Finding Home

by Jamey Moody

  “Hey, making sure I didn’t screw anything up while you were gone?”

  Olivia laughed, “Maybe. What are you doing here on a Sunday? I thought one of the perks of being the big boss was weekends off.”

  Elizabeth laughed, “Usually, but I left a set of plans here I need for the office tomorrow and came by to get them. Would you have a minute to come by the model now?”

  “Sure, I’ll follow you.”

  Elizabeth pulled into the driveway and got out of her car, waiting for Olivia to ride up. She leaned her bike against the garage as Elizabeth approached her. Olivia looked up when she noticed a bike rider zoom past. It looked like Frankie. Olivia called to her but she kept going; it felt strange.

  “Did you know her?”

  “Yeah, well I think so. That looked like Frankie, we ride bikes together a couple of times a week. Must not have been or surely she would’ve stopped.”

  “Do you want to go after her?”

  Olivia looked in the direction the bike rider went. “No, it couldn’t have been her.” She turned her attention on Elizabeth, “What’d you need to show me?”

  “Come on in.”

  ***

  Frankie had been at Your Way catching up on the schedule for next week. She’d ridden her bike there and planned to go for a ride in the subdivision before heading home. Thinking of the subdivision made her wonder if Olivia was back yet.

  She was looking forward to seeing her. All Frankie wanted to do was explain to Olivia that things were over with Laura for good and then she wanted to take her in her arms and kiss her like her life depended on it. Because it did. Olivia was who she didn’t know she was waiting on all this time.

  She hopped on her bike and headed to the subdivision; her thoughts on the last time she was there with Olivia. This led her right by the house where she’d surprised her with dinner on the patio. That may have been the best first date Frankie had ever had. She hoped Olivia would come to the gym tomorrow, but if she didn’t, she planned to call her and ask her out on a real date. Just the thought of seeing Olivia again brought a smile to her face.

  In the distance she noticed a car coming towards her. This was odd because there was rarely any traffic here, especially not on Sunday. The car pulled into the model home where the office was located. That’s when she noticed a bike rider behind the car. Frankie slowed down and the woman that got out of the car was the same one she saw with Olivia at the restaurant. And then she saw Olivia! She was back and meeting up with this woman again. Frankie didn’t know what to do, she panicked; she sped up and rode by, hoping they wouldn’t notice her. She thought she heard Olivia call her name, but she kept going.

  So many emotions were running through her head. Desi and Stella were wrong, Olivia was on a date with that woman and seeing her again as soon as she got back from Houston. How could Olivia forget about her so quickly? She thought Olivia felt that connection between them, too. It took so long for them to finally connect and stop fighting it and then Laura had shown up. Did Olivia give up? Was it not worth giving them a chance? Frankie couldn’t believe she was asking these questions much less the answers. She realized this was hypocritical but, her feelings for Olivia were blinding.

  ***

  Olivia walked into the pool area hoping for a relaxing swim in order to get her mind off Frankie. She hadn’t slept well last night. The more she thought about it, she was sure that was Frankie that rode by at the subdivision office. She started to text her last night but stopped because the idea that she was with Laura was too much for her to handle. Maybe that’s why she didn’t stop, maybe she and Laura were back together. The idea of that made her toss and turn. Once again, had she messed up by backing away from Frankie?

  She took her cover-up and shoes off and was about to get in the pool when Stella walked in. When she spotted Olivia, she hurried to her and wrapped her in a hug.

  “I’m so glad to see you!”

  Olivia chuckled, hugging her back, “I’m glad to see you too! I’ve missed our swims and therapy sessions.”

  Stella held her at arm’s length, “Therapy sessions, I thought we were being friends.”

  “We are, it’s just that sometimes I needed your perspective.”

  “You needed perspective while you were gone?”

  “I probably could’ve used it, but I know I need it now.”

  “What’s up? You look tired.”

