Chapter 15

                Gussie woke the next morning feeling very productive.  That experimental drug sure did the trick.  Everyone else was still sleeping so he figured this would be the opportune time to experiment with potions.  He had heard rumors from his friends at the science lab that there was a potion that could turn imaginary friends real.  Of course, this was just hearsay, but he wanted to at least try for Turner’s sake.

                He discovered three potions very quickly, but they were mostly good for practical jokes and sleep aids.  Eventually Gussie had to quit because he heard stirring in the other room.  He crept to the kitchen, and made a phone call to the local travel agent.  Gussie planned to secretly finance a weekend away, and have the travel agent call Elynne and tell her she won a trip for two.  He had to find out how much Elynne knew and how much Turner knew.

                Elynne was so excited to go on a trip, but Turner saw right through the whole situation.  Luckily, their school was planning a field trip today.  Turner needed the distraction.

                On their way to the Corsican Bistro, Turner told his friend Carl everything.  The whole time, Carl fidgeted and looked out the window, and finally he stopped Turner.

                “I’m not the right one to talk to about this, man.” Carl shrugged, “Hailey is a fine woman, and when I’m old enough, I’ll tell you all about it.”

                Turner’s eyes widened and Carl nodded.

                Olive had been banished to the back of the bus.  Turner had told her that he had something important to talk to Carl about, but from her vantage point, she couldn’t hear anything.  She would have to ask Turner later if he said anything about her… he was so cute!

                

                Turner noticed Olive watching them and whispered to Carl.  “Dude, my sister has the biggest crush on you.  I can’t believe I’m saying this, but wouldn’t you rather be with someone your own age?”

                Carl shook his head. “Dude, there are things that you don’t know about.  Trust me.  When you get yourself an older woman, you’ll know what I’m talking about.”

                Turner shook his head in disbelief, but the conversation would have to be over.  They had just pulled up to the Corsican Bistro, and the bus driver was yelling at them to get off the bus.

                The second that Turner realized Whittney was with them, he dashed for the entrance of the Corsican Bistro.  Had she been on the bus when he and Olive had gotten on?  Olive had wanted to talk to her brother about Carl, but he had left her high and dry.  She was too nervous to make small talk with Carl, and Whittney was too popular to want to talk to Olive.

                So she stayed behind Wittney and Carl, but wished she could run ahead too like Turner had.  Carl kept making comments to Whittney that made Olive uncomfortable.  Were they dating?

                After the field trip, Carl had invited Turner over, but Turner declined.  His parents had left the garden in such a disastrous state that Turner had to hurry home and tend to it.  They had just grown a money tree, and it was not going to die on his watch!  They desperately needed every simoleon.

                And of course, Suri was right there to help.  Frustrated, Turner vented to Suri.  Like a good imaginary friend, she listened and spoke in all the right silences.  By the time he finished the garden, Turner felt a lot better.  He hugged Suri tightly.

                “You’re such a good friend.  Thanks.  I think I’m gonna go for a swim.  Keep an eye on Olive for me?”

                Suri sighed and nodded.  She wanted to go with him, but he never took her anywhere.  One of these days he would realize she was in love with him.

                Turner scanned the pristine blue water.  There were plenty of chicks here (none in the pool unfortunately), and he had an athletic skill point.  What was the harm in taking a dip and showing off what he had?

                Eventually, he came across an older woman, and remembered what Carl had told him to say.

                She stared at him for a moment, and furrowed her brow before realizing that he was serious.

                Turner’s ears turned red as she howled with laughter at his attempts to pick her up.  No she was not going home with a teenager.  She had options and he wasn’t one of them.  Turner didn’t like the idea of being with an older woman… Someone had told him the clerk at the consignment store was cute….

                …but she was pregnant.  Turner spun on his heel and ran to the park nearby where he caught some butterflies.  Chicks dig butterflies right?

                Wrong.  All the girls at the park laughed at him.  Turner ran as fast as he could, and pretty soon, he was lost.  There was a nearby headstone, and at the base there was a seed.

                All was not lost.  At least his mother would be pleased.

                Back at home Olive was getting her smustle on, but it was starting to get old.

                When was Turner going to get back?  Pato had told her that Turner had taken off hours ago giving Suri strict orders to watch over her.  Olive laughed.  It wasn’t like Suri could be her voice of reason or anything.  She couldn’t even see Suri.  Eventually Olive got so bored that she decided to head out to the Watering Hole.

                Meanwhile, Turner was still lost, but not alone.  A band of wild horses had congregated near him, and he was in complete awe.

