After Olivia

5

A hectic Friday morning, near its end, had occupied and challenged Bill with the first meaningful work he had done in years. He forged ahead with the complex project that he had dreamt up in the first 15 minutes of the emergency meeting the previous day. Tedious and repetitive tasks, that had defined his work since the accident, had been shelved and gave way for him to rediscover a part of his past self that had been in hiding.

The phone on Bill's desk interrupted a conversation with Heather.

Emily, just hold on a second.

"Heather, we just need to get someone from the sixth floor to call the guys in Atlanta. If I call them direct, out of the blue, they'll push back on this. If someone up there does a bit of sweet talk and suggests they call me for details, we'll have the plan rolling out by the end of the day," Bill suggested.

Bill returned to the call from Emily and asked her to meet him outside Stein's department store in the neighboring building. He left his office about a half hour ahead of the proposed meeting time and walked directly to the shoe department of the store. Motivated by renewed self-confidence, he hoped to meet her with the shopping complete.

After fifteen minutes of pouring over slippers, he was no closer to finding a pair than he was at the start. None seemed to be the right style or colour. Eventually, Bill gave up looking all together, convinced Olivia was wrong about his ability to choose the right ones. He decided his only hope would be to enlist Emily to help him pick out something. Anything.

Along the way to the exit where they had arranged to meet, he passed through the ladies' night and intimate wear sections. Between a mannequin dressed in a nearly transparent black and red corset type nighty and a rack of equally sultry thongs, an oddly placed display of slippers had caught his attention.

"Can I help you pick out something?" asked a young sales lady.

Bill responded with an awkwardness related to the surrounding and not the item he intended to purchase. Someone approaching from behind him, as this lady had, wouldn't see the stack of boxed slippers and would likely think he was looking at skimpy lace negligées. "I, ahhh, I'm trying to find my mother-in-law's size."

After a slight pause Bill stepped aside and pointed at the slippers to make sure the girl didn't think he was looking for some racy lingerie for the lady he lovingly called 'Mom'.

The girl giggled and found Bill's nervous state somewhat humorous. She nodded and said, "Well, you're here just in time. I am changing the display and was about to move these to the stock room. Okay, what size?"

The young attendant in a white blouse and snug fitting skirt leaned forward for a moment before bending her knees to a squatting position while she riffled through the stack of boxes. The skirt hugged the curves of her buttocks. Bill's eyes were fixated on her for a moment then looked away, trying not to move on to the garments on display around her. His gaze returned to the woman over and over again; the back of her bra was visible through the partially sheer fabric of her blouse when her sandy-blonde hair moved off to the side. A golden ring on her right index finger reminded him of the one he still wore on his own hand.

When the sales assistant finally found the requested size and style, Bill felt a hint of relief to be done with it but thought he could gaze at this woman for hours if time and decency permitted.

He followed her to the cash register and tried to ignore the flirtatious smile that accompanied the receipt, "My name is Helen. If they aren't the right size, just come back and see me."

Emily arrived outside the department store door and was surprised to find him waiting with a shopping bag in hand. "Oh, I thought I was going to help you pick out something."

"Got it under control. I think she'll like what I got her," Bill replied with confidence.

"What? How? Are you sure? Did Heather call the store and put something on hold for you?"

"No, I picked it out myself."

"Sorry, you look like this guy I know. His name is Bill, the resemblance is amazing," Emily said as she pretended to look around for some other version of her friend.

"Yeah, funny. Let's eat; it looks like the Taco Wagon is here. Do you feel like cocina Mexicana today?" Bill asked as he pointed towards the food truck on the opposite side of the street.

They crossed the street, grabbed their meal and walked into the South edge of the park to eat. Bill sat crunching his way through the first of his tacos as he observed the surroundings. He took in the sights and sounds of people as they moved through the park, sat on benches and played games in the open spaces. While Bill gazed at the scenery, Emily observed him for a moment.

"Okay, so what's up? First, you're picking out gifts without help, and now you're actually sitting here and, I don't know, looking happy or something. Is that even allowed?"

"What, is that a bad thing?'

"No, it's good. Really good! I haven't seen you like this in a long time," Emily said as she placed her hand on Bill's arm. "I'm glad to see this."

Bill looked at Emily's hand on his forearm. Her touch was soft and comforting, similar in many ways to Olivia's. He remembered how Olivia used to touch him that same way as they spoke. If he closed his eyes, he could live in the memories that stirred in his mind and imagine she was there with him.

"Olivia and I used to come here all the time and take in everything. Now, I go through this park almost every day and never really notice anyone. Last week there was some Shakespeare thing, I walked right past it and didn't even notice. I'm just trying to get familiar with all of it again."

"That's good. I'm sure she would be happy. I'm sure she would also be as surprised as I am that you picked out something for mom, on your own. So, what did you get?"

"Well, you'll see tomorrow. You could say it was her idea," Bill replied. "I'll walk you back with you to your office, but let's go through the park."

Bill made quick observations of people around him as they walked along the pathway. Couples held hands and smiled as they passed by. Strangers gave friendly greetings. Memories of similar outings with Olivia rushed in and Bill looked towards Emily to his right. She walked with her head down for a while, then looked up and turned her gaze to the right then left. She smiled at Bill for a moment then looked back at the ground a few feet in front of her. The way she was dressed, and the style of her hair played tricks on his mind. Even the way she took in the sights for a moment then became lost in contemplation, studying the pathway just ahead of her stride was reminiscent of Olivia. It was as if he was once again walking with her.