Status: NanoWriMo
Omertà
Growing Older
When you grow older, you begin to think about all the mistakes you have made in your life and you begin to realize that your hopes and dreams of who you are and who you wanted to be are two completely different things. Olivia, however, was not growing older. She was just being born, coming into the world with a screaming proclamation that she would one day be in a spot like her parents; growing older and wondering who they were going to be in life and trying to fix all the mistakes that made them who they were today.
When Olivia was born she was born into the loving arms of her parents, Jacqueline and Vincent and even though she was just a few minutes old, she already knew how much her parents loved her. She knew by the way her parents whispered over her small dark curls and how her mother, dark-skinned with dark curly hair pressed to her forehead with sweat, leaned over and kissed her cheek. She knew by the way her father told her mother,
“She looks just like you, Jackie. She’s going to me little honey bear. I shall call her Ricco.” He whispered, curling a long finger around his child’s hair.
When her mother looked at her husband with worry, hoping that he didn’t seriously want to name her something so manly sounding, he shook his head and explained that her nickname would be Ricco and that in Italian, it meant curly haired.
Jacqueline and Vincent were a simple couple. They were like Romeo and Juliet in a way – but not quite. At first, when the two first started seeing each other, Vincent’s parents were skeptic about the young boy bringing someone into his life. Jacqueline, however, didn’t have her parents around to be the Capulet’s to Vincent’s Montague’s. Olivia’s grandparents passed away of old age a few years after Jacqueline went off to college and left Jacqueline and her sister alone in the world. When given the opportunity to take the family fortune, Jacqueline politely declined and made sure that it was put away in a bank for safe keeping just in case they ever needed it. It was in her name, so no one but she would be able to touch any cent of it.
After a few months of seeing each other, Vincent’s parents grew on Jacqueline and although she was two years younger than their son, she possessed a quality that the whole family loved. She possessed the love of life, the freedom and free speech of the world and most importantly she knew how to keep secrets.
Once his parents finally accepted the love of his life, he made the big commitment to ask her for her hand in marriage. It was definitely no surprise that Jacqueline cried and said yes. After their marriage, two years later came their first and only bundle of joy.
“What should we name her, Vincent?” Jacqueline couldn’t take her eyes off of her baby girl. In a few weeks, she planned on quitting her job to be a stay at home so she could provide as much love as she could to her child. When her parents died, they were upset that none of their girls had given them grandchildren but as Jacqueline looked down at her daughter; she knew that her parents were looking down at her too and were proud of the couple for making it as far as they did in life.
When her husband didn’t respond, she looked up just in time to see him shut the hospital room door behind him and his phone glued to his ear. Shaking her head, she looked back at her daughter and then at the nurse standing at the counter, looming over the birth certificate as if waiting impatiently for her to tell her a name.
She looked back down and to her daughter, “Olivia. I’ll call you Olivia. It was your grandmother’s middle name and she’d love it and be so thankful that I named you after her.” Then, to the nurse, “Her name is Oli-“
“I heard you.” She said shortly, “Olivia. I know.” Her footsteps echoed down the hall way as she left, leaving the door wide open and the new family no privacy until her husband finally came back in, shutting the door behind them.
According to Vincent, their whole life would be about privacy. The hospital that Olivia was born in was a private hospital, specifically for people who worked the kind of work that Vincent did. When they finally brought Olivia home, they moved quickly from the small apartment they had into a larger house, deep in the woods, that Vincent and a few small contractors built.
The whole place screamed privacy. There were tall fences around the home and trees that came after them and up until Olivia was old enough to understand, which in her father’s eyes was at the age of 6, she didn’t know what else lay under the home or anything else about it except for its soundproof walls and extensive privacy. Nothing ever made sense to her until her father really sat her down and explained what he really did for a living and why privacy and silence was most important.
When Olivia was born she was born into the loving arms of her parents, Jacqueline and Vincent and even though she was just a few minutes old, she already knew how much her parents loved her. She knew by the way her parents whispered over her small dark curls and how her mother, dark-skinned with dark curly hair pressed to her forehead with sweat, leaned over and kissed her cheek. She knew by the way her father told her mother,
“She looks just like you, Jackie. She’s going to me little honey bear. I shall call her Ricco.” He whispered, curling a long finger around his child’s hair.
When her mother looked at her husband with worry, hoping that he didn’t seriously want to name her something so manly sounding, he shook his head and explained that her nickname would be Ricco and that in Italian, it meant curly haired.
Jacqueline and Vincent were a simple couple. They were like Romeo and Juliet in a way – but not quite. At first, when the two first started seeing each other, Vincent’s parents were skeptic about the young boy bringing someone into his life. Jacqueline, however, didn’t have her parents around to be the Capulet’s to Vincent’s Montague’s. Olivia’s grandparents passed away of old age a few years after Jacqueline went off to college and left Jacqueline and her sister alone in the world. When given the opportunity to take the family fortune, Jacqueline politely declined and made sure that it was put away in a bank for safe keeping just in case they ever needed it. It was in her name, so no one but she would be able to touch any cent of it.
After a few months of seeing each other, Vincent’s parents grew on Jacqueline and although she was two years younger than their son, she possessed a quality that the whole family loved. She possessed the love of life, the freedom and free speech of the world and most importantly she knew how to keep secrets.
Once his parents finally accepted the love of his life, he made the big commitment to ask her for her hand in marriage. It was definitely no surprise that Jacqueline cried and said yes. After their marriage, two years later came their first and only bundle of joy.
“What should we name her, Vincent?” Jacqueline couldn’t take her eyes off of her baby girl. In a few weeks, she planned on quitting her job to be a stay at home so she could provide as much love as she could to her child. When her parents died, they were upset that none of their girls had given them grandchildren but as Jacqueline looked down at her daughter; she knew that her parents were looking down at her too and were proud of the couple for making it as far as they did in life.
When her husband didn’t respond, she looked up just in time to see him shut the hospital room door behind him and his phone glued to his ear. Shaking her head, she looked back at her daughter and then at the nurse standing at the counter, looming over the birth certificate as if waiting impatiently for her to tell her a name.
She looked back down and to her daughter, “Olivia. I’ll call you Olivia. It was your grandmother’s middle name and she’d love it and be so thankful that I named you after her.” Then, to the nurse, “Her name is Oli-“
“I heard you.” She said shortly, “Olivia. I know.” Her footsteps echoed down the hall way as she left, leaving the door wide open and the new family no privacy until her husband finally came back in, shutting the door behind them.
According to Vincent, their whole life would be about privacy. The hospital that Olivia was born in was a private hospital, specifically for people who worked the kind of work that Vincent did. When they finally brought Olivia home, they moved quickly from the small apartment they had into a larger house, deep in the woods, that Vincent and a few small contractors built.
The whole place screamed privacy. There were tall fences around the home and trees that came after them and up until Olivia was old enough to understand, which in her father’s eyes was at the age of 6, she didn’t know what else lay under the home or anything else about it except for its soundproof walls and extensive privacy. Nothing ever made sense to her until her father really sat her down and explained what he really did for a living and why privacy and silence was most important.