It was already the month of October. It was fall—the air breezy and leaves still falling off the trees. There was a crunch to be heard when you stepped on the leaves.
The way the leaves sounded when a gush of wind passed by, dragging them onto the concrete floor of the neighborhood...
The smell of wood and burnt leaves as they turned into the color of fire...
This month, I would be celebrating life and death. Life would mean that my birthday was coming up in a few weeks and death because it had been a month since Wilson Alexander's passing. I planned on visiting his grave later in the afternoon and maybe try to convince Pierce to come with me. I knew I would have a slim chance but it was worth a try.
I came into the office that morning, bringing with me fresh flowers for Wilson. I put them in a vase with cold water to keep them fresh until the afternoon. I worked hastily on all the things that should be done for the day. In the afternoon, I gathered up all the courage to ask permission from Pierce. After that night he took me home, he had been more approachable but I still felt intimidated by him. I was now standing in front of his thick wooden door as I exhaled loudly before I knocked three times.
I heard him say, "Come in."
I entered his office and called out his attention, "Mr. Alexander?"
He was concentrating on some papers on his desk, typing something important on his laptop. He looked up to me and noticed that I was already carrying my coat and purse, with Wilson's flowers on my other hand.
"What's with the flowers? Do you have a date?" he asked curiously.
I chuckled at his assumption that made him raise an eyebrow at me. I quickly cleared my throat. "No, sir. I'm actually here to ask you if I could leave earlier..."
"To meet with your date." He didn't question me but stated it as if assuming that he was right. I noticed that his jaw clenched.
"Um no... I'm actually going to visit your father's grave. It has already been a month." I responded, somewhat annoyed with his assumption.
"Oh."
His expression softened. He didn't know what to say after that so I took the opportunity to ask if he would like to come with me.
"Would you like to come with me?"
Pierce looked taken aback with my question. I could see the turmoil in his eyes, wondering if it would be right thing to do. He continued to stare at me, and I sensed that he didn't want to decide or probably just didn't want to do it. I took a piece of paper out from my purse and wrote the cemetery's address and the location of Wilson's grave.
"If ever you change your mind." I slid the paper on his desk. He didn't accept it or anything. He just let it sit there, afraid that it would burn him. I gave him a reassuring smile and walked out of his office.
Before I headed to the cemetery, I went to a café and ordered myself some hot coffee and a strawberry tartlet. I filled my stomach with a little something to eat so I could stay longer and talk to Wilson.
I felt excited to see Wilson again. I had missed him every day and I always thought of him. I had a lot to talk about and it would feel just like the old times—only I wouldn't be able to hear his hearty laugh or his words of wisdom, and most especially, not able to see his smile again.
I didn't notice that I had already walked up to his grave. I smiled and laid out my coat on the grass where I sat myself comfortably in front of his gravestone. I began arranging the flowers I brought for him on the ground and cleaned some dried leaves that were littered around his surroundings.
"Hey, old man," I started and took a deep breath, "I've missed you. The office isn't the same without you. Your lame jokes would have been useful now. You know, to cheer me up."
I paused and just sat there, tears planning their escape from my eyes. "Thank you," I said in a hushed whisper.
"You're a sly old fart. You know that?" I chuckled at the same time, I started crying. "I told you, I didn't need your help. I can take care of myself." I began to sob. He wasn't really fond of people rejecting his offer so whatever he could do to help, he would immediately take action.
"It means a lot but you really didn't have to." I was silent for a moment, trying to hear the leaves rustle around me. "I won't let you down, I promise. I assure you that Pierce is in good hands with me. He might not be as pleasant as you but we can work something out."
"I already met him and you never mentioned how good looking he was." I giggled then sniffled the snot that was clogging my nostrils. Real classy, Olivia.
I softly padded my fingertips onto his engraved name. This would be my closest contact—my only contact—with him from now on. The cold stone just felt dead. There wasn't any life to it.
"Your son... he's a good man. I know it. I just wished you didn't cower away. It would have been difficult at first to establish their trust again yet in the end it would have all been worth the effort... b-because family forgives. Deborah and Pierce don't hate you. They just need you to be there for them."
"I guess it's too late now..." I whispered, trying to contain my tears.
I was silent, unable to speak as I took my time to let Wilson know that I was here.
Suddenly, I felt someone behind me. I then heard footsteps and the crunching of leaves. I immediately stood from my position and whipped around to see Pierce leaning against a tree. His stance was relaxed and he was looking at me in awe. It looked like that he had been standing there for quite some time and listened on to my conversation with Wilson. My eyes bulged from their sockets as I realized the things I had said.
"W-what are you doing here? How much did you hear?" I snapped at him, swiftly wiping off the tears from my face with the back of my hand. I wasn't supposed to react this way but I was already panicking.
He chuckled and gave me a smile that actually reached his eyes. "You gave me directions to my father's grave. I changed my mind so I came." He shrugged his shoulder.
"Right," was all I could mutter. His smile was blinding. He had straight white teeth and a dimple below his lip that was positioned a bit on the right.
As I ogled him, I didn't know that he had already stood beside me. He towered over me, but his gaze was looking somewhere else, at a far distance. He was silent for a minute before he asked, "How did he die?" He said those words gently, more like a whisper.
