After Olivia

26

The diner on the north side of the park was busy but Bill found a table before the lunch rush had settled in and waited for Emily to join him a few minutes later. Angelica arrived at the table to confirm drink orders and review the daily specials. She jotted down their order and hurried off.

"Angie is nice, but... I miss Matilda," Emily said.

"Angie, is it? I never heard you call Matilda, Matty," Bill replied.

"Shut up! Fine, I won't use playful names, William."

Bill laughed and raised his hands in defeat, "Okay, you win... Angie is coming with our drinks."

"Oh, come on, William," Emily prodded, "being named after your grandpa is nice."

"Sure, but grandpa wasn't the nicest guy. He scared the crap out of me, all the time... I sort of miss him, now..." Bill sighed. "But, as a kid, I really didn't like it when he came to visit."

"Yeah, I remember he yelled at us a lot. I seem to recall we did a lot of crying when he drove the wrong way on Rupert Street. Then him yelling at us for crying just made us cry more," Emily said solemnly. "It's amazing we survived any car ride with him."

Bill started to laugh then between chuckles started to say, "And Olivia..."

"Oh, god! Yeah... She yelled back and told him to be nice."

"Pointing her finger," Bill said as he shook his hand to mimic the gesture.

"And standing up on the seat. She was, what, maybe four?"

After a long pause in which neither Bill nor Emily spoke, Bill said in a soft voice, "I dream about her. Every night."

Bill had never told Emily about visiting Olivia in his lucid dreams. It was one of the only things he had never discussed with her. In the pause that followed, he briefly considered elaborating on depth of his dreams but dismissed the thought as quickly as it had formed. He wasn't sure of his reasoning.

Emily nodded and replied, "I miss her too. Every day. I miss our phone calls that would go on for hours. Weekend excursions. I miss her."

"I remember those phone calls. Even after spending the entire day together."

"Yes, well, girls need to recap and review the day's events."

Bill sipped on his root beer then glanced out the window for a moment. His expression remained subdued as he turned back to Emily and said, "I'm sorry. So many times, when we, you and I, were walking in the park or sitting here for lunch, my mind would sort of play tricks on me. Like, I would almost feel like she was here, instead of you. I'm sorry for that."

Emily smiled and nodded, then tilted her head to the side and replied, "I know. I could tell. You had a different way of talking to her than you do for me, and I could hear the change in your voice and how you would talk. I knew. You don't have to apologize but thank you anyway. I—"

Emily stopped speaking when a familiar voice drifted across the diner and caressed her ears. Bill's eyes snapped up from the table and watched as his friend's face lit up. Her shoulders lifted as her smiling face turned towards the source of her joy.

"Emily," Marcello called out from behind the diner counter. "How long have you been here?"

"Only a few minutes," she replied as he approached. "Oh, ahhh, Marcello, this is my friend... my best friend, Bill."

"Matilda's Bill?" he asked. "Well sir, it is a pleasure to finally meet you."

Bill extended his hand towards Marcello and exchanged a pleasant greeting then watched as he leaned to kiss Emily's cheek. Marcello held her hand and gazed at her for a moment then turned back towards Bill.