“Hello,” a man said behind me.
I turned slightly and saw someone that resembled the children slightly and racked my brain to remember the name that Mars told me.
“Dominico, right?” I asked after a moment.
He nodded and gave me a curt smile, “And who might you be?”
“Olivia,” I replied holding out a hand.
He took it and shook it briefly before turning his attention to the picture I had been staring at.
“My brother wanted very much to meet you. Marley spoke of you as family,” he said quietly.
“I’m sorry. I fucked up, I know that I did. I wish I could have met him too. They look so happy in this picture that I feel like I failed them both,” I replied miserably.
“You didn’t,” he said kindly. “He and Marley both understood that not all things were possible. But I am grateful that you managed to come now. She needs you desperately.”
I nodded and brushed away a stray tear. How was it possible that this man had just lost his brother and he was more concerned about Marley? It all made sense to me as to why she loved Gabrien so deeply if he was as kind as his brother.
“I’d like to introduce you to my mother,” he said.
I tore my eyes away from the picture and followed him out into the backyard that was more like their own personal football field. But while I wondered how it was possible to have so much property I recalled Marley telling me something about his family getting their money from imports or something like that.
I pushed my hair behind my ears as Dominico led me to a woman with the same shiny dark hair as Gabrien, a few streaks of gray showing through it.
He knelt down next to her and put a hand on her arm and said something to her in Greek. She looked at him slowly before she got to her feet and turned around to face me. To say that she and Gabrien looked alike would be a gross understatement. To say that I now knew what little Alexa would like when she was a woman would be the most truthful statement I could ever make.
“Hello,” she said softly. Her eyes were red and swollen. The tears that had formed fell over and followed the path down her cheeks of the heartbreak she was obviously suffering.
“Hi,” I replied in a small voice.
Dominico introduced me to her in Greek and she nodded in understanding at the stranger in her son’s home. I moved forward and wrapped my arms around her. I couldn’t help myself; the suffering on her face was so heart wrenching that I didn’t want her to not have someone to lean on.
I felt two small pairs of arms wrap around our legs and smiled despite myself. It was Alexa and Markos and they wanted a hug too it seemed.
Gabrien’s mother pulled away from me and went back to her chair to resume her sky watching as the children climbed into her lap.
“How old are they?” I asked Dominico.
“Three years old. They were his pride and joy. He knew how desperately Marley wanted to become a mother and he was happy that he could do that for her,” he explained as we walked toward a man that was standing on the property line, hands in his pockets, staring into nothing.
“Papa? This is Olivia, Marley’s best friend,” he said gently putting his hand on the older man’s shoulder.
“Hello Olivia,” his father responded blandly, without turning to face me.
“Hello. I’m sorry for your loss,” I replied softly.
“Thank you,” was the stoic reply.
Dominico sighed and led me back to the house. He explained that the rest of the family would meet us at the funeral home tomorrow. I brushed away tears again as I watched him leave and ran up the staircase. I wanted to find Marley and the rest of the girls because being alone in the knowledge that her husband wanted to meet me and never did, destroyed me.
I bumped into her at the top of the staircase as they were coming down.
“What’s wrong?” Marley asked curiously.
“Oh you know. Just met your brother in law, found out that your husband wanted to meet me, and I was too wrapped up in my own relationship to ever reach out to know,” I rambled.
Marley smiled sadly and put an arm around my shoulder, as we went back down the stairs.
“Don’t feel bad. It just wasn’t meant to happen,” she replied bravely.
I sighed unhappily as we went into her kitchen and sat down around the large island in the center.
“So tell me what’s going on,” she said looking at me curiously. “Sofia and Cassidy told me some of it.”
“You remember Mitch obviously,” I started, nervously licking my lips. “Well things kind of went downhill out of nowhere. The sex stopped or was so far and few in between that I felt like I was a virgin each time he decided he wanted to get laid. His drinking got out of control and he started to pay more attention to his video games than to me. Which would’ve never bothered me since I always played with him, but he would sit in the other room and play alone. Um, I decided to go to Spain and Cassidy went with me and I met a guy in the airport. God he’s so much younger than me, but he’s such a good person and the sex was – is absolutely mind-blowing, Mars.”
“Then what’s the issue?” she asked with a laugh.
“I left with him last year and the plane crashed. I’ve spent the past year in the hospital learning to walk again and struggling to get my memory back. It’s almost all there; I was able to tell him how I met Mitch and stuff. He, Alejandro, loves me so much that it’s suffocating, but not in a bad way. I could drown in his love and never once wish it was different,” I explained truthfully.
Marley cradled her chin in the palm of her hand and looked thoughtful for a moment. The backdoor slid open and in ran Markos and Alexa with flowers for their Mama and I couldn’t help but smile. I watched her take the flowers and kiss them each in turn as they turned around and ran back outside. She placed the flowers on the island top and glanced at Sofia, then Cassidy, then me.
“Have you decided who you want to be with yet?”
“No. When I was with Alejo all I wanted was to be with him. But when I was with Mitch, I thought of all that we had already been through together and even though it’ll take a lot of work to fix things, we built a foundation already.”