  “I am tired, I didn’t sleep much last night.”

  “Because?”

  “I was riding my bike at the subdivision yesterday. My boss pulled in and wanted to show me a set of plans, so I was in the driveway when I thought I saw Frankie ride by on her bike. I called out to her, but she kept going. I guess she’s back with Laura, but I thought she would’ve at least stopped. I haven’t heard a thing from her since I left. I don’t know what I expected, but I thought she might let me know if they got back together or what.” When she finished, she took a deep breath and sighed.

  Stella took a minute to process all that Olivia said. “First, she is not back with Laura. They’ve ended it for sure this time.”

  Olivia looked at her astonished, “They aren’t together! Then why wouldn’t she stop? Why didn’t she want to see me?”

  Stella thought about what Olivia described and then it came to her. “Olivia, was your boss in the driveway, too?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can you describe her for me?”

  Olivia looked at her skeptically, “Okay, she’s older than me and I would describe her as very put together. She’s very confident and you can tell she’s in charge. Why?”

  “One more question, do you go out with her sometimes?”

  “No! She’s married and has kids!”

  “I don’t mean like that; do you have work dinners?”

  “Oh, uh yeah, we’ve done that a couple of times.”

  “I think I know what’s happened. Why don’t you sit down a minute.”

  Olivia sat down, her heart racing and a sick feeling building in her stomach.

  “Did you have dinner with your boss before you left for Houston?”

  “Yes.”

  “Frankie saw you.”

  “What? I don’t understand.”

  “While you were having dinner with your boss, Frankie and Laura were there.”

  “I thought I saw them, but they were leaving. I figured I was mistaken. What does that have to do with this?”

  “Frankie thought you were on a date.”

  “On a date!” Olivia got up and paced, thinking back to that night.

  “How could I be on a date. I’d just told her goodbye; that doesn’t make sense. I don’t want to date anyone.” As the words came out of her mouth she thought of Jenna. She didn’t want to date Jenna either but, they’d certainly fallen into bed together.

  “That’s exactly what Desi and I both told her. You wouldn’t be going on a date so soon after Laura showed back up.”

  “But what about yesterday? Why wouldn’t she stop? And why didn’t she text me the entire time I was gone.” Olivia felt tears spring to her eyes. She just now realized how much it had hurt that Frankie hadn’t gotten in touch with her while she was gone.

  “If she saw your boss, I’m sure she thought you were there with her again.”

  A tear rolled down her cheek, “But why wouldn’t she just ask me? Why didn’t she text me something while I was gone?”

  “Now that, I don’t know. She did ask me if I’d heard from you. And I know she was looking forward to you coming home.”

  “She has a funny way of showing it.

  “Come here,” Stella took Olivia in her arms. “You two need to sit down and talk. This is all a misunderstanding.”

  “I can’t believe Frankie would think I’d do that, though. Is that what she thinks of me?”

  “No! She’s had a pretty hard time too, Olivia.”

  “I know that. That was the whole reason that I backed away - to make it a little easier for her. But
sometimes I feel like I shouldn’t have done that. And then all these crazy ideas fly through my head. I swear, I’m thirty-three years old; I’m supposed to be an adult and act like one, but I feel more like I’m back in high school.”

  Stella laughed, “Oh honey, it doesn’t matter how old you are, love is complicated and makes us feel foolish at times.”

  Olivia laughed too, “It sure does.” After a moment she turned to Stella, “What do I do now?”

  “Swim. I’ll see Frankie this morning and tell her what an idiot she is.”

  “That still doesn’t answer why I didn’t hear from her while I was gone.”

  “You can ask her when you talk. Promise me right now that you will talk to her.”

  Olivia nodded, “I will.”

  “Good. I’ll get the same promise from her. Now, go relax and swim. I’ll call you later.”

  “What about you? Aren’t you going to swim?”

  “No. I’m going to go find Frankie right now!”

