Chapter 4 #2
“She thanked me at first. Then I think she was angry with me. I never understood her for that. It was as if she thought that I had taken something away from her at the time. Like the limelight or something.” He asked again what she had said.
“She said she wished that I’d never saved her.
That I’d not been fair in saving her life. ”
“I don’t understand that either. Do you suppose someone said something to her, or was she jealous of you?
Neither one of those things works in having you save her life.
” He thought of something. “Did the newspaper blame her for what happened to you? Do you think your parents blamed her and said something to her? That’s all I can think of that would make her feel that way toward you.
You’d think she’d be grateful for what you’d done for her. I’m sure you certainly saved her life.”
“That’s what the doctors told my mom and dad.
That anyone younger wouldn’t have survived the birth, much less whatever else happened to me.
” She looked around the room. “I never thought about what he was doing to me when he was doing it. All I could think about was that I wanted to go home to my own mommy and daddy. I don’t have any siblings.
Had I had any, I might have turned out differently.
I couldn’t talk to my parents at all. They would shut me down as soon as I brought it up.
I think they only wanted me to keep Thatcher because it would remind me daily what I had done.
I don’t think they liked me all that much. ”
“Are you happy that you kept him?” Her smile was enough of an answer for him. “I’m glad you did as well. He might well have grown up in a bad home somewhere. Having you as his mother saved his life, too, I’m betting.”
They’d been sitting on the couch for the past hour and a half.
They talked some more about the kidnapping, but for the most part, they talked about each other.
He’d never enjoyed getting to know someone as much as he did her, and he thought that she was enjoying herself as well.
They laughed a great deal, and she was crying at one point about the day of the kidnapping, but they got to know one another, and that was the most important thing.
He knew at some point she had dozed off.
He didn’t move, allowing her his comfort for now.
As he listened to her slight snore, he found himself falling into a stupor as well.
Just as he was ready to doze off himself, he thought of how comfortable he was and that he was going to sleep the best sleep of his life tonight.
Putting his arm around Olivia, she snuggled deep into his shoulder.
Even as he tried to get himself comfortable, he knew that he wasn’t going to be able to sleep without hurting in the morning.
It was going to be well worth it, he thought.
Laying to his side, he felt her roll with him, and before he could tell what time it was, he was asleep.
Yes, he thought before completely going to sleep, he was going to sleep well tonight, even if he had to be crunched up on the couch with Olivia.
He couldn’t think of a better way to sleep soundly than to have someone laying atop of him while they slept.
~*~
Olivia couldn’t believe she slept all night with Sidney.
Waking up with her head on his chest was the best thing ever, and she didn’t have any nightmares either.
he didn’t say anything to her about how she’d been all over him, and she thought that was nice.
When she said she wished she had something else to put on, he told her about the magic that she had, where she could change her clothing out for anything she wanted.
It was the second-best thing he’d done for her.
The first being able to talk to Thatcher.
Being able to speak to her son even when he wasn’t in the room with her was a perk she never thought of having.
Daily, she told him that she loved him. She could sign it to him, but knowing that she could actually say the words to him made her feel so much better.
He did the same, telling her at least twice a day that he simply loved her.
Today was her day off, and she was going to spend it getting the house in order.
Sidney said that they could move into the new house anytime she wanted, and she was looking forward to that, but she didn’t want to pack up a dirty home to take it to the new one.
She was going to save some of her furniture, but not a lot of it.
The house was already furnished, and she loved it almost as well as if she’d picked it out herself.
She’d gotten herself a faerie just this afternoon. He had introduced himself as Boom. She loved the little man and was glad that he was with her. He explained in more detail about how she was going to be getting a dragon on her body once they bonded. She had to have him explain that to her as well.
Olivia didn’t know how she felt about having sex with Sidney, but she’d take it one step at a time.
She wasn’t as afraid of him as she thought she’d be, and that was a good thing.
If they were going to spend the rest of their lives together, she needed to get used to him being around all the time.
Sex was just the next step, she thought.
She’d had sex since she’d had Thatcher. It wasn’t all that good, but she blamed that on herself rather than the man.
She never looked for a bed partner unless she’d been on a date with them several times, but still, it wasn’t all that mind-blowing.
Olivia hoped that it would be different with Sidney and that he was kinder to her if she couldn’t make it work.
She thought that she was afraid of sex, no reason to think why that would be, but she didn’t want to be one of those frigid women who died being afraid of men.
It took her most of the morning to get the laundry sorted and finished up.
Then, for the rest of the day, she decided on what things she was going to keep or give away.
There really wasn’t much that she was going to keep, but there were things, things that Thatcher had gotten her or had made for her that she just couldn’t part with.
As soon as she started on those things, she found herself crying a little, thinking about the time that he’d given them to her.
Olivia hadn’t been able to go back to school after Thatcher had been born.
The school decided that she’d be too much of a distraction, and so she had to have tutors to help her get her education.
By the time she was going to night school while her parents watched her son for her, while she got her electrical degree, she had graduated from high school and was on her way to getting a good job when her parents died.
They both died within days of one another, and she found that she didn’t much care for the way they’d left her.
They’d not even left her anything from the estate because of the fact that they had put so much of their time into helping her raise her son.
She had thought at the time that was all right, but the more she thought about it, the more she was pissed off at them.
They’d been selfish to her, and there was no other way to put it.
She was to have dinner with Sidney again tonight.
They were headed to a restaurant in town for some dinner, and she was looking forward to it.
Thatcher was supposed to join them, but he had a date himself.
She couldn’t believe that her little boy was dating, but she supposed it was something that she had to look forward to.
He was growing up right before her eyes.
She was going to be picked up in an hour, and she found herself looking forward to it.
As soon as she figured out what to wear, she had decided on something summery for the end of the season, she met him at the door.
Her place was nice and cleaned up so she wasn’t ashamed of her place, just the opposite.
She was glad that she’d taken the time to get things squared away so that if he came back with her, she didn’t have to worry about the mess she’d made in the house.
When they were in public, they used sign language.
Sidney was getting better at it, and she was having fun teaching him.
It was much easier to teach him when she could tell him what she was saying to him.
Just as they were being seated, Thatcher called Sidney to let him know that his date was a bust and asked if he could join them.
Of course, he told him yes, and Olivia found herself being slightly annoyed.
She’d wanted Sidney to herself tonight, and now that her boy was with them, she couldn’t ask him some of the questions that she’d had for him.
She supposed that she could; they had their own link, but she was sure she’d be embarrassed if her son had found out what she was asking Sidney. She’d just wait for another day and talk to him. It wasn’t as if they were in a hurry or anything. They had lifetimes of life together.
She’d just found out from Sammy, Melbourne’s wife, that she was an immortal.
Six months ago, if someone had told her that, she might have been pissed off.
But now it was something that she was looking forward to.
Her life was good; she had her health, and she had someone in her life that she could spend the rest of her life with. Not just Sidney but her son as well.
Thatcher would age until he was twenty-five, then he’d age no more. He would then get more magic, he’d be mature enough to handle it, and they’d be one happy family. She was looking forward to that more than anything. The only thing that made her sad was that she couldn’t have Sidney’s children.