Adult-FanFiction.org : Cartoons

Reeling in the Years	By : Flagg1991 Category: +G through L > The Loud House Views: 5080 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own The Loud House or its characters and I am not profiting from this story in any way.

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
10:00am
Luan Loud was a woman adrift.
Okay, maybe that wasn't the best analogy, but some days it felt like it. In high school, she labored under the impression that she would become a nurse or a teacher. She liked the idea of both equally, and as graduation approached, she realized that she couldn't decide. One the one hand, helping sick people sounded great, on the other...so did teaching little children. She leaned more heavily toward teacher because as a teacher, she could help mold and shape the minds of tomorrow, instilling them with positive values, like tolerance and compassion, two traits that the human race really seemed to struggle with. Her own teachers were cold and authoritarian: They weren't there to help or nurture you, they were there to drill things into your head. Fractions, grammar, the Revolution – all were important, but without a solid humanist foundation, what did they really matter? She'd rather someone who was dumb and kind (like Leni) than someone who knew everything but was evil (like the Nazis...apparently a lot of them had very high I.Q.s).
When she graduated in June, she decided to take a break from academics for a while and do a little soul searching. By the end of the summer, she was sure that she would rather be a teacher than a nurse, but she didn't even know if she wanted to be a teacher anymore. In May, she watched on TV as Civil Rights activists bussed into the South on what were called "Freedom Rides" and were mobbed by segregationists, some beaten, others thrown in jail on trumped up charges of 'disturbing the peace' even though all they did was have the nerve to step off a Greyhound. She thought she might like to do something in Civil Rights, but she didn't know what. She knew there were Civil Rights lawyers, but she didn't think she would like being a lawyer.
She didn't know what she wanted to do, but she felt like time was running out: It was almost the end of December, and enrollment for Royal Woods Community College's spring semester was starting soon.
When she woke up on the morning of the 18th, these thoughts swirled through her head. Downstairs, Mom was sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of coffee and her copy of Look on the table before her. She glanced up and smiled. "Morning, dear."
"Good morning, Mom," she said. She went over to the coffee pot, grabbed a mug from the cabinet, and poured some in. She sat across from her mother and took a sip. "I was thinking," she said.
"Well, that's dangerous," Mom quipped.
"I'm pretty sure I'm going to enroll this spring."
Mom looked up. "That's wonderful, dear. For teaching?"
Luan hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. I don't know if that's really want I want to do, but I have to do something, right?" She chuckled nervously.
"That's true," Mom said absently as she flipped a page, "but if it's something you absolutely don't want to do, you shouldn't waste your time." She looked up, and Luan blinked at the gravity in her eyes. "You can't always do exactly what you want in life: Sometimes you have to settle. Never settle for something that you can't get some enjoyment out of. Do you think you could find happiness teaching?"
Mom had never spoken so seriously to her, and for a moment it threw Luan for a loop. "I think so," she said. "I can...I can see myself being happy." She hesitated because even though she thought she could be happy, she didn't want to settle. She wanted to make the most of her life.
"Take some time to think it over," Mom said and took a sip of her coffee. "You're still young, the world is full of possibilities. Once you start down a path, you have to follow it. Just keep that in mind."
Upstairs, she dropped onto her bed and thought over what her mother had said. Once you start down a path, you have to follow it. If she started down the path to teaching, would she really have to stay on it? What if she found her calling late? Couldn't she switch paths? The enormity of the decision ahead of her, and the prospect that she would be locked in once she chose, rested on her chest like a ton of rocks, and she found it hard to breathe. She looked at Luna's bed; it was empty, and the bedclothes were tangled. She was out with her boyfriend, and here Luan was, needing her: Luna always gave the best advice, and had since they were children.
What would Luna say if she were here right now? Probably something like follow your heart. The problem was, Luan didn't know where her heart was. She ran through the list of things she was sufficiently interested in: Teaching, nursing, politics, Civil Rights...that was pretty much it.
Sigh. Not a very crowded field, which left her with few options right out of the gate. If she were to put them in list form from the one that most interested her to the least, it would be: Civil Rights, teaching, politics, and nursing. At least that was the order at the moment, politics and nursing could switch spots at any moment and switch back again later on.
Her mind whirled, and she needed a distraction. She hadn't said good morning to the baby yet, so she got up and did that now, pausing in Leni and Lori's doorway. Leni sat at her vanity, her hands a blur of movement as she knitted, and Lori lay on her side in her bed, a book in her hands. It never failed to amaze Luan how big Lori's stomach had gotten. She had gained a little weight everywhere else, but her stomach was huge compared to the rest of her. It was like she had a beach ball under her shirt.
"Hey," Luan said.
Lori glanced up. "Hey, what's up?"
"Oh, nothing," Luan grinned, "I just wanted to say good morning to my niece."
Lori rolled her eyes. Like Linc, she thought it was going to be a girl. Call it a feeling. Or auntie's intuition. Luan crossed the room and knelt next to the bed. Lori pressed a finger to her stomach. "Its little foot is right here."
Luan poked, and she felt the baby's heel as clearly as if it was lying on the bed in front of her. "That's so weird," Luan said through a smile.
"Imagine how it feels for me," Lori said. "Sometimes when it moves I feel like I'm going to fall over."
The baby's heel disappeared, then reappeared elsewhere, pushing through Lori's dress like an alien. Lori moaned and Luan smiled. She was really excited to meet her little niece and play with her and all that fun stuff, but she didn't think she wanted a baby of her own. She might adopt, but after watching Lori for the past nine months, uh-uh, no way.
Not me.
11:00am
Rita Loud sat on the couch in front of the TV, a knit blanket Leni made her for her birthday thrown over her lap. She wore a long-sleeved pink house coat with a stripe down the middle. Another knit blanket, this one a Christmas gift, was thrown over her shoulders. Still, she was cold.
