Just In Case

Just In Time

She arrived drenched. Olivia underestimated the amount of rain. She arrived home soaked in rain water, dripping on her door mat. A storm started on her way home. A gust of wind had blown her umbrella out of her hands. She changed out of her wet clothes into dry and comfortable pajamas. She heated up the leftovers and ate them for dinner while watching TV. She washed the dishes and went to bed.

Olivia was woken up by a loud knock on the door. She tried to ignore it but the persistent knocking kept her from going back to sleep. She rolled out of bed and put on her fuzzy bunny slippers and her fluffy pink robe.She marched to the door angrily, ready to unleash her fury on the persistent knocker. Olivia opened the door carefully but quickly, still fuming with anger."What the f.." the words were stuck in her throat before she could finish uttering them. The anger was replaced with surprise when she saw the face of the persistent knocker.

Anna smiled at Olivia warmly. Time had passed since they last saw each other at Daryl's funeral. Both of them were distressed at that time, so their encounter was brief. "Good evening Olivia. Sorry for disturbing your sleep. I have something important to tell you," she said, looking at Olivia's shocked face. "Please let me in. It would be awkward to talk outside in this weather."

Olivia gathered herself to greet Anna and opened the door wider to let her in. She felt a cold gust of wind blowing gently into the house once Anna entered. She felt alarmed for a second.She pushed her worries down after convincing herself that it was the weather.Anna made herself comfortable on one of the sofas. Olivia excused herself to make tea for both of them. She wondered why Anna would want to talk to her. They hadn't been in the same room since Daryl's funeral and hadn't spoken since the engagement party.

She set the tea on the coffee table. A cup for each of them. They sat in silence drinking their tea while avoiding eye contact.

"You said you had something important to tell me?" Olivia said, breaking the silence. Anna set her cup down. She fumbled for a bit in her bag before producing a black shoe box. She handed it to Olivia along with a letter. "I found this a month ago in Daryl's room," she said before taking a sip of her tea. "I kept them for a while because I thought you would not want to see me again. Tonight I felt a strong feeling that would not settle unless I brought them to you. Daryl left them for you."

Olivia picked up the box. It felt familiar. She flipped it over and saw the writing at the bottom of the box. It was the box that contained the shoes he gave Daryl for his twenty-ninth birthday.

"Why would he do that when we had already broken up?"

"I don't know, dear, but you should read the letter. Whatever is in that box must be very important. I have to go. My husband is waiting for me at home." She picked up her bag and left.

Olivia remembered something. She rushed to the bedroom and took a rose gold necklace with a ruby gemstone from her jewelry box. She raced but found she had already left the building. She ran down the flight of stairs and found Anna entering her vehicle. Olivia called out to her as the sound of thunder filled the atmosphere, blocking her voice. " Anna wait!" she called out again after the thunder passed while catching up to her. Anna heard her and opened the passenger door to let her in. Olivia sat in the car and gave Anna the necklace. "This belongs to you."

Anna was a little surprised to see it. She gave it to Olivia while she and Daryl were dating. She handed it back to Olivia.

"No, it was a gift. Keep it"

"Are you sure? I have no reason to have it."

"I gave it to you as my future daughter-in-law and I still consider you the daughter I never had."

Olivia felt warmth in her heart. She may have hated Daryl, but Anna was always nice to her, no matter what. She hugged Anna and bid her goodbye before exiting the car. The driver handed her an umbrella.

Anna felt relieved in the car. She was happy that, after all that had happened, her relationship with Olivia was good.

Olivia went back to her house dripping with water. Her slippers were soaked from stepping in puddles when she was chasing after Anna. She locked her door and took off her slippers and robe. She changed out of her wet clothes into a dry nightdress. She washed the cups . She took the letter to read it but decided against it. She put it in her bedside drawer.

She took the box to put it away. Staring at it, she felt the memories circling in her brain. She could not explain the pain they brought her. Overcome by emotions, she sat on the sofa. She remembered the day Daryl passed away. Andrew, Daryl's brother, was the one who told her the news. Daryl succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. He had a head-on collision with a lorry. The lorry's brakes had failed, causing it to hit three other cars head on.

Olivia felt her body getting weaker. She massaged her head as she felt it ache. Her body heat up while she felt cold and was shivering a little. She rested her head on the sofa while dizziness passed. She stood up while holding on to the wall. Her goal was to get to the medicine cabinet and nothing could stop her. She banged her leg on the table while walking. The pain made her feel stable. She took two tablets, a paracetamol and a panadol and washed them down with water. Afterwards, she got into her bed. She texted her best friend before she got under the covers.