us later in the summer. For now, it's just the women and the children, just the way we like it."
♒︎
It was later that night that the Fishers and Conklins sat down for dinner. Conrad was sitting at the head of the table while Susannah was at the opposite end. Belly's usual seat was taken by Violet who wanted to sit by her boyfriend.
The teen of course had no idea that the seat was already claimed. If she had she would have immediately moved to a different seat but no one corrected her so she stayed where she was.
"Steven, I swear to God, if you look at that phone one more time, I'm putting it in the screen basket." Laurel sighed annoyed.
"It's just, we want to see your beautiful faces." Susannah smiled sweetly.
"Steven." Jeremiah laughed as he watched his friend continue to ignore both of their mothers.
"Dude, are you kidding me?" Steven shouted as his phone was snatched out of his hand and launched into a basket behind Violet.
"Boom! Nailed it." Jeremiah smirked flexing his muscles.
"Okay, okay, okay, we get it, you've been working out."
"Oh, you're just jealous because Jere has a better body than you." Belly said making fun of her brother.
"Uh, no, actually, it's all about the lean look now. Otherwise, you can't wear tailored suits." Steven shrugged.
"Sure, sure."
"Tailored suits." Conrad mocked causing a smile to make its way onto Violet's face.
"When are you leaving for training camp, man?" The Conklin boy questioned.
The whole Fisher family immediately got quiet. Violet awkwardly shifted in her seat looking towards her boyfriend hoping he wouldn't shut down. Violet, Jeremiah, and Susannah had all tried to figure out why Conrad quit football but they could never get an answer out of him.
"Uh, he quit football." Jeremiah finally choked out.
"Wh... Wait, really?" Belly couldn't believe it. She always thought Conrad loved football. Belly couldn't fathom what made him want quit but she was determined to find out. "You quit?"
"Mm-hmm." Conrad mumbled looking down at his plate, desperately trying to avoid meeting anyones curious eyes.
"Are you kidding me, man?" Steven asked astonished. "I'd-I'd kill to play college ball."
"He can always change his mind." Susannah cut in, smiling hopefully at her oldest son.
"I'm not gonna change my mind." Conrad said firmly. Violet could tell the boy was beginning to get annoyed. "I was just gonna sit on the bench all season anyways."
"Well, if you're not playing football anymore, what are you gonna do all summer?" Laurel wondered.
"Oh, dude, you can work at the club." Steven nodded looking over at Jeremiah. "Yeah, with me and Jere."
"Yeah. I'm not gonna work at the club."
"Wait, you guys are working this summer?" Belly was always the last one to know everything.
"Yeah, I'm lifeguarding, and Steven's working at the snack shop." Jeremiah responded.
"Oh, Belly and Lettie, I almost forgot. I have a surprise for you both." Susannah chuckled getting up from the table.
"So, this is why you had to stop by the country club." Laurel sighed already knowing where this was going.
Violet looked over at her boyfriend with a questioning look. Conrad of course had no idea what his mother was up to so all he offered the girl in return was a shrug.
"What is this?" Violet asked opening the envelope Susannah had handed her.
"I wrangled Violet and Belly invitations to be debutantes." The blonde woman beamed.
"Is that the thing where the girls wear white dresses and curtsy?" Belly frowned.
"It's when a girl comes of age and is presented to society." Susannah explained. "I-I know it sounds silly, but I swear it's fun. Girls come from all over New England to Cousins just to be a part of it. You'll make so many new friends."
"I cannot believe you are still holding on to this archaic dream." Laurel scoffed shaking her head.
"No, it used to be about finding a husband, but now it's about networking. They teach you leadership skills, like how to market yourself, and it benefits charity. It's, um, like a bat mitzvah."
"It is not like a bat mitzvah. There is nothing religious about a debutante ball." Laurel replied looking at her friend.
The whole time that his mother was talking all Conrad could focus on was Violet. He wanted to see her reaction to what his mom was saying. The Fisher boy was hoping that she wouldn't want any part of it but deep down he knew she'd want to do it.
"The whole deb scene is bullshit." Conrad cut in voicing his opinion. "It's for sheep."
Both Violet and Belly visibly deflated by Conrad's reaction. They were both hoping he'd be their escort.
"Yeah. No, it's not. It's when a girl has a coming out, it's a formal recognition she's reached maturity." Susannah sighed looking disappointedly at her son. She was as well hoping that Conrad would accompany Violet if she decided to participate.
"Oh, sorry. I'm sorry. Mature?" Steven laughed looking at his little sister. "Belly?" The girl in question nodded her head. "A-a couple months ago you had a cat funeral. You made us all wear black."
"Shut up, Steven." Belly exclaimed. "I saw you crying in your room."
"Wait, Mochi died?" Jeremiah asked. "Dang. I'm sorry, Bells."
"Don't you guys want to get all dressed up?" Susannah sighed dreamily looking at the girls.
"It's just not Belly's kind of thing." Laurel spoke for her daughter. "She's our feral little alley cat."
"I'll think about it." Belly finally decided.
"She'll think about it." Susannah smirked proudly. "What about you Lettie?"
"It sounds fun Susannah. I'd love to do it." The red head replied.
"Yes! Yes! This is going to be so fun!" The woman cheered racing out of her seat to hug Violet.
Conrad watched his mother and girlfriend with a bittersweet smile. He knew Violet was only saying yes to make his mother happy and he appreciated it. He only wished he wouldn't be expected to go with her as her escort.
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Sorry for not updating in two days.
I got my covid booster shot on Friday and was feeling pretty tired. I wrote about half of this chapter but couldn't finish it.
Then I had my friends graduation party to go to so I didn't really have time to finish it then either.
But here it finally is.
I hope you guys are enjoying this story so far. Feel free to check out my other stories as well.