Page 110 of Love in Fine Print
“The letters are in there,” she motioned to her nightstand before closing her eyes.
“Letters?”
She nodded. “From your Gran.”
After watching her until I knew she was asleep, I changed out of my wet clothes and into dry ones, then pulled the armchair from the corner of the room to beside the bed. I opened the top drawer of her nightstand as Dolly hopped up on the bed and curled up at Olivia’s feet.
There were about a dozen letters dating back twenty years. They all said the same thing. Basically, Gran wanted to adopt me, and since my dad wouldn’t speak to her about it over the phone, she was writing him.
I couldn’t help but wonder why he hadn’t let her. He clearly hadn’t wanted to be a parent to me. But one thing was clear, Gran loved me. She didn’t care what my DNA was, I was her grandson.
After reading each letter, I set them on the nightstand and looked down at Olivia, who was sound asleep.
If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t know the secret that had been kept from me my entire life. If it wasn’t for her, I would still feel that achy emptiness that I’d had inside of me, that hole of rejection that was seared into me every time my dad didn’t show up to a game, a school night, a play, a graduation, my wedding.
That was gone now.
I realized, at that moment, family had nothing to do with blood. Family was love. Family was commitment. Family was showing up. Family was choosing each other.
That’s what I had with Olivia. All my life, I’d been terrified about marriage and hadn’t known why. Now I did. It was because I was scared that if my own father hadn’t wanted to be a part of my life, how would I ever expect someone else to be?
But now, knowing what I knew, everything was different. Everything felt different. And I knew this wasn’t a fake marriage. This was real. What I felt for Olivia was more real, more true, than anything else I’d ever had in my life. I loved Olivia. I was committed to her. I wanted to show up every day and choose her. She was my family.
47
OLIVIA
This meeting could have beenan email, I thought to myself as I sat listening to George drone on and on about the third-quarter projections, a new bonus structure, and a client referral program. No matter how hard I tried to focus on what he was saying, all I could think about was how Deja and Kumar’s date had gone.
I’d been back at work for a month after what Trevor was referring to as my “episode,” and I hadn’t quite gotten back into the swing of things.
During the two weeks that Ben, George, Trevor, Uncle Mort, and Miss B had all insisted I take off, I’d basically camped out in Ben’s office, and we worked together making matches. Well, in truth, I’d sort of taken over. I’d implemented a new system for follow-ups that would make finding future matches easier with a more in-depth feedback questionnaire. Ben had seemed more than happy to let me take the reins.
Deja and Kumar went on their second date last night, and I was on the edge of my seat to know how it went. The two of them were perfect for one another. They had the same values and goals in life. Deja was more reserved, and Type A. Kumarwas an outgoing dreamer and could be a little all over the place. They both wanted a family and also a best friend to go through life with. They had near identical financial milestones that they wanted to achieve, and both also loved game nights with friends, movies, bowling, trying new foods, and the outdoors.
I was convinced that if they had chemistry, they could make it the distance. It was strange, but after spending so many years watching people at the end of relationships, I’d developed a sense of what might keep people together. In fact, just yesterday, Ben got a message from the very first couple that I matched, Holly and Marcel. They sent in a photo of them celebrating their six-month anniversary.
It seemed that love was in the air all around. Uncle Mort and Miss B tied the knot on the last day of my sick leave. Ben walked Miss B down the aisle, none of her children or grandchildren had come, which broke my heart a little.
I was the first person to admit that family could be difficult. I did my best never to judge anyone else’s relationships, considering my own with my mother was so strained. People in glass houses and all that. I had no idea what the dynamics were between Miss B and her kids and grandkids that made them so distant. She was a firecracker who definitely said what was on her mind, but she was also kind and generous.
Uncle Mort was happier than I’d seen him in years and Miss B loved living at Bay View. PB and J had settled in quite nicely at our house. Dolly loved having them there. The trio cuddled up together to sleep each night. Jelly usually curled in a ball under Dolly’s chin and Peanut Butter loved burrowing against her belly. Half my camera roll now consisted of the adorable threesome. Trevor thought I should start an Instagram for them. But I didn’t want to do that because I wasn’t sure what was going to happen in six months.
Six months. That was the amount of time Ben and I had left on our marriage contract. The past six months had flown by. I felt like a different person than I was when I signed the contract.
There had been so many moments when I’d thought about telling Ben how I was feeling, but something always stopped me. I told myself it was just never the right time. But the truth was, I was scared. Scared that if I did reveal how I was feeling, then he would do the same.
What if he wasn’t as attached as I was?
What if he was looking forward to our relationship expiration date?
What if he couldn’t wait for his life to get back to normal?
He’d mentioned a few times that he missed playing. Now that the season was over, it seemed like he missed it even more. He’d started working out more and even working with a new trainer.
I knew the only thing keeping him from going back now was his grandma’s wish for him to run Ever After for eighteen months. Even after finding out that the only reason his Gran had wanted him to run the business was to meet eligible women, he hadn’t been deterred. Since discovering that he was not her blood relative, he seemed even more determined to honor his commitment.
I still couldn’t believe how well he’d taken the news that the man he’d thought was his father was not. He’d said he actually felt relieved. At first, I didn’t believe him. I was sure he was just trying to make me feel better for uncovering the truth. But the longer time went on, the more I noticed that he did seem happier. Lighter.
