Chapter Text
New York was very busy, its streets always crowded with people in a hurry to get to their jobs, colleges, and daily commitments, but that didn't stop Olivia from anything at all. She was nothing but persistent. Or stubborn like her mother used to call her. Among other things.
It was a Friday, and she knew it was the busiest day of the week for her husband and yet she convinced him to arrive late at work so they could take the photo for their Christmas card. It was a tradition.
Their whole living room was adorned with multiple pictures of them. With family, with friends, but mostly them and Olivia loved every part of it. She always wanted a big family, but her mother’s family wasn’t really that big.
She had one cousin up in Wisconsin that she talked to once and the only sister her mother had had died when Olivia was no more than six. So yeah, that was about it.
And she couldn’t really speak about her paternal side, since she didn’t know anything about it. Or him. Maybe it was for the best. She had stopped thinking about the subject years before her son was born.
At least that’s what she tells her therapist. And he does believe her.
So yes, traditions are important to her. She never had any growing up and when she married Ed, had Noah and her life was colored, Olivia vowed to raise her boy with nothing but kindness and love and as many traditions and cliches as she could provide to him.
"Great, it looks amazing." The photographer praised the family, who looked like they came out of a magazine cover, but it wasn't quite perfect yet. The Christmas tree was strategically positioned behind the family along with some other decorations and lights, and at the insistence of the brunette, she and Noah were wearing sweaters with designs for the biggest holiday of the year. "Okay, let's open up a bit here," the guy pushed the boy to the side, making him face forward completely. "Alright, folks. Stay still."
At that moment, Ed's phone started ringing, and Olivia couldn't hold back, giving her husband a glare. This always happened at important moments, and he always stopped everything to answer. It was annoying, honestly.
"You promised, honey." Olivia said, sighing, and Noah held back an eye roll.
"It's from work," he defended himself, almost scoffing, and the woman sighed again.
"And this is a tradition," she pointed to herself and her son. The poor photographer didn't know what to do, looking in between them.
"It's August!" Ed retorted, making his wife take a deep breath. "I don't get the rush for this. It's four months away, not four days." The phone was still ringing, and both Noah and the photographer were watching the couple’s argument escalating by the second.
"We need to send out Christmas cards in the first week of December," she emphasized before hugging her son with one arm. "And we only have one day before Noah goes to college. We talked about this, Ed."
"You could just Photoshop me into the photo later," the boy shrugged, interrupting and hugging his parent's shoulders making them face the camera again, and Olivia smiled lovingly at her son's gesture, but shook her head negatively.
“Nonsense.” She retorted and turned back to the photographer. But not before glaring at her husband. “You can take the picture now.”
"This position is perfect. Smile!" he said quickly, and the three smiled as he had asked. Ed's phone rang again, but the camera guy didn't give up. "Look here. Smile a bit more... That's it, great."
"Are we done?" the hurried businessman asked, leaving his son's embrace in a hurry.
"Yes... we're done," the guy said a bit awkwardly, and Ed wasted no time, pulling out his phone and answering it.
"Hello? Yes, I'm in the car on my way," he spoke, and Olivia sighed, giving her son a kiss on the cheek before grabbing her husband's jacket and helping him dress after he asked his colleague to wait for a bit. "What's Langan's wife's name?"
"Diana" Olivia answered, adjusting it on him while their son watched the scene completely unimpressed. After all, most of the time, his mother was the one who knew everything. His father couldn’t store any information to save his life. "His oldest daughter is studying law, and Peter, the youngest, got married last fall.”
"Hmm, interesting," Ed said, but Noah knew he hadn’t heard a word after his mother said Diana. The man had stopped wondering how his wife knew these things many years ago, just believed her word and went along with it. He took back the phone and started talking to his colleague again.
Ed didn't even say goodbye to the family, and Olivia just watched him leave the house with the phone hanging in his ear. It was always like this. It was as if he didn't care much about the small details anymore.
She sighed, but smiled at her son when she noticed he was watching and pulled him beside her to take a few more pictures. They did pay for it! And it wasn’t cheap.
"Thank you very much," she thanked the photographer and accompanied him to the door. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience."
"No need to apologize, madam," he said, smiling in a friendly way. "You have a beautiful family."
"Thank you," she said, and soon the guy was gone too. Turning back inside, she went looking for her son. "Noah, honey, do you want something to eat? I'm going out and I’ll be back after lunch."