                After a while though, Turner was anxious to get home.  As if reading his thoughts, the dark brown mare reared, and seemed to point out the way for Turner to head.

                “I guess I’ll take your word for it,” Turner smiled, “thank you!”

                The brown mare snorted and nodded.

                Turner ran back home.  He was sure Olive would be worried.

Chapter 14

Sooooooo….” Olive grinned goofily on the busride to school, “don’t you notice anything…. Different about me?”

               Turner rolled his eyes, and smiled at Olive shaking his head. “Well gosh!  My sweet little Ollie is all growed up!” He mimicked her excited girly voice.

              “Shut up!” Olive punched him in the arm and giggled uncontrollably.  “I’m pretty excited about how I look as a teen so don’t you dare ruin it for me!”

“You look great, Ollie.” Turner smiled, “I hear your recital went well.  No more ballet?”

“No more ballet.” Olive shook her head furiously, “I caught an episode of that new show Bunheads, and I do NOT want to end up like Fannie or Michelle.”

Turner laughed.  “I have no idea what to do with you little sis.”

“Yeeeeees!” Olive squealed.  “Hey you never told me how prom went!”

“Oh… well…” Turner looked at his hands, “I’d rather not talk about it.”  He paused for a minute before adding, “oh, and Olive?”

“What’s up, bro?”

“I won’t be on the bus home… I’m riding home with… with… a friend.”

Whittney Thao was an absolutely gorgeous girl.  All the popular guys in Turner’s class had a crush on her, and she had chosen him to dance with at the prom last night.  When Turner had told Suri about her, she had moped and poofed in to toy form.  She didn’t even say goodbye to him this morning when he went to school.

On the way home from school, Turner sat next to Whittney on the bus.  He was so nervous he couldn’t even look at her.

How could she just stare at him like that and smile? It was like she didn’t know the effect she was having on him.  Turner was wrong.  Whittney knew what she was doing.  She nudged him playfully with her shoulder, and he finally felt enough pressure that he had to say something.

“So… uhm… what are we doing when we get to your house?”  Turner stuttered, but he still couldn’t look at her.

Whittney shrugged and looked out the window.  Now that he was paying attention, the game was over.  “Homework?”

Turner nodded, and rode next to her in silence the rest of the way.  He gulped when they turned onto the richest street in all of Appaloosa plains…

“This is me!” Whittney chirped.

Turner had barely said three words to Whittney since they got to her house.  She was rich.  He couldn’t be friends with her.  Whittney would never ever be okay with coming to his house.  It was true that Ivy Thao, Whittney’s mother, was Elynne’s best friend, but teenagers find it a lot harder to see past socioeconomic ranks.  His ears burned and he stared into his assignment even though he hadn’t started it yet.  He glanced quickly to across the table.  Whittney was already done with her assignment.  He had to get out of here.

“You know… I oughtta… I’ll…. I’ll see you at school.” And Turner rushed out the door.  Whittney tried to offer him a ride, but he’d rather die than have her see his home.

Once inside the taxi, Turner let out a deep sigh.  He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath.  He was so ashamed of his family… when he was a boy he had been proud to carry on his family’s legacy, but what legacy was there to carry on?  His family was dirt poor.

Bzzzzz….bzzzzz….bzzzzz

Whittney was calling him, but he didn’t answer.  It was best that they forgot prom ever happened.

When Turner got home he joined Olivia and Pato (Turner couldn’t see Pato so he didn’t believe that he existed) on the sofa.

“Whatcha watching sis?”

“Bunheads.” Olivia sighed

“I thought you hated that show.” Turner grimaced, “I can see why you do… it’s terrible.”

“Butthead!  I’d hit you if Pato weren’t sitting there!” She frowned, “I like the show, I just don’t want to be like the people in the show.”

Turner nodded.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a picture hanging on the wall.

“Is that supposed to be dad?  Did mom paint that?”

Olivia nodded, “she stayed up all night painting it.”

Turner said nothing.  Instead he turned his attention to the television.  He didn’t want to think about his parents and their troubles right now.

The children didn’t know it, but Gussie was in his bedroom having an anxiety attack.  Elynne had calmly mentioned something about Hailey confronting Turner at the Watering Hole.  She didn’t even bat an eye.  He watched her for a moment.  Elynne was sound asleep because she had stayed up all throughout the night painting.  He knew something was up because the only time she painted all night was when she was angry.

Gussie looked at the pill in his hand.  It was a new experimental drug that the hospital wanted him to try out.  He’d been putting it off, but maybe it would make him feel better.  It did.  In a few more minutes, Gussie was able to climb into bed, and fall asleep.

