Chapter 36
Olivia
Today’s going to be my favorite day with Noah yet, I already know it.
I can feel it. You know when you wake up in the morning, the sun is shining, but it's not too hot or too cold?
Warm enough to leave the window open, because the city is busy but quiet, and it's just perfect today.
You can just tell it's going to be a good day.
And I get to spend it with Noah.
I have been going to Fisher Creek a lot lately with Noah’s rehab, and Penelope officially moving back in with my parents, so it's just easier for me to go there.
Plus being home has been a secret blessing in disguise, I didn’t know I needed.
I had no idea how much I truly missed being a hop, skip, and a jump away from my family, especially Liam and Leo.
Since they’ve moved back I have been tasked with emptying my room so they can have it to share.
Really, I think it's so Penelope has the opportunity to have some privacy to herself.
This divorce has been exceptionally hard on her and she was completely blindsided by it.
I still have trouble to this day believing that Jonathon could be such a shitty person and that Pen was going through this alone.
She was the glue holding the family together as children.
Mom and Dad were both incredibly busy with work, and providing for a family of six that we relied on Penelope for lunches, organizing our rides to and from extracurricular activities, planning play dates, and everything in between.
She did what was necessary for the boys and me, and sometimes I can’t help but wonder who did what was necessary for her.
Today is the first date Noah and I have had in Milwaukee and I couldn’t be more excited.
We have been talking about the books we’re reading and recommending books to each other, so I am excited because we are finally doing the bookbinding class at the art center downtown, as well as going to a new Mediterranean restaurant and then I'm going to take him for a walk down by the Milwaukee Riverwalk to get some ice cream as long as the weather continues to cooperate with us.
I woke up extra early today, my internal alarm clock entirely too excited to stay in bed any longer.
I basically skip out to the kitchen for a cup of peach green tea to start the day.
Caroline and Savannah are sitting around the island, looking half asleep with their cups of coffee, not saying a word.
Clearly, they did not wake up on the same side of the bed as me.
“God, you’re chipper this morning” Caroline hisses, putting down her cup and placing both hands on her head as if it’s going to explode.
“Sorry, late night?” I ask apologetically.
“The tequila did most of the talking for her last night,” Savannah chimes in with a devious smirk on her face and Caroline glares at her as if it's all Savannah’s fault she’s hungover.
Mason is out of town for his brother's bachelor party so Caroline and Savannah wanted to go out for a night on the town as well. I decided to stay in to be well-rested and ready for today.
I chuckle, shaking my head at Caroline and get back to making my tea. I try to keep it down the best I can knowing how Caroline is after drinking a vat of tequila.
“Why are you so happy this morning?” Savannah asks, keeping the conversation going quietly so as not to disturb the beast next to her.
“Noah’s coming down today for our day date in Milwaukee and I'm excited to spend time with him in the city. It’s been nice going home every week, but the city is just so special and I want to share that with him,” I ramble without even realizing how fast I'm talking.
“It looks like the perfect spring day to be out.”
“Yeah, we’re meeting at the art center behind the museum, so I'm just going to walk over and enjoy the sunshine. When is Mason coming back? Are you doing anything today?”
“He is jonesing to come home but they still have another night of trouble to get in,” Savannah says, looking a little solemn that he isn’t back yet.
I'm not surprised Mason wants to come home already, he’s almost eight years older than his brother, and the children as we call them are wild and immature, children.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they drag him to the strip club, and are try to jagerbomb everyone.
I know Mason loves his brother but half the time says he’s too old to handle us girls when we go out and we are almost always home before midnight.
We chat for a bit longer before I decide to head back to my room to get ready for the day.
I opt for a mint green corduroy skirt with black tights, booties, and a black long-sleeve bodysuit.
The body suit has a square neckline and accentuates my chest in the best way.
This outfit feels like the perfect choice because I can add a light jacket if it gets a little chilly, which is entirely possible down by the lake.
When I finish curling my hair, I grab my bag and head back through the house to leave.
As I walk into the open kitchen, and living room, space I'm bombarded with whistles and claps from Caroline and Savannah, who are clearly in favor of my outfit.
I laugh and continue to the door.
“Go get 'em, girl,” Savannah calls.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Caroline replies.
“Oh good, there’s nothing I can’t do today then,” I joke back.
Caroline’s is the type of person who says she’ll try anything once but even if she doesn’t enjoy it, she’ll try it again simply on the grounds that she may like it the second time.
“We will see you guys tonight” I yell as I walk through the door and close it behind me.
The art center is three blocks from our house so it's a quick walk over. I arrive with about ten minutes to spare, so I try to sign in but they aren’t letting anyone in until five minutes before.
It's a little weird that Noah hasn’t arrived yet and that I haven’t heard from him. But there are two Buck playoff games this weekend so traffic is definitely heavier.
Me: Hey, I'm out front! Can’t wait to see you.
I shoot Noah a text, hoping he sees it.
Two minutes pass, and I’ve been checking for a reply, but there’s nothing.
Me: Are you close? They are starting to sign people in.
I want to go in to get a good spot and pick the best book to re-bind. But I also don’t want to go in and be separated from Noah.
Every second that passes where I don’t hear back from him feels like an eternity. I decide to call him in case he is driving. After four rings it goes to voicemail, so I decide to leave a message.
“Noah, where are you? They are letting people into the class.”
“Miss, it's time to go inside. They are about to start.” The nice older lady taps me on the shoulder to make sure I know it’s about to start.
“I'm just waiting for my friend,” I reply.
“I know, honey, they just don’t let people in after the class starts,” she replies.
I dial him one more time. This time it doesn’t even ring and goes straight to voicemail. My heart breaks a little but I don’t leave another message. I'm a lot of things, but desperate and reliant is not one of them.
“I guess he’s not coming,” I turn to say to the lady, who looks at me with very sad eyes.
“I'm ready, can you show me where the class is?” I finish.
I head into the class, create a beautiful, custom binding for one of my favorite books, and decide one thing for sure: I will never let Noah Kneland play with my heart ever again.
He broke me once shame on him. But to let him in again, shame on me.
I will never make that mistake again.