(Chapter 44. February 28. Malibu.)
"I'll get the mail, Dad. You open up the house and turn everything back on, ok?"
"All right, son."
Steve got the mail and let himself in by the downstairs door to his apartment.
After the wedding and the reception, it had finally hit Steve what he had done. Liv had sent word that he and his guests could stay at her house until they needed to leave for the airport. She and Keith had found other accommodations. While CJ and Dion slept and the rest of his friends and family sat up in the living room worrying, Jack, Jesse, and Amanda sat through that first night with him in the rumpus room while he got quietly loaded on 'cheap' wine from the green racks in the wine cellar. About five in the morning, they finally hauled him up the stairs and poured him into the bed. As much as it hurt, and as drunk as he was, he was still certain he had done the right thing, but it had been terribly difficult to accept.
He spent most of the next day hung over, resting in bed or throwing up in the master bath. One time, when Jesse came to check on him, he found Steve slumped on the floor in front of the toilet, vomiting and laughing. Thinking Steve had finally snapped, Jess was about to go get Mark when Steve grabbed him by the wrist and said, "No. I was just thinking, this is *exactly* how things got started with Liv. It seems I've come full circle. I'm ok, Jess, I just found it amusing."
A few minutes later, Mark and Jack found the two of them, still in the bathroom, laughing and reminiscing about the Christmas party and other amusing moments they had shared with Liv. Suddenly, Steve wiped away tears of laughter and said in a desolate voice, "Let's go home, Dad."
Knowing Steve needed time to adjust before he went back to work, Mark had rented a car at the airport and he and Steve had driven back home, stopping where they felt like it, and even seeing some of the sights in various states they hadn't visited before. They'd stopped and visited Jack on the way, and spent a day skiing.
Now they were home.
As Steve shuffled through the mail, he separated his from his dad's and threw away the junk. Suddenly, he saw a postcard that made him freeze. In the top left corner of the picture were the words, 'We are…' and in the bottom left, he read, '…Penn State.' He stared at the picture, an aerial view of the campus, for several minutes before he dared turn it over and read it.
My darling Steve,
Olivia's handwriting was remarkably clear for a doctor's.
I am so glad you could be with me today. Some
of my happiest memories are of this place. I hope
to make others with you. I feel blessed that one
of the best parts of my life is with me now as I
revisit the other.
I'll love you forever.
Liv
He sighed and felt sad for a minute as he chewed his lower lip, trying to decide what to do with the postcard. Making a decision, he got up, found an old shoebox, and put in it the post card, the teddy bear, the letter she'd written him when she went to the mountains, his boutonniere from the wedding (which no one knew he'd kept), and a few other items she'd left around his apartment. Then he put the box on a shelf in his closet, promising himself that he'd decide later what to do about it.
He hurriedly went through the rest of the mail, and bounding up the steps to his dad's part of the house, he nearly ran over Mark as he was headed down to check on him.
"Sorry about that, Dad."
"It's ok, Steve. You were down there so long I was starting to get worried."
"Oh. I, uh…I got a postcard from Liv. It was very sweet. She sent it to me the day we visited Penn State."
"I see."
Steve got a glass and drew himself a drink of water from the faucet. Then he went out on the deck. After a few minutes, Mark joined him.
"You ok, son?"
"Yeah, dad. Better every day."
Steve was staring out at the waves, but Mark could tell he was not really seeing them.
"Want to talk?"
Steve was silent a moment longer, then he told his dad about the day he'd discussed his vision of the future with Olivia.
"It was really nothing special, Dad. I just saw us all having a picnic, Jesse and Susan, Amanda and somebody. CJ and Dion were grown. You were there, and there was this redheaded girl walking the beach with a young man. She was your granddaughter."
"Your daughter with Olivia."
Closing his eyes, Steve nodded.
"What do you see out there now?"
A slow smile spread across Steve's face.
"Pretty much the same thing. Your granddaughter's still there, but I'm not sure what she looks like anymore; and there's still someone beside me, Dad. I'm not alone. Olivia promised me I'd find *her* someday, and I do believe I will."
Patting his son's back, Mark said, "I'm glad, son. What do you say we go to Antonio's for dinner?"
"Sounds good to me, Dad."
Mark went inside to freshen up a bit before going out, but Steve stayed on the deck, looking out at the ocean.
Closing his eyes, he conjured again his image of the future.
Where the dunes leveled off above the high tide line, was an old man with snowy white hair sitting in a folding chair, a demolished picnic spread out on the blanket at his feet. A group of young people played in the surf, a young woman and her escort, two handsome young black men and their dates, a blonde kid who was considerably younger than the rest. Three couples sat on the edges of the blanket, enjoying one another's company and chattering with the old man. A tall, very elegant black woman sat at the end of the blanket, and a man, obviously her husband put his arm around her. To the old man's left was a small blond guy, just starting to go gray, who was teasing an attractive blonde woman. On the old man's right, was big guy who looked a lot like the old man. His hair was getting pretty gray, and he was stretched out full length on the blanket. His head rested in a woman's lap.
For a just one moment, the unknown woman looked directly at him and her features resolved into a recognizable face. Smiling, he said, "Don't worry. Whoever you are, wherever you are, you are the love of my life. You were made for me."
Her features blurred and came into focus again briefly.
"I will find you. I promise."
