by JN Welsh
"They'll be okay. We'll call them." Nigel promised.
Olive wiped her cheek.
Riley honked and pulled out of the driveway.
Five minutes of driving silence passed, allowing her and Nigel to settle after the separation from their kids.
Flor cleared her throat.
"So we're in charge of the music for the most part. According to your ground rules, there are some minor exceptions allowed, however, certain things must occur."
"Like what?" Olive crossed her arms. She was frustrated that she couldn’t recall more details on the list.
"We'll let you know as things come up." Riley was focused on the road but glanced at her through the review mirror.
"Of course," Nigel mumbled. Olive didn't know if he was annoyed or curious.
"Riley's going to take the interstate to our first location. That'll be the official start to your adventure. It will take us about four hours with traffic."
"We're going to LA? We should have just driven down to get you," Nigel said to Flor.
"The deal was that Riley and I pick you up, just in case either of you wanted to bail." Flor smirked. "We'll reveal the destinations when necessary. You'll have to trust us. Keeping all this bottled up isn't easy for us, but Riley and I have had lengthy phone conversations and multiple texts discussing the execution of the agreement in great detail."
"We have to keep you in the dark a little bit but it's for your own good." Riley navigated the vehicle, merging onto I-98E.
"We can't know anything else?" Olive's eyeballs slid from Riley's eyes in the rearview mirror to Flor's twisted torso in the passenger seat.
"Not yet." Flor gave her a sympathetic smile. "But I highly suggest that you relax and zen the fuck out because once this shit gets started, you're going to need one-hundred percent focus and energy. We've seen the list and we have to document everything for Jim."
"No lying or providing false evidence, so do your best." Riley used that same tone on the at risk youth he counseled, making Olive more alert to his rules. He then motioned to the vehicle's electronic console.
"Ah yes." Flor plugged in her phone and the sounds of a familiar beat filled the cabin.
Get Up and Move for Me by their favorite dance music DJ emanated from the speaker, and a smile spread across Olive's face. She peeked over at Nigel and a similar smile played at the corners of his lips. He patted his thigh to the beat of the music. She always thought he had great rhythm.
Olive's head bobbed. "I love this song," she announced to no one in particular and sang the words.
"Sonic Carnival was phenomenal." Nigel recollected.
She and Nigel had driven to Las Vegas for a weekend of debauchery and on their way back stopped in Los Angeles for the Sonic Carnival to see a few of their favorite electronic dance music DJs play. The highlight reel, of her and Nigel bouncing in a sea of people, played in her head. "That was a great night."
Satisfied with the reaction from both she and Nigel, Flor righted herself back into her seat and swayed to the music.
* * *
Culver Boulevard in Los Angeles, read the exit on I-404S. As they navigated the streets, it became clear that they were heading to Playa del Rey.
"Riley?" Olive sat erect in her seat. "Are we going to Ferret's?"
"Yup," Riley confirmed.
No sooner did he confirm the location did Ferret's Beach Shack come into view.
"There it is." Olive pointed. The weathered food and drink spot still drew most of the beach crowd from surfers and sunbathers to the local college crowds. A large, distressed wood sign displayed the eatery's name. Make shift tables, made out of water barrels and driftwood, clustered the side of the shack for patrons, and tree trunks served as seats.
"That's where we met," came Nigel's low, almost reverent remark. Olive's stomach fluttered as they neared Ferret's Beach Shack.
"Yes." She met Nigel's pleasant expression. "I came to visit Riley at college and we went to that beach party with all his friends and you were there."
"I was overcoming a bit of sun poisoning, but I came all way down from Berkley for that party. I was going to make it," Nigel explained as they parked.
Flor peered over her seat again. "So, here is the first list item. Remove your wedding bands."
"What?" Both she and Nigel said.
"Glad I got your attention." Flor smiled. "Yes, you are to remove your wedding bands."