"No, Mom, don't worry," the boy replied and she followed his voice, finding him already on the couch turning his video game on.
Noah was a golden boy, never causing any trouble for his parents, always very well-behaved , intelligent and extremely kind. He was always among the top students, and now he was going to college to follow in his father's footsteps. Olivia couldn't be prouder of her kid. It filled her heart to know and be sure they had done an amazing job raising such an amazing human being.
"You’re sure?" she questioned, patting his head. "I don't know what time I'll be back, and I don't want you to be without lunch."
"Mom, I'm not a child anymore. I can make my own lunch," he laughed without taking his eyes off the big screen, but deep down, he loved all the dedication Olivia had for him. Looking up, his eyes were soft. "I'm going to live alone, remember?"
"Don't remind me of that nonsense, Noah." she scolded, making the boy laugh. "Alright, Mr. Adult, I'll leave you to fend for yourself with your food, but just to warn you I..."
"Want the kitchen in one piece when I get back." He mimicked her holding back his laughter.
"That's right. I’m just gonna change my clothes then I'm going, my dear beloved son," Olivia kissed him exaggeratedly and laughed when she saw the boy trying to wipe off her lipstick from his cheek. "It's twenty-four-hour lipstick, honey, good luck trying to remove it."
"Aw, Mom!" She didn't stay to hear the rest of the boy's complaint, just went upstairs to her room.
She could hardly believe that there was only one day left before her little boy left for college on the other side of the country. It was hard to be separated from her son, she had dedicated every day of her life to raising him. Gave up her career to do that, to give him everything she didn’t have.
But Olivia also knew he’d make them proud. She would miss him terribly but Noah needed to spread his wings and find his own place in the world.
↔
She called a taxi right outside the mall, heading to one of the fanciest restaurants she knew, as she had agreed to have lunch with Alex and Kim. They had been friends for a few years, but they had met through their husbands, who worked with Ed. They weren't really that close, but they were the only friends Olivia had, and that was more than fine for her.
"So, that's it, isn't it?" Kim spoke when they were properly seated at the table, fixing up her dress and looking directly at Olivia. "Tomorrow your nest will be empty."
Kim Greylek was the sweet type, but she was sweet to the point of being nauseating, and sometimes Olivia got irritated with her calm and serene demeanor. And her lack of self awareness too.
"Kimmy, let her breathe at least," Alex said, rolling her eyes and adjusting the napkin on her lap.
Alex Cabbot was more of a friend to her than Kim ever was. She was the no nonsense type of person and always, always spoke her mind not caring if anyone got offended.
When the waitress came, they already had their orders on the tip of their tongue.
"I'll have a seafood soup with shrimp, salmon, and monkfish. And also, a bottle of cabernet, please.” Alex said gently to the girl. “And you, Liv?
"Just a caesar salad," She replied, not feeling that hungry.
"I'll have an Italian cotechino," Kim said without even looking at the menu, as they always ordered the same dishes when they were at the restaurant. The woman turned to her again when the waitress left. "So, Liv? How do you feel about Noah going to college tomorrow?" Alex rolled her eyes at her friend's lack of tact, but this time, she didn't interfere.
"Sad, obviously, but I understand that he needs to stand on his own two feet." She replied resignedly, watching the patrons around. Most of the people around were just like them: a group of three to four women having lunch and talking.
She didn’t know how to feel about that, but Kim’s voice didn’t let her linger that long.
“That’s amazing, he’s a great kid.” She said and Olivia nodded. “Haven’t you guys heard?” Kim whispered, like she was about to tell the biggest secret known to mankind and Olivia forced herself to look interested. “Maggie filed for a divorce.”
Alex’s eyes widened and Olivia wouldn’t lie, she was a little bit interested in the story now.
“What?” The blonde asked, inclining her body forward. “Maggie Ortega? As in Jake and Maggie Ortega?”
Kim nodded her head, with her eyes narrowed. “Exactly. I heard about it yesterday. Michael told me. Shocking right?”
“Oh my, why? They seemed really happy.” Alex said and turned back to Olivia. “Didn’t they?”
“Sure.” She shrugged her shoulders. “That doesn’t mean they were though. Maggie was always home alone with the girls and she complained about this a lot. About how she always had to do things by herself. Maybe he didn’t listen.”
