Malcolm and Olivia communicated only regarding the needs of the children. He began working for the City of San Antonio, where he earned a dependable salary. He and the kids moved into a comfortable house which wasn’t a pigpen.
To Olivia’s delight, shortly after their divorce finalized, a judge granted them joint legal custody. They worked out an amicable visitation schedule and functioned as a family again. Christian and Simone loved their bedrooms at her house.
Brinson never reared his head in her life again. She ran into his friend, Nell, at a restaurant. He shared that Brinson had just welcomed a baby into the world last month somewhere in Minnesota.
Found guilty of his crimes against Quinn and Olivia, Dr. Blair Fluellen received a sentence to serve time in prison. The mental health facility released Quinn, who moved to Ghana to continue healing from her ordeal.
Olivia’s phone rang snapping her back to the present moment.
“Hey. Whassup, girl?” Savvy squealed. “I know you’re on vacation. I couldn’t wait to share my news with you.”
Olivia pressed the phone to her ear to listen above the crash of the waves. “Did you get the Marketing Director position?”
“Yes.” Savvy’s joy emanated through the phone. “I wasn’t expecting it to happen this soon after the last promotion.”
“I don’t know why not. You’ve been working your tail off. Congratulations.” Olivia celebrated with a raise of her glass. “I just toasted you with a Tahiti Drink.”
“Thank you. Also, you’ll never believe who called me last night.”
“Who?”
“Remember Lil’ Bud from Tallahassee?”
“How could I not remember him. No one will ever forget Mr. Personality. What’s he up to these days?” Her glistening skin warmed by the sun welcomed the gentle Papenoo Beach breeze. The hot pink bikini she wore, complimented her melanin-rich skin tone. She adjusted the oversized beach hat and sunglasses to block her face from the rays.
“He’s coming to San Antonio for a meeting and wants to get together with us for dinner in a few weeks.”
“Oh wow. I haven’t seen him since we all graduated. Where does he live now?” Olivia asked as she scrunched her toes in the exotic black sand of the beach.
“He relocated to Houston a couple of months ago.”
“No way. I can’t wait for us to get together with him. Is he married?” Olivia asked.
“Nope. He said he had been engaged to someone two years ago. They broke up. He’s living the bachelor life and traveling the world.” Savvy laughed.
“Good for him. I’m sure he’s the life of the party wherever he goes.”
“You know it. I enjoyed our conversation about social life adventures in college and now,” Savvy chuckled. “FYI, when you see him, don’t call him Lil’ Bud. He goes by his full name. Buxton Davis.”
“Are you serious? Does he think we will ever call him by his first name?” Olivia asked with a dollop of sarcasm. “Whatever. He’ll always be Lil’ Bud to me. I don’t care what he calls himself now.”
“I kind of like the name Buxton. It’s different and memorable,” Savvy said.
“Hmm. Am I sensing some interest in Lil’ Bud or something? You sound smitten by defending his name,” Olivia pried.
“What? Me? Interested in Lil’ Bud?” Savvy asked feigning shock. “Girl, please. I’m excited about seeing an old friend after all these years. Why do you always have to elevate things to the extreme?”
“Ha. To the extreme, huh?” Olivia laughed. “I merely asked a simple question. Don’t worry, I won’t make any assumptions. I’ll wait and watch this scene play out. Before you know it, I’ll boastfully tell you ‘I told you so,’” Olivia chided.
“Whateva. You’re a mess,” Savvy laughed.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. See, you’re floating above clouds thinking about Lil’ Bud,” Olivia teased.
“Never mind. I see this conversation isn’t going anywhere,” Savvy said. “What are you doing answering your phone anyway?”
“Why are you contacting me when you know I’m on vacation?” Olivia laughed. “You called at the right time. We’ve been in the ocean for hours surfing. I’m in a beach chair watching the surfers now. I picked up my cell to snap a picture
when your name popped up on the screen. Believe me, I’m not spending much time on the phone since I’m on vacation.”
“Good. You better not be.”
“You won’t believe this. I got a tattoo.”
“What? I never knew you wanted one. What did you get and where?”
“It’s a black butterfly on my shoulder.” Olivia lightly ran her fingers across the ink on the sore area. “They represent transformation. Lord knows I’ve gone through life as a caterpillar, crawled into a cocoon, fought to get out, and now I’m flying free with beautiful wings.”
“Nice. Send me a picture. By the way, where is Mr. Wonderful?” Savvy asked.
“Hold up.” Olivia raised the beach hat back from her face. Soft lips landed on hers. “Hey, baby. You were great doing a hang ten out there on one of those monster waves. I’m impressed.”
Durbin’s freckled, tanned-face spread into a broad smile. The ocean water curled his afro around his ears. Droplets fell from the coils of hair across his chest. “You know I wanted to impress you. Are you coming back in to catch a wave before sunset?”
“Naw. I’m done for the day. I prefer watching you riding on that surfboard.” Olivia lowered her sunglasses and fluttered long eyelashes at Durbin. “You look sexy out there.”
“Anything to entertain my beautiful lady. You look pretty sexy yourself,” Durbin crooned.
“Ooh. Stop it,” Olivia swatted Durbin on the back of his board shorts. “Don’t stay in too much longer. We have dinner reservations at seven. Let me give you another kiss for luck.”
The two of them locked lips. Olivia’s hand grazed his sand-covered chest before he ran back to the ocean. “Surf’s up, baby,” Durbin yelled before paddling his way into the water on his board.
Olivia sighed and heard Savvy’s voice coming through the phone.
“Gag me with a spoon. You
