Three Wishes (Dreams Come True #3) (5 page)

Chapter Five

Ben

“Where shall we begin?” I folded my hands on the table and waited for Olivia to direct the process.

Her face scrunched up. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re pretty smart. I don’t want to waste your time trying to teach you something you already know. So…what do you want to learn?” Leaning in, I grinned. She positively lit up.

“Can I learn to work the camera and edit? Maybe I should even learn to make money doing this.” Her lips pursed as she considered what she’d shared.

I laughed. “You wanna make money? You’re five. What do you need money for?”

Ollie shook her head. “It isn’t for me.” She paused and glanced around the living room. When she realized her mother wasn’t in sight, she continued. “It’s for Mama.”

I swallowed hard. “For your mama? Why?”

Standing, she walked over to me.  “Are your hands clean?” I held them up for inspection.

“I think so, but I’ll do it again if you’d like.” My smiled faded as I was again reminded of how sick she was, the kind of life she lived, and the real reason I was here. This wasn’t some fun school project.

Slowly, she climbed onto my lap. “I don’t want Mama to worry about money. I know she does. I want to help. I won’t be here forever, you know.”

I raised a brow. “None of us are, Ollie. We have to make the most of the time we have.” I shrugged. “So you want me to teach you how to make movies and help you make money?”

Nodding happily, she exclaimed, “Yeah!” Then her head tilted to the side. “How do you make money?”

I licked my lips as I considered her question. “Well, some of my money comes from my inheritance.” I didn’t want to focus on that, so I hoped to distract her with my current method of self-employment. “For the last few years, I’ve been building a blog.” I eyed her curiously. “Do you know what a blog is?

Shaking her head, Ollie admitted quietly, “Nope.”

“It’s a website where I share things I care about. It’s kind of an online diary.” Honestly, maybe all these words were foreign to her. “Do you know what a diary is?” My brow furrowed as I studied her face.

With a shy smile, Olivia pushed off my lap and disappeared down the hall. Less than a minute later, she returned with a big spiral notebook clutched to her chest. Reluctantly, she passed it to me. “This is my diary.”

Surprised, I held it a moment before ever opening it. “You know, diaries are supposed to be a safe private place. Are you sure you want me to see this?”

She stared at it a moment with her head tilted to the side, then nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. Maybe we can use it in my movie.” She waited for me to say something and finally urged, “Open it, please.”

Taking a deep breath, I worried over what I’d see on the pages. Given her age, the diary consisted of a series of pictures, dating back a couple years. “When did you start this?” My words were barely audible. I feared I already knew the answer.

“My feelings doctor told me to do it when I was four. I’m almost six now.” Her chest puffed out proudly.

“You’re very wise for your age,” I commented as I carefully flipped through the pages. There were pictures of a stick figure Ollie who lay in bed, sometimes sleeping, sometimes crying. There were pictures of her being comforted by a stick figure mama. I saw the seasons changing as she drew pictures of life outside her bedroom window, a life her medically fragile body couldn’t participate in. My heart ached for her. It took a few breaths for me to get my emotions under control. I didn’t do well with death and sickness.

“Now you.” She crossed her arms over her chest and set her chin determinedly.

“Now me what?” I couldn’t stop thinking about the images I’d seen.

“Now you show me your blog. I wanna see it.” She looked as though she were prepared to argue her point.

Standing, I walked to where I’d left my bag and pulled out my laptop. Opening it, I managed to find a neighbor who didn’t have their wi-fi password protected. Once online, I pulled up my site to share with Olivia. I set the laptop on the coffee table and turned it for her to view. “I make movies of people I meet. Then I post them and write about them.” I clicked on the embedded video and the story of the hot dog guy began to play.

I watched as Ollie soaked it all in. Her eyes widened when he told all the places he’d been. Then, when the movie ended she shook her head sadly and pushed the laptop toward me. It wasn’t the reaction I had anticipated. “What’s wrong? You don’t like it?” I frowned. Her approval seemed suddenly very important to me.

