The Love Goddess

Their story began in Paris. The City of Love. One of my favorite places. I had to help, just to push them together gently. They were perfect together. So I sat behind Olivia, quietly whispering for her to turn on her light, knowing Emmy was up and would see it. Olivia was gorgeous. The most brightest smile I had ever seen, with long blond hair and pale blue eyes and full pink lips. When you look at her, you can’t help but smile. She radiates. Makes you believe the world is good. The person everyone wants to be. Funny, kind, caring. Emmy was gorgeous, too, but didn't realize. She made people take a double take, but was too shy to realize they admired her. Bottleneck green eyes, and deep brown hair, that reached right below her shoulders, with lots of freckles, and thick lashes. She had always struggled, but put everyone before herself, and loved everyone with a full heart. The sweetest girl in the world. She needed Olivia, just like Olivia needed her.

They were neighbors. Emmy wanted to say hi but had just moved in and still didn’t know anyone. So she observed. Watered her herbs when Olivia was suntanning, or eating dinner outside with a book when Olivia had friends over. She noticed how Olivia always said bonjour to Mrs. LaRue, the little old lady in the balcony below. She noticed Olivia always has flowers on her balcony. She didn’t know Olivia watched her, too. Olivia saw her read in the mornings, or talk with her brother, the only time she smiled. She saw her always stop to talk to the children in their neighborhood. She saw Emmy dance when she thought no one watched.

And that morning, Olivia looked so sweet to Emmy. And it was the perfect time, right at 1AM where reality is so altered that it’s almost like a wonderland. Nothing is real and nothing can go wrong.

Emmy was always up, never sleeping. Insomnia was one of the many illnesses she suffered from. But she used her time to cook or read or paint. She loved to cook, and her favorite spot to read was a big, poofy armchair that almost swallowed her tiny frame. She was reading Hamlet for what seemed like the fifth time when Olivia got up. She weighed her options heavily, as always, and decided to go, wrapping a blanket around herself before stepping out into the chilly breeze. 

Olivia was curled up in a chair, tea cradled near her heart, her face in a halo of steam, that old band sweatshirt she wore to bed falling off her shoulder when she heard small, tentative footsteps. She was excited to hear Emmy, but acted calm, and sipped her tea. 

“Hi. Bonjour?” Emmy called. She pulled a chair by the edge, and they were so close. I chose to sit off to the side, to see a clear view of their faces. I’ll never forget the look Olivia gave her, turned her head and smiled, a full smile, for someone she didn’t know. Emmy gave a small smile back. She immediately blushed, feeling embarrassed by her brother's old shirt and large glasses. She looked different at night, and didn’t want Olivia to be disgusted. I whispered in her ear, sit up tall, baby, you look stunning. She did. The light from the moon shone on her face and her eyes twinkled. Her back straightened.

“Hi. Bonjour. I haven’t met you yet. I’m Olivia.” Olivia held out her hand, rings wrapped around her fingers. The moment Emmy took it, I could tell they didn’t want to ever let go. For Emmy, it felt like everything was going to be okay. For Olivia, it felt like her dreams were closer than ever.

“Emmy,” she said quietly.

“Can I get you something? Coffee? Tea? It’s cold out here.” Olivia leaned closer to Emmy and I could smell the last remains of her perfume. Elegant, with flowery hints.

“I’ll take coffee, please.” Olivia got up and  walked inside, and Emmy stared out into Paris. She couldn’t get used to the fact she could see the Eiffel Tower, so brightly lit up and towering over the buildings below. That people live here, and it just blends into their landscape after a while. 

Olivia was calming her heart rate, and needed the distraction. She liked Emmy. Very much. Looking in the mirror, she thought she looked terrible and considered changing, or brushing her hair, which was in a loose knot on top of her head. She thought of Emmy outside, looking adorable in her blanket, and the dried tears on her cheeks that Olivia wanted to ask about, and her hair, which was loose and slightly wavy. Olivia wasn’t used to being self-conscious. So I again whispered to her, you look good, she’ll like you either way. Relax, sweetheart. Olivia smiled to herself and prepared the coffee, just the way Emmy liked it, because Olivia had watched and seen her make it. She took a deep breath and carried it outside. 

“Paris at night is so peaceful,” she said. Emmy whipped around, her eyes scared, only to see Olivia holding a white mug out. She relaxed.

“Thank you.” The coffee was a rich tan, full of cream, and after she tasted it, sugar. She was surprised.  

“Of course.” They lapsed into silence, staring into the dark.  

“Why are you up so late, or early, I guess?” Emmy tried giving a small smile again, and I was so proud. It took a lot for her. 

“I don’t have anything tomorrow, for the first time in ages. It’s freeing. I still don’t know what to do yet. Maybe I’ll go for a picnic. The possibilities are endless, ma cherie.” Olivia laughed, and it made the space feel impossibly full. She didn’t want to scare Emmy off after seeing how jumpy she was.

