THE RETURN

Chapter 77

Olivia didn't wake up to the light knock on their door Sunday morning, nor did she wake up to Elliot slowly untangling himself from her to allow Eli to use the bathroom, nor did she wake up to him placing a small kiss on her cheek and closing the door behind him. Her eyes only began to flutter open when she felt repetitive light kisses on her cheek and the sound of, "Liv... babe... Olivia... Liv..." She groaned loudly and attempted to turn her face away from his mouth, "Elliot!"

"I know baby and I promise you a day in bed very soon but Elizabeth is patiently waiting to go wedding dress shopping and she really wants us both to go."

Although she groaned once more, she opened her eyes and reached her left hand out to stroke his right cheek gently, "It doesn't make you any less of a man if you cry, El."

He chuckled, "I know. Comes with having girls." As the words left his mouth, his hand rubbed against the swell of her abdomen. When she placed her hand over his, he added, "I'll cry when I see you in yours too."

She raised her eyebrows at him, "You haven't even asked me yet."

"You know I'm going to."

"Hmm, well what if I don't want to wear a wedding dress?"

"You wear whatever you would like to wear, doesn't mean I'm not going to cry. The happiest day of my life will be the day you become my wife, Liv."

She didn't even try to hide the tear that escaped from her left eye and when his hand came up to caress her face, his thumb swiping the tear off her cheek, she said, "I love you."

As his lips leaned down to connect with hers, he whispered, "I love you too."

Since none of the young boys were particularly interested in watching Elizabeth try on dresses, Jack reluctantly agreed to take them all to the arcade instead. After trying but failing to convince everyone to allow her to take the boys to the arcade instead of Jack, Olivia entered the passenger seat to Elliot's jeep. As they followed Kathleen's car with Kathleen, Kathy, Maureen, Elizabeth and Richard, Olivia sighed once more, "I still don't feel right about this."

"I know but she would rather have you there, Liv."

"But he's their stepfather."

He smiled and reached his hand out to rub her leg gently, "And you're their stepmother."

"But..."

"But what, baby? He's been their stepfather longer?" With the gentle nod of her head, he said, "They've known you for almost 20 years, Liv. Yeah, eight of those years, there was no communication because of my stupidity, but that didn't change the way they have always looked up to you."

"Richard didn't always like me, El."

"He only didn't like you because his father was a prick, and he thought I was sleeping with you way back then."

"Well, you're actually sleeping with me now," she paused to glance down at her abdomen, "Obviously."

He chuckled, "Very obviously. I'm no longer married to his mother though."

"Thank the lord above." After they both laughed, she said, "You know, I would have been even more pissed at you if you came back, not single."

"I would have been even more pissed at myself too. Would have been pissed at myself if I came back and you weren't single either. Which still surprises the fuck out of me, if I must say so myself."

"Don't know how, you know I've never been one to commit." As she reached her hand out to grab the hand that was still resting on her thigh, she said, "Well until now."

He smiled and brought his hand up to his lips, "Thank the lord above."

Olivia didn't know what she expected to feel when she walked into one of the most famous wedding dress stores in the United States, however the feeling of awe that she experienced was definitely not anywhere on the list. As her eyes dragged along the hundreds of wedding dresses on display, she could feel her heart begin to pump harder in her chest. She had never even browsed wedding dressers on the internet, let alone been in a store that sold them. There wasn't any point before. To need a dress, she'd need to be getting married, and to be getting married, someone would have had to propose to her. That was something she'd made sure all of her ex-boyfriends knew was off the menu. As Elizabeth became busy describing her "perfect" gown to her dress consultant, Olivia took a second to drag her hand along a rack of dresses. When she came to one that caught her eye, she allowed her fingers to drag it out a little further and only released it when she felt an all familiar hand rest against her lower back.

When her eyes connected to his smiled filled icy blues, she knew that he knew exactly what she was thinking. She wanted a dream wedding gown just as much as Elizabeth did. After his lips connected to hers briefly, he whispered, "Any one you want."

She couldn't help the tears from filling her eyes or the smile from forming on her face, "I know." She allowed their lips to touch once more before turning her attention to today's bride.

Since Elliot had made it clear to Elizabeth that it didn't matter how much she spent on a dress, just as long as she knew that the total cost that everyone had agreed to pay altogether was not changing, she had given herself a budget of $5,000. Although Richard had groaned out loud when she had said it, he couldn't stop the smile of pride that formed on his face when Elizabeth entered the room in the first gown.

Although Elizabeth had looked stunning in every dress that she tried on, none of them spoke to her the way she had hoped they would. When Elliot once again saw her consultant searching through the racks for more options for his daughter, he decided to take matters into his own hands. The few dresses that he had pointed out to Elizabeth while they were looking had been quickly shot down because they weren't the style she was interested in.

Olivia turned her head to watch him as he went around the racks, grabbing a total of three dresses before turning his head to wink at her and heading down to Elizabeth's dressing room. The smile that formed across her lips as she watched Elliot walk down the hall of rooms grew when she heard Kathy say, "He really is a great father."

She turned her head towards Kathy and nodded her head, "He is."

"You know, as I've been watching him these last few days, I've realized that we really have been both blessed to have him at the times we have." When Olivia arched her eyebrow to prompt her to continue, Kathy turned her body towards her on the couch, "You know, I got this young 17 year old boy who tried so hard to become a man so quickly. He was urgent and stern and tough, and he knew exactly what he had to do to provide for his family. He worked these long hours to give us what we needed and in turn he, you two, made such a difference for so many people. At the time I hated it because he gave so much of himself and his time away, but he really did do his best for us. Then you, you get this whole new version of him. He's mellow and patient and calm but still has the tough exterior that he has always had. He's devoted himself to what's most important to him: the kids, the grandchildren and you. He will bend over backwards for all of you and I'm happy that you get this version of him because you deserve it. You deserve the best of him."

Olivia smiled at her gently and reached to touch Kathy's arm gently, "You deserved the best version of him then, too, Kathy. Don't think I fell in love with this version of Elliot, I fell in love with your version of him. This Elliot has just made me fall deeper."

"I had the best version of him-of him then. And he gave me five amazing children. He's always been a good guy. Just still needed some adjustments when I had him."

They both couldn't hold in their small laughter at the truth of it all. When Elliot sat back down next to her and asked them what was funny, she shook her head and kissed him gently, "I love you."

"I love you too but I still want to know what you both were laughing at."

As she caught a glimpse of blond hair walking down the hallway, she whispered, "I'll tell you later," and turned her head to the most beautiful bride she had ever seen. When she saw the tears welled up in not only Elizabeth's eyes as she walked towards them but in Elliot's eyes as well, she knew that Elliot had once again surprised everyone by picking the perfect dress for his daughter.