Page 7 of Skipping Stones

“Are you–”

They laughed as their voices overlapped and started again. Two hours later, they realized the café had emptied, and the last remaining barista looked like she wanted to go home. The world had disappeared until it was just them. Their hands brushed against each other as they reached for the last bit of biscotti and they looked up at each other in surprise. Derek had felt a spark and he was sure she had too.

Derek didn’t want the evening to end, so when they reluctantly stood up and left the café, he walked Olivia home, insisting on carrying her heavy bag in addition to his backpack. When he kissed her tentatively at the door, it was like magic. Derek dropped the bags to the floor and gathered her into his arms. Olivia let out a soft sigh as their lips met again.

They spent every spare second together that year, snatching hours between his jobs and their studies. They picnicked on her living room floor, held hands while they drank coffee and walked arm in arm along the waterfront. They studied together, and on rare days off, visited art galleries and museums. The city seemed made for lovers.

“You don’t drink much,” Olivia remarked one evening when they were out in the Distillery District with friends, celebrating the end of mid-term exams. Derek was nursing the same beer he’d ordered when they’d arrived.

“No, I guess not. Does that bother you?” Derek hedged, not ready to share this part of his story with Olivia yet.

“Just an observation.” She cocked her head at him. “Do you mind if I have another?” He shook his head, and it was never mentioned again. Some family history was best left in the past.

On paper, they shouldn’t have worked. Olivia was from money. Derek wasn’t. They were both driven, but where he wanted to save the world, she wanted to orchestrate big business deals. He loved to kayak. She was used to cruise ships. She liked to curl up in a cashmere sweater with a good book in front of stone fireplaces at ski resorts. He thought a plaid flannel shirt, a campfire, and long hikes to waterfalls were perfect ways to relax. A complete mismatch. But somehow they clicked, and with every day that passed, they grew closer and closer. When friends saw them together, they could see a special chemistry that was undeniable. Derek and Olivia were both driven, and there were early whispers that they could be destined to grow to be one of the city’s important power couples.

Since graduation, they had been busy building their careers, working the crazy hours new lawyers do, with little time for anything other than that—and each other.

Despite–or maybe it was because of–Derek’s upbringing, he felt compelled to help people who were struggling. He didn’t care that the Legal Aid office was worn at the corners, or that the perks were few. When he sat down with a young single mother struggling to get support from an ex-husband, a new immigrant who was threatened with being evicted by an unscrupulous landlord, or an injured worker who needed guidance to get government support, Derek knew he was making a difference. Olivia was on the partner track at a shiny, upscale law firm and she was laser-focused. She was being mentored by a friend of her father’s, who made sure she was not only working on the right cases but also seen to be doing the right things.

From time to time Olivia and Derek attended charity events or went to the theatre or symphony, but most evenings, one or the other of them would come home late, with takeout from the local Indian place, or lately a new Ethiopian restaurant they’d found, to find the other sound asleep on the couch, covered in legal briefs. Once, Derek took a photo of Olivia and texted it to Linney. “My sleeping tiger” he’d typed. Linney had sent a laughing emoji back when she woke in the morning, but of course, Derek hadn’t seen it immediately. He’d already scooped Olivia up and taken her to bed. She had woken as he pulled the covers over her and they’d found a way to use natural endorphins to relieve her tension.

He knew his new fiancée was more stressed than usual these days, working on a case that required her to have all her wits about her as she helped a client execute a hostile takeover. Truth be told though, he was no better. Derek had a habit of becoming emotionally invested in his clients’ plights and it fuelled him to work hard to get them justice. His own humble beginnings meant he could relate to his clients in a very real way. He put in at least as many hours as Olivia did.

Although Derek was head over heels in love with Olivia, he had been nervous when he’d first introduced her to Linney. He’d heard stories that old friends and new girlfriends didn’t always mix and that sometimes choices had to be made. It worried him. He couldn’t imagine life without either one of them.

* * *

“She’s different than I expected,” Olivia had told Derek, as they got ready for bed.

“What do you mean?” Derek thought he’d given Olivia a pretty good description of his friend.

“Well, she’s clearly as smart as a whip, but I expected her to be—I don’t know—a little more worldly.” She rubbed moisturizer along her long legs. “I mean, did you see her clothes? And those glasses—I’ve never known anyone with glasses that thick!”

Derek laid a hand on her arm and his voice had an edge to it. “She’s my best friend, Olivia. No matter what she wears.”

Olivia put up her hands in a gesture of apology. “I know. I’ll stop.”

“So when’s the big day?” Derek was shaken out of his daydreams by Aiden’s question.

“Soon,” he answered. “Next summer, actually. We don’t want to wait, so I’ve talked Olivia into getting married at the lake, where there are no long waits for venues. And that means you’ll finally get to see where I grew up! You will be my best man, won’t you?

“I thought you’d never ask.” The guys laughed and another round of back slaps followed before the lawyers re-filled their mugs with coffee and got down to the gratifying business of getting justice for those who needed it most.

* * *

In the TCN editing suite after a day of shooting, Linney shrugged off her blazer, and reviewed the film, watching her standup critically.

“For TCN, this is Linney McDonnell, in Piccadilly Circus.” The area had been buzzing, and you could feel it on the film, thanks to her cameraman’s skill. It never got old. Never. She took great pride in the stories she told for viewers of the network, whether they were back in Canada watching on TV, or these days, international viewers watching on the internet.

Pleased with the work they’d done, Linney headed to the office kitchen, put on the kettle, and poured boiling water over the tea bag. Letting it steep for a while, she texted Anna and Kirsten.

Did you hear? Derek asked Olivia—they’re getting married!!

Kirsten: Super news!! But more importantly—when are you coming home? We miiiiiisss you!

Anna: Yeah—soon I hope?

Linney smiled, as she tossed the tea bag into the compost bin. She was lucky to have friends who loved her as much as she loved them.

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