Atria (Chapter 11)

Olivia drove home and unpacked the shopping, as she unpacked, she looked around, she rarely got time to appreciate exactly how nice her house was. She and Natasha had bought it together. It was a white house with black railings on the balcony and black window frames. There were five bedrooms and two bathrooms, a study, an outdoor entertaining area, a pool and deck and rumpus room. The kitchen itself was all in black and white and a food lovers dream. There was double the bench space then that of the average kitchen and triple the storage space and Olivia loved it. After she unpacked the shopping, she went to her parent’s house to pick up Christine, who to Olivia’s delight was fast asleep. She drove home and put Christine to bed. She washed her face and then cooked herself lunch and sat down on the lounge room to watch Opera. After Opera, she woke Christine and put her in her car seat, then jumped in the car and went to pick up the two oldest kids from school. She arrived just as the second graders started filtering out of the classroom, looking for their parents. “MUMMY” yelled Caleb from the other side of the courtyard. “Hey honey,” said Olivia as Caleb came tearing across the courtyard with his soccer ball under one arm. He wrapped himself around her legs and then reached up for a cuddle. Olivia bent down and hugged her son. Caleb peered around Olivia’s waist. “MOOMIE” he yelled, tearing off again in the direction of the front gate. “Caleb” Olivia called after him “Moomie is still at work!” Moomie is what the kids called Natasha, as you can probably imagine, having three kids call “Mummy!” at once when there are two mummy’s in the house can get a little confusing so after Caleb was born, Natasha decided that she would be the “Moomie.” “Caleb” Olivia called again, louder this time “Moomie is at work sweetheart” She started to run after him, and nearly ploughed somebody into the ground. She hastened to stand up. “Sorry” Olivia said, avoiding eye contact. “That’s alright stranger” the woman replied, Olivia snapped her head up, “Tash” she said loudly, “shouldn’t you be at work” “Where’s ya badge... Officer” Tash replied, putting her arms around Olivia’s neck. “Not here Tash” Olivia said softly, “I don’t want us to affect the way that other kids treat Caleb.” “Meh” Tash replied removing her hands “The field trip got back early so I pissed off, Now, where’s ma girl.” She spun around, walked three paces back towards the car, put her hand on the top of the door and swung around into the back seat. “Raaa” she yelled as she landed on her backside next to Christine. “Christine screamed and then giggled” “MOOMIE” she yelled, throwing her arms around Natasha’s neck. “Hey gorgeous” she said, kissing Christine on the cheek. Olivia walked up to the car carrying Caleb’s bag. She smiled at Natasha and then tossed Caleb’s school bag in the backseat before walking off towards the kindergarten to pick up Alicia. Natasha ensured that the kids were strapped in properly before leaping though the driver’s side door to imply to Olivia that she was driving. After a few minutes, Olivia returned carrying Alicia in one arm and her green and purple “Barney the dinosaur” bag in the other. She noticed Natasha braced in the drivers seat and laughed. She strapped Alicia into her seat and walked over to the driver’s side of the car, opening the door with a flourish. “Back of” said Natasha growling like some kind of rabid animal. Olivia laughed again and jingled the keys in her face. Natasha looked shocked for a second and then redeemed herself. She grabbed for the keys, but Olivia’s soccer reflexes were too good and she missed by a mile. Natasha looked up at her with puppy eyes and Olivia smiled, tossed the keys in her lap and stage dived through the driver’s side door and into the passenger’s side. Olivia was still clipping in her seatbelt when Natasha started the car. The V8 power really showed. She tore out of the car park and slowed down only when the first speed sign became visible. The kids giggled and squealed from the backseat the whole way back to the house. When they arrived home, Natasha and the kids went out the back for a swim. Olivia started dinner. She wasn’t much of a swimmer not at that time of the year anyway, she didn’t like the cold. She stood in the kitchen; chopping vegetables for a chicken stir fry, watching Natasha and the kids playing in the pool. She was comfortable, happy, and in love.
The next day, Olivia dropped the kids off at school and Christine off at her parents house. She received a call on her mobile from Gary telling her that there was a rehearsal at ten o- clock that day so she was on her way to the hall to get ready for the rehearsal. The traffic was terrible, she stopped at the traffic lights and looked around, the road was grid locked back a couple of kilometers or so. The lights turned green and she drove through the intersection, she heard a loud crash, and it all went black.
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