Duplicity

Chapter 34

            Olivia emerged from the terminal and pulled her wool Piazza Sempione coat tighter around her then smiled as she pulled on the gloves and scarf Fitz had bought for her.  She looked around and was happy to spot Mark leaning against the car just a few yards away. He saw her and opened the trunk, taking her bag and placing it inside.

“Olivia, glad to have you back in town,” he smiled and gave her a quick hug before moving to open the door for her. She slid into the car, appreciating the warmth, and laid her head against the back of the seat. It had been a little over seven hours since she had walked away from Fitz and she needed to hear his voice. She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, dialing his number from memory. The phone rang twice before he answered, “Hello?”

“Hi” she felt tears coming again.

“Hi” he replied.

            They sat in silence for a minute both starting to speak and then stopping. They had so much to say but neither quite knew how to begin.

“Are you home?” he finally asked as a means of starting the conversation.

“In the car on my way,” she replied, “Are you back at the hotel?”

“No, I decided to stay at my Mom’s house another night” he returned, “I needed to be around people who care about me.”

“Your family is great” she tried to think of anything to talk about other than how much she missed him.

“They are pretty amazing,” he agreed, “and they love you.”

            Olivia was quiet. She closed her eyes and listened to his breathing on the other end of the phone. She imagined that there was no phone between them and instead she was resting her head on his chest. She was shaken from her fantasy by the sound of commotion on the other end of the phone.

“Is everything okay?” she asked with a hint of alarm in her voice.

“Everything is fine,” Olivia could hear him smile, eliciting a smile in her, “there are just a whole bunch of people waiting to talk to you.” Fitz handed the phone to Elizabeth first, “I know you called to talk to Fitzy so I won’t keep you. I’ll let the girls know that you made it back to New York in one piece. Sarah will be there tomorrow so hopefully you two can catch up.”

“Sounds great” replied Olivia, “Thanks again for everything. Your note was very sweet.”

Fitz’s sisters called a collective “Hi Liv” into the phone then handed it back to Fitz.

“I told you there was a crowd here to talk to you,” he laughed, “They almost tackled me when my phone rang. We’ve been waiting for your call.”

“I’m so happy to hear everyone’s voice” Olivia tried to sound happy but the truth was that hearing Fitz’s family made her miss him more, “I miss you Fitz.”