Disclaimer: Any dialogue or characters you recognise were created by the superbly talented Martha Williamson.
It's my privilege to write about SSD, not my right!
And the saga continues...
Again, my sincere thanks go to my dear friend Rhonda Leighton Wronski for her beautiful support and input.
###########################
Chapter 5
Oliver was numb for days. He never felt more lost, more alone or more betrayed. He didn't have anybody he could confide in. The one person he'd like to open his heart to and lay it all out was gone out of his life and he had no idea where she was. His father also kept his distance after Oliver told him there was no room in his life for him. It would have been good to talk to his dad but he had no idea where he was either. He pushed all the people who truly loved him away for the sake of the one person who didn't.
At the end of that week, Oliver could no longer hold it in. He smacked the letter on the kitchen bench and demanded: "Who's Dominic Laurent?" She looked at the letter and shot him an angry look. "This is not your letter or a dead letter. Why do you have it?" "Yes, you're right, it's not my letter. It's my wife's… from her lover." He spat the answer. She seemed unmoved. "If you knew that already, why did you ask?" "Holly, why did you come back?" "I came back to divorce you, Oliver, but when I kissed you, you were so hungry, starving actually, that I felt sorry for you." "You stayed with me out of pity?" "Yes. Oliver… and sex! It's the one thing that you still can do right." She spat back and carried on: "And by the way, who is Shane?" "What?" Oliver thought he was going crazy. Did she ask him about Shane or was his mind playing tricks on him? "You heard me, who is Shane?" "She's a former colleague who used to work at the DLO, why?" "Was she your lover?" Oliver looked both confused and mortified. "No, she wasn't. Just because I fell for you Holly, it doesn't mean I'm surrounded by other women with no integrity." He winced at his own callous words. She walked to the coffee table and picked up one of her poetry books. She produced the message Shane had left for the POstables on the night she quit. She threw it on the counter and asked: "Why did she leave with this pathetic, sad note on the same day I came back?" Oliver looked at her, no longer angry; instead he was overcome with sadness. "Very good question, Holly. One that I'm going to ask her myself next time I see her."
"Were you in love with her?" She asked accusingly. Again he looked so sad. "I don't know. I never had the chance to find out." Holly also looked sad. "Would you like to find out, Olly?" He looked at her one last time and getting up to leave he said: "I will start the divorce process tomorrow. You mustn't keep Dominic waiting." He turned and said flatly: "At least you gave him your forwarding address."
############
Chapter 6
Seattle
Shane had been in Seattle for exactly one year. She wondered if she was ever going to adapt to this place. The never ending rain was relentless. She missed Denver, the Rockies, the POstables… Oliver! She didn't want to think about him, not today, not anymore, not ever! She laughed self-mockingly! As if she could stop it! She was utterly sick of feeling miserable. Give it up, Shane, he didn't want you, you lost! She kept trying to encourage herself but her words were anything but encouraging. She laughed out loud with sarcasm at the irony of her trying for so long to get him out of limbo, yet here she was, succumbing to it herself. Her life revolved around work and nothing else.
Rebecca Starkwell had promptly found a vacancy for her at Direct Line Operations in Seattle and Shane moved out of Colorado within days. She contacted Rita twice since she moved, but she never asked about him and Rita never volunteered any information. She assumed he was happy, dancing with her… that was what he always wanted, right? Becky never mentioned him either. Although they often communicated as Shane knew he had to report to Becky monthly, Oliver was a topic that was never brought up.
Shane was so lonely! Even Steve had disappeared, not that she missed him anyway. Steve was committed to his work and any woman in his life would always come second.
She had gone out with a couple of guys from her DLO, but Oliver had spoiled dating for her. No man could compare with him. They were all lacking one way or another. The bar had been set so high that not a single one of them would ever have a sporting chance. She didn't know what to do to get him out of her head. The best thing she had done so far was finding a church to attend. She had been going to a relatively small congregation with a lovely bunch of people who seemed to care about her. Jo and Nick Whiteford, a couple the same age as her, with their two children had become good friends. She mentioned her friends from Denver a couple of times to Jo, trying her best to sound nonchalant about them but Jo was a smart woman and not fooled. "What happened between you and Oliver?" Shane sighed. "Nothing. Nothing ever happened." She was going to have to be more careful in the future. She needed to work on burying her feelings deeper, so people would not be able to pick up on them so swiftly.
