After I picked her up in the kitchen, we were all over the apartment. Intense and passionate doesn’t even began to describe our lovemaking. It was as if we were truly rediscovering each other after all these years, and that the fear and dread of a true fight, that facade finally shattered, the poison and fear lanced with the argument. We could survive the pain of ripping at each other. We had teetered on the edge but recovered before falling off the cliff. The ultimate release, knowing that we can survive.
By early afternoon, exhaustion had overtaken us, but it was time to return to our daughter.
“We need to get up, cleaned up and back to the base to check on Olivia,” but she makes no real move to get up.
“I told Brant we were going shopping for her for birthday gifts. We should just call and make sure things are still ok.”
Sigh, “I’ll get in the shower, but…..”
“What?”
“I don’t have anything to wear.”
“Guess you will just have to go shopping naked then…..” and I smile wickedly at the thought, at least before she slaps my chest. “Seriously, I’ll find something. You can buy something else while we are shopping if you want.”
Rolling tiredly on top of me, she kisses me deeply, and I began to stir again. “Woah…..,no more of that,” she says before rolling back onto the bed, but smiling at the same time.
“I can’t help what you do to me.”
“Yea, but this mere mortal can’t keep up with you.”
“Fine, be a spoil sport,” but I grab her and bring her close before she can escape, just to hold. After a few more seconds, “I want to do something special for Olivia’s birthday. Something that’s completely new. Is there something you can think of? New memories for us, and us alone.”
“Well, her favorite band is in concert here the night of her birthday, but it’s sold out supposedly.”
My grunt in response is extremely meaningful. “What band is that?”
“Innocent of Riddles.”
“Well, if that’s sold out, not much hope there. But, I was thinking about a new bike, customized in red and black. What about changing her race name to Red Widow? You know, if she eventually does the other stuff, I mean, it would be a cover in a cover, right? Who would expect someone to use their actual cover name as a racing name?”
Even with her back to me, I feel her stiffen in my arms. “Well, I am kind of hoping that she will give that up, although I know that’s unlikely. But even if she doesn’t, I really don’t want anything that would actually point towards her. She doesn’t have magical super abilities you know.”
“I know, I know. Stupid idea I guess. I’m just trying to come up with something that will distract her from it for a few years, even if we do have to start training her.”
She twists around to look at me, “I could really kill your brother right now.”
“Yea, me too.” I look into her brown eyes……and get lost in them again, leaning in to kiss her deeply. After coming up for breath, “I have one last idea. I was kind of saving it for Christmas, but…..what about going skiing or snowboarding or whatever. Tahoe’s not that far, and its supposedly getting hammered with snow right now. We could leave tomorrow. She could open her presents the morning of her birthday and then we could drive back. What do you think? Did you guys ever go….you know, with….him.”
She looks at me for a bit before replying, “No, we’ve never been. When she was ten, I was going to take her. I planned a girl’s trip once when he was out of the country, she had a huge crush on that snowboarder Tyler Dalton,” to which I kind of grimace, but relax as she continues, “but the weather got so bad we couldn’t even get there. It was totally supposed to be a girl’s trip only, she was so disappointed and grouchy after that. I think it would be perfect.”
I lean in for another kiss, and well, this time the upcoming shower just had to wait.
As soon as I hear the shower come on, I activate the private comm channel in my year.
“Hey, Titan.”
“Yes.”
“You care if I call Jessica? I need to get some tickets for a concert on November 5th?”
“Who’s Jessica?”
“Your executive assistant? You know, in Los Angeles?”
“Oh, sure, go ahead, just avoid talking to my chief of staff.”
“Got it. Thanks man, I appreciate it.”
“Oliver, how are you? Is my boss still alive, haven’t seen him for awhile?”
“He’s fine, Jessica, just on to a new girl who he’s trying to impress.”
“He should find someone nice, not all those bimbos just after his money.”
“Yea, but I’m not telling him that.”
“I know, I know.”
“Hey, anyway, what I was calling about. I hate to ask, but I need a huge favor and the boss said it was ok.”
“Is this for that same ‘friend?”
“Kind of, well, not really. More for me. It’s a really long, complicated story.”
“Sure it is….fine, what’s the favor?”
“There’s a concert the night before election day next week. In San Diego, Innocent of Riddles. Its sold out as far as I can tell. I need three tickets. Good ones. Plus back stage passes, meet and greet, whatever all that normal fandom stuff is.”
“You know Brett, you shouldn’t try to impress anyone like this.”
“Yea, but….its important.”
