Chapter 7

Winter Solstice

The winter solstice is the time at which the sun appears at noon at its lowest altitude above the horizon. It occurs on the shortest day and longest night of the year.

"Thanks, Tom." Olivia walked up the cottage stairs slowly as palpitations riddled her chest. She was nervous about asking Fitz to move back home. He had been gone for a month, the worst month of Olivia's life. It wasn't that she didn't see him. Things between them were different. It was worse than the turmoil they experienced after she resigned so long ago.

He seemed to be avoiding her. He stopped by the house to see the twins, Karen, and Gerry when she was out of the house. During the times, when they did see each other, the tension in the air fizzled with tension. If others were present, the change in the atmosphere would clear a room. Diane, Karen, and Gerry would scatter. Even Cleo and Olitz seemed to know something was out of sorts.

She was here not, at the cottage, to ask him back, beg if necessary. She realized she didn't want to be without him. She swiveled her engagement ring around her ring finger. She was resolved to immediately start planning their wedding. A week ago, she came to the decision to reconcile. Before she could tell him, he left on a weekend trip to Colorado. Today, Fitz's mother and father had visited her. Their conversation had been the catalyst for her decision to stop dawdling and ask him back. As it turned out, he had visited them to reject the position of Supreme Eminence again.

She looked back at Tom who was watching her climb the stairs. He would not move, she knew, until she was safely inside. She slid the key into the lock, turned, and stepped inside. There was a burning smell. She walked to the kitchen and saw soiled pans in the sink. The charred remains of something that looked like chicken and green beans was submerged in water.

"Oh, Fitz." Olivia wanted to clean it up, but it would have to wait until the morning. She heard a low hum. It was faint and coming from down the hallway and the bedroom. There she found him resting diagonally across the bed on his stomach. His hands were crossed under his head like a pillow. He was still dressed in dark blue slacks and a white dress shirt. The room was dark except for the soft light of the lamp on the night table and the bright light of the full moon cascading through the window where the curtains had not been drawn closed. As the vocalist, who Olivia recognized as Rachelle Ferrell, hit a hauntingly, sad note, she saw a decanter of Scotch and a glass tumbler on the beside table.

Olivia leaned against the wall, feeling the despair that was in the room and realizing the pain she had caused him. She closed her eyes and listened to the words of the song that played through the speakers of his iPhone dock. It was set to repeat this same song.

There's not a morning that I open up my eyes

And find I didn't dream of you.

Without a warning, no it's never a surprise

As soon as I awake, thoughts of you arise

With ev'ry breath I take...

At any time or place

I close my eyes and see your face

And I'm embracing you

If only I believed that dreams come true...Darlin'

You were the one who said forever from the start

And I've been drifting since you've gone

Out on a lonely sea that only you can chart

I've been going on, knowing that my heart will break

With ev'ry breath I take!

She cried for the both of them. This was a singer that they both enjoyed in happier times. It was uncanny because Olivia had been listening to, "Autumn Leaves" over and over as she ran in the mornings. The words to that song came to mind.

The autumn leaves drift by my window

The autumn leaves of red and gold

I see your lips the summer kisses

Those sunburned hands I use to hold

Since you went away the nights grow long

And soon I'll hear old winter's song

But I miss you most of all, my darling

When autumn leaves begin to fall…

Considering that she had been so close to losing Fitz and her family when she had been kidnapped, Olivia had a much different perspective on everything. She removed her jacket and slipped out of her boots. She undressed completely out of a pressing need to show him how much she loved him.

He shifted when the mattress gave way under her knee as she slid towards him. She lay down beside him and peppered little kisses on the side of his cheek, temple, and neck. He woke and saw her. Olivia leaned in to kiss him.

He moved back. "I must be dreaming. Livy…I…" Fitz whispered as he tried to sit up.

"Shh…Shhh… you are not dreaming. I'm here. Turn over." He turned over on his back and touched one of her cheeks that was still wet with tears. "What's wrong?" She straddled his waist and revealed her nakedness. His brow furrowed again, "What…?"

She placed her finger over his mouth. "I am sorry for everything. We will talk in the morning. Please just let me love you now." They gazed into each other's eyes as she slowly unbuttoned his shirt.

