Out of The Box Awakening (29 page)

I tell Dominic that I have everything on my phone video. He looks at it and looks down his glasses at me…

“Well, yes, you certainly do have everything, but you also have Tommy and Todd here threatening the scumbag’s life, so I suggest you do us all a favor ma’am and just delete that lovely little video. He puts his arm around me and we walk over toward Ash.

“Olivia, I promise you, we have this all under control. Besides, there’s a security camera out here, see it?” He points over to the corner of the building and I shake my head that I see it. “So, we’ll get the tape from Ross and see what’s on it. I suspect it’ll show just what Mr. Tony was up to.”

Ash comes over to Emily, Ross, and me. “Honey, please go inside. Get Emily some coffee or something, and we’ll be in shortly. Let us finish up out here. Please, listen to me!”

Dominic echoes Ash’s request. “Olivia, Ash is right. There’s nothing else you gals can do. Just let us do our job.”

I’m pretty sure Ash is dead serious. I don’t want a confrontation with him, so I reluctantly steer Emily inside. He gives me a hug and a kiss.

“It’ll be all right, hon. Just take her inside. Go on. Scoot!” He pats my butt and sends us inside.

Ellen and David are out on the dance floor, waiting for us to come in and give them an update. They’re dancing like two teenagers totally in love. Ellen is smiling up into David’s face when we walk in, and then turns to me.

“Sorry, but we figured we’d just dance until you guys came back in. We haven’t been dancing in forever. Had to find some light in this situation. Anyway, what the hell is going on? Is Tommy all right? Emily? And where is Ash? Still outside?”

My answer to all of her questions is yes, yes, and yes. We go to sit at the bar and Liz brings us each a coffee. God, coffee smells so good right now. I wish I had a cigarette too! I give Ellen a little background on what’s going on with Tommy and Emily.

“Wow! A wackadoo ex! Poor thing! What a bummer.”

I tell her that Tommy and Emily are working through some relationship adjustment issues and she comments about Tommy’s choice of song tonight. “Well, then, that explains the song then and the way he sung it. I was beginning to wonder what the hell that was all about. Kinda nice to have a guy sing a song just for you, though, and look right at you while he’s singing? Totally cool!”

Dominic and the police finish outside and come in the club briefly. Liz has made coffee for them all and gives them to-go cups. Ash disburses the party soon after and tells me that he thinks Emily needs to come home with us tonight. She’s over talking to Tommy, and they look like they’re in pretty intense conversation. He lifts her chin up and makes her look at him.

“Just come to the condo with me tonight Em, please!”

“No! I can’t! I’m fine. I’m going to my place! I’m not running away any more!”

I go up to them and say, ”Emily, Tommy, Ash thinks she needs to come home with us tonight.”

Tommy starts to say something, and then stops. I think he sees the logic in this and tells her, ”Look, Em, my dad’s probably right. Go home with them…please!”

She has her arms crossed and looks frail and scared. I take her over to Ash. She tries to object.

“Mr. Harper, look, I truly appreciate your offer, but realistically, things like this shouldn’t happen to folks like you. This doesn’t happen to people who live in Highland Park, Illinois. I’ve totally screwed up your lives and your son’s. It’s not your problem…it’s mine! I’m fine on my own, really. I can deal with this, I can. I promise.”

Ash looks really perturbed and is losing patience fast. If I were Emily, I think I’d just be quiet and listen to him. I’ve never seen him like this. He takes a deep breath and pinches his forehead, Sternly, he responds, “Look, Emily, the remarks you just made—well, let’s just say that I really don’t think you mean that. ‘Things like this,’ as you say, shouldn’t happen to anyone. Period. But, that being said let me lay the facts out for you. First, as much as you don’t want to accept this, you and my son have something between you. I’m not going to get into your business on the detail, but I do know there is some kind of relationship. Second, you have an ex-boyfriend who is a complete and total whacko. Third, you have people who care about you. Fourth, you have no family here. From what Olivia tells me, you’re pretty much on your own. Fifth, and finally, you really don’t need to be arguing with me right now. I’m tired, I’m angry, I’m very short on patience and all I ask is that you please just listen to me! You and Tommy have to work this out, and I won’t interfere. Neither will Olivia. But, at this very moment, you really don’t need to be Joan of Arc! Tonight, just listen to me and do as I say. Tomorrow, you can do whatever you want. If you want to write my son off for good, then do it. If you just want to give up, it’s fine! Hell, if you want to walk home on your hands, that’s fine too. But tonight, you really, really need to come home with us. You don’t need to go back to your apartment and you don’t need to be with Tommy tonight. You need to be completely removed from the situation and the characters.”