“Yeah, but that seems so silly.” Kim commented with a scowl. “We’re also home alone with our kids most of the time and we’re not complaining.”
“Maybe you’re not.” Olivia scoffed and both women looked at her frowning. “Look, all I’m saying is that we don’t know what happened between them or what pushed her to file for divorce. That’s all.”
Alex was the only one who nodded, agreeing with her friend and Olivia waited for Kim’s comment, she always had something to say.
“At least she didn’t get dumped.” She said and both Olivia and Alex exchanged glances, thinking the same thing. “Well, anyway. I’ve heard she’s getting the house and he’s getting the car. Also he’s gonna pay her an exorbitant amount of child support.”
“That’s the bare minimum.” Olivia mumbled and Alex glared at her, not wanting the woman to start an argument at lunch. Like she knew Olivia was capable.
Kim kept going on and on about the lives of the people they knew, some Olivia barely remembered and at some point in the conversation she zoned out thinking about her life.
She was happy when she got married. Right out of college and with the boyfriend she had been with since her second year. Ed had come from a stupidly rich family and was studying law like his father. And his grandfather. And every other man in that family.
They weren’t much on board with their marriage when Ed took her home and introduced her to them, but they never had much of a choice. Her husband was always the type of guy to do what he wanted. So they got married a year later.
She was twenty-six and Ed was only a year older. For a very long time in her life, she wanted to be a cop and help people, help women like her mother and children like her, but that was something she gave up before she turned eighteen. She knew the job wasn’t easy and Olivia thought that maybe she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life being forced to think about her conception.
But the drive to help, to be useful didn’t go away.
Olivia never wanted to be a doctor, but she always loved animals and after months and months of being a volunteer at the animal shelter close to her home, she decided what she wanted to do and who she wanted to be.
She had found her passion and battled her way through hell to be a veterinarian.
So when she got pregnant with Noah, after ten years of marriage and long hours of work, Ed suggested a while away from work, to stay home with the baby and rest. To dedicate her time to him. He was such a fragile baby and was always sick so she didn’t think twice about it.
By the time Noah was old enough to go to preschool, something always got in her way of going back to work and eventually she stopped trying.
Now, Noah was officially out of the house and she knew it had been eighteen years since she last had a job so finding one again wouldn’t be that easy. But that didn’t stop her from dreaming.
"I was thinking…” Olivia said, lookin back to her friends and interlacing her hands on top of the table. “Now with Noah out of the house, maybe I should go back to work."
"Well, you always loved being a vet." Alex agreed, smiling at Olivia. At the same time, the waitress came back with their order. "Thank you, dear. This could be a great idea, Olivia."
"Who said you need to go back to the job market?" Her friend asked as if the idea of working was the biggest absurdity in the world.
"I did," Olivia retorted. "What else am I going to do? Before, I had Noah to worry about and was always busy with something, but now?" She shook her head.
"You're doing something," Kim shrugged, and Olivia looked at her confused.
"I'm just having lunch, Kim.”
"Well, a toast to us," Alex interrupted, laughing and lifting her wine glass. "The women who lunch."
"To the women who lunch," Kim agreed, raising her glass too, and Olivia rolled her eyes, taking a deep breath.
"Please, never call us that again," she said, trying not to laugh, but Alex’s laughter induced her to laugh too. "But aside from that, seriously now," she said after taking a deep breath, deciding to change the subject and leave that for another time. If she wanted to go back, she would go back to work. "I'm going to surprise Ed."
"If it involves sales, lingerie, and handcuffs, I'm sure he'll love it." The blonde commented, and the two women looked at her as if she had two heads. "Don't be prudes."
"Alex, we're in public!" Kim scolded her like she was a child, and the woman rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to her, Olivia, tell us about the surprise."
"Don't go blabbing, Kim," the blonde warned, making her friend take a deep breath, and Olivia quickly agreed, holding back her laughter.
"It happened once, and I was drunk," she defended herself.
"Okay, listen to me," the brunette interrupted, knowing that if she let them, they would never stop talking, and they would argue forever about the day Kim ruined Alex’s sixteen-year-old daughter's surprise. It was a real disaster, but it didn't matter anymore. "I'm going to surprise him with a second honeymoon."
"Olivia, that’s amazing!" Kim said excitedly and smiling. "It will be beautiful and romantic, I'm sure."
"Where are you going to take him, Liv?”