THE END…FOR NOW
"I'll get the mail, Dad. You open up the house and turn everything back on, ok?"
"All right, son."
Steve got the mail and let himself in by the downstairs door to his apartment.
After the wedding and the reception, it had finally hit Steve what he had done. Liv had sent word that he and his guests could stay at her house until they needed to leave for the airport. She and Keith had found other accommodations. While CJ and Dion slept and the rest of his friends and family sat up in the living room worrying, Jack, Jesse, and Amanda sat through that first night with him in the rumpus room while he got quietly loaded on 'cheap' wine from the green racks in the wine cellar. About five in the morning, they finally hauled him up the stairs and poured him into the bed. As much as it hurt, and as drunk as he was, he was still certain he had done the right thing, but it had been terribly difficult to accept.
He spent most of the next day hung over, resting in bed or throwing up in the master bath. One time, when Jesse came to check on him, he found Steve slumped on the floor in front of the toilet, vomiting and laughing. Thinking Steve had finally snapped, Jess was about to go get Mark when Steve grabbed him by the wrist and said, "No. I was just thinking, this is *exactly* how things got started with Liv. It seems I've come full circle. I'm ok, Jess, I just found it amusing."
A few minutes later, Mark and Jack found the two of them, still in the bathroom, laughing and reminiscing about the Christmas party and other amusing moments they had shared with Liv. Suddenly, Steve wiped away tears of laughter and said in a desolate voice, "Let's go home, Dad."
Knowing Steve needed time to adjust before he went back to work, Mark had rented a car at the airport and he and Steve had driven back home, stopping where they felt like it, and even seeing some of the sights in various states they hadn't visited before. They'd stopped and visited Jack on the way, and spent a day skiing.
Now they were home.
As Steve shuffled through the mail, he separated his from his dad's and threw away the junk. Suddenly, he saw a postcard that made him freeze. In the top left corner of the picture were the words, 'We are…' and in the bottom left, he read, '…Penn State.' He stared at the picture, an aerial view of the campus, for several minutes before he dared turn it over and read it.
My darling Steve,
Olivia's handwriting was remarkably clear for a doctor's.
I am so glad you could be with me today. Some
of my happiest memories are of this place. I hope
to make others with you. I feel blessed that one
of the best parts of my life is with me now as I
revisit the other.
I'll love you forever.
Liv
He sighed and felt sad for a minute as he chewed his lower lip, trying to decide what to do with the postcard. Making a decision, he got up, found an old shoebox, and put in it the post card, the teddy bear, the letter she'd written him when she went to the mountains, his boutonniere from the wedding (which no one knew he'd kept), and a few other items she'd left around his apartment. Then he put the box on a shelf in his closet, promising himself that he'd decide later what to do about it.
He hurriedly went through the rest of the mail, and bounding up the steps to his dad's part of the house, he nearly ran over Mark as he was headed down to check on him.
"Sorry about that, Dad."
"It's ok, Steve. You were down there so long I was starting to get worried."
"Oh. I, uh…I got a postcard from Liv. It was very sweet. She sent it to me the day we visited Penn State."
"I see."
Steve got a glass and drew himself a drink of water from the faucet. Then he went out on the deck. After a few minutes, Mark joined him.
"You ok, son?"
"Yeah, dad. Better every day."
Steve was staring out at the waves, but Mark could tell he was not really seeing them.
"Want to talk?"
Steve was silent a moment longer, then he told his dad about the day he'd discussed his vision of the future with Olivia.
"It was really nothing special, Dad. I just saw us all having a picnic, Jesse and Susan, Amanda and somebody. CJ and Dion were grown. You were there, and there was this redheaded girl walking the beach with a young man. She was your granddaughter."
"Your daughter with Olivia."
Closing his eyes, Steve nodded.
"What do you see out there now?"
A slow smile spread across Steve's face.
"Pretty much the same thing. Your granddaughter's still there, but I'm not sure what she looks like anymore; and there's still someone beside me, Dad. I'm not alone. Olivia promised me I'd find *her* someday, and I do believe I will."
Patting his son's back, Mark said, "I'm glad, son. What do you say we go to Antonio's for dinner?"
"Sounds good to me, Dad."
Mark went inside to freshen up a bit before going out, but Steve stayed on the deck, looking out at the ocean.
Closing his eyes, he conjured again his image of the future.
Where the dunes leveled off above the high tide line, was an old man with snowy white hair sitting in a folding chair, a demolished picnic spread out on the blanket at his feet. A group of young people played in the surf, a young woman and her escort, two handsome young black men and their dates, a blonde kid who was considerably younger than the rest. Three couples sat on the edges of the blanket, enjoying one another's company and chattering with the old man. A tall, very elegant black woman sat at the end of the blanket, and a man, obviously her husband put his arm around her. To the old man's left was a small blond guy, just starting to go gray, who was teasing an attractive blonde woman. On the old man's right, was big guy who looked a lot like the old man. His hair was getting pretty gray, and he was stretched out full length on the blanket. His head rested in a woman's lap.
For a just one moment, the unknown woman looked directly at him and her features resolved into a recognizable face. Smiling, he said, "Don't worry. Whoever you are, wherever you are, you are the love of my life. You were made for me."
Her features blurred and came into focus again briefly.
"I will find you. I promise."
THE END…FOR NOW