Olivia lay on the massage table as Tinka rubbed deep circles with her knuckles into her back. Fitz couldn't have come up with a better idea to help relieve her pain and aches from a growing pregnancy. She loved her massages. Every time Tinka would begin to work her magic, she would fall asleep. Now she was trying not to and kept herself busy with thoughts of their trip to New York. Two days later they flew out on their private jet. They landed at Laguardia in the evening and drove to The Carlyle on the Upper East Side. They had the presidential suite which was a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom suite just a floor under the penthouse suits on the top floor, all of which were unavailable.
Sonia accompanied them on the trip and was in a hotel room a few floors down, as were Olivia's assistant Rumi, and Fitz's assistant Paul. A large team of guards were close by as well. Once they settled into the room they ordered room service and bathed the girls. They all had dinner together and then let the girls have screen time for an hour before they went to bed. Olivia and Fitz followed soon after.
The next morning after they woke and prepared for the day, they had breakfast together at the hotel restaurant. When they returned to their room, both their assistants met them as they waited for the education consultant who'd been working with them to get their girls into school. Lily and the twins played in their room while Olivia, Fitz, and their assistants settled in the large living room suite. It was their first time meeting the ed consultant in person, mostly she'd communicated with Rumi through the process so far.
They only waited a few minutes before there was a knock on the hotel door. Rumi ran over and opened the door. It was a secret service agent, followed by the ed consultant Melissa.
Rumi welcomed her inside and they all sat on the two sofas and two armchairs surrounding the coffee table.
"This is my boss Olivia and her husband Fitz," Rumi said as she motioned between them. "This is Melissa, the ed consultant we've been working with."
"Hello," Olivia said with a smile and a wave. "It's nice to meet you finally."
"Hello," Fitz said as well.
"Hi, I'm Paul," Fitz's assistant said as he stood and shook Melissa's hand.
She was an older woman with burgundy-red, shoulder-length hair. She had a pleasant demeanor and wore a black skirt suit and kitten heels.
"Oh, sorry," Rumi said, realizing she'd forgotten to introduce him.
Paul sat and nodded.
"I guess we can start by hearing more about you Melissa. I've been telling my boss obviously everything we've been communicating about but I guess it would be nice to just hear it straight from you," Rumi said.
Olivia nodded, "that would be lovely."
"Yes, I'm happy to share about myself. I'm Melissa Keating, I've been a private school educator and school administrator for 20 years. I've been an educational consultant for about 11 years. I know all the schools in New York City, private and public. I've built great relationships with a lot of admissions and ex-missions teams, a lot of teachers and administrators. I really enjoy getting kids into school where they'll thrive."
Melissa looked around. "Oh, I thought the girls would be here-"
"-They are," Rumi said. "I can bring them out once we're almost finished here."
Melissa nodded.
"So, can you tell us a bit more about the schools you recommended and why, as well as the process," Olivia asked.
Melissa nodded with a smile, "So, I submitted five applications which is more than plenty because your girls will get into them all. The Chapin School, Brearly, Spence, and Nightingale-Bamford schools are all-girls schools, and Trinity School is co-ed. Out of the bunch, I really think nightingale-Bamford is the school for your girls, it's my favorite and the one I fully recommend."
Olivia and Fitz nodded.
"Let me start with the other 4- which are all fantastic schools as well depending on what you're looking for. If you ask anyone in New York City what the best private school in the city is, they'll say Trinity and Brearly - they wouldn't be wrong but all the others are close behind.
"Trinity and Brearly are where you send your children's mental health to die. They are extremely competitive, and they make their academics almost stupidly difficult, all to keep the statistics of Ivy League matriculants as high as possible but this turns the students into coffee-chugging, obnoxiously competitive zombies.
Trinity is more popular than Brearly and every family in the tri-state area with enough of a net worth to afford tuition is applying to Trinity or on the waitlist. This means a lot of social and political climbers and I don't think you'll enjoy having to socialize with those people or have your children around their children. These people typically aren't legacy Ivies so they need their kids to bust their asses to get in, which is proven by 40% of the graduating class getting into an Ivy for both schools.
"Chapin and Spence are great schools but the girls there are notorious bullies, the culture isn't that great and I don't think it'll offer anything to your daughters. About 30% are gonna graduate into Ivy. This is important for parents who aren't Ivy grads but you two are which is why I think Nightingale-Bamford is for you," She said then motioned to Fitz. "You attended Harvard and MIT on a double major," she said then motioned to Olivia. "You attended Oxford and Yale," She said. "Your family has a well-known last name."
Fitz chuckled, "our last name is well known?" he said sarcastically.
Melissa laughed, "I'm gonna be frank and this might get me in trouble but I know an old money, WASP when I see one. There's a library at Harvard with your last name. I looked into it. When I submitted your daughter's applications, all 5 schools reached out to me to confirm that you were who they thought you were. With both of your Ivy League educations, your daughters have a place at any Ivy League school whether they go to the best or worst school in the city."
Fitz laughed and held his hands up in defeat, "okay, you got me there. I just think it's hilarious that college is even on the table and they're 4 and 6."
Olivia shook her head and rolled her eyes."Can you share why nightingale is your preference?"
Mellisa nodded.
"They have about 30% of their graduating class going to an Ivy- I hate talking about Ivy for kindergarteners but this is what elite NYC schools are all about. Their academics are very rigorous, the girls are required to study Mandarin Latin, and Greek with the option of Spanish as well. There is complex math, science, and humanities so I certainly don't want to mislead you there but they have an amazing community for the girls. They have a great tradition of pairing some of their youngest and oldest girls together in a buddy system, sort of like a big sister at the school and it works very well. There is a huge diversity effort at the school,- your daughters are biracial so I'm sure they don't want to be the only black or mixed-race little girls in a classroom- they have a large campus, private chef with all organic meals for lunch and breakfast every day and importantly, the kind of families that attend this school are the kind you probably won't mind being around, very elite, upper east side families, largely very wealthy, though there will be a few scholarship kids. They have very small class sizes. All in all, this is where you want to be. They produce ambitious, well-rounded, smart girls."