"Africa," she replied. "A safari, it will be perfect."
↔
The big day had arrived; Noah was officially heading to college and there was absolutely nothing Olivia could do to keep him at home. He needed to go. She had been holding back tears all morning and hiding from them simply because if anyone asked, she’d break.
"The trunk is almost full. This is the last part." Noah said, entering the house again with his girlfriend close behind. Olivia was at the kitchen counter, packing a bag of snacks for them to eat on the trip - once a mother, always a mother.
"Did you grab your toothbrush?" she asked, concerned, and the girl laughed, well aware of how overzealous Olivia could be.
"Yes, Mom, toothpaste too," He replied, though Olivia wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not. Noah bent down and closed the last suitcase, which contained his musical keyboard, as he was passionate about music.
"Thank you for letting me take him," the girl said, hugging her and Olivia hugged her back even tighter. She liked the girl a lot and they had been dating since his freshman year.
"I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about," Olivia replied, holding the girl's hands and looking into her eyes. "And be careful on the road, okay, Sarah?"
"Sure thing, Mrs. Tucker."
"All set, kid?" Ed asked, appearing in the living room already in his suit.
"Yep, we’ll be out of your hair in a minute." The boy stood up with the backpack on his back and the suitcase in his hand, smiling at his father. Making his parents proud was everything he ever wanted.
"Hey, wait a minute, you promised," Olivia said, stepping in front of her son, and the boy laughed, winking at his girlfriend. Sarah knew what this was about, since the woman had made him promise three times.
"But it's the last time, okay?" Noah said, reluctantly and followed his mother, leaning against the wall and watching her with a pen in her hand.
"I'm sure this isn't the last time," she replied, marking the line on the wall where the boy's head was. "You're so tall," she said tearfully.
"It'll be okay, Mom, don't worry," he hugged her tightly to his chest. He didn't want his mother to cry, had been avoiding that like the plague. If Noah could, he'd stay with her forever, but he needed to move on with his life, and that included leaving his parents' house. "Remember when you used to tell me I could be an astronaut or the President of the United States? How's that going to happen if I stay?"
"That's just something parents say to their kids," she answered with teary eyes and a smile. She thought she was handling her son's departure well, but seeing him actually leave was a whole different story.
"Alright, come on," Her husband interrupted the mother-son moment, urging them. "Let him hit the road before it gets dark."
Olivia nodded, letting go of him.
"Love you, dad." Noah said, going to hug the man, whom he would also miss a lot.
"I love you too, kiddo." Ed replied, patting his shoulder. "Get good grades, and you'll intern at the firm, okay?"
"Okay," he agreed, heading toward his girlfriend because they really needed to leave.
"All right, then we'll FaceTime every day, okay?" Olivia said, leading them to the door, and Sarah laughed.
"Once a week," Noah retorted, kissing his mother on the forehead. "Love you both."
"And don't forget to eat," Olivia pointed her finger, speaking seriously. What worried her the most about her son was his diet because she knew if it were up to him, he'd only eat pizza and burgers, and she had no idea where he got that from.
"I'll eat, I'll breathe, and I'll even wear a jacket, okay?" Noah hugged his mother again. He had this pose of an independent young man, but everyone knew he was a mama's boy, and he would probably miss her more than she would miss him. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
"I know you will, but I love you too much," and the tears were back, but this time she didn't bother holding them back.
"Love you too."
Olivia went back to her husband's side and watched her son and his girlfriend leave through the door towards their car, parked in front. She couldn't contain herself and allowed herself to cry, waving to the boy who was already leaving.
As soon as they disappeared from view, Olivia closed the door, and Ed hurried to the living room to grab his things so he could go to work, he was already mumbling how late he was. She followed her husband, wanting and needing to tell him about the wonderful trip.
"And so, the nest is empty," she said, looking around, observing the details of the living room she had decorated herself while he was gathering his things. "So, I have a proposal."
"What proposal?" Ed looked at his wife suspiciously while adjusting his tie.
"Since it's just the two of us now, and I know we haven't been spending much time together, and things haven't been going well," she began, "That's why I booked our second honeymoon."
"Olivia..." Her husband interrupted, sighing and massaging his temples.
"To Africa," she said excitedly, looking at him with great expectation, but the man didn't even crack a smile. He just looked at her as if he pitied her.
The smile on her face died quickly.