“Who are you willing to give yourself completely to, Livie?” she asked.
“It could go either way. It’s not as easy as I thought it would be,” I replied dropping my face into my hands.
“Think about it this way; you’re holding your almost death against Alejandro even though you willingly went. You’re holding your somewhat crumbled relationship against Mitchell, when you did nothing to fix it. That’s not fair to anyone involved, you included,” she said wisely.
I sighed as I heard the front door open. I turned my face to look out into the backyard when Mars got up from her chair and disappeared from the kitchen.
Sofia didn’t say anything and neither did Cassidy. I wasn’t sure if they were silent for my sake or because they just had nothing to say.
I heard Marley giggling when a deep male voice said something to her. The three of us turned and faced the entrance to the kitchen when we heard them approaching.
Marley smiled at us.
So did the man next to her.
I almost fell out of my chair.
It was Gabrien and he was alive and well.
Twelve
“It was the only way I could get you bitches out here, before you even think about getting angry,” she said holding up a hand.
“Marley, I’m going to fucking kill you,” I said in a shaky voice.
“Before you do, let me introduce you,” she replied casually. “Gabé, this is Sofia, Cassidy, and Olivia. Girls, this is my Gabé.”
“Would it bother you terribly if I strangled her in your face?” I asked with him a huge, fake smile plastered across my lips.
He laughed good-naturedly and sat down in Marley’s chair. She went behind him and put her arms around his shoulders and smiled at me.
“This was my fault. If
you wish to strangle anyone, then it would be me,” he said mischievously.
“What? Why?” I asked in shock.
“Sofia told Marley what you were going through and she told me. I thought about it and even though you don’t know me or have to accept my opinion, I thought it would be easiest to take you out of that situation and put you somewhere to think about it alone,” he said with a shrug.
“Okay, so you call Mitchell and tell him that,” I replied shoving my phone at him.
“Do you think hearing another man will make him feel better? Especially speaking for his woman?” Gabé asked, raising an eyebrow.
I bit my lip and looked away. He was right; the ghost of Gabrien had returned to give me wisdom and now it was up to me to decide what to do.
“How’d you figure it out, Mars?” I asked her softly.
“I never went back,” she replied quietly. “You know that. If I did Ethan would’ve taken every opportunity to make me believe that things would be different and everything would change and I would’ve believed him. Gabrien has never once raised a hand to me and barely raises his voice. We have two beautiful children together and I’m happier than I’ve ever been here in Greece. Where would you be happy, Liv? Spain or America? Would you be happier with someone who pays too much attention to you or none at all? You have to look inside yourself and see how much you’re worth; that’s when you’ll know.”
I got up from the chair and left the kitchen. I went out into the backyard and found the twins playing at the edge of the property under the watchful eyes of their grandparents and I sat down in the grass. They both came over and immediately tackled me absolutely taken over with the giggles.
I fell back against the grass laughing as they crawled all over me throwing grass and flowers into my hair before they were exhausted and fell asleep on me. I closed my eyes happily as the weight of the little children combined kept me pinned to the grass.
Dominico came over and gently scooped them off of me and reached a hand down to help me up.
“Sorry about that. They tend to wear themselves out on people rather than in their beds,” he said with a quiet laugh.
I grinned, “It’s okay. Playing with them and having them fall asleep on me finally woke me up in a way.”
“How do you mean?” he asked as I took Alexa from him and followed him toward the house.
“I mean I have an announcement to make once we get the little ones into their beds.”
He nodded and I followed him up the stairs to the kids’ room and tucked Alexa into her toddler bed while he tucked Markos into his.
I went into the kitchen where the four of them were still sitting and went over to Marley.
“You, my dear, need to help me with something,” I said steering her out of the room.
“Sure, what’s going on Liv?”
“Markos and Alexa; they totally helped me figure this entire thing out just by falling asleep on me,” I explained with a laugh as we walked through the house toward the front door.
“Really?” she asked excitedly. “What do you need from me?”
“One plane ticket. Which is to say that you’re going to know before the rest of them do who I’ve chosen,” I replied with a sly smile. “I just need you to keep everyone occupied. I have two phone calls to make and I don’t want to do it with an audience.”
Marley nodded and took position at the front door as I stepped outside and closed it behind me.
I called Mitch first. I told him that my plan was for him and Alejandro to both go to the airport that evening and take the overnight flight. I told him that there would be a plane ticket to Greece for one of them and the other would go home; be it America home or Spain home.
When I hung up with Mitch, I called Alejandro and told him the same thing. Both agreed to it and both said they would see me in the morning.
I shook my head and stepped back in. “Alright Mars, to the computer. We need to set this up asap.”
She nodded and we went into Gabé’s den. She sat down and powered on the desktop. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my cigarettes, lighting one and giving one to her before lighting one for myself.
Marley did the majority of it herself. She put in all of the flight information and moved on to the customer information page.
“And the winner is ...,” she asked her voice trailing off.