“It’s not that,” she mumbled. Taking a breath, she sighed. “You did a really good job, Ben.” I bit my lip to keep from laughing at her grown up ways. “I’m just sad because I’ve never been anywhere.” Her shoulders drooped.

A moment later, Charlie’s voice broke the uncomfortable silence. “Now that’s not true.” She pretended to give Olivia a stern look. “You’ve visited some of the finest hospitals in Montreal and the province of Quebec.” Then she picked up Ollie and tickled her until she giggled. We exchanged sad smiles. I could feel her pain and I admired how she tried to stay positive despite it all.

“Wow. I haven’t really been to any hospitals.” I looked away because I was suddenly reminded of visiting my mother.

“All we visit are hospitals.” Ollie threw her hands in the air.

“When you get better,” Charlie began.

Shaking her head, Ollie interrupted her mother. “Mama, I’m not getting better.” Then she turned to me. “Let’s get working on this movie. Okay?”

My eyes widened and I nodded. “Yeah. Let’s talk about cameras. Come sit by me.” I sat on the couch and gestured for her to join me.

“Yes, let’s.” Then she plopped on the couch and crossed her arms while she waited.

***

Charlie

My eyes did that tearing up thing the minute Ollie turned her back. Her words stung, cut me to my very core. I held a fist to my lips, then turned away and hid in my room while I tried to get my emotions under control. At the rate I was going, Ben would never want to come back and I’d have ruined everything for my daughter yet again.

Guilt gnawed at me all the time. It seemed like my fault she was sick. It was my fault she didn’t have her father. It was my fault the two of us were the only family we had. It didn’t matter how many scenarios played out, I couldn’t imagine a way for our life to be different. I couldn’t imagine life without her, like it would’ve been if I’d had the abortion Damien demanded. I couldn’t imagine her battling leukemia without me, like she would’ve if I’d have gone through with the adoption my mother insisted upon.

I paced for a few minutes as I concentrated on breathing and repeating words of comfort. “I am where I’m meant to be, living the life I’m meant to live.” After roughly ten minutes, I had pulled myself together and decided to check on Ben and Ollie. She could be a handful. He might need me. In all honesty, he’d been doing great with her. It was me who needed to be in his presence. Something about him had always soothed me, ever since the first time I threw myself into his arms in the hall as I left my father’s office.

When I wandered out from the bedroom, careful not to intrude, I found Ollie dancing happily in the middle of the living room before dropping onto the ottoman to recuperate. “What was that all about?” Her exuberance made me smile.

“Ben bought me everything!” She sank onto the floor and sprawled out with her hand on her forehead. “Everything!” Her voice came out a squeal.

“What does everything mean?” I directed the question at her, but in her excitement, she couldn’t answer. Turning to Ben, I tried again. “Can you tell me what this ‘everything’ is?” I could feel panic rising in my chest. I didn’t want to be beholden to anyone. I didn’t want some stranger spending money on her. Apparently, I started tapping my foot because when I followed Ben’s gaze, he was staring at it. Flustered, I stopped and stormed off in a huff. I only made it as far as the kitchen, reluctant to give him the space to do more damage. Leaning on the counter in the far corner of the room, I stared out the window at the passing cars.

“I’ll be right back,” Ben murmured. I could hear the squeak of the springs in our secondhand couch, which suggested he’d stood. A moment later, I heard his shoes on the linoleum and I whipped around to glare at him.

“What?” I snapped.

“Whoa!” First, he held his hands out in front of him protectively, then he made a big show of putting on his sunglasses.

My mouth twitched involuntarily. “Sunglasses? Inside? Really?”

“I needed protection from the laser beams shooting from your eyes.” He grinned and took a cautious step forward. “Relax. I can explain.” Once more his hands were extended before him as he closed the distance between us. “The everything, as Ollie liked to phrase it, is equipment she needs…a laptop, a camcorder kit, some software for editing, that kind of thing.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure what your objection is, since I’m not paying for it. It’s all part of the package.”

