Overwatch

Felicity went downstairs and decided to go to the Diggle’s when she went out she saw baby Sara and John playing. “ Hi!” Felicity said.

“Hi! How are you?” John asked.

“Good, John, can I talk to you and Lyla?” Felicity asked.

John looked at her with concern, but he nodded and told little Sara to go and play inside. John called Lyla, who was in the kitchen and the three of them sit in the living room.

“Is everything ok?” Lyla asked her worried.

“Yes. I am actually here to tell you something, but first of all, I want to say thank you, your family had been more than wonderful to me and I really appreciate that.” Felicity said.

“You are good woman Felicity, and we are most happy to help you.” John smiled.

Felicity smiled and said. “I’m pregnant.”

John and Lyla looked at each other and then looked back at her, Lyla was the first to talk, “Congratulations, Felicity.”

But before Felicity could say thank you, John asked: “Oliver?”

“No!” Felicity assured him, “He is not the father. Actually, the father is not in the picture.”

“We are here for you, so don’t hesitate to ask us anything,” John said.

“Thank you, guys. I’m a little scared actually,” Felicity confessed.

“A child is always a blessing and I’m pretty sure that you will be a wonderful mother,” Lyla said.

On Saturday morning Felicity got up and started to work on the project Curtis sent her two days ago. Someone who has Felicity skills should have done in a day, but she didn’t know why she wasn’t capable of concentrating on it.

For an hour Felicity stared at her computer screen, frustrated she closed it. She took a shower, chose some clothes that help hide the beginning of her pregnancy bump, “because I’m pregnant and paranoid,” she said to herself.

When Felicity arrived at Verdant, Oliver greets her with a big smile, “Hello, stranger.”

She smiled at him, “I’m just going to sit there,” she points out the book room. Oliver nodded and told her “I’ll get you something to drink.”

Felicity entered the room, and read the titles until she found something to read, she picked up the book and took a seat.

Oliver arrived with an Iced Tea and some fruit, “So, no work today?”

“No, I really needed a break,” Felicity smiled.

“Ok, I’ll leave you with your book,” Oliver said.

“Thank you,” Felicity said.

Felicity got lost in her book, when she ended up she noticed that Verdant was empty, and Oliver was cleaning up.

“Oh! no Oliver, I’m sorry I just lost track of time,” She apologized.

Oliver looked at her and smiled, “Don’t worry, you’re just in time for dinner.”

And before Felicity could say anything Oliver was back from the counter and came back with two plates of lasagna.  

“Oliver, I should leave,” Felicity said.

“I’m pretty sure that both of you are hungry,” Oliver walked to one table and set down the plates. Three more trips to the back of Verdant and he made a beautiful table with awesome food.

“Did you make all of this?” Felicity asked.

“Well, yes, is it good?” Oliver asked.

“Are you kidding, this is the best meal I've ever had.” Felicity smiled at him.

“Glad you enjoy it.” Oliver drink of her virgin sangria. “How was the book?” he asked.

“It was amazing,” Felicity smiled. “You have a really great place here.”

Oliver looked down and smiled, “It was Thea’s idea actually, she loved reading and when I told her I wanted to start my own coffee shop, she suggested the book room.”

“Well, your sister is a genius,” Felicity added.

At the end of the evening they stood close to each other in front of Verdant when Felicity felt a mild butterfly floating in her womb, she immediately looked down.

“Are you alright?” Oliver asked.

“I’m fine,” Felicity looked up, “I think I just felt a growth spurt. I could be wrong.” Felicity looked away.

“Wow,” Oliver exclaimed. “It’s amazing that you had a life growing inside you.”

“I should go,” she took a step back.

“Good night,” Oliver got close to her and kissed her forehead.

Sunday morning Felicity took her car and went to Verdant, she didn’t know where Oliver lived. When she arrived, she saw the closed sign, “I should ask John to tell me Oliver address,” She waited for him in her car.

After a few minutes, he saw him running to the other side of the street wearing a gray hoodie. She got out of the car, “Oliver!” she crossed the street.

“Felicity, what are you doing here?” Oliver looked down at her.

“I think we need to talk,” she said.

Oliver nodded and then lead her to Verdant, “Of course you live here.” Felicity whispered.

Oliver smile and said, “I don't live here.”

Felicity nodded and she followed him to the books area.

“Take a seat, I’ll get some food,” he said.

Felicity waited for Oliver, fortunately, he arrived pretty quick with two sandwiches and two glasses of orange juice.

