AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you for the comments so far! So, the story now starts traveling between the present and the past, to see what happened at camp?! Trust me, the answers are out there. If it gets too confusing, let me know. I love feedback!
Olivia walked into Fitz' office a shell of a woman. She was still reeling from the Times' front-page exposé, which she had read several times in the car on the way over. A petite 20-something with shiny brown hair had led Olivia to her meeting room, and even then, Olivia could not make eye contact for fear the girl was silently judging her.
She had set foot over the mantel of the office and glanced up at the lawyer she was to be meeting, only to find two warm and familiar eyes staring back at her. It took her a moment to place the owner, but when she did, she stood straighter as a distinct sense of calm and love invaded her body. It was the recognizable sensation of sharing a room with Fitz, and it was a feeling she had missed greatly.
All of Olivia's people and Fitz's assistant quietly left the room, leaving Olivia and Fitz staring at each other. Olivia took a step back in surprise. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, either seemed appropriate at that moment.
She cleared her throat. "Wow, no one has called me Olivia in…, well, in a long time."
"I apologize…Margot…Ms. Pope." Fitz swallowed, his throat dry at the sight of her in front of him. While he knew she was coming, he was not prepared for how she would take his breath away.
"No, please, Olivia. It makes me remember…" She cut herself short before betraying any emotion surrounding the fact that she was looking face to face with the man she had been dreaming about for 22 years. She cleared her throat, and averted her eyes before restarting. "Fitz, it's lovely to see you again. I'm sorry I'm a bit caught off guard, I was supposed to be meeting with Edison Davis."
"Yes, I'm sorry for that, Edison was called out of town unexpectedly. But he and I have been working together tirelessly on your accounts, so I am fairly certain I can guide you in the right direction, answer any complicated questions you have. I hope you don't mind."
Olivia didn't respond. As he was talking, Olivia took in the sight before her, scanning her eyes over the curls she used to tangle her fingers in, now tamed with age and mousse; remembering the softness of his lips against hers as she focused on his mouth, slightly chapped from his pulling his bottom lip into his teeth, a true sign of his nervousness. She was just running her eyes over his broad shoulders, imagining what his body looked like without clothes, when she realized he was asking her something.
"Olivia, is that ok?" Fitz worried over Olivia's silence. This was his one chance to make a good first impression on her, and she seemed to be in her own little world.
"Yes, of course, that's fine. I'm sorry Fitz, this is all just so…..strange. I mean, to see you, of all people, here, of all places. We haven't seen each other in….what, like….."
"…22 years." They answered in unison.
Fitz stared a moment into her questioning eyes. "Listen, Olivia, if you are uncomfortable, I can find another partner to…."
"No, don't be silly," Olivia interrupted. "We're adults! What happened happened a long time ago. It will be nice to catch up. Let's get started."
They spent most of the afternoon together, going over her various legal issues with international financing restrictions, and boring things like tax status and 501(C) 3 regulations. Fitz forgot how brilliant Olivia was, as they discussed current events, foreign policy, and family matters. She inquired after his sister Stephanie, and Fitz relayed that she was happy and living in San Bernardino with her 2.4 children, husband, and yellow lab. Fitz asked about her father and Olivia sadly recounted that he had passed away shortly after college. What they both really wanted to address, how their lives had changed after that fateful summer, seemed too painful to discuss after so many years apart. Fitz knew that if he didn't get Olivia to talk about what happened, to repair whatever bad blood was still between them, he might lose his chance to show her he was still in love with her.
"Are you hungry?" He inquired, hoping that he could convince her to stay and catch up with him over dinner. "I could order food in, if you would like to stay for a bit."
She hesitated. "That would be nice," she replied, trying not to get sucked into his puppy dog stare, "but I have a photo shoot in half an hour. Would you like to meet later tonight, say around 7? I would love to catch up."
Fitz couldn't help but smile. "That sounds great," he replied, "here's my number. Why don't you text me when you are finished and let me know where to meet you."
Olivia smiled genuinely. "That sounds like a plan," she replied. "I will talk to you soon."
As Olivia and her entourage swept out of the room, Fitz realized he had not been breathing and let out a giant sigh. 22 years later and she still had an effect on him. He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and thought of Lake Analanka.
- 22 YEARS AGO –
The bus pulled into the dusty circle that Camp Lake Analanka called "The Depot." Outlined in wood planks and mostly dust with a hint of stubbly grass, The Depot was the arrival and greeting place for everyone coming to camp. For the counselors, it was no different. The bus picked them up from outside town, bringing them into camp for the orientation week prior to the students' arrivals.
"FITZY!" yelled a big brute of a boy, with a mop of curly blond hair and pants hanging low on his waist below a ratty Led Zepplin t-shirt. "It's SUMMER TIME Baby! How the heck are you?"
Fitz ran off the buss, grabbed his duffel off the ground, and smiled, giving the boy a high five. "Bruce, it's been too long, bro. How's school?"
"Well you know, Princeton is Princeton. I wouldn't be doing so well if my Dad hadn't paid for the library, to be honest," Bruce joked.
"Yeah man, I hear ya. Harvard is great, though. The girls…..wooo. If I get less than a 3.6 this semester, it will be because of the blond on the third floor of my apartment building. Ridiculous, man."
This was Fitz and Bruce's fourth summer at Lake Analanka, an incredible camp for special needs children at the foot of the Adirondacks, a place where all could participate in sports, music, theater, arts and crafts, anything their hearts could imagine. Fitz had always been involved in the sports department. Helping a child kick their first soccer ball or watching children included in a game of tag was a feeling that Fitz treasured. Each summer, he came to Analanka without a sense of his true place in the world, and left with a renewed hope that he really could make a difference. This year, Fitz was the director of all athletic activities and Bruce was his deputy.
Fitz and Bruce had been best friends since grade school. Fitz was a sophomore at Harvard, planning to major in public policy and work with charities like Big Brother once he graduated. Bruce had got into Princeton, but on his father's dime, and was majoring in partying. While Fitz had been the king of women and booze in high school, he changed in college to a more serious student, whereas Bruce had remained static in his interests. Fitz was actually one of the smartest students in his year, captain of the debate team, Model UN, and president of the campus chapter of Big Brothers. When Fitz and Bruce got together, though, it was like times had never changed.
"Speaking of," Bruce interjected. "I wonder what the crop of new counselors is going to be like this year. I hear we got a few new sports guys for our team. Oh, and there's a new theater teacher."
"Theater teacher, you say. Have you seen him yet?" Fitz looked around at the counselors arriving, nodding to a few he remembered, smiling at the others.
"It's a her, dude," Bruce laughed. "C'mon, let's go eat and get ready for the mixer tonight."
Fitz threw his duffel over his shoulder and followed Bruce to their cabin. He was looking forward to meeting all the new counselors at the mixer. Little did he know that his life was about to change.