  Olivia chuckled, but felt a little bad for Frankie because Stella meant business.

  “You two need to communicate if this relationship is ever going to go anywhere. This should be a good example of what happens when you don’t. You’ve got to talk to each other.”

  “I know, you’re right. I won’t let it happen again.”

  Stella smiled and walked away wondering what would’ve happened if she hadn’t figured this out. She hoped they would have eventually talked before too much damage had been done. Communication was the key to any relationship. We all know this. Why is it so hard sometimes?

  ***

  Stella walked into the office to find Frankie and Desi both at their computers answering emails.

  “Less than two weeks till the triathlon and we’re still getting entries. That’s great and all, but I sure hope these people have been training,” said Frankie.

  Stella stood with her hands on her hips staring at Frankie. She finally looked up, “What?”

  “What is wrong with you?” she said, clearly frustrated and angry.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You saw Olivia yesterday and just rode on by?”

  “You and Desi were wrong, that was a date. I saw her again yesterday with the same woman!” she said defensively.

  “So you kept going?”

  She sighed, frustrated. “I didn’t know what to do. I saw her and then I saw that woman and I panicked.”

  “Again, so you just rode on by!”

  “Yes, I rode on by. I was hurt and embarrassed.”

  “Oh Frankie, my dear, sweet, idiotic friend.”

  “What happened, Stella? How do you know this?” asked Desi.

  “Because I swam this morning with Olivia. She is very confused and hurt because she didn’t hear from you the entire time she was gone, and when she saw you yesterday she called out for you, but you kept going.”

  “She’s hurt? Why is she hurt, she’s the one that has already started dating someone else.”

  “The woman you saw her with both times was her boss. She was not on a date; it was a business dinner. And she ran into her yesterday while she was riding. She didn’t say this, but I’m going to guess that maybe she was riding in that area in hopes of running into you!”

  “Her boss? Oh my god!” she said, putting her head in her hands.

  “What are you going to do now?” asked Desi.

  “I’ll tell you what she’s going to do. She’s going to call Olivia and they are going to sit down and have a conversation,” She looked at Frankie severely, “Got it?”

  “Yes Stella, I’ll call her now.”

  “Wait just a second, why didn’t you text her while she was away?” asked Desi.

  “I don’t know. I wasn’t sure she wanted to hear from me. It was bad enough that she had to back away, and I didn’t want to throw Laura in her face.”

  “What a fucking mess,” said Desi.

  “Yeah, but I think we may have made it worse by not talking,” she said, looking at Stella.

  “Let’s hope you two can work it out. You’re both my friends and I think you would be good together if you communicate.”

  “I get it, Stel. Thanks. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to call her now.”

  Five minutes later Frankie walked back into the office.

  “We’re meeting when she gets off work this evening at the subdivision. Would one of you please cover my 5:30 class?”

  “I’d be happy to,” said Desi.

  “Do me a favor, Frankie,” said Stella, putting her arm around Frankie’s shoulders. “Be honest and don’t be scared to tell Olivia what was going through your head at the time. All of this really messed you up, but she’ll understand.”

  “I hope so.”

  Chapter 18

  Frankie saw Olivia’s car in the driveway at the model house office and pulled in behind her. She didn’t think she’d ever been this nervous. She had been an idiot, and she hoped Olivia would give her a chance not only to explain, but would figure this out with her.

  As she raised her hand to knock on the door it opened. Olivia stood before her and Frankie lost her breath. They both smiled a little shyly.

  “Hey,” Olivia said quietly. “Come on in.”

  “Thanks”

  “Let’s sit over here,” she said, leading them to the couch.

  They both sat, next to one another but not touching. Neither said anything as they looked into one another’s eyes.