When was the last time she took her wedding set off? By the permanent tan and indentation on Nigel's ring finger, it was obvious that he rarely took his off. In fact, she'd never seen him take his gold band off.
Riley provided each of them with a gold chain. Flor gave Olive Nigel's band and then gave Nigel her ring set.
"You'll have to guard the other’s band until the end of this trip. Literally bear the symbol of your past love," Riley explained.
"This is brutal." Olive slid Nigel's band onto the necklace and put it around her neck. The weight of the band pendant, and all its meaning, rested between her breasts. Something stirred in her as she watched Nigel do the same. Her rings rested on the light hair that fanned his chest, peeking out of his opened shirt. She pulled her eyes away.
"Now we're on to the nitty gritty." Flor air quoted her last two words. "First stop is to go back to the first place you met. This is where we’ll give you guys some ground rules and your next assignment, so let's go get some fish tacos. Vegan tacos for this one,” she pointed to Riley, “and shitty drinks. We're just in time for an early dinner." Flor jumped out of the parked car and headed to Ferret's Beach Shack.
"She's on top of it." Riley palmed his baldhead before putting on a white cap.
Olive and Nigel trailed their friends in silence.
Nigel munched on the best fish taco he'd had in a while. Old man Ferret was still running the joint, but now was accompanied by his son.
"This place hasn't changed a bit." Riley puffed air from his lungs. "That party was incredible. Olive and I tore up the sand that night."
"I tore up a little sand, too," Nigel added.
"Olive was pretty impressed." Riley noted and then gave his best Olive impression. "Oh, if that white boy can dance like that, then—"
"Eh, eh." Olive shook her head. "What happened to secrets between friends?"
"My bad OJ," Riley said.
"You said that about me?" Nigel found it endearing that even after all their years of marriage she still housed modesty about their first encounter.
Olive stared down at her half eaten taco. "You have good rhythm. I've told you that before. At the party, I noticed."
Nigel's breath shallowed a bit. "That night was straight up insane."
"Well, obviously the party couldn't have been that insane because I wasn't there," Flor interjected.
"Uhh, sure." Riley chuckled, as did most of the table except Flor.
"Whatever," Flor said. “You know I have a sore spot for that one.”
“You were in the Dominican Republic with your sister. Kinda can’t feel sorry for you buddy.” Nigel teased. "So what are these ground rules you need to let us know about?"
Flor folded her hands on the table. "Now that we're here at the first location, here are the ground rules. Let me preface by saying that these are your words, me and Riley are the messengers."
"Understood. Now, can you just tell us?” Frustration clipped Olive's words. Her bottled agitation rattled her.
"Okay, okay. One, whenever you two are walking together, you have to hold hands. Riley?"
"Two, we'll be staying here for the night, so you guys are required to share a hotel room and sleep in the same bed. Three, you're also required to talk for a minimum of ten minutes before you go to bed." Riley flipped it back to Flor.
"I can tell that your heads are spinning so this is the last one and then we'll give you the rest later. Four, you have to kiss each other good morning and goodnight. The ten-second rule applies and tongue is appreciated. Again, these are your words. Any
questions?" Flor waited for a split second and then plowed on.
“Now for your next assignment. Go to the spot...ay si...the spot where you first made love."
Chapter Six
Olive vaguely heard the rules Flor and Riley laid out. Panic surged through her limbs, her mouth caught flies, and her chest heaved.
"Olive?" Nigel called.
Their friends hadn't said anything she and Nigel hadn't done hundreds of thousands of times in the past. But now, doing those things with a man she was separated from was akin to someone knifing her heart and then pulsing it in a VitaMix. Not only that, but now they had to go to the place where they’d first shared their most intimate moment?
"What if we don't do it?" she asked.
"We'll tell Jim and you guys can figure out another way to get divorced," Flor responded. "I suggest Mexico."
Olive scoffed. "How will you guys know if we're even following these rules?"