He takes her little face in his hands. “Can you just trust me on this? Just for tonight? Am I right Olivia?” He looks at me and I nod in agreement. He turns back to her. “We’re both parents, Emily. Olivia said you don’t have parents here and I don’t know of anyone else you can call at this point. It sucks, but its reality…am I correct? Is there anyone you want to call at this very moment? Because here’s my phone if you want to use it to call someone.” He holds his phone out to her.

Shocked, she shakes her head and replies, “Yeeessss sir, you’re right. No, no there’s no one I can call.” She starts to cry.

Ash has gotten his point across, thank God. “Well, then, let’s get in the car and go home.” He hugs her, kisses the top of her head and puts her in the back seat, then buckles her in.

My heart hurts for her. Ash has just spit some pretty hard facts at her, and while he was rather stern and unyielding, he was also caring, as is his nature. He has this innate way of commanding respect and being authoritative, while letting you know that he has a teddy bear heart. I think Emily gets it and deep down, I think she’s glad that we’re here for her.

Todd, Tommy, and the rest of the guys come up to the car before we leave. Todd tells Emily, ”We’re taking Tommy to Brady’s for the night. I think we’re all crashing over there, so don’t worry about us. You just go with Mr. H. and Olivia. You’re in good hands. We’ll hook up tomorrow. Night, Sweet Em! Hey, and no matter what, you’re always our Sweet Em!”

Brady goes to the window. “Emily, geez! So sorry about tonight. What a bummer! You know that we’re all here for you. Tommy’s our main man. We’ll take care of him. You just go with Olivia and Ash and call us tomorrow. We’re probably gonna just get trashed at my place, so you got nothin’ to worry about.”

Ash rolls the windows up and we are ready to drive off. Emily puts her hand up to the window and Tommy puts his up to hers. He puts his fingers to his lips just as she did to him when he sang his song. We drive off, headed home.

No one utters a word on the way. No music, no sounds. You could hear a pin drop in the car. Emily is just blankly staring out the window and Ash is concentrating on the road. I don’t know if it’s because we are worn out, coming off of the adrenaline high, or because we just don’t know what to say. Once we get back to the house, I get Emily settled in her room. I’ve gotten out something for her to sleep in, and bring her some face wash and a toothbrush.

“If you need anything, just let us know. You know that we’re here for you, right?”

“I do, Olivia! I’m just so embarrassed!” She puts her hand over her eyes and tears rise.

I put my arm around her. “Just try and get a good night’s sleep. I’ll tell you what I used to tell my kids. Sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite!” She laughs and I tell her “This too will pass, Emily…I promise! I give her a big hug and a kiss.

“Thanks! And Olivia??”

“Yes?”

“Please tell Mr. Harper that I’m sorry. I meant no disrespect, honest!”

“I will sweetie. No need to apologize! He knows that.”

I slip into our room. Ash is getting undressed.  I come up behind him, wrap my arms around him, and say,“Bad night, tonight, huh?”

“Started out good. Just ended badly. Listen, Olivia, I don’t want to interfere in this ordeal with Tommy and Emily. I’m sorry, but tonight, I just, well, I guess I sort of was short on patience. Tommy was high strung, and keeping him and Todd off that kid was about all I could handle.”

I rub his shoulders. “And you did great, Ash! You handled the situation so well.”