"Look, I waited for Noah to leave because I didn't want to upset him with this," he said seriously, and Olivia’s stomach dropped. He rarely acted this way.
"Why? What happened? Are you sick?"
"No," he quickly denied, not wanting to worry her more than she already was. But Olivia continued to look at him with a lost expression, making him sigh again. "Are you happy?"
The question caught her by surprise because it was something she didn't even ask herself. She was afraid of the answer, so she didn't expect Ed to be the one to put that out in the open. It was not their usual.
Their usual was to ignore. Avoid at all costs. Never talk about it.
"Well, I'm not... unhappy," she said, uncertain of her own answer and he shook his head negatively, almost frustrated.
"That's not the same thing."
"No one is happy all the time," she defended herself, crossing her arms. She was afraid of where this conversation might lead.
Ed stopped, his mouth opening and closing a few times, considering his next words. He was looking at her like she was a poor kid starving on the street and she was getting impatient.
“Where are you going with this conversation?”
"Olivia, I'm not in love with you anymore," Tucker decided to be frank, blurting it out. He didn't want to beat around the bush and make the woman even more confused. "And I'm sure you feel the same." He fell silent for a few seconds, letting her process the information first. Not that it helped, she kept staring at him with her mouth agape. "I'm moving out."
"W-what?"
"I'll be at the Plaza if you need me," he concluded and left to get the bags that were in the hallway. Olivia hadn't even noticed that he was already packed. The day had been so hectic inside the house with their son's move that she hadn't had time to notice anything.
If she had noticed, would it have made a difference? Ed seemed to have made this decision a long time ago and had decided to just blurt it out to her seconds after her son had left.
She was still shocked, but shook her head quickly, stepping in front of him to block his way. “I don’t understand.” Olivia said, trying to make sense of what was happening. “Is there someone else?”
Ed rolled his eyes, holding tight to his suitcase. “Of course not.” He denied vehemently.
"So you're just leaving me like this, without even discussing it? After almost thirty years? Simple like that?"
"They were great years, Olivia," Ed said calmly, almost condescendingly. "I think, in the long run, you'll realize it's best for us. I don't want to wear us out and reach a point where we can't stand being in the same room together." He explained and turned his back. He wouldn't stay to see his wife cry for the second time that day. Even if it was his fault. "I'll have my things picked up."
Olivia didn't wait for her husband to leave through the door. She quickly went upstairs and entered the room that now belonged only to her, and the first thing she took off was the ring from her finger. It seemed to weigh in a way she had never felt before. It was suffocating her.
Her heart ached, she was feeling it breaking into several tiny little pieces by the second. It was two losses in the same day - she was hyperventilating - from the two most important people in her life. How dare he say she wasn’t in love with him anymore either? Maybe it wasn’t like the beginning, but the love still existed deep down.
If it didn’t, she wouldn’t have bothered to pay for the entire trip that was supposed to be their second honeymoon. She wanted to make it work again, wanted the sparkle back. Wiping away her tears, she looked around her room and noticed that maybe she was the only one fighting for that marriage.
Had been for a long time.
Tossing the offending ring out of the window, not caring at all about how much he had paid for that, she started to feel angry. More angry than hurt, if she was honest. Olivia couldn’t believe that after so many years, he would do this to her.
"I'll have my things picked up?" She mimicked him, huffing. “What things?”
Olivia went to the closet where she shared her things with her husband and started sorting everything, taking out every item that belonged to him from that place, and put everything in black garbage bags. He could try to pick them up, but there would be nothing when he arrived.
"Imbecile," she murmured as she threw all the expensive brand belts he had. Tears flowed along with the clothes, but that didn't stop her, and she continued her work. After that, all the bags with Ed’s belongings ended up on the sidewalk in front of her house, with a sign on top saying "free clothes."
It was a petty revenge, but it left her extremely satisfied, at least for a short period.
Olivia went back inside after throwing everything on the sidewalk and went to her room, where all the brochures about the trip she would take with her husband were, including the tickets. She knew it wouldn't be her honeymoon anymore since now she had no marriage, but it could still be a fun trip, right?
She was a single woman now, with no kid to look after and not a goddamn thing to stop her from doing what she wanted.
Yes, that's what she decided. The trip was scheduled for the next day because the idea was always that they would leave a day after Noah moved. So Olivia wasted no time and started packing her bags. She was going to Africa.