Love and Other Infinities

01| The Day I Saw Her

We always have that one person that we fall in love with, the moment we see them. Most of us never stop loving them, even if it is from a distance.

She was mine. Olivia Emma Davis was my person, from the moment I saw her. I didn't know it then, but I was about to find out.

*

It  was my sister's 20th birthday party. She had already celebrated with her friends, but family dinners on birthdays were a tradition in our family. 

We had all gathered in our backyard, my family and a few relatives, having quite the time with each other.

I remember entering the backyard, gifts pilling up in my hands to the point that I couldn't see who was directly in front of me. I stumbled through the house, slowly, almost tripping twice and reached the backyard.

"Mia!!!!" I called out as a 5 year old trapped in the body of a 20 year old came running towards me and threw herself on me.

And there we were, lying in the trimmed grass, all the gifts scattered around us.

"Mia, I love you but you're going to have to stop being such a kid." 

"Noah, I love you but you're going to have to stop being such a grandpa." She mimicked me and I smacked her on the head playfully, rolling my eyes.

"Happy Birthday, Mia." I said as I ruffled her hair, knowing it will irritate her, and gathered up the gifts to hand her. "Look at them later, you'll love it." I whispered.

She bubbled with all the excitement and skipped her way to her room. I shook my head. Classic Mia.

I let myself take in the surroundings and notice who all were there.

A few of my many uncles and aunts, Granpy and Grandma. All of them centered on the one and only, Mia. But that day, I was the only one who couldn't take my eyes off of her. My Olivia.

That was the first time my eyes fell on her, even though she had been mentioned quite frequently around the house. After all, she was the friend that had never left Mia's side. She was, for the lack of a better word, astonishingly breathtaking. You'd think I may be biased, but she really really was.

And the thing about her was that she wasn't the model, makeup kind of pretty. She didn't have blonde hair or blue eyes. But she was beautiful in the earthy kind of way. As if she was a force of nature itself. But you'll hear more about that later.

When I saw her, she was sitting in corner, avoiding all attention that could come her way which is what she always did as I learnt a few months later. She cowered away from anyone giving her any sign of acknowledgement that they could, in fact, see her.

But she hadn't noticed me yet. She was about to.

I walked towards her, completely forgetting we were in the middle of a "party".

"Hi", I said, flashing my smartest smile, as if that's even a thing, and startled her. She looked up, her eyes wide.

"Oh um, hi." She had said, quickly composing herself and smiling shyly. "I'm Olivia, Mia's friend. You must be Noah." 

"Absolutely correct, Olivia. I've heard a lot about you." 

Her cheeks flushed. "Oh, I hope it was all good." She chuckled nervously.

"Oh better than good, Mia has made quite the image of you in our minds."

"That's....good." She nodded to herself.

"You don't like gatherings, do you?" I asked her, catching her off guard.

"I...um" She looked up again and her eyes were bright this time, as if she was pleasantly surprised. "Yeah, I am really not a people person. I just...it was Mia's birthday and couldn't not come. Mr. and Mrs. Jones insisted." 

"Well, I am very glad you could make it. I seem to never catch whenever you come over, I am glad we could meet. Besides, to tell you a secret," I lowered my voice. "I am not much of a people person either." 

And then I saw the most beautiful smile make it's way up to her face. From that moment, I knew I was gone. I could never resist that smile.