*Giovani*
‘Do you ever think about retiring?’
I drummed my fingers on my desk, the wood steady and dull as I did the motion over and over. I glanced at my phone, still waiting for a call on our next move while I reached out for my drink. The bourbon in the glass was smooth, just the way I liked it, and though I had been cutting back on my drinking, I think I deserved a glass tonight.
Olivia’s soft pleading eyes haunted me, the words she’d spoken following me around like a ghost over my shoulder.
The simple question she had posed to me was easy to answer, but I hadn’t. I could’ve said anything, but the way she was looking at me, sad and tired and run down, had made me pause.
It wasn’t until then that I truly took in the differences from when I’d first met Olivia when she was hopeful, bright, and with a youthful glow that I thought would never disappear. Some might’ve called her naive or even sheltered.
