43. Olive
43
OLIVE
I t’s early afternoon, but this has been a long day. Leo and I are both exhausted, but him more than me. At times, he got emotional with the others, which made me choke up because I can’t bear to see him suffer. There were many emotional speeches, but Leo’s was priceless. I’m proud of him for opening up. I didn’t think I could love him more, but I’m proven wrong every day.
This week was nonstop action. Mom and I had another fight right before I came here. She was angry because I didn’t tell her about the skydiving plans or who would be at the Super Bowl party. What am I, twelve? Then, because I was pissed, I let it slip that I’m planning to move. I didn’t say where, but it’s obvious. She didn’t like that and stormed off again. If anyone’s a raging preteen, it’s her. I haven’t spoken to her since and I’m fine with that. Andy’s flying home for a bachelor party this weekend, and he said he’ll check on her.
Leo’s been showing me the rest of his favorite parts of the island, hoping to convince me how great living here would be. He doesn’t need to influence me—I already want to move here. When? As soon as possible. Where would we live? No idea. It’s part of the adventure.
When Corey wasn’t the subject of conversation, Corey’s side of the family interrogated Leo and me about our relationship. They seemed happy for us and wished us well. Marla has also been more attentive to me. I hate questioning her actions, but that’s her fault.
The luncheon is winding down, and some guests have already left. I wrap my arm through Leo’s and tug him over to a window away from everyone. “Do you want to go to our bench while the sun’s out, or should we go later?” I brush my hand through Leo’s soft hair as it shines from the sunlight beaming through the window.
“Let’s go now. Later, I want to be alone with you without any interruptions. We’ve had enough of those this week,” he murmurs behind my ear, kissing the skin there.
I squeeze his chin lightly. “Stop doing that or we’ll never make it out of here. I don’t think your family would appreciate that.” Leo steps away and folds his hands behind his back with a cheeky grin.
We mingle a little longer until Betty, Mason, and Marla break up the party, thanking everyone again for coming. Leo and I share a look of relief.
Once the guests are gone and Betty and Mason head home, Leo announces that we’re going outside for some air. Tonya says she’s going back to her apartment, and Sully quietly pets Smokey, who’s perched on his shoulder. Yes, he brought her with him. Marla has to go to her office before she goes home.
We follow Marla as she leads the way, discussing the day and all the remembrances shared. Suddenly, she stops short and grasps Sully’s arm. I follow the direction she’s looking, and all the air leaves my lungs. I take a second to gather myself because I can’t believe it.
I step forward and stand in front of everyone. “Mom? Andy? What are you doing here?” I can’t believe she followed me. And with Andy? Are they in cahoots now?
“Evelyn?” Marla exclaims. My head jerks in Marla’s direction, then back to Mom.
“Marla.” Mom answers back with her chin high. My eyes ping-pong from Marla to Mom, as do everyone else’s. What the fuck?
“You know each other?” Tonya says before I can.
Leo clenches his jaw, and his eyes turn cold. “Did you know they knew each other? And Andy—why is he here?”
“I had no idea! Did you?” I already know the answer, though.
He shakes his head. “Fucking news to me.”
I clench my fists to stay calm and gather my thoughts. I turn to Andy. “What the hell is going on?”
“I tried to stop her, Ol.”
“Mind your manners, Olive,” Mom says.
Oh, no, she didn’t . Leo steps forward to say something, and I throw my arm out to keep him quiet. This is my fight.
“Don’t you dare tell me what to do,” I snarl, not recognizing my voice. “How the fuck do you know Marla?”
Marla clears her throat. “Keep your voice down. We’re attracting attention. Let’s go somewhere else. This isn’t the place for this discussion. Follow me to my house,” she urges.
Marla guides us through the lobby toward the hallway that leads to her personal part of the hotel. Sully and Tonya follow on her heels, Tonya whispering something I can’t decipher. Leo is stuck to my side, his jaw tight and ticking. His shock and anger is quite clear.
