(See first part for disclaimer, notes, spoilers, etc.)
Chapter 48: December, 1974
Holidays at the warm and sunny beach are so much better than in cold and dreary England, Olivia Blake thinks to herself as she walks down the street, eyeing the accessories displayed in the shop windows. Since arriving in Sunset Beach four months ago, she was determined to never live in England again.
"Yoo hoo! Livy!" Bette Douglas calls from across the street. She darts across the street and asks excitedly, "Are you ready for the New Year's Eve bash tonight?"
Olivia links arms with Bette as they continue walking down the street. "Yes. I decided to wear that little number that we got on sale the day after...oh, what do you call it? The turkey day?"
"Thanksgiving," Bette supplies. "Yes, that looked great on you. You know what else would look good on you?" Olivia shakes her head and looks questioningly at her friend. "A man!"
"Oh Bette. I have no time for men. I hate my job at the hospital, but I need the money. And the overtime pay is too good to pass up."
"Sweetie, cash is something we all need. But enough of that...Tonight is New Year's Eve. At the very least, we'll each find a cute guy to kiss at midnight." Both girls laugh and duck into a store.
An hour later, they emerge each clutching a little bag from the boutique.
"Dahling, the chunky gold bracelet on your arm is going to perfectly accent your dress," Bette gushes.
Olivia playfully slaps her arm. "Stop! I don't sound like that!"
"Oh, yes you do! You sound exotic and glamorous."
"Well, it's a good thing I sound exotic and glamorous because sometimes I don't feel that way," Olivia sighs. "And, I would really, really hate to spend the rest of my days working as a nurse's assistant. Where's the advancement in that career?"
"Chin up, Livy. Things are bound to start lookin up. You made it all the way here, didn't you?" Bette waits for her friend to nod. "And, it's the start of a new year...A new year, a new start."
"Lord, I hope so," Olivia mutters. And to finding a man...preferably one with money.
Chapter 49: December, 1974
"This party is going to be great," Bette whispers to Olivia as they make their wayd down the stone steps to the garden.
The annual New Year's Eve party was held at the beach club for all town residents who could afford to buy tickets. Del, Bette's older brother, generously purchased their tickets and one for Olivia.
I think he just wants to get in my pants, Olivia thinks to herself, recalling how Del leers at her every chance he gets. She shudders at just the thought of being intimte with Del. Ugh...Never will I be that desperate, she promises herself. I don't care that his wife just left him and his daughter...That little girl is a monster, despite Bette's claim to the contrary. She watches as Bette is whisked away to the dance floor by some man she doesn't recognize.
"Come on, darlin'," Del slurs as he tugs on Olivia's arm, "I want to greet some people and then we can hit the dance floor."
"Fine. Just how much have you had to drink?" Olivia asks as Del drags her over to a group of men by the bar.
"Enough to get the party started a bit early," Del whispers conspiratorially. He straightens his bow tie and greets the men he hopes will become business contacts, introducing them to Olivia in the process.
The "quick" greeting spirals into a business discussion, with Del making no effort to excuse himself or Olivia.
As Olivia wonders if it would be rude to excuse herself, the man next to her says loudly, "Ah, Richards! Over here!"
"Sir, it's nice to see you. Happy New Year's," this man Richards says as he shakes hands around the group. "Del, nice to see you again."
"Gregory, my friend, congratulations on passing the bar," Del responds as they shake. Olivia clears her throat discreetly and Del looks over at her. "Oh, right. Gregory Richards, meet Olivia Blake."
Gregory automatically extends his hand and shakes Olivia's gently. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Blake." He holds onto her hand a moment longer than what is socially acceptable before letting it fall down to her side again. He stares at her eyes, which seem to be bottomless pools of blue-gray.
"And you as well," Olivia murmurs.
The talk quickly returns to business and of Gregory's recent appointment to a prestigious law firm. Every so often, Gregory manages to steal a glance at the woman on Del's arm. She is stunning, he remarks to himself. She is wearing a pale green, Grecian style dress with numerous folds. High on her arm is a gold bracelet and her hair is up in an intricate twist that shows off long gold earrings. How the hell did Douglas land her?
