A Match to Remember
Chapter4
A Fruit Company
I haven't written exactly how old Fitz and Olivia are. I am going to make him younger, which was part of her reasoning for running, that is if she needs a reason. Using current events can create a writing problem but it should be fun weaving current events into the story.
Some years earlier
Liv settled in DC after boarding school because that was home, the only home she knew. After after being away from the US for six years she wanted to settle somewhere familiar and DC was familiar so she decided it was as good a place as any.. She and picked Georgetown was the logical choice for college over the ivy league schools she applied.
Her first year was uneventful she did not make friends easily nor did she want to, preferring being alone, keeping to herself. By her second year she was still undecided about her future accepting a law degree as one obvious option. One day she was sitting near the Quad studying when the wind scattered her papers all over the ground. Liv chased most down but accepted some would never be recovered. As she tried to put the papers back together an older gray-haired man walked up to her carrying some pages of her precious work.
"I saw you trying to retrieve some paper earlier, are any of these yours?". Liv grabbed the papers like they were the most important things in the world
"thank you …... these are my summary pages."
"You do know most students save their work on a computer"
"Yes, I know but I like to read my work from actual words on paper not on a screen".
"I read your summary on the causes and effects of WWll. I'm Professor Beene and I like your summary. From your papers you are Olivia Pope"
," yes, that's me. "
"Ms. Pope have you signed up for any of my classes and if not, are you intending to. "
"Right now, I'm just trying to cover the basic courses until I decide my major".
"With ideas like your politician science would be a natural."
"I'm apolitical professor,"
"Apolitical with the summary I just read just doesn't compute"
"being apolitical that doesn't mean that I don't understand how the real-world works".
"Miss Pope…. I expect to see you in my class next semester".
That was the first meeting between Cyrus Beene and Olivia Pope. She signed up for his classes and he has been her mentor ever since.
Professor Beene's class always ran long and often the discussions from the classroom found its way to his office. After a while a small group met with him each day after his class. Over time this group began brainstorm issues that they could focus on that would make a difference. During one of their brainstorming sessions they discussed the important of clean water. They began to realize that clean water is as much a political issue as war and employment. Professor Beene encouraged Olivia, and other in the group, to get involved find out how theyhey could help. Now in her third year she was looking forward to a degree in law with an interest in environmental issues...
Liv took the metro to school, it was faster and easier than driving. Over the months she had noticed a homeless man had set up at her stop. He did not say anything or bother anyone, preferring to huddle in a corner of the station. To Liv, he was a lot like her. Winter had arrived and temperature had dropped making a morning cup of coffee not only a want, that warm cup of java became a need... One morning as Liv bought her cup of coffee she bought one for the homeless man. After about a week of bringing coffee she included a simple breakfast sandwich. Soon she started bringing him a sandwich as she was heading home. Olivia would sometimes talk to the stranger who listened more than he talked...
Some afternoons she would stay a while and visit, finally convincing him to tell her his name. He gave her a name but refused her help to find a place to live. His refusal did not stop her from making sure he had something to eat each day she passed his way.
Her class schedule changed so she had less time to spend with the homeless man she saw him less thinking maybe he had moved on... Her classes were scheduled later and later so she would not spend all day on campus until she could meet with Professor Beene and the other students working with him... The group collected data and wrote papers on protecting clean water in the US and finding ways to develop sources in arid and undeveloped areas. This extra work kept her busy and informed. Someday, she hoped, she could be combing her hobby of protecting natural resources with her study of the law...
One night when the research and meetings ran long she was faced with taking a late train after refusing a ride from another student because the students lived in the opposite direction.
When Olivia entered the station, she knew immediately it was a bad idea, it was only her and two men on the platform. She watched as they moved closer and closer, trying not to panic she placed her back against a pillar as if it would offer her safety. One man said give me your purse and that fancy book bag the other demanded her phone. As she was about handing the items to the two men another figure appeared from nowhere, it was the guy she had been bringing coffee the past year... They both turned to attack him and in a split second they were both face down, unconsciousunconscious
"Are you ok?" he asked, …
". yes…."
"Get out of here and don't take the train this late again".
"What about you…... will you be ok?" ….
"yes, but don't take the train this late again, understand"
Liv, shaken but quickly left the area finding a cab nearby. That was over five years ago and in another city.
Now she was sitting talking to her savior, trying not to cry.
"Olivia tell me what's wrong?",
"nothing, let's talk about something else"
"did you finish at Georgetown…. what are you doing now?"
"I finished Georgetown then got my law degree from Harvard"
"why are you in Chicago, …Are you working here as an attorney?"
"You remember Professor. Beene, he was a stickler for being involved in every aspect of our country his motto, politics is not all about politics... I became involved with him as a fluke studying clean water and got more involved because of Flint. Our group wrote a lot of papers on clean water as well as trying to find an inexpensive method for testing contaminated water. My name was on one of the papers submitted so when my Georgetown group was selected to develop our conclusions, we drew straws I got Chicago.