Their first coupling was slow and lingering. They examined each other's bodies rediscovering the contours and lines they knew so well. The second time was fast and intense as if they thought the other would disappear. The remainder of the night was filled with the sounds of their passionate cries. They drifted asleep when the darkness of the night folded into the dawn of the morning.

Olivia awoke to him tracing circles around her nipples with the pad of his finger.

"What are you doing?" She propped herself up on her elbows and looked down at him.

"Your breasts are amazing, Livy. Your nipples change shape when I touch them. Oh honey, now they are leaking. Annelise and Arthur must be crying for you. But these beauties are all mine this morning." He bent his head and licked the trail of milk that had cascaded down the side of her breast. Then he placed her nipple in his mouth.

"No Fitz. These nipples are only for the twins. And they are a sore too so…"

Fitz smirked and disappeared under the covers. "Okay, I'll go south."

"Fitz..."

An hour later they were both dressed and in the kitchen eating breakfast. Olivia had cleaned out his charred dinner pans despite his protestations that he could do it. Now she sat in his lap at the kitchen table, feeding him eggs, sausage, and potatoes.

"Fitz, I want you to come home." Olivia placed her forehead against his.

"You don't know how many days I wished for those words. I am sorry for suffocating you and for all the lies. I didn't know how to tell you about my past. I wanted to run away from it and start a new life with you, but it caught up with me. Mildred is welcome to our house anytime. I know she loves you and wants what is best for you. As for Nate, that is going to take some time. I wouldn't be honest if I said I accepted him as your friend…I mean he…"

"You don't have to accept Nate. I have told him that we couldn't be friends. He wants more…About The Organization…"

Fitz interrupted her. "You don't have to worry about that. When I went out of town last weekend, I visited my parents to renounce my position again. If you are ready, we can plan our wedding and begin the rest of our life. I would rather we go to the Justice of the Peace as soon as possible and then plan a ceremony."

"That is another thing, Fitz, I don't want you to renounce the position."

"What? Why?"

Olivia kissed him on the lips. "We will have time to talk about this at home, okay? Let me help you get your clothes packed and then we can call Tom."

Olivia's phone rang.

"Good morning Auntie. Really? Okay. I will."

Olivia slid off of Fitz's lap. "That was aunt Diane. She said that Abby just called the house and she wants me to come to the office now."

"Why don't you call Abby?"

"She told aunt Diane to tell me not to call her because she is running errands"

"That sounds strange, Livy. If you don't mind, I'd like to go with you to the office."

Olivia smiled at his, 'If you don't mind,' his attempt at diplomacy.

"Okay, sounds good."

They worked together to clean up the kitchen. The trash bag sat by the back door. Fitz insisted that she go home while he packed and straightened up the cottage.

He walked her to the door and took his time kissing her. They pulled apart and walked out onto the porch where Tom stood beside the SUV. He was standing in the same place he was last night, but so much had changed between then and now.

"Good morning, Mr. President."

"It is a good morning, Tom."

Fitz opened the back door and lifted Olivia into the back seat. He kissed her one last time. "I'll see you very soon." He rubbed her nose against his and backed away. She watched him wave one last time and bounce up the porch steps. He entered the front door of the cottage as they drove off. Olivia reached in her pocket for her phone. She wanted to text Fitz a love message and then try again to reach Abby on her cell phone.

"Tom, we have to turn around. I left my cell phone."

"Yes, ma'am." Tom couldn't help but smile. It seemed that his favorite couple had made up. Everything seemed right with the world.

They were about 500 feet from the door when and explosion rocked the very foundation of the cottage, causing its structure to burst into flames. Olivia screamed. She reached for the door. Thinking fast, Tom activated the power locks, trapping her in so she would be safe.

"Tom! Let me out! Fitz is…No! No! Noooooo!"

Tom was frozen in place for a second, but then he immediately phoned for back up. The guards started running out of the woods and towards the cottage.

Olivia reached over the seat and and released the locks when Tom was distracted by the phone. She hopped out of the back seat and ran to the cottage. In her peripheral vision, she saw someone running, coming straight for her. Her head swung to that side and she realized it was Ivan. Her foot tangled on something and she fell. Everything went black.