When The Heart Stops Beating (11)

The romantic atmosphere, fine dining and ambience of the restaurant made Olivia forget about her questions. Who wants to ask questions when the “feeling is right”!!! John did not disappoint, he was never short of words, he held a good conversation for hours and he knew just what to say. Olivia was falling in love and John knew it. At the end of the night, they said their good-byes and parted ways. With a few days remaining for John to return to Boston, they called each other and met up countless times. On the day of his departure, Olivia offered to drive John to the airport. Unbeknown to Olivia, he had one more surprise. Just as he was about to go through security checkpoint, he gave her an expensive necklace and planted a kiss on her cheeks, just a little something for you to remember me by, he said. By now, Olivia was all in emotionally; there was no turning back. As she walked to her car at the airport to make that drive home, the nagging feeling of something being amiss kept haunting her, but she chalked it up to being overly cautious and relegated that thought to the background.

For now, she was going to focus on her brewing romance with John and nothing would prevent that. With each passing day, they drew closer to each other. How did I get so lucky, where has this fine piece of God’s creation been hiding all this while, Olivia wondered? 3 months went by since their first encounter and the long-distance relationship was beginning to take a toll on Olivia. She asked John if she could come over to Boston. Initially, he came up with several reasons why that would not be possible but after weeks of persistence, he agreed for her to come over. She also thought that perhaps if there was anything lurking in John’s past, it would unravel during her visit. Being her first time in Boston, there were lots to see and do. He took her everywhere he went, and they had a great time together. Within the year, they both made frequent trips back and forth to see each other and to continue to build their relationship. They discussed marriage and plans for the future; everything seemed to be in place. Although she kept waiting for a “shoe to drop”, John maintained his countenance throughout and never gave her reason to doubt or fear. He remained charming, considerate, and loving. Olivia eventually came to believe he could do no wrong, besides they met in church and that alone should be worth something.

One summer afternoon, during her lunch break, her phone rang. She assumed it was John, so she answered quickly. The voice on the other end of the phone was a male but it was not John’s. Is this Olivia? Yes, this is she, who are you? I can’t disclose my identity yet but I’m calling to talk to you about John. Oh no, is he okay, is he sick, did something happen, what’s wrong? Olivia was almost in tears at this point. Yes, said the caller, John is fine, please calm down. What is it then? Why are you calling and how did you get my number? Well, said the stranger, I’m not exactly sure how to break this news to you but I’m just going to blurt it out, John is engaged to be married.

No, that’s not possible, my John is not engaged This must be a mistake. Within the space of a minute, Olivia felt a range of emotions that included confusion, anger, disappointment, and pain. I must talk to John, there must be some logical explanation behind this, surely this is a mistake. She immediately dialed John and he answered. With panic in her voice, she asked if he was engaged? Following an awkward moment of silence, John said: “Olivia, it’s complicated but I can explain”

To be continued