Riley scratched his head. "Since we can't be in the room with you, which would be ...I don't know...awkward. Flor, Jim, and I decided that you have to send us a video."
"A video? Come the fuck on, guys. This is ridiculous." Olive turned to Nigel. "You're okay with this?"
Nigel raised his eyebrows. "We’re here, Olive. No matter how we feel about it, these are our conditions."
"We can hold you to an honor system for the bed time chats. As long as we see you guys holding hands, you're good. But I have to say, Olive, from your reaction I just don't trust you to do this without documenting it. You want to just go through the motions? That's fine, but you have to show us that you're—" Flor cleared her throat "—doing your assignments."
Olive clenched her jaw and her fists.
Riley shot to his feet and pulled Olive with him. "Come here."
Olive was about to complain but Riley's "don't mess with me" tone had her shuffling behind him.
"You do realize that we're here for you, right? That both Flor and I have taken time off work for this—for you, and for Nigel."
"I know, Riley." Olive's steel visage melted and her lip quivered.
Her friends had stopped their lives to be here and Olive was drowning in the fear of being intimate with her husband.
"I'm the one who suggested the ten-second rule," her voice distant.
"What?"
"The ten-second kissing rule was my idea when Nigel and I did this list." Olive hugged herself. "He and I can barely speak without arguing these days. Now, we're supposed to hold hands, kiss and sleep in the same bed?” She willed herself to keep it together.
"Yeah. You'll do everything we tell you to do because it's the only way you two can move on, whether that's together or apart. Get me?"
Olive bobbed her head.
Riley adjusted his cap, sighed and softened a bit. "You and Nigel have history and if this is the end, make it a good end. Now stop your wet noodling. You're stronger than this. Regardless of the outcome, your kids are waiting for you to come home."
"Did I tell you, that I'm glad you're here?" Olive blew air, trying to still the rising emotion that threatened to pour out in a flood of tears.
"Yeah, only about fifty damn times," Riley said.
“Are we still doing this?" Flor inquired when Riley and Olive rejoined the group.
"Yeah. We're still doing this," Olive confirmed.
Flor smiled.
"We'll message you so that all the information is at your fingertips. Don’t forget the rules.” Riley pointed back and forth between her and Nigel, and left with Flor.
"Shall we?" Nigel stretched his hand out to Olive. She grasped his fingers and her warmth was alien and familiar at the same time.
"We can walk to where...to our assignment." Olive's pace was quick, even in the deep sand.
"You mean the place we first made love?" he asked, his eyes were fixed straight ahead.
Perhaps, getting this over with was her only goal but once they neared their special spot, she slowed. This part of the beach was less populated at night, and inhabited by lovers seeking to share a private moment or people wanting to enjoy a smoke. The fragrance of cooling sand and the ocean swirled in the gentle night breeze. Nostalgia hit him hard when he remembered Olive in her orange sarong skirt and white tank top. The evening they met at Ferret's party, their first date, and the night they first made love all rolled into forty-eight hours that he'd never forget.
The location where they’d first made love rested ahead of them under the resort terrace. He remembered how the sun had begun its rise and the spot had been dark and private enough for the horny pair. He wondered what was running through her mind.
For a moment they were cemented in place, hand in hand.
He squatted until his butt hit the sand. "Wanna sit?"
"You said that to me that night, too and you know what happened afterward." Olive sat cross-legged next to him.
"We talked for hours before anything happened. I even scoped out some eats." He leaned back on his elbows and extended his legs toward the ocean.
"That's right. You kept asking me if I was still washed and I kept telling you I wasn’t. That didn’t stop you from still trying to feed me to sobriety." She spoke softly, but there was a ring of humor in her voice. "Gosh, we talked about everything. School, family, relationships, religion, politics."
"We burned through a lot of topics that night." He didn't have to see her to know she smiled.
The ocean's therapeutic lull soothed the space between them as they absorbed the moment in silence.