“Let me see what I can do. No promises. And, we will be in San Diego in January for Rugby. You have to introduce us and tell me the story. No excuses.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” I pause, “Oh, one last thing, can you have the tickets in Tahoe by Sunday? They are a birthday gift.”
“Yes, send me the resort details. I will let you know when its done.”
“Thanks Jessica. I really, really appreciate this. You have no idea.”
“Good, tell the boss I need a raise!”
_____________________________________________________________________________________
We’d been driving since long before dawn. It didn’t bother me at all. Not like I slept much. Holy Christ, though, getting a thirteen-year old girl up and moving, and away from the base, beginning at slightly after three in the morning was like an act of Congress. I have no idea what Amelia finally told her to get her ass in gear, and I didn’t ask.
She’d slept for over half the drive. Frankly, so did Amelia. I wanted to reach out and wake them up after the sun came up, to show them this part of California, as we made the drive north, but, well, I wanted the weekend to go well, and it was going to be a great surprise. I hoped anyway.
After about six hours we stopped at some tiny little town, which had a diner open, for breakfast. The conversation wasn’t as exciting as I hoped, a lot of whining about where are we going, why and other stuff that I was coming quickly to realize was normal for a teenage drama. We definitely stood out with the Australian accents though, which may or not have been a positive.
The rest of the drive through the various national parks and mountains, was, frankly, breathtaking. Every time I thought I’d made a break through with Olivia though, where she would get excited about seeing a spectacular view, or even talking about the color customization of her racing bike, there would be a break in the conversation, and, slam, the walls went back up or back down, or whatever is the right phrase for sullen silence, as if she realized who she was talking to and, well, she would be damned if she would talk to me.
Amelia kept trying to bridge those gaps, to bring the two of us together, and, I appreciated it more than I really knew how to express. It didn’t seem to help every time Amelia or I would end up holding each other’s hands for a few moments across the console of the SUV I had rented, as if that added to the aggravation, and with an hour to go or so, Olivia slumped back into the seat again, angry, pulling out some game device, and stuck her headphones back on.
“Give it time. She will come around. I guarantee it.”
“I hope. It’s a big shock to uproot your life because, move across the Pacific essentially in the dead of night, and now be isolated from all of your friends. Let alone find out you have a different family, specifically a different father. I know all of this, in my mind, and yet…..I’m…” and I throw my hand up in frustration.
“You used to have incredible patience. With everyone. Try to find it for yourself, and for her.”
“I’m trying.”
We drove on in quiet for the rest of the trip, and it was slower going as the snowstorm had caught much of the area by surprise, even if it was the opening weekend of the ski season.
As we pulled down the street the GPS was guiding us towards the property I had reserved, last minute. It had neither been cheap nor easy to get the kind of setup I wanted, a lodge that had both a view of the lake and was close to some of the lifts and the slopes.
“Olivia,” I said, “We’re almost there.” With my enhanced hearing, I could tell that she turned up the volume on her earphones. Perhaps with a slight undertone of command, I repeated “Olivia.”
“Olivia Hannah,” her mother uttered, “take off those headsets and put that damn game down now.”
With an exasperated sigh, and sulking, “Fine!” and she jerked them off, slamming them and the device into the seat next to her.
“What so special about this whole place that I had to get up at the butt crack of night to”……and just then I slowed down to let a group of teens cross with snowboards in their hands.
From the back seat, “Wait, where are we?” This time, I did smile in the complete change of tone.
“Well, generally, we are in California,” I started to say in my own sarcastic voice before I was interrupted with a “Brett,” from Amelia, and switched tacks, “but specifically, we are on the outskirts of Lake Tahoe, which is supposed to be the best skiing and winter sports in California, maybe in the whole US.” I could see her whole demeanor change in the rear view mirror and with quick side glances as I crept along on the snowy streets. One might compare it to the lights of a Christmas tree coming on for the first time during that holiday. Or to the sun breaking the horizon at dawn. Maybe, I don’t know. But, to me, it was glorious. We drove on for a couple minutes as she pressed her face to her window, staring out, pointing at different things. When I glanced at Amelia, she mouthed, “I told you so.”
Just then, we stopped at a red light, and she unbuckled her seat belt, leaning forward to wrap her Mum in a hug, half leaning into the front passenger seat, “Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou.”
While hugging her back, she replied, “”Don’t thank me, noodle. Thank your father.”
Startled, Olivia looked at me, eyes like chocolate saucers swirling with unease, confusion, and surprise. She looks back at Amelia, who gives her a reassuring nod, and then turns again to me.
…”Thanks…”………”…Dad.”
Last Dreams 