I’m not only confused, I’m fucking livid. Mom and Andy follow us in dead silence. I can’t even hear their footsteps. I want to pull Andy aside to find out what’s going on, but there’s no time. It must be significant since Andy came with her.
Mom meets Leo once, and she pulls this shit? Good job, Mom, for proving what an obsessive, overprotective parent you are. On top of that, she knows Marla. How fucked up is that? This would make a great “I didn’t see that coming” moment in a book.
It feels like forever until we finally arrive at Marla’s front door. She opens it, enters, and says, “Let’s talk in the living room.” Then she tosses her heels aside and hangs her coat. We all do the same, leaving shoes and coats at the door.
I lose track of the moms for a minute as the rest of us look at each other in confusion. When we all finally make it to the living room, the scene before us is fucking absurd.
Marla and Mom are hugging and sniveling.
Mom keeps saying she’s sorry.
For fucking what?!
“Okay. That’s enough!” Tonya shocks us all with her firm outburst. She may be petite, but she’s got spunk. “Someone better start talking or I’m breaking out the alcohol.”
“I’ll take a beer.” Andy raises his hand like he’s waving down a waitress. Why is he here again? I need something a lot stronger than wine. Focus, Olive!
Leo chimes in, getting us back on track. “How do you two know each other?”
“And why do you keep apologizing to Marla?” I glare at Mom; my voice is harsh and unrelenting.
Our mothers finally separate, swiping the dampness from under their eyes. This must be an alternate universe and we’ve been taken over by aliens. Maybe Tonya had the right idea. I should suggest a round of shots.
“Ma?” Leo snaps, grabbing Marla’s attention this time. “What the hell is going on?”
Marla smooths down her classy beige dress and shakes out her hair, stalling, I think.
“Okay.” She fiddles with her pearl necklace. “Yes, we know each other.”
Mom stands stock-still, avoiding eye contact with me. Marla reaches out and catches her hand.
“Obviously,” Sully says sarcastically. I’d forgotten he was in the room.
Marla clears her throat. “Guys, remember how I had a fight with my best friend years ago?” She looks at Leo, Tonya, and Sully, her eyes soft and pleading.
“What?” Leo reacts first, shaking his head. “No. No fucking way.” He points at my mom. “You’re the best friend who stole Mom’s fiancé?” Disgust drips from his voice.
“We weren’t actually engaged yet,” Marla says, “and her name is Evelyn.”
“You’re defending her now?” Leo shouts. “What happened to all that manifesting anger every time you talked about being betrayed by your best friend? How you understand what Sully’s going through? How can you be so calm with her standing in your living room after all these years?”
Mom shrinks into herself and grimaces. I turn to her, gaping with disbelief. “Best friend? You stole her fiancé?”
“ Almost fiancé,” Marla corrects.
“Whatever,” I snap. “Do you mean Dad?”
Marla and Mom exchange looks.
“Answer me!”
She eases toward me. “Can we talk in private?”
I step back with my hands up in front of me. “Nope. You should’ve thought about this before you sprung this on me in front of Leo’s family. Whatever you have to say, say it in front of everyone.”
I look at Leo. “Come on now. You really didn’t know who my mom was?” My focus turns to Tonya and Sully next. My question loud and clear.
Leo shakes his head. “I knew of her, but Ma never said her name. I didn’t see any pictures either.” Tonya nods in agreement. Sully’s expressionless, but his cold, flinty eyes are locked on Mom.
Then something else occurs to me. Marla. “Wait a damn second. You knew all along who she was. Drilling me with questions about my family. Saying I should bring her here.”
Marla’s eyes shimmer when she looks at me. “Olive, you have your father’s eyes. The more you spoke about your parents and where you lived, the clearer it became.”
The corners of her lips droop as she looks at Leo. “I didn’t want to jeopardize your relationship with Olive. You were so happy. I didn’t have the heart to tell you. I was willing to take the consequences.”
He huffs. “When were you planning to tell us? When it was ‘time to meet the parents?’”