Olivia looked over to Fitz.
"I think I like Nightingale-Bamford as well. I certainly would want them to have a great school and life balance."
Fitz nodded in agreement. "I definitely like the last one. If you're really certain about this one then I doubt we'll have to have interviews for all of them. I think we should stick to the one we want instead of wasting our time."
Melissa laughed and nodded. "So the admissions process for Nightingale-Bamford, since they are applying for pre-k and 1st grade, they have to take an ICRB assessment test- it'll be read to them obviously. They'll come in earlier in the day and take it while you speak with the admissions team. Once the assessment is over, they'll want to speak with each girl individually then you can tour the school You should be able to get a decision honestly, probably that day, if not the next."
"What's that assessment?" Fitz asked.
"It's the intelligence-comprehension-reasoning-behavioral assessment," Melissa said. "It's like an IQ test but there's a behavioral component as well for kids. Since they are so young, they won't test what they know, they'll test how they think and learn. They'll want to score in the 80th-99th percentile. You'll probably get an acceptance that day. Anything less and they might make you wait a bit. A disaster is a score of 40th percentile and lower but I've talked to your girls' tutor and Lily's former teachers and I don't think anything lower than the 80th percentile is possible for them."
"Alright," Fitz said, then turned to Olivia. "Do you have any questions?"
"What does the interview look like?" Olivia asked.
"They'll talk to the girls, maybe do any activity together. See the kind of personalities they have. The assessment tells them all the important information. As for their interview with you, they'll want to know that the girls have a stable home, and parents who will support the girls' education and will contribute to the school, it's very standard stuff."
Olivia nodded, "thank you for meeting with us."
Rumi stood quickly, "let me go grab the girls." She said before leaving the room.
"Right, of course," Olivia said.
Moments later Rumi returned with Lily, Isabelle, and Daisy. They charged into the room, running to Fitz and Olivia.
"Girls, there's someone I want you to meet," Olivia said. "Do you remember when mommy and daddy said you have to go to a new school?"
Lily nodded, as did Daisy and Isabelle.
"Well, this is Melissa and she's going to help you to get into a school that you will love."
Melissa smiled at them, they were stunningly beautiful little girls.
"Can you tell me your names?" Melissa asked with a smile.
"I'm Lily," Lily announced excitedly.
"I'm Isabelle."
"I'm Daisy and I'm 4."
Melissa smiled, "it was so nice to meet you. Can you tell me what your favorite kind of animal is?"
Lily gasped, "A pangolin- or a dog. We have a dog, he's really big, like a horse his name is Zeus but pangolins are so cute. Did you know, pangolins are the only mammals on the entire earth with scales?"
Olivia looked at Fitz, surprised at this new fact. Lily had never mentioned pangolins before. Her favorite animal last week was a horse."
"I also really like horseys," Lily added, almost as if she heard her mother's thoughts.
"What's your favorite kind of horse?" Melissa asked.
"I have a gypsy horse- Daddy said that's called a breed. She's so pretty. She's at my ranch. Her name is Nugget because she's brown like a chicken nugget."
Melissa laughed. "That's a great name."
"My favorite animal is a little cute little kitty," Isabelle said. "They're so cute and so little and so fluffyyyyy."
Daisy grinned, "my favorite is a baby goat. They're so tiny and so cute and they say cute sounds like behhhh- daddy can I have a baby goat pleaseeeeee."
Fitz laughed, "Guess what, I'll take you to a farm and you can hold a baby goat."
All three began screaming excitedly.
"Mommy, Daddy's gonna take us to a farm."
"I heard," Olivia said with a chuckle.
"Alright, you can go back to play. The grown-ups are gonna finish talking about boring stuff," Fitz said.
They ran off, taking the noise and excitement with them.
"Yeah, they're great," Melissa said. "They'll probably give you an acceptance at the interview," she said with a laugh then stood. "I'll see you tomorrow. I'll be there in the wings just facilitating the meeting."
Fitz stood as well and shook her hand. "It was great meeting you."
Olivia nodded though she decided not to try to get up from the couch.
Melissa said goodbye to Paul and then Rumi showed her out. Their next visitor was a team of real estate agents, meeting to give them a quick overview of the properties they were to view over the next few days. As Fitz promised, after they met with their real estate agents, he had his assistant look for a farm close by. It was just afternoon and he figured they would grab lunch and eat on the drive there. Paul found a small farm with a petting zoo in Brooklyn. It had baby goats, ponies, baby sheep, pigs, and the works.
Once they finalized where they were going Fitz and Olivia went into the girls' bedroom to tell them. Screaming ensued as they excitedly put on their shoes and Olivia urged them to use the bathroom. She stood with them and one by one as they peed. She loved the way Daisy and Isabelle's little feet never touched the floor. Lily was taller now and didn't have the same issue but thinking of all her girls growing older saddened her as she stood waiting for them all to finish.
When everyone was ready to go, they all headed out. Fitz picked up burgers and fries from the restaurant in the lobby and they ate it on the drive as they were chauffeured to the farm. The drive was relatively quick, taking less than an hour before they arrived.
A secret service agent opened the door and Fitz stepped out and then helped Olivia out. The kids were in a row further back and they unbuckled themselves from the car seat and climbed out from the 2nd row of seats in the SUV.
"Yay," Lily said. "Daisy, we're here. We're at the farm."
"Look Izzy," Daisy said as she pointed and began shaking her head excitedly. "That's a barn- I hear the goats."
Fitz laughed, "Let's go."
They walked over to the small barn and met a few of the employees at the farm. Fitz paid them the entrance fee in cash as well as money for animal feed. They moved off to grab a few small pails of feed for the girls to carry around and feed the animals. As they waited the girls walked to the animal pens. There were a few small fluffy Scottish highland calves.
"Oh my god-" Isabelle screamed as she ran over. Lily and Daisy followed as did Fitz and Olivia. Moments later, an employee came with small pails of feed and gave them instructions on how to feed the animals. All three of them took a small amount of feed in their palms and fed the animals. They moved to the lamb and the baby alpacas. Fitz took pictures of everything while Olivia watched and smiled, amused at her girls.
