A Love Like Ours

by Micalea Smeltzer

“You ready?” he asks, reaching for my hand.

  I nod, fitting my hand into his. I might be scared, and worried, but I’m ready. He’s it for me, I’ve known that since the first moment our eyes connected.

  “This is Oliver,” my foster mother introduced the new boy. He had shaggy, blond hair that tumbled over his forehead, hiding his eyes. He kept his head bowed, not wanting to meet my eyes or Travis’s—my other foster brother. “Oliver, this is Travis and Talia.”

  “Ollie. I like to be called Ollie.” He lifted his head then and his blue eyes connected with mine.

  No, not just his eyes, his soul connected to mine. A small gasp pressed between my lips. I’d never seen him before, but it was like my body recognized him.

  “Hi,” I croaked.

  He smiled then and it was like the sun rose upon my whole world, bathing everything in a brilliant glow. “Hi.”

  I never believed in love at first sight.

  But in that moment, I believed him, and I knew without a doubt that boy was my everything.

  “What are you thinking about?” Ollie asks as we walk along the street.

  “You,” I answer, smiling up at him. “I was thinking about the first time we met.”

  He smiles then too. “Good memory.”

  “Yeah, it is.”

  My life became infinitely better the moment Ollie stepped into it.

  He’s my hero in so many ways.

  We find an old church and climb the stairs to the large doors. Ollie holds the door open for me to go in first. Ari and Liam trail in next and then Ollie joins me again.

  I tilt my head back, taking in all the old world detailing in the church. It’s magnificent. Every surface seems to be painted, and I wonder how long it took someone to complete such an extensive piece of work. I’d give up after one day and something like this had to take years.

  We step farther into the church and the sounds of our shoes clapping on the floor echoes against the walls.

  A priest comes out of a door—at least, I assume it’s a priest, I don’t know much about different religions—and smiles kindly. Liam moves to the front of the group and walks over to the man, speaking to him in Italian. Having Liam here has been a godsend and I find myself wondering how many other languages he might know.

  “Can he marry us?” I ask after two minutes of conversation pass. I’m worried at this point that it’s not going to happen and we’ll have to wait until we get home.

  “Yes and no,” Liam answers, waving his hand in the air in a gesture of maybe.

  “What does that mean?” Ollie asks, his hand settling on the small of my waist, like he knows I’m getting upset and he’s trying to comfort me.

  “He said he can marry you and it’ll be legal here, but not in the United States.”

  “So, we’ll just get married here and take care of the paperwork when we get home. No biggie,” Ollie replies, gesturing as if to say can we carry on now, please?

  “Are you sure?” Liam questions.

  Ollie looks at me, letting me answer. “Positive,” I reply.

  Liam nods, like he expected as much, and begins speaking to the man again.

  The man motions for us to come up to the front and he slips on a pair of glasses. He says something to Liam and then waits.

  “Since you don’t speak Italian, he wants to know if you’d like to say your own vows to each other.”

  Ollie takes my hands in each of his. “I can do that.”

  “Me too.” I smile and butterflies assault my stomach from giddiness.

  Marriage might not have been high on my list of ideals, but that doesn’t make me any less excited for this moment.

  The man recites a few words in Italian and then steps back, sweeping his hand for Ollie to say what he wants.

  Ari and Liam have taken seats in the front and sit holding hands as they watch us.

  Ollie’s chest expands as he inhales a deep lungful of air.

  “From the moment you came into my life, things became infinitely better. It’s as if my life before you ceased to exist and I only truly came to life after I met you. You tell me all the time that I changed you, that I made you a better person, but you’re wrong, Tal. It’s you that’s made me a better man.” Tears begin to pool in his eyes. “We’ve faced hardships and had so many struggles, but we keep on fighting. It’s what we do. I can’t imagine my life without you in it. I don’t want to even contemplate. You and me and this little nugget—” he presses his hand to my stomach “—are going to live the best life we can with our little angel watching over us. I love you.”