Gregory sees Olivia fidget uncomfortably and glance around the garden. Hmmm... He waits for a brief lull in the conversation before asking, "Ms. Blake, would you like to dance? You don't mind do you, Douglas?"
"I'd love to," Olivia answers before Del has a chance to respond. She takes Gregory's extended hand and follows him onto the dance floor. "Thank you so much for spiriting me away. I was getting so bored and I fear I was about to yawn right in the midle of the conversation," she confesses as she steps into Gregory's arms and they sway slowly to the music.
"Yes, their conversations can get rather dry and boring," Gregory admits. "So, how is it that we have never met before?"
"Oh," Olivia laughs softly. "I actually just moved to Sunset Beach from -."
"Let me guess...England?"
"What gave it away?" she asks with a smile.
Olivia and Gregory pass the next hour dancing around the floor together and talking about everything from European travel to the recent public "streaking" campaigns. She can't help but notice how perfectly his hand fits on the small of her back. She sighs happily and rests her head lightly on Gregory's shoulder.
"So, how did you become involved with Douglas?" Gregory asks after a few moments of silence.
"I'm not 'involved' with him. He just escorted me to the party," Olivia replies. "His sister, Bette, has been a wonderful friend to me since I moved here."
"Are you seeing anyone seriously, Ms. Blake?"
"No one...at the moment." Olivia lifts her head and stares into Gregory's eyes. "Please, call me Olivia."
"Have you ever been to Napa, Olivia?" he asks softly.
"No, but I hear it's lovely."
"It is...I actually have a business dinner up there next week. Would you like to join me?"
Olivia pauses for a moment, as if in thought, though she knows what her answer will be. "Yes. Thank you for the invitation."
"We've been dancing quiet a long time," she notes quietly. "And Del keeps staring at us. Do you think I've offended him?"
"I wouldn't worry about Douglas. Didn't you say he was only escorting you?"
"Yes, but -."
"Then forget him. And besides, I'm not quite ready to let you out of my arms," Gregory says as he twirls her away to another part of the dance floor.
"One minute to midnight, folks!" someone in the crowd yells.
Gregory procures two flutes of champagne from a passing waiter and beckons Olivia over to an isolated part of the garden. He sets the champagne on a shallow ledge that overlooks the beach. Tea lights balanced on wrought iron poles flicker and cast a warm glow on the couple.
"I would be lying if I said that I wasn't intrigued by you," Gregory murmurs as he takes Olivia's hand and kisses it softly.
As a zing of electricity passes through Olivia's body, her earlier thoughts of simply attracting a rich man were forgotten.
In the distance, while other party guests excitedly count down the last seconds of 1974, she steps closer to Gregory as he gently kisses her lips.
"Four...Three...Two...One...Happy New Year!"
Olivia pulls back from Gregory's embrace and says softly, "Happy New Year, Gregory." She reaches down and passes him one of the champagne flutes.
His glass gently clinks against her and he responds, "Happy New Year, Olivia. May 1975 be the beginning."
"Beginning of what?" she asks as she slowly sips the sweet champagne.
Gregory reaches out and tucks a loose piece of hair behind Olivia's bejeweled ear and answers, "Of us, of course."
Chapter 50: September, 1975
Gregory walks into his apartment and is pleased to see a ladies purse sitting on the table by the door. He glances through his mail and tosses it back onto the table. He removes his coat and tosses it on his sofa as he walks to the bedroom, only to find it empty.
"Liv?" he calls out.
"Out here darling," comes the sleepy reply.
I can get used to coming home to this, he thinks as he follows her call out onto the spacious patio. He finds Olivia stretched out, face down, on the lounge chair in a black string bikini.
"You're home early," she mumbles. She turns her face to the side and squints up at him. "I thought you had a business meeting?"
"Cancelled," he replies as he watches Olivia sit up and tighten the strings on her top. "I thought you had to work this afternoon?"