“I’m afraid I’m not one of Emily’s favorite people right now, and I’m sorry but she just wasn’t listening to reason.”

I tell Ash that I totally support him. He tells me that this will pass and he has every confidence that Tommy and Emily will patch things up.

“Come on, hon, let’s go to bed…I want you really bad right now,” he says
.

The next week flies by. I have a feeling that our Houston home will be put up for sale really soon. I tell Ash that I’m probably going to have to take a trip to get the house listed, and he offers to come for moral support. I can’t even fathom selling the house. It’s so surreal that the home where I raised my kids will soon belong to someone else…to some other family, who will probably re-do everything and make it their own. They will make their own memories and erase those made by the Petersen family.

Ash tells me that this is all part of the process, and that I shouldn’t over-think things. He already knows me too well!

Saturday, Lainey and Kellan will be here, and Bradley will get in on Sunday. I have them for two weeks, and I can’t wait! Sarah has said that I can take whatever time off I need. She has a couple of teachers who do moonlighting design work for her, and she told me they are happy to fill in over the holidays, since they’ll be off from their school jobs. Nancy and Laura have free-lanced for her since she opened the shop, so she’s totally okay with me being off. Emily, God love her, has been at work every day. She hasn’t missed any time, an impressive thing, given the turn of events she’s been faced with. Tony, it seems, is in quite a bit of trouble. They found cocaine and heroin in his car, along with another stolen gun. He violated the restraining order that was placed on him after the first incident, so he’s pretty much in jail for a long time, thank God! Emily says that she’s relieved and has finally started to come out of her funk. She and Tommy are still working through their issues and I haven’t tried to get involved, as per Ash’s instructions.

As for the house, it is decorated to the hilt! I have decorated every room and it is a Christmas paradise! Ash marvels at how beautiful things are, and I can’t believe he is so excited. Tommy has come for dinner a couple of times and I desperately want to ask how things are going, but Ash’s words echo in my head.

“You’ve got to let them work it out, Olivia. Don’t get involved.”

As much as I hate that, I realize that he’s right. He’s always right. That’s one of the many things I love about him. Speaking of the many things I love about him, he has brought me flowers and takeout food tonight.

“Come here, Liv! We’ve had so much going on in our lives lately that we’ve neglected ourselves. I’ve been on edge with the Tommy-Tony-Emily ordeal, and for that I’m sorry. I know I snapped at you the other night. I really wasn’t lashing out at you…it’s just that I was upset about the whole situation. My life has been so routine, but lately routine just hasn’t been on the menu. I just want you to know that I do love you, and I miss us!”

He takes me into his arms, and suddenly I feel so safe and secure. We talk about what we want in our lives. While our kids are our first priority, we both realize that we need to concentrate on the life we have left and the fact that we’re not getting any younger.

“Liv, I know the kids…yours and mine mean the world to us, but dammit! We need to think about ourselves. Our kids are grown, and for the most part don’t need us on a daily basis. Hell, I’m approaching full retirement. You don’t need to be working. I just want to take care of you.”

“Ash, I’ve been taken care of my whole life—well, financially, anyway. I’ve only just now started working and being independent. I desperately need that right now.”

“But I can take care of you, hon. I want to. I want to spoil you and show you how much I love you. You deserve that.”

“But I need this job. It makes me feel like I do have a place in this world. I love you with all my heart and I know you can take care of me—better than I could ever imagine. But “I” got lost in translation for the past thirty-something years and I’m just coming to realize that there is a me to Olivia. Please don’t deny me that, Ash. It doesn’t mean I don’t want or need you, because I do. I need you with every breath I have! I thank my lucky stars every single day that I have your love. You’ve made me feel more in the past few months than I think I’ve ever felt in my whole life. I want to go on this journey with you. It scares the hell out of me, but I know with all my heart that you are the love of my life and we’re destined to be together!”