Her birthday marked the first anniversary since she moved from Denver. She was going to spend her special day at work buried in computer codes, followed by yet another evening spent alone as usual. At lunch time, as she was going to gather her coat to go out for some fresh air, one of the young staff who acted as a runner bringing messages and paperwork back and forth in the large building came to inform her there was a gentleman waiting for her at the front desk. She thought nothing of it. She just intended to see who it was, what he needed and then head out to lunch. As she turned the corner to get to the front desk, she saw a huge bouquet of yellow roses held by none other than Oliver O'Toole! She froze! He walked towards her without taking his eyes off her. "Happy birthday, Ms. McInerney!" She was stunned! Her jaw dropped and she just stared at him as if she had been struck by lightning. "Oliver… oh… wow… I…"
She swallowed hard and started again. "What are you doing here?" "I came to wish you a happy birthday, Ms. McInerney. I didn't have the chance to do so last year." He extended the bouquet towards her. She picked it up. "Thank you." They looked at each other and neither of them moved. They stood staring at each other as if time had stopped. Eventually he cleared his throat and said: "I assume you are on your way to a lunch break. May I accompany you?" "Yes, of course." She said, while trying to keep her emotions under wraps. She asked Mary, one of the young staff to take the bouquet to her desk.
They walked out together to the Seattle equivalent of the Mailbox Grille, just around the corner from the main brunch. They sat in a booth at the back, surprisingly private for such a busy restaurant. "How is Denver?" She asked. "It's great." was his short reply. "How's Seattle?" "It's great." She said flatly. "How are Rita and Norman?" Oliver smiled as if remembering something pleasant. "They are both well. They are engaged." Shane smiled broadly for the first time since she'd seen him. "How wonderful! I'm so glad. They followed my advice then." "What advice would that be?" She looked at him straight in the eye and said without the least hesitation: " Not to allow nothing happen to them." Oliver smiled gently and looked down to his own hands folded in front of him. "That was good advice." She followed his eyes to his hands and she saw something that stopped her in her tracks, or rather the lack of something: his wedding ring was gone! She swallowed hard and looked at him intently. "Oliver, why are you really here? And please don't tell me it's to wish me happy birthday." Now it was his time for him to swallow hard, he said: "Ms. McInerney, you left without saying goodbye and I… I think… there is a lot more to be said between us." "How's Holly?" Shane sounded angry. "I hope she's well. She lives in Paris and as far as I know she might be married to a Dominic Laurent." He looked at her and waited. Shane stared blankly, unmoved. "We are officially divorced now." "Great, good for you. When did that happen?" Shane didn't want to show him how this news affected her. She kept on what she hoped was a poker face and he went on: "She left again, about 5 months ago, after 7 months of endless fighting, accusations, betrayal, you name it." Shane was starting to feel her emotions rise to the surface. She didn't want to start crying right here, but she was starting to lose that battle. She closed her eyes and fought for control. He grabbed her hands sitting on the table in front of her. "Shane, I'm so sorry." "Sorry for what, Oliver?" "For everything I put you through." "Oh, Oliver…" she said brokenly. He started to feel as if he might also start sobbing right here. She grabbed her cell phone and called her supervisor. "Simon, Shane here, I'm not coming back this afternoon. I'm not feeling well." Simon gave her the Ok and she said to Oliver. "Let's get out of here. Let's go to my place when I can cry in peace." He smiled then and said: "Good idea."
They caught a cab to her place. They sat on her couch, each sitting at either far end of it, leaving sufficient space between them. They had coffee and sandwiches they had grabbed on their way out of the restaurant. "Tell me everything, please from the beginning." She asked.
##########
Chapter 7
Oliver bared his heart out to Shane. "I should have let her go then, that first day. I should have read the signs better. I was so anxious to do the right thing that I was blindsided. Holly and I always allowed the physical aspect of our relationship to take over and that night was no different." He paused and looked at her. "Did you see it?" Shane asked, "Did I see what?"
"The kiss!" He asked, looking down as if ashamed. "Yes." Shane admitted, again trying to hold back tears. "
"I'm so sorry." He whispered. "Oliver, she was your wife, you have nothing to apologise for." "Oh, I disagree. I think I do." He paused and then carried on. "May I be very honest, Ms. McInerney?" "Of course, please." "When Holly came back, I knew I was no longer in love with her. Instead, I had been for some time, struggling with feelings for another woman." He paused and looked at her. He continued: "The guilt of it was consuming me. When Holly and I kissed that night, it was meant to be a goodbye kiss. But as I said, we'd always allowed the physical part of the relationship to rule over everything else. Things that night progressed the usual way they always had before. We ended up in her hotel room and she was keen to give it another try. It was doomed from the start, Shane. A relationship based primarily on sex has no foundation to hold it firm. I know now that ours never had much of a foundation. I discovered a few weeks after her return she had written a poem with the intention of ending things that first night she was back in Denver. I knew she would temporarily forget her plans if I kissed her, which I did with unbridled passion. A few months later I found a letter from her lover in Paris. Ramon translated it for me. When I confronted her, she never even blinked and informed me that she had only stayed with me out of pity." Shane moved closer and held his hand, trying to comfort him.
He looked at her and said: "I was a fool and it dawned on me how I had sacrificed your true friendship for a person who wasn't worthy. Please forgive me." "Oh, Oliver, you're forgiven." She was still holding his hand. He pulled her hand gently to his lips and planted a loving kiss on her knuckles.
