Ruby gasped and Violet clucked her tongue.
She’d brought Chuck along on a few visits, and he’d been the talk of the town for days after, she’d been told. A minor celebrity with a killer smile who reminded the men of their youth and the women of feelings they hadn’t had for years, sure, Olivia could see it. She knew both her grandmother and Violet had a crush on him.
Too bad he’d stomped on her last nerve.
“That’s a shame,” Violet said at the same time Ruby gasped again. Her inhale was so sharp, a beat of panic struck Olivia’s heart like a drum.
“What is it?” she asked.
Ruby had sucked in a cookie crumb and began coughing. She held a hand to her mouth, eyes watering, and pointed at the TV. “It’s my Rebecca!”
Olivia flinched at the sound of her mother’s name. She andViolet turned to the giant flat-screen, and Olivia’s mouth fell open.
She expected to see one of her mom’s old movies playing on TV, but instead, she saw herself. And Chuck. Both of them half dressed and shouting at each other on the sidewalk.
“What the…?” She trailed off in shock.
Someone had caught them on camera from across the street. They stomped and flailed their arms, clearly arguing. She could not believe her eyes. There was Chuck looking like a six-pack snack in his jeans and nothing else, and there she was in her cutoffs, his shirt, and looking like…her mother. Her dark hair tumbled down her back, loose and still mussed from the scene on the kitchen floor. Her legs were bare and bronzed in her shorts. She could not fault her grandmother’s confusion.
Olivia dove on the remote and turned up the volume.
“You couldn’t pay me to get back together with you!” she heard herself shout.
And then she pulled off her shirt and threw it at Chuck.
Her whole body flushed with embarrassment. She had the urge to change the channel or at least jump up and stand in front of the TV to block her grandmother’s view, but she was too shocked to do either.
“Honey, that’s not Rebecca,” Violet said, her own mouth hanging open. “That’s…Olivia? Where’s your shirt?”
“Oh my god,” Olivia said, and threw her hand to her face. She went to change the channel, but Violet held out an arm to stop her.
The video froze, and the view zoomed out to a studio scene. It was one of those mindless TV shows where they played clips of videos from the internet and a comedian host made jokes about them. The host stood on a small stage beside the imagefrom the street projected on a green screen. His lips bent into an open-mouthed grin. “If they get any royalties off this video that’s blowing up the internet, she won’t have to worry about getting paid for anything ever again.”
A cold sweat broke out over Olivia’s body at the wordsblowing up the internetat the same time Grandma Ruby gasped.
“Olivia, why are you on TV?”
Olivia grumbled, frustrated for multiple reasons. “I have no idea. I don’t even know how they got this!” The video played again, and the urge to hide hit her like a lightning bolt. “I have to go.”
She didn’t want to leave, but she needed to get to the bottom of whatever had landed her half naked on TV. She had a sneaking suspicion it somehow had to do with a certain ex-boyfriend, and Willow Grove was not an ideal location for a shouting match over the phone with Chuck Walsh.
“You just got here!” Ruby protested.
Olivia stood and kissed her cheek. “I know, and I’m sorry. I’ll visit again soon.”
Violet gave her a sympathetic look and then reached for Ruby’s hand. “Ruby, how about we go for a walk, hmm? Get some fresh air?”
Olivia only hoped she still had a friend like Violet when she was their age.
She stepped back into the hall and caught a glimpse of Dr. Park having a conversation with a nurse outside her office. Olivia couldn’t shake the feeling it was on purpose and they intended to keep an eye on her. She thought she heard her call her name as she hurried toward the exit, and she chose to ignore it. Her concern over the video was rattling her brain too loudly to think of anything else anyway.
•••
Olivia drove home, and beforeshe got the chance to call Chuck, someone called her.
“Hello?” She answered the unknown number as she unlocked her apartment door and stepped inside. The small space still smelled like the coffee she’d made before she left to see her grandmother. She dropped her keys in a dish by the door and kicked off her shoes.
“Ms. Martin?” the man on the phone asked.