"One of my co-workers asked to switch shifts. Her son's birthday is coming up and she wanted to have extra money to buy him some presents." And since money isn't something I need to worry about anymore, Olivia thinks, I graciously offered her my shift. She squirms as thinks about how the increase in her savings account came at the expense of Elaine's pain. If only there was another way I could've gotten that money...Damn you, Del!
"Earth to Olivia," Gregory calls out. "You're lost in thought, sweetheart."
"Sorry," she grins as she snaps her focus back to Gregory. "You were saying?"
"I said that is's a beautiful September day and neither of us have commitments. Want to take the boat out?" he repeats.
"Ugh, too much rocking...I'm still recovering from last night."
Gregory frowns as he recalls the party they attended last night. It was the one year anniversary of a couple that they knew only slightly through Bette. The alcohol was never ending and everyone had a good time, especially Olivia who ended up singing a drunken rendition of "Rock Your Baby" with Bette on top of one of the tables.
"I apologized for embarassing you," Olivia says quietly as she sees Gregory frown. She puts a large pair of tinted glasses on and take a sip of ice water. "Lord, Gregory...It was just a party. We didn't know anyone else there except Bette."
"I know, but you need to understand the image I need to project...What if an associate had been there? What would he have said?"
"Then they would have said, 'What a lucky guy Richards is to be making it with a chick like that.' That's what they say to you when I'm not there, isn't it?" Olivia says bitterly as she gets up from the lounge chair and storms in doors. And Gregory flinches, knowing that what she says is right.
"Liv," he calls out and follows her inside.
"Don't 'Liv' me. You and your 'boys club' can shove it -," Olivia trails off as Gregory pulls her to him and silences her with a kiss. They break apart after a few moments, gasping for air.
"Where can we shove it?" he asks breathlessly. When she doesn't answer he continues, "Don't you know me by now to know that I would never let anyone degrade you like that? To cheapen you? Or our relationship?"
"I know...But you don't know what it's like," Olivia whispers. "To have all those older men eyeing you and to have their wives give you the cold shoulder because you got their husbands attention."
Gregory pulls Olivia into an embrace and rubs her back soothingly. "Why didn't you ever tell me any of this before? Sweetheart, you know they're just jealous because they don't look half as good as you dancing on a table and singing . She laughs as Gregory starts to sing the words to the song softly in her ear.
"I think I sounded better," she teases.
"I think you're right," he admits. "Seriously, Olivia...Why didn't you tell me this?"
Olivia looks at Gregory square in they eyes before responding, "Because I don't want to ruin any opportunities for you at work."
Gregory nods sligtly at Olivia before turning away so that she doesn't see the tears that threaten to fall from his eyes.
"No one," he manages to say after a moment, "has ever compromised themselves for me before...EVER."
"Gregory," she says as she reaches out and touches his cheek gently, "I do it because I love you...and because it's much better to call those lecherous old men 'chauvinistic dog shits' in my mind than to their faces."
Gregory laughs and says, "I love you too, Liv." He reaches into his pocket and removes a small velvet box. "I was going to do this later tonight," he confesses, "in a more romantic setting...But now feels right." He bends down to one knee and offers up the opened box. Inside is a large diamond set in white gold. "My mother left me this before she died," he explains, his voice cracking with emotion. "She said, 'Gregory, you'll find a woman who completes the other half of your soul one day...Never let her go.' Needless to say, at the age of nine, the idea of even liking a girl was a foreign concept," he says as Olivia smiles shakily. "But she was right," he continues, "I did find a woman who completes the other half of my soul. I know that we've only known each other a short while, but I know enough about you to know that I never want to let you go. Liv, will you marry me?"
Olivia bends down and kneels in front of Gregory, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. She opens her mouth to speak, but all that comes out is a small sob.
"Please tell me that's a yes, Liv."
Olivia sniffles and nods. "Yes," she whispers.
Gregory smiles broadly and slips the ring onto her finger. He kisses her hand.