They threw feed to chickens and held the baby chicks and then they finally went to the open pen where they could hold and pet the baby goats. Fitz went into the pen with them. Olivia stood at the wooden barrier and watched them while she took pictures with her phone. Lily kneeled and picked up one of the goats, Daisy and Izzy did the same thing.
"Girls," Olivia called out. "Come here, I need to get a picture."
They moved over to Olivia and she snapped a few pictures of them together as a group, smiling and cuddling the stinky goats.
Fitz walked over to her as Lily and the twins moved away to give their baby goats more attention and gush about how cute they were.
"They're so happy," Olivia gushed. "I'm really proud of us. I think we're doing quite well as parents."
He smiled and leaned over and kissed her lips lightly. "Don't jinx it. They'll be screaming they hate us at the first chance possible."
Olivia pouted, "I love it when they do that. It's cute."
Fitz turned and watched them. The goats were very young so instead of the typical goat feed, they were given large bottles of milk with nipples. Fitz moved over to be closer to them as they sat in the hay and held the goats and fed them milk. They'd spent quite some time on the farm and now, it was almost 4pm, closing time.
"Alright," one of the farm employees said. "We have to take the little goats back to their mamas, it's closing time."
"Awww, okay," Lily said. She hugged the goat and then stood and walked to Fitz. Izzy did the same thing, but Daisy didn't.
"Just 5 more minutes," she begged.
"Daisy, the zoo is closed," Fitz said but he found it hilarious that she was asking for 5 more minutes because she had no idea how long that was.
Her eyes filled with tears, "then can I take her with me?"
"Wait, how do you know it's a 'her'?" Fitz asked.
"Because she's my friend," Daisy said.
Fitz shook his head and looked at the employee. "Is it a 'her'?" he mouthed.
The woman shook her head, "no," she mouthed back.
He turned back to Daisy. "You can't take the goat."
"But I love her," she pleaded with a pout, still crying.
Olivia walked over and stood beside Fitz.
"Daisy, darling, we have to leave now. The farm is closed."
"No," she screamed.
"Mehhhh," the baby goat cried softly.
"Please, can I keep her? Please?"
"You can't sweetheart, we have to leave her here," Olivia said.
"He," Fitz corrected.
"Oh," Olivia said.
"She can sleep in my bed and I can give her my McDonald's," she said as her crying rose an octave higher.
"Okay, we have to give the goat back," Fitz said.
"No," she said firmly.
"Daisy, give the goat back to the lady."
"No Daddy please," she screamed. "She's so cute. I love her."
Fitz gently took the baby goat from her arms and put it on the ground. It bleated and hopped away. He lifted her into his arms because he knew she was ready to kick into the second gear of theatrics and that probably included falling on the ground.
She cried on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I promise, Daddy's gonna get you your own little baby she-goat, okay. We just have to wait until we have somewhere to put it."
"But it can go in my room" she cried softly.
"Well, it can't because we're at a hotel, so that's not your real bedroom and it'll poop and scream all day. When we have a backyard and we live in the middle of nowhere, I'll get you a goat."
"Noooo," Her crying began again.
Fitz walked to the car. Lily and Isabelle climbed in first and then Fitz let Daisy down and she climbed into the back as well. He gave all of their seatbelts a pull to make sure they were fastened properly before he hopped out helped Olivia into the car and sat beside her.
They drove off moments later. Daisy was still sniffling in the back seat.
"It's okay Daisy," Lily said then she leaned over and whispered something in her ear.
"Daddy, can I get your phone to watch baby goat videos?" Daisy asked.
"You sure can princess," Fitz said before he reached into his pocket and opened his phone. He handed it back to Daisy. Olivia took her phone from her purse as well and moments later when Lily asked for hers she was already handing it back. "Thanks, Mommy," Lily said with a smile.
"Daddy, I can't find it," Daisy said.
"Oh right, you can't type, you're 4," Fitz said with a chuckle as he took the phone and searched for videos then handed it back to her.
The rest of the ride was filled with the sound of YouTube videos. Olivia leaned back in her chair and reached over to hold his hand. The drive took a bit longer going back because they got caught up in rush hour.
When they arrived at The Carlyle, it was almost 6pm. They headed up to their suite. "Alright," Olivia said as she sat on the couch, "what are we doing for dinner?"
There was a knock on the door moments later. Fitz walked over and opened it. Sonia walked in. Olivia was confused.
"Hey Sonia, what are you doing here? You aren't with the girls until tomorrow?"
"I'm taking you out tonight so Sonia is here," Fitz said.
Olivia smiled and stood, "where are we going?"
"Paul found a great Thai place by the Brooklyn Bridge," he said. "It's supposed to be the best Thai food in the city."
Olivia laughed, "This is perfect, I am actually in the mood for that."
Fitz walked to her and kissed her lips. "Go get ready. I'll be there in a second. I just want to settle the girls down first."
She nodded and headed off to their bedroom. Fitz turned back to Sonia.
"So, I think they should be fine with room service. You can let them order whatever you think is fine."
Sonia nodded and they both headed to the bedrooms. They found the twins in Lily's room with her.
"They're a little stinky," Fitz said to Sonia so the girls couldn't hear. "They smell like goatshit and hay, we took them to a farm and they did everything but kiss the animals so they need a good bath."
"I really can't deal with you," Sonia said as she laughed, and when she did the girls realized she was there. "Sonia," Lily said as she ran over and hugged her. The twins followed.
"Listen," Fitz said. "I'm taking Mommy out on a date so Sonia is going to stay with you until we get back."
"Can we have a late bedtime?" Lily asked.
"Absolutely not," Fitz said. "We're taking you to your new school tomorrow and I don't want you to be tired. Bedtime is 8pm exactly."
Lily groaned, "Okay Daddy."
Fitz turned to Sonia. "Thanks, Sonia. I'll see you in a bit."
