Page 99 of Time To Live Again

I peer outside. When I see they aren’t yelling at each other, I relax. From Olive’s body language, she seems pretty calm. Mom nudges me toward the door. I open it quietly and step out. My love for Olive grows to a new level as she expresses her decision.

“I willalwayschoose Leo. He’s my future and who I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

“And I’ll always choose you too.”

She spins around, her face beaming when she sees me. I forget that our moms are standing there, and I approach her with open arms. She wraps herself around me, right where she belongs.

* * *

Hand in hand, Olive and I head to my favorite place. Mom and Evelyn both apologized to us and promised to not interfere any further with our relationship. We left them alone to let them work things out. Andy stayed back with Tonya because she offered to make him a martini when Sully left. I hope she doesn’t poison him.

“See, what did I say? Empty. My tree knew we were coming and made sure nobody was sitting on our bench.”

“Your tree, huh?” Olive pokes fun. “Isn’t itourtree now?”

We sit on the cold, squeaky bench and sigh at the same time. I invite the silence as I enjoy the view of the East Sound. She lifts my arm and snuggles up underneath it. I squish her to my side and kiss the top of her head.

“What a day, huh?” Olive’s exhaustion is clear.

I hum in agreement. “A lot to process.”

“I’m sorry about my mom showing up on the day of Corey’s memorial. I don’t want it to overshadow his memory.”

“No one could do that. And it’s not your fault. None of this is. At least she showed up after everyone left.”

“Right?” She looks at me with concern. “Do you think your mom will forgive her?”

“Actually, yes. Not that I don’t care, but it’s their problem. We don’t need to be in the middle of it. We have enough to figure out.”

She sits up and plays coy. “About our future?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“Like what? Give me an example.” She bounces on the bench, her energy coming back.

“It’s the most important topic. So listen up.” Her eyes widen with excitement. I purposely say nothing to make her squirm a little.

She smacks my leg. “What? Come on. I want to know.”

I pick up her left hand and say with a twang, “Like when I’m ‘gonna put a ring on it.’”

Her face softens. “I don’t need a ring. I can’t fathom life without you. To me it’s a done deal.”

“So you think we’re engaged?”

“Maybe.” She draws out the word playfully.

I kiss her inviting lips. “Believe me, beautiful. You’ll know when we’re engaged. I’ve already got it planned. When, where, and how.”

“Did I hear the wordengaged?” Mom says behind us. Of course she’d know where we’d be. “Is there something you need to tell us?”

We turn around and find her and Evelyn, both with bright faces that don’t look forced. In fact, they look…happy? You’d never know there was bad blood between them.

“No. Nothing to tell.” Olive smacks a big kiss on my cheek. “But if I have my way, it’ll be sooner rather than later.”

“Does that mean I’ll be planning your wedding soon?” Tonya pops out from behind our moms, her face hopeful and flushed. Where the hell did she come from, and how many cosmos did she drink already? “And don’t forget about our bet!”

A bit confused, I mumble to Olive, “Bet?”

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