Grounded

by A. E. Radley

  Emily shrugged out of her jacket and handed it to him. She smothered a giggle when he opened the closet and haphazardly chucked the garment in before kicking the door shut again.

  “Please follow me.” He gestured for her to hurry as he rushed across the living room towards the dining room.

  As she entered the room, she gasped out loud. The table had been set to perfection with a beautiful candelabra in the centre. Henry pulled out a chair and pointed to it.

  “Sit,” he ordered.

  A loud cough sounded in the other room.

  “Please,” Henry added with a blush.

  Then he rushed out of the room, and Emily was left on her own to appreciate the attention to detail: the finest china, exquisitely shined cutlery, cut-crystal wine glasses. A gentle rumbling noise had her turning around to see Henry pushing a serving trolley into the room.

  Olivia appeared behind him and Emily felt the breath leave her lungs. Olivia wore a perfectly fitted black cocktail dress with black heels, her hair and make-up styled as if she had just stepped out of a fashion magazine.

  “H-hi,” Emily stammered.

  Olivia smiled and bent down to give her a soft kiss on the lips. “Welcome home.”

  Henry and Olivia removed the plates and dishes from the serving trolley and placed them on the table.

  “What’s this all about?” Emily asked, eyeing them both suspiciously.

  “Nothin’.” Henry shrugged.

  “Nothing,” Olivia repeated, pulling out a chair for Henry to sit down. She walked around the table and took the seat on Emily’s other side. “Just a nice dinner, to welcome you home.”

  “We missed you, Mommy.”

  “I missed you both, very much.” Emily was about to ask them what was going on again when Olivia lifted a cover from a dish. “Is that?”

  “Yes, duck à l‘orange.”

  Emily reached for a serving spoon. “I will be quizzing you about this right after I have eaten every piece of that duck.”

  Olivia chuckled. “Just a little welcome-home surprise.”

  Emily looked at the hint of a blush on Olivia’s cheeks and noticed that her hands had come together and she was pinching at her skin. Something was clearly amiss, but she decided to wait for Olivia to be ready to tell her.

  Dinner was divine. Olivia had arranged for all of Emily’s favourite dishes, and Henry kept the conversation going strong with his new career aspirations of being a zookeeper in space. Olivia seemed withdrawn and hardly ate. Emily was desperate to ask what was wrong.

  After they’d eaten and Henry was repeating the story of the M&M he’d stuck up his nose for the third time, Olivia spoke. “Henry.”

  He frowned at her.

  “Henry, it…you…it’s time for that thing. The thing you can’t be here for,” Olivia stumbled over the words.

  “Okay.” Henry slid from his chair. “I’m going to watch cartoons.”

  He exited the room and Olivia jumped to her feet.

  “Olivia? Are you okay?” Emily asked, worried by the sheen of sweat on her forehead.

  Olivia opened a drawer in the sideboard and returned with a red envelope.

  “Olivia,” Emily pressed, reminding the woman that she hadn’t replied.

  “Oh, yes, I just wanted you to have this.”

  Olivia stood by her chair, reached over, and handed Emily the envelope. Emily took it and smiled.

  “Why don’t you sit down? Before you fall.”

  Olivia sat on the edge of the chair and anxiously stared at the envelope.

  “Do I get a clue what this is?”

  Olivia shook her head. “Open it,” she suggested.

  Emily slid her finger along the edge of the thick red paper. She looked in and smiled at the familiar sight, then looked up to Olivia.

  “What is this?”

  “Open it.”

  Emily reached in and pulled out an origami swan made from a bill.

  “Are you tipping me?” Emily joked, remembering the first time Olivia had given her a swan made of money. She lifted it up and realised that it was heavier than the first one had been. She glanced at Olivia, who looked as if she might pass out. Olivia nodded her encouragement, and Emily started to gently unfold the delicate paper.

  As she did, she realised that something was within the swan, and, with shaky hands, focused her attention on freeing the item hiding within.

  When she pulled out a diamond ring, she let out a gasp. She stared at the intricate engraving around the band and then at the three set diamonds. It was beautiful. Exactly her style. Elegant and understated. She knew what it meant, but her brain wouldn’t allow her to put the pieces together just yet. Looking at Olivia, she asked, “Is…is this what I think it is?”

