Immediately, Mila flung up from the bed and hustled for the door. “Crap! I have my first client at the salon at nine!” she called.
“Ugh. I’m supposed to help out at the bakery today,” Jennifer said. “But this bed is so warm.”
Olivia leaped from the bedsheets and swung her phone to her ear. In seconds, she had the school secretary on the phone. “Sonja, hey. I had something come up this morning. Yep. It’s Chelsea again. Exactly.”
From the bed, Amelia chuckled.
“You can have a substitute take over for me until lunch, can’t you?” Olivia asked. “I promise this won’t happen again, ever. Well, not ever, but you get the picture.”
At this, Amelia burst into even more laughter. When Olivia finally hung up the phone, she smirked at Amelia and said, “What? You nearly gave me away.”
“I just can’t believe you threw your daughter under the bus like that,” Amelia commented. “What the heck did Chelsea do to deserve that?”
“She didn’t! I panicked. And I have a feeling that girl wouldn’t mind that I threw her under the bus for our party. She saw me freaking out before I left. She had to explain to me what being blocked on the phone was,” Olivia said.
“What is that?” Amelia demanded.
“Yeah. What’s that?” Camilla asked.
“Well, at least now, I don’t feel like the biggest idiot in the world,” Olivia said.
One by one, Olivia, Amelia, Jennifer, and Camilla wandered out of Anthony’s bedroom. Camilla snuck her nose under her armpit and grunted. “I smell like I slept in a barn,” she said.
“Well, this place is still more or less a barn,” Jennifer said.
“Hey!” Olivia said. “I resent that.”
As they scrambled into the day ahead, Olivia felt all light and overwhelmed with emotion. She kissed her friends on the cheeks and sped to her car door. As she yanked the door open, Jennifer called out, “Make sure you tell us what he was up to last night!”
“And don’t let him get away with any shady stuff,” Amelia said.
Olivia slipped into the car seat and rapped the window with her knuckles as a final goodbye. It was difficult to explain it with words, but she had never felt more excited in her life for someone to arrive back on the island. Anthony Paulson would return by the weekend, and he said he had a few things to tell her. Throughout their time together, he’d felt like a closed book.
Now, he wanted to open up to her.
And Olivia could only imagine that “opening up” meant one thing: he wanted her in his life for the long haul, to start something long-term with her – she hoped.
ANTHONY WROTE THAT he would be at the mansion on Friday evening at seven-thirty. This left Olivia several hours of prep-time prior to his arrival. She rushed out of school, stopped at the grocery store, and managed to fill her cart with enough food to feed a family of seven, maybe eight. As she hovered at the meat counter, wondering if Anthony liked salami, she received a text from her daughter, Chelsea.
CHELSEA: Look behind you.
Olivia turned around to find Chelsea and Xavier. Chelsea had her crutches drawn up tight beneath her armpits, and Xavier held a grocery basket with his left hand and held a hand on Chelsea’s shoulder to steady her, just in case. They beamed at Olivia and seemed to generate this feeling of impossible hope.
“What the heck are you two doing here!” Olivia asked. She abandoned her grocery cart and headed toward them, then tenderly hugged Chelsea so as not to knock her over. Although she’d seen her the previous night, she hadn’t seen her outside of their house in a while. It was so amazing to see her up and walking around.
“And hey there, stranger,” Olivia beamed at Xavier as she patted him on the arm. “I guess I just saw you, huh?”
“Seventh period. Every day,” Xavier replied. He winked at this, a nod to the fact that he’d played hooky and been caught.
But in these moments, Olivia didn’t care at all.
“We’re just getting stuff to make tacos,” Chelsea said. “I got so tired of take-out.”
“Understandable,” Olivia said. “I don’t think I’ve seen you cook.”
“Xavier’s fantastic at it,” Chelsea said. She gave Xavier a sidelong glance and beamed. “He’s taught me a lot.”
“And what are you making?” Xavier asked, pointing to the full cart toward the meat counter.
