And now for Shane. Enjoy.
It haunted her, that letter.
Shane still remembered finding it hiding in the midst of all the unsorted letters that had come in that day. The sending address was obscured, but that envelope and those three stamps meant to get it to Paris were emblazoned in her mind from months before.
She should have just let the letter remain lost, but the internal war between reviving the letter for her own curiosity and honoring Oliver's intent to mail outweighed leaving it lost.
If there was one thing she might have done differently, it would have been to present the dead letter to Oliver. She only failed to do so because, without opening it, there was no way to know for sure whether it truly was his letter. Why cause Oliver any more consternation than the situation already caused, especially if it turned out the letter wasn't his. All Shane could do was remember watching him struggle to mail it in the first place-why do that to him again?
Unfortunately for Shane, it was, in fact, his letter. As Rita read the words expressing his deep desire for Holly's return, it seemed appropriate that the letter be forwarded on to its intended recipient.
The decision to do so, however, had left both she and Rita feeling as if they were hiding something from Oliver. Eventually both came clean about their actions. Oliver was perturbed by their admission at the very least. While he managed to remain composed in front of Rita and Norman, the first chance he had to confront Shane separately on the matter Oliver made it clear that he held her mostly responsible. He was never quite as angry with her as he was in that moment, which Oliver claimed had more to do with Shane choosing to read the letter when, months before, she promised she would "never," than the actual decision to mail it.
What she regretted most is that, once again, his ties to Holly created alienation in her relationship with Oliver. When they were at odds, she could feel it in the innermost parts of her soul. She hated the feeling, and the only person who could induce it was Oliver.
Regardless, it made things decidedly awkward and, at the end of the day, exhausting. And it all managed to occur within the past twenty-four hours.
So, returning early from lunch at the Mailbox Grille, she welcomed the fact she was finally alone for a moment.
That was until she opened the door to the dead letter office and immediately got the distinct feeling she was anything but alone.
It didn't take long for Shane to discern a white handbag with a red sash hanging where Oliver's coat usually did. As she continued further into the room, Oliver's chair unexpectedly swiveled around.
The occupant was pretty, with red hair and a bright red coat. And because Shane had done her homework on the internet recently, she knew exactly who occupied the chair. The reality stopped Shane in her tracks.
"Hi, I'm Holly O'Toole," she greeted, "Would you like a Yoohoo?"
Shane desperately wanted to form a sentence, but the drum-like beating of her heart and a preoccupation with the deep-seated dread overtaking her made it impossible to do so. Instead, she simply watched Holly make her way from Oliver's desk to the fridge.
Holly possessed a naturally confident gait, only accented by the swish of Parisian-inspired polka dot black and white dress under a red coat, and the steady tempo of her pointed-toe heels on the hardwood floor.
Shane found it strange that Holly hadn't even asked who she was. But from the way Holly was operating, it was if she already knew, though Shane was far from discerning how it was possible.
She was jarred back into the moment by the sound of Holly closing the refrigerator door, "I'm his wife, you know."
To hear the word "wife" fall off her lips like a title, rather than an honor she had the privilege of living out with Oliver, caused Shane a pang of hurt like knife to the heart. And the fact Holly felt the need to announce it to Shane sustained the pain's resonance.
"Uh, huh," She squeaked out, trying desperately to maintain an outward appearance of composure, despite the fact her worst nightmare was playing out in front of her. Shane could feel her face betraying her.
"Isn't he such a gentleman? He's just the best. And he always does the right thing," Holly continued, walking towards her, the knife twisting harder with every step.
Shane could see the wheels turning in Holly's mind and could only imagine what finally standing toe-to-toe with her would yield.
"And just between us girls-he's also a really good kisser," she gloated before making her way back towards Oliver's desk.
It was a malicious final blow. Holly didn't even stop to see whether her victim was still alive. Shane didn't dare look down to see if she was bleeding externally, because inside she could feel her blood draining. Besides, why give Holly the satisfaction of tending her wounds?
Shane couldn't understand why every word out of Holly's mouth seemed designed to alienate her. Holly's personality and presence were so definitive that somewhere along the way Shane began to feel as though it was she who was trespassing on sacred ground.
And at what point had Holly determined that Shane posed a threat to her? As a gentleman, there were lines Oliver would absolutely never cross. As his wife, it would stand to reason Holly knew that. If that was true, then confiding this most recent tidbit only proved Holly purposed to hurt her.
It worked.
Shane's eyes began to blur, and while she heard Holly's monologue continue, she couldn't bring herself to do anything but fight the tears.
For the first time, Shane wondered what exactly it was Oliver saw-or had seen-in Holly. The wondering was cut short, however, because Shane realized the fact of the matter was it only mattered that something was seen, and whatever Oliver saw led him to not only marry Holly in the first place, but also made him want her back now.
Suddenly the door opened, and Oliver crossed the threshold into the DLO. Miraculously, Shane regained her composure without so much as a sniffle, which she was grateful for. At the very least she could leave with her dignity.
For the first time since Holly laid eyes on Shane, she was silent. The emotional charge in the room escalated, and while not a single word passed between the three of them for a moment, it was obvious there was sense that even the remotest shift in any direction could send the room into burning flames.
This was not a moment Shane had ever intended to be part of, the one where Oliver and Holly reunited. She did not want to feel the years of love, and yearning, and heartache, and even anger that flooded the room. She felt all of it. Yet Shane couldn't help but detect a deep-seated distress in Oliver that his struggle to focus on either of the two ladies before him revealed.
She was fluent in understanding the language of Oliver's face, and in it Shane saw a look she had seen only once before. It was the same look from the day Oliver confronted Shane about reading the letter the very first time. He was silent, but, and perhaps even without his knowledge, the fortifications of his internal defenses were being erected and reinforced to the point Shane couldn't see past them anymore. Within moments he was unknown to her anymore.
Overwhelmingly, however, Shane could feel Oliver's energy gravitating towards Holly, as if he only reserved so much attention for Shane as to not appear to be completely ignoring her. It might have hurt if Shane let it, then again this encounter was one to which she heavily contributed. Actions had consequences-this would be hers.
"Hi, Oliver," Holly finally managed, after stepping directly in front of Shane's only remaining line of vision to Oliver. If there was any question who had Oliver's attention, Holly decisively eliminated it.
This was it. This was the moment Oliver had waited for and Shane only realized in the moment how much she would dread.
Instead of sticking around to watch it play out any further, she took her leave through the side door of the DLO without saying a word.
Only one perspective left. Where do you think Oliver will fall? Let me know in your review and stay tuned for the next installment!