Sonia nodded and Fitz headed back to his bedroom. Olivia was in the shower. He took both their phones and plugged them into the charger. He plopped down on the couch and waited until Olivia finished in the bathroom. He sniffed his clothes as he waited and he still smelled like a barn. He waited a bit more until Olivia came out and he stood.
"I'll be quick, I'm quite hungry," she said.
"You are physically unable to get ready quickly," Fitz said.
"Shut it," she said playfully.
He laughed as he walked into the bathroom. As he took a quick shower, Olivia quickly put on a pair of underwear and a white maxi dress. She lotioned her arms and put on deodorant before she began adding very light makeup to her face because it was a warm summer night in New York. She tried to ignore how puffy her face was becoming as she went further into her pregnancy. When she was finished with her makeup, Fitz walked out of the bathroom. She turned around and looked at him, he had a towel low around his waist. Low enough for her to peak at the muscular v that formed at his groin. She sighed.
"What?" Fitz asked as he walked to the table and slipped a watch on his wrist.
"I'm tired of you being so fucking hot. It's exhausting being horny all the time…especially as I walk around with a melon in my belly."
He smirked as he walked to her and wrapped his arms around her. "But I love you and your melon belly," he said.
"My walk is turning into a waddle."
"So," he whispered in her ear then kissed her shoulder.
"My face is getting all puffy," she complained.
"So," he said again as he kissed her lips and reached down and squeezed her ass then kissed her again. Olivia grinned against his lips. "You're stunning! Finish getting ready so I can feed you, " he said as he spanked her ass and let her go. He walked back to the armoire of his clothing. He was dressed in a pair of dark-wash jeans and a light gray t-shirt. Olivia finished her makeup and brushed her hair into a slicked-back bun. She did a matte red lip because she knew how much he loved it when she wore red lipstick and then she slipped on a pair of Manolo Blahnik sandals.
She grabbed a small purse. "Let's say goodbye to the girls."
Fitz grabbed their phones from the chargers and they headed to find the girls. They were in the bathroom with Sonia, drying off from their bath.
"Woah, you smell so much better," Fitz teased as he leaned over and sniffed them playfully.
They laughed.
Olivia stooped so she was at their level. "Come on and give mummy kisses," she said. They walked over to her and all three of them kissed her all over her face. "you look pretty Mommy," Lily said.
"Thank you my Lily-"
"-Hey, wait- I'm feeling kind of left out over here," Fitz said as he stooped as well.
They walked over to Fitz and kissed him as well. He stood once they were done and helped Olivia up. "Alright, I love you, my babies. Bye Sonia, I'll see you in a bit," she said.
"I love you too," Fitz said.
They headed down to the car and took off.
"What is the restaurant called?" she asked as she leaned back in her seat.
"It's called Ugly Baby," he said.
"Really?"
He nodded. They took the FDR Highway to the Brooklyn Bridge to get to the restaurant. It was a quick drive. They arrived on the quiet street in Carroll Garden. The Statue of Liberty and the bay where the Hudson and East Rivers converged were visible. Fitz walked her into the restaurant. There was a decent number of people seated and eating. The interior was very small and cozy. The hostess greeted them and Fitz gave her Paul's name which was the name on the reservation. They were seated immediately at a curved booth and then the moment the hostess seated them Fitz saw her walk to another waitress and whisper something in her ear then they both looked over at him. They turned away quickly when their eyes met his and walked away. They walked to the hallway by the kitchen and turned around but they were clearly googling him on their phone.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he said as he turned his attention back to her.
"I've never seen you eat much spicy food, other than Esme's cooking, and even then, she had to dull the spices."
"I can do spicy food," he defended. "I just prefer other forms of pain."
She laughed, "ahh, your pain kink."
"I wouldn't call it a kink- I don't need to strip and be spanked."
"What would you call it?" she asked.
"I call it understanding life."
"Explain."
"Well, if you understand that pain is a part of life, you embrace it. I don't seek out superficial pain, that does nothing for me or anyone."
"You're right," Olivia agreed, "You've never been a superficial pain kind of man but I think sometimes you seek it, or maybe you kind of lean into it…I don't know."
"You think so? I disagree."
"Well, I hate to bring up the past but do you remember that fight with Jake? I told him I didn't want to date him, and he got upset and attacked you. You let him punch you quite a bit before you fought back and when you did you ended the fight quite quickly because you were the better fighter."
He shrugged and chuckled, "Do you understand the dynamics of a fight?"
"No but I'm very excited for you to explain it to me," she said with a grin.
Their waiter came over, along with a manager. Fitz groaned.
"Hi, welcome to Ugly Baby, we're very excited to have you, Mr Grant and Mrs. Grant," the manager said.
'Mr. Grant? My name is Paul Welsey," Fitz said.
"Uh-I'm sorry, I thought I recognized you from TV."
"My reservation is under the name Paul Welsey so I'm not sure what you're talking about. I've never been on TV before."
"Oh-uh"
"My wife and I are very hungry, do you have a menu?"
"Y-yes, sure, um," the manager turned to the waiter and took the menu then handed one to Fitz and another to Olivia, who was flushed with embarrassment. "Would you like sparking, still, or tap," the waiter asked nervously.
"Sparkling and still," Fitz said with a dry smile.
The waiter hurried off. "Please let me know if there's anything I can do for you mr Gran-Mr Welsey," the manager corrected before he hurried off.
"Oh my god," Olivia said as she palmed her face.
"That wasn't my fault. Why the fuck are they googling us and being so weird about it."
"Fitz, you've been on the news and social media nonstop for several weeks now," she said with a chuckle. "There's currently a box office hit playing in the theater with your face. Women on the internet are calling you Fitzdaddy."
"I wish they wouldn't- have you been searching for that because I thought the therapist lady said we were supposed to ignore that."
"Her name is Dr Nandi and no, I haven't been looking but it doesn't change the fact that it's happening," she said. "Rumi tells me what's going on."
"I don't want people making a fuss about us," he said.
"Me either," she said. "But back to the dynamics of a fight. Tell me."