Olivia blushed. “Well, I guess, risotto. But I made sure to buy up the entire rest of the store, just in case.”
“Right. For your date,” Chelsea said, teasing her.
Olivia rolled her eyes. “Anthony comes back from Providence, yes. But it’s not like we’re —”
“Uh-huh. Whatever you say, Mom. Making dinner for each other, drinking wine and freaking out about text messages,” Chelsea said. “Definitely not ‘dating.’ Not at all.”
Then, she winked. Olivia’s daughter actually winked.
After the grocery store, Olivia made her way up at the mansion and set to work. The risotto wasn’t a task for the faint of heart, and she also wanted to set up the kitchen and dining and living area with a bouquet of flowers and some candles to set a romantic ambiance. An hour before Anthony’s arrival, he texted his whereabouts, and Olivia’s heart began to hammer itself against the side of her chest. She very nearly dropped the pot of risotto, which would have been an absolute catastrophe, just like a type-A person to fall apart right when she needed to keep it together the most.
She heard Anthony’s truck creep down the gravel driveway about an hour later. Everything was set with two plates on the dining table; the wine was poured, the music set along with candles flickering. She glanced down at her dress and prayed it was the appropriate one for the “I think I’m falling in love with you” conversation. It was difficult to say. Certainly, she had banked on a bit of cleavage, which made her feel a bit risky and silly.
Mila had talked her into it. She’d said, “Take a risk, babe. Your rack is great.” And at this, Olivia had burst into laughter. Nobody had ever said “rack” to her before.
Olivia rushed toward the front door to open it, remembering that time, not so long ago when Anthony had opened the door for her and Chelsea. She hadn’t expected him. Gosh, there was so much of this that she hadn’t expected at all. It had completely changed her life.
But when she did open that door, she was surprised to find Anthony there before her, standing beside a teenage girl of around sixteen or seventeen. The girl had dark hair like Anthony and big blue eyes that seemed to capture the very last of the Vineyard sunlight.
Olivia forced a bright smile across her lips as she turned her gaze toward Anthony’s. His words landed heavily in the space between them.
“Olivia. I can’t tell you how pleased I am to introduce you to my daughter. This is Melanie Paulson.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
In the weeks and months after Tyler announced he was leaving her, Olivia often awoke in a deep sweat and played over the events in her mind. “I’m leaving you,” he had said. “I’m leaving you, and I’m moving to Boston, and I don’t know if I’ll ever come back. I’m sorry. I just can’t do this. It’s not good for you and it’s not good for Chelsea and it’s not good for me.” How ridiculous was it that Olivia could still remember the way his voice had broken while he’d told her. How ridiculous was it that she could still remember it now, as she led Anthony and his teenage daughter, a complete shock to her by the way, into the home her Great Aunt Marcia had left as her inheritance. What the heck was happening? Why couldn’t things remain the same, even for just a split-second?
“It’s so beautiful here,” Melanie said as she slipped out of her coat. “Dad told me about all the work you two have done. It’s mesmerizing.”
“Well, your dad is quite the handyman,” Olivia told her. She slipped a dark strand of hair behind her ear and tried to smile even more. “You should see the upstairs. There’s this beautiful window that overlooks the Nantucket Sound in your father's bedroom.”
“You’ll have to give me a tour later,” Melanie said. “But right now, I’m starving.”
Melanie excused herself to head to the bathroom. This left Olivia and Anthony in awkward silence. Her eyes found his for a long moment. Her shoulders fell forward and she prayed she wouldn’t burst into tears.
Did he have a wife somewhere? Was this the first of many secrets he would now reveal?
Olivia knew better than to trust any man. She should have protected herself from the idea of any of this. How ridiculous that she could fall in love at forty. Her fingers flitted toward the keys on the counter as her mind hunted around for some idea of departure. Maybe, she could use Chelsea again. She needed her, obviously, and her leg was broken, which gave Olivia the perfect excuse to escape.
But it meant that she would run away from her problems, all over again. How typical.
