She couldn’t bear to think of what she knew would happen to her without Kit.
But was that true? Kathy had asked if they had to build their futures on a man. Right now, Olivia had the same question. The first time around she’d let her emotions and her pride get in the way. She hadn’t asked for help from anyone. But what if she did? What if after Kit left she asked her parents to help her? She knew without a doubt that if it came to it, her parents would move to another state. They would allow no shame to come onto their daughter or their grandchild.
She was a twenty-first century woman standing in 1970. If she was expecting—oh, for a drugstore pregnancy test!—she could handle it. She used to think she had no help, but it had been there all along. Her parents, Uncle Freddy and Mr. Gates, Dr. Everett. They were all there and ready.
As she prepared an early dinner—chicken with apricots, a recipe that Letty’s son’s wife had taught her—she began to feel better. When she’d been presented with the idea of going back in time, all she could think of was getting together with Kit. But now that she was here she saw that she had choices. What a fabulous word, she thought. Choices! There wasn’t just one man available and, even more important, the twenty-first-century woman had learned that a man wasn’t necessary to a woman’s happiness.
She was singing a Lady Gaga song and dancing around the kitchen when Kit came in. He had showered and put on a full set of clothes. Since they were alone, he slipped his arms around her waist and kissed the back of her neck.
Olivia twisted out of his grip. “Someone might come in.”
“Would that be so bad? Kissing is something engaged couples do.” He gave a pointed look at her empty finger.
“Housework,” was her explanation for why she wasn’t wearing the ring.
“Is dinner early because you’re going out tonight? And might I ask where?”
She had no intention of telling him the truth. “I’m going on a date. With Willie.”
“Ah,” Kit said as he picked up a carrot stick and crunched it. “Isn’t she the girl who works at your dad’s bank?”
Olivia didn’t answer him, but was annoyed that he knew.
“She called and said she was looking forward to going to the sale tonight and she asked me what she should wear. I told her high heels and tight jeans. She certainly does have a good giggle. And, oh yes, she really needs a new toaster.”
When Olivia didn’t comment, he sat down at the table and watched while she put bowls of food out. “So when do we leave for our date?”
“It’s my date and you’re not going.”
“I think we should do things together. With our clothes on. Get to know each other outside the darkness.”
“Does that include my knowing about you running around naked in the sunlight to get a full body tan?”
If Kit was surprised by her knowledge, he didn’t show it. He just smiled. “What car do you want to use? Bill and Nina are staying home tonight so we could go in theirs. I’m not sure Uncle Freddy’s old Packard is up to the two-mile journey into town. Or we could take the pickup. Maybe—”
“I have things to do.” Olivia modified her tone, made it less strident, less angry. After all, Kit hadn’t yet done the things she was furious at him for doing. When he said nothing, she stepped in front of him. “I’m not trying to be rude, but I really do have some very important things that I need to do and I can only do them alone.”
“Ah,” he said again.
“Stop saying that! We’ll go out tomorrow. I promise.”
Kit got up and went to the door. “I’ll get Bill’s car and meet you in the front in fifteen minutes. We wouldn’t want to miss a minute at—where was it?—Trumbull’s Appliance Store’s semiannual sale. I’m sure this will be a very exciting date.”
He was out the door before Olivia could say another word. This was something she hadn’t imagined. How was she going to get Alan and his Great Love together if Kit was hanging around? He liked to be in charge, in command. He liked to give the orders.
She called the kids to dinner and the men followed. They all wanted to know why she was dressed up and where she was going. She told them. Letty asked if she could go too; Ace asked if she’d bring back some ice cream; Uncle Freddy said the Summer Hill Bakery had blackberry pies; Mr. Gates asked her to find out how much a new stove would cost.
Olivia grabbed her sweater and ran out the door before they gave her more to do. Kit was leaning against Bill’s Chevy and cleaning his nails with a pocketknife.
“You want to drive? I wasn’t old enough to learn until last week.”
With an eye roll at his lie, she got into the passenger seat.
They were barely out of the driveway before Kit said, “Why is it so important for you to go to this sale tonight and why did you ask someone you hardly know to go with you?”
“How do you know she isn’t my best friend?”
“I can’t see you being pals with someone who giggles and flirts with a stranger over the phone. Not your type at all.”
Olivia had to agree with that! When Alan was dying, she got to know Willie well. Makeup, clothes, and who was going to pay her bills were her main concerns.
“You’re not going to tell me what you’re up to, are you?”
“I’m not ‘up to’ anything. Willie is new in town. I saw that Trumbull Appliances is having a big sale, so I invited her to go with me. Now are you satisfied?”
“Not in the least. Why did you really invite her to go with you?”
Olivia threw up her hands. “You are an exasperating man! Okay. I think she and Alan Trumbull would like each other. Happy, now?”
“Happier,” he said. “What are you planning to buy? I think our washing machine was used during the First World War.”
Kit was parking the car in the alley beside the bank. In a few years, the town would tear down three lovely old buildings to put in a parking lot. She started to reply to him, but the Caldwell family walked by. Six years from now, their house would burn down and Mr. Caldwell would die saving his youngest daughter.
“Are you all right?” Kit asked.
“Fine,” Olivia whispered. Mr. Deavers and his wife went by. They would lose their son in Afghanistan.
“Livie?” Kit pulled her into his arms and stroked her back. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t like knowing the future.”
He pulled back to look at her. “You can talk to me, you know. Tell me what’s wrong.”
She moved away and leaned back against the seat. Patty Ferris was walking with her high school boyfriend. When she dumped him to marry Sue Collier’s fiancé, there would be a lot of anger. But Patty would have three kids and be very happy, and Sue would leave town in a rage, go to law school, get her degree, and also be very happy.
“The future isn’t all bad,” Olivia said. “Sometimes good things happen.”
“Glad to hear it. Why do you really want Willie to meet the Trumbull kid?”
“So they can give Kevin and Alana a happy life. Or maybe it’s to ease my guilty conscience.” She opened the car door. “Why don’t you go have a beer somewhere while I do this?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Got any more people you want to match up? Uncle Freddy could use a girlfriend.”
She stepped out of the car. “How about you and Betty Schneider?”
“Not a bad idea. I hear she’s had a lot of experience.”
“More than you,” Olivia shot at him.
“If you want to believe that, go right ahead.”
She couldn’t help smiling and by the time they reached the appliance store, Olivia realized that Kit had teased her out of her bad mood. But the idea of seeing Alan again, even of seeing the appliance store, bothered her. She must have been attracted to the man at the first. She could tell herself that it had all been baby lust. She’d just lost her child, and there was Alan with a baby who needed a mother. At the time, it had seemed perfect.