"I was kind of joking."
"No, you weren't. You're a great fighter and I want to know how. All you've told me is that you got beat up a lot in the beginning but you work very hard to be the best, that's not much to go off. Besides, that's all anyone is talking about these days."
He shook his head and laughed. "I don't know what to say..that fight with Jake wasn't really a fight. I let him punch me up a little bit to fuck with him but he was never going to beat me in a 1 on 1 fight."
"Why? Why did you get so good at fighting?"
The waiter returned just as Olivia asked the question. "Hi again, can I take your order?"
Fitz looked down at the menu. It was a limited menu, with only about ten dishes. The booth they were seated at had a large half-moon table and curved seat. They were beside each other.
"5 of your best dishes, 2 apps, and 3 entrees," Fitz said. "Angel, what do you think?"
"Yeah, it would be great to try a few different things."
"A few of them are very spicy," the waiter said. "I just want to caution you."
"Thanks, we'll be fine," Fitz said.
"Anything to drink?"
"Lemonade," Olivia said.
"Whatever beer you have that's good."
"Thanks, I'll be right back with your drinks," the waiter said before moving away quickly.
Olivia nodded. "Okay, where were we?"
He laughed, "You're really grilling me tonight huh."
"Yes, after 7 years of marriage, I'm happy to still have a lot to learn about you."
"You think so?"
"Yeah, I think maybe for that first year we were together before you left, we didn't talk that much about our pasts because that was a sore subject for us...back then. I don't know much about your mom or what your childhood was like…college or anything else up until we met."
Fitz thought for a moment. "Fuck- you're right, you win."
She smiled, "yayyy. Okay now spill."
He laughed, "I did get my ass beat a lot, that part was true. Especially by Akio who was a son of a bitch but the fucker knew how to end a fight fast. I credit…mostly myself but I'll give him a bit of- honorable mention if you will-"
Olivia shook her head and laughed. "Humility has never and will never be your strong suit."
"And you act like you don't know me. You know me better than anyone."
"Of course, but I still want to know more," she quipped.
"Akio wasn't afraid to get hurt. Typically, people spend so much time in a fight trying to leave it unscathed that it fucks them. I just leaned into it. My objective in a fight is never to leave it unharmed, it's to win whatever that takes. It really changes everything once it connects and it did for me quite early."
"I thought you said you got beat up a lot?"
"I did, but only because for the first few blows in a fight, I wouldn't engage. To train myself sort of, to accept that I shouldn't expect or even wish to leave a fight untouched so I'd let whoever I was fighting beat on me a little before I began fighting back."
"Fitz, that's psychotic," she said playfully but she couldn't hide her shock.
Their waiter returned with drinks and when he left, Fitz began again.
"When you're testing into the delta program the right way, there are a lot of tests, neuropsychological tests, brain scans, personality tests, it is very invasive."
"Which I wouldn't know because I basically blackmailed my way on."
"Precisely," he retorted playfully. "During the testing, I found out that I don't have the same pain perception as the average human."
"What does that mean- for you?"
"It just means I have a higher threshold for pain, some pain sensors in my brain are wired differently or not wired at all- I feel pain obviously but a lot has to happen for me to really feel it…like being sliced across my back with a sword. I left that shit- I cried actually..inside."
Olivia's mouth fell open. "Fitz- why have you never told me this before?"
"Well..in the early parts of our relationship, after Lily was born I felt like so much had happened, I didn't want to tell you anything that would scare you even more…you know…I wanted to wait and I thought I had all the time in the world to tell you…after I came back, it absolutely wasn't important, my focus was getting to know you and the girls again, everything else be damned."
"God, I'm such an idiot- it makes so much sense- I always thought you were bullshitting when you were in pain and it used to annoy me. That leopard scratched your chest and the only thing you said was "It hurts a bit" or something like that- you weren't incapacitated at all. You got shot in the arm when you saved me from Igor and it didn't phase you at all- I thought you were just being a typical brooding man- oh my god, and when you got shot in the side and you wanted to have sex and I thought you were insane-"
"-I get it," Fitz said with a laugh.
She turned towards him and smiled, "There's more. That couldn't have been what you thought would scare me off."
"It doesn't?"
"Knowing that all of the stabs and a million gunshot wounds you have didn't hurt you as much as I thought. It absolutely does not and I know the question is rhetorical so I won't even get offended that you asked."
Fitz smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. "I also burn less lactic acid than the average human."
"What does that mean?" she asked.
"It just means I have higher endurance...naturally. You know that burn you feel when you work out?"
She nodded.
"I feel less of it and it takes longer for me to feel it."
"I could've guessed that too," she said.
He sighed, "They said that I had a personality disorder, specifically antisocial personality disorder, basically that I was a sociopath."
Olivia took a moment to digest what he'd shared. It took her such a long time to speak that Fitz began to regret sharing that with her though he knew he should've told her a long time ago. Finally, she spoke.
"I'm just thinking about the psych class I took at Oxford many years ago and from what I remember, sociopaths are created from life experiences- not be confused with psychopaths who are born that way."
"Really?"
"Well, I could've told you that. You shot a man in both kneecaps and left him to be eaten by animals."
Fitz scoffed, "he hurt you! What else was I supposed to do?"
Olivia laughed, "You've had one friend in the past decade- which you struggle to keep. You were such an arse when we met but you could flip the charm on and off like a switch…so you know exactly how to be charming, you just choose not to- well done Fitz, I would've never guessed you have a personality disorder," she said sarcastically.
"So, how do you feel about it?"
"Having a formal diagnosis isn't telling me anything I didn't know about your personality before. It makes a lot of sense and it's not genetic so it's not like our daughters are at risk of having it…more than any other child…not that that matters."
"I should've told you a long time ago but the small chance that it would be the one thing that's too much for you kept me from telling you."
"I understand. In the beginning of our relationship, there were things I would be afraid to tell you because I thought it would be the thing to make you finally understand why being with me was too much or why I wasn't worth all the trouble but every time I shared something usually because I was force to or because you pulled it out of me, you understood."
