Chapter 14
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
OLIVE
With the Olympics coming to an end soon, Olive was not surprised that she hadn’t heard from Charlie in a while.
Perhaps their dinner conversation had scared the hockey player away.
In hindsight, Olive hadn’t really meant to ask Charlie about their gender, it had just happened.
She was curious, and she could sense that Blake and Charlie may have had more in common.
Now, walking along the Navigli canals as the sun was setting in the distance, Olive couldn’t resist taking a few photos.
She leaned against the railing, peacefully watching as tourists and locals alike flitted from bar to restaurant to cute little shop.
It was such a contrast to the hustle and bustle of Toronto.
No running to catch the train, rushing to make that dinner reservation on the other side of town.
No loud sirens or indeterminate yelling, just the chatter of a language that Olive didn’t quite understand.
Olive sighed as she mulled her trip over. She was starting to appreciate why her coworkers often talked about how much they loved to travel. She always thought it wasn’t necessary, but now she realized how much she had needed it, deprived of rest for so long.
The other unexpected part of her trip was, of course, meeting Charlie.
Olive had no clue how she felt about the hockey player.
That wasn’t exactly true. She knew exactly how she felt. It was just ridiculous to have that many feelings about someone she had met only a few weeks ago.
It was every sapphic stereotype, and the thought was both delusional and affirming in equal measure.
She knew what Bronwyn would tell her, so she didn’t even bother consulting her sister for advice as she would have normally.
She’d just tell Olive that she should follow her heart, and that she was trying to deprive herself of joy because of some weird deep-seated trauma that told her she was only worthy of something if she worked hard for it.
Love wasn’t supposed to be this easy, this simple.
Charlie was clearly forcing Olive to confront all the things she specifically wanted to avoid thinking about with this trip. Olive was interrupted by her reverie when a ball hit her calf, gently.
She turned around and saw a young boy in one of the small alleys, gesturing towards her. She shook her head but rolled the ball back to the boy, incredulous that it hadn’t hit any other tourists.
“Beautiful, eh?” said someone on Olive’s right. She turned towards the familiar voice, and couldn’t stop her gasp.
It was her ex, with her gorgeous blonde hair and disarming smile that had both intrigued and confused Olive in equal measure.
“What are you doing here?” Olive asked. It was the only thing she could think of to say. Now that the shock of seeing Natalia had worn off, she realized that she didn’t have any other feelings about it. She was just shocked.
That feeling in and of itself alarmed her more than any other thought she had this evening. She didn’t expect to be over her already.
“I’m sorry, Olive. It was stupid of me to break up with you so close to this trip. I saw your posts, and it made me realize what I was missing by not being here with you,” she said. Olive recognized the tone in her voice as genuine, but all that did was shock her further.
Olive knew she should react to Natalia’s words with more enthusiasm but she couldn’t. She could not believe what was happening.
“What happened to not being right for each other?” she asked instead, still confused.
“I was just insecure, I think. I liked you and wasn’t sure how to deal with it,” Natalia said, moving closer to Olive.
Olive took a step back, unconsciously distancing herself from the woman. She would’ve loved to hear those words weeks ago but now, she felt nothing but a slight pang of pity that she could not return those feelings.
Instead of coming closer, Natalia moved to stand next to Olive against the railing. They both turned to watch the setting sun.
“I really should’ve come here sooner,” Natalia said.
“Probably,” Olive admitted.
“I’ll take that as a no on getting back together?”
Olive turned to her ex, still only feeling the pain of hurting someone else. “I think I’ve moved on already.”
“You do seem to have this glow about you.”
“Thanks, I think.”
They stood in silence for a few more minutes, but now with the silence of two people knowing they were unlikely to see each other again. Once enough time had passed for Olive to begin to start feeling awkward about it, Natalia finally straightened from the railing.
“Well, if you change your mind, you have my number,” she said.
Olive knew the chances of her reaching out to her were slim to none.
“Take care of yourself, and enjoy Italy,” she said, by way of non-answer.
Natalia nodded and walked off.
Blessedly alone again, Olive walked in the complete opposite direction, now searching for a tub-sized amount of gelato. She had earned it with all of the emotional whiplash of the day.
Olive almost felt bad that Natalia had presumably paid all this money and rebooked everything just for a chance to see her, but she could not force herself to feel invested in that relationship anymore. Seeing her was just a reminder that Olive had moved on, and she was all the happier for it.
Now if only the same could be said for every aspect of her life, then she’d really return to Toronto an entirely changed woman.