Olivia unlocked the door to her father’s condo, stepping inside first. Thomas followed her in and I came in behind, carrying his duffle bag. I was still worried that Thomas might actually break in half if he even tried to lift it.
I put the duffle bag down in the middle of the living room and stood up, straightening my flannel shirt. Olivia smiled at me.
“Okay, so my dad said he was going to stay at the office, so one of you could sleep in his bed and the other out here on the sofa bed.” She offered, removing her coat and hanging it on the coat rack.
“I’ll sleep out here.” I replied. “I’ve already been sleeping in this bed.” I shrugged lightly.
“Are you sure?” Thomas asked. “I don’t mind sleeping on the pull-out.” He shrugged.
“It’s alright. I mean, sleeping on the floor is better than a prison bed.” I shrugged with a smirk.
Olivia shot me a worried look, and Thomas smiled lightly and sympathetically.
“Umm…” Olivia interrupted, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “Are you boys hungry? I could make a pizza or something for you.” She offered. “Or Thomas if you want to shower or anything, it’s right down the hall.” She motioned with her right hand.
“I think I’m okay.” Thomas shrugged. “I showered before I left.”
“I’m kind of hungry.” I spoke up.
“What else is new?” Olivia teased.
“Yeah, I could probably eat too.” Thomas pushed his glasses up on his nose.
“Okay.” Olivia smiled happily.
Ordinarily, I would have felt bad about asking someone to cook for me, but I knew how much Olivia loved cooking.
I clapped Thomas on the shoulder. “Why don’t we watch TV? I bet we can find a football game on.” I teased.
“Fantastic.” Thomas rolled his eyes.
We managed to find an old black and white science fiction movie about over-sized ants. Olivia brought us cans of coke and continued working on whipping up a pizza.
“Do you need help? Can I do anything?” I offered.
Olivia smiled. “It’s okay. I’m almost done.”
I watched Olivia layer the ingredients on the dough she’d made and boil the kettle to make herself tea.
She smiled at me. “I was just thinking we should probably go to bed early tonight. Dad is going to spend a great deal of tomorrow going over the depositions and what’s going to happen on Friday. I think he’s right that we should be as prepared as possible.”
I nodded. “Right.”
“Good idea.” Thomas agreed. “The last thing I want is to say something stupid.”
I hadn’t even thought of the possibility of saying something stupid. Now there was a new fear resonating in my stomach.
I picked up my can of coke and took a long drink.
“Pizza should be ready in about fifteen minutes.” She announced. She crossed the room to the chair I was sitting in and slid onto my lap. I wrapped my arms around her waist.
Thomas yawned tiredly, not taking his eyes off the television.
“Tomorrow is going to be a long day.” Olivia mused. “We should probably go to bed early.” She mused.
I nodded. “Yeah. I’m not really looking forward to it… or the day after. I am especially dreading Friday.”
Thomas straightened up. “I think you have a pretty good shot at getting all of this taken care of. When Olivia’s dad called it sounded like he had everything worked out. He sounded positive that you were going to beat this whole situation.”
I drew in a deep breath. “God, I hope so.”
The timer went off on the oven and Olivia got up quickly. “The pizza is done.” She announced. “Who’s hungry?” She moved into the kitchen.
Thomas chuckled. “Do you even have to ask?”
Olivia laughed sweetly. “No, probably not.” She set to work slicing the pizza, placing two large pieces on plates.
I followed Thomas into the kitchen and took the plate that Olivia handed me.
Thomas plopped down at the dining table, and I followed suit.
“You’re not eating?” I asked.
Olivia shook her head. “Still full from dinner.” She smiled. “You boys go ahead and eat, though. There’s plenty of pizza left too, if you’re still hungry. If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to take a bath. Do you need anything before I go?”
“This is great, Liv. Thanks.” I smirked.
“Yeah, this pizza is delicious.” Thomas said between ravenous bites.
I took another bite of my own pizza.
“No problem.” Olivia smiled. “I’m happy to do it. And it’s great to have two people to test my new recipes on… especially when those two people will eat anything.” She teased.
“If it tastes like this, I’ll eat anything.” Thomas shrugged.
I laughed.
“Okay, call me if you need anything.” Olivia announced before heading down the hall. A minute or so later, the water started running for her bath.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After the movie ended, Thomas stood and decided he was going to bed. Olivia had been falling asleep in the chair and tiredly went off to her bed as well.
I removed the cushions from the sofa slowly, and carefully stacked the sofa cushions against the wall.
I deliberately took my time, knowing that I probably wouldn’t get much sleep.
I changed into my pajamas and made the bed; stacking the pillows at the top and folding back the blankets.
I glanced at the pile of dishes in the sink, and decided to wash them. Olivia had cooked a snack for Thomas and I, the least I could do was to wash the dishes.
Before I knew it, the dishes were washed, dried and put away. I raked my hands through my hair, and decided I’d better at least try and get some sleep. I clicked off all of the lights and blindly crept across the room to the pull out sofa. I climbed into bed, kicking off all of the blankets.
I was almost entirely sure that it was my imagination, but the condo felt like an inferno. I felt like I was sweating buckets.
I dropped back against the pillows with a huge, heavy sigh. I shut my eyes and tried to sleep.
I slept off and on, but never drifting into full relaxation. I tossed and turned until the sun came up. Once the light shining through the windows became too bright to withstand, I got up and put on the first pot of coffee.
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