He hated reliving that day in his dreams. He wondered if, had they been just a little quicker, maybe the accident never would have happened. Getting out of bed, Olivia consumed his thoughts. His Olivia. He thought about the girl he knew all those years ago. And the girl he had met the previous week. It felt like two different Olivias. But they weren’t. They were the same Olivia, separated by twenty-one years of secrecy. August twenty-fourth. He hated that day more than anything. He thought it would feel different, knowing that Olivia was, in fact, alive and well. And in his life. But it didn’t. It felt the same. While he no longer mourned the loss of his best friend all those years ago, he still mourned not knowing Olivia during that time. He mourned not growing up with her. He mourned not being at her side. He got ready for his day, not wanting to stray from tradition. He contemplated texting Olivia just to say hello, but decided not to. He needed to focus on his day. He made a cup of coffee and went out to the front porch to enjoy a calm minute before the day got away from him.
