16. Olivia #2
The food came out, one course at a time.
They started with a fresh salad flavored with beets, goat cheese, and a summery vinaigrette.
Next came pasta with a fresh bell pepper pesto, and finally grilled fish with asparagus.
Just when Olivia thought the meal was over, a chocolate ganache layer cake topped with fresh strawberries arrived at the table.
As they ate, the shoreline of New York rolled by. Olivia watched, awed, as parks gave way to skyscrapers, which in turn gave way to bridges and roads.
“How long have you lived in New York?” she asked, tearing her gaze away from the view.
“Let’s see… more than ten years now. I moved here right after college.”
“So, I guess you’ve seen all this stuff,” Olivia mused as they floated past a waterside park where pedestrians were walking and kids were swinging beneath leafy trees.
“I’ve seen some of it,” Leo smiled. “But this was my first helicopter tour.”
“Really?”
“Is that so hard to believe?” He smiled. “I usually use the helicopter for commuting, actually.”
“No way.”
“Yes. If I have to get to a meeting on the other side of New York in a hurry, or if I have to go to a nearby city, I go by helicopter. If I have to travel further, I fly. Driving would just take too long, especially with traffic.”
“That’s what you meant when you said you don’t rely on public transportation,” Olivia laughed as she lifted her drink. “You fly.”
“Not always… but often enough.”
Olivia shook her head. “You really are rich, Leo.”
A shadow crossed Leo’s handsome features, and he grasped his glass a little more tightly. Olivia wondered if she’d misspoken — was there something to the story of Leo’s wealth that she didn’t know? But the shadow passed as quickly as it had come, and he smiled again.
“I suppose,” he said. “Do you ever wish you were rich?”
Olivia laughed, then realized Leo wasn’t joking.
“You’re serious? Well, sure. Who hasn’t dreamed of winning the lottery or waking up one morning to a huge inheritance from an estranged uncle or something like that?
I’d love to be rich as much as the next person.
But if I really wanted a lot of money, I would have studied business or computer science or something, not photography.
Or I’d at least have stuck with wedding photography, even though I didn’t love it.
I guess there are a lot of things that matter to me more than money. ”
Leo nodded slowly. “I understand that.”
Again, Olivia wasn’t sure he did. Did a rich man who’d come from rich parents and started a company that made him even richer really value anything more than money? But Olivia wasn’t about to ask — even though Leo had asked her a similar question.
They chatted a little more about simpler topics, and soon the yacht was pulling into another dock. They disembarked, thanking the staff as they went, and Leo gestured for Olivia to follow him.
“It isn’t far to our next stop.”
“Which is, let me guess, also top secret.”
“Certainly. The good news is…” He glanced at his watch. “We’re right on time.”
“For…”
“You know I’m not going to say.”
They walked for about fifteen minutes, passing shops that sold counterfeit handbags and very real car parts, before they made a turn — and Olivia’s jaw dropped.
“Times Square!” she gasped.
“You said you wanted to visit. I never come here, but anything for my wife.”
“Thank you.” She beamed at him. “Now, will you take my picture?”
“With what?”
“Everything.”
“Such a tourist,” Leo said, shaking his head, but he was smiling, too. And he obediently took her picture in front of the enormous billboards, the famous red staircase, and the crowds. At her request, he even paid to take her photo with a man dressed up like a dinosaur.
“Now, I hate to hurry you, but we don’t want to be late to our next event,” Leo said.
“Okay, okay.” Olivia took one last look around at the bustling tourists, the huge advertisement for soda, and the ball that drops on New Year’s Eve. Then she followed Leo.
The next event was an afternoon show on Broadway.
Olivia almost couldn’t believe it when Leo pointed out the awning — it was a famous musical that she’d heard was almost impossible to get tickets for.
And Leo had seats for them in a prime box.
The show was just as good as Olivia had heard, and she even hummed along to a few of the songs, making Leo smile in the darkness beside her.
After the musical ended, they stepped back onto the street. Once again, Leo checked his watch, and this time, he held up his hand to flag down a cab.
“No helicopter this time?” Olivia shook her head. “How disappointing.” She smiled to show that she was kidding, and Leo smiled back.
“I have to save the helicopters,” he replied. “Otherwise they won’t be special.”
“Sure, sure.” It was hard to believe that a ride in a helicopter could ever be anything but special.
A cab pulled up in front of them. Olivia got in first and scooted over to make room for Leo, who got in and told the driver an address. They took off, sitting side by side in the back seat, their legs brushing at the knee. Olivia glanced at Leo.
“Are you enjoying your day so far?” he asked.
“It’s amazing,” Olivia replied. “Truly amazing. I would never have dreamed that my first trip to New York City would be like this.”
“Good,” Leo said. “I’ve had a nice day, too.”
“Good,” Olivia repeated. “And if you ever come to Seattle — or Coeur d’Alene — I promise I’ll return the favor.”
“Coeur d’Alene?” Leo asked. “Is that where you’re from in Idaho?”
“Hmm.”
“Is it nice?”
“It’s not bad,” Olivia said. She smiled at Leo.
“No, that isn’t true. It’s a beautiful town.
It has a big, beautiful lake, and it’s near lots of open farmland.
The people are lovely. But it’s not very big, and it’s kind of isolated, because it’s up in the north.
That’s why I wanted to go somewhere else and figure life out for myself. ”
“What was it like when you first moved to Seattle?”
“It was exciting. And scary. I drove there by myself in my car, which wasn’t in great shape, and I was kind of worried it would break down.” Olivia laughed softly. “Now, I usually fly. Do you go back to visit LA often?”
“Not really.” Leo glanced at her. “It was a nice place to grow up, and I do miss my parents, but my whole life is in New York now.”
“Does your brother live here, too?”
That shadow came back. “He…”
But before Leo could answer, the cab slowed and came to a stop.
“We’re here,” the driver said. Leo paid him, and they got out.
“This is our last stop of the day,” Leo said. “But it’s my favorite. Ready?”
“Ready,” Olivia said. And she was — though she couldn’t help wondering what Leo had been about to say about his brother. Something in the back of her mind, perhaps a memory from their night in Vegas, told her it was important, though she couldn’t place exactly why.
Or maybe everything about Leo just seemed important.
Olivia was starting to see why she’d married him.
She hadn’t clicked like this with anyone in…
years. Maybe ever. She was interested in every tiny detail about him, from his relationship with his brother, his childhood memories, to whether he liked pickles on his hamburgers.
And she wanted to tell him things, too, because he really seemed to listen.
Unlike too many of the guys she’d dated before, he didn’t seem like he was just waiting for an opportunity to lecture her or fill the conversation with his own opinions.
Olivia was here in New York to get divorced. And she would get divorced. Even if a small part of her was beginning to worry that her life would be emptier when Leo left it.