"I couldn't keep my hands off of you that night, Olive." He wanted to tell her that every touch was seared into his brain and that even now, he could conjure up the first time he tasted her. The way she had called his name right before she came made his cock reminisce about how she'd contracted around him.
Olive hugged her knees. "You weren't the only one."
He didn't want to push the memory but he'd bottled his thoughts like carbonated water and now shaken, they wanted release. "That night, I tried to convince myself it was just sex. A one night stand. But when I had to go back to school, I didn’t want to leave you." He half chuckled at the thought.
In his younger days, when he'd first had sex with a girl, he'd been pretty goal oriented. They'd get their rocks off and move on. But when he had touched Olive, he had never wanted the moments with her in his arms to end. He'd been trampled by his feelings for her, so much so, that he had been scared shitless. The possibility of not being with her, on the other hand, completely petrified him with overwhelming loss.
"I fell fast for you, Goodwin." She shivered and rubbed her arms as the gentle breeze picked up.
He sat up and put an arm around her and she almost jumped out of her skin.
The rejection knocked the wind out of him. "I'm sorry, I saw you were cold...I guess—"
"You just surprised me, Nigel."
He didn't confuse the statement for an invitation and leaned back onto his spot on the sand.
"When you asked me to drive the coast with you to Berkley, I prayed for Riley to forgive me because I knew I was going with you," she confessed, and craned her neck down at him. "Have you ever thought about what would have happened if I had said, no?"
“No, I can't imagine the things we experienced on that drive not happening. Our marriage? Our children? No way." The truth was he couldn't envision a life without Olive, even during their darkest hour, but he needed her to remember. He had to make amends with his contribution to the destruction of their relationship. Olive did too. She'd shut him out and filled the void with their children. "Can you?" he asked at length.
"No." She was about to say something when both their phones buzzed. "The kids?"
"No. It's Flor." Nigel checked his phone and laughed. "And you won't believe what she sent us."
After receiving Flor's message, she and Nigel grabbed a car to their hotel for the night. Their friends had already checked them in and the concierge had taken care of their luggage. Now, settled, Olive ch
ecked out the app she received in Flor's text.
"This bitch..." Olive trailed. "She had her developer create an app for us and then called it The Divorce List? Who does that?"
"Her message said it's to document to Jim in an organized way." Nigel had been laughing at her ever since she had begun thumbing through the app.
"So she says." Upon opening the app, Olive was presented with a heart-shaped picture of her and Nigel that had a crack going down the middle with a question mark over it. Flor's app had the ground rules and a ten-second-kiss capture that was timed and folders for each of the locations, some of which were hidden until the requirements for the previous location were completed.
"I can't believe her," Olive ranted. "That's your friend."
"Our friend." Nigel noted.
Though Flor was Nigel's best friend, she and Flor had become just as close.
"This is as sadistic as it is clever," Olive admitted.
"It's efficient," Nigel said.
"Let's call the kids." She pulled out her cell to phone Nigel's parents.
"Can I make a suggestion about the kids before we call?"
She was skeptical. "Of course you can. They're your kids, too."
Nigel held up a hand. "Hear me out before you bite my head off."
"Why do you assume I'm going to bite your head off?" She restrained from crossing her arms.
"Because, you do that sometimes when it comes to the kids."
"I do?" She had put her kids first and naturally, with Nigel gone, she felt more in tune to their needs. She didn't, however, believe that she didn't allow Nigel to participate in the decisions. Had she? "Why haven't you mentioned that before?"
"I don't know. Maybe I felt guilty because I'm always away." He sat on the edge of the bed.
Her heart felt his statement. She sat on the bed next to him.
"Okay. I won't bite your head off."
"Let's call tonight, but promise to call them in a few days."
Olive's pulse raced and she was about to do exactly what Nigel predicted, and damn if it wasn't hard not to ream into him. She was still recovering from separation anxiety from her kids. "What?"