“I feel the same, Olivia, I swear. No woman has ever  made me feel the way you do. I just pray that we have enough years left to sail off into the sunset together. I can’t wait until the divorce is final, so that we can move onto the next phase of our lives together. I want you to have your independence, and I know you like working. I respect the hell out of you. You are smart, pretty, talented, loving, and the real deal. I just don’t want you to feel like you have to work to be secure financially. I have more money than you know. You have no idea about my finances, I know, but I want you to know that you will never want for anything. I want to share that with you and give
you everything you deserve. Once we can move onto the next phase of our relationship, I fully intend to show you, I promise, honey! I just don’t want to lose us! I miss us. I need us. We both need us.”

“Ash, I miss us too! I hear everything you’re saying, and I know what you’re trying to tell me. Your money, it doesn’t matter to me, really. The true wealth lies in our relationship. That means more to me than all the money in the world. I don’t need the money as long as we have each other.”

“Olivia, that’s one of the things I love most about you. You love unconditionally!”

“Yes, I do! Enough heart to heart talk, Mr. Wealthy Ash Harper! I do have an idea, though…you interested?”

“I love your ideas. Whatcha thinking?”

“Let’s grab a bottle of champagne and cop a bath!”

“Uggghhh! Olivia, please don’t say the word cop…I’ve had enough cops for a while!”

We fall into a huge hug and laugh!

“Okay, Ash, no cops! I promise!”

He affectionately swats my behind. He goes into the kitchen and comes back with two champagne glasses and a wonderfully expensive bottle of bubbly. Then he strips down naked. Dear God! Could a man possibly be this beautiful? I take off my clothes and he stands back, holding his arms out.

“My God! Look at you. You are the most amazingly beautiful woman in the whole wide world Olivia. How in the world did I deserve you? Just look at you!”

He takes me over in front of the mirror. I have my eyes closed and I’m embarrassed.

“Open your eyes. Just look at you!”

I keep my eyes closed tight and I wrinkle up my face. I really don’t want to look at myself naked in the mirror. This is definitely uncomfortable for me.

“Open. Come on now! Look at you! Look at us!”

We’re both naked, standing in front of the mirror. There is nothing but candlelight. I’m standing in front of him and he’s rubbing my arms. He moves to the side so that we are standing side-by-side, naked, just staring into the mirror.

“Just look, Olivia! Isn’t this just the most beautiful thing in the world? You and me. Ash and Olivia. Us!”

We stand there, and I do open my eyes. It is a beautiful sight. I can honestly say that it is beautiful. Suddenly, I don’t feel ashamed about my body. He makes me feel beautiful! We stand in front of the mirror and watch each other, touching different parts of our bodies, caressing and kissing softly. He tenderly carries me over to the bath and we immerse ourselves, momentarily forgetting about kids, cops, ex-husbands, work, and life. We just lie wrapped in each other, enjoying our us time. God! I love us time! I could just stay in this bath until I prune!

When we get out and dry off, he rubs me down with my favorite lotion. We brush each other’s teeth—another first for me. I’ve never brushed a man’s teeth. We spit water at each other and get it all over the mirror. I start to clean it off and he reminds me that Reba will be here tomorrow, which distracts me. Oh, how clever! He gets another mouth full of water and sprays me with it.

“Ash Harper, I can spit better than you…you’d better watch out!” I get a mouth full and spew him good. We’ve gotten water all over the mirror. “So, what do you think Reba will think when she sees this, Mr. Harper? We’ve made a blooming mess!”

“She’ll probably think we had an amazing night, which we did!”

He picks me up, swats my behind yet again, and carries me into bed. We lie naked, nothing but skin to skin. Just the feel of him pressed up against me makes me feel so secure, so, so safe. No one can come between us. Soft music plays; the only light in the room is from the outside. I am totally at peace. We lie on our backs, my leg slung over his. I’m lying on his shoulder and he’s stroking my left arm, softly. Our feet rub each other, and I think to myself what soft beautiful feet he has. I smile. Of course he can’t see me, but still I smile.

“Liv?”

“Yes?”

“I love you more than life itself.”