"Oh Gregory," she sighs as he stands. She stares down at her hand and angles it differently as the light catches the stone, causing it to sparkle. "It's beautiful and I love it. I'll never take it off." She allows him to pull her up and he holds her close. "I love you. But now I'll have to tell our children that you proposed to me in the living room of your apartment while I was wearing a string bikini."
Gregory swings Olivia up into his arms and whispers into her ear, "As long as you don't tell them what happened right after." He carries her down the hall to the bedroom, where he plans to show her how much she is loved.
Chapter 51: May, 1977
"Hiya Greggy!"
Gregory looks up as he walks in the door to see Bette Douglas walking down the stairs.
"Bette...Where's Olivia?"
"Oh," Bette grins, "she's upstairs. She just finished the nursery."
"Really?" Gregory asks with a smile.
"Uh huh. I was just on my way out the door because she mentioned you would be home soon. So, with that said...Toodles!"
Gregory climbs up the stairs quickly after closing the front door behind Bette. As he nears the room designated as the nursery, he hears music tinkering out and Olivia singing softly. He stands in the doorway and watches Olivia fold tiny baby clothes and place them in the bureau drawers. Her voice is low and he knows that she is singing to the baby rather than herself.
"Liv?" he asks softly, stepping into the room.
"Oh!" Olivia starts as she turns around. "You're home!" She watches as Gregory looks around the room. "Do you like it?" she asks tentatively. "Bette and I just finished it this afternoon..."
"It's great," he says as he takes it all in. "You did a great job, Liv."
The room has golden yellow walls and wood furniture stained a warm shade of brown.
"You don't think there are too many teddy bears?" she asks unsurely. "I didn't want to go overboard, but I just fell in love with this theme." She glances around at the tiny lamp, quilt, crib sheets, and stuffed toys that all fit the bear theme. "And I didn't want too much pink...It would be like living in a cotton candy machine."
"It's beautiful," he says as he hugs and kisses Olivia. "And...our daughter will love it too." He eyes the crib and says," The furniture is nice too. Did you get it at an antique sale?"
"No. It was given as a gift...by your father."
"My father? You're kidding," he says incredulously.
"No, I'm not," she insists. "I called him a few weeks ago to see if he had any of your old baby things and he said that your mother had saved all the furniture. So, he had it shipped down and in one of the drawers, I found that teddy bear." She points to a smaller brown bear displayed prominently on a shelf. "I designed the whole room around it."
Gregory smiles sadly and says, "I slept with that bear as a little boy. I hid it in the attic after Mother died."
"Well then, our daughter will enjoy it as much as you did," Olivia smiles as she eases herself into the rocking chair. "I know we've gone back and forth on a name," she says as Gregory sits on the footrest in front of her and massages her foot, "but let's name her 'Caitlin'."
"'Caitlin'? Why that?"
"We wanted a name with significance, right?" she asks as Gregory nods. "Well, 'Cait-' for my mother, Catherine, who was always called 'Cate' and '-lin' for your mother, Lynn. What do you think?"
Gregory leans forward and kisses Olivia's belly. "I love it. 'Caitlin Blake Richards'."
"Oh no," Olivia sighs, "I don't want my maiden name to be her middle name."
"It sounds lovely...and I like it."
Olivia smiles at Gregory as she affectionately rubs her growing stomach. "Alright. 'Caitlin Blake Richards' it is." She takes Gregory's hand and places in on her stomach. "She likes it too," she says softly. "She just kicked."
"She'll be here any day now," Gregory sighs as he feels his daughter kicking energetically. "I love this feeling...You and me, the baby kicking. We'll have to have a dozen more children just to experience this."
Olivia chuckles and holds up hands so Gregory can pull her up out of the chair. "We'll see about that...We'll see."
"Don't you want a big family? Lots of children?" he asks as he helps Olivia down the stairs.
"All I want," Olivia says as they reach the bottom of the staircase, "is you. As long as I have you, I have the family I want. Je t'aime, mon amour."
"Do you know what a turn on it is to hear you speak French?"
"Yes," Olivia grins she kisses him lightly on the mouth. "That's why I do it."