in the middle of something

Lon gave Roger and Olivia a big yawn. He leaned against Roger's car with his arms crossed.

"Now what am I exactly suppose to do?" He winced. This was the last thing he needed. After all, he almost ran over a football player last night. He was beginning to think Olivia had a wild streak. Lon didn't want trouble. He couldn't help but yawn again.

"I need you as a buffer." Roger told him.

"A what?" Still didn't quite get it.

"We're getting Olivia's stuff. She's moving in with me." Roger said with Olivia hanging on to his arm in front of her Aunt's big pink Victorian style house with the wrap around porch. The place where Lon was instructed to drive them.

"You?" Now Lon was stunned. "Just like that?" Lon looked across the driveway at her Aunt's house where Olivia's clothes (he guessed) were tossed about the yard. "Wow." Somebody was pretty mad. He started gathering up clothes then.

"She has my laptop." She looked at Lon as if he'd have to get that too.

"Oh? You think she'd give it to me?" He didn't know what in the hell he was suppose to say to persuade her Aunt to give him the laptop.

"You could tell her I'd never forgive her if she loses any of my files." Olivia informed him.

"Oh, boy." He really wanted to say something bitter, but he didn't. He handed the clothes over to Roger. "Well, get her stuff picked up. I'll see what I can do." He strolled over to the porch keeping his hands in his jeans. He felt rather under-dressed for the occasion. After all, he was in a white wife beater.

He tapped on the screen door.

"Excuse me, can I, uh, bother you for a minute or two." He waited. Finally the old woman came to the door. Her hair was shockingly white, and she looked mad as hell.

"I see we have a problem here." Lon grinned as if they could find some solution.

"She doesn't care what she puts me through." Her head wobbled slightly.

"Oh, Olivia, I'm sure she didn't mean it. Really, she's a sweet girl." He tried his kindest voice. "She wouldn't hurt no one." Lon nodded.

"I can't take it no more." She closed her eyes, and he supposed this really was a burden to the woman. Perhaps the elderly lady had been a burden to Olivia, as well.

"How about, we check up on you from time to time. And I'll make sure Olivia won't be any trouble. I bet she'll be keeping us in line." Before he knew it she was taking him around to the back yard where her vegetable garden grew.

"I gotta mess of squash. Would you like some?"

"I love squash." Lon told her. He went in and picked an arm load full and took it into the house for her. Of course, Olivia and Roger were nowhere in sight. A few minutes later he was taking a sack of squash to the car. He promised he'd be back tomorrow to take care of the green beans and the peas for her. Maybe the cucumbers would be ready by the end of the week.

"So did you find what you came for?" Lon looked at Olivia who was in the backseat with Roger. She was holding on to her her black laptop.

Olivia nodded.

Lon started the car to chauffeur them home. "I told her we'd be back to help with the cucumbers at the end of the week. She says she'll have a roast in the crock pot, waiting for us."