“Start talking, you two,” I demand. “We’re not leaving here until we get the full story.”
“Why don’t we all sit down and discuss this like adults?” Marla suggests.
Sully remains by the fireplace. Tonya sits on the couch with her legs curled under her. Andy plops down next to Tonya, receiving a death glare from her. She’s so small next to his bulky frame. Marla sits on the recliner, and Mom stands next to it. Leo and I remain standing. I’m too fidgety to sit.
All our eyes are laser-focused on our moms. Mine begins.
“Marla and I were friends when we were kids.”
“ Best friends,” Marla inserts.
Mom nods. “We were. Our families knew each other, and we all spent our summers here on Orcas Island.”
I sift my hands through my hair and start pacing. “You’re such a great liar, always claiming to not like it here.”
“Let me finish,” Mom says, surprisingly calm.
“Go ahead. I can’t wait to hear what else you lied to me and Andy about,” I snarl.
“That last summer, Marla told me she was dating someone she met through a college friend and they were already talking about marriage.” Mom sneaks a glance at Marla, then at me. “He was going to visit while we were on the island, and I couldn’t wait to meet him. I was so excited that my best friend might be getting married.”
Her voice sounds different. It’s like she’s traveled back in time, and she’s listening to Marla spill all the juicy details about “the guy.”
My future father .
I curl in to Leo’s side and latch onto his hand. He presses a kiss to my temple and whispers, “It’s going to be okay.” I nod, hoping he’s right.
“And then he arrived, and we looked at each other and…there was no going back. We did everything we could to ignore it. But sometimes, you can’t ignore life-changing events, no matter how hard you try.”
She looks at Marla now, her eyes glassy and guilt-ridden. “I know we betrayed you, and it kills me till this day, but he was everything to me. I couldn’t stay away from him. You had every right to cut me out of your life. I deserved it. I still do.
“I regret hurting and losing you, Marla, but I don’t regret marrying Pierce. I can’t. He became my best friend, my soulmate. He was an amazing husband and father to our children.”
Marla’s cheeks are soaked from sadness.
“Did you know for sure who Leo’s family was before you came here?” I ask.
She wrings her hands over and over. “I put two and two together, yes. Once he talked about this hotel and his mom…Marla.”
“For the record,” Andy interrupts. “After she shared this tea with me, I tried to convince her not to come here. But Olive, you know how stubborn she is. I had to come along to soften the blow. I sent you a message to warn you, but obviously, you didn’t get it.”
I see red. How dare she?
“Okay, Mom, now I need to talk to you alone.” She opens her mouth to say something, but stops herself. Maybe I look as angry as I feel. She nods.
Andy gets up to follow, and I stop him. “No. Let me be.”
“Nope. I’m going with you to make sure you don’t kill her. I won’t say a word while you duke it out. And I deserve to hear this too.”
“Fine,” I huff.
“Olive, do you want me to go with you too?” Leo asks. It’d be easy to say yes, but I need to confront Mom by myself. Andy can be her bodyguard.
Before I can respond, Marla answers for me. “Let her go, Leo. We need to talk too.”
He looks at me again, his eyes wide with concern. I nod and leave the room, with Mom and Andy following close behind. Instead of going back to the hotel, we don our shoes and jackets, and I lead them out the kitchen door to the garden.
The partly cloudy sky allows some sunrays to beam through, spreading much welcomed warmth through the chilly air. I button my coat and turn around to find Mom roaming around, inspecting little details.
“I haven’t been here in over thirty-five years. It’s amazing how much has changed, yet looks the same. It was a family tradition to come to Orcas Island and stay at the Madrona Inn during summer vacations, even when your grandparents were kids. Our family and the Gables were good friends. Gable is Marla’s maiden name, if you don’t already know.” I nod.
“This was my favorite place to be. Marla and I were the best of friends. A friendship like that is rare.” She hangs her head low and drags her feet over the dewy grass.
I have so much to say, I don’t know where to begin. But I start anyway.