I grinned at her and told her who I had chosen. Marley laughed and shook her head as she put the information into the system.
“Before I hit confirm on all of this, are you absolutely sure?” she asked with a smile.
“Positive,” I replied.
Thirteen
We all went to sleep early that night. I felt like a kid on Christmas eve waiting for Santa to show up personally. The only thing that I was doing different is that one person would get their heart broken tonight while the other would (hopefully) be happy with me forever.
The next morning I stretched in bed and yawned. I was greeted by two pairs of light green eyes staring at me with big smiles attached and I laughed.
It was Marley’s babies and they seemed to have taken a shine to me already.
“Hi Thea!” they both said cheerfully before Marley entered the room and scooted them out.
“Sorry about that. I had a feeling this is where they were when we couldn’t find them,” she said with an apologetic laugh.
“It’s fine, but they called me Thea,” I replied sitting up.
“It’s Greek for aunt,” she replied with a smile. “Now, get up Thea Olivia. We need to head to the airport in an hour and pick up Prince Charming.”
I grinned at her and threw my covers off. I practically skipped into the bathroom where one of the girls had left my carry-on bag for me. I turned on the water and I got in singing to myself the entire time.
When I was done and my hair was dried, I put on my favorite pair of black denim shorts, a white band t-shirt, and my best pair Converse black and white soled sneakers.
I went into the kitchen where everyone was eating, including his parents who immediately apologized to me for playing along with Gabrien and Marley’s scheme for getting me to Greece, before they left.
I ate my food quickly and helped Marley with the dishes before we all went outside and jumped into Gabrien’s SUV. I sat behind him so that I could look across and chat with Mars who was the only other person that knew what was about to happen.
Twenty five minutes later we arrived at Athens International Airport and I jumped out as soon as Gabrien parked the truck. I linked arms with Marley and Sofia who had linked arms with Cassidy as we walked in.
I went over to the information board and found the flight I was waiting for. It said it arrived at the gate in five minutes.
“Where’s that at?” I asked Gabé.
“This way,” he said nodding and leading us down to the other end of the airport. We went down to the baggage claim area and I stood there impatiently waiting for any sign that the plane had landed.
Fifteen minutes later, the luggage conveyor belt light came on and bags started to appear. I looked at Marley nervously before I walked by myself to where the passengers were starting to come through.
Come on, come on. Please tell me you got on the plane, I thought nervously as the passengers kept coming and I still hadn’t seen any sign of him.
I had my hands on my hips as the line started to thin out and I felt a horrible sadness starting to take over me. I got up on my tiptoes and strained my neck to see.
Just as I was about to give up, I saw him. I saw the baseball cap that I had bought for him years ago. I saw the oversized t-shirt and the oversized denim shorts; but most of all I saw his smile. His blue eyes filled with hope and melting into a calm love when they met mine. I ran forward and I wrapped my arms around Mitch’s neck and sobbed.
“I seriously didn’t expect that,” Cassidy said once we were all back at Marley’s lounging in her backyard.
“Me either,” Sofia said.<
br />
Gabrien had just exited the house and handed Mitch a beer and sat down across from him at the large glass patio table that the men were sitting at, while us girls laid around on lawn chairs about ten feet away.
“Why did you choose Mitchell?” Marley asked curiously.
“Because I loved him most of all. There were times that I was in Spain with Alejandro that I secretly wished it was Mitch. Even in Italy, I would take pictures of the skyline and send them to him because I missed him so much. Mitch may be simple, not have a lot of money, and not be able to give me the world, but to me he is the world and that’s what counts.”
I glanced over at Mitch who was laughing with Gabrien and Dominico and felt happier than I ever had in a very long time.
Memories
(Times and Trials Book 1)
Meagan Moyer
CHAPTER ONE
Why can't I find a normal man that's interesting AND interested in me?? Not to mention handsome... I seem to attract these weirdo goofballs who are more concerned with the digits in their bank accounts or how many kills their last streak on Call of Duty encompassed than how to treat a lady. From one extreme to the other, I can't catch a break. These guys make me seriously consider becoming a lesbian. Just give me time to cut my hair, pierce my lip, buy some slip-on shoes, and raid my brother's closet and you can count on me to smash my face into the biggest set of tits I can find!!!
“Hey, sugar. You should let me take you to dinner one night. You look like you could use a good time and I’m pretty sure that I would be the right one to fill that spot. Whaddaya say, sweetheart?” That douche. He actually thinks that women go for that shit! Maybe some do, but not this one. Hopefully my polite smile hides the disgust simmering just below the surface of my calm exterior. “Thanks for the offer but I’m gonna have to decline. Maybe some other time. Right now isn’t really a good time for me. My sister just had surgery and I’m stuck taking care of her when I’m not working. Sorry,” I offer what I hope passes as a genuinely apologetic expression and look back down at my paperwork on the counter. “Aw, now. Don’t be that way. Gimme a chance, babe. You’ll always wonder what you missed if you don’t let me show you. Just gimme your number and I’ll call you.”
Claiming Olivia II Page 6