Elynne’s eyes fluttered open.  Gussie must have just come to bed.  She tried to fall asleep again, but she couldn’t so Elynne approached her easel. 

She felt like creating a self-portrait this time, but how was she going to portray herself.  She closed her eyes and let her brushstrokes lead the way.

Chapter 13

Turner lay awake in bed.  He had been unable to sleep after listening to the story Hailey told him.  Was it true?  Did his father really love her?  And had he really cheated?  Turner didn’t even stir when he heard his parents come through the front door.  They were laughing and giggling.  Could you love two people at once?

Tap tap tap!

“Turner, are you awake?” Elynne peered through the doorway at Turner with a big goofy grin on her face.  He stared at his mother before giving her a dirty look.

“MOM!  Haven’t you heard of PRIVACY?!?!” He threw his pillow at the door, and she shut it quickly.  He felt terrible.  Turner wasn’t mad at her, he just couldn’t face her.  He showered and dressed before he looked for her again.

 

Elynne was in the garden crouched over her Cherimola Blan grapes when Turner knelt down to help her.  The two worked in silence until Elynne finally broke the silence.

“Did you have fun while we were away?”

Turner nodded, “I met someone too.”

“Oh?” Elynne stood up and wiped her hands clean on her skirt before turning to face her son.

“Hailey.” Turner said her name.  Just the one word while he stared his mother in the face.  Turner wanted to see her reaction.  Elynne bristled and knelt again to harvest her tomatos.  “She says she knows you, mom.”

“I’m sure she does,” Elynne plucked her tomatos much more fiercely now, and she accidentally bruised one of them in the process.

She knew.  How could she know, and not have left his father?  Turner was furious, but he didn’t want his mother to see.  Without saying anything more to Elynne, Turner rose and headed inside to get ready for school.

Olive had wanted to stay home from school, but Elynne and Gussie insisted that she go.  They knew she had missed them terribly, but they had a lot of sleep to catch up on.  You can’t argue with jet lag.

Olive tried to make conversation with Turner on the bus, but he sat staring out the window with this stoic expression on his face.  She couldn’t even annoy him enough for him to call her ‘Ollie.’  Last night he hadn’t come home until late, and she doubted that he had gotten any sleep.  Olive was worried.

Back at the house, Gussie and Elynne were catching up on some much needed rest completely unaware of what Turner knew.

Tonight was the school dance, and Turner didn’t have a date.  School was torture, and he desperately wanted to ask someone to go with him, but he didn’t have the nerve.  Anyone worth taking already had a date.  All of his friends were headed to the Corsican Bistro, but Turner didn’t have any money or a date so he declined.

He ate veggetarian spaghetti with his parents in silence.  Olive had ballet practice since her recital was tonight.  Turner had even thought about skipping the whole prom to go see her perform, but his friends told him that there was no way they were leaving him out.  If he didn’t show up they were coming to get him.

“Turner,” Elynne smiled, “look out the window.”

Wow!  A white limo!  Turner changed in haste and ran out the door.

He felt absolutely dapper in his formal wear even though the only dress shoes that fit him were his dad’s reject zebra print patent leathers from the ‘80s.

Elynne was overcome with turmoil, and she didn’t let it show until Turner was gone.  What had posessed Hailey to get anywhere near her son.  Yes Hailey had a past with Gussie, but those days were over.  How could she even expect to get her claws on him now?

Her frustration was plenty of fuel for artistic inspiration, but she found herself painting Gussie, so she had to stop.  It was time to go to Olive’s recital anyway.

Olive’s recital had been a hit, and as they waited for their taxi, Elynne looked over her shoulder and gave Olive a knowing smile.  It was Olive’s birthday.

Elynne gasped in surprise.  Olive was a beautiful teenage girl.

The two girls giggled on their way back home.  Olive loved her new dress, and Elynne was pleased with her daughter’s newfound fashion sense.  Surely Olive would make a fantastic heir… Of course, she would have to talk that over with Gussie first.  He had his sights set on Turner.  Elynne had never strayed from their marriage though.  Shouldn’t she get more of a say?

Olive was so hungry after all of the excitement she had experienced today.  She was determined to wait up until Turner got home.  Olive couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when he saw her!  While she scarfed down her autumn salad, Pato crept up behind her.

“Olive!” Pato stuttered, “you look absolutely beautiful!”

Olive grinned appreciatively, but was too hungry to talk.  Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw sparkles.  Wait!  If today was her birthday then it was also Pato’s birthday!