  I inhale a deep breath, fighting back tears so I can speak. “I don’t know how to top that.” I laugh and I hear Liam and Ari laugh too. “I really don’t have much to say except I love you. Even on my darkest days my love for you shines brighter than the sun. You’re my strength, the shoulder I cry on when the world becomes unbearable. You’ve seen me at my best, my worst, and every little thing in-between and you haven’t run yet so I think that’s a good thing.” He chuckles. “I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my life with you. Something tells me it’s going to be pretty amazing.”

  The priest says a few more words and then Liam calls out, “Kiss the girl already.”

  Ollie grins and takes my face between his hands. I close my eyes as his lips touch mine. He dips me down, deepening the kiss, and Liam catcalls in the background.

  I hold onto his shoulders as we rise and when he lets me go I sway slightly.

  “Hey, wife.”

  “Hey, husband.”

  And then we take off running for the exit, our hands clasped together, leaving our friends stunned behind us.

  Once outside, I hop on Ollie’s back and we wait for Ari and Liam to join us.

  They push through the doors a moment later and start down the stairs.

  “You marry the girl, and you still don’t have a ring for her.” He clucks his tongue. “Shame on you.”

  Ollie chuckles, completely unbothered by his statement. “There wasn’t time for that. We’ll get rings eventually, or maybe not, a ring doesn’t make us any less married.” He tips his head to the side so he can see me where I hang onto his back like a koala bear on a tree.

  Liam shoves his hands in his pockets and looks at Ari and then us. “I was going to make dinner, but I think tonight calls for more of a celebration than my shitty cooking skills. There’s plenty around here so if we start walking we’ll come across something eventually.”

  “Sounds good.” Ollie adjusts his hold on my legs and carries me down the sidewalk. Passersby look at us strangely but neither of us is bothered by it.

  After a few minutes of walking, we find a place and Ollie sets me down.

  We ask to be seated outside since it’s such a nice evening.

  We’re handed menus, but the three of us set them aside since we’ve all been letting Liam order for us.

  When the waiter comes, Liam orders water, a bottle of wine, and our food.

  The waiter isn’t gone long and he returns with the wine and four glasses first. I wave away my glass when he goes to pour it.

  “Oh, shit, I forgot.” Liam smiles sheepishly. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” I wave my hand. I bite my lip. “Liam?” I ask softly.

  “Yes?” He raises a single brow, his glass halfway to his lips.

  I don’t really know how to broach this without sounding rude, so I struggle to find words for a moment. “I know Ollie and I are supposed to go to two more places when we leave Venice, and I’m sure you’ve already bought the tickets and everything, but I …” I look up at Ollie and he gives me a worried look. “I want to go home,” I finally say.

  Across the table, Liam smiles and sets his wine glass down. “I figured as much. It’s already arranged. We all fly home in two days.”

  My whole body sags with relief.

  “Tal,” Ollie prompts. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah.” I nod. “I just …” I pause
, searching for the best way to explain. “I want to go home, see my doctor, and make sure everything’s okay. I need that peace of mind. I won’t feel better until I do.”

  He nods in agreement. “Okay. That makes sense. But you’re feeling okay, right?”

  “Yeah, I feel fine,” I hurry to assure him. “The morning sickness is kicking my butt, though,” I admit. “It’s making me really tired. Puking up your brains every day will do that to you.” I laugh and smile in thanks when the waiter appears with our waters. “It’s worth it,” I add, touching my stomach. “Completely worth it.”

  I need to get home, though, and go to my doctor. I want to see the baby and hear its heartbeat and know that it’s okay.

  Ollie leans over and presses his lips to the side of my forehead.

  “Don’t worry,” he whispers, smoothing stray hairs away from my face. “Everything’s going to be perfect with little squid.”

  I bust out laughing. “Squid, huh?”

  He shrugs. “First one was Cheeto, this one deserves a womb name too.”

  “Womb name,” I repeat. “I like that.”

  He grins. “Good. I don’t like calling it it.”