"A lawyer, working on clean water, two different hats two different ends of the candle"
"Not really it takes a legal mind to understand the different regulations and laws that govern the distribution and protection of natural resources"
"You are an environmental attorney?"
"In a way"
"Not a lot of money in that"
"Not doing it for the money, Professor Beene said those that could should strive to make the world a better place. My law degree, he said, would open doors shut to others"
"Still, not a lot of money"
"I've got enough…I am lucky, if you call it lucky, my dad paid for college, my mom's insurance policy was in my name and my mom's father used to tinker. He sold a couple of his ideas and bought some stock in as my Aunt said" a fruit company" that no-one knew about until his will, which no-one knew he had, was read. He never told anyone, never changed his way of life although I remember he visited me twice at school. I never thought about where he got the money to travel to Switzerland. He said the visit was to make sure I was in a good safe place"
"He left equal shares to his three children, I inherited my mon's share. Still don't know how much it is as I have lived on my income and on the money my mom left. I worked for a while in New York, just did not feel right so I came back to DC where I worked for several years teaching before this came up. Still looking for that place that appeals to me enough to call home, that may be DC may be somewhere else."
Huck knew of Olivia's history since he last saw her so he knew what she had been doing and knew exactly how much she is worth. He just wanted her to keep talking about herself, to feel at ease with him...
"What about you Huck, what have you been doing, where are you living now?"
"I am a consultant and teach a few classes."
"You a teacher, you are so reserved"
"I'm more hands on"
"Not a lot of money in that"
"What did you say about money verses making a difference"
"How long will you be in town?"
"Don't know"
"Are you on assignment, or should I ask"
"Its personal"
"How personal?"
"Very personal"
"Can I help?"
"You can show me the city and maybe tell my what happened in New York"
"Are we back talking bout New York?"
"Yes"
"I met a great guy, he was easy, fun but we are from two different worlds"
"what two worlds?
"urban verses rural"
"that's just location, we live in a country with great roads, and a great transportation system, you can be anywhere in the US in about 5 hours via air, next excuse"
"different cultures"
"My parents came from two different islands who were always having disputes, they fell in love, had five kids and have been inseparable "
Olivia's phone started to buzz she excused herself to answer. Thinking it was after 9pm why would James, the water project coordinator, call her.
"Olivia, I know its late but there is an emergency meeting tomorrow to talk about the water crisis in Puerto Rico and your name is on the list."
"why me, I'm writing a paper but I really don't know a lot about the situation there or their needs"
"you wear two hats, your paper and your law degree"
"Who, else will be there?"
"The whole group, federal, state and city government, Congressman, activist"
"the more voices the less gets done"
"yes, but all must have a place at the table for the initial input, we can separate the needed from the not needed after the first meeting"
"what time?"
"10:00am, Federal building, more room…... better security"'
"ok thanks... James"
Olivia returned to the table, thanking Huck for dinner saying they would have to put the drink off for another time. She had a meeting at 10am tomorrow.
"Something happened?"
"Nothing, just the real world, a meeting to discuss water resources in Puerto Rico"
"the real-world horns in on your birthday"
"Yes, but I am sure there are people in Puerto Rico whose birthday is tomorrow"
"Let's finish your birthday by becoming tourist"
"Huck, I am still a tourist, I don't know a lot about the city"
"So, lets learn together, we can have lunch somewhere high up so we can get a good view of everything, then take a ride down that 25 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline that Chicago is so proud of and maybe see a baseball game to end the night"
"wow, that's some tourist schedule. Ok to lunch and the ride down the lake but if they are serious about coming up with a plan I need to spend some time thinking how my project can help"
"why don't I work with you, I could write a program that all involved could use to coordinate all plans and everyone would be up to date about everything. "
"Sounds good, we will talk more tomorrow"
Later that night Huck checked in with Fitz, seems there was a call every hour asking for updates.
Huck told him about the meeting with Olivia and he would be staying a bit longer to help write a program to help.
"Huck, my bikers group is collecting money to send can we merge that with what Liv is doing?"
Huck thought for a moment, "better than that you can deliver it"
"me, "
"Yes, aren't you guys having fall rallies right now?"
"Yes"
"So, head for Chicago and present the donations to the non-profit group in charge of getting help"
"What non-profit group is handling donations?"
"By 10:30 tomorrow it will be the group Liv is a part of. I have already offered to help. I'll send her a proposal for a group and being who she is she will include it in the discussion tomorrow."
"Huck, that's brilliant, we were donating anyway…..., this gives me a way to run into her again, accidently"
"she's not a fool, she will become suspicious if there are too many coincidences, but we will face that when it comes. I won't try to convince her you are a good guy but I will put everything out there and hope she realizes you are good for her."
"has she mentioned me?" ….
"Fitz, you asked me to locate her and find out about her, I did that. I will not discuss our private conversations even if those conversations are about you. I will say one thing and this is the only thing I will tell you about the two of you. She met a guy in New York that she liked a lot and she is sorry she was not brave enough to see what could have been."
"Huck, that's enough said, thanks"
Ok worked that baby biker into the story. The two will see each other again soon.