“PATO!” Olive squealed, “why didn’t you say something!”

In an attempt to wait for Turner to get home, Pato and Olive danced in the living room in their pajamas.

But they didn’t quite make it.  Eventually, Olive passed out on the couch, and Pato poofed back into toy form.

Chapter 12

Olive wobbled on the kitchen floor, gently touched the counter with the tips of her fingers for support, and gracefully performed a plié for Pato.  Well, at least she hoped it was graceful.  Pato smiled supportively and clapped, but she could tell she hadn’t performed well.

“keep your rear tucked under and your chest up.  Pretend that your ribs are a birdcage.  If you stick your bottom out too far or you lean too far back, you’ll let it go.  If you slouch, you’ll crush it.” Pato advised matter-of-factly.

Olive just stared at him.  He could be really creepy.

“What do you think my brother’s doing in there, Pato.” Olive gestured towards her brother’s bedroom door.

“Probably trying to invent some miracle potion that will bring Suri to life.”

“He’s so dumb.” Olive rolled her eyes and practiced another plié.

“Better!  Just keep looking forward.  When you look at your feet it throws you off balance!” Pato smiled.

“Do you think he can do it?” Olive asked tentatively.

“I don’t know.”  Pato shrugged his shoulders.  “I know it’s possible, but I don’t know if a chemist of his skill level will be able to do it.”

A clatter in Turner’s room made them both jump.

“We should just… go play tag.” Olive suggested inching her way towards to door.  “I don’t want to be in here when he burns the house down.”

Several hours later, the doorbell rang, and the contractors bustled through the door.

Turner let them in.  The men chuckled at Turner's singed appearance resulting from another failed attempt at discovering the potion that would bring Suri to life.  He clenched his jaw, and closed the door behind them.

After a quick shower, Turner hit the books looking for clues about making Suri real.  It seemed like the older she got, the weirder it was.  The two sat in silence while Turner studied.  He almost just wanted to tell her to go away.

“I’ll leave if you want me to,” Suri whimpered.  It was as if she’d read his mind.

He glanced up for a split second before turning back to his studies.  In frustration, he threw the book down.

“If I wanted you to leave would I be trying this hard?  Would I be spending all my spare time on logic when I really want to play guitar?” Turner yelled. 

Suri just stared at him blankly before returning to her toy form.  That was it.  Turner was done.  After grabbing some money from his mother’s

He was the youngest one in the bar, but he looked old enough to get in without question.  He pulled out the money he had taken from his mother and bought a group serving of onion rings.  The first plate was gone in seconds.  As he wiped the grease from his hands, he took a good look around.

He was having a really great time.  The people watching was spectacular, and the onion rings were delicious.  Turner cocked his head to the side.  Was that woman with glowing eyes staring at him?  He almost said something to her until she disappeared upstairs.

Back at the house, Olive was eating in their newly remodeled kitchen.  She could hear Pato consoling Suri in the other room, but since Suri wasn’t her imaginary friend, Olive had no idea what Suri was saying.  The leftover spaghetti was delicious, but she was lonely.  Olive had no idea where Turner had ran off too, and frankly, she was worried about him especially since Suri seemed so distressed.

Eventually, Pato entered the kitchen and sat opposite Olive.

“So, is Suri okay?” Olive licked the spaghetti sauce off of her fingers.

“She is as good as can be expected,” Pato shrugged.  “She thinks your brother is getting ready to tell her to go away.”

“So?” Olive replied.  She was really annoyed at all of the melodrama lately.

“Olive, you don’t get it.” Pato sighed. “As imaginary friends, our life cycles constantly restart until someone makes us real.  Suri is… in love with your brother.”

Olive stared blankly at Pato.  This was a lot of information to digest.

“So, how many children have you been friends with?”

“Hundreds… Can we go play outside?  I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” Pato stood up and took Olive’s plate to the sink.

“Pato?”

“Yes, Olive?”

“She’s in love with Turner?”

“I’m afraid so.  It’s a terrible thing to happen especially since the odds of an imaginary friend becoming real are pretty close to one in a million.”

Olive grabbed Pato’s hand and dragged him to the seesaw.

The two laughed and giggled until it was too dark to be outside anymore.  When Olive fell asleep, Pato tucked her in before he turned into his toy form.

Meanwhile, at the Watering Hole, Turner confronted the lady with the glowing eyes.  To break the ice, he figured he’d offer her a serving of his onion rings.

“Excuse me, have we met?"

“I don't believe so," Hailey shrugged.