Anthony’s eyes seemed to glisten with understanding. After a long pause, he sighed and said, “I know you must be thinking a million things right now.”
Olivia wanted to protest. But obviously, he knew her too well already.
He lowered his voice. “There’s a lot to say. A lot. But I want to wait till Melanie goes to bed, okay? And, trust me when I say this. I wanted her to meet you for a reason, okay? I wanted her to meet you and only you. You’ve been —”
But suddenly, Melanie appeared on the stairs again and broke their conversation in two. Olivia’s eyes caught Anthony’s again. There was so much left to say.
“That bedroom is beautiful, Dad,” Melanie said brightly. She looked at her father like he was the sun and the moon and the stars, all put together. “I can’t believe you built this place back up.”
“We still have a lot to do,” Anthony said. “But Olivia’s been a great help.”
“I guess it’s your place, right?” Melanie asked, looking at Olivia. “Your great-aunt gave it to you?”
“Yes, however, I don’t know why,” Olivia lied.
“She knew you were the only one of all her family members who would appreciate it,” Anthony affirmed. “When you see this place, you see both its potential and its past at once. That’s necessary for an old building like this.”
They sat for dinner. Olivia hustled around to grab another plate, along with a wine glass, that she filled with juice, which she had purchased for what she thought would be for a “romantic” breakfast the following morning. Now, Melanie lifted her glass of OJ and clinked it with her father’s and Olivia’s wine glasses. This was not what Olivia had envisioned — yet, then again, nothing really ever was.
OLIVIA DIDN’T GET ANY more details about what had happened until after Melanie had headed up to bed for the night. Olivia watched as Anthony’s muscular arm reached for the bottle of wine and poured them additional glasses. They sat on the couch, a few inches apart, as the fire burned brightly in the fireplace. Olivia’s throat was tight. So tight actually that she thought maybe, she wouldn’t be able to breathe, let alone speak.
But before the silence stretched on too long, Anthony said, “I should have told you about her, about all of it. And I’m sorry I didn’t. I was broken-hearted, honestly.”
Olivia furrowed her brow. If there was anything she understood in this world, it was a broken heart. She’d carried hers around on her sleeve since Tyler had left. She’d thought she might never get over it.
“You can tell me anything,” Olivia breathed. “Seriously. I know that sounds like a line, but I’ve been through hell and back, so I might understand more than you think.”
“No, I know. I know you mean it,” he said. He reached through the space between them and took her hand in his. The motion was so tender, the most beautiful thing Olivia had experienced in years. “I left Providence a year ago. Your great-aunt was the only lighthouse I had. My ex — well, we’re in the middle of divorcing — had an affair with one of my best friends. There was an incident, and she framed it on me. I know that sounds awful, it does, but she admits now that she was in the wrong. She took my daughter away from me and told me never to come back. But the other night, Melanie left. She was enraged and had enough and Matilda needed my help to find her.” He stuttered with the emotion of it. “I don’t know. All I know is that my daughter has been my entire world for sixteen years. Even when I didn’t see her every day, I felt my love for her in everything I did. Even when I restored this fireplace or when I set to work on the patio. Everything.”
Olivia knew the immensity of a parent’s love. It was why she’d been so confused at Tyler’s ability to just leave Chelsea. Didn’t he understand it, too?
“I don’t want to live without her,” Anthony admitted softly. “Now that I have her back, she’s going to come stay every other weekend here on the island.”
Olivia’s eyes grew wider. “Until you’re done with the mansion?”
Anthony shook his head. “No. I want to stay here. That is if you’ll let me.”
Olivia wasn’t sure what to say next. Again, she had the urgent desire to kiss him. But before she did, she said, “I really do have something to show you.”
Anthony’s eyebrows raised high on his forehead with curiosity. “That’s right! I almost forgot.”
When she and the girls had discovered the strange, antique chest in the wall downstairs, she hadn’t allowed any of them to open it. She knew in her heart, Anthony had to be there; after all, he’d ached to find the thing throughout his dark months alone. Now, she understood just how dark those months had been. He’d missed his daughter. He’d been cast out from his life. The “treasure” had probably been just something to fill the void and stop the torment in his heart.