He shook his head, "I don't understand how you would think you're not worth anything. You're worth everything."
"I was younger and my self-esteem was really low," she said with a chuckle. "I don't think that anymore."
He smiled as he gazed down at her before he kissed her lips. A flash went off and when they both looked up, it was a table from across the room, surreptitiously taking a photo of them but the unexpected flash gave it away. Her mouth fell open when they turned to look at her. The woman locked her phone and placed it in her lap then turned away embarrassed.
Fitz turned to Olivia and smiled. "But I'm the ass? I'd never do that to someone."
"They're jackasses," Olivia said.
The waiter brought over three appetizers for them. "So we have the shrimp, squid, and salted egg yolk dish here and this other dish is duck feet with herbs and black pepper. We also have a complimentary dish of coconut crab cakes wrapped in banana leaves with sliced Thai chili peppers."
"Thank you," Fitz said as he took a sip of his beer.
Olivia smiled, "thank you." The waiter nodded and smiled before she stepped off. "Alright, what should we try first?
"The duck feet," Fitz said. "Should be interesting."
They both reached into the plate and bit into a piece of the duck's feet. The flavors were delicious. Fitz looked at her with wide eyes. "That's pleasant," he mused.
"I know," Olivia said with a smile.
They continued eating for a while. With Fitz, there was no problem finishing all three dishes. Three entrees were brought out promptly after. There was a ginger and garlic pork dish, a large fried sea bream, and a rice dish with dried shrimp, Thai sausages, pork rib tips, spices, and two sides of steamed white rice.
They began eating together, taking turns feeding each other in between bits of conversation. When they finished the three dishes, Fitz asked for another serving of the pork and rice dish. Olivia was too full to eat anymore and as he helped himself to seconds she leaned back and rubbed her belly.
"By the way, did you hear me promise Daisy a damn goat today?" he asked.
"Yes," she said with a chuckle.
"Why didn't you stop me?" he complained.
"Don't blame me for that. You let them do that all the time,"
"Which is why I need you to help me," he said and then ate a few more mouthfuls of food. He took a sip of beer after he swallowed.
"Well, if we get a place in the Hamptons, I think it will be very cute for them to have a little farm in the backyard. maybe, we could have some little chickens and a couple of baby goats."
"But baby goats turn into actual goats and they're not gonna care about an adult goat."
Olivia laughed, "Daisy crying with the goat was actually quite hilarious."
"I love when they act like little brats," he said. "Crying over a baby goat you met 20 minutes earlier? Who she just decided was a 'girl' even though it was a 'boy'. I love being a dad. I'm dreading them growing up."
Olivia laughed even harder. "It was a really good day. I'm surprised she didn't tell you she wouldn't be your friend. They love throwing that at you.
"And it fucking hurts my feelings every time," he said.
Olivia laughed, "are you ready to go?"
''No dessert?"
"I'm quite stuffed- you're not?"
Just then the waiter walked back after realizing all their plates were empty. "Is there anything else I can do for you-"
"I think we're ready for the check," Fitz said.
The man nodded politely and left.
"What are we going to do now?"
"Can you manage a little walk?" he asked.
"Yeah, I think a stroll would be great."
Their waiter brought over their bill a few minutes later and Fitz dropped a few hundred dollar bills on the table before he moved out of the booth and helped Olivia out as well. They walked 15 minutes to the waterfront. Their cars and guards trailed behind them.
When they finally reached, it was quiet and cool. Manhattan, Brooklyn, Jersey City, and Staten Island converged at Upper Bay.
"Tell me about your mother," she said. "I want to know what your childhood was like before she passed."
He wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck. Olivia smiled and blushed at the gesture. "She was so…" he tried to think of the correct word. "...warm. Looking back, I knew she was going through a lot with Gerry and the cancer but at the time, she never let it show. She was a great mother, I always felt like she was a safe place for me. We'd cook together- she couldn't cook, and nothing was edible after we were in the kitchen but it was fun. She'd planned themed days for us, hiking day or beach day, gardening day, Monterey fair day- she was very present."
"How did you find out about the cancer?"
"It came out of nowhere…for me at least. She was very big on making everything look good for everyone else. If she was having a bad day, you'd never know. When she found out she was sick- or I guess finally told me, it was terminal. She spent a few months in the hospital. I'd stop by every day after school to see her, talk to her about my day, and lie down with her. On Valentine's Day, I brought her roses and she cried so hard that the nurses had to sedate her."
Olivia laughed, "That was really sweet of you."
"I'm glad I did that for her. She died a few days later."
She turned around so she could see him. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," he said as he kissed her lips. "It was a long time ago and now my daughters have an amazing mom. Seeing you with them, the way that they'll just stop what they're doing and find you wherever you are to just curl up on your side and sit with you-"
"-sometimes Lily will rub my belly," Olivia said.
Fitz nodded and smiled, "then they just leave without a word. Like they got recharged or something."
Olivia smiled.
"It just…" he tried to find the words.
"Heals you?" Olivia guessed, thinking of how she feels when she sees Fitz being the father to their girls that she never had.
He nodded, "Precisely."
They stayed at the waterfront, talking for a while longer until they headed back to their hotel.
The next morning, Olivia woke early to use the bathroom and take a bath. Fitz heard the running water he stretched and yawned then sat up. He joined her in the bathroom and sat on the toilet as she showered. When he was done he walked to the vanity and prepared to shave. Olivia turned off the shower and stepped out.
"There you go, stinking up the place," she teased.
"I ate duck feet last night? What did you expect," he said with a grin.
She grabbed a robe and wrapped it around her body. "I'm going to get the girls up. I think we can probably stop at a bagel place for breakfast before heading to the school."
He nodded, "I'll be over to help you in a bit."
