August 7th, 2022 (Olivia's Perspective)
"Leia," I took off my sunglasses and got on my knee.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm scared."
"Scared of what?"
"What if the plane drops from the sky and we all die?"
"Oh sweetheart, that won't happen. I promise you." We were at our gate and we were boarding in an hour. My daughter nodded and showed me her arm.
"That's a pretty tattoo. Where did you get it from?"
"Brianna. And, when I was at her house we played in her pool and her hot tub."
"That sounds like so much fun!"
"And you know what?"
"What?"
"We played hide and seek, and I found her every round. Isn't that funny?"
"It is."
"I thought that because it's her house she would know where to hide, but she didn't." She giggled and I gave her a kiss.
"I would've thought that too, that was pretty silly."
"Olivia, do you have my water?"
"Yes, it's in my bag."
"Eli, can you join my game?"
"What game?" Bella showed him the phone and giggled.
"Dad, is Kathleen meeting us in Ireland?"
"That's what she said." The kids were visibly excited and Elliot and I laughed.
"Daddy, what are we gonna do when we land?"
"We're going to check in at the hotel and get a little bit of rest."
"Sounds pretty cool."
*************
Dublin, Ireland (Bella's Perspective)
We touched down in Ireland and it was really pretty. It was raining, but that doesn't take away from the beauty of the city. I was quite excited to be here, and my step-sister Kathleen was coming soon too.
therealonez💕:
Jake: Are you in Ireland yet?
Kylie: Yeah did you land?
Me: Yes, I'm here ❤️
Elle: Send a picccc
Hilary: Bella just got there!
I laughed at what my friends were texting me and I stepped out of the car quietly.
"Bella, take these." I took the suitcases and we were all able to make it to the room in one trip! Mom told us the sleeping arrangement and it was okay. I slept with Lei, Noah with Eli. I started putting things into the drawers so that I could really feel settled in.
"Bella?"
"Yeah, Lei."
"It's going to be my birthday in a couple of days."
"That's right. What do you want?" She shrugged and sat on the bed.
"A present."
"What kind of present?"
"I don't know!" She giggled and held her stuffed kitty. Oh, I forgot to mention the setup of the hotel room. Leia and I shared a bed in a separate room off Mom and Dad's- I mean Elliot's bedroom. There was basically three rooms and a kitchen with a mini living room.
"Girls?"
"Yes, Mom!"
"Don't ever lock this door, by the way."
"Got it." So, no privacy? That's horrible.
"Bella, are you going to call Kylie and Jakey?" She asked cutely.
"Not right now."
"I wanna talk to them later. Can we?"
"Mhm."
"Mommy, what's for lunch?" She asked.
"We're going to go to a restaurant in a bit. After we settle in a bit. It's 5pm over here."
"And we want to get accustomed to the time zone, so we need to go out to eat and go to bed by 9.
"That's so late! You don't let me stay up, ever!" Leia said excitedly.
"What time is it back home?"
"12:38."
"Five hours difference. So Hawaii? Fair."
"Why is the time different over here, Mommy?" Mom explained time zones to Leia and she sort of understood.
"I understand a little bit. But, I thought that it was the same time everywhere. That's cool."
"Eli, did you call your Mother?"
"She didn't answer. She's probably doing something." I sat next to my step-brother and watched as he put his arm around me.
"You okay?" I nodded and looked down at my phone.
Jake: You said you wanted to tell me something?
About that, I've been wanting to tell him about my crush on him, but I haven't been able to do it. I end up deleting the message.
"Who's that?"
"My friend."
Me: I wanted to tell you that, I have a surprise for you.
I wonder how long I'm going to contemplate telling Jake my feelings about him. I have to say something at some point. At some point, I found myself outside again with my family, being driven to a local restaurant. It was slightly wet, but not too wet on this cold night.
"Bella?"
"Yeah?"
"You're being really quiet, is something wrong?"
"No, I'm fine! Just thinking about souvenirs to get Kylie."
"As long as you're good. Look at this, this looks good doesn't it?"
"I think it looks good if you're more of a soup person. I don't mind it though. Mom?"
"Yes?"
"Could we go to England for the day?"
"That's money, darling."
"So then what are we doing tomorrow?"
"Going to some museums, stuff like that." The usual.
************
Dublin Castle (Olivia's Perspective)
After breakfast, we split up. Elliot took Leia and Noah, I had Bella and Eli. We were at Dublin castle, learning about the history of Ireland.
"This is actually pretty cool."
"So every president was inaugurated here? Like when we saw Obama on tv?"
"That's right baby."
"Liv, would you live in Ireland if you had the chance?"
"Permanently or temporarily?"
"Either or."
"I would. But, I would get bored of the weather."
"You might even develop a little accent. It would be worth it." Bella noted. She fixed her dress and looked at the sculptures.
"These look cool." I'm glad to have kids who love learning, it makes these experiences so much more enjoyable.
"Eli, did you see my tiktok?"
"I did. It's on Instagram too. You're blowing up a bit."
"I'm relevant, Mom." I raised an eyebrow and Bella held my hand.
"It's just reposts. Don't worry Mom." The other day, one of my friends, Janice, told me about this mentoring program for teens. She suggested that I apply Bella for it, it would be a great experience for her, I wonder how Bella would feel about that.
"Mom, can we get lunch?"
"What do you want for lunch?"
"Chipotle."
"We travel thousands of miles and you want Chipotle?! This is why Noah and I say you're a little basic.
"No way, Chipotle is just good. Mom, do you think I'm basic?"
"Basic?"
"Basic white girl, you know? It's like people who do the same set of things and think they're unique! I swear I'm not basic! Not even in the slightest. I'm filled with personality."
"You definitely are. Guys, let's start leaving. El wants to meet up for lunch."
***********
August 9th (Noah's Perspective)
"Hey Morgan." She smiled and blew me a kiss.
"What are you guys doing?"
"Nothing. We're getting ready to go to sleep."
"That's cute. Tell me all about your day!"
"No, you go first."
"You're so polite."
"Jaycee and I hung out and got some Starbucks. We also did some shopping. Leia's birthday is tomorrow. We bought her something for when she gets back."
"That's so sweet. She's going to love it."
"It's almost my birthday!" She yelled in the background.
"If you couldn't already tell, she's very excited."
"Can't blame her. She's the baby, and she definitely knows you guys are going to spoil her."
"You're not wrong about that."
"Hi Morgan." Leia sat on my back and pulled on my hair.
"That hurts."
"You're such a baby! It does not even hurt. I'm being gentle." Morgan laughed.
"What are you doing Leia?"
"I'm braiding his hair so it looks really pretty. But, it doesn't look very good. Noah, your hair looks terrible!"
"Leia, can you give me one sec? I just wanna tell Morgan something."
"I'll close the door too!"
"Thank you Lei." She left and I spoke.
"I was thinking about it. When we get back, it's going to be our anniversary."
"You're coming back the 28th. Yeah, that's really close." Our Anniversary was the third, Which was practically back to school season. School started the day after, so I wondered what we could do.
"Anything you do will be cute."
"Thanks, your support means everything."