“Why did you keep it a secret? I mean, the entire family had to have known since you were all friends. Uncle Bruce? Grandma and Grandpa? Make me understand, Mom.” Even Leo’s uncle Mason should know who I am.
“No matter how much I loved —love— your dad, the guilt ate me alive. Her parents fought with mine, and it caused total chaos because of how devastated Marla was. Our love caused a major rift between the families. Beyond repair. Our family never returned to the island.”
“You loved Dad that much to risk everything?”
“Yes,” she answers without hesitation. “We couldn’t stand the thought of being apart. So I had to be selfish, and I knew I’d be losing my best friend, but there was no question in my mind. He was my forever. I…I’d do it again, Olive. I’d choose him every time.”
A look of nostalgia transforms her face, and I can only imagine it’s because she’s thinking of Dad. It was crazy, how in love they were. Andy and my friends’ parents were all getting divorced when we were teenagers, but ours always acted like they were still on their honeymoon.
“Every day that passes since he died feels like the first day. Some days, it’s like I can’t even get up—I lie in bed and stare at the wall while I hug one of his business shirts that I kept. Except they don’t smell like him anymore.” Her voice is tiny.
We cleaned out his closet six months ago. She must have kept some stuff without me knowing. A wave of sadness for her crushes my chest.
“Believe it or not, I still have the last voice message he ever sent me. He asked me to buy his peanut butter cup ice cream when we were shopping. Before he ended the message, he said he loved me more and more each day. I listen to it every morning while I have my first cup of coffee. I’m incredibly fortunate to have spent so many years married to the one person truly made for me.” She blinks twice, and tears slide down her face. “God, Olive. The vision of him lying dead in the backyard never goes away. I’m so glad you didn’t experience that with me.”
Me too. No matter how angry I am, she’s my mom. I can’t watch her grieve like this. I didn’t know—she hides it pretty well.
I wrap her in my arms. “It’s okay, Mom. Everyone knows how you two loved each other. He was taken from us too soon and without warning. That makes it harder to let him go. And it wasn’t your fault you weren’t there.”
“I blame myself every day,” she whimpers.
Something occurs to me. I drop my embrace and put some space between us.
“So, when I quit my job in LA and moved back home, I was a wreck. Dad told me life was about facing tough choices where I might have to prioritize myself sometimes, where I might hurt innocent people in protecting myself.”
Mom looks at me, and I know. “He said that because of what happened with Marla, didn’t he?”
She nods. “You made a difficult decision to save yourself. Some people would say it was selfish. I don’t think it was, but that doesn’t keep the guilt away. You have to learn to live with it. Dad and I both knew about that. But you, confronting your past in LA? It encouraged me to follow you here today. To confront my past. It felt like my one chance for redemption.”
I release a big breath of air and fist my hair. “Why didn’t you say anything when you met Leo? Couldn’t you have picked another day? You knew his cousin’s memorial was today. Or was it your intention all along to cause problems between Leo and me?”
“I thought keeping you away from him would conceal the truth. I was afraid of what you’d think of me if you found out. My worry turned to anger because my past was catching up with me and I took it out on you. Then you told me you wanted to move. Something had to be done. After Andy showed up, I told him everything. When I mentioned coming here, he tried to convince me to stay put, but I refused.”
Andy spreads his hands in a gesture of helplessness. He blew off the bachelor party he was supposed to go to for this shit show. I owe him big-time.
Mom sniffles. “I’ve acted horribly for months and said despicable things to you, and Leo too. Neither of you deserved my wrath. I’m embarrassed and truly sorry for everything. I hope you can forgive me. I promise I’ll apologize for coming here today, and I’ll make things better for all of us.”
“Good, because I’m not going to lose him due to the decisions you made all those years ago. You and Marla can fight like cats and dogs, and it won’t matter. I will always choose Leo. He’s my future and who I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
“And I’ll always choose you too.” My favorite voice. I spin around as Leo comes up to me, his arms open wide. Without hesitation, I wrap myself around him because it’s my favorite place to be.