Chapter Thirty-Four Olivia
“You drive,” Olivia said as she unplugged the golf cart from the charger.
“Wow.” Zack raised his eyebrows. “You really are a changed woman. What happened to the control freak whose domineering ways proved so irresistible to me?”
“I’m still a control freak. I just need to draft something on my phone.”
“You can’t be serious.” Zack looked truly aghast, no hint of teasing in his face. “You’re working. Now.”
“No.” Olivia slid into the passenger seat. “I need to draft my apology to Marigold.”
Kissing Zack in the kitchen had been a top-notch distraction, but eventually, the seriousness of the situation had sunk in.
She had to find her sister and apologize for ruining her wedding day.
Or perhaps, more accurately, for making her already-ruined wedding day even worse.
And she’d have a better chance of making things right if she sorted out her thoughts properly ahead of time.
“You’re… emailing her?” he asked. She’d briefed him on the situation while they’d waited for the golf cart to charge.
“I’m writing some notes! Is that so terrible?”
Zack lowered himself into the driver’s seat. “No, I guess not. But this seems like a situation where you really just need to speak from the heart.”
“No one’s first drafts are ever that good, especially non-sentient organs.”
Zack turned the ignition, twisted to look behind him, and began to back down the driveway.
“You can turn around on the grass, if it’s easier.” Zack completed a deft reverse K-turn and steered the cart onto the narrow, tree-lined dirt path that led to the main road. “Stay to the left here; there’s a ditch that’s hard to see… oh, and watch out for those big roots up ahead.”
“I thought you were going to write,” Zack said dryly.
“I am!” But as she stared at the Notes app on her phone, she found herself drawing a blank.
Her brain couldn’t focus—an unusual sensation for her.
The events of the past few days had thrown her entirely off-kilter; humans weren’t designed to experience so many highs and lows in such quick succession.
“You know, organs may not be sentient, but apparently they can carry memories. I just read this incredible article about heart transplant patients who can recall information from their donors’ lives, things they never would’ve known otherwise.”
“Send it to me. I’ll read it later.”
“I will. I’d be curious to get your thoughts on it.”
“Why?” She glanced up from her phone. “I’m not a scientist.”
“I like the way your brain works.”
“Turn left up there,” Olivia said, then looked back down at her phone so Zack wouldn’t see her enormous grin.
“Permission to take one hand off the wheel?”
“Um, sure… why?”
Without saying anything, Zack took Olivia’s hand and squeezed.
They spent the rest of the drive in silence while Olivia wrote out a text with her free hand, letting Andrew know that she had to cancel their date.
To Olivia’s surprise, Marigold was, according to Natalie, in her makeshift dressing room. Olivia hurried through the crowd on the yacht club lawn, avoiding the eye of everyone who tried to flag her down, ostensibly to ask if the ceremony was finally about to start.
“Olivia!” Liesl managed to grab her arm. “What’s going on? The strangest rumors are flying around.”
Olivia shook her off, then glared as Liesl fell into step next to her. “Rumors I’m sure you had nothing to do with.”
“I’m just concerned about my oldest friend, okay? Where is she? Literally no one has seen her in two days.”
“She’s here.”
“She is? Where?”
“Getting ready. But she wants privacy, okay? Just… tell everyone we’ll start soon.”
Liesl tried to follow her into the club, but Olivia blocked her way. “Sorry, family only beyond this point,” she said sweetly, then slammed the door.
Olivia found Marigold and Natalie sitting in the office, looking surprisingly relaxed. “I’ll let you two talk,” Natalie said as she got to her feet. “I’m going to get some air. I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Go out the back, through the kitchen,” Olivia advised. “It’s a madhouse in front.”
When Natalie left, Olivia took her empty seat. For a moment, they sat in silence—the only somewhat uneasy silence of sisters who had endless experience fighting, icing each other out, and then making up. Though never had Olivia felt like she’d been so clearly in the wrong.
“I’m sorry I made this terrible day even worse,” Olivia said finally.
To her relief, Marigold laughed. “Worst. Wedding. Eveeeeer,” she said, elongating the vowel with exaggerated vocal fry in a pitch-perfect imitation of Kara, the NYU student who’d occasionally nannied for them when they were younger.
They hadn’t seen her in almost twenty years, but still found themselves lapsing into Kara-speak when they were alone.
