Chapter Thirteen
Dec
Another week, another elimination.
Someone called Rebecca and her husband Dan were the second couple to go. I didn’t even remember them from any of the group meals, challenges and activities, so I guess that was why they got voted off—they were so boring no one wanted them around anymore.
As Rebecca tearfully walked off to pack her things, Dan trailing behind her, the rest of us had to get right back into filming. Today was ‘private date’ day, where each married couple had to go to an early dinner at a romantic location with each other. I had a feeling there was more to it than simply eating on camera, but we wouldn’t find out till we arrived.
Liv and I had been sent to a restaurant on the other side of the resort island. The place was apparently world-famous for its African, Indian and European-influenced fusion food, and it sat right by the edge of a cliff which overlooked the deep blue ocean surrounding the islands. The sun hung low in the sky, pink and gold glinting across the water. A little sign hung over the door, welcoming us to the restaurant. Soft jazz music drifted out the windows. All in all, it was a great place for a date.
I only wished it was a real date between Liv and me.
We’d been getting along much better over the last week or so, ever since our little chat after the hiking challenge. I wouldn’t say we were best friends, but there was a certain camaraderie between us now, and dare I say it…there was a hint of flirtation as well. But despite that, nothing had happened between us, and Liv had made it quite clear that it wouldn’t. When it all came down to it, I was technically her stepfather at the moment, and that made it too weird for her.
The restaurant door swung open, and a short man with salt-and-pepper hair greeted us. “Hello, Olivia and Dec! We’ve been waiting for you.” He had a thick island accent, but he was still easily understandable, and he waved his hands as he spoke. “I’m Chef Xavier. My humble staff and I are preparing our finest meals for the two of you, and we have the best seats in the house available for your enjoyment. Come, come!”
He led us through the restaurant, trailed by camera operators and one or two junior producers. The place was empty save for the staff members (I assumed the showrunners bought it out for the night for the ease of filming), and Chef Xavier finally stopped outside, just beyond a set of French doors that led out onto a large balcony. “Here is your table. Wonderful view, eh?”
The exquisitely-decorated table had a perfect view of the clifftop ocean scenery, and I nodded. “This looks incredible. Thanks, Chef.”
“Beautiful view for a beautiful couple.”
He pulled out a chair for Liv before I could get the chance. The junior producers and crew guys sat nearby, cameras at the ready. Great. Nothing like a bunch of stalkers to make a meal even more romantic. Or not.
Chef Xavier hurried off to continue preparing our meals, and Liv looked anxiously over the water, twisting her hands on the table in front of her.
“Okay, you two,” said Ben, one of the junior producers. “Here’s the deal. This episode is going to be about the eight remaining couples getting closer and revealing truths about themselves.” Great. “While you eat, you both need to list your three greatest fears, and give reasons why. Liv, you’re up first.”
Wait-staff began to bring out food, and Liv and I sat and awkwardly stared at each other, waiting for them to leave so we could begin our forced conversation for the cameras.
“Um. Okay. I guess my three biggest fears are failure, the ocean, and disease,” Liv finally said, playing with a cloth napkin.
“Failure is an obvious one, but why the ocean?” I asked, leaning forward with my forehead crinkled. “You keep going on about how you love all these island views, and you’ve been heading down to the beach with Shayla a lot.”
She nodded. “Oh, yes, I love the beach, and I love looking at the water. But I mean deep ocean. Like, imagine falling off a cruise liner or crashing a plane in the middle of the Atlantic. It’s freezing, isolated and dark, and there’s nothing but miles and miles of water around and underneath you. That’s what freaks me out.”
She cast another anxious look out toward the ocean, and I reached across and patted her hand. “That’s fair enough.” I hesitated. “As for disease, well I know that…er, I mean, I remember you mentioning on our first night here that your father died a few years ago. Is that what that’s about?”
I couldn’t mention that I also knew her younger brother was dead, because this was being filmed, and so far we hadn’t been seen discussing family on the show. Viewers needed to think we were strangers still in the process of getting to know each other.
Liv chewed on her lower lip. “Yeah. Sort of. He died of cancer.”
Ben waved his hand at me in the background and mouthed something like ‘keep this going!’ because of course, exploiting people’s emotional pain was good for ratings.
“Tell me about him,” I said. I already knew a lot about Liv’s father from my own experiences, but I was curious as to how she saw him when he was alive. “Good man?”
She was silent for a moment. “Well, he was my father. And he took care of me. So yes, he was good in that regard. But he was very rarely around. It sucked that I never got to spend time with him.”
“What did he do?”
“He was an anesthesiologist. He also happened to own the damn hospital he worked at, along with a ton of companies,” she said. “Old family money. I thought it was noble that he decided to help the world by becoming some sort of doctor even though he already had a massive fortune and didn’t really need to work, but between his shifts at the hospital and all the other work he did managing the family businesses, he was just never around.”
“I see.”
“But it was awful watching him die of cancer. We had a lot of advanced warning, so it wasn’t exactly surprising to us, but it was still…” Her voice trailed off.
“Still shocking when it finally occurs to you that your loved one might actually be dead soon. Gone forever,” I ventured.
She nodded. “Exactly. It was worse with my little brother. He died, too,” she said softly. “Two years ago.”
“I’m so sorry. Do you want to talk about that too?”
“Sure. It was really hard. See, at least with my dad, we knew it was coming. But with Callum, it was shocking. He’d been a bit sick in the months leading up to it, but nothing major. Just some nausea, tiredness and headaches. Then he got better for a few weeks, so we figured he’d just had some long stomach bug or something, and now it was gone. But then a few days later, I woke up at six in the morning to hear my mom screaming from the other end of the hall. I went to find her, and she was in his room. She’d just found him when she went to wake him for breakfast. He…his heart failed in the middle of the night.”
“Jesus. I’m sorry. That’s awful.”
“He was only fifteen. Apparently these things can just happen sometimes. Doesn’t make it any easier to deal with, though.”
She picked at a seafood dish in front of her, eyes on the table. I squeezed her fingers in mine. “No wonder you’re so afraid of sickness. I understand. You’ve been through a lot. More than most people your age.”
I saw Liv for what she truly was as I looked at her drawn face in this moment. She presented herself as tough most of the time, but she was still a very young girl. She was vulnerable. Sad. What she truly needed was protection and security. Someone to take care of her.
I wanted to give her that.
The mood was altered a second later when Ben rudely got in our faces. “Okay, enough from you, Liv. Got some great footage. Nice acting, by the way.”
She gave me an incredulous look, and I was about to give Ben a stern talking-to when she shook her head. “Don’t bother,” she mouthed at me, rolling her eyes.
I shut my mouth again, abiding by her wishes. She was right, anyhow. There was no need to cause a massive scene while the cameras were still on, because I didn’t want to embarrass her on national TV when they inevitably showed the footage.
“Okay, Dec. It’s your turn,” Ben said, casting his gaze on me.
“My turn?”
He nodded. “Time to reveal your fears. Your secrets. Liv opened up…so now it’s your turn to open up.”
Liv looked across the table, face pulled into an expectant expression, and I sighed.
Shit.
Here we go…