Chapter 8
Around midnight Olivias stomach reminded her she hadn't eaten since she arrived in Bali. She put on a coverup to see if she could find , first the kitchen, then a midnight snack
The house was huge but she saw earlier all the first floor rooms opened to the wrap around porch which led to the grounds. She could walk around the porch to find the kitchen if she did not lock herself out.
Olivia found the kitchen and then the picnic basket and discovered it had been replenished with differnet foods she could not readily identify. She took some crackers and cheese and the bottle of unopened red that was sitting nearby. She walked to the terrace carrying her bounty in one hand and the now opened bottle of wine in the other. She immediately saw the table still set for two
" Guess the courtship was derailed a bit", she snorted aloud
"What courtship was derailed ?" a baritone voice said out of the darkness
She had not seen Fitz sitting in the dark on the nearby steps
'Your courtship"
"My courtship is well underway but it took an unexpected detour because of jetlag. But it will soon be back on track"
"Good for you. everyone prays for a happy ending"
Fitz asked, "what are you eating?"
"Something I stole from your courtship basket"... Liv replied
"Oh yes", Fitz said, "I asked Anna to pack a picnic lunch for later today"
"Let me get you something a little better , I'm a terrible host"
'Nope , this is good"
"I insist" , Fitz said, as he left the terrace returning witha platter of assorted meats, salads and fruit.
"You missed a great welcoming dinner, I think you would have especially enjoyed the fish .Oh well, maybe another time," we still have 6 days!
Six days, does he expect me to stay here and watch him court another woman, ? Dont think so.
"Fitz, I'm going to find a room for the rest of my stay I dont want to be underfoot , I'm in your way here"
"Why do you think you are in my way?"
"Look I spoiled your welcoming dinner. I have raided your picnic basket and have opened a bottle you had set aside . No woman wants another woman around as she is being courted, ... sorry by the way I opened your wine but it was great when I last had some and it's as good as I remember, maybe better"
Fitz interrupted , "What was your comment again about the wine?
..." comment ...'" I Dont remember"
"Yes you do"..., what was that summary again ?" Champagne for celebration, White good for a picnic but red best enjoyed under the stars with someone special"
We had the white earlier, now lets enjoy the red, the champagne tomorrow"!
" You have the summary correct just not the right people"" where is Beth by the way?
"Its midnight, probably at the cottage next door enjoying her husband if he is lucky"
"What Husband?"
"The one she married two years ago", "wait, you thought,... Beth, is my cousin . Her dad and my mom are siblings. Who did you think Bess is?". Fitz said as a look crossed his face . Shit,Liv thinks the woman he is pursuing is Beth.
"Fitz what's going on, please explain all this" LIv asked
"Do I have to?, Right now"
"Right Now"
"What about after we finish the wine, can it wait,? why spoil a great bottle of red with negative chit chat., can it wait, please?"
"Nope"
" After the picnic, tomorrow"!
"NOW, Tommy"!
I am totally screwed , a sinking ship,. a lifeboat without a paddle, every comment about failure swept through his mind
"Where is your friend/girlfriend/future wife/the mother of your children "?
Fitz stood still like a deer in headlights, his mouth opened but nothing came out . Olivia continue to stare him down as she took another sip of wine.
Fitz took a deep breath, swallowed the rest of the wine in his glass and said.
"Standing in front of me"
"Who is standing in front of you?"
"The mother of my four children, I hope !"
Fitz watched Liv as she emptied her glass and sat it on the table. She looked from him to the glass back to him and finally walked over and sitting on the steps he was sittng earlier never taking her eyes off him
"ME?"
"Yes you?"
"When did you come up with this brilliant idea?
"Should I tell you all of it?"
"Yes, Please, not sure if I can wait until morning"
"Now"
"NOW"!
"First , I saw you in the market last week and I was hooked . I knew then that woman perched on the botton shelf trying to reach the containers on the top shelf was my future wife. . Your Aunt Max said her neice was visiting but I did not know the woman I saw in the market was the same one bringing the equipment to Harrison until I stopped your car."
"AND , continue", Liv said
"I was in love when I first saw you and could see our four childen when I walked up to your car and later when you were talking to Harrison "
Olivia sat still because if she had been standing she would have jumped him right then and there. This man has been giving her heart palpitations for over a week. Taken her to the bottom of despair when said he was courting another and now damm. Easy girl, take it easy she thought as her heart raced and pounded in her chest
"AND ?"
"And , After I found out who you were the rest was kind of simple"
"Simple, you consider me simple?"
"No not you, but I wanted to woo you"
"By telling me you were interested in someone else?"
