ON OUR OWN
CHAPTER ONE-CATCHING UP
After a good night's sleep, I awoke feeling refreshed and invigorated. Shane had found me some extra clothes…a pair of jeans and a white blouse. I still had my cap on my head. My hair hung around my shoulders in soft waves. She'd even given me an eye liner which I had applied. I looked at myself in the mirror of her bathroom.
I didn't consider myself beautiful, but I wasn't bad…but again, no one would want to date me…not even Oliver…my best friend. I just sincerely hoped that he hadn't read that letter aloud. It was extremely embarrassing.
Shaking these thoughts from my head, I headed downstairs. Shane grabbed her coat and purse and looked up at me. She grinned.
"You look nice," she complimented me gently giving me a shoulder bump. "I think Oliver will appreciate it."
I stared at her, completely horrified and stunned.
"Please tell me that Oliver…" my voice trailed off as Shane nodded but she had a huge grin on her face.
"Yes he read your letter aloud," she said grabbing my wrist and giving it a gentle squeeze. "It was really sweet." She said softly.
"Did—did he say anything?" I asked feeling mortified.
"No, but you know Oliver," she said softly as we began leaving her house. "He's not the most communicative when it comes to that sort of thing. But don't worry."
Somehow I trusted Shane and we headed to the office.
I sat down on one of the chairs as the POstables began their next day of solving mysteries when it came to the letters. I crossed my legs and gently folded my hands in my lap. I watched them, marveling at how awesome they were. Norman had developed several solutions to help the ink appear more legible so they could read it without damaging crucial bits. Rita's photographic memory was incredible. She remembered several vital things that could help…Shane's computer skills and of course Oliver's knack for quoting Shakespeare, sometimes often came in handy depending on the type of letter they found. They really were simply incredible at their job.
While they waited for Shane's computer to check on a potential location, Oliver came over to me.
"Would you care to join me for dinner tonight? We have a lot to catch up on," he asked clasping his hands behind his back.
"Sure," I said.
I caught Norman, Rita's and Shane's eyes on me but they all had smiles on their faces and knowing looks. I threw them each scandalized looks when Oliver wasn't looking but Shane and Rita just continued to grin as they stared down at whatever they were working on. Suddenly, my vision shifted. The office began getting distorted and warped. I began feeling light headed and my whole body felt as though it was sitting in a sauna.
"Imogen? Are you alright?" I heard Rita's anxious voice.
All eyes turned onto me. I saw concern on everyone's faces. I held up a finger and swallowed.
"I-I believe I am not…" my voice trailed off as blackness encroached my line of vision and I felt myself sliding forward into the darkness.
"She's coming to," a worried female voice said from somewhere in the darkness. I blinked and slowly opened my eyes.
I was lying on a couch with a cold rag draped across my forehead. When my vision cleared, I saw Oliver sitting at my feet with one arm draped across the back of the couch. He was watching me intently. Rita, Shane and Norman were standing nearby.
"Are you alright, Imogen?" Norman asked.
"Yeah," I said as I slowly sat up, but the room spun a bit and I raised a hand to my forehead. "I think my blood sugar is low though."
"Are you diabetic?" Rita asked.
I gave a single nod.
"Plus, I haven't been eating well," I added quietly.
"Rita," Oliver said suddenly. "Head to the Mailbox grille and grab Imogen some food."
"Right," Norman said and hurried off. Rita followed him.
Shane came over and was chewing on her bottom lip as she studied me.
"Sweetie, have you fainted before?"
"Yeah," I said tucking a few strands of hair behind my ear. "But they took me to the hospital. I got some free food there but I couldn't stay there all the time. They sent me back out on the street once everything was okay."
Shane looked away and I could see something was bothering her.
I saw Oliver's hand slowly inching toward mine. I looked down and smiled as I gently took his hand.
"Well you do not have to worry about that anymore," he said studying me. "You now have a home with us. You can stay with me if you'd like. I don't want to keep putting Miss McInerney on the spot."
"Oliver I couldn't…" my voice trailed off but he shook his head cutting me off.
"No," he said firmly. "You are my best friend. End of story."
I felt as though I'd been sucker punched in the gut when he said those words. He'd read what I'd written but clearly doesn't feel the same way.
"Yeah," I said offering him a wan smile.
He gently grabbed my chin between his index finger and thumb before he stood up and headed over to his desk. I continued to stare at my hands on my lap. I saw Shane glance at me then at Oliver's direction over the tops of my eyes.
"Miss McInerney, can I speak to you for a moment?" Oliver called.