“Here it’s a cheese sandwich and juice,” Olive handed it to her.

Felicity took the sandwich, she wasn’t afraid of the morning sickness, she was hungry. “You are really something, you know that?” Felicity said.

He smiled and said, “You too.”

They ate in silence, and when Felicity finished her sandwich, she said: “I’m sorry for my reaction to last night, it wasn’t fair,” she looked at him. “But I don’t have a good experience with men that have big last names.”

She noticed that Oliver looked down at her belly, and she knew that he understood that she was talking about the baby's father.

“Felicity I know last night I hurt you, but believe me that was never my intention,” He took her left hand.

“Oliver I know, and I forgive you. I’m here because I’ll really like to hear your story.” Oliver left her hand goes and Felicity hugs herself.

Oliver took a big breath and began to speak, “My family had always had a plan for my future, I should be the next CEO of Queen Consolidated. Follow in my father’s steps, but I didn’t want to. So I did what any person my age with money would do.

I started to party, got drunk almost every night with my friend Tommy. I was kicked out of three different colleges. My parents didn’t know what to do with me. God,” He put one hand on his face, “Even I didn’t know what to do with myself.

“Years passed, and Tommy figure out what to do with his life, I felt so left out, I lost myself in alcohol.” Oliver got up and started to reshelve the books, “One night I got drunk and end up in jail because someone put drugs in my pockets,” Oliver looked at her, “I never did drugs in my life.” Felicity didn’t know why but she believed him.

“My father went for me at the police station, he paid a lot of money to get me out. He told me I was born to be a better man that it was in my blood because I was a Queen. I got mad and yelled, I told him that I didn’t want to run the family business, that I was tired of being a failure because he wants me to be like him.”

Oliver stopped talking, and Felicity noticed that he was doing the best to not let the tears out, when she was about to get up, Oliver started again, “A drunk driver hit us, neither of us saw it coming. I woke up three days later, with my mom next to me telling me that my dad had died in the car accident.” Oliver got back to sit next to her, “After that, everybody thought that I would have changed, but I didn't. I still got drunk at home. One night Thea found me on my bathroom floor, I don’t know how she did, but she put me on my bed. I remember her crying saying that she couldn't lose me too.”

Oliver took a sip of orange juice and added, “The next day I talked to Tommy, and he helped me find a clinic for rehab and then he helped me move here in Ivy Town. It was a lot of work but I found I was a better version of myself here.”

Felicity was crying, she really wanted to take all the pain from Oliver, “Your father would be very proud of you if he could see you right now.”

“According to my mother, my father will be proud of me if I come back and took the place that corresponds to me,” Oliver gave her a little smile, “I haven’t talked to my mom since then.”

“And your sister Thea?” Felicity asked.

“She comes on vacations or Holidays,” Oliver said.

Felicity felt happy for Oliver, that he had a good relationship with her sister. “Oliver, if you can accept me where I am now, I can accept you where you have been.” Felicity took his hand and added: “You can count on me as a friend.”

Oliver was stupid, how could he had left Felicity alone, she needed him now. That’s why she had told him that she was pregnant because she needed a friend. So here he was in front of her door, hoping that she would open it.

He rang the bell again when Felicity opened the door, he noted that her eyes were red. She'd been crying, and he was mad at himself because he gave her more pain.

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

“Can we talk?” Oliver said.

He saw Felicity hesitate, but then she let him in. He stopped in the middle of the living room.

She looked at him and asked: “Would you like water or ice tea.”

He looked at her and said: “Water will be just fine.

“You can have a seat,” she pointed to the couch and went to her kitchen. She came back with his glass of water and gave it to him.

He took a sip of water and began, “I’m sorry, I didn’t react the best way. Can you forgive me?”

Felicity didn’t answer right away, she kept looking into his glass of water, “I only found out a week ago, Oliver,” then she looked up. “I wasn’t trying to trap you. I wasn’t planning on luring you to my bed and then pretend that you were the father. I guess, I just wanted to be honest with you.” Felicity explained.

“I don’t think that you would do something like that,” Oliver said.

She almost smiled, “You hardly know me.”

“It’s the way I read you,” Oliver said.

She got up and said: “I’m only 6 or 7 weeks pregnant. Believe me, this was not planned. I decided to have this baby and be a better person.” She breathed. “So, I accept your apology. Good night.”

Did she shut him out? No way, Oliver was here for her, so he didn’t move and decided to be honest with her too. “I need to tell you something about me.”

