OLIVE
It wasanother beautiful day in Milan, and Olive was eating her new favourite gelato, standing just outside the gelato shop that she got it at. She was starting to think it was unnatural how little of it she had eaten so far while she was in Italy, but she chalked it up to being more interested in other kinds of eating.
She giggled to herself and took a selfie in front of the gelato stand. She sent it to her sister to show proof of life.
i’m in love
Bronwyn
with that Olympian????
Olive could see now where Bronwyn would be mistaken, and she tried to laugh at the insinuation.
very funny
the gelato,clearly
one week in Italy and you’re already too good to use the word ice cream
because it’s not ice cream, it’s gelato
very different
if you were here, you would know that
She wasn’t sassy with her sister often, but the occasion called for it. A couple vacated a cute little table outside the gelato shop, and Olive quickly swooped in to sit before one of the many other tourists could take it. Now sitting down, she was able to place her phone on the table as she watched her sister’s indignant texts come in.
The pistachio flavour of her gelato was justperfect,and she sighed in content as she relaxed back against the seat. She watched as her sister finished her tirade with the final ominous words,
Bronwyn
in any case, it is nice to see you so relaxed
Olive tilted her head, slightly confused.Huh.
She supposed she was more relaxed than usual. She hearted the message, and went to her pictures to look at the selfie she took. Her makeup wasn’t done, her hair was flying at a weird angle, but the smile on her face was genuine. She really was happy.
When was the last time she felt that?
The realization overwhelmed her, and not in a fun way. Was she so stressed and anxious normally that being happy came as such a shock?
She wasn’t sure what to do with that feeling. Being on this trip had forced her to confront more than she’d like to admit. She had already realized how out of sync she felt in her career. Yes, she was amazing, but that also came with being overworked. She wasgood and effective at her job, but it clearly was not her life’s purpose, and realizing that she was living without apurposewas daunting.
As she ate her gelato, she thought about this. What should her purpose be? Bronwyn was all grown up now, and the drive to take care of her was still present but much less pronounced now that her sister could fend for herself. To be honest, she’d acted that way with her previous partners too. She lived for them, wanted to put themselves before her. Now sitting here eating gelato, Olive realized how much she hated that.
When had she ever tried to live for herself?
Charlie’s face came unbidden to Olive, and she smiled. At least one good thing about being with Charlie was that it was easy to be around her. Olive didn’t have to worry about her, because she knew Charlie could take care of herself. Charlie was self-assured in a way that Olive’s exes hadn’t been; confident in some ways but shy in others. Exactly what she didn’t know she needed.
Olive sighed and picked up her phone. It was too early to be a simp, but her mind was betraying her already, so she may as well have leaned into what her heart wanted to do.
so are you ready to crush Finland today?
There was no response for several minutes, and Olive tried not to feel so disappointed. It was to be expected. Charlie was likely practicing or trying to focus on the game she had ahead. At least Olive didn’t even bother to hide the fact that she knew exactly what Charlie would be doing today. It was clearly progress. She was letting Charlie in slowly, and she supposed there were worse things to be doing than daydreaming about a hot hockey player.
CHARLIE
Charlie was sweating underneath her helmet. Canada had the lead on Finland, and she was determined to make sure they kept it. Campbell was doing their thing at the net and had saved them many goals already, and Charlie was determined to drive back towards the opposing team’s net to give her a break.
