by A. E. Radley
23
“W-wife?” the young woman choked out. She looked from Emily to Olivia and then back again. “B-but… you’re dead!”
Emily watched as Olivia got to her feet and stared at the young woman in horror.
“Dead? What gave you that idea?!”
“You! And Henry! You said she was gone.”
“To London,” Olivia explained, eyes wide.
Emily wasn’t quite sure what she had walked into. Obviously, there was a strange woman in her house putting some moves on her wife. Before she’d even heard about her apparent demise, she’d been sure that there would be a reasonable explanation for what she’d stumbled into.
Olivia had looked terrified as the young brunette started to approach her. Whatever was happening was definitely not Olivia’s idea.
“Oh my god.” The young woman put her head in her hands and sat on the sofa. “I’m mortified. I thought she was dead.” She looked up at Emily. “I’m so sorry.”
Emily laughed. It was all she could think to do in the midst of the crazy situation. She stepped forward and held out her hand. “Let’s start again. Hi, I’m Emily White.”
The woman sprung to her feet and shook her hand. “Natalie Costa.”
Emily looked at Olivia with mock-horror. “Henry’s teacher, Olivia! Really!”
“But… I… Emily, please… I…” Olivia fumbled.
“I’m kidding,” Emily soothed. “It’s okay. I can see there’s been some wild misunderstanding here.”
“I’m so sorry, Olivia,” Natalie said. “I’m mortified. I completely misunderstood the situation. Henry said he was missing his mother. Said she was gone… we all just assumed. And then I saw you, and…”
“Don’t worry, misunderstandings are rife in this family,” Emily said.
“I’m so sorry you walked in on this. It was all my fault. Olivia was just being a perfect hostess, and I completely misread all the signs.”
“Really, it’s fine. I’m laughing about it already,” Emily promised. It was true. She was already thinking of all the ways she could mock Olivia.
Natalie snatched her cardigan from the back of the sofa and slipped her feet into her heels. “I should go.”
“I’ll walk you out,” Emily offered, seeing as Olivia stood like a statue in the middle of the room.
“The offer to volunteer with the children is still open, if you… if you feel like you can,” Natalie said to Olivia before hurrying towards the hallway.
Emily followed her and opened the front door.
“Again, I’m so sorry. Really, I can’t apologise enough. I can’t imagine what you must think of me.”
Emily shook her head. “I can see that it was all a huge misunderstanding. Nothing to apologise for. Obviously, if you could explain to the rest of Henry’s class and the faculty that I’m not dead that would be great.”
“Oh, I will, absolutely!” Natalie quickly exited the house, but stopped on the path and turned to face Emily. “Again, I’m so—”
Emily held up her hands. “It’s fine. Well, it’s not fine, but I understand that it was a mistake and I can totally see how it happened. We’ll see each other at the next PTA meeting, and we’ll laugh about it.”
“I hope so,” Natalie said, her cheeks a deep shade of red.
“Drive safe,” Emily instructed with a soft smile before closing the door. She leaned her head on the doorframe and let out a small chuckle.
“I’m also sorry…”
She turned to see Olivia standing in the hallway, her fingers knotted together, and her face wrought with guilt.
“You have nothing to apologise for. She was the one attempting to mount you like a zoo animal. And I can’t really blame her; I’d be the same if I saw someone like you on the market and thought I had a chance.”
Olivia blushed and stared down at her feet. “I-I had no idea… I didn’t…”
All thoughts of mocking her floated out of Emily’s head. She stepped forward, pulling her into an embrace.
“Don’t worry, I should have told you I was coming home early so that you could get your fangirls out of the house,” she joked.
Olivia chuckled. “I don’t have fangirls,” she whispered into Emily’s hair.
“Well, you would say that,” Emily mumbled. “I’m sure there’s a whole harem in here during the week.”
“Only on Mondays,” Olivia replied.
Emily laughed and gently slapped Olivia on the shoulder as she pulled back.
“Why are you home early? Not that I’m not pleased to see you,” Olivia added.
Emily attempted to keep the smile on her face. “I’ll tell you all about it once I get some coffee,” she deflected.
“Oh, of course… I’ll…” Olivia turned and walked towards the kitchen and Emily followed her.
She knew she had to have the conversation with Olivia, but she was hoping to put it off a few more moments. Nicole had insisted that Emily go home a day early while she herself contacted the authorities. It had been the right thing to do, but Emily knew it wouldn’t go down well at all with her wife.
In the kitchen, there were dirty dinner plates and various utensils and cookery stacked on the counter. Olivia set about putting the coffee maker on, and Emily leaned her back on a free square of work surface and folded her arms.
“Just a teensy, tiny question. Probably not even worth asking. But, why are you cooking a homemade meal for Henry’s teacher?” Emily asked with a chuckle. She knew Olivia’s tendency for getting herself into these kinds of situations.
Olivia reached into the cupboard and pulled out the good coffee, clearly trying to wiggle back into her good books. The action told Emily that Olivia was still a little uncertain of her reaction, expecting the worst.
Olivia started measuring the coffee into the filter in the top of the machine.