  “Me either,” I agree.

  Across the table Liam shakes his head. “You guys are so weird.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know,” I counter.

  I glance up at Ollie then and he looks down at me. Our eyes stay connected and I marvel at the fact that we’ve come so far from those two broken foster kids.

  We might not be rich in the money since, but we’re rich in the things that matter.

  Love and happiness.

  I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  The next two days go by too fast, but at the same time, I’m excited to be heading home.

  We pack our bags and head out to waiting taxi, all before the sun rises.

  Our flight leaves in an hour for New York City where we’ll have a layover before flying into Los Angeles. I know the flights and airport time will be tough on me, but I’ll make it through.

  The driver puts our bags in the trunk and we all find a seat in the SUV.

  I yawn and lay my head on Ollie’s shoulder. “It’s too early,” I whine.

  Everyone else in the car seems unbothered by the early morning hour. Fuckers.

  The trunk closes with a bang and the driver slides behind the wheel.

  Ollie’s hand glides from my knee up my thigh. “Are you happy to be heading home?”

  I nod. I’m sure we would’ve had fun had we continued with our trip, but home is where we belong.

  Once upon a time we didn’t have a place to call home, but now that we do, I realize it’s my favorite place in the world. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to travel, and there are plenty of other beautiful places in the world I want to see, but nothing beats home.

  Liam and Ari are sitting in the back row of the SUV and Liam leans over to where Ollie and I sit.

  “I propose that we go on a group trip once a year. Jeremiah and Brady should come too.”

  Ollie looks at me, raising a brow as if to say what do you think?

  I nod, smiling. “That sounds fun.”

  Liam grins back. “Cool. We should all start brainstorming places now.”

  “Greece!” Ari shouts.

  “Paris,” I add.

  “The Bahamas,” Ollie interjects.

  Liam chuckles. “Looks like we have some talking to do.”

  He sits back and we grow quiet. I lift my head from Ollie’s shoulder so I can look out the window. I want to see every last bit of Venice that I can. The city truly is magnificent and it now holds so many beautiful memories for us.

  This will always be the place where we found out we were pregnant again, and it’ll always be the place where we got married.

  It doesn’t get more special than that.

  The taxi snakes through the city and in no time we’re being dropped off at the airport.

  For some reason, I feel like crying. I’m going to blame it on hormones.

  We file out of the car and grab our bags—Ollie insists on carrying mine, even though I remind him I’m pregnant not injured, but he won’t hear of it.

  Security takes forever which means we have to skip getting breakfast. This is fine for me, because it’d probably make me sick anyway—although, I’d kill for some orange juice.

  I’m surprised the orange juice thing didn’t tip either of us off to the possibility of me being pregnant. Before, with my first pregnancy, I craved apple juice all day.

  Apparently, I have a thing for juices.

  We finally board the plane together and take off for New York City.

  I pray the whole way that I don’t have a bout of morning sickness. Thankfully, Liam booked us all tickets in first class, and it’s only us in the section and we have our own bathroom, but it wouldn’t be fun to have to get throw up a hundred times on the plane.

  We arrive at the airport in New York and file off the plane. We have several hours before our plane leaves for Los Angeles so we stop in one of the many restaurants to eat. Our flight to L.A. will be seven hours and then once we get there, we have the drive back to Malibu. It’s safe to say we’ll all be dead on our feet by then.

  We stuff ourselves with greasy pizza and then feel miserable as we search for our terminal. We finally find it after a good fifteen minutes of searching. People crowd the seats and I sigh. It looks like it’s going to be a packed flight.

  We find three empty seats and Ollie tugs me onto his lap to make up for the difference.

  This trip has been everything to me. I left broken and I’m returning whole. For the first time since everything happened, my head is clear and not clouded with guilt and worry and doubts. I’ve finally accepted the fact that a part of me will always ache for the child I lost and I can’t feel guilty for moving on with my life. Life is fluid, it’s always changing, and we can’t stay stagnant no matter how much we might try.