"Nope, you just assumed , all I said is that I had met someone special and later on the plane I was going to meet a friend who I hope to become my girlfriend then wife, now that you know, can I begin really wooing you, I intended to tell you during dinner but you bailed so I had to go to, plan B I did not consider you would think Beth was the woman I was talking about"
" Plan B what is plan B ?"
"The picnic"
"What was plan A?"
"Cancelling your room reservation"
"You cancelled my room, left me homeless on an island in the middle of tourist season?"
"I knew I had a house with plenty of room so you were never homeless"
Olivia wanted to jump this mans bones , run her finghers trough that mass of waves and wake up tomorrow unable to walk. But, but ,but.
"Fitz I just dumped my ex several months ago, we just met a week ago its too early , too soon"
"Too soon for what? To fall in love. How long did you knw your ex? I loved you from the day I passed you the pickles off the top shelf in the market"
BUT, " ...no Livvie, no buts"
Now it's Livvie, ok, ... Ms. Pope to Liv to Livvie , ''''''huh I like this , really like this,...
"So friendship, to girlfriend to wife to four children, how long?"
"I thought 3 months on the long side, 2 weeks on the short side"
"Two weeks, Dont you think I might be on the rebound,?"
'Nope, dont care"
" You Don't care"
"Nope, If you grow to love me 1/4 as much as i love you we will have 50 years and maybe 5 children."
"Now its 5",
Yes maybe a change of life baby, like you ". Make it a girl so she will have 3 brothers to look after her and we can spoil her unlike we could a boy."
"You have it all figured out?"
"Of course ,...now I can just get you to agree, we can start planning our honeymoon"
"What if your family dont like me?"
"Dont care they are not marrying you, I am", but Beth likes you already"
What about,... "nope nope nope, no what ifs lets take what is possible"
"Do you think you could ever love me?"
Liv wanted to say I love you already but was still uncertain of her feelings. Maybe it was the blue eyes, maybe the curly hair, maybe the picnic , maybe tricking her so stay with him, so Liv just shook her head yes, she would show him how much she cared for him right now over the next 50 years. She has loved him since she saw those Italian loafers walkig up the steps to her aunts porch...She could only shake her head yes.
"So lets finish this bottle of wine and go to bed", when Fitz saw the look Liv gave him he continued,... "not to the same bed".
That night was the best sleep Liv had in six months. It was filled with 3 boys and two girls , all with carmel skin, a head of unruly curls and blue eyes,.
She awoke to a knock on her door and the scent of food entering her room. Fitz came in with a tray loded with food, Beth followed with coffee and a pot of hot water for tea.
Beth said," Fitz told me about the mixup, I told him every plan has a hole in it I'm kind of glad you made him suffer it will bode well in your marriage. It taught him that a good marriage runs on both parties understanding what works . Tom told him I told him, but its good you are willing to give him a chance to woo you"
Woo me, If I could I would haul him off to the nearest justice right now so I could haul him into this bed., Liv thought to herself
Beth left them alone and Fitz began to discuss his plans for day to see if Olivia had anything special she would like to do..
He told her about his ideas, a ride along along the coast then a picnic lunch alomg the beach with freshly caught fish cooked in sand pits. Liv agreed as they finished breakfast.
There was no driver no interruptions. they rode in the buggy , walked ,held hands and flirted with each other. After lunch they laid on the beach where Fitz insisted that he cover Liv with protective lotion. She figured it was his way of getting her to do the same. "If he only knew"
Everything was hard from his shoulderd to his feet as she applied lotion to his back. She was thinking what would happen when he turned over , when he did she rubbed the blocker on his chest, abs, legs then immediately went for a swim before he realized she was through.
When she returned from the water Fitz insisted that he reapply the sun blocker. As he rubber her back and untied the strings of her top he talked to her
Liv, "... "yes"
"I want to wake up next to you every day for the rest of my life but I dont want to pressure you so we will not become intimate until after we are married"
WTF, wedding night, this isnt goimg to work, for me, who is this man,?.
"OK WE should wait" The most difficult words Olivia Carolyn Pope has ever uttered.
WE, that settlers it this will be a very short courtship. Fitz said 3 months or less I take the less. Get me back to American soil and find me a dress. No way in hell am I goimg to have my sex deprived man loose in a countryn full of frustrated scheming women.
`That's fine , .5 days later they were bound home only because there were no earlier seats available without long layovers and seats were needed for Tom so patience was needed.
They arived home and set about making wedding plans. Two weeks later they said their vows in from of shocked friends and family. The only one not shocked was aunt Max.