Olivia understood that. In some ways, his “treasure” was to Anthony what those home improvement shows had been to her and Chelsea: something to obsess over, so you didn’t have to think about your own life.
Mila and Olivia had carried the antique chest up to the parlor room, which she and Anthony had spent all of the previous weekend working on. Still, the heat didn’t quite make it in there, and they shivered from a chill. Anthony’s eyes dropped to the antique chest, and his mouth fell open in surprise. After a long moment of silence, he whispered, “Don’t tell me you found it without me!”
Olivia burst into laughter. He dropped to his knees and placed his hand on the top of the old wooden chest.
“It was an accident,” she said. “Mila went downstairs to grab some wine from the cellar, and she accidentally fell into that old pillar. I hate to break it to you, but there’s a lot more support we have to do downstairs. And a whole new wall to build up.”
Anthony’s smile widened as he spread his fingers out wider on the chest. “I can’t believe it. All those diaries that were taken. All that research I did. And all this time, it was hidden in the wine cellar.”
Olivia dropped down beside him as well and curled her legs beneath her. She bubbled with excitement alongside him. All she’d wanted was for him to return. She realized she didn’t care about the treasure at all.
“Shall we open it?” he asked, turning his eyes toward hers.
Olivia gave a light shrug. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
“Are you afraid of what will happen?” he asked.
“Who knows. I’ve seen Indiana Jones. It never ends well when you open the treasure,” Olivia said.
Anthony chuckled. Then, in a flash, he placed his hand on her cheek, and he gazed into her eyes. The next moment seemed to swallow Olivia whole. As he kissed her, she abandoned all connection to reality. She existed only in his lips and in his growing love and in the amazement she felt for all of this. How strange it was that she could feel again. How strange it was that she, at forty years old, could have such an adventure.
Finally, their kiss broke. Anthony dotted his nose against hers, and then he drew open the antique chest to find the treasure within.
What they found was better than they could have ever expected.
The very first level of it held an envelope. They carefully opened it to reveal
a letter.
My darling Marcia,
You did it. You ran through my diaries, studied the maps, and finally discovered the treasure I put here in the walls for you.
How I love your curiosity, my little Marcia. How I love your intellect.
I know that the world is a better place because you’re in it.
Now, find here. I’ve latched away your memories so that you may enjoy them later. How terrible is it, as you grow older and abandon all thought about the past? It happens to all of us. I have set up a way for it to never happen to you.
Love you forever, your grandfather
Beneath the letter, Olivia and Anthony sifted through a number of memories — more diaries, drawings Marcia had made for her grandfather, and little toys, which, Olivia was sure, Marcia had loved back then and very soon forgotten about. With each thing they lifted out of the chest and studied, Olivia’s heart broke even more. She couldn’t believe it. The treasure Anthony had hunted for all this time was no more than a collection of beautiful memories between a grandfather and granddaughter.
“Wow,” Anthony breathed. He leaned back and gazed down at the toys and the letters and the diaries and the photographs. “All this time and it was just a game between two people who loved each other so very much and have already left this world.”
Olivia leaned back as well. In a moment, her head was upon his chest, and she listened to the steady quake of his beating heart. In some ways, this was better than any money or treasure. This was proof that the memories you had somehow outlived you. The love you felt for other people was so much bigger than the materialist things that people hungered for.
It was beautiful. It was tranquil.
And it was all Olivia could hope for, as she fell deeper in love with Anthony Paulson.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Mom! You coming?” Chelsea rapped at the car window and then readjusted her crutches beneath her. She blinked through the late February light as Xavier appeared behind her and gazed curiously through the glass. Strangely enough, Olivia had grown accustomed to the teen; she’d even made peace with the idea that soon, Chelsea and Xavier would leave the island together and “seek out their futures together.” In a sense, Olivia was terribly excited for them. Someday soon, the island would be their past.
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