“Are you pregnant too?” She joked and then she got serious. “Oliver, do you think whatever you have to say matters now? I mean we are going to separate ways, so what’s the point?”

Oliver moves close to Felicity, “I don’t want to go anywhere, Felicity. I’d like to be your friend.”

“You mean, do what is right and be a friend to the poor pregnant woman, who has nobody in this town?” Felicity taunted.

Oliver took a big breath while he put his hands on his head, Felicity really was making it hard for him, “Felicity I meant it, you can count on me.” He looked around, “I’m pretty sure that you are feeling lonely right now.”

A tear came down from Felicity’s eyes, she looked at him and said, ”Ok, tell me.”

“You might notice, that I haven’t told you my last name,” Felicity nodded at him, so he continues, “I’m Oliver Queen, and 5 years ago I did something stupid, that had bad consequences. I decided to put my last name behind me and start over again.” That’s what he can share right now, that he also needed a second chance in his life and he found it here.

Felicity got up and said, “Well, I am glad we’ve got things out, now we know where both stand.”

Oliver looked confused, and asked: “Where’s that?”

“Well, I’m pregnant and you are an ex-billionaire that got bored of his life, and life goes on.”

“You’re right,” he got up and started to walk to the door, but then he looked back and said: “Felicity, If you ever need someone to talk to, you know where to find me” and he left.

Oliver arrived at Felicity’s home and noticed that the lights were on, so that means she was there. He went up the stairs and rang the bell.

Felicity opened her door and looked surprised. The first thing that Oliver noticed was Felicity looked tired like she hasn’t been sleeping.

“Oliver, hi,” Felicity said.

Oliver smiled and showed her the mocha and pie, “Hi, I noticed that you weren’t around Verdant, so I bring some provisions.”  

Felicity took the mocha and pie, and say “Thank you, but you didn’t have to,” she looked back to the inside of the house and said, “Come in.”

Oliver took a look at her house, it was the first time that he was there, after he had helped John to fixed things.

“Felicity,” he put his hands in his pockets, “Have you been sick? Are you ok?”

Felicity looked at him and gave him a little smile that didn’t reach her eyes, “I’m fine Oliver, it's just I have a lot of work lately.” She put herself in front of the dinner table. “I guess that left me a little drained, I don’t know, maybe I’ve been homesick.”

Oliver nodded, he understood the feeling, he felt that way every day. He missed his friends, and his sister, Thea, but since he met Roy and the Diggle’s, the sadness was easier to handle. So Oliver would help Felicity with that.

“You looked like you need a day off,” he said.

Felicity looked at him like she was going to cry. Crap, he thought, I suck like a friend. “I didn’t mean that you looked bad or anything.”

“I know Oliver, I will keep it in mind,” she said.

“Felicity, would you come to the Saturday Special with me?” Oliver asked.

“No, Oliver,” Felicity answered.

“You won’t or you don’t want to come with me?” Oliver insisted.

“Oliver, I’m not in a position to go out with anyone. I cry if the sun comes out or if it’s cloudy and I overreact to everything else. I'm not a good company right now,” she looked down. “I’m not in a good place to date.”

Oliver knew what she meant, and also part of him want to change her mind, but maybe not today. “Did you think I was asking you for a date,” he gave her his a playful smile. “When I mean  ‘with me’, I am really talking about Roy and the Diggle’s.”

Felicity laughed a little.

“Tell you what, think about it, and tell the Diggle’s if you decide to go.” Oliver walked toward the door. “Good night Felicity, and if you ever need anything you can call me.”

Felicity decided to go to the Saturday Special, as always John offered her to go in one car, so she agreed happily.

When they arrived, Oliver was already there, he sat with her and explain all the logistics of the Saturday Special, apparently, people cooked their favorite dish and the bring it here and people just eat. Great, Felicity though just went she can’t stand food right now.

She picked up a plate and put some food on it, she didn’t want people to ask why she wasn’t eating. Maybe if she just played with her food nobody will notice it.

The evening went well, Felicity asked how Oliver and John met.

“Well I needed someone to kick my ass,” Oliver laughed, “Actually, before Verdant I really need a place to put my energy in, so Diggle trained me in his gym.”

“Diggle?” Felicity asked.

“It’s the what everyone calls me, but John is ok,” he smiled at Felicity.

Baby Sara was getting a little impatient, so John and Lyla decide to call the night off. “She is tired, maybe we should go,” Lyla told Diggle.

Felicity got up at the same time that John and Lyla, but Lyla stopped her, “No, you can stay a little more. I’m pretty sure that Oliver can take you home.”