  Olivia nodded.

  Emily felt her hands shake. “I need you to say it, Olivia. I don’t want any misunderstandings. I need to—”

  “Will you marry me?” Olivia blurted out.

  Emily felt herself sag with relief that she hadn’t misinterpreted the situation. She’d often wondered what her future with Olivia might look like, if Olivia would want to get married again. But she had never thought it would happen in such a romantic, perfect way. They’d come full circle. The swan brought back Emily’s memories of that first flight with Crown. The first time she’d seen the impressive, beautiful woman who now sat in front of her, watching with nervous eyes. It was only then that Emily realised she hadn’t answered.

  She quickly nodded, then stood up. The chair fell backwards behind her as she rushed to Olivia, who stood and threw her arms around her. The held each other tightly. In that moment, everything was perfect. Emily couldn’t imagine a more apt proposal; she could see how much thought and effort Olivia had put into it to make it perfect. Her eyes filled with happy tears as she realised that she had everything she could ever want.

  Emily had never been one to believe in perfect partners. She couldn’t believe that even the worst day could fade into insignificance just by hearing the sound of someone’s voice. But Olivia was that person.

  From the second she’d seen Olivia interact with Henry, she’d known that was what she wanted in a partner. Someone who could love and cherish Henry as much as she did while still gently pushing him to be the best he could possibly be.

  “Did she say yes?”

  Emily spun around to see Henry peeking around the doorframe.

  “Henry, how did you know?” Olivia asked. “I kept this bit a secret,” she told Emily.

  “I’m not stupid,” Henry told her. “I’m nearly six.”

  Emily burst out laughing and allowed the tears to flow freely. She knelt down and held her arms out, and Henry ran into her embrace. “Did you say yes?”

  “Yes,” Emily said. She looked up at Olivia with tears in her eyes. “Yes, absolutely, yes.”

  CHAPTER 43

  The doorbell sounded, and Henry came storming out of the television room into the foyer.

  “I’ll get it,” he shouted.

  Emily exited the kitchen and watched him with a smile. She’d seen the latest arrivals coming up the front path a few minutes before.

  Henry grabbed the lock and twisted it several times before grabbing the handle and flinging the door open.

  “Simon, Sophie!” he cried out enthusiastically, jumping up and down on the spot.

  Simon looked down at him with a wide grin. “What a welcome. You’re not sick of us yet?”

  “No,” Henry said, then reached forward, grabbed both their hands, and dragged them into the hallway. Once they were in, he walked past them and started to pull their suitcases inside.

  Emily entered the hallway and hugged Sophie, then Simon. “Good to see you both. How was your flight?”

  “Oh, you know. It was okay, but Crown Airlines would be so much better.” Simon winked.

  “Hey.” Emily elbowed him in the ribs while Sophie gave him a gentle smack on the arm. “You know we don’t mention that name in this house.”

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sp; “Simon,” Henry said as he tugged on the man’s suit jacket sleeve.

  “Yes, Henry?” Simon crouched down and smiled.

  “Will you play with me?” Henry asked eagerly.

  “Of course I will,” Simon said. He looked at his watch. “It’ll have to be later because I have boring work to do now. But, I’ll totally block out my schedule for playing. How does four o’clock sound?”

  Henry smiled and bit his lip with excitement. “Okay.”

  “Make sure your room’s tidy,” Emily told him as he ran towards the stairs. “And no running on the stairs.”

  Henry skidded to a halt, then slowly began walking up the stairs while holding the bannister rail tightly. “Yes, Mommy.”

  “Can I get you both a drink?” Emily asked.

  “I’d love some tea,” Sophie said as she followed Emily.

  “Tea sounds good,” Simon agreed. “Where is she?”

  “In the garden with Nicole,” Emily replied as they walked into the kitchen. A set of double doors leading to the garden were wide open, and Olivia and Nicole could be seen walking around outside.

  “I’ll pop out and say hello,” Simon said. He kissed Sophie on the cheek and walked out.