I could feel that it pained him to ask me that question. I was lucky enough to have known Wilson and yet Pierce was here, standing in front of his grave without any memory or relationship with his own father.
"Heart problem... died in his sleep. He overworked himself too much," I told him sadly. It was quiet for a while. I waited for him to say something but when I looked up, his eyes were closed.
"Did he ever talk about us?" he questioned.
"He always did." I smiled at the memory where Wilson had told me some of the stories about his beautiful wife. Also, those times when Pierce was still a baby.
I heard him sigh as if trying to process the information. I wanted to ask what he was thinking about but I might just anger him.
I moved a few inches away and faced Pierce. I stood there as I observed his calm posture. It was peaceful and his breathing was steady. I didn't know what I was doing but I felt that he probably needed it.
So, I hugged him.
I buried myself on his chest as his scent overpowered my senses. I felt him stiffen from my action. I planned on making it brief, just a friendly hug, since I didn't want to make it more awkward between us. I was about to pull away but then I felt his arms circle around me as he hugged me back.
We were just quiet, letting our hearts do the talking instead of using our mouths to utter the words that couldn't be explained with what we were feeling then.
"I'm sorry," he whispered through my hair after the long silence. I looked up at him with a puzzled face on. He genuinely smiled and told me, "That night at the club, I told you things that I didn't mean. It was wrong of me to judge you without getting the chance to know you first. I'm really sorry."
I had waited for him to say those words for a long time and it was pointless to stay mad at him.
I smiled, "You know, pizzas make a good compensation." It was my own way of saying – Yes, I forgive you.
I understood why he acted the way he did. He was angry and lost. I just hope that after this intimate moment that we're sharing right now, we could become friends.
He had an amused expression at how swiftly I changed my mood.
"Are you trying to lure me into buying you pizza?" He raised an eyebrow at me and smirked.
"Maybe." I shrugged, hoping that he'd buy it.
"Okay, let's go get pizza then."
"Wait, really? It was that easy to convince you?" I chuckled.
He started walking. "Are you coming or not?"
"Coming!" I looked back at Wilson's gravestone. It was time to say goodbye and visit him some other day. "Hey old man, did you hear that? Pierce is treating me to pizza. I'm really happy that he decided to come. I'll be back soon. Don't miss me too much."
I hurried my steps to catch up with Pierce. It brought me great joy to see Pierce taking a small step forward to talk about his father. It wasn't much, but I was sure Wilson was pleased to see that Pierce made an effort to visit his grave.
I grabbed Pierce by his arm and pulled him as we walked briskly, exiting the cemetery. I then realized that I had been dragging him along with me without asking him where he had parked.
I abruptly stopped on my tracks and turned to face him. "Um, where did you park?"
Pierce laughed and he led me to the parking lot. He opened the door for me as he waited for me to get in without pushing me onto the front seat like the last time. He took me to an Italian bistro that was just nearby. The place was small yet it had an elegant interior, matching the colors white and gold.
It was weird that I felt comfortable around Pierce. Now that everything was okay between us, I could converse with ease. He wasn't really that hard to talk to, I realized.
We ordered pizza with prosciutto and arugula as toppings. It was an eighteen inch hand-tossed pizza. I doubted that we would be able to finish it but Pierce was the one who decided on what to order. The food was served after fifteen minutes and I was already anticipating on eating a slice. I heard Pierce chuckle, clearly entertained that I was embarrassing myself.
"Why do you keep looking at me like that? What's so funny?" I asked.
"It's just refreshing to see you react this way. All the women I had gone out with were usually proper and poised."
"Oh." A blush was now creeping up my face. He had gone out with a lot of women. Of course, he had. Just look at him! His face was perfectly carved, most probably his body too. The accent was also unbearable. Obviously, any woman would swoon over him.
I would.
I mentally shook my head. It's overstepping boundaries, Olivia. He's your boss and you're not here for love. Build your career and get an education, I repeated to myself, over and over.
"Olive?" Pierce called out my attention.
"Huh? What?" I snapped back from my thoughts.
"I was talking about finding an apartment here in New York. Maybe you can help me."
"Have you considered staying at your father's home or staying at Alexandrite Hotel?" I carefully asked Pierce. I knew he wasn't going to like my suggestion.
I saw that his jaw visibly clenched from the mere mention of his father. "I really don't like to be reminded of him so if you could find me a place that isn't touched by my father that would be great." He tried to be calm but I could sense the hostility in his voice.
"I'll work on it tomorrow, Mr. Alexander."
"Drop the formalities, Olive. You can call me Pierce." He showed off his smile once again. He had been doing it a lot today. It was weird yet I couldn't help but admire his face when he smiled genuinely. He looked more alive and happy.
"Okay... Pierce." His name rolled off my tongue and it felt foreign. He smiled, satisfaction written all over his face. We returned to eating our dinner as we dove into a heated debate that chocolate may or may not be a good topping for a pizza. Our conversation flowed comfortably and I didn't mind at all.
He then took me home after, like the gentleman he was, and I couldn't help but feel fuzzy on the inside when I returned to my apartment. I actually had a great time.
I liked this new Pierce.