“I’ll love to,” Oliver said.

Felicity hesitated for a moment, but then she nodded and said goodbye to the Diggle’s.  When they were gone Felicity looked at Oliver and said, “Can we go for a walk, I ate a lot.” She noticed that Oliver looked at her plate that was almost full, but he nodded and got up.

Oliver was happy that Felicity asked him to go for a walk, he always looked for an opportunity to get to know her better, but right now she wasn’t as talkative as she used to.

They both walked for a while in silence, until Felicity walked forward to a bench she took a seat, closed her eyes. Oliver couldn’t stop thinking about wanting to kiss her, he just wanted to press his lips against hers.

Oliver stepped in front of her, he didn’t know what to say so he was there watching her. Until she opens her eyes and said: “There’s something you should know about me.”

“Ok,” Oliver said confused.  

“After I graduated from MIT, I went to Coast City,” Felicity began, “I got a good job and met a guy, I kind of fell in love.” She smiled a little. “So I went all in for him, and he broke my heart.”

Oliver wanted to hug her and assured her that everything will be alright, that he was there for her.

“I messed up badly,” Felicity put her face in her hands.

“Here,” Oliver kneels in front of her, and took her hands out her face, “Everybody messes up, at some point Felicity.” He smiled at her.

“Well, I got the big price here,” she got up, “I’m pregnant.”

On Saturday night Felicity picks a white T-shirt, blue jeans and a pair of combat boots to go out with the Diggle’s. She left her hair down. She waited for the Diggle’s to arrive outside her house, they were driving her. She climbed in the back seat of their car excited for the evening ahead.

When they finally arrived, Felicity was astonished. The stage was huge, people were on the dance floor moving to the rhythm of the band. Food coming out of the kitchen, tables, and chair set around the floor where people can sit and eat.

“Come on,” Lyla grabbed her hand.

John, Lyla, and Felicity took a seat in one of the empty tables. John looked over her shoulder and waved someone over. Felicity turned around and saw  Oliver and Roy.

“Glad, you could make it,” John said.

“Me too,” Roy smiled at her and said, “I’m Roy Harper by the way.”

Felicity smiled, “Felicity Smoak.”

Both men joined them, they talked about work. John mentioned Oliver hadn’t seen him at the gym, Oliver told him he was to busy at Verdant. The five of them eat and drink, it doesn’t escape to Felicity that Oliver didn't choose an alcoholic drink that night.

After a while Felicity and Oliver got close to the stage, to enjoyed the music, when they announced another band, Oliver got close to her ear and said, “Let’s get water.” Oliver took Felicity’s hand and lead her through the crowd.

Oliver took a bottle for Felicity and another for him. They found a place where the music wasn’t as loud and took a seat next to each other.

“Why did you come to Ivy Town?” Oliver asked her.

Felicity looked at him and then looked at her bottle, “I’m running away.” Felicity looked up, “How long have you been living in Ivy Town?”

Oliver took a big breath and said, “Five years,” Oliver looked at her, “I was running away too.”

“A man?” Oliver suddenly asked.

Felicity gave him a shy smile, “Yes. I came for a new start. Maybe this time I can do things right.” Oliver nodded, she added. “I want Ivy Town to be my home.”

“It will. It did for me,” Oliver said.

That night Oliver understood that maybe Felicity wasn’t looking something romantic at this point, he could see in her eyes that she was still hurt by a man. Oliver decided he’d give Felicity his friendship, it’s what she needed right now.

On Sunday morning, Felicity woke up tired and nauseated. She spent most of her morning with her face in the toilet. “Stupid food from the bar,” Felicity said to herself.

By noon Felicity felt a little better, and she couldn't stop thinking about Oliver. How nice he'd been with her since she came to town. She wondered if Oliver could be interested in more than being her friend. It didn't matter Felicity was afraid to give her heart to a man again.

The week passed with Felicity sickness still there, she spent most of the day in her bathroom, she almost stopped eating some of her favorite foods. Lyla tried to give her some herbal tea, but nothing seemed to work.

After her dinner ends up in the toilet again Felicity opened one of the cabinets and noticed the tampon package that hasn't been used. Felicity started to do the math and she was pretty sure that she hadn’t had her period. Felicity went out to the drug store to buy a pregnancy test.

When she arrived home, she followed the instructions, waited the three minutes and saw the results.

Felicity was pregnant, alone in a new town.

