on the other side

Roger just wasn't going to question it. He wasn't. He knew he'd get it enough once Ellie got home. She'd ask him, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, ROGER?"

Well, he wanted to tell her he was enjoying himself. Finally. Although, that felt a little selfish to admit. It wasn't exactly like that with Olivia. It was what it was. And he was glad he hadn't missed out on it. He guessed he had a lot of catching up to do.

After they showered they found the pancake mix and all the fixings for a delicious breakfast. Which he had to admit was as much fun making as it was eating.

"Call me old fashion, but nobody does it better than Aunt Jemima," Roger smirked when he handed over the syrup to Olivia. "Her pancake mix alone is the best of all pancake mixes." No need to do anything original. And the bacon was extra crispy too. So they ate pancakes and washed it all down with glasses of milk. It was the best. This was the best. They'd made love twice, once in the dark then in the daylight. See, it could happen anytime, he told himself. Anytime. It was as if he'd caught the moment and ran with it, and it only seemed to be picking up the momentum, and then Olivia's cell rang. Everything suddenly came to an end.

Roger took the dishes in the kitchen while Olivia went to the livingroom with her cell. She was in his sweat pants and black tank. He liked her in his clothes. They could lounge around all day. He expected too. He'd call in sick. It would be so cozy and.....



Roger came into to the livingroom to find Olivia crying.

"What happened?"

"My aunt hates me," Olivia managed to say. "She's so mad. She's so angry at me. She says I can't live there anymore." Olivia squinted more tears.

"What? Is she crazy?" Roger winced.

"She even used the F word." Olivia blubbered. "I didn't even think she knew that word."

Roger put his arm around Olivia.

"It'll be OK. You can stay here." He could live with that, couldn't he? He'd been wanting that actually.

"I'll have to get my stuff. I want my laptop." She cried more.

He knew she loved her laptop. It was important to her. All of her writing was on it.

"We'll get it and the rest of your stuff too."

"What's my Dad going to think?" She looked at Roger.

"Let him think what ever he wants," Roger shrugged. "It'll be fine. It will. And you can't let him or your Aunt or anyone else make you feel bad about this. Because one day, they'll wish they hadn't made such a big deal out of it."

Only he really hadn't planned on any of this. He really wished Lon was home. Roger could definitely use his help right now.