“That sounds exciting. A picnic would be beautiful tomorrow. Perfect weather. Versailles is supposed to be gorgeous.” Emmy had always wanted to go to Versailles.

“I’ve never gone.”

“Oh, me neither. I just moved here.”

“Where’d you move from?” 

“I’m taking a gap year. I’m from California, sort of.” She was actually from Maine, then Ohio, Arizona, then New Mexico and had lived in California for the past 3 years, but Olivia didn’t need to know about the foster homes.

“What part? Would I know it?” Olivia wrinkled her eyebrows together, and all Emmy wanted to do was reach out and smooth them out. 

“Um, I don’t think so. Corona Del Mar?” Olivia pouted and shook her head. 

“Well, what are you doing tomorrow? We can go to breakfast. I know all the good places, I’ve lived here for seven years.” 

“Sure, I guess. Are you sure? You just met me.” Emmy was nervous, and very scared. Olivia looked so hopeful.

“Of course I’m sure. It’s the perfect time to get to know each other! This is gonna be so fun!” Olivia squealed and clapped her hands, and Emmy laughed. Her happiness was infectious. Olivia smiled to herself, proud that she could make Emmy laugh. She hadn’t seen her really smile, or really laugh at anyone beside the neighborhood kids.

“I don’t have anything.” Emmy was still apprehensive. 

“Damn right! You better clear your schedule. We can leave at 8:00.”

“Wow, that’s early.” For breakfast at least, Emmy thought.

“We have to get there before all the tourists who roll out of bed at 10, ma choupinette.” Olivia grinned and Emmy couldn’t help smile back. She was starting to relax more. Olivia had that effect on people. She put them at ease. More silence followed as Emmy’s coffee slowly drained. 

“So, where did you go to school?” Emmy asked. She thought Olivia seemed older than 22, but Olivia laughed, not knowing how anxious that made Emmy. 

“I’m not that old! I’m 21 and currently go to Sorbonne University.” Emmy blushed.

“I didn’t mean you’re old, you just seem more sophisticated, I guess? I don’t know.” Her face grew redder, and Olivia laughed again.

“You’re cute when you’re nervous. What about you, though? You said you were on a gap year? Where are you going next year?” Emmy was too shocked for a minute to answer, and Olivia patiently waited, sipping her tea, but internally freaked out. It was too soon, wasn’t it. She had just scared Emmy off. But Emmy gave herself a little shake before answering, much to Olivia’s relief.

“Sorry, I’m going to Colombia.”

“Emmy, that’s great! Colombia’s such a good school.” Her face gave away her confusion, because Olivia carried on. “A lot of my siblings live in New York, so I try to visit them often. Maybe I’ll see you next year!” Emmy gave that pretty smile again, hidden by the rim of her mug. 

“How many siblings do you have?”

“Well, there’s my older brother Aidan and his wife and their 4 kids. Then Max, with his wife and their 3 kids. After Max, there’s Caroline, her husband and their 3 kids. I have a twin Logan who just had a baby, and lives in London and then I have a little sister Emma, who’s 16 and lives in Brussels, so usually I see her on the weekends. Our parents always wanted us to be independent, so all of us have lived in Europe in our teen years. It was especially fun when a lot of us were here at the same time, because we visited each other, but we didn’t all live in the same part.” Olivia ticked off her siblings as she went along, and at the end smiled. “So, quite a few of us.”

“I’ll say! That sounds fun, the whole Europe thing. I’ve never met anyone who's done that.”

“Me neither. My parents were both models when they were younger, so I guess that started it? We all began modeling young, and chose cities to help us with that.” Who was she, a goddess? Emmy thought. I laughed to myself. Olivia was a dream, and it seemed unreal. A huge, gorgeous family, who have relaxed, gorgeous parents who had the money to send all their kids to Europe? Olivia was lucky, and I remember her parents. Completely in love. “What about you? Here I am talking all about myself.” Emmy laughed, but winced after. She didn’t want to talk about them.

“Definitely not that special. I have an older brother named Knox, who lives in California, and I lived with him for 3 years. We talk almost every night. Um, my dad lives in Maine with my step mom, who is 15 years younger and just had a baby, but don’t really talk to them at all. My mom lives in Virginia, with my step dad and their two kids, not a fan of them either, but I visit in the summer. So very spread out.” Emmy’s parents were the typical college story: Got drunk at some party, ended up getting pregnant and felt obligated to stay together, convincing themselves they were in love. But after Emmy, they developed drinking issues, CPS was called and Knox and Emmy were sent to many, many foster homes, the same when they were younger, but they got separated when they were older, with no way to see each other or know how the other was doing. Emmy didn’t have a good experience with her homes. When Knox turned 18, the first thing he did was find her, and get her into therapy. He saved her life. But Emmy couldn’t tell Olivia that. 

“Oh geez. That sounds hard.” Olivia frowned.

