Chapter Six
Olivia heard a knock on the door. Frowning, she rushed over to look through the peep-hole. Sophie stood outside in a pinstriped pencil skirt with a neatly ironed shirt tucked into it. A black leather tote hung from the crook of her elbow. She looked like she was ready to head for a meeting.
Olivia opened the door wide and raised her eyebrows at her friend.
“I didn’t know if you were at home or at work. I decided to take a chance,” Sophie said, pushing past her into the apartment.
“I do have work. I have to leave in a couple of hours.” Olivia said, watching Sophie walk over to Maya, who was playing quietly with building blocks in her playpen.
“Hello, missy,” Sophie said, bending down in front of Maya and forcing a smile onto her face. Maya looked up at her with her large, green eyes, and Sophie looked away.
“She’s an awfully quiet child, isn’t she?” Sophie turned to Olivia, who was standing by the shut door, her arms crossed over her sweatshirt.
“So this is the place then?” Sophie looked around her. The weekend had just gone by and the apartment was back to its usual messy self. Toys were strewn over the floor, pots were boiling in the kitchen and Maya and Olivia’s clothes covered the couch in a high heap.
Olivia could see Sophie’s expression change as she took in the sight. The apartment was probably less than half the size of the one that Sophie could now afford in New York City.
“Isn’t this place too small for two people, Olivia?” Sophie asked, her gaze falling back on her friend now. Olivia sighed and walked over to the pots in the kitchen.
“Want some spaghetti? It’ll be ready soon,” Olivia said, carefully avoiding any interrogation. It wasn’t Sophie’s place to judge or ask questions, no matter how well meaning they were.
“Aren’t there any full-time jobs you can take up?” Sophie avoided the question as well, continuing on with her tunnel-vision. Olivia sighed again, hoping Sophie would get the message.
“You know there aren’t, Sophie. You know this town. At least none for a Lit Major.” Olivia stirred the tomato sauce in the pot without looking at her friend. When would these questions ever end?
Maya shrieked playfully and clapped her hands, and Olivia turned to smile at her daughter. Whatever Sophie might think, Maya was happy, and that was all that mattered.
“Why don’t you move somewhere else, Olivia? Somewhere where you can get a decent full-time job and get a bigger apartment?” Sophie had walked over to the kitchen, but Olivia concentrated on emptying the spaghetti into the colander.
“Sophie, please tell me you haven’t come here to spy on my life. What has gotten into you?” Olivia didn’t turn to look at her friend anymore, she was upset with Sophie, angry with her but at the same time, didn’t know how to demonstrate it. She didn’t yet know how to put her foot down.
“I don’t understand why you’re hell bent on spending your life like this. And you won’t even tell Craig. It makes me sad to see you this way,” Sophie said. When Olivia turned, she saw her friend staring at the large yellow stain on her sweatpants.
“Don’t worry. It’s just mustard sauce,” Olivia said, trying to smile as she rubbed the stain off. “And Craig is out of the question. I’m fine, Sophie, for the last time. I don’t need a big change in my life. I’m just a single mother. Thousands of women do this every day.” Olivia turned again to pour the tomato sauce over the pasta and toss it. She heard Sophie sigh and the click of her high heels on the floor as she walked closer to her.
“But you’re not everyone else. You’re talented, smart and deserve the best. We want the best for you. You shouldn’t have to live like this,” Sophie said, now standing beside Olivia as she stirred the pasta. Olivia remained silent for a few minutes before turning to Sophie.
She could feel her ears fuming, her lips quivering. She’d had enough. This onslaught was not what she’d asked for, from her mother, Rufus or Sophie.
“Sophie. Please, just go,” she said quietly, already regretting that she had spoken to Sophie in that manner. Sophie flinched and inched away from Olivia.
“I’m only trying to help!” Sophie shrieked, and Maya started crying.
Olivia pushed past Sophie and walked over to her daughter, picking her up from her playpen and patting her back.
“Just leave, Sophie. If you can’t be happy for me, if you can’t accept Maya in my life, then you don’t need to be here. I don’t want you here,” Olivia said, kissing her daughter’s head lightly. Sophie’s nostrils were flaring too, as she stared at Olivia and Maya in her arms.
“I only want what’s best for you and Maya. Whether or not I like kids, she’s your child,” Sophie said, adjusting the bag on her arm. Olivia rolled her eyes and turned away from her friend. She continued patting Maya’s back, who was still whimpering in her mother’s arms.
The sound of Sophie’s retreating footsteps behind her meant that it had finally worked. Sophie was leaving her house, leaving them to enjoy their lunch in peace before Olivia had to go to the bookstore again. She had too many problems to think about, without Sophie coming and stirring up new things.
“Olivia…I love you. You’re my best friend,” Sophie said, but Olivia didn’t turn to look at her. She heard Sophie sigh, open the door and leave the house, pulling the door shut behind her.
“It’s okay, baby. Sorry mommy got angry,” Olivia cooed into Maya’s ear and bounced her in her arms.