Felicity felt the tears filling her eyes and coming down her cheeks. What was she supposed to do now? Felicity got out of her bathroom, lay down on her bed and she falls asleep.

When she woke up it was past midnight, she didn’t know what to do until she saw a picture of her and her mother. Her mother raised Felicity by herself. Felicity could do it too. She’d raise her child on her own like her mother. And suddenly Felicity thought about Oliver, one week ago she was thinking about dating him and now, she realized that they'd never be together.

She looked back at him and said, “I’m Felicity Smoak by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, Felicity, I’m Oliver,” he went behind the counter and asked her, “What do you want?”

“A Mocha and a croissant, if you have it,” she smiled and added, “a big Mocha.”

Oliver smiled, handed her a croissant before he prepared her large Mocha. She wandered back toward the books while he started to work on the stack of paperwork he’d been avoiding. He shifted through a few papers before giving up. He'd been distracted by watching her reading a book.

She sat in the morning sunlight, her knees curled up on the chair. Her lower lip caught between her teeth.

He wondered what she was reading.

For the first time in a long time Oliver thought about dating again, and maybe Felicity would be the right person to ask.

Monday Felicity woke up with a big smile. She spent her entire Sunday in the shop with Oliver. When she got home all she could think about was how he looked in that green hoodie and sweaty. They hadn’t talked much but for Felicity watching him worked was worth it.

“Felicity, stop thinking about him. You didn’t come here to get involved with a man.” She reminded herself and started to unpack the last boxes.

By noon Felicity was done unpacking, and the house started to look like her place, she smiled, “This could be a good new beginning. You have this Smoak.” She took her car keys and went grocery shopping.

When she got back to her place, she made some PB and J sandwiches, and sit in front of her computer, she started to work on her codes because she didn’t want Ray to find her. After a long day working on her codes, Felicity read her emails, Curtis had sent her some work already. Curtis was a freelancer and he offered to send her some of his jobs so she could make some money.

Bored at her home, Felicity decides to go to Verdant to start working on her new project. When she arrived, she went to the counter said hi to Roy and asked for an Iced Mocha. Minutes later she saw Oliver coming to her table with a slice of a pie.

“Here, this is on me,” Oliver put the pie on the table.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Felicity smiled. “I'd never refuse pie.”

“It’s a welcomed gift,” he took a seat at her table, “you have to pay for the next one.”

“Only if it's a good pie,” Felicity took a bite of it and closed her eyes. It was the best pie she'd ever eaten in her entire life, “This is so good.”

Oliver smiled at her and she asked: “Who made this?”

“I did,” Oliver answered.

“No way!!!! You’re a genius.” Felicity ate more pie.

“What are you working on?” Oliver asked, pointing at her computer.

Felicity explained to him about her work. She smiled when Oliver apologized to explain he didn’t understand anything she was saying.  He said he didn't mind, he like listening to her talk. He thought it was cool she worked from home.

Felicity parked her car in front of her new house. She got out of the car and smiled at the man standing on the small front porch.

“You must be Felicity Smoak,” the man offered his hand.

“Yes, and you must be Mr. Diggle,” Felicity shook his hand.

“Please call me John,” he told her.

“Ok, John. Nice to meet you,” Felicity smiled.

“Nice to meet you too. Let me show you the house,” John smiled.

Both of them entered the house, it was beautiful, Felicity thought. To the left of the entrance was the living room there is a white sofa accented with gray and blue pillows, a coffee table and a chair. On the right was a small dining table with four white chairs.

“And here we have the kitchen,” John pointed.

“Wow, it’s big, and I love that it's open to the dining area too,” Felicity said.  

Felicity and Diggle went upstairs, the house had two bedrooms, one of them was furnished with a big bed in the center, a big window, and a small desk and a chair next to the window. Felicity entered the bathroom, she saw the tub and smiled.

“Thank you, John, this is a beautiful place. It's perfect,” Felicity said.

“Johnny?” Felicity heard a feminine voice.

“That’s my wife Lyla, she’s the one who made this place look beautiful,” Diggle explained.

Downstairs, Felicity saw Lyla, a beautiful woman holding a baby girl about two years old. “Hi! I’m Felicity Smoak.” Felicity greets.

“Lyla Diggle, this little nugget is Sara,” Lyla put her hand on the baby Sara's head.

“Nice to meet you, Sara,” Felicity smiled, and the little girl waves her hand.

“Have you thought about what you want to do with the empty room?” Lyla asked.

“Not really,” Felicity said.