"No, I've got it. I want them all dolled up," she said as she headed out of their bathroom. She walked to Lily's room and woke her first then she woke the twins. She helped them to brush their teeth and wash their little faces before she began to comb their hair. For Lily, she did two pigtails and twisted the ends of her hair then added small bows at the ends so the twists wouldn't unravel. For the twins, she did two small braids at the front and added bows at the ends then combed the rest of their hair into a ponytail. Once their hair was finished, she let them take their pajamas off and lotioned their faces and bodies. She gave them a few options of dresses to choose from. Lily chose a light blue dress and the twins chose matching yellow ruffled rompers.
"Alright, now all you have to do is choose a pair of sandals you want to wear while mommy gets dressed, alright?"
"Okay, mommy!" they yelled as they headed off. Olivia returned to her bedroom and Fitz was almost finished dressing. He was clean-shaven and his hair was brushed back. He wore a white polo shirt and light-wash vintage jeans.
"How much time do you need?" Fitz asked.
"Half an hour," she said.
"Alright, I'll be with the girls."
"Thank you, babe, I'll be right there," she said as she headed into the bathroom. She combed her hair and did light makeup before she slipped on a vintage silk skirt and fitted t-shirt then slipped on jewelry. She packed her Hermes purse and went to find Fitz as she texted Sonia to ensure she was ready.
They headed out together and met Sonia in the hotel lobby on the way down. The guards let them know that there were a few photographers at the front of the hotel. Someone let the word spread that they were at the hotel. The Secret Service managed to get the photographers away from the front so they could quickly head to the car. On the way to the school, they stopped at a bagel cafe for breakfast where once again, there were stares and awkwardness. The girls were oblivious to it and enjoyed their blueberry bagels and cream cheese. Fitz had a bagel with lox and bacon, egg, and cheese on a bagel as well. Olivia had a buttered wheat bagel and Sonia had a bacon egg and cheese bagel as well.
When they finished breakfast together they made their way to the school. The school sat off the busy street of 5th and Madison Avenue. The building was almost an entire block. They pulled in front of the building. Olivia turned to the girls in the back.
"Okay my darlings, you're going to meet some people from a school you might attend,"
"What does that mean- attend?" Daisy asked.
"From a school you might go to," Fitz clarified.
Olivia smiled. "I need you to be good listeners alright? And I want you to be very nice."
All three nodded.
"And if you are, Daddy and I will take you to the playground, after we are done."
"Yayyyyy," all three screamed.
"For hours and hours," Fitz added and their screaming rose an octave higher.
"Alright," Olivia said.
Fitz opened the door and helped her out then the girls climbed out behind her, followed by Sonia.
"Hours and hours?" Olivia asked quietly.
"They have no concept of time, just have fun, it could be minutes and minutes, they wouldn't know the difference," Fitz said.
Olivia shook her head and laughed, "I literally can't deal with you."
"You say that all the time."
The school was a large red brick and glass building with large cobalt blue doors. When they approached the entry, school security opened the doors and let them in. They walked into the lobby and were greeted by a three-person admissions team as well as three teachers. Their education consultant, Melissa, was there as well. After a quick greeting, Lily and the twins were taken to a room to have their assessments. It was just a few feet from the lobby where Olivia, Fitz, Sonia, and Melissa would wait.
The assessment took an hour and then the admissions team spoke with the girls for a play-based interview for another 20 minutes before they returned as a group. Sonia took the girls to watch them while Olivia and Fitz went on a tour of the school. After the tour, they went into the admissions office for their interview.
It was a large office with a conference table and plenty of seats. Fitz pulled out a chair for Olivia and then beside her. She rubbed her belly, she was feeling suddenly gassy from breakfast and was trying her best to hold it in. She placed her bag on the floor by her feet.
"Again, thank you so much for your patience while we assessed the girls. Our teachers got a chance to calculate their scores while we spoke with the girls and well, the scores are quite something," the admissions director said as she pulled out the tests.
"Lily scored in the 99th percentile of all sections of the tests. She scored about as high as she possibly could. Her IQ is in the 99th percentile range which is certainly in the genius range. I would encourage you to have her take a neuropsychological evaluation with a psychotherapist to map how she learns and just how intelligent she is. This will be very helpful for us in the fall when school begins. We want to teach her at her level and at her pace."
Fitz's eyes opened wide. "What about the twins?"
"As for Daisy and Isabelle, they scored quite similarly in the 90th percentile and above range. Their IQ scores were identical in the 95th percentile range, speaking frankly, that is very high. Which is great news. I guess now that the academic component is square away, we really want to get a sense of who you are and what you expect from a school as well as how much you plan to be involved in our community."
Olivia looked to Fitz, unsure which of them were to start.
"Who are we?" Fitz asked.
"Just a bit about your family dynamic, your values- we just want to ensure we're a good fit," one of the admissions associates added. "We can start with your education and professions and go on from there."
"Sure," Fitz said. "I attended Georgetown Boarding for my upper school years, went on to Harvard with a dual MIT program."
"Can you explain a bit more about the dual program?"
"Uh sure, I was very interested in the aeronautical engineering program at MIT and the business and economics program at Harvard. We were able to pilot a new program between the schools that gave me both."
"Your family has a long history with Harvard, I believe," another associate said.
"As our ed consultant reminded me, there's certainly a library on campus with our name on it."
The two women and one man on the admissions team grinned.
"Mrs Grant," one of the men said.
She smiled, "I attended Surval Montreux, an all-girls boarding school in Switzerland from the age of 12 to 18. I opted to attend Oxford. I studied international law and business and then I moved to the U.S. and attended Yale Law School. While attending Yale, I also studied Fashion Design and Art History at FIT," she said. "I'm the creative director for House of Dior womenswear and the founder and creative director of my own namesake fashion label though currently I'm on a leave of absence from both," she said.
"Can parents volunteer to chaperone field trips and stuff- because if so I'd like to be a part of that," Fitz asked.
Olivia laughed
"We actually have quite a culture here of parents being very involved in school events, field trips, after-school activities."
"The PTA as well right?" Fitz asked.
"Certainly."
They continued to chat for a few minutes more. Fitz asked about security and they let him know they were very flexible with working with them to keep the girls safe. At the end of the talk, the director of admissions stood. "We typically don't make a decision on the spot but as a committee, we're in agreement that we'd love to have your girls in the fall and we'd love to have your family as part of our school community."