  “Is it me, or do they get anxiety if they don’t talk to one another at least every day?” Emily asked as she filled the kettle.

  “More like every few hours,” Sophie replied, settling herself on a stool by the breakfast bar. “It’s cute.”

  “It is,” Emily agreed.

  “Thank you so much for the theatre tickets for last weekend, by the way.”

  “How was it?” Emily asked as she set about getting some cups ready.

  “Amazing,” Sophie exclaimed. “And of course, Simon told everyone in the bar that he knew the writer.”

  Emily chuckled. “And what did they say?”

  “They all thought he was crazy and ignored him.”

  Emily laughed. “Well, we’re flying over on the twenty-first of next month for the new opening. You should both come.”

  “That sounds great. We’d love to. How’re the plans going? Everything organised?”

  Emily rolled her eyes. “Well, at this rate there won’t be a wedding because I’ll have killed her first.”

  Sophie laughed. “You’re getting married in four days.”

  “Still time.” Emily winked.

  “Simon did say that Olivia was likely to fixate on little things.”

  “I know,” Emily said. She leaned across the counter to check that Olivia was out of earshot. “To be honest I don’t see what difference it makes whether we give the guests edible favours or mementos of the day, but Bridezilla out there thinks it’s a big deal. Like, a really big deal.”

  Sophie chuckled. “What did you decide?”

  “This is Olivia. She decided to do both. Well, she and Henry decided.” Emily started to pour boiled water into the assembled cups.

  “Henry?” Sophie questioned.

  “Henry’s turning into a budding wedding planner. To be honest, I think he’s even more excited than we are. I feel terrible to admit it, but he’s been helping Olivia with arrangements more than I have.”

  “Well, time is sparse when you’re an award-winning playwright. Although, I see you finally had time to finish painting the foyer. It looks fantastic, by the way.”

  Emily looked out into the freshly painted foyer. “Yes, after having little squares of paint samples on the wall for six months, we thought we really ought to just make a decision.”

  “Hello, Sophie,” Nicole said as she entered the kitchen.

  “Hey, Nic.” Sophie stepped off the stool and crossed the room to embrace her.

  “Is Olivia boring Simon with work already?” Emily queried.

  “Something about a restructuring in Isleworth.” Nicole shook her head as she and Sophie pulled out stools and sat down. “Honestly, she’s terrible at retiring.”

  “Simon’s just as bad. He acts as if he can’t make a decision without talking to her first. But he knows what he’s doing. I think they just enjoy chatting,” Sophie commented.

  “They are literally on the phone or on webcam all the time. I don’t know how he has time to get any work done.” Emily chuckled and placed two cups of tea in front of her guests.

  “Oh, tea, marvellous.” Nicole happily grabbed the mug.

  “Being surrounded by Brits, I’m understanding of the importance of tea at all times,” Emily replied. She looked up as the doorbell sounded again. “Excuse me. I’ll be back in a moment.”

  As she walked towards the front door, Henry came hammering down the stairs.

  “Henry! Walk, don’t run,” she called out.

  “I am,” he insisted. “I’ll get the door.”

  Emily slowed to a stop in the entryway to allow him to catch up to her. She smiled as he wrestled with the locks on the door and threw it open. A second later, he launched himself at Tom and Lucy, who were crouched down and ready for impact. He stretched as much as possible to reach his arms around the couple.

  “Tom,” Henry said as he pulled back. “Will you play with me and Simon later?”

  “Sure, buddy. But only if it’s the most epic water pistol battle ever,” Tom told him seriously.

  Henry almost hyperventilated with excitement and nodded his head. “I’m going to practice,” he announced as he ran back into the house.

  “No water in your bedroom,” Emily called after him. “And no running on the stairs.”

  Henry grumbled something unintelligible as he slowly walked up the stairs, gripping the handrail as he went.

  Emily guided Lucy and Tom into the kitchen, where they greeted Nicole and Sophie.

  “Is that tea?” Lucy asked as she stared pointedly at a cup.

  “It can be,” Emily chuckled.

  Tom looked outside. “I’m going to say hi to Simon,” he said.

  “No, you’re going to ask Simon about that new game you’ve been playing,” Lucy amended with a smile.

