On the morning of July 4th, the two detectives slept in late. Elliot woke first, his bladder urging him to leave the bed. He put on a pair of sweats and headed to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee, then took it out on the deck. It was another beautiful day and he leaned against the balustrade, breathing in the fresh sea air. He didn't hear Olivia behind him, as she hugged around his waist, standing on her tip toes and resting her neck on his shoulder.
"Good morning" she breathed into him.
"Good morning. You sleep ok?" he asked.
"Oh never better" Olivia smiled. He handed her his cup of coffee and she stood next to him taking a sip.
"You know, I've never spent 4th of July like this before. I'm usually working." she laughed "Have you heard from the kids?"
"I'll give them a call later. They're spending the weekend at Kathy's mom's."
'I saw a notice board outside the restaurant last night. I think there's some sort of street fair on in the town today. Do you wanna check it out?" Olivia asked.
"Sure, that'll be nice" Elliot stroked his hand down her silky hair.
They both got ready and headed into town. The car was hot after being parked in the sun for a couple of days but Olivia wanted to drive. The streets were surrounded by stalls with flags of red white and blue and there was a really nice family atmosphere.
"I think I'll have a look for something for Maureen" Elliot said. It was going to be her 21st birthday in a couple of weeks and boy did he feel old. He was only a kid himself when she was born, younger than she is now and sometimes he couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he'd been a father for more than half of his life.
As they perused the various stalls, Elliot suggested a couple of things and Olivia tried to nicely tell him that they weren't right.
"She's a young woman now El. I dunno, maybe she'd appreciate a nice piece of jewellery..?" Elliot had never been great at buying gifts and had asked for Olivia's help plenty of times when he needed to buy something for Kathy. She was good like that, he thought. They approached a busy stall with some stunning pieces. Elliot opted for a lovely charm bracelet and while he was paying, Olivia headed to one of the food stalls to get them some lunch.
It was a great day and that evening, Elliot lit the barbecue back at the beach house and they enjoyed dinner under the stars. Fireworks were being lit down by the pier and they could watch them go off while drinking beers from the deck. Elliot looked over at Olivia, wrapped up in a cosy sweater, her hair swept off her face in a ponytail. She wasn't wearing an ounce of makeup but she looked more gorgeous than ever, a true natural beauty. He reached into the bag that they'd taken out with them that day and pulled out a small box with a ribbon tied around it.
"I bought something for you today" he said softly.
"What.. when?" Olivia smiled in surprise, taking the box from him.
"When you went to buy lunch, I stayed at the jewellery stall and picked it out."
Olivia opened the box to reveal a beautiful gold pendant necklace with her birth stone and a small gold heart at the side of it.
"Elliot it's... it's beautiful... thank you" she said as she pulled it out of the box and admired the small Amethyst stone that shone in the lights.
"I asked the woman on the stall what the birthstone was for February. When I saw that it was purple I just had to get it." Elliot smiled. Olivia blinked back tears.
"It isn't too much is it?" he asked a little worried. "I know we haven't been doing this for long but..."
"Elliot it's perfect. Really, thank you I love it. I'm just not used to receiving gifts like this" she smiled "will you help me put it on?" she asked and turned away. Elliot took the necklace and draped it around her neck. As he fastened it, he brushed his knuckles against her and she reached back to hold his hand. As she turned back around she held it to her mouth and kissed it softly. They watched the fireworks a little longer and headed back inside to the warmth of the bed and each others arms.
On their last day, Elliot and Olivia packed up the car with a heavy heart. It had been a beautiful break away and they didn't want to go back to reality just yet. Olivia sat in the passenger seat, subconsciously touching the necklace that rested against her chest and Elliot reached over to hold her hand.
"I've had such a great time" he smiled, looking over with his sun burnt face. They were both sun kissed and he didn't think he'd ever seen Olivia look so dark. She tanned so easily and they'd shared a laugh when she got out of the shower this morning and walked across the bedroom, her cute white butt peeping through the open back of her towel.