Just In Case

Staring at the sky, Olivia felt a sea of sadness wash over her. It was one of those, she could sense a heavy storm coming. The dark clouds reminded her of a gloomy day. " It looks like it will be raining heavily. You should be heading home," her co-worker said while packing her things ."I will be on my way when I am done writing this proposal," Olivia replied and faced her computer, continuing with her work. Darkness was already covering the sky by the time she was done. She gathered her personal items, put them into her purse and headed to the lift. She pressed the elevator button and entered. As the lift went down, she applied her lipgloss while looking at her reflection in the mirror. Once the lift doors opened,Olivia walked out. She regretted not wearing heavy clothing as she saw the rain pouring. She opened her umbrella and walked into the rain. She contemplated her life as she walked home. Many events have occurred in one year. One year ago Olivia sat at a table in the far corner of the restaurant. She stared at the entrance while drinking a glass of wine. She was on her third glass in the last hour. Her patience was dwindling. Every minute she spent waiting for her fiancé, Daryl, to arrive she could feel her anger rise. "How could he be late to their own engagement party? They had spent weeks organizing this day." She could feel the stares from their guests. Some judged and others pitied her. She thanked God for her best friend Lynette, who was trying to keep the party mood up and directing everybody from the situation at hand. She was about to pour a fourth glass when someone snatched the bottle from her hand. She faced the curlprit ready to tear them a new one, only to find Daryl's mother, Anna, smiling sweetly at her . Not even Anna's smile could lift up her sour mood. Anna pulled a chair and sat near Olivia, " Do you want to continue waiting for him?" she asked her. " Let's wait a little longer. " Olivia looked at the guests. Most of them were interacting with each other. She took out her phone to try and call Daryl again. All she could hear was the dial tone." Call me as soon as you get this message", she texted him. Seeing Olivia exhausted, Anna decided to take charge of the situation. She called Lynette over" I don't think Daryl is coming, we should send the guest home." Lynette agreed and decided to handle Olivia while Anna handled the guests. "Thank you all for attending the party today. We will have to cut it short due to a family emergency. Please accept the gifts hampers on the way out."The guests went out while grumbling but not loud enough for the hosts to hear. Some stopped when they caught Anna's fierce eyesight. Lynette escorted Olivia to the hotel above the restaurant. She put Olivia's arm around her neck and held her waist to support her. As all the guests were immersed in the speech, Lynette and Olivia walked out. Since the hotel was owned by Daryl's family, they walked past the reception desk into the private elevator . She pressed the button leading to the penthouse suite. "Why would he let me down like that?" Olivia said while hitting Lynette. " Spare me the rod ,I did not do anything wrong." Olivia's face was flushed, sweat accumulated on her forehead and tears flowing from her eyes. Lynette felt angry at Daryl for ditching her best friend and hurting her. The elevator dinged and its doors opened into the hall. Lynette half walked and half dragged Olivia's body through the hall. When they finally reached the door, she supported her with one arm and swiped the card with the other. The door opened into a gorgeous room. They passed through the living room into the bedroom. The six foot seven bed had rose petals arranged in a heart shape on the white cover. "Let me sleep", Olivia whined. Lynette dragged her into the bathroom and put her in the shower. She changed the setting to cold water before turning the water knob. Cold water rushed out of the shower head, drenching Olivia. Her hair and the red dress she was wearing clung to her skin. Olivia sobered up immediately. " What the hell is wrong with you?" she asked angrily while turning off the water."Leave, I don't want to talk to anyone right now." Her dress and hair were drenched in water and stuck to her body. Lynette brought the towels and toothbrush and gave them to her. She said nothing and left her dripping in water. Before Olivia could react, she heard the door closing. She fell down to the floor crying and squatted on the ground for a while while holding her face. Her body was shaking from the cold and tears. Crying could not bring back the lost time or repair the damage caused by the shame. She adjusted the water temperature and took a long shower and brushed her teeth while wondering about Daryl. He was fine in the morning. He kissed her goodbye and promised her that she would see him at the engagement party. In her bathrobe, Olivia curled up in the bed and tried to call Daryl one last time. The dial tone went on for a while before it was cut off.She texted him again. No reply. She scrolled through the previous texts for an indication that he had received them. He read none. She opened the laptop to search through his and his friends' social media. The last post was a week ago announcing their engagement party. It was the only personal post excluding new year's wishes, since he rarely posted. She received a notification of a new post. She clicked on it and immediately regretted it.'Trouble in Paradise' read 'The soon-to-be groom missed his engagement to a party and abandoned his fiancée'. The article showed a side to side picture of Daryl partying in a bar and Olivia drunk face down on the table. Olivia opened the messaging app and left a voice message.She cried once she finished recording it and held the pillow closer. The next day, she mailed the ring to Daryl's house.