“She was coming over to discuss my volunteering in Henry’s class. She was very impressed with Henry’s mathematical abilities, and Henry told her that I had taught him. Apparently, they have volunteers come in to speak to the children, and she thought I might be a good candidate. We were supposed to be talking about that, and I thought she was being nice, so I was being nice in the hope that I’d make a new friend.” Olivia turned and waved the measuring cup at Emily. “Which, frankly, is your fault. You’re always telling me to make new friends. I tried and then, well, this happened.”
Olivia picked up the coffee pot and walked over to the sink.
“Yes, completely my fault.” Emily sat on a stool at the kitchen island.
“And I don’t know where she got the idea that you were dead!” Olivia complained as she filled the pot. “I said I missed you. I didn’t say I was grieving you. I said the weeks were long and lonely. The weeks. Indicating that the weekends were not.”
She snapped the lid closed and stalked back over to the coffee maker, where she poured the water into the top.
“She didn’t say that Henry was upset at the death of his mother. Just that he was strong and resilient, which he is. A-and I said that I needed to get on with my life as I’d recently retired to spend… more time with Henry.”
Olivia lowered the jug, looking blankly at the wall as she thought on. “She said that Henry was upset that his mommy had gone away. And I… I asked her over to dinner.” She lowered her head. “And asked if she preferred red or white wine.” She spun around and stared at Emily. “Oh, dear god, I asked her on a date, didn’t I?”
Emily held up her thumb and forefinger. “A little bit.”
Olivia turned back to the coffee maker, slammed the lid down, and stabbed at the power button.
“But it was an easy mistake to make!” Emily acknowledged. “You couldn’t have known that she thought ‘gone away’ meant ‘gone to heaven.’ You know how dramatic Henry can be.” Emily held out her arms. “Come here,” she instructed.
Olivia grumpily crossed the kitchen and into Emily’s open arms. “I screwed up.”
“You had
a misunderstanding, it’s all over with now. She knows I’m not dead. She still wants you to volunteer, which I think is a great idea, by the way.”
Olivia leaned back in Emily’s arms. “You do?”
“I do. If you’re lonely during the week, then it might be good to have something to occupy your time, especially when I’m away.” Emily looked at her seriously. “Are you lonely?”
She felt Olivia go tense. It was a conversation that Emily had wanted to have ever since she started commuting. Now there was a reason to discuss it, and Emily was going to grab it.
“I…” Olivia trailed off.
Emily gently rubbed her sides. “It’s okay. Whatever it is. You can say it.”
Olivia took a deep breath and looked down at the space between them, avoiding Emily’s eyes.
“I… I can’t get settled.” She met Emily’s gaze. “I mean, there’s something…”
“You feel that something is missing?” Emily asked after a few moments of silence.
Olivia nodded, relief flooding her face that Emily had caught onto what she meant.
“Olivia, I think you were a little hasty to give up work. I think you need something to occupy your mind. Being home alone while Henry is at school is enough to drive anyone to madness.”
“But I promised you. I said we’d be a family.”
Emily furrowed her brow. “We are a family. Being a family doesn’t involve one of us being at home all the time. It involves both of us being happy. Because if you’re not happy, then I’m not happy.”
“I’m happy,” Olivia hurried to reassure her.
“You’re not,” Emily replied. “Something is eating at you. Can you explain to me what it is?”
Olivia let out a small sigh and took a step back. Emily watched as Olivia started to pace the room. Whenever Olivia was trying to digest or explain something she was struggling with, she would pace, as if allowing the anxiety to flow through her feet and distribute itself through the ground like lightning.
“I… I promised you that I’d take a step back. When we were planning the wedding, I said that I’d stay home and let you explore a new career. And now I feel like I’m going back on that promise. Staying home is lonely. Doing it for years… I-I can’t imagine it. I’m so sorry. I know I made a promise, but I don’t know if I can keep it!”
Emily couldn’t help it as a chuckle escape her lips.
“This isn’t funny,” Olivia said with indignation.
“I’m sorry, it’s just… I thought you meant for a few weeks. We both knew that things were going to be stressful directly after the wedding. We knew I’d have to get back to London to work, and Henry was starting school. I thought you meant that you’d take things on for a few weeks until we were over that hump. But now I realise that you thought I meant forever.”
Olivia wrapped her arms around her middle and looked at Emily. “You… didn’t mean forever?”
Emily shook her head. “No. I know you love to work. I would never want to tie you to the house. Some people might want that, but I know it would be like torture for you.”
Olivia let out a breath, one from deep inside her, that had been held in for weeks.
“I… thank goodness. I mean, I love Henry. I do. And I am happy to take on that responsibility until we are more established in our new pattern. But I thought we had agreed to forever! I was calculating how many weeks Henry had left until he graduated college.”
Emily raised her hand to smother a grin.
“Don’t you dare laugh,” Olivia told her.
Emily coughed and tried to retain a neutral expression. “I’m sorry, we should have been clearer. I should have been more specific. I just thought it was obvious. You’re not a stay-at-home mom kind of person.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Olivia moved her hands to her hips.
“Really? You want me to remind you of the time I had to explain how the washing machine worked? Or the time I caught you ironing without plugging it in? And the fact you can’t open a childproof bottle of bleach.”
