A/N:
In response to guest reviewer- therapist with experience in floortime, ABA and other therapies- nice to hear from you. A bit about my background: my knowledge of autism and special needs children comes from hands on experience, my own research and book knowledge. I have a masters in educational psychology and many years of experience working with children with special needs as a classroom aide, I've worked with children of all levels from mild to severe, and have been in charge of implementing their educational needs. My significant other is an educational advocate and we work together as independent consultants to parents. Thank you for your input, I'm glad your liking this story, feel free to comment and make suggestions.
THIS CHAPTER WAS EDITED ON MARCH 26, 2017
Later that night, Olivia took a long steamy bath right after she got home and wrapped herself around a large fluffy towel. She used a small towel to dry her hair and squeeze out excess of moisture. She was about to dry her hair straight with a hairdryer when the phone rang.
She walked over to her bedroom; her cell phone was sitting on its charger on the nightstand by her bed and saw his name on the called ID. Her heart skipped a beat anticipating the sound of his voice.
"Fitz…I'm so glad you called." She said with just the right tone, personable yet professional, keeping in mind those darn boundary lines. She just had to bring this up again, make it perfectly clear. "I've been doing some thinking. Listen, what happened between us…"
"It cannot happen again, I know." He murmured in a low husky tone that drew her in and made her stomach flutter. "You are bound by professional boundary lines and I know you take them very seriously and I respect that."
"Ok." Olivia shook her head, not quite sure what to say next. What was it about this man that turned her mind to jelly? The truth was that those professional boundary lines forbid her from forming a friendship with Fitz—or any type of relationship that could potentially interfere with treatment between a client and a practitioner- and here she was, letting it happen.
"I just couldn't go to sleep tonight without clarifying things." There was a pause. "First of all, I've been thinking about the funeral, you shouldn't go alone."
"I won't be alone. My friend Abby will be there."
"Olivia, listen. Right after you left tonight I got a call…he didn't say much. Just raised a question as to who you are…suggesting there's something about you that I should know."
The sounds of Silence filled the air.
Olivia repressed a gasp. Edison. That son of a bitch! This was unbelievable!
"Frankly I'm concerned for your safety. This guy has been clearly following you, he knew were at my place." He paused. "Olivia, do you have any idea who called?"
Olivia took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She needed to keep a cool head and launch a tirade against Edison. The last thing she wanted was for Fitz to believe that indeed there was something shady in her past he needed to be aware of…or worse, that this somehow was a lover's spat with Edison playing the part of the jealous boyfriend.
"His name is Edison. I broke up with him a couple of months ago." It's a long story, "She took another deep breath and exhaled. "He's not dangerous, just an asshole, always been an asshole. I've known him all my life."
Fitz exhaled huff of air she couldn't interpret.
"Can we talk about it more tomorrow after the funeral?" she went on, pressing her temples with her thumb and forefinger, hoping this was not the start of a migraine headache."Can we meet in person?"
"How about we meet somewhere for dinner tomorrow night, just the two of us?" he quickly replied. So this was not going to be a first date in the traditional sense of the word. Not necessarily a bad thing. For one, their conversation would be far more genuine as they would not be trying too hard to impress the other. Secondly, the do's and don't s of dating nowadays carried a seemingly endless and constantly changing set of rules. Part of him was certainly glad he hadn't dated anyone since the divorce.
He only hoped Jenny would be able to babysit. He hardly ever asked her to come on weekends since he never went on dates. "I'll check with Jenny," he added, acutely aware that she hadn't actually said 'yes' yet."
She supposed it would be okay if they went to a restaurant where they'd be less of a chance of her running into one of her colleagues.
Who was she kidding? She just wanted it to be okay. Besides, they had an important matter to discuss, she told herself. They couldn't talk about certain things in front of the children, right?
"How about the Outback in Long Beach," he suggested as though he had been reading her mind. The restaurant in question was at least 45 miles away. "I know it's a long drive, but I think it's worth it."
Long silence. She was still thinking, debating with herself.
