Authors: Daniela Reyes
Delayed
Delayed
Daniela Reyes
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Delayed
by Daniela Reyes
Copyright © 2015 by Daniela Reyes.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any written, electronic, recording, or photocopying without written permission of the publisher or author. The exception would be in the case of brief quotations embodied in the critical articles or reviews and pages where permission is specifically granted by the publisher or author.
To my mom, because a thank you will never truly suffice.
All that is lost in love, is never truly lost
1
June 3, 2004
The edge of the keychain dug into Olivia’s skin. She moved the tiny metal palm tree around in her hand, making a game of trying to keep it from falling into her lap.
“What do you mean you’re not going to be able to pick her up from the airport?” her mom asked into the phone. She looked at Olivia through the rearview mirror, suddenly lowering her tone. “She’s
your
daughter too Joseph.”
Olivia kept her gaze on the floor of the car. She’d heard the same conversation in differentiating versions throughout the last six months. The constant back and forth; it was a never ending battle of who could prove to be the better-fitted parent.
"It's not my fault we're running late. I thought you booked the flight for tomorrow. Well, we'll get there when we get there. All I know is that you better be there to pick her up." With that, her mom hung up the phone, tossing it into one of the empty cup holders.
The unfamiliar landscapes blurred outside the window, composed of mostly sand, grass, and rows on rows of palm trees. The tiny town of Shepton seemed to have been plucked off a retiree’s dream escapade.
Silence filled the car, leaving Olivia to hear the sound of her breathing. She traced her fingers around the palm tree. A man had been handing them out at the gasoline station a few miles back, promising they brought luck to the owner. Her mom had feigned courtesy, taking one, before tossing it into the back of the car.
“You didn’t leave anything at the hotel, right Liv?”
Olivia looked up. Her mom's gray eyes met hers. They were red and glazed; the skin under them remained puffy.
“No. I double checked.”
“Good.”
The silent car ride continued for a few more miles of highway. She could feel her mom's eyes traveling to the backseat every so often.
“Are you going to take the job offer?” Olivia asked. It was the reason they had spent the last week cramped in a hotel room, trying to fight off Florida’s summer heat.
Her mom sighed. This was the conversation they’d been avoiding, one of many.
"Yes. I've thought about it, and I know it’s going to complicate some things, but this is a decent option.”
"For you or me?" Olivia felt regret as soon as the words left her mouth.
“For both of us. It’s our fresh start Liv. The job pays well. And you can see all your friends back in Boston during the summer. In the fall, you'll start high school and make a whole bunch of new ones."
I don’t want new friends. I don’t want a fresh start.
Olivia held in her true thoughts. She leaned her head back against the leather headrest of the rental. Nothing was even certain yet. The court still hadn’t determined the custody agreement.
“I guess,” she said.
Her mom gave a short nod before focusing her gaze back on the road again, looking forward, not caring to see that her daughter was still looking back.
People huddled together outside of the Shepton Airport. A line of taxis and shuttles were lined up against the curb, loading and unloading passengers like luggage.
Olivia felt something in her chest tighten. It was as if all her inner organs were coiling up together. It was real. She was going to have to leave her mom's side and spend a summer with the man she had once called her dad.
“You can drop me off over there,” she said, pointing to an empty bit of sidewalk.
Her mom honked her horn as a man slid his way into the moving line of traffic.
"I'll go in with you. I just have to find the parking garage," her mom said. Her eyes wandered to the busied and narrow road.
Olivia knew that having her mom go in with her would only make things worse. She didn’t want a long and carried out goodbye. She just wanted to keep things short and simple, to cut the ties quickly.
“Mom, it’ll take too much time. We’re already running late. Just drop me off over there,” she said, pointing to the same spot of empty sidewalk.
Her mom pulled the rental against the curb, barely slipping past two SUVs. The car grew quiet.
Olivia looked into the rearview mirror. She could see her mom’s eyes glazing over, staring off to a distant point.
"I'll be okay. The summer's going to fly by.”
Her mom didn’t look up. She let a quick tear slip down her puffed cheek.
“I don’t think I can do this Liv.”
Olivia sighed. She leaned forward, putting her free hand on her mom’s shoulder.
“You can. You have to.”
Her mom held in a breath. She took Olivia’s hand into hers.
Please don’t break down. Keep it together. Keep it together.
Olivia wasn't sure if the thoughts were for herself or her mom.
Luckily her mom released her hand and managed to do away with whatever bout of emotions had been ready to emerge.
“This is only temporary,” her mom said. “I’m going to call you every day. And if your dad does anything …”
“All incidents of bad parenting will be reported to you. I promise.”
Her mom gave her a soft smile. She turned and wrapped her arms around her.
