14 The Mystery Game

The next day at lunch time I’m not invited to go with Nancy and the others. No surprise there, after the way I snapped at Nancy yesterday. I look for the nearest cafe and sit alone with a latte between my hands. I observe people sitting near me for a while until I remember what’s in my purse. I take out my phone and call Miranda. 

“Who is this?” She asks. 

“It’s me, Olivia! This is my new number.” 

“You finally got a new number! Good for you! I was so sick of calling you home like we were in a bad 90’s movie. So, tell me what’s new.”

I proceed to narrate the awkward dinner I had last night. 

“I can’t believe your parents fought in front of a guest. They are out of control! Seriously, Oli, what else do you need to realize your parents are toxic? You will never have a normal life as long as you stay near them,” she whines in solidarity. 

I keep quiet. I know her heart is in the right place and my parents are difficult people, but it’s not easy to hear someone call them toxic. 

“They are my parents, I can’t leave them,” I whisper distressed. 

“I know you don’t want them to feel like they are losing you too, but you can’t let them ruin your life. They’ve been suffocating you for so long, you deserve to be free. Look at what happened with Sam, all the pain your dad caused you... and now they are chasing Handsome Intruder away...”

“That’s the strangest part. It’s hard to explain, but Stefan’s reaction was so odd... I get the impression there’s a history between them that I ignore... or rather a history with Stefan’s father,” I try to put my ideas in order, but it’s difficult, I’m only speculating from a few short sentences I heard last night. “Maybe I’m making it all up... it’s hard to tell.”

“Well... asking your parents it’s going to be a huge waste of time, but maybe you should ask Stefan. If there’s something you need to know, he can tell you.” Miranda says.

“I did ask him! He wouldn’t tell me anything,” I reply reviving my anger from last night. 

“That’s not right! You have to be very clear with him: He either tells you the truth or you are getting yourself a new man.” 

Miranda’s solution seems a little extreme. Especially because I don’t think I have the willpower to give Stefan an ultimatum. What if he refuses? Then I won’t see him ever again and the thought of that makes my heartache. To save face, I tell Miranda I agree; I hate to always be the weak one between us. 

I go back to the office and bury myself in work. There’s still so much to do before the audit next Friday, but luckily, I finish on time. Ivan comes for me and takes me home. I, once again, look for the blue BMW M8 when I arrive, but there’s no luck. Stefan is not here. I get a lump in my throat, maybe yesterday’s dinner was too much for him, maybe we did chase him away with our craziness. I don’t blame him, being near such a freaky family must be challenging. 

“Olivia, can we have a word?” My dad says as I walk inside the house. He gestures me to follow him to his office and I do. 

As we walk in, the intruders leave to give us privacy. None of them is Stefan. 

“Has your mother spoken to you about what happened last night?” My dad asks bluntly. 

“No,” I say with a frown. 

“Are you sure?” He insists. 

“Why is that surprising? When have any of you two ever spoken to me about anything?” I snap at him. 

My dad massages his temples with his thumbs. He looks tired.

“Don’t let her get any ideas inside your head. She is a disturbed woman and she’s not thinking clearly,” he says with his eyes closed. 

“What ideas?” I ask. “What happened last night? Why was she so upset?” 

My father opens his eyes and looks at me irritated.

“Just do as I say,” he hisses and then waves his hand to let me know my time with him is up. 

I leave the office feeling frustrated. He’s never going to change, never going to be honest with me. Neither will my mom. 

I go up to my room. My blood is boiling. I’m surrounded by secrets and dishonest people. I wish I had a punching bag to let all my anger out and burn some calories while at it. I’m so mad at my parents and at Stefan too for acting so secretive last night. 

I get a message alert, the sound startles me as I’ve become unaccustomed to having my cellphone on. It’s probably Miranda, the only person who has my new number.

          UNKNOWN NUMBER: Do you miss me?

It’s Stefan, I’m sure of it. Yet, I decide to tease him.

          OLIVIA RICCI: Who is this?

        UNKNOWN NUMBER: How was family dinner tonight? Another charming evening, for sure.

I don’t appreciate him making fun of my family, but I decide to let it slide this time. 

          OLIVIA RICCI: Where have you been?

          STEFAN CORVINO: Busy.

His cryptic answer reminds me of how mad I am at him for not telling me the truth last night. I already have to deal with secretive parents, I can’t put up with him being the same. If he wants to play the mystery game, he’s going to have to play alone. I turn my phone off. 

———

Slow day in the office, David, my boss, is busy being audited so I don’t have much to do. People around me are talking about their plans for tonight, it’s Friday and the excitement is palpable. I don’t have plans, I don’t even have friends, except for Miranda who’s going out with her long time crush, Barney; so I’ll probably just go home and watch movies in my pajamas. I look at the time on my screen, it’s only 3 pm, two more hours to go. I watch videos on the internet to kill time. It’s not like anyone is paying attention to what I’m doing, so I don’t care. After a while, I get bored so I take my phone out of my purse. I have a new message from Stefan. 

          STEFAN CORVINO: You didn’t reply last night.

          OLIVIA RICCI: You weren’t saying anything.

My hands are sweating. I’m upset he wasn’t open with me about what happened during dinner with my parents and I’m upset he’s so mysterious in general, but I’m still afraid of losing him. A few minutes go by and he doesn’t text me back. Suddenly it’s not only my hands, but my back and forehead feel sweaty too. Maybe I was too rude to him, pushed him too hard. I stare incessantly at my phone screen, wishing for him to reply. Maybe I should text him instead, try to clear the air. I’m trying to decide what to write when a call comes in. It’s Stefan! I pick up right away. 

“Wow, coldness runs in the family. First your mom and now you,” he says jokingly. 

The air comes back to my lungs, he’s not mad. 

“It’s not funny,” I say relieved. 

“May I ask why are you so hostile with me?” 

“I’m not! It’s just so frustrating when you act all mysterious... I wish you would be straight forward with me. Every time I ask you about yourself you either start joking or you simply change the subject. It’s not fair. I don’t know anything about you. The only time you answered a personal question you told me your age! That’s it, that was all you have shared with me...”

“That’s not true, I also told you I have no siblings,” he’s still teasing me. 

I groan, feeling irritated. “You know what, I have lots to do, talk to you later.” I lie willing to hang up.

“Wait!” Stefan shouts on the other end, he then sighs, like he’s surrendering. “If you are going to complain about me, I’d rather look at your pretty eyes while you do it. Let’s have dinner tonight and we’ll talk about this, what do you say?”

“Fine,” I mutter.