“I may not be a domestic goddess, but I learned. And I think I’m pretty good at it now,” Olivia said proudly.
“You are,” Emily agreed. “You are perfect. My little housewife. You know—”
“I told you, I’m not wearing that outfit.” Olivia rolled her eyes.
“Spoilsport.” Emily pouted for a moment. “Anyway, back to the matter at hand. I think volunteering might be a good idea. Or going back to work? Starting a new business? I think you need something to focus your energies on. Something that doesn’t involve remodelling the house every couple of weeks.”
“What about Henry?”
“He wouldn’t be much good at starting a new business, but I could ask him.”
Olivia rolled her eyes, but a slight smile was creeping onto her lips. “You know what I mean. Who will take care of Henry?”
“Well, my best friend is a registered childcare worker, as well as Henry’s third most favourite person in the world. And even if Lucy couldn’t take him for some reason, there are day care centres, nannies. We’re not the only working family in this situation.”
Olivia’s brow furrowed as she took the information in. Emily thought it adorable how someone so intelligent and practical in most areas of life could miss out on some very obvious things in others.
“But… Henry… wouldn’t it be better if he were with one of us?” Olivia asked.
Emily shrugged. “We can’t see into the future, never mind various alternate versions of the future. It’s one of the hardest things about being a parent. But I know that I grew up in various foster situations and Henry saw very little of me up until just a year ago. We seem to have turned out okay.”
Olivia smiled. “That you did.”
“I know the desire to ensure everything is perfect can be strong. But the truth is that life can be messy, things don’t always go according to plan. You have to do the best you can. You may think that staying home with Henry is the best for him, but if you’re not happy, then you will eventually become depressed and that will have a whole different set of repercussions.”
“Everything is very complicated,” Olivia groused. She walked over to the coffee machine and started to pour Emily a cup.
“It is,” Emily agreed. “But hopefully the payoff is worth it.”
Olivia walked over with the cup and saucer in her hand and a smile on her face. “Very worth it.” She placed a kiss on Emily’s lips and handed over the saucer. “I just wanted to help you, to play my part.”
“You have helped me. You continue to help me. But it can’t be at the cost of your own happiness, that’s not how this works,” Emily told her. “We’re a team.”
“We are,” Olivia agreed. Then, she realised something. “Oh, we’ve been so caught up in this that I forgot to ask. You didn’t tell me why you’re home early.”
24
Olivia paced furiously in front of the living room windows. Every now and then she turned to face Emily to say something, but the correct words would escape her, and she would continue pacing.
Emily had suggested that they move from the kitchen to the living room while she explained her early return. Olivia presumed the move was intended to soothe her, but no change of location could calm her now. She wouldn’t be calm until she stood over the still and motionless body of Emily’s tormentor.
She paused and blinked. She’d rarely had such violent thoughts. Clearing the image from her mind, she continued to pace. She needed to process what she had just heard. Someone was stalking her wife.
Her first reaction had been to declare that Emily wasn’t to leave the house again until the matter was resolved. Luckily, she hadn’t voiced that particular thought, knowing that Emily wouldn’t have appreciated the sentiment one bit.
If she wasn’t so livid and afraid, she would have mentally congratulated herself for holding back a thought which would have certainly been said aloud a mere year ago.
As
she started to wear a track in the flooring, Emily sipped her coffee. Olivia had no idea how she could be so calm while she was out of her mind with worry.
“What do we do?” she suddenly asked.
She was used to organising things, seeking out solutions and implementing fixes. It had been her profession and her personal skillset. But now she had no idea what to do, what to say. All she knew was that she wanted it fixed.
“As I said,” Emily repeated, “Nicole has called the police. Now we wait to see what they say.”
“And no one turned up at the theatre?” Olivia pressed.
“No. Nicole sent two of her friends, undercover, and the police also sent someone in plain clothes. No one saw anyone suspicious. Whoever it was could have changed their mind.”
“Or seen the supposed undercover people and run off,” Olivia added. “Incompetence.”
“Maybe,” Emily agreed. “Anyway, I wasn’t there. Nicole sent me home long before that, told me to have a nice long weekend with my family and put it out of my mind. Which is what I intend to do.”
“How can you be so calm?” Olivia demanded. “There’s a… a man, watching you.”
“Olivia,” Emily snapped. “That is not helping.”
Olivia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled.
“I may appear calm, but I’m pretty terrified about all of this. I’m trying to keep it together because freaking out isn’t going to help anyone. I need to keep a level head.”
Olivia opened her eyes and nodded. She turned to look out of the window at the dimly lit street. She knew the odds of the stalker being in New York were very slim, but she scanned the shadows just in case. She was itching to go to her office and look at ways of improving the home security system. She’d seen an advertisement on panic rooms a while ago. Now she wondered if they needed one. Or a gun. She’d never liked the idea of guns, but if Emily was in danger then maybe she needed to investigate the matter. Or private security. Someone who looked like they could snap a man in half accompanying Emily around town would surely put off any stalker.
“Olivia,” Emily said softly, trying to get a response out of her.