  “Maybe.” Tom winked and walked out into the garden.

  Lucy sat on a stool and looked outside. “How’s Bridezilla? Living to see another day?”

  “Barely.” Emily smiled. She made another cup of tea and passed it to Lucy.

  “You missed the favour debacle,” Nicole told her.

  “Ah,” Lucy said. “Good, because I’m telling you, the cake issue was seriously damaging to my waistline.”

  “Cake issue?” Sophie chuckled.

  Emily gave her a serious look. “It’s no joke, Sophie. Chocolate or plain sponge? A fruity uplift at the end of a meal or not? What filling? To ice or not to ice? What kind of icing? Seriously, we had cake samples to feed an army.”

  “I ate most of it,” Lucy admitted.

  Emily sighed. “I know she’s doing it because she wants it to be the perfect day for me. But I can’t get her to understand that I just want to be married. To her. Everything else is just extras.”

  “Aww,” Sophie and Lucy cooed simultaneously.

  Nicole laughed. “Well, it will all be over in a few days. You’ll be married, and wedding planning will be a distant memory.”

  “Thank goodness. And I’ve managed to convince her to cut back on the amount of work she’s doing. Because, for someone who is supposedly unemployed, she spends a lot of time working.”

  “How did you manage that?” Lucy asked.

  “Joint attack.” Emily gestured her mug towards Sophie. “Sophie and I told Simon and Olivia that they had to spend at least two days a week not talking. Try to break Olivia’s need to work and Simon’s need for her advice.”

  “And what, pray tell, is she intending to do with these two days per week?” Nicole asked.

  “Well.” Emily felt herself blush. “She might be a bit busy in the future. We’re kinda hoping to try for a baby.”

  Nicole, Sophie, and Lucy all screeched in excitement at once and launched themselves towards Emily to hug her. Emily looked out at the garden and saw Oli
via, Tom, and Simon all look into the house with confusion before shaking their heads and continuing their conversation.

  Nicole put her arm around Emily and leaned in close as she stage-whispered, “You do know that, no matter how hard you try, you won’t be able to impregnate her?”

  Emily laughed. “Yes, we know.”

  Nicole laughed, put her arms out, and embraced Emily for a second time. “I’m so happy for you both.”

  The women settled back down onto their seats, all beaming from ear to ear at the unexpected news.

  “Thank you. I really can’t wait,” Emily admitted. “Olivia’s going to be an amazing mom.”

  “Yes,” Lucy agreed. “Yes, she really is.”

  “We kinda have to tell Simon soon though,” Emily chuckled. She looked at Sophie.

  “Why?” Sophie asked.

  “The guest room that you’re staying in is going to be the baby’s room, and, well, you know what Olivia’s like. She’s painted it already.”

  Sophie laughed. “Oh, I’m sure it will be fine. A lick of paint won’t bother us.”

  “There’s a crib in there, and the walls are covered in teddy bears,” Emily admitted. “And balloons, and of course—”

  “Giraffes,” they all said at the same time before bursting out laughing.

  * * *

  Simon scraped the mud off the carrot he’d just dug up from the vegetable patch at Olivia’s instruction.

  “Jesus, Olivia, what are you doing to these? This is a beast.”

  “You should have seen the marrow from last week.” Olivia shook her head. “I needed Tom’s help to lift it.”

  “Clearly gardening suits you,” Simon laughed. He turned to Tom. “Both of you.”

  Tom held up his hands. “I just do what she tells me in return for payment in food.”

  “You better not tell anyone in the office about this,” Olivia told him seriously.

  “Yeah, because your image would be ruined if people knew you grew killer carrots.” Simon laughed.

  “I don’t want people to think I’ve gone soft.” Olivia stepped farther into the vegetable patch and adjusted a piece of garden twine on a wooden stake.

  “No chance of that,” Simon said.

  “Tom, could you pass me that shovel?” Olivia pointed to the tool, and Tom handed it to her. She turned to Simon. “We’ll need to talk about Abbots and run through those figures again. Maybe tomorrow. Emily will tell us off if we try to talk over dinner tonight.”