Love Won't Let You Get Away

The familiarity of her grandparents’ house made Olivia smile to herself. She closed her eyes to truly appreciate the light scent of lavender that always seemed to fill their home. Olivia opened her eyes as her bare feet began to walk quietly on the wall-to-wall carpeting. Her sensitive fingertips gently stroked the wallpaper and Olivia’s body filled with relief as she suddenly felt like she was a child again. Everything seemed to have remained the same way that it had always been during her childhood. It almost felt as if time had ceased to exist and she was still the same little girl that she had been just a few years ago.

Olivia came to a stop and stood in silence in the doorway of her bedroom. Her daydreams were interrupted as she was cruelly reminded that the time was still moving forward with the same speed it had always done. Olivia’s eyebrows furrowed lightly as she studied her grandmother sitting on the bed. Her hands trembled ever so slightly as she carefully folded Olivia’s clothes and neatly placed it into the small suitcase that lay open on top of the bed. Olivia felt a slight sting in her chest as she saw how frail her grandmother was beginning to look. Her grandmother smiled as she noticed Olivia’s presence.

“I have a message for Ms. Rosemary O’Neill from her gentleman caller,” Olivia pompously stated before winking.

Rosemary giggled as she shook her head at Olivia’s behavior.

“What?” Olivia exclaimed lightheartedly as she broke into a smile. “I thought that was how you did it back in the 1940s?”

Olivia giggled as Rosemary began to laugh genuinely.

“Grandpa says that dinner will be ready any minute now,” Olivia said seriously as she moved to sit on the bed.

“Alright,” Rosemary nodded and she closed the suitcase.

Olivia placed her left hand on top of Rosemary’s right hand as they were seated side by side.

“Thank you for helping me pack my things,” Olivia smiled.

“You’re welcome, dear,” Rosemary smiled as she placed her left hand on top of Olivia’s.

Olivia’s smile widened as her eyes met Rosemary’s. Though her grandmother was beginning to grow weak, Rosemary’s eyes were still shining brightly with the same fire and life, like Olivia imagined they had always done.

“How’s your mother doing?” Rosemary asked as she broke the silence.

Olivia gently pulled her hand away from her grandmother and looked at the floor as she breathed a deep sigh that caused a concerned look to appear on Rosemary’s face.

“She’s… Uh…” Olivia began quietly. “She… Um… Uh… I don’t think she’s doing very well.”

Rosemary simply nodded as she waited for Olivia to elaborate on the subject.

“She doesn’t really talk much about it. I mean, she’s never talked very much to me about anything,” Olivia said as she was beginning to grow frustrated at the thought of her mother. “Losing Benjamin didn’t exactly make her want to close the gap between us. She’s just pushed me even further away.”

The pair sat in silence as Rosemary initially didn’t know how to respond to what Olivia was saying about her mother. She had always known that their relationship had been rather cold and distant.

“How’s John holding up then?” Rosemary inquired.

“John?” Olivia sighed as she looked up at Rosemary. “He’s in pain too. But at least he realizes that life moves on and that they have to move with it in order to survive.”

Olivia paused and shook her head in disbelief as the thought of her mother once again infuriated her.

“What is it that makes it possible for John to keep on living and not causing his daughter any more pain than the loss of a brother already has? Benjamin was his son too,” Olivia ranted. “But my mother has to shut everybody out, act like a bitch and just waste away her life in their house!”

“Don’t be so hard on your mother, Olivia,” Rosemary said.

“I know that she’s hurting,” Olivia continued, “But we’re all hurting and we’ve somehow found a way to continue living our lives. I can imagine the pain of losing a child, but I st-.”

“Can you?” Rosemary questioned rather harshly. “Do you really believe that you have any idea how it feels to lose your child? Do you think that you can imagine what it is like to lose your own child? A person that you’ve loved with every part of your being from the moment you found out that you were carrying him within you?”

Olivia was initially shocked and annoyed at the tone in her grandmother’s voice. But Olivia soon softened as she grew slightly embarrassed. She knew that Rosemary had given birth to a stillborn daughter a few years after Olivia’s father had been born.

“No… No, I can’t,” Olivia admitted sheepishly before apologizing genuinely. “I’m sorry, granny. I wasn’t thinking…”

“Dinner is ready!” Olivia’s grandfather called loudly from the kitchen.

“We’ll be down in a minute, Ralph!” Rosemary called back.

“I am sorry,” Olivia said quietly again.

“Don’t be,” Rosemary smiled as she stroked Olivia’s hair. “Olivia, I know that your relationship with Emily isn’t what it should be. But you have to be patient with her until she feels strong enough to pick herself up again.”

“Yeah,” Olivia nodded as she looked at her hands.

“She loves you, you know,” Rosemary said gently.

“Ha!” Olivia exclaimed in a bitter chuckle.

“She does,” Rosemary stated matter-of-factly.

“How do you know that?” Olivia questioned in disbelief.

“She’s your mother,” Rosemary smiled as she stood up. “All mothers love their children.”

Olivia remained silent and Rosemary began to leave the room.

“Are you coming?” Rosemary smiled as she turned back around in the doorway.

“Yes,” Olivia nodded with a slight smiled and hurried after her grandmother down the stairs.

As they entered the kitchen, Olivia watched in dismay as her brother Ethan tasted a spoonful of the food and over exaggeratedly chewed it with his mouth open in an effort to annoy his sister.

“How you ever found a person willing to marry you is beyond me,” Olivia remarked.

“Well, I certainly didn’t walk around with such an angry scowl on my face like you do all the time,” Ethan retorted before swallowing the food in his mouth.

Olivia grimaced as she childishly put her tongue out to Ethan.

“Oh, very mature, sis,” Ethan mocked lightheartedly. “I’m sure that look will get you a husband.”

“Whatever,” Olivia groaned.

“Olivia, there are times in your life when you should listen to your older brother,” Ralph instructed.

“Exactly,” Ethan agreed as he looked and sounded very pleased with this statement.

“But most of the time you shouldn’t,” Ralph continued teasingly, “Because what he says is usually just mindless crap.”

“Don’t you have some clothes to design?” Ethan hissed jokingly.

“My name is Ralph Lawrence. Not Ralph Lauren,” Olivia’s grandfather corrected as he pretended to be offended by the mix-up of names.

“Oh, sorry,” Ethan teased as he rolled his eyes.

“Don’t worry, son,” Ralph smiled as he patted Ethan’s shoulder. “It’s a common mistake.”

Olivia and Rosemary giggled at the interaction as they prepared to move the food into the dining
room.

“My dear wife,” Ralph said charmingly as he guided Rosemary out of the kitchen with the food.

“My dear sister,” Ethan mocked as he did the same with Olivia.

Olivia and Ethan broke out into a fit of laughter causing their grandparents to glance over their shoulders in confusion before setting the food down onto the table. Ethan ruffled Olivia’s hair lovingly before stepping away from her to take his seat at the table.