In My Life

Chapter 23:

July 15, 1958

"This is the last bit of luggage, I swear," Olivia laughed as she plopped the third blue suitcase in front of her manager Larry's feet, "Should be enough, right?"

Larry raised his eyebrows and returned a smirk, "You're taking all of London and even your kitchen sink for a two-day fashion show, Olivia," he said, shaking his head and picked up the suitcase, handing it to the driver, "This should be the last." 

She rolled her eyes and chuckled at the look Larry had exchanged to her, "Oh come 'ead! I've got to take the essentials! It is a fashion show, and it's in New York of all places. I've got to make sure I have everything!" Olivia grabbed her black purse from off the kitchen counter and smiled to herself, struggling to refrain from being overly excited about this trip. 

"What about Mr. Everly?" Larry turned his head around in her direction with a checklist in hand, "What are his plans?" 

She flung the handle of her handbag over her shoulder and smiled, "I've already told him to meet me at the hotel, so we don't need to fret about him," Olivia couldn't contain the excitement on her face the more she felt about seeing him. It had been a few weeks since they had seen each other, and the phone calls did not do her any justice.

Olivia picked up one of her suitcases and was just about to head out the door when the phone started to ring. She glanced at Larry and sighed, "This might be Don. Hang on a mo'." 

She scampered over to the black-coloured telephone and picked up the handle, "Hello?" 

There was a moment of silence then a soft female voice spoke over the phone, "Is this Olivia Harris?" 

'Great', Olivia thought to herself, 'Someone from the press.' "Yes, this is she. How may I help you?" 

"Hello dear, this is Mimi," 

"Mimi!" she cried out over the phone. She was so delighted to hear a familiar voice on the other line, but she recognised from her tone, something was wrong, "Mimi, what's the matter? What's going on?" 

There was another extended pause and what sounded to be a sniffle, "I'm sorry to phone you like this, but I have some terrible news." 

Olivia gripped the receiver and waited in anticipation on the other end, listening carefully. Her heart and mind started to race with every prolonging second, "What's going on, Mimi? What happened?" 

"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you but... Julia has passed." 

It felt as her world abruptly came crashing down. 'Julia has passed' — that sentence had repeated in her head for several minutes as she stood there in utter shock. Her eyes widened, and instant tears began to stream down her face. "No... this... this...," she cleared her throat, wiping the tears as more streamed down, "When?" she could barely speak, trying to control her emotions. 

"Just an hour ago.." Mimi paused once more, "And John.." 

Once she heard his name, she knew just what he had been feeling, and instantly had an instinct he needed someone. Olivia felt drawn to go to him immediately, "Oh my god... John...," she paused, just thinking about him, "I'm on my way, Mimi."

With that, she placed the receiver back on the handle and quickly wiped her tears. All her mind was thinking about was John, and she knew just how he was dealing with this. Julia was everything to not only Olivia but to John. She wasn't sure what to expect when she saw him. They still hadn't spoken since March, and she had been contemplating on what to write back to him after his confessing letter to her. But John needed Olivia, and she didn't care at this point what everyone else thought.