There Will Be Freedom (not mine)

7. Return

"No, no, Olivia. I understand." I took her hand.

"I didn't even realize that we weren't visiting. Did we really leave you?"

"Everyone except Jaxon and Pattie," I said. "I got used to it after a while."

"I'm sorry. And then after you got out, we all thought you went back home until Freddie came to Chicago. He was screaming at Jeremy for days. No one knew where you were. We should have gone looking for you, but Jeremy said it wouldn't do any good. I was so stupid."

"It's okay, Olivia. I'm not mad."

"You're not?" She raised her head. "Really?"

"No, I let go of my anger a long time ago. Well, I do get mad sometimes when I think about everything, but I don't hold a grudge," I confessed. "It's not worth it."

"You're so mature." She giggled. "What happened to the freshman who didn't want to go out with me on her birthday? She was just a little girl."

"God, that was so long ago. We were so young." I laughed.

"We're still young," she corrected me.

"So, what are you doing now?" I asked her.

"Well, I went to fashion school, but decided I didn't want to design my own line."

"Really? Why not?"

"I don't know. I don't think I have the patience for something like that and no one would get my style." She shrugged. "I work for WGN now. It's the big Chicago TV station. I'm the head of the wardrobe department. I get them all prettied up for the camera."

"That sounds like something you would do."

"It's so much fun. I love it." She beamed proudly. "What about you?"

"Well, I got a degree in English in jail, and then when I went to Brazil, I took a few classes at the university there. I'm going to look for something in Chicago, maybe at a newspaper or publishing firm."

"You'd be good at that, definitely."

"Um, Olivia?" I leaned in. "What's wrong with Bridget?"

We both shot looks at her. She was in a corner of the room with crossed arms and a bouncing leg, as if she would rather be anywhere but here.

"She's really mad at the world right now." Olivia rolled her eyes. "Normal drama. You do realize that we are her only female friends, right?"

"I'm shocked," I replied sarcastically. "Bridget doesn't get along with women?"

"She's just one of those chicks, I guess. But after you got out of jail, she really missed you and you just never came home. She's pissed."

"Bridget doesn't have the right to be pissed." I squinted in her direction. She still wasn't paying attention.

"You know it always has to be about her."

I still thought of Bridget as a sister, but it was sometimes hard to get along with her when she went into her bitchy modes.

"Maybe I shouldn't be telling you this," Olivia whispered, "but they're trying to get pregnant."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it's not really working, though. She's lost like four so far. The doctors say she has a T shaped uterus. The sperm has to go over..." Olivia started making hand gestures.

"I get it," I stopped her.

"They've tried everything, but it's just not working. She doesn't want to adopt or use a surrogate though." Olivia sighed. "She can get pretty moody. You just learn to roll with it."