I smile. “Ash?”

“Yes?”

“I love you back more than you love me more than life itself!”

“Liv?”

“Yes?”

“I seriously doubt it!”

I smile again, and in my heart I know he means it.

We sleep totally wrapped in each other’s arms. I don’t think either one of us moves all night. We wake in exactly the same position we fell asleep in. I am, without a doubt, the luckiest woman in the world!

Ash gets up before me and, of course, has coffee made and is reading the paper when I come into the kitchen. “Mornin’, Sunshine!”

“Mornin’, love of my life!”

“Paper?”

“Yes please.” As I read, he tells me that on Sunday morning we will be headed into the City to the Christkindlmarket.

“Liv, you and the kids are going to love it! I promise, I’ve got the best day planned for us! I’ve arranged for us to stay at the condo Sunday night, so we don’t have to drive home.”

“You know, we aren’t supposed to be talking kids, but Ash! You think of everything! I love you so much!”

“Me too, hon! I’m so looking forward to having everyone at the house, but you have to promise me something”

“Anything!”

“Well, promise me that we can still have ‘our time.’ Last night, with you sleeping in my arms, skin on skin, was absolutely amazing! I need that, Liv. Don’t ever go back to your room. From now on, my room is our room.”

“I do promise you our time will be priority!”

“Pinkie swear?”

“Pinkie swear forever!”

We cross pinkies, and he kisses me and says, “Olivia, are you mine? I mean truly mine?”

“Yes, of course, silly! I am yours and you are mine.”

He takes my face into his hands.  “Okay, so from this day forward, you are mine and I am yours. And remember, we did pinkie swear! Mine?” he asks me.

“Yes, Yours?”

“Will you move in and make my room our room, please?“

“Yours, do you really think it’s a good idea for me to move into your room with Christmas coming and the kids coming here?”

“Mine, they aren’t stupid. You said Lainey knows about us. Tommy is bound to know by now. Bradley, well, we can sit them all down and talk to them. I have nothing to hide. This isn’t just a fling or an affair, so I don’t see the point in pretending anymore. Let’s just get things out in the open. I’m game. Are you?”

“You’re probably right, but I just feel, you know…I’m a mother…I’m almost fifty-eight years old. I haven’t been with anyone else besides Alan in thirty years. And telling our kids that we’re an item and sleeping together in the same room while I’m technically still married? Ehhh, not so easy.”

“Well, Mine, I can honestly say that we are more than an item. I think we’ve already established that!”

“Point taken, Yours! I promise I’ll think on it and have my people contact your people.” I wink at him and blow him a kiss.

He grabs me for a hug. “Oh, by the way, Ellen has invited us to her house for Christmas, and she and David are having a New Year’s Eve party. We really do have to go for Christmas, hon. I hope you don’t mind”

“Not at all. I’m looking forward to it!”

“And on New Year’s Eve, I figure the kids will probably want to go and watch the band play, so if you would do me the honor of being my date on New Year’s Eve, I promise to reward you with the most amazing kiss at midnight—a show stopper!”

“I would love nothing more than to be your date, and believe me; I do expect an over the top kiss!“

“Ash?”

“Yes, Mine?”

“I haven’t done Christmas shopping for my kids yet. I know what I want to get them, though. Want to go shopping with me sometime this week?”

“Of course! My schedule is actually pretty free this week. How about I take you to work in the morning and I’ll pick you up and we’ll go after work. We can grab dinner after.”

“Awww! Thank you, Ash. How sweet!”

“So, what are you thinking of getting them? Any ideas?”

“Yes, actually. I know exactly what I want to get them. I am thinking about briefcases or laptop cases. Since Lainey landed her blow dry salon account, I’d love to get her a nice leather briefcase. I thought I’d do that for all of them…maybe laptop cases for the boys.”

“I have the perfect place to shop, then. I’ll pick you up and we’ll go to Northbrook. We’ll shop and then grab some dinner. So tell me, have you done any other shopping, so far?”