Though she had lived her entire life in Michigan, Rita had somehow never gotten used to winter: From November to April, she was a block of ice, and only left the house when absolutely necessary: She had groceries delivered, forwent her monthly trip to the hairdressers, and developed a nasty cold whenever one of the kid's teachers wanted to meet...unless it was important, of course. She was there for all of their events, though, such as Lynn's games. Why football season had to be in fall and winter was beyond her, but it was and it was what Lynn liked to do, so she came and supported him, even if she froze the entire time and had no idea what was happening on the field. She loved her children, after all.
On TV, a placard featuring a camera labeled NBC appeared below the words NBC TELEVISION PRESENTS. The screen changed to four people sitting behind a counter, three men and a woman. "Today," the announcer said, "these four people need to compete for the prizes of a lifetime on..."
Orchestra music struck up, and two large price tags bearing the words THE PRICE IS RIGHT between them cut in.
Ah, it was eleven then. Where was Lincoln? He and Lynn should have been here by now. She was excited to see Lynn. She saw him at Thanksgiving, yes, but that simply wasn't enough. He was her son, and seeing him only once in a while was difficult, though she would never say because children grow and move on. That's what happens in life. When she told Luan earlier that one has to do things in life that they might not want to, the first thing that came to her own mind was like letting your children go. First Lynn, now Lori...it was upsetting.
She was already planning on asking Lori to stay until the baby was a little older; understandably, Lori wanted to make home with Bobby, and Rita was fully prepared to be turned down. It was a sad prospect, but one made more bearable by the fact that at least she would get a grandchild out of the deal.
A smile touched her lips. She looked forward to meeting him or her very much. She was hurt, however, that Lori was being dishonest: She was not stupid, and as soon as her daughter and son-in-law broke the news that they were expecting, she knew that it had happened before they were married...which explained why did they it so quickly. She was proud of them both for doing the right thing, but she was disappointed...with herself or with Lori she couldn't say. She had always tried to be a progressive parent, and she would have thought that her children would feel comfortable enough coming to her with something like that, but perhaps she had failed in that regard. She understood Lori's hesitancy...she also understood that things happen when you're young and in love. She and Lynn did things before they were married...they never went quite that far, but farther than they probably should have.
She wondered, not for the first time, if Luna or Lincoln were...active. Lincoln had been with Ronnie Anne since he was eleven, and they were just the cutest thing, very obviously in love, or as in love as you can be when you're fifteen. She wouldn't be surprised if were, though she hoped not. Luna was a grown woman, so that was somewhat different: She and Alvin seemed to like each other very much, and there were times, Rita knew, that she didn't come home at night. Rita had no place to interfere in her life, but she had given her a talking to after she told her about Alvin.
Waiting for marriage, she told her, is the moral thing to do, but it is also practical. When a man marries you, it means that he loves you and is serious about being with you...otherwise, he might not be serious, and if you get pregnant, he might not stay.
Luna simply rolled her eyes. I'm nineteen, Mom, I think I get that.
Rita sighed. That's what they all said. When you're nineteen, you know everything and no one – no one – can tell you anything. She knew well, because she was the same way when she was young.
On TV, Bob Cullen chatted with one of the contestants and laughed at something he said. Where was Lincoln? She was starting to worry. He was a cautious driver – as he was a cautious boy – but accident happen.
She drew the blanket tight around her chest and clutched it. Damn this cold. She was trying to talk Lynn into moving to Florida when he retired. He wasn't too keen on the idea, but she had eighteen more years to work on him. Eighteen long, cold, wintery years.
The Price is Right was just ending when the front door opened and Lynn came in. Rita's heart jumped for joy and a big smile spread across her face.
"Hey, Mom!"
"Hi, honey." She threw the blankets off and got up as he sat his bag down. He came over and hugged her tightly. She hugged him back. Poor thing got very homesick sometimes; he was too proud to admit it, but he cried: Sometimes she could hear the tears in his voice and it made her miserable. "I missed you," she said and ran her fingers through his hair. Over his shoulder, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne came in.
"I missed you too, Mom," he said. "Where's everyone else?"
"Luna's out and the others are upstairs, I think."
"Lincoln said Lori's even bigger than she was at Thanksgiving," Lynn said, a mischievous light in his eyes, "I wanna see."
"Go say hi," Rita said and touched his face; it always shocked her when she looked at him and saw a man and not the little boy he once was. "They missed you too."
Lynn went upstairs and Rita shivered. "Lincoln, close the door, please."
"Sorry, Mom," he said, and shut the door behind him. He nodded toward the sofa, and he and Ronnie Anne came over as Rita sat and pulled the blankets back on. Concentration was in full swing; it was one of the few game shows Rita didn't care for. If she wasn't so cold she would vacuum or something.
"How was the drive?" she asked.
"Fine," Lincoln said. His elbow was propped on the arm of the couch and his other arm was draped across the back. Ronnie Anne sat with her hands on her knees and looked uncomfortable. The girl's coyness around her perplexed Rita, but she couldn't help finding it cute.
"You drove the speed limit?"
He rolled his eyes. "No, Mom, I did 300 miles per hour and broke the sound barrier."
"Don't be smart," Rita said sharply.
"Sorry," he said. "Yes, I drove the speed limit."
"Just making sure," she said. She almost commented on the stench of cigarettes, but she and Lynn had given up on that front. There were worse things he could be doing. "Did you have a nice time, Ronnie Anne?"
"Yes, ma'am."
From upstairs, Leni cried out. "Oh, hi, Lynn!"
A few seconds later, Rita heard Lori: "I am not bigger!"
- 17
- 18
- 19
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Reeling in the Years