Chapter Ten
Olivia
The next morning, Mom surprises me at work.
“Everything all right?” I ask her in concern.
She hastens over to my desk. “Olivia, I’m sorry to surprise you like this,” she begins as she takes a seat across from me. “Absolutely nothing is wrong.”
Her cheeks flush the way they do when she feels guilty, and I know I’m not going to like whatever reason brought her here. “You know Cybil’s daughter, Patsy?”
“Yes,” I say suspiciously. “Of course I do.”
“Well,” Mom continues enthusiastically. “Patsy’s dear friend, Maureen, has a son, and he just moved back to town…”
“No, no, no—a million times no!” I say as Cassandra looks over from the teller window.
“He’s a nice boy, Olivia,” Mom says in a low voice. “Patsy’s known him since he was in diapers. He grew up in Bearport. You know the town over from here?”
“Yeah,” I say with clenched teeth. “I’m familiar.”
“The thing is, Dad feels just terrible about what he said last night. About what healmostsaid, I should say. And he and I got to talking afterward about you and your single status. At your age, a woman likes to be at least on her way to a secure relationship.”
“Mom, I swear to God. This is not 1950 anymore, or haven’t you noticed?”
“Olivia, I know it’s not 1950. But I want you to have a partner in life. Not a savior,” she adds hastily when she sees my face. “A partner. Someone to share battle scars with, someone to share fairy tales with. I know you’re not Sleeping Beauty who needs rescuing. That was always more Daphne, never you. Look at you now.” She pauses to sweep her arm around the bank dramatically. “You could be running this place in ten years. You’ve done very well, sweetheart, and Dad and I are so proud of you. We really are. But I want you to love, too. Not just money but another person.”
I drop my head into my hands. “Mom, I tried marriage. It didn’t work.”
“You mean Nate didn’t work. You obviously married the wrong man. But I haven’t given up on you finding the right one.”
I raise my head and look at her face filled with hope.
I don’t have a clue what to say to her. Not being able to tell my mother about my first and only love has been more than painful; it’s created a distance between us that I know she doesn’t understand. Because Mom and I are close, we really are. But because I can’t share what’s in my heart with her…well, it’s made things confusing. “I—”
“Would you at least meet Will Saturday at the fair?” she asks. “He’s expecting you.”
As much as I want to, now isn’t the time to fill her in on Jenson. So I stall.
“I—can’t. I’m not looking to meet anyone new yet. I can’t explain it to you more clearly than that right now. Just trust me.”
Mom nods and changes the subject to the weather, something I take as a good sign that we’re on the same page and moving on. “It’s supposed to be a beautiful sunny day on Saturday. Even Auntie Sue’s going to make it.”
“That’s great. Hopefully, she’ll enjoy herself.”
“Sheldon and Cara will both be there, of course. But Daphne’s busy—they’re visiting Todd’s family. Do you know if Jenson’s planning on coming? Dad would really appreciate having him there.”
I swallow and don’t look at her as I answer. “I know the Hawks have practice that morning. But he mentioned something about taking Kyle and Connor afterward.”
“Good,” Mom says. “It’s too bad he broke it off with that woman out in Pittsburgh, but I guess she wasn’t the one for him after all.”
Pain hits my chest, and I just barely get out, “Guess not.”
Before I have to chat more about Jenson, Vivian approaches my desk, and Mom leaves with a whispered, “I’ll meet you at six. I’ve got great plans for tonight’s Adult Ed class.”
Good Lord.
Vivian waits until my mother’s walked out the door before she turns to me with a smile. “I’m sending you to Manhattan, Olivia.”
