Chapter 6: Chapter 6

Eating breakfast the next morning, Olivia was still full from the previous night’s feast. But, like her childhood days, her mother’s breakfast spread was as big as ever and Olivia was expected to pack away.

“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” her mother would say.

Olivia sometimes forgot that both her parents worked as chefs in the city, before they moved to the farm. That was how they met. They quickly fell in love and moved to the family farm to start a family.

Fall in love; I haven’t even completed the first step, Olivia thought.

“We’re going to your grandmother’s today,” her mother announced over breakfast.

“That’s good, I wanted to go see her before leaving. She always had the answers to all my problems. I’ve missed her,” Olivia said.

“I’ve baked her favourite chocolate cake. She always had a sweet tooth. Go get ready, I’ll wait for you in the car,” her mother replied, packing a picnic basket full of fruits and other food.

Olivia was never one of those girls who took hours to get ready or put makeup on. She always pulled the mascara brush through her long lashes, while trying to put her legs through her jeans. A few drops of concealer and a brush through her hair were enough for her.

So, soon after finishing breakfast she was in the family truck, driving through town on the way to her grandmother’s small orange house.

When they pulled into the driveway, she noticed that the small pond in which she and Lilly used to play was dried up and full of rotten leaves and the grass was turning yellow. Spending time with her grandmother was much more valuable than taking care of her house. Walking into the house, Olivia saw a small figure sitting in the corner of the living room talking to her grandmother. She immediately recognised her as the lady from the airplane.

“Martha?”

Olivia was confused.

“Wow, I didn’t expect to see you here. What a surprise! Dorothy, is this your granddaughter,” Martha asked, smiling and looking back and forth from Olivia to Olivia’s grandmother.

“She sure is. Can’t a gran get a kiss from her granddaughter,” Dorothy said, struggling to get the words out.

When Olivia looked at her grandmother, she was briefly shocked. Her face had become droopy, her hands were shaking vigorously and her body had become very fragile. Yet, despite her apparent weakness and hair loss, Olivia could still see the caring grandmother who had spoiled them as children with chocolates and running around in the backyard. The thought of losing her made Olivia shiver.

“Good to see you, Gran,” she said, kissing her grandmother on the cheek and trying to hide her emotions. “How do you know each other,” Olivia asked Martha.

“Well, we kept bumping into each other at the food market and soon discovered our mutual love for gardening.”

“Funny, that’s how my best friend and I met too.”

“I brought some things for the sweet tooth,” Renee interjected, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek too.

“The smaller plates are on the dining table,” Dorothy replied.

The excitement in Dorothy’s eyes at the thought of the treats were clear for all to see.

“Mother, you know the rule. First your medication, then lunch and only then dessert,” Renee replied, winking at Olivia. “Oh Martha, could you please give me a hand in the kitchen,” Renee asked as she walked out the room.

“Sure. Love to.”

As soon as Renee and Martha had left the room, Olivia turned to her grandmother to discuss life in general.

“How’s life, Liv,” her grandmother asked.

“Would ‘okay’ suffice?”

“No, I want to know how you really feel.”

“Where do I start? I’m here because my boss thinks I need a break. He didn’t exactly say that I’m suspended, but it feels like he just wanted to break my spirit for some reason. That after I took greater care of my work than my personal life or family,” Olivia whispered. She tried to control her emotions. “That’s why Lilly and I are fighting. And…,” she stopped and breathed deeply. She had to consider her next words carefully.

“And…,” her grandmother asked with interest.

“And, I think I’m in love with my boss,” she said as fast as she could to stop herself from thinking about how ridiculous she must sound.

Slowly the tears started running down her cheeks. She put her hands in front of her mouth to stop herself sobbing audibly.

“Gran, what do I do?”

She had become desperate, kneeling in front of her grandmother and burying her face in her grandmother’s lap. This was what she had always done as a child when she was hurt. What is happening to me, she thought. All her emotions seemed to boil over and nothing, not even her willpower, could stop it.

“You know what, even though you’re my granddaughter, I can honestly say that you’re the strongest and most beautiful woman I’ve come across. You’ve never given up on your dreams. Like I always say….”

“What the heart wants, the heart gets,” Olivia replied through her tears.

“Exactly. Don’t give up on him, no matter how impossible it seems. If he wanted to fire you or he felt like you two wouldn’t get along, he would’ve replaced you.”

“Yes, Gran, but I’m just his assistant,” said Olivia, wiping away the last tears before her mother saw she had been crying.

“When love gets involved, nothing else matters. No money, no title, no family background and no personal history. When your grandfather and I fell in love, I was just a waiter and he was a rich and well-known rancher. Back then, it was very unlikely for a man to fall in love with someone less wealthy than himself. It was hard, but we made it work.”

“Thank you, Gran, for always making me feel good about myself. Please don’t tell Mom. I don’t want to upset her. Love you.”

After sharing a long hug, Dorothy lifted Olivia’s chin to look in her eyes.

“I love you too. Do what makes you happy and don’t be hard on yourself. You’re beautiful, and I hope that you will one day admit that to yourself,” Dorothy said, wiping away another of Olivia’s tears with her thumbs.

“Lunch is ready, you two,” Renee shouted from the kitchen, breaking their intimate silence.

“We’re coming,” Dorothy replied as Olivia helped her out of the chair.

They walked hand in hand to the kitchen. Another big lunch was spread on the table. It could not possibly have all been eaten in one sitting, so Renee took some of the leftovers home for Gideon, leaving the rest for Dorothy. That was Renee’s usual way whenever she had lunch with the ladies.

Later that afternoon, Olivia’s phone rang. She was busy helping her mother with the dishes and her father was reading the weekly newspaper. Olivia just assumed it was Kate calling so she asked her father to check.

Looking over the top of his glasses, he read the person’s name aloud, “Tyler Brown”.

Quickly drying off her hands, she grabbed the phone and ran to her bedroom. Shutting the door behind her, she slid to the floor, with her back to the door, to give herself time to breath.

“Mr Brown, nice to hear from you,” she answered. She bowed her head in embarrassment. “I mean, I hope you’re coping with your schedule.”

Olivia could hear suppressed laughter on the other side. Why won’t he just laugh aloud, she wondered. Why is he trying to be professional after hours?

“Uhm, I’m glad you like hearing from me. No, I’m running late for all my meetings. I don’t even know how to set up a schedule,” he replied. He sounded as though he cared.

“You want me to do something for you, Mr Brown? Why the call?”

“Oh no. I just wanted to say that…,” he said, stopping to consider his next words carefully, “I just wanted to thank you for your hard work.”

“Pleasure, Mr Brown.”

“Goodnight, Ms Acker,” he replied. He sounded disappointed. Perhaps he had wanted to say more, Olivia thought.

Rather than asking him, she said, “It’s Olivia”.

“Olivia, right,” he said and hung up the phone.

It took all off Olivia’s inner strength to prevent her from screaming. What do you want, Tyler Brown? What did you want to say?

“Everything all right there, Sweetie,” her mother asked through the door.

“Couldn’t be better,” she whispered. “Yes, just my boss asking something about work.”

She slammed her head against the door over and over again, repeating Martha’s words to herself, “Everything will work out”.