“Like, literally.” Olivia smiled briefly, then turned serious again. “I’m really sorry, Mare. I can’t believe I did that.”
“It’s okay. Mom explained that you were against it from the beginning.”
“Still…” Olivia trailed off. “So what are you going to do now?”
“You mean, am I still getting married?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Marigold shook her head. “I talked to Jonathan. We both agreed it’s over.”
“Okay. Oh, wow.” It was one thing to sense this coming; it was quite another to hear the words come out of her sister’s mouth. “Are you okay? I mean, all things considered.”
Marigold paused, considering this. “Yeah, I am. It’s going to be a shit show telling everyone, but it’s the right thing to do.”
“God, he’s such an idiot.”
“Jonathan? No, he isn’t. I mean, yeah, it was shitty of him to kiss Natalie. But that’s not why we called off the wedding.”
“Then why?”
Marigold’s expression turned vague and distant, as if her mind were suddenly miles away.
Olivia sat up. “Oh my god! You’re still in love with… that guy. In Canada.”
“Hugo.”
“His name is Hugo?” Olivia held up her hands in response to Marigold’s glare. “Sorry, sorry. A fine name. But why did you lie about going up there? I could’ve helped you!”
“I guess I was just sick of the whole ‘oh, Marigold’s such a hot mess’ narrative. I was tired of you getting to be the grown-up while I was the irresponsible screwup.”
Olivia leaned back in her armchair. “I’m sorry I made you feel that way. It’s not fair, and it’s not true. I’m sorry.”
Marigold looked sheepish. “I mean, it’s a little true.”
“Maybe. But I think I might’ve forced you into that role.
It made me feel good to think of myself as the problem solver.
I liked being needed—I didn’t always want to let you grow up.
” Olivia paused as a painful thought pushed its way out of her mind.
“And… I think that’s why I agreed not to tell you that Mom was stopping treatment.
I wanted to protect you. And I wanted to protect myself.
If you didn’t know, then I could pretend that everything was fine, at least some of the time.
” Olivia caught sight of Marigold’s duffel bag.
Her passport was sticking out of the side pocket. “So… are you going somewhere?”
Marigold followed her gaze. “I don’t know, maybe. Hugo’s heading out on some weeklong camping trip, and I want to catch him before he goes off the grid.”
“So call him.”
“I have called him. Multiple times. His phone is off. And besides, you know how terrible the reception is at the yacht club.”
“Why can’t you just wait for him to get back? Do you think he’s gonna run off with a moose or something?”
“Really? That’s the best you can do? A moose joke?”
“Sorry, you’re right. Anti-Canadian bigotry is an insidious form of prejudice and deserves to be called out.”
“I can’t wait for you to meet him,” Marigold said in a voice Olivia had never heard her sister use in relation to a boy—dreamy and affectionate, almost wistful.
A voice that came out when Marigold was describing a particularly beautiful designer gown, or some hidden beach she’d stumbled across on one of her adventures in Greece or Thailand.
“Oh my god,” Olivia said. “You really are in love.”
Normally, Marigold would respond to an accusation like this with glibness, a shrug or an eye roll or some question about why people were so obsessed with the idea of love. But this time, Marigold met Olivia’s eye and smiled. “Yeah, I guess I am.”
There was a knock at the door, and then Lulu slipped inside, coming over to perch on the ottoman next to Olivia’s chair. “You two okay?”
Marigold and Olivia exchanged looks, then both laughed. “Yeah, I think so,” Marigold said.
Lulu turned to Olivia. “I’m so sorry for putting you in that terrible position. I never should’ve asked you to keep my treatment plans a secret like that. Do you forgive me?”
Olivia reached out to squeeze her mom’s arm. “Yes, of course.”
Lulu placed her hand on Olivia’s and smiled, then glanced over to catch Marigold’s eye. “Love has made your sister go soft. She never would’ve let me off the hook this easily before.”
“Wait, love?” Marigold looked from Lulu to Olivia, startled. “What are you talking about?”
“You and Zack got back together, didn’t you?” Lulu asked Olivia. “I saw you holding hands when you drove up, but maybe I shouldn’t have made any assumptions.”
“Back together?” Marigold jumped to her feet. “What’s going on? What’d I miss? You and Zack?!”
“Why don’t you try calling Hugo one more time,” Olivia said, blushing. “Then I’ll tell you the whole story.”