"Sure," Shane said as she gave my elbow an affectionate squeeze as she passed.
Oliver kept his back to Imogen as he felt Shane standing beside him.
"Miss McInerney, can I speak to you about something personal?" he asked keeping his voice low so that Imogen didn't overhear him.
"Of course," Shane said folding her arms. "What's up?"
Oliver glanced over his shoulder at Imogen quickly before he cleared his throat and continued.
"After seeing Imogen after all these years," he said nervously rearranging his letter openers on his desk. "I have to confess some of my old…feelings have begun resurfacing."
Shane's face lit up and she broke into a huge grin.
"I knew it!" she whispered excitedly. "You care about her a lot don't you? You like her." She added in a teasing tone.
Oliver adjusted his tie and shoulders and became flustered.
"Miss McInerney please keep your voice down," he scolded glancing up again at Imogen to as though he was afraid she'd heard Shane's statement. "I believe a relationship should be based on friendship and Imogen and I have been best friends for a long time. I know this might seem sudden but I have forgotten how much I've missed her."
"Oliver," Shane said in a gentle tone. "It's only natural. You thought she was dead. Now seeing her it's only natural to have those feelings resurface. You asked her to dinner to catch up right?"
Oliver nodded once.
"Okay, so take her some place special then," Shane said. "Take her to Ramone's Bistro."
Oliver nodded again.
"Very good idea, Miss McInerney," he said straightening his shoulders and standing up more. "Now let's see if we can decipher this clue."
I knew they were talking about something but I couldn't hear what. At that moment, Norman came back with a bag filled with food. He handed it to me shyly and smiled as I took it. I opened the Styrofoam container. It was filled with my favorite food.
"How'd you know this was my favorite?" I grinned at Norman hungrily digging in.
Poor Norman became flustered as he glanced from me to Oliver uncertainly.
"I must confess I talked a bit about you while we were searching for you," Oliver confessed turning around to face me. "It did take most of the night so I just so happened to mention your favorite food."
"Good thinking," I said smiling at him as I continued to hungrily eat.
Once I was done, I had begun feeling better…and they managed to find out the clue. It pointed to a small town just west of Denver. So I figured they were going on a road trip, which I had to admit, sounded fun.
Sure enough, we were on the road. We were in Oliver's baby blue Jaguar sedan. Oliver was driving, Shane was in the front seat, and Norman, Rita and I were in the back. Surprisingly it held us comfortably. I was sitting by the window with Norman between me and Rita.
On occasion I caught Oliver glancing in the rearview mirror.
We arrived at the town. It was a quaint little town with stores along the mainstreet and diagonal parking spaces. Oliver pulled into one of the spaces and put the car in park.
"Okay," he said turning around in his seat. "Imogen, and I will check out the stores in this direction. Shane, you and Rita and Norman take the opposite sides and we'll meet back here in one hour."
We nodded and climbed out of the car.
Oliver and I walked side by side as we began hitting the stores along the main street to see if anyone recognized the name that we found in the letter. I snuggled deeper into my parka that Shane had lent me and stuffed my hands into the pockets. There was definitely a twinge of snow in the air. The sky was slightly pinkish over the horizon and mountains. A cold gust of wind blew my hair back. My nose and ears stung a bit but it wasn't the type of cold that would cause frost bite.
"So," Oliver said quietly.
"So," I said at the same time and then smiled as I stared down at my feet. "You already know a lot about me. What about you? What have you been up to?"
I heard Oliver let out a cough.
"Nothing much," he said. "I've been working for the post office now for several years. We've won the Dark Knight Award." His tone was proud at the last words.
"I saw," I said cheerfully looking up at him. "That's wonderful Oliver! You did a good job!"
Oliver gave me a pleased smile as he looked down at his feet.
"I'm sorry there's not much more about me that you don't already know," I said sadly. "That pretty much summed up my life in a handbasket."
"It's perfectly fine, Imogen," he said patiently. "I'm just glad you're alright."
I felt a warmth spreading in my chest as we entered the first store and began tracking down the name.
A few stores later, we hit the jackpot. On the way back to the car, I noticed a man staring at me. As we passed him, he suddenly grabbed me and banged me up against one of the cars.
"Hey pretty lady give me your money," he demanded in a gruff smoker's tone.
"Hey," Oliver said in an angry, threatening tone. "Let her go."
He stepped between me and the guy, blocking his path. The guy snorted and kneed Oliver in the stomach causing him to double over.
