Olivia

Olivia was not like Olive at all. In fact, she lived a thousand miles away in a larger house in a town by a sound that always smelled like salt. In public, she was the picture of youthful hopes and happiness, but closer to her soul, she was brash and disdained innocence at the same time she flaunted it. In her big house, in a huge living-room with two sides all windows, she languored on an overstuffed sofa, staring at the dark windows, feeling too lazy to pull the blinds. The nighttime was always half-creepy, half-exhilirating, especially in this room of windows. She was never sure if she wanted to hide under a blanket or flaunt around the floor, and to what- well, she didn't know that either.
That night, after futilely trying to find entertainment on the big screen, she began her favorite hobby- daydreaming of what the boy would do if he was back, if he was there right then, in the room. If of course, he was as perfect in reality as he was in her mind, still (which always made her think of Gatsby's green light from her favorite novel). She willed him to come, dripping wet, through one of the many dark windows. She wished he could fade in, appear seated in the oversized love seat. She wished that if she closed her eyes and tried hard enough, that his hands would slip on to her neck and rest on her shoulders, even if she knew that looking, like Orpheus, would make him dissapear. (She also had a penchant for incorporating Classical allusions into her thoughts.)1

Feeling bored, and a little daring, she decided that that night was one of display, and not of seclusion. Her eyes closed again, and she stretched one long, smooth leg towards the ceiling. 2

"Pick me up." She said to an invisible suitor. She reached an arm out, the blankets she had curled up in slipping away.3

"Curl me in your arms and don't say a word unless I command it." She smiled, enjoying how wickedly delicious she could feel sometimes. No, deliciously wicked. Yes, that's it.4

"Spin us around slowly, and tell me what a gorgeous girl I am. Tell me that I am far too gorgeous to be human, and that a statue must be made of me at once. Tell me that you would send me back in time to pose for the Venus de Milo." She grinned again; her total was up to three.5

"Now tell me that all my dreams are impossible, and that I should give up at once and settle down with you. Then I'll of course say that'll never happen and I'll only work harder. Whisper to me that I am a temptress, but of power, like Medusa (4) or the Queen of the Amazon women (5)." 6

With a wide grin, she flashed her teeth and licked an imaginary ear. Suddenly, she sobered.7

"Now tell me that I can be strong, strong enough for a million women. Strong enough for a hundred girls. Tell me that I can shine out and that I must shine. Tell me that I'm not like a shooting star, so fleet and fading, but that I am the moon; that I am Venus- the first to shine and the brightest, but remind me that I am not a goddess, and that it must be so."8

Eyes still closed, she nodded. 9

"Yes, that is what you must say. Then you must say that I am improperly clothed to be the next world-changer, and that I should be wearing a long white dress."10

She shook her head. 11

"Start over. Tell me that I must wear a short black dress. With pearls. Audrey Hepburn."12

She shook her head again.13

"I should wear nice blue jeans and some boots. Yes, that's right. But then say that for you, I should wear the white dress."14

With a big yawn, she sleepily opened one eye. Nobody was there. Dissapointed, both eyes watched the ceiling fan lazily circle the room. A cell phone on the floor beside her buzzed. She answered it after a couple of rings.15

"Hey, babe. ... Yeah, I know. I love you too. No, come on, I mean it. Stop. ... Stop! I do not!... You shut up. ... Uh huh.... No, look, I'm sorry. I just can't. Why do you have to know everything, anyway? ... Of course I'll be glad to see you, dear one. Don't be silly. ... No, you're silly. ...Yes, yes, I know. Go study, I want you to get that class aced. ...Ok, I love you. I love you too... Sure, have fun. Goodnight."16

She lay back on the couch. He hadn't even asked what she was doing. After the phone had grown cold, she stood up, pulled some thick covers around her, and closed all the blinds.17