“Not really. I’m glad I don’t live with either of my parents, not a fun childhood.” That was putting it impossibly light. Her childhood had ended up in countless scars, severe PTSD, depression, anxiety, insomnia and bulimia. She was scared of Olivia’s reaction when she did find out what happened. So instead she smiled. Olivia knew something was up, but didn’t want to question her when it was obviously a sore topic.

“Well, if you’re happy, I’m happy.” Olivia gave her a wide smile, and Emmy was immediately grateful that she didn’t ask questions. More silence followed her answer, and each girl was lost in their own thoughts. 

“I think I’m going to go back to bed, okay?” Olivia said, and stood up,  and watched Emmy’s eyes sadden.

“Okay. Goodnight!” Emmy didn’t want her to go. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, right, mon petit oiseau?” Emmy smiled at the name before nodding. “Yay!” Olivia grinned before holding her arms. Emmy stood up and let Olivia hug her. Her head was in the crook of Olivia’s neck and she loved it. She could smell the perfume Olivia had worn. The hug lasted for a while before Olivia pulled back and gave Emmy a small kiss on the cheek. Emmy immediately blushed. “Until tomorrow, ma belle.” Olivia waved before walking inside. Emmy stayed on the patio, grinning as she sipped her coffee and replayed the conversation. Oh, my poor Emmy, she was smitten. But I smiled and left, out the door of Emmy’s apartment. On the way down, I happened to see Mrs. LaRue. She smiled and blew me a kiss.

“A pleasure to see you tonight.” She was the first one in a while who could see me.

“I always look forward to seeing you,” I said with a smile. She was an old soul. 

“Well, I hope to see you soon.” She waved before heading back inside.

I was very happy with my work that night. Breakfast the next morning went exceptionally smoothly. The pair spent more and more time together before one night in early summer, Olivia asked Emmy out to dinner. Not like the fun, easy times they spent before, sightseeing and whatnot. Emmy had freaked out, but with a little help, looked stunning. That night was romantic, and they shone, happy and carefree. Three more dates, and they kissed. The very same day, Olivia asked her out under the Eiffel Tower, on the blanket they were having a picnic on. Olivia wanted to take it slow, and didn't want to scare Emmy, who had gradually opened up. But Emmy shrieked yes, a very unexpected but welcomed reaction by Olivia. They were the ones everyone aspired to be, completely in love. The end of the summer brought them to California, to visit Knox, who was beyond excited to see Emmy happy, and celebrate Emmy’s birthday. They flew to New York together for Thanksgiving, to spend it with Olivia’s family and even Amelia and Logan, who had welcomed a second baby, flew so they could all be together, but not before FaceTiming Knox and his new girlfriend. Christmas was spent in the bed of Olivia’s apartment, where they gave each other their gifts in private before going to church and later calling their families. New Year’s brought the moving of Olivia’s things into Emmy’s apartment, which was slightly bigger and had a better view. Olivia’s birthday was spent on a surprise trip to Spain, and Emmy took the very big step of saying I love you and it was received with lots of happy tears. For Valentine’s Day, they spent the day in bed, watching romance movies and eating chocolate, which was exactly the kind of date they liked. Later in the month, they visited Amelia in Brussels, to find out she had met someone, a very nice man named Henri. And then it was their one year anniversary of the balcony night. They went out to dinner, took a walk, laid in the grass outside the Eiffel tower. The night was sad, only because Emmy was scheduled to leave in a week. She hadn't told Olivia that she was accepted into the University of Paris, and had turned down Colombia. Olivia, of course, was beyond excited. And so the next year was filled with surprise trips, to visit family, especially Logan, who had twins, or for fun, as well as many dates. Emmy had grown tremendously, and laughed a lot more, and smiled just as often. She stopped visiting her mother. Olivia grew, too. She felt more happy, as she was finally living her best life. They fought sometimes, yes, and had to cool off before seeing each other again, but they would never let more than one night go by without working it out. And they continued to notice the little things in each other. Emmy danced around Olivia now, and cooked for them. Olivia liked wearing Emmy’s T-shirts to bed, and put flowers in their apartment, as well as their balcony. Summer and fall flew by, and one winter night Emmy was running late coming back from the grocery store. She was cold, and wanted food. When she unlocked the apartment, rose petals and candles led her out to the balcony, where Olivia was waiting on one knee. Emmy said yes. The next morning, they visited Amelia, who was living with her boyfriend, to tell her and call everyone. They were married on the beach, and everyone came, even Knox and his girlfriend. He walked Emmy down the aisle. Their honeymoon in Santorini was magical, and when they got back, the neighborhood kids who loved Emmy so much left a slew of presents. The next year was filled with two more weddings, three babies, a new townhouse and one dream job. And three months later, they welcomed a beautiful baby. Leo. With four more babies to come, I watched their life unfold around each other. They were so, utterly, truly in love. As I visited to see their third baby, Amelie, I saw Mrs. LaRue, who had moved into their apartment. She smiled and waved. 

“Excellent work, Mademoiselle Aphrodite. Excellent.”