"Hey!" we heard Shane's voice shout as I looked up and spied her, Rita and Norman running toward us. The guy took off running down the street. I put a hand on Oliver's back.
"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly as the others finally reached us.
"What happened?" Norman asked.
"This guy just grabbed me and demanded money," I explained. "Oliver stepped in."
Oliver was still bent over for a few moments before he righted himself up.
"I'm fine," he said exhaling slowly. "We did have luck with the name."
He handed a piece of paper to Rita and Shane that he wrote down the name on.
"Awesome," Rita said eagerly. "Let's go!"
The three of them began heading to the car. Without so much as a word, I leaned up on my tippy toes and threw my arms around Oliver's neck, drawing him into a tight hug.
"Thank you," I whispered in his ear.
I felt his arms slowly wrap around me and he leaned into the hug.
"You're welcome," he said quietly back.
We gave the letter to its original recipient and began heading home.
That evening, Oliver had picked me up for our dinner 'date'. Shane had found a nice dress and did my hair and makeup. I had to admit, I looked nice. Oliver picked me up promptly at seven and we headed to Ramone's Bistro.
It was a nice place really. Quiet and there were candles lit on every table. Ramone greeted us cheerfully and sat us down at one of the tables, handing us menu's. I skimmed over the menu and found what I wanted. I ordered an iced tea and Oliver ordered coffee. I looked up at him and smiled.
"This place is pretty cool," I admitted looking around in admiration at the restaurant.
"Oh, yes," Oliver said clearing his throat. "We come here often or the Mailbox Grille."
I toyed with the napkin on the table.
"Um," I began cautiously. "Did you ever get married? Have a family?"
I wasn't sure I wanted to hear the answer, but I forced myself to.
I spied a muscle twitch in his jaw as he briefly looked down at his left hand, where a gold wedding band was. My heart sank immediately. The waitress brought our drinks and then we ordered our food. When she stepped away, Oliver finally responded.
"Yes," he said slowly. "But, my wife headed off to Paris. I haven't heard from her."
"I'm sorry," I said.
Oliver's blue eyes raised to mine and he held my gaze. He didn't respond to my apology.
He continued to hold my gaze and I began feeling a bit self conscious. I looked over my dress, thinking there was something wrong with it or something had gotten on it.
"What?" I asked nervously.
"Nothing," He said eventually breaking eye contact with me. "Let's enjoy our dinner shall we?"
The waitress brought our food next and we happily dug in in companionable silence though I did ask him on occasion about how many books he'd read, what his favorite were etcetera. We had a pleasant conversation. It was easy to talk to him. I'd almost forgotten how the two of us clicked and got along. I had severely missed it. We took a nice walk back to the car and he dropped me off at Shane's. He walked me up to the front steps as we stood on the porch. We faced each other.
"I had a great time, Oliver," I said to him. "I had missed the times we'd spend together in high school hanging out."
"Yes," he admitted clasping his hands behind his back. "I remember. They were most pleasant."
Pleasant? I thought they were amazing. He looked like he wanted to say or do something else but hesitated. I reached up and gave a playful tug on his tie. He'd worn a silver suit and tie to dinner tonight.
"Get some sleep," I said as I turned to open the front door.
I felt him lightly grab my elbow forcing me to turn around and face him again. He slowly reached a hand up and I felt him gently sweep some of my hair behind my ear that had fallen from its clip.
"You too," he said quietly and then quickly lowered his hand and began heading down the steps to his car parked. I opened the door and stepped in, feeling my face flush with heat and my heart pounding loudly in my chest.
Shane stepped out of the living room holding a small glass of red wine. The minute she saw my face she broke into a grin.
"So how'd it go?" she asked.
Grinning I shook my head but headed into the living room with her and told her everything that had happened.
The next day, was everyone's day off. Oliver had decided to take a hike along one of the well known paths in the national park. He had decided to stay over night to clear his head. Being around Imogen was influencing him, the same as it had in high school. He just had to figure out what to do at this point. He cared so much for her, but, was afraid to say anything being he felt he was still married technically.
Hopefully this hike would clear his mind. He carefully climbed over large roots and pieces of thick lumber. He was wearing a pair of jeans, a plaid shirt and a bright orange down vest with hiking boots. He knew where he was going but it must've snowed or rained because some of the spots along the path were slippery or muddy. Just as he stepped over one particular spot, his foot went out from under him and he felt himself falling down a small ravine. He landed on his stomach in a small patch of mud as he saw darkness encroaching his vision, pulling him into an empty abyss.