She turned to look at the door finally and pressed her eyes shut for a second. She loved Sophie too, of course she did. But Maya was now the most important person in her life and she would do anything it took to keep her happy and safe.
***
By the time Olivia had picked Maya up from her mother’s house and they had returned to the apartment, it was nine at night. Maya had already been fed and she lay dozing in her mother’s arms when Olivia brought her into the house.
Olivia smiled as she looked into Maya’s peaceful face and laid her down on the couch. Her phone rang in her bag suddenly and Olivia was snapped out of her thoughts. She found her bag on a chair, pulled her phone out and answered it, not recognizing the number.
“Hello,” she said, not entirely paying attention.
“Hello. Olivia?” the male voice said and she frowned.
“Yes. Who is this?” she asked, pulling her canvas shoes off her feet. She sat down on the couch, finally able to relax her feet after a long day.
“Hi, Olivia.” The tone of the voice was nervous, slightly unsure of himself. “This is Craig. Craig Walker,” he informed her, and Olivia stood up from the couch. What? Her heart was beating differently this time, but not out of excitement, the way it did each time she saw Rufus.
“Craig? Hi,” she mumbled, at a loss for words. She hadn’t spoken to him in three years.
“How are you, Olivia?” he asked. It sounded like he was pacing the floor. He was probably as nervous as she was. Olivia sat back down on the couch slowly. She needed to sit down for this.
“I’m good. How are you?” she asked and heard him clear his throat.
“I spoke to Sophie today. Your friend, Sophie Frost? Umm…she called me,” Craig said, and Olivia covered her face with her hands.
“Did she? Why? What did she tell you?” Olivia asked, pressing her temples with her fingers. She couldn’t believe Sophie had done this.
“She said that…that…she told me that I have a daughter. With you…” He was struggling with his words and Olivia shut her eyes. This was an absolute nightmare.
“Craig,” she said, and he stopped talking. “I’m sorry that she called you. She shouldn’t have.”
“But is it true? Do we have a daughter together, Olivia?” Craig’s voice was shaking and it seemed like he was rushing around his room now, unable to walk slowly anymore.
“Look, Craig. It was a one-night thing. Let’s just forget it, okay?” Olivia said, and she pulled her phone away from her ear and hung up. She still had the phone in her hands when it started ringing again. Olivia dropped the phone on the floor and Maya woke up, squealing in her sleep.
Olivia bit down on her lip in frustration and picked Maya up into her lap, leaving the phone on the floor, ringing away.
She couldn’t believe any of this was happening. Sophie, that bitch!
Olivia put Maya in bed and sat by her side reading her a fairytale. The muffled sound of the phone ringing a few more times disturbed them, but only slightly. Olivia kept the door of the nursery tightly shut as she read.
Maya fell asleep easily and Olivia bent down to kiss her forehead and push the golden curls away from her face.
Back in the living room, she found her phone on the floor. Craig had tried calling her six times but had finally stopped. She dialed Sophie’s number instead and on the third ring her best friend picked up.
“Olivia!” Sophie exclaimed. The nervousness in her voice was palpable.
“What the hell did you do, Sophie?” Olivia hissed into the phone. She didn’t want to yell and wake Maya up again.
“You mean Craig? Did he call you?” Sophie asked. “I can explain…” she tried to say, but Olivia interrupted her.
“Yes, he called me. With questions. Which I’ve kept hidden from him for three years. Who gave you the right to ruin all of that in one day?” Olivia couldn’t help it anymore. She was screeching into the phone.
“Olivia…” Sophie tried to get in a word but Olivia wouldn’t let her.
“Didn’t I tell you to stay away from us, Sophie?” Olivia yelled again, throwing one of Maya’s stuffed toys against the wall.
“Listen to me. He wants to help. He wants to do something, anything. I think you should take up that offer,” Sophie said, and Olivia laughed.
“I don’t want Craig’s help. Or yours for that matter. I wanted it to be a secret and you’ve ruined it!” Olivia was pacing the floor now.
“Why do you want it to be a secret? It’s a small town, his parents still live here. You should take advantage of the situation. He is as responsible as you are for Maya!” Sophie had begun yelling into the phone as well.
“Well. Did you ever think that it was my choice? That I didn’t tell him?” Olivia screamed back, and Sophie fell silent.
“Sophie. Please don’t ever call me again, or visit me. You’ve broken my trust and you can’t ever have it back,” Olivia said, then hung up.
Whatever Sophie’s motivations behind this, she had taken it a step too far. Craig didn’t want to have anything to do with this, and neither did Olivia. There was a reason she had never told Craig about Maya and Sophie had no right to use that information how she saw fit.
Olivia bit down on her lip and continued to pace the floor.
“I hate you! I hate you!” she kept mumbling to herself, not quite sure who she meant when she said that.
Now she’d have to fend off Craig all her life, or at least until he forgot about this. She shook her head again as the image of Craig kissing her floated up in her brain. A shiver ran down her spine. If only she had had the courage to say no to Rufus, none of these things would have happened. If only she hadn’t fallen in love with him.