They talked for the rest of the day as if they had never been apart. In the evening he asked her to join him for dinner to celebrate her birthday. Since he had no reservations anywhere, he took her to his hotel restaurant. It was simple but lovely. He returned with her to her house. He stood outside her door while the taxi waited for him. "May I see you tomorrow night? I will be returning to Denver the day after tomorrow." "Yes." She said quickly.
"I'll pick you up at 6:30." "I'll see you tomorrow then." They smiled at each other and said goodnight.
Shane was amazed at how nice her birthday turned out to be. Her heart was so full. She loved him and now she could admit that to herself without feeling guilty. She loved him! She wanted to shout it to the world. She loved him!
############
Chapter 8
Oliver felt as light as a feather. He returned to the hotel and for the first time in months he slept through the night and felt like a whole new man. In the morning he asked the front desk for suggestions for the nicest restaurant in town. Apparently the best fine dining in Seattle was Canlis with beautiful views of Lake Union. The older man behind the front desk informed him it was impossible to get a reservation at Canlis with such short notice. There was something about Oliver's demeanour that prompted the man to offer to call in a favour from the owner and get Oliver a reservation for that evening! Oliver was very grateful. With that sorted, he then went shopping. Much later he went to pick Shane up from her place. As she opened the door, he took a step back to admire her and hold on to the railings as he felt his knees shaking under him. She was an absolute vision. "Wow, Ms. McInerney… you are… ravishing." "Thank you Oliver." She said with a smile. She was wearing a black, figure hugging dress with gold trim. She looked like a Greek goddess. "Where are we going?" "To a restaurant called Canlis, do you know it?" "Wow, Canlis? How did you get a reservation with such short notice?" "My hotel manager pulled some strings." "Well, please pass on my gratitude. I've never been there but apparently it is the finest in Seattle." "Well, we shall soon find out." He handed her another bouquet of roses, this time, red! She went back in and placed it next to the yellow bouquet already sitting on her dining table.
He offered her his arm and they walked out to the cab waiting for them. Oliver opened her door and after helping her in, he went around and got in beside her. They sat really close with no distance between them. He picked up her hand and kissed it. Shane smiled into his eyes lovingly. The ride to the restaurant was too short for their liking. Once they were seated at a table near the glass wall that overlooked the lake, they just lost track of time. Oliver reached inside his breast pocket and put a little box in front of her and said: "Happy belated birthday, Shane." Shane took the little box with trembling hands and untied the satin ribbon. Inside it was the most beautiful pair of earrings she had ever seen. They matched her necklace perfectly. "Oh, Oliver, thank you so much." "My pleasure." He said looking into her eyes. She then got up and said "I'll be right back." Within a couple of minutes she was back with the new earrings on. They looked perfect. Not only did they match her necklace, they matched her outfit. She was absolutely breathtaking. "Wow, Ms. McInerney…!" She laughed. He absolutely loved the sound of her laughter. He hadn't realised until this moment how much he missed it. They ordered their food and drinks. While they waited, Oliver reached out and took her hand in his. "So…" he said. "So!" She answered. "How did you find me?" She asked. "Rebecca Starkwell." "Ah… I should have known." "So, Shane, I'd like to take you back to Denver with me." He blurted out as if delaying it would thwart his plans. "Oh, you would, would you?" Shane said, amused as if he had just told her a joke. "How do you feel about that?" He asked. "Well," Shane started, "I hate Seattle and if you hadn't come I'd have found a way out of here myself." "Really?" "Yes, but tell me this, why did you come?" He looked confused. "Why? To get you to return to Denver." "Why do you need me to come back to Denver?" She wanted, needed him to say it. He took a deep breath and looking deep into her eyes he asked: "Don't you know?" Shane spoke in barely a whisper. "I'd like to hear it from you." Oliver took a deep breath and went all in firmly and confidently. "I love you, Shane. I have loved you for longer than I should have, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't tell you, or act upon it before, but now I can. And if you feel the same about me, I'd like for you to give me the chance to court you." The tears were already running down her face and she couldn't stop them even if she wanted to. "Oh, Oliver, I love you too, so much… so much!" He felt as if his heart was going to burst. "So, will you come back with me?" "No." He immediately felt the air knocked out of his lungs. "I can't come tomorrow. But I will in two week's time. I will hand in my resignation and get my house sorted. I will see you in two weeks in Denver." He smiled, relieved. "I will arrange for an accommodation for you until you can rent a new house." "Okay, then." She smiled contentedly.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur! They hardly remembered afterwards what happened or what they ate or drank. They were absolutely lost in each other's eyes.
On their way back to Shane's house she asked him to dismiss the cab and come in. They would call another one later. They sat on her couch again. This time she tucked herself under his arm and snuggled up against him. He kissed the top of her head and she looked up. Their faces were mere inches apart, breathing the same air. She lifted her lips, offering them to him which he took, gently at first, then passionately. They clung to each other. They kissed as if they had been waiting for this all their lives and they had finally come home to each other.
The End