“Well, you can still have the onion rings,” Turner smiled sheepishly, “I don’t need anymore.”

“No thanks,” Hailey waved him off, and started to turn away from him, but then she changed her mind

“You wouldn’t happen be related to Gussie, would you?”

Turner nodded proudly, “that’s my dad!”

“Say, would you like me to buy you a drink?”

Turner nodded, and Hailey led him to the bar.

Chapter 11

On the bus ride to their first day of school, Olive was so nervous she couldn’t relax.  Would everyone like her?  Thanks to her parents, she wound up with the loser trait, and she was so sure everyone would know.

“Get a grip, Ollie” Turner rolled his eyes, but before he could say anything else, Olive had socked him in the shoulder.

“Ol-ive,” she pronounced, “Ollie sounds gross.”

Turner rolled his eyes.  He didn’t really have a lot of friends at school and he was worried his sister would think he was a loser… How was he supposed to be a good big brother if he didn’t have an entourage?

One thing was for sure.  She would be a way bigger loser than he was.

But Turner was wrong.  Suddenly, he had more friends at school.  Everyone was asking about his cute little sister.  Boys that hadn’t ever really been nice to him joked with him like they were old friends.

“Why didn’t you tell me your little sister was cute?!” they all seemed to ask in their own ways.

When Olive tried to sit with Turner at lunch, he just glared at her.  Olive looked at her plate and fidgeted under the table.

“So, how—“ She began timidly.

“Would you just go?  Gosh you’re such a loser.” Turner was hotheaded

Instead of crying like she wanted to do, Olive stood up quietly, looked fixedly at her brother, and walked away.  She ate lunch alone.

 Meanwhile, Gussie had taken an extra day off since he was an elder now.  Elynne and Gussie spent the day giggling and making jokes about how well he had aged.

“I really do like the grey hair,” Elynne purred.

“Oh come on, Elynne” he laughed and pulled her close.

“The kids are in school until this afternoon…” Elynne looked up at Gussie through her lashes, “So…”

“One step ahead of you,” they shared a knowing smile, and headed to the bedroom.

Later that day, Elynne decided that it might be good for Olive to get involved in an after school program.  She had been so nervous.  Maybe ballet would be a good activity for her to make some friends.

Turner worried about Olive when he didn’t see her on the bus that afternoon, but he kept a stern face.  He couldn’t believe all the boys his age thought she was cute.  His sister was gross.

He played with Suri until Olive got home.  She was at the table doing her homework, and Turner slid quietly into the chair across from her.  They worked on their homework together like nothing had even happened at school today.

After dinner, Olive got a surprise.

Pato, the doll she had had since she was a baby, was real!  She had always pretended he was her friend as her toddler, but now he was here!

When she tried to introduce him to Turner, it was instantly obvious that Turner could not see him.

“You’re just trying to be like me so you can fit in.  Suri is real.  Pato is not.” And with that, Turner stomped off to his bedroom.

“Now I know how he felt,” Olive sighed looking at Pato.  Pato shrugged.  “I know, Pato… not much you can do about it.”

Turner slammed the door to his room, and cried once he was sure no one had followed him.  It was his birthday today, and nobody had remembered

…except for Suri.  Oh well.  They’d get a good look at him in the morning.

Except they wouldn’t.

There was a note from their parents saying that they had been lucky enough to win a two day vacation.  It was the weekend, and there was food in the fridge.  They’d be alright.  Turner punched the wall…

Olive came up behind him wide eyed.  “Uh…”

“Shut up!  Shut up!” Turner hissed.

“Newsflash… they’re gone.  They don’t have to know.” Olive rolled her eyes.  “Remember how they’d been talking about remodeling the kitchen?”

Turner nodded.

“Well, they have the money, and they were going to remodel it this weekend, but then the trip came up.” Olive smiled.  Somehow her brother had gotten lucky.

“You’re a genius, Ollie,” Turner messed up her hair and then called the contractor that her parents always used.

“Oh yeah.  Mom and dad bought you a present for your birthday.  It’s in their room, but I can help you move it if you want.”

Suri’s eyes widened.  “Turner, this is exactly what we need!” She jumped up and down ecstatically.

He smiled and hugged her tightly.  Everything was going to be just fine.  Turner worked at the chemist’s station for several hours that night, but the potions he concocted would only be good if he wanted to pull a prank on someone.  He sighed, and eventually gave up when he burned his eyebrows.

He peeked in on Olive before finally turning in for the night.  She was so smart.  He was really going to have to try to be a better big brother.