“Well, I think we'll leave you to get settled,” Lyla said.

John helped Felicity unloading the car. He carried the big things with ease and they finished quickly. John and his family said their goodbyes and leaving Felicity with a bunch of boxes to unpacked. She started with the smaller ones, she was exhausted after an hour, her back aches. After four cups of coffee Felicity couldn’t go to sleep, so she decided to go out and explore her new home.

Felicity remembered driving past a Coffee shop on her way through town.

She entered Verdant, "green" is a weird name for a coffee shop, she thought. She saw the young man who was taking the orders behind the counter. Felicity read his name tag, Roy.

“Welcome to Verdant, how can I help you?” Roy asked her.

“I'll have a Chamomile tea,” Felicity answered.

Felicity got her drink, she looked around for a place to sit, she saw a room with a sign that read “Books.” Felicity smiled as she walked toward the room. A large room, ceiling-high bookshelves on all four walls and a large bay window with a seat, a big table in the center like a library.

“This is amazing,” Felicity said out loud, then she noticed she wasn't alone “Sorry I didn’t see you.”

The tall man was putting books on a shelf, he smiled at her and said, “Don’t worry, pick a book and have a seat.”

Felicity instead started to walk around reading the titles of the books, “This is a great idea, look at all these books.”

The man said, “Thank you, my sister helped me to put all this together, she also sends me books,” he shows her the ones in a box.

“So you and your sister did all this,” Felicity looked at him.

“Not all, some people bring a copy of their favorite books.” He smiled.

The handsome man left her alone to enjoy the books. Felicity thinks this place is wonderful. A few of the boxes waiting for her at her new home had a few books that belonged here.

Felicity snuck a peek at the handsome man working, he was friendly to each customer, calling some of them by name. Suddenly the handsome man looked back at her and she gave him an awkward wave, Felicity realized that was her queue to leave.

Oliver finished putting the new books on the shelf that his sister Thea had sent him, with a note that, “For you Ollie… xoxo Thea.”  He smiled at the note, grateful of his sister believed in him, helping with his small business.

A female voice took him out of his thoughts, he turned around. A pretty blonde woman with a ponytail walked into the room. She wore glasses and a red shirt, she held a cup of tea in her hands. She startled when she noticed him, apologizing for interrupting. He said it was okay, and she should pick a book.

Instead of taking a seat she walked around the room. Fingers tailed over the book titles. Oliver couldn't take his eyes off her. He had never her seen her before, he wondered if she was visiting or planning to stay in the area. She was tiny, barely reached his shoulders. Her blue jeans hugged her hips. He was sure she did not realize she was reading the titles out loud or commuting on if she had read it or not.

She asked about the store and suddenly he was telling her about Thea and the books, and how this little book exchanged worked.

Oliver left her to the books and her cup of tea.

He helped Roy with the customers, at the counter. He greeted the repeat customers asked about families health. He kept an eye on the woman in the other room whenever she wasn't looking. Oliver caught Roy staring at him.

“What is wrong with your face?” Roy asked.

Annoyed, Oliver asked, “What do you mean?”

“You're smiling,” Roy joked.

Oliver rolled his eyes at his friend, he looked at the blonde with glasses, found her looking at him. He smiles at her and gave her an awkward little wave, and it hit him Roy was right, Oliver Queen was genuinely smiling.

Felicity got back to her new home, her back still aching, her body refused to continue unpacking. She picked up her cell phone to text her friend Curtis. Her stomach growled with hunger. She cursed when she remembered that she hadn’t gone shopping.

The doorbell rang almost on cue. On the other side of the door was John with an invitation to have dinner at his house. Lyla made a wonderful chicken pasta salad Felicity felt ashamed of how much she actually ate. Lyla assured her that it was ok.

“I went to Verdant,” Felicity said while she was drinking her lemonade. “It’s an awesome place, although I haven’t tried the coffee, yet.”

John smiled, “Oliver's done a good job at that place.”

Oliver, Felicity thought, so that was his name. “Do you know him?” Felicity asked, failing to hide her curiosity.

“Oliver is a good man, he came to the town about five years ago and started the shop by himself. He is a good friend to ours.” Lyla smiled at Felicity.

“Yes, he also helped me with a few repairs for your new home,” John said.

“He’s also single, in case you were wondering,” Lyla offered with a smile.

Perfect, Felicity thought, now Lyla thought she is interested in the coffee shop owner. But before they can ask about her relationship status Felicity got up and thanked them for dinner. She waved off John’s offer to walk her home.