“The package?” For some reason I could hardly process his words.

“Yeah. Make-a-Wish, remember? I told you I was here to make your wish come true.” His brow furrowed in confusion.

Suddenly, I realized the truth of his statement. My shoulders sank and I blew a breath slowly from between my lips. Finally, when I’d finished, I spoke. “I’m sorry. Again. As usual.” I threw my hands in the air. “Money, supporting us, has become a matter of pride. I hope you can understand.” I studied his response, but he still seemed bewildered. In frustration, I growled before sharing something intensely personal. I wasn’t ready for this. “My mother said I’d never amount to anything; that I’d come crawling back once I realized I couldn’t support us.” I swallowed hard. “She kicked me out when I refused to put Ollie up for adoption long before she was ever born.” I turned away, pained by the sympathetic look in his eyes. “So I’ve spent the last six and half years proving her wrong.” For a moment, I stared silently out the window, unsure of what to say, my heart pounding in my ears as I waited for a reaction.

Slowly, his arms encircled my waist as Ben pulled me against his chest. Then we gradually began to sway. Finally, he leaned low and began to sing in my ear. “Just call on me, Charlie, when you need a friend. We all need somebody to lean on.”

I couldn’t help but giggle. “Lean on Me?”

“Yeah. It was the first thing that came to mind when I saw you looking sad and alone.” Ben gave me another squeeze before turning me in his arms and forcing me to face him. “I’m around. I know I’m here for Ollie, but that doesn’t mean I’m not here for you too.” He smiled warmly at me and my stomach started doing that freaky fluttery thing again. “In other news, you have an awesome giggle. You should really use it more. No joke.”

My face warmed and I knew his compliment had me blushing. “Well, I don’t have a lot of cause to use it.”

“I can change that.” He bent low and I froze. For a second, I thought he was going to kiss me and I discovered I wasn’t at all opposed to the idea. Instead, his hands trailed up my sides and soon he was tickling me.

Involuntarily, I began to giggle, then laugh almost hysterically as I tried desperately to get away. “Stop!” I could barely catch my breath to protest.

“Okay.” Ben released me and took one step back, then almost as a second thought, he moved in again and planted a kiss on my cheek. My hand flew up to cover the spot. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” He bit his lip, turned, and froze.

Once more, I followed his gaze and realized Ollie was peeking around the corner with a camera pointed at us. “What are you doing, Miss Thing?” I smirked at her while she covered her mouth with her hand.

Slowly, she lowered it and revealed a wide smile. “Making a movie.”

“Of course you are.” I looked at Ben helplessly.

“Don’t worry. This is the kind of thing edits are made for.” He laughed, then picked Ollie up and carried her back to the living room. “Let’s get to work.”

I leaned my back against the counter and marveled over my Monday. My cheek still burned from where Ben had pressed his lips. My stomach was in serious upheaval. For the first time in forever, Olivia didn’t need me to entertain her all day. Grateful for the quiet, I sat at the end of the table and went to work on my laptop, eager to make use of the time.

Two hours later, I realized my stomach was grumbling. When I looked up, I found them playing with the camcorder. “Anyone interested in lunch?” I stood and moved to the kitchen as I waited for a response.

“Me!” Ollie sounded happier and more excited than she had in a very long time.

“Grilled cheese?” My suggestion was based on what I had on hand and was easy to prepare for three.

“Yes, please. Can Ben stay for lunch?” Olivia had rushed into the kitchen to ask me. Her hands were clasped under her chin like she feared I’d object.

“Of course.” I grinned. “You better make sure he has time. We don’t know what he has planned for today.” I was already pulling bread out of the wrapper and reaching for the softened butter on the counter when he peeked in.

“I can stay all day, if you want. I have no plans.” He laughed. “The joys of being a graduate student.” Suddenly his voice changed to sound like the genie in
Aladdin.
“Ultimate open schedule. Itty bitty bank account.” He winked. “Seriously, grilled cheese sounds wonderful.”