Make Time For Me

Chapter 6

Olivia felt terrible, not telling Ellie about her date. Ellie was her friend. Ellie was her closest friend on the island. The only friend who was closer to her was Cara.

So she told Cara, instead, and felt like a thief, sneaking out to call Cara. She went claiming she needed a walk along the cliffs, and that was true enough, she did need the walk. Work had been fulfilling. Liza had crossed the twenty-seven week mark and she was doing well, with no signs of pre-eclampsia. Two more months and it would be fine. She was listening, now, at least.

The younger girls who’d come in for contraceptives had been given a safe s*x and s*x ed talk, and they seemed to have taken it well, too. People recognized her when she went grocery shopping with Ellie – or maybe people recognized Ellie, who was hard to miss, and recognized her as the woman who was usually with Ellie – and they stopped and talked to her. She was beginning to belong there.

The flowers in their garden were blooming. The herbs Ellie had planted were thriving. Even with absolutely no knowledge about anything to do with gardening, Olivia had managed to follow instructions and help. It made her feel as if it was their home.

It was their home.

The cottage felt like home.

So it was only right that she call her best friend, who was also her home.

“Vee!”

Cara picked up on the second ring. So she wasn’t in the middle of a project.

“Ah, so you haven’t forgotten me.”

“Not yet, but if you don’t call me for this long again, I might.”

Olivia chuckled.

“Sorry, it’s just been a bit crazy. You know, if it’s busier and crazier in NYC, I’m just so glad that I didn’t go there. I would have gone utterly insane.”

“I hear that’s not uncommon. I… No, Caleb, I am not going to help you mince the garlic. Last time I did, you told me that I didn’t mince it small enough. So this time, you can do it yourself.”

Olivia laughed.

“So he’s still being an ass?”

“He’s always an ass, but I love him. Not enough to mince that mound of garlic for him only to be told it’s not done well, though.”

“Good for you, you’re beginning to stand up to him.”

“I know. I’m learning how to get around all his lawyerly tricks. So, what’s summer like on the island?”

“It’s just started. The difference, it’s… It was so sleepy and almost quiet until just a couple of weeks ago! But suddenly, all the cabins along the beach and in the woods are ready to be rented out, and people are coming in. There used to be a dozen cars on the ferry across every day, but now there are so many. Schools haven’t closed for the summer yet and there are so many people already. It’s really beautiful, though. It’s like a competition, everybody tries to make their houses the best looking one. The gardens are gorgeous. And there’s a local artist’s group that does street art and graffiti, some really lovely stuff you would like. I have a garden, with a few flowers, can you believe it?”

“You? A garden?”

Olivia heard the skepticism and she did not blame Cara for it at all.

“I know, it’s hard to believe, isn’t it? Credit goes to Ellie, really. My roommate, the Obstetrics resident. You’d like her, too. She looks like this tough biker girl – well, I suppose she is a tough biker girl, if anybody damaged her Harley in any way, she would probably tie them into a butterfly knot – but see, it would be a butterfly knot. She’s so bright and bubbly and she loves cooking and gardening. Talking about smashing stereotypes!”

“I’m glad you’ve settled in well, Vee. Now tell me about the guy.”

“What guy?”

“I know how you sound and how you ramble when there’s a guy.”

There was a pause as they both thought of Aaron, the bas*ard who had cheated on her, blamed her for it, shattered her confidence, and then dumped her.

Damn him.

“It’s not like there’s a guy like that. I’m just going on a date this evening, that’s all.”

“A date? That doesn’t sound serious.”

“He’s taking me out to dinner, and we’re apparently going to have the best crab cakes on the island.”

“He knows you.”

Cara sounded surprised.

“Well, it’s an island, everybody knows who likes seafood and who doesn’t. It’s no big deal.”

“Really? Then why did you call me to talk about him, sounding nervous about it?”

“I do not and did not sound nervous,” protested Olivia.

“So you don’t deny the rest. Come on, Vee. It’s me. I always know.”

Olivia sighed. That was true, too.

“I didn’t… Well, see, the thing is, we had a clambake a few weeks ago. It was fun. And, well, it turns out that sometime during the evening, we went for a walk and, well, we kissed.”

“And?”

“And nothing. We kissed.”

“You kissed a few weeks ago, and then nothing.”

“I’ve kind of been avoiding him a bit. Well, I’ve been avoiding being alone with him, I guess, I haven’t been running away every time I see him.”

Except that time in medical supplies. She’d hidden in the closet when she’d seen him coming, and stayed there, hoping to goodness she wouldn’t sneeze because of course her nose started tickling right then. It had been one of the more mortifying moments of her life.

“Well, have fun, and be careful, Vee. Don’t jump into anything you’re not ready for. Remember where you are.”

“The island. The Outpost.”

“I mean emotionally, and you know it. I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

“I don’t want to get hurt again, either,” said Olivia, and they talked a bit more, about Cara’s new project, and work, before she hung up, feeling much better. Talking to Cara always made her feel better. At least now she didn’t feel like she was carrying a secret inside, one that she couldn’t afford to tell anybody because it would…

It would make things messy in the workplace. All the reasons why she hadn’t wanted to have a relationship with somebody at the hospital still stood.

This was just a date. They were just going to have dinner together. They all had dinner at Paul’s place all the time. Ellie had been talking about how they should host everybody at the cottage, too, and that sounded great to Olivia. Especially since she’d found out that Paul had actually been worried enough to go looking for her, despite being the host, when she’d gone missing at the clambake!

Olivia shivered. It felt like somebody had walked over her grave.

She felt like she was being watched.

Instinctively, she turned around. She’d walked much farther than she had intended to. She could see the woods from where she was.

The woods, she had found out, were not that far from the cottage. They were actually pretty close. Ellie and she had gone for a walk there once, with Olivia determined to get past her jitters, but it had made her feel as if she was being watched. Ellie, surprising nobody, was also an accomplished hiker and loved walking, and had already explored quite a few walking paths in the woods. She’d even found shortcuts to Paul’s apartment, though Ellie had put her foot down there. If they weren’t going on the bike, they would go in her Jeep.

Ellie had offered to give Olivia a few lessons on the bike and she’d been considering accepting that offer, too.