  “I’m trying to find the best way to start. So, here goes. After we said goodbye, I was lost. That evening I went to dinner with Laura. When we were seated, I looked up and you were sitting across the room from me with a beautiful woman - who I only now know was your boss.” Olivia nodded and let her continue. “Here is what I saw: you with a sophisticated woman that was the total opposite of me.” Olivia started to speak, but Frankie held up her hand, “Please let me continue.” Olivia nodded. Frankie went on, “This beautiful woman appeared to be ordering for you both. You laughed a few times and I almost got sick. I couldn’t keep my eyes off you, so I asked Laura if we could leave without telling her why.”

  “I saw you, too. I wasn’t sure, you and Laura were leaving. I was trying to not think about you and concentrate on my job, so I thought I was seeing things.”

  “I told Desi and Stella what I saw and they told me I was crazy that you wouldn’t be on a date the day you told me goodbye.”

  “But you thought I was. You thought I would do that.”

  “No, I didn’t, but the way my mind was working that’s what I saw. When I told them about it, I could hear how stupid it sounded. I think I told myself that because I couldn’t blame you. Who would want to wait around to see if someone was going to get back with their ex?” she said, her voice getting higher.

  Olivia smiled, “I would because I’m the one that suggested it. And now, I don’t think that was what I should’ve done.”

  “You don’t?”

  “No! What good did that do? It showed you that I wasn’t willing to fight for us. No wonder you thought I was on a date,” she said, sighing.

  Frankie scooted closer to Olivia and took her hand, their knees touching. “I’m sorry I didn’t text you while you were gone.”

  Olivia looked up into her eyes, “Why didn’t you?”

  Frankie shook her head, “I didn’t think you’d want to hear from me. You’d backed away and I didn’t want to make it harder on you, and instead I hurt you. I’m so sorry, Olivia. That’s the last thing I ever wanted to do.”

  Olivia gave her a small smile. “I could’ve contacted you, too. But I was afraid.”

  “Afraid of what?”

  “I was afraid you’d text me back and tell me you’d worked things out with Laura.”

  Frankie nodded. “I knew within the first couple of days it wasn’t going to work. I don’t love her anymore. But I also realize I had to take some of the blame. If she had been happy, she wouldn’t have turned to that guy. So, afte
r several sessions with Grace and talking to Laura I now see my mistakes.”

  Olivia asked the question with her eyes.

  “I never talked about the future with her. She would bring it up and I’d change the subject without even knowing I was doing it. She was insecure about our relationship because of that. I told you I never saw us together long term, which would’ve been fine if I’d talked to her about it. I seem to be bad at talking because with you I jumped to conclusions instead of simply asking you about your boss.” She squeezed Olivia’s hand. “I’m not doing that anymore.”

  Olivia looked puzzled, “What does that mean?”

  “I want another chance with you. I know what I feel when I’m with you and I hope you still feel it too, because you did once. When you opened that door our connection pulled me to you and I don’t ever want it to stop. I see my future with you, Olivia. I saw it when we rode bikes together. I saw it when you were in class. I saw it and felt it the night you kissed me right down the street. I don’t mean to overwhelm you, but I want you to know for sure and not have to wonder how I feel.”

  Olivia looked into Frankie’s eyes; she had heard all she needed to hear. It took everything she had not to jump into Frankie’s arms and kiss her when she first opened the door. And now she knew Frankie felt as she did, even though they hadn’t yet said the word.

  ”Frankie, I…,” Olivia took Frankie’s face in her hands and pulled her close. She stopped and looked in her green eyes as they darkened, then she looked down at her lips and captured them with hers. The kiss was soft, but full of yearning. Olivia parted her lips and touched her tongue to Frankie’s, and she immediately opened them. When their tongues met Olivia lost her breath. They deepened the kiss and explored one another’s mouths, making up for the time lost over the last few weeks. All the kisses that should have been kissed were wrapped up in this one life-changing moment.

  They finally stopped to breathe, looking deeply into one another’s eyes.

  “I have something to ask you,” Frankie said.

  “Okay?”

  “Would you please go out with me on a proper date?”