"That would be fine," she finally replied. For some reason, the secrecy of their date was stealing away some of her joy. Why did she feel as though she was his secret mistress? Or perhaps it was really the other way around, and Fitz was very much like her secret lover. Yet part of her inner Goddess was truly looking forward to this 'date'.
She was about to say good-night (some things are best discussed in person) when he spoke again.
"This guy Edison…he's Mary Ann's son, isn't?"
"Yes, he is," she replied. She had no reason to lie. "He's Mary Ann's son."
"We'll at least we know he's not a complete stranger," He said with a slight hesitation wanting to offer his protection, "but still-
"He's not mentally ill or anything like that," she said sharply. "He's an erotomaniac. Erotomaniacs are not particularly dangerous and the best coping strategy is to ignore them. They are usually deluded into thinking that their love interest loves them back," she paused. "But they are not mentally ill," she reiterated. "The best thing to do with an erotomaniac is to ignore him. So when I see him at the funeral, I'll tell him that I'm getting a restraining order against him. Just between you and me, this is just a precaution. I do think he's harmless, Fitz. I would never put you or your family at risk if I thought otherwise. "
"If that creep calls over here again, I'll have the police after him faster than he can count, and that's a promise."
She was satisfied with that. "I will see you tomorrow for dinner then?" she inquired, holding her breath. What if someone Edison's antics eventually managed to chase Fitz away? Why was she suddenly afraid of losing him, afraid of losing their connection…even though there wasn't supposed to be a connection between them in the first place?
"Talk to you tomorrow," he mumbled. Something in his tone was reassuring; something in his tone told her he cared for her.
Olivia hung up the phone, feeling confident in her ability to get through Edison's thick skull and make him leave her alone.
xxx
The next day, Olivia and Abby arrived at the Presbyterian Church a little before three in the afternoon. Olivia dressed in a black cardigan sweater over a dark dress, black sheer pantyhose and medium heel sandals. At home, she had gone through her closet, pushed all the hangers back, and then started flipping them forwards one by one. She did this twice. Still, nothing seemed quite appropriate for Mary Ann's funeral. Every single piece of clothing she owned was either too fancy or too casual.
In the end she had settled for the dark dress with a hem just below the knee, deciding against shopping for a new outfit. It was the best she could do on such a short notice. But given the situation and her breakup with Edison, she wasn't surprised that she had been the last one—or so it seemed—to be notified of Mary Ann's death.
"Olivia," Edison walked over to greet them wearing a composed expression.
"Sorry for your loss," Abby started and Olivia followed suit.
Edison tried to reach for Olivia and pull her into a hug.
"Stay away from me," she mumbled, her voice barely able to contain her anger over all the things he'd done, the stalking, everything he'd put her through, including the call to Fitz last night.
Both women walked past him toward the heavy doors that lead to sanctuary where the ceremony was to be held.
Edison followed closely behind them as they made her way across the foyer. A few pairs of eyes turned in their direction."My mother just died and you just walk away from me?" He said loudly just before they crossed the threshold.
Olivia stopped moving and faced him. "And I'm sorry for that. I'm very sorry she died. I loved her," she looked at him and her voice faltered. "And I'm here for her. Not for you, you understand?"
Thus far, Olivia's lost track of all the things she'd tried in the last couple of months to keep Edison at bay. She blocked his e-mail address and added filters with keywords and his name attached. When that didn't work, she changed her e-mail address a few times.
Then, she had called Sprint, her cell phone provider and had them block his number, and before she knew it, the scumbag simply got new number. Moreover, she added all types of restrictions on her Facebook page after he posted pathetic messages on her wall such as "Olivia, please. Just talk to me, just hear me out one last time."
At this point, Olivia noted that those who people who were already seated inside the church had turned back to look curiously in their direction.
"Olivia, let's go," Abby murmured. "This is not the time or place," she said glaring at Edison.
"Edison, Olivia?" A couple at least 20 years their senior called walking towards them.
"I'm not through with you yet," Edison murmured in her ear, wearing a forced smile for the benefit of the couple approaching them. He then accepted the forthcoming condolences showered upon him, his face crumbled, reflecting the degree of mourning expected under the circumstances.