  Ollie’s lips ghost against the side of my cheek. I don’t think he even realizes what he’s doing. At this point, it’s second nature for him to touch me.

  I smile at the touch and lean closer to him. “I love you,” I murmur.

  “Not as much as I love you.”

  A female voice comes over the speaker announcing they’re now boarding.

  “Come on, kids,” Liam jokes. “Let’s get home.”

  I feel giddy at the thought that when we land again I’ll be back in my home state. I can’t wait to get back to Betty—the van—and our little bungalow by the beach. I’ve missed it.

  Ollie and I follow Liam and Ari onto the plane and take our seats.

  First class is packed on this flight with a bunch of stuck-up men in suits who give all of us dirty looks. We’re all dressed casually in summer wear and look pretty rough since at this point we’ve already been traveling for over ten hours.

  The flight takes off and I wiggle around, getting settled. I end up with my head on Ollie’s shoulder and his pillowed on mine.

  We both fall asleep pretty quickly and don’t wake up until the plane begins to descend.

  I feel disoriented at first as my mind clears from the hazy fog of sleep. Reality quickly returns though and I realize I’m on the plane.

  Ollie yawns beside me, rolling his stiff shoulders to loosen them up.

  The plane touches down and I feel this huge sense of relief that we’re almost home. While we were in Venice, I went ahead and made an appointment with my doctor for tomorrow afternoon. I don’t think I’ll feel comfortable until I get to see the baby.

  The plane taxis into the terminal and Ollie reaches for my hand.

  Maybe I’m delirious from the nearly twenty-four hours of travel but my body vibrates with a nervous energy.

  We follow Liam and Ari off the plane and through the airport to baggage claim.

  They walk a few feet in front of us, holding hands, and every little bit Liam smiles down at her or whispers in her ear.

/>   Baggage claim is packed but we all manage to grab our bags in ten minutes, which I don’t think is too bad.

  Due to all the time differences, it’s five in the evening when we step outside into the California air. My body, however, feels like it’s two in the morning.

  I squint, looking around and trying to remember where we parked.

  Ollie gasps beside me. “Tal, look.”

  I shield my eyes from the sun and look where he’s pointing. In the distance, rising in an arc above the sky, is a rainbow. The most vibrant and beautiful rainbow I’ve ever seen.

  “Ironic, isn’t it?” He smiles wistfully. “A perfect rainbow for our rainbow baby.”

  Emotion clogs my throat. I remember back to shortly after everything happened. I read an article about babies conceived after miscarriages being called rainbow babies. When I told Ollie, he said, “That’s beautiful. After the storm comes the rainbow.”

  We weathered our storm and now we’ve been gifted with our rainbow.

  Life has a funny way of coming full circle.

  I wake up and rub the sleep from my eyes. I smile, looking around the messy and chaotic bedroom.

  Home.

  It might be a mess, but it’s where I belong.

  I sit up and the sheets pool at my waist. Ollie’s not in bed, but I can hear pots clanging in the kitchen, which probably means he’s attempting to make breakfast.

  That’s never a good thing.

  I hurriedly throw back the covers and run into the main part of the house.

  “Ollie,” I say breathlessly, my feet sliding across the floor. “What are you doing?”

  He stares back at me covered in … I hope that’s flour.

  “Trying to make pancakes.” He points to his phone on the counter, which I assume he’s used to pull up a recipe.

  “Why?” I ask, glancing at the clock. It’s late in the morning, nearly ten.

  “I wanted to make you breakfast.” He pouts dramatically, but I can tell he’s trying to mask his frustration at being unable to perform a simple task.

  “Ollie,” I chortle. “You can’t even make scrambled eggs that well. Pancakes are way out of your league,” I joke, stepping into the kitchen. The floor is covered in more dry ingredients and they coat my feet. I try to keep the disgust from my face, but I’m sure I fail miserably. I take another step and begin to slip. “Whoa,” I cry, my arms wind milling through the air as I try not to fall.