Make Time For Me

“Listen to me, Olivia. Turn the flashlight on. On your phone, go on. Now turn speaker phone on, as well. There, now whoever is there can hear me, and you can see all around you. If you see anybody, if you see so much as a shadow, scream. Scream as loudly as you can. I’m only a minute away. I’ll be right there.”

“Okay. Okay, I’m fine. I can’t see anybody. It’s all right. God, it’s so dark here, Jason. I didn’t know I was walking into the wooded part of the island.”

“Well, it’s a small island, it’s easy to get from one part to the other. Listen, I’m honking. Can you hear me?”

“Yes! Yes, I hear you. You’re going to annoy people, honking at this time of the night like that.”

Jason told her what he cared about that with another short epithet, expressive if crude, and Olivia heard the hum of the engine.

“I can hear…”

And she saw the headlights.

“You’re here! I see you.”

“I see you, too.”

Olivia ran to the car. Her cold fingers couldn’t grip the handle well enough to open it, but it didn’t matter. He leaned towards her and opened the door for her. She climbed in, her legs more than a little watery and weak.

“I’m sorry, making such a fuss about what’s probably nothing.”

“Don’t. Don’t say you’re sorry, not for that. For not paying attention to the directions properly, sure, but even for that, nobody should have to deal with something like this. Sh*t, you look like you’re in a little bit of shock, Olivia.”

Olivia shook her head, though her teeth were beginning to chatter a little. She pulled her coat tighter around herself.

“I’m fine, really. This is all just a little… You see, when I was in school, I was almost kidnapped once. It was that old ‘stranger danger’ chestnut. My family, they’re pretty well off, so I guess they hoped for ransom. Or maybe they didn’t know and hoped to sell me. I don’t know. But I was late coming back from dance practice once, and somebody grabbed me. I screamed and screamed and they let go, and somebody saw them and shouted, and I ran and ran until I fell and scraped my knees and bruised my foot so badly that I couldn’t dance for a week after that. I guess I’m just a little easily spooked after that.”

She was babbling a bit, she knew she was, but it was better than sitting there, teeth chattering, nearly catatonic.

“No wonder you were afraid. Even without that, anybody would’ve been spooked back there. Don’t worry about it, Olivia. I’m just glad you called me, and I could help. That’s all. I’m glad.”

“Thanks for coming. You didn’t have to.”

“Don’t worry about it. Look, do you want to text Ellie and ask her to be ready for us to swing by and pick her up? I’ll take you home, but you might be better off not being alone.”

“Yes. Yes, that sounds good. Thanks, Jason.”

She was glad that he hadn’t pushed and tried to take her home with him, or to stay over with them. He’d known what she needed and was giving it to her. There was more to this man than the rather frivolous, outgoing face he put on for the world. There was much more to him.

“Ellie says she’s ready and waiting.”

“Good. Dependable girl, Ellie. There she is, I see her already.”

They barely slowed down before Ellie hopped in.

“Get us home, Jason. Are you all right, Olivia?”

“Yes.”

“She’s had a bit of a shock. She needs something hot to drink and blankets, and light.”

“I know the drill, Jason. You’re fine, Olivia. You’re not hurt, are you?”

“Oh, no. No, I’m not hurt. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, this is all just an overreaction.”

“You leave us to be the judges of that, and look at that, we disagree with you entirely. It’s not an overreaction. You can’t control your body’s panic responses with precision, you know that, Olivia. If something triggers it unexpectedly, then that’s what it does. We’ll just deal with it. There, we’re home. Doesn’t it look good, our home? It’s a good thing we left the porch light on. It’s a welcoming sight. Jason, thank you, but under the circumstances…”

“I won’t come in,” said Jason, understanding immediately, as if it had never been a question at all.

“Good. Thanks, Jason. I’ll take it from here. Come on, Olivia.”

“I’m fine, really,” insisted Olivia, but she was still glad to have Ellie’s arm supporting her. She was glad when Ellie guided her to the couch and let her sit down, when she put the throw on her knees, pulled her sandy sandals off and found two thick and rather ugly socks to put on, instead.

“I’m just going to make you a cup of tea. I have chamomile.”

“Sounds good.”

Her teeth still wanted to chatter, but they were under control now. By the time Ellie came back with the cup of tea, Olivia was grateful and a little ashamed.

More than a little ashamed.

“I’m sorry.”

“Really, Olivia, if you say you’re sorry again, I will smack you. Or poke you. Or kick you. Or something. I promise I will. Don’t say it again.”

“All right,” agreed Olivia, meekly.

She sipped her tea, and as expected, it did make her feel better. Warmth seeped into her, but it wasn’t just the tea or the socks. It was having people she could count on, not just to get her to safety, but to make her feel secure and comforted. It was more than she could have expected of anybody except Cara. Even her family…

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Olivia didn’t want to, but she knew from experience that it did make it less scary. So she sighed.

“I thought lost my way a bit and thought somebody was following me. It was probably my imagination, but it was real to me at that moment.”

“That must’ve been scary.”

Olivia chuckled weakly, glad that her hands had stopped trembling. She might even be able to hold the cup in one hand now. She wouldn’t try just yet, though.

“That’s putting it mildly. I was nearly kidnapped once as a child. It’s kind of left a mark.”

“I just bet it did. Are you sure you don’t want something stronger than tea?”

Olivia considered it, but she didn’t feel like she needed it. And she was exhausted enough that she was sure she’d fall asleep without any aids, anyway.

“I think I’m good.”

“If you say so. Now, I’m going to grab my comforter and roll up in it and sleep on the floor of your bedroom tonight.”

“What? Ellie, you don’t have to do that. It’s fine. You’ve done enough already.”

“I don’t have to do that, but I want to, so you can just be quiet and let me, can’t you? Of course you can. So, a hot bath for you, a quick shower for me, and we’ll put ourselves to bed. How about that?”

Olivia considered objecting, but honestly, it was a comforting thought.

She nodded.

“Good. And we need to figure out baking and bake Jason a whole bunch of muffins. He really was there for you.”

“I know. He seems like such a…”

“A fool?”

“In the Shakespearean sense, maybe. But he’s not. He’s got more than that in him.”

“There’s more to him than it seems. I dismissed him, too. But he has a way of seeing exactly what people need, and he’s sweet enough to try to give people that. He’ll be good in pediatrics. He gets along great with kids and he’s good with parents, too.”

Olivia glanced up at Ellie.

“Why, Ellie, you sound as if you might have a little crush on him!”