Once Upon A Time... The End

Ice Cream Sandwiches and Pinky Swears

It was later on that night, after we were full of Asian cuisine and had stumbled back through the doorway of the small cottage that I finally get Olivia alone. Sharon, claiming that she was too tired to stay up and watch a movie with us, that she would just head to bed, had just left the room. Olivia had been quiet almost all evening long, the few words she did speak were spoken in a rather... apologetic tone, as if she were sorry that she was behaving as she was. And, knowing her, she probably was.

I was edgy around Olivia at dinner, trying to pull her into Sharon and I's conversation but with little to no avail. She was thoughtful, quiet, almost oblivious when she was like this, her thoughts in her mind much loud than our words. She hardly ate, which wasn't unusual, but it was obvious that it wasn't just her illness that wasn't giving her an appetite.

I watched now as she placed a small batch of chocolate chip cookies in the oven before turning to the freezer, in search of ice cream.

~

"Do you want an ice cream sandwich?" She asked, her voice small and quiet in the empty room.

I took my eyes from her and turned back to the shelf that carried maybe a hundred different films. "Eh, yeah, sure. Thanks, love."

She said nothing in reply and I took about five movies from the shelf, not knowing which one Olivia would want to watch.

"Liv?" I called, laying the movies out on the ottoman.

"Yeah?"

"C'mere, for a second."

I waited until she finished with whatever she was doing in the kitchen, sitting on the couch.

"What's up?" She said, answering her own question by looking down at the movies. "Oh."

I winced, hearing the change in her voice. "You don't want to watch a movie?"

She chuckled, scratching her head. "I'm actually a little tired, Ben. The morphine is probably getting to me a little sooner."

I frowned, watching her grey eyes cloud over. A wall.

"I'm sorry." I said softly. She stiffened at my words. "I am, Livvy. I apologize. I shouldn't have said what I said earlier.

"Okay." She said. She stood, leaving the main room and entering the kitchen.

Frustrated at her typical reaction, I followed her. "You don't seem accept my apology."

Olivia smiled at me which only made me even more upset. "I accept your apology."

I sighed, crossing my arms. "Why do you do this, Liv?"

Olivia didn't answer me, instead moving to take the cookies out of the oven.

"Hmm." She moaned, smelling the freshly baked dessert. "Want one?"

I shook my head, flustered. "No! I want you to explain what this is. Why do you shut me out and fight me every time we talk about this?"

Olivia sighed, biting her cookie. "I'm being intentionally obtuse, obviously, Benedict."

I almost laughed. It came out as a cough. "Why? What do you want from me?"

Olivia eyed me carefully, sizing me up. When she had seen, or not seen, whatever she had been looking for, her eyes finally met mine.

"I don't want an apology, Ben. I want a promise and a commitment."

"To what?" I asked, baffled by her response.

"Not to me. To Sharon."

I closed my eyes. "Olivia."

"Look at me, Benedict." She said, her voice low and authoritative.

I opened my eyes, a smirk on my face.

"I'm not going to be here forever. Okay? We've established this already. My parents... they didn't mind abandoning her. That's probably why they've never looked over here for me." She shrugged. "It didn't even occur to them that she would be the perfect place to hide."

I frowned, my eyes burning again. "Liv."

"Not finished. We've all she's got left, okay? I get that you've got responsibilities, obligations, contracts. I understand. But I can't take care of her anymore. I literally can't. I'm the one that she is taking care of."

I nodded. "I understand."

Olivia smiled at me again, removing ice cream from the freezer. "Okay. So promise me."

I grinned, dropping my hands to my side's to grab some spoons. "Promise you what?"

She handed me two cookies and I turned them both upside down, remembering how she taught me to make the perfect ice cream sandwich.

"Promise me, Benedict," she scooped a big scoop of the frozen stuff onto my small cookie "that when I'm gone you'll take Aunt Sharon with you."

I looked up at her, wishing I could tell her that I'd take both her and her aunt back with me if I could. But, I knew that Olivia just wanted me to reassure her of Sharon's safety and love.

"I promise." I said, handing her my smallest finger.

She giggled, wrapping her smallest finger around mine, which dwarfed hers. "Pinky swear?"

I'm laughed, gently swinging our fingers back and forth. "Yeah. Pinky swear."

~

That night we fell asleep on Sharon's couch, Olivia's huge duvet wrapped around the both of us. She was leaning up against me, her head on my shoulder, my arm wrapped protectively around her shoulder. I was resting my head on hers.

I was startled awake by the movie, which was replaying itself, and I gently reached for the remote, clicking off The Parent Trap. Livvy, sensing my movement, grabbed onto me to keep me from moving.

I smiled before kissing her hair and leaning back into the couch.

"Night, love. Sweet dreams."

"Night."