“I love you Liv.”
“Love you too mom.”
The two of them let the hug last more than it was meant to. Olivia was the first to pull back. Without a word, her mom eased her way out of the car and took out the luggage from the trunk.
“I called ahead. There should be an agent waiting for you inside to help you check in.”
Olivia nodded. She pulled up the expandable handle of her suitcase. Her mom had already slipped the strap of her carry-on through it, lessening her load.
“You’ll be back in Boston next week?” she asked.
Her mom shrugged. “I still have to look for an apartment here. I don’t know how long that might take.”
“I get my own room, right?” Olivia asked, trying to lighten the conversation.
It worked. Her mom’s eyes housed no tears. “Tell you what. If you don’t ignore any of my calls this summer, I might even give you the master room.”
A woman was walking toward them. She wore the white Shepton Airport uniform, with a sun-shaped nametag on her lapel. Her heels clicked against the cement.
“Are you Olivia Hayes?” she asked. Her voice was clear and rehearsed.
Olivia looked to her mom.
"Are you the agent for the unaccompanied minors program?" her mom asked.
The woman gave an exaggerated smile. “Yes. I’m Catherine,” she said, extending out her hand. “I’ve been assigned to help Olivia maneuver her way through our airport.”
Olivia watched as her mom shook the woman's hand. The two of them began to discuss boarding and ticket information. She stopped listening. There was too much going on for her not to get distracted.
A woman tried to squeeze a stroller past a group of business travelers. The wheels on a man's suitcase gave out, and he began to drag it behind him. Everyone around her became part of one giant moving mass, one person was indistinguishable from the next. It hadn’t been this crowded when they’d arrived a week before.
Catherine seemed to take notice of Olivia’s rising anxiety.
"There’s a bit of a large crowd today. Our sister airport a few towns away lost power, and we've had to let some flights land on our runway. There's nothing to worry about, though. Everything should return to normal soon."
Olivia’s kept scanning the crowd. Her mom gave her a soft pat on the shoulder. She turned back.
“You should go Liv. The lines are only going to get longer.”
Olivia stood up straighter, taking in one last image of her mom. She didn’t like to look at her for too long. It made her think back to the days when the bags under her mom’s eyes hadn’t been so prominent, and her expression so worn. Even the curls in her brown hair seemed to have lost their usual life. Whenever she looked at her mom, it made her hate her dad even more.
“I’ll call you when I get to dad’s apartment.”
Her mom wrapped her in a tight hug, before releasing her again. For a moment, Olivia thought she might have remembered.
“Go. Go, before I change my mind and make you come apartment hunting with me.”
The two of them said a few whispered goodbyes, before she finally left with her assigned agent.
Catherine helped her through the check in process, taking her luggage from her and printing out a boarding pass.
Olivia stood to one side, bumping into an occasional stranger. It felt odd to have someone do everything for her. She was already thirteen, fourteen in a few hours, and had been doing things on her own ever since the divorce began, maybe even before that.
Catherine pressed a sticker with all of Olivia’s identifying information onto her carry-on.
“Just in case you get lost,” she said.
Olivia wasn't sure if the airport employee was talking to the bag or to her. The two of them walked toward the central eating and shopping area, right at the entrance of the forked paths to various departure gates.
“Is there anything else that I need to do?” Olivia asked, hoping there wasn’t.
Catherine shook her head. “No, not as far as I know. Your flight should be boarding within half an hour or so. Your gate is that first one on the left. There are snacks here in case you get hungry, and there’s a TV lounge over there,” she said, pointing to a room filled with bored teenagers.
“Okay. Thanks,” Olivia said.
“If you need anything else feel free to ask any employee. They can direct you to where you need to go.”
“Okay.”
There was an odd space of silence before Catherine gave a final nod. She smiled and walked back in the direction of security.
Soon it was just Olivia. She tightened her grasp around the strap of her carry-on bag. Her mom had stuffed it with magazines and junk food. She was surprised security hadn't said anything.
The passing crowd around her grew. The feeling of suffocation returned. Olivia spotted her gate and made a half walk half run sort of dash to it.
An employee behind a podium gave her a smile. She began to search for the emptiest section of the waiting lounge. There were a few free seats toward the very back, near the bathrooms.
Olivia set her bag down on the seat next to her. She stared at the label that had been stuck onto it.
Olivia Hayes
DOB: June 3, 1990
Destination: Boston, Massachusetts
It was her birthday, and she hadn't even remembered until that morning. That was why she wasn't mad at her mom. If she hadn’t remembered her own birthday, how could she expect anyone else to? Even if it was the woman that had given birth to her, she couldn’t find the time to feel upset. Besides, most of the anger she had was geared toward her dad. He was at the root of all their problems.