"That's great news," Fitz said.
"Thank you for such a quick decision. This will certainly make finding a home a bit less stressful."
"We were sold after seeing the girls' test results," the director said. "Within the next 24-28, I will send you an official notice of their acceptance as well as the enrollment contract for the girls. Once you accept enrollment, we'll send you all the information for the fall term you'll need.
"Thank you," Fitz said as he shook the hands of the team. Olivia did as well.
They met in the lobby and said their goodbyes before parting ways. Once they were outside of the school, Lily was the first to remind Fitz that he promised to take them to the park.
"Aren't you hungry?" Fitz asked.
"No, we want to play," Lily said.
"Mhmm," Isabelle agreed.
"Alright then, no lunch, just playtime huh," he said. Central Park was in view and just down the street.
"Are you coming with us?" Fitz asked.
"Of course," Olivia said. "Although, I'm a bit hungry."'
"Well then we'll get lunch first," he said.
"No Daddy, we want to play," Isabelle said.
"No, mommy's hungry, we're gonna stop for lunch first," Fitz said.
They groaned but didn't fuss. They decided to walk to an upscale Italian restaurant that was 5 minutes away. They were seated right away and ordered lunch. The twins and Lily went with spaghetti and meatballs. Olivia had a thyme and mushroom pasta with ground chicken. Sonia had the chicken Milanese with side salad and Fitz had a baked lasagna dish. They spent an hour in the restaurant before they headed to the park. The closest playground was a few blocks away. Once they reached inside, the girls saw water sprinklers and screamed.
"Please Mommy, please can we go in the sprinklers- pretty please with sprinkles on top?" Lily begged with her hands clasped. The twins saw her and did the same.
Olivia laughed, "Of course you can, just take your sandals off and give them to me."
They stooped down and undid the straps of the sandals before they handed them to Olivia and ran off screaming into the water sprinklers. There were plenty of children in bathing suits playing in the sprinklers.
"You may have been on to something with this New York move," Fitz said to Olivia. "Everything is just a few blocks away."
She laughed, "great, isn't it?"
They spent an hour at the park. The girls were soaking wet when they left the playground. They bought ice cream from the ice cream truck as they walked to the cars then headed home.
The next morning, Olivia, Fitz, and both their assistants met with a real estate team to view some homes.
The first two were not ideal though they seemed that way on paper but Fitz couldn't wrap his mind around not having enough yard space or a pool for the girls to swim. With no lower levels, he couldn't have a panic room in case anything happened. After the disappointment of the first two homes, they went to view the last home of the day.
It seemed like the best home on paper so they saved it for last. It was made from two adjacent brownstone homes that the architect merged into one large mansion. It was on the Upper East Side, a short walk away from the girls' school. There were 8 floors and two floors in the lower level. It was almost 20,000 square feet with 10 bedrooms and 15 bathrooms with 2 offices as well.
There were two kitchens, a theater, a library, a gym, a spa, a sauna, a rooftop bar, a yoga room, and dining room, and breakfast room, and a hosting room. In the basement, there was a 55-foot pool with a small hot tub, and below that was another floor that was completely empty and could be turned into anything. There was an elevator going to all floors.
It was located on a street on the Upper West Side called Billionaires Lane - unsurprisingly because of the number of billionaires located in the area. Fitz found it particularly obnoxious but kept his gripes to himself because Olivia was in love with the home from the description his realtor had given them and technically, with the high ceilings, large terrace, backyard space, and empty underground floor perfect for a panic room… not to mention the fact that it was a short walk away from his daughters school it met all the requirements he had as well.
The front of the building was a cream stone with classical architecture. The windows are stunning and large. Some were arches and some were rectangular. His assistant and Olivia as well were close by to take notes of any changes they wanted as they did the walk-through. If in the end, they decided to purchase the extremely large and over-priced home, they had a record of work for the interior designers and notes of any new construction they wanted for the home.
From the sidewalk, you could enter through a swirled ramp that led to the lower level or a set of stone stairs that led to the 1st floor. The ramp would be useful for going to and from the house with Little Fitz in his stroller.
They went up the stairs to the large wooden double doors at the entrance. Fitz helped Olivia walk up though she was fine to do it on her own. The realtor pushed it open and her partner waited inside for them. It was a very large home. The front doors opened up to a large foyer with a limestone spiral staircase that floated from floor to floor.
The foyer immediately led to the living room which had an ultra-high ceiling and a set of stairs that led to an indoor balcony with a bespoke library with stunning bookshelves. It was two floors merged into one large open area.
"I love it," Olivia said.
Fitz chuckled.
"And I can assure you I'll love it even more at the end," the realtor said
"That's a good thing," He said before he turned to his assistant. "The ceiling is pretty high here. We'd need something added to the railing up there. We have 3 small girls and a 4th kid on the way. This place is gonna need some childproofing."
His assistant nodded and made some notes on his iPad. They continued walking through the home, taking time together to note any adjustments they would need if they decided to purchase.
It was a beautifully customized home with plenty of light from windows and skylights as well as classical architecture and beautiful ceiling and wall light fixtures. The back of the home was almost entirely glass. One side of the home overlooked Central Park.
Fitz wanted some security hedges around the perimeter of the house and he was glad that around the corner, was a small private underground garage so parking wouldn't be an issue for them. By the end of the tour, they agreed to put an offer on the home for almost 15% less than asking. Fitz thought 85 million was much too ambitious an asking price though they could more than afford it.
The next morning, their offer was accepted. Shortly after, they both received an email from Nightingale-Bamford school officially notifying them of Lily and the twins' acceptance in pre-k and 1st grade. Olivia signed the contract once it was emailed later in the day and had her assistant pay the entirety of tuition for all three girls - a total of just under 200,000 dollars - over 60,000 dollars per child. Later on, they drove to Long Island to view a few homes in the Hamptons. After deciding on one of the large, seaside mansions, later on the night they flew back to California to begin preparing for life in New York.