Princess Adeline of Wales

Chapter Forty-Six: An Old Friend

21st of August 2005 - Treetops Hotel, Kenya

Stepping into the restaurant, Adeline couldn't help but feel rather nervous as she tried to spot Oliver who she had agreed to meet her that evening after she had spent the day on safari.

It had been wonderful and Adeline had been eager to learn and ask questions, she had taken so many pictures that she was sure she'd run out of film.

"Addy," Oliver called waving her over to the window seat that he had managed to grab them, a smile on his face as he spotted her before he retook his seat.

He took a big sip of his drink as Adeline made her way over to him, she looked nice in the summery dress that she was wearing and he didn't think that he had ever really see her in casual clothes like this.

Adeline had certainly come into her own during the years since they had last seen each other, he remembered the girl that had loved woolly jumpers and would rather stick pins in her eye than wear a dress like she was now.

"Hey," Adeline greeted as she approached the table with a smile on her face that she hoped looked more confident than she felt at this time.

When getting dressed to come and meet Oliver, she had felt anxious and had nearly changed her dress three times in an attempt to ease her mind at seeing him again.

"So..." both of them said at the same time once Adeline had taken the seat across from Oliver.

They laughed at how awkward they both sounded and Adeline peeked out of the window at the setting sun.

It really was beautiful here.

This place made her think of her grandparents and the love that they shared for one another, she hoped to find that some day.

"How have you been?" Oliver asked trying to break the tension, he hasn't kept up much with her life after they parted ways.

Although there were some things that just couldn't be avoided, such as the news about the car crash she'd been involved with.

He'd felt angry that her life had nearly been cut shut by the idiot that she's been dating; the media sparing nothing when it came to outing their relationship.

The comparisons to her mother had been sickening and Oliver had wished he'd been able to reach out back then.

Instead he had been stuck in America with his parents and had been forced to watch this all play out from New York since that was where they had moved to in the last couple of years because of his father's job.

"I've been well, got into the university that I wanted to," Adeline said after a moment, she crossed her legs as she thought about the last few years and she could not think of anything that really stood out to her. 

School had been school, her main focus until she had finished and it had not been all that long ago since she had arrived here in Kenya for the start of her gap year. 

Plus, it wasn't as if Oliver would have missed the major moments, her life was often reported on even if there wasn't much happening. 

"How about you?" Adeline asked wanting to hear what he had been up to, the last she had heard was that his father had opened a new office of the family business in New York and they had moved there. 

It had been part of the reason that they'd lost contact after she had left St Andrews and moved on to Downe House. 

"I'm attending the University of London after my gap year, Creative Computing," Oliver said grinning and he couldn't be happier with the path that he had chosen.