"What? When?" he answered. "When we get married?"
"Yes, when I told the boys, they asked if they would have to change schools and I didn't know what to say to them," she explained.
"I don't know, what do you think?" he responded.
"I can't see you fitting in my house," she answered with a smile. "But for that matter, I can't see the boys fitting into yours."
"Okay, so we buy a different one that will fit us all," he agreed.
"Could we buy a house that's in the school zone the boys are in now, so they don't have to move?" she pressed.
"I don't see why not," he replied.
"Okay, good."
She wasn't sure why, but it felt like an odd conversation. There was an undertone that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She felt almost embarrassed or inappropriate talking about their future. She wasn't sure why, after all, he had done nothing but talk about their future since they started dating.
"I was thinking that maybe we could get married in about 8 months," she pursued the line of conversation. "That way we will have known each other for a year in total."
"Yeah, that sounds good, whatever you want," he murmured.
They ran some more, around bends in the trail that would take them to the next set of park benches, and then up short hills that tested their leg strength. Olivia was beginning to pant more than usual as she tried to keep up to Luke's stride. Luke seemed almost unaware that he was pulling ahead of her inch by inch.
She was struggling to keep up with him and also struggling with her emotions. She couldn't understand why she felt uneasy, but he seemed so distant. Finally, when they reached the crest of one of the last hills, she spoke up.
"Okay, you have to slow down, I can't keep up," she said, gasping as she bent over with her hands on her knees.
"Oh shit, I'm sorry," he stopped automatically and came back for her. "I didn't realize I was going that fast."
They stood there for a few moments while she gained her breath back before they resumed their usual pace.
"Have you had a chance to call your mom yet," she asked him.
"Yeah, I did last night," he answered.
"And?" she probed.
"She said "congratulations,"
"Oh, okay, it doesn't sound like she was overly excited?"
"Well, you know," he responded, as though she should understand exactly what he meant.
"No, I'm sorry, I don't know," she asked curiously.
"I've been engaged before, and so she's happy, but she isn't the excitable kind of mother," he explained calmly.
"You've been engaged before?" she stopped straight in her tracks.
"Yeah, I thought I told you," he said as though it must have slipped his mind.
"No, I don't think so," she said. "I think I would have remembered that. Who were you engaged to?"
"I told you about my psycho ex?" he asked. "It was her, we were engaged for the last couple years we were together."
"Oh. Why didn't you get married?" she asked.
"At first there seemed no real rush, and then, as I said, she went psycho," he explained. "Do you know if there are any steaks in the house for a barbeque?"
Olivia was not sure how to take this revelation he had so casually made to her. He obviously didn't think it was a huge deal, but it changed how she viewed them in some small way. She wasn't sure exactly how, but she felt like something had changed. Maybe because the story she had been telling herself about them, and the story he played into was that she was the first real big love of his life. That she was extra special and was the one who was finally able to earn his heart. To find out that he had been engaged before called that all into question.
They made the remaining portion of the run in silence and soon found themselves back where they started, at his house.
"Some old friends of mine from back home are in town today and are coming over, and I'm going to do up some steaks," he announced as they were stretching. "Can you come by and say hi?"
"Umm, sure," Olivia replied, unsure if she was being invited to the barbeque or to just stop by later. "What time?"
"Oh, any time after about 7:30," he told her.
"I'll be here with bells on!" she answered lightheartedly, in an attempt to dispel the tension she felt.
"Okay hon," he leaned forward to give her a quick peck on the lips. "I'll see you later."
He left her standing on the driveway, uncertain of what had just happened. He was usually so insistent that they do everything together and be around each other as much as possible. This was the man who'd insisted on showing up when she'd had that awful cold, who checked in on her when she was out with friends without him. Now he was having a barbeque and casually asking her over later, as though she were an after-thought.
She jumped in her car and went back to her house, trying to reason things through as she drove. There was absolutely nothing wrong with him having friends over without her; why was she making such a big deal about it? He had been in a quiet mood today, that was all. She couldn't expect him to be 'up' all the time. And what did it matter if he had been engaged before? She was engaged to him now, and they were planning their future together, that is all that mattered. It didn't matter that they hadn't made any concrete plans; that was at her insistence. But no matter how much she reasoned with herself she couldn't get rid of a vague sense of uneasiness that was nestled deep inside her.
That evening, she pulled up to his house and walked up the front steps. She could hear laughing in the backyard, so she changed directions and went to the back of the house.
Luke was sitting on a chair around the bonfire, and at first, she didn't see the bottle of beer in his hand. Only as she approached and placed her hand on the back of his neck did she notice. She bent down and placed a kiss on his forehead.
"Oh, hi hon!" he exclaimed. "These are my friends from way back."
He introduced her to the three friends who were in town for work, and she smiled and said hello to everyone. She then opened up a lawn chair and sat down next to Luke. She wasn't included in the reminiscing, but she understood that they had a shared past that she knew nothing about. Maybe this would be a good time to learn more about him.
"Remember when we were out at Jordie's house, and he set fire to his garbage," Carl, Luke's friend said. "And he was so drunk he didn't realize we were in the house?"
The group roared with shared memories, and Olivia smiled indulgently.
"I don't know, that still doesn't beat the time at Debbie's house," Murray, Luke's light-haired friend said. "Remember when she and Luke were in the back making out and…"
"I think we can hold off on that story," Larry, the final friend of Luke's interjected.
"Oh, I don't know, this sounds kind of interesting," Olivia laughed.
"No, I think we can move on," Luke said.
They all started to laugh at Luke's obvious discomfort but Olivia found it endearing. It was sweet that he wanted to protect her. They both had a past, and that was okay with her.