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He feels at peace. Or at least, as peaceful as he can be. Joe Jr is unfortunately still in the wind and Elliot is visibly angsty. But Mama is good today. She’s wearing a colorful shawl, humming to music in her head, a smile on her face. He knows the demons are still around, but something has cleared, and he’s grateful. He acknowledges the painful confrontations must have helped cleanse their relationship. So, yes, he’s at peace.
The three of them are sitting at his younger brother’s kitchen island sipping tea. The lights are dimmed and it’s late afternoon. Outside the sun has been replaced by white clouds, but the weather is clement and he’s grateful for that too. He’s drinking Earl Grey with honey and almond milk (his doctor, that son of a bitch, insisted he should stay off dairy), his mother is drinking some floral concoction, and obviously his bastard bro had to do things differently and drink a huge mug of black coffee. He said something about tea ‘not being on the agenda today’, whatever that means. But hey, the three of them together, casually chatting, it’s nice and he’s not going to kick up a fuss over a choice of drinks.
Elliot stands up and offers a refill. Mama mumbles that she’s fine. He waves his hand away, one mug of almond milk tea is enough for him, but Elliot fills his own mug almost to the brim again. Angsty, for sure.
Mama starts talking about his sisters, vaguely complaining that she hasn’t seen them in ages when she’s interrupted by a knock at the door. Elliot’s neck turns like a rooster’s, concern on his face. He starts moving immediately after a quick gulp of coffee.
Randall isn’t overly concerned about who’s showing up unannounced. Somehow, he doubts Joey would come back here after everything. Perhaps it’s one of his brother’s 20 kids visiting, even though he’s not convinced after the recent dinner fiasco. But what does he really know about his brother’s family? They may be more resilient than he thinks.
He overhears his brother’s voice at the door. ‘Hey’ he says, ‘what are you doing here?’. Then it’s a female voice, low and husky, but he can’t quite make what she’s saying. He hears his brother open the door wider, the hinges desperately in need of some good old WD40.
‘How nice to have a visitor’ Mama declares loudly and stands up. At the door the female voice becomes clearer. ‘Elliot, if you’re with your family I don’t want to intrude’. Randall is now intrigued. He’s met his brother’s girl boss, but the voice is different. He sneaks a peak in the hallway just when Elliot grabs the woman’s arm and pulls her inside gently. ‘Mama will be pleased to see you’.
The woman is tall, dressed in black from head to toe, black trench coat, black blazer, tight black jeans and a cascade of brown chestnut hair falling on her shoulders in waves. Randall notices the glint of a golden police badge on her belt and a compass pendant on her chest. She’s walking slowly behind Elliot and reaches the kitchen with a small smile on her face. She’s stunning. Her stance, her presence is almost intimidating despite her blatant reserve. But then she notices Mama and her face expands into a large smile and Randall is immediately smitten.
‘Olivia! It’s so good to see you’. Mama opens her arms wide, and the woman melts into her. ‘It’s great to see you too Bernie, how are you?’. Randall’s curiosity is difficult to hide. They’re on first name basis. He looks at his brother who’s leaning against the island, a mix of smugness and pride on his features.
Olivia then turns to Randall and offers her hand. ‘Olivia Benson’ she says looking him straight in the eyes. He knows he’s gone red in the face and hates himself for it, but he’s honestly intimidated. He shakes her hand, feeling the ring on her index finger. ‘Ran… Randall’ he manages to reply. Elliot comes to his rescue and declares with a smirk ‘My big brother’. Olivia’s brown eyes narrow and she nods.
Thankfully Mama intervenes and offers the woman a drink, but Olivia shakes her head. ‘Thank you, Bernie, I’m in the area on a scene, so I thought I’ll drop by, but I just need a word with Elliot if that’s ok?’. She looks at his brother with concern, and whispers ‘Can we talk?’. His brother’s smugness vanishes in an instant. He now looks worried. He nods and drags Olivia outside on the patio and shuts the glass door.
‘Who is she, Ma?’ he asks his mother without preamble. Mama giggles and shakes her head. ‘That’s Olivia!’.
‘Yeah, I got that, Olivia Benson, but who’s she?’
‘Ah, Randall, I know I forget a lot these days but sometimes you’re worse than me. Olivia is Elliot’s old partner from his days at the sex crimes unit’.
He scratches his bald head. Is he supposed to know about an Olivia at the sex crimes unit? A wave of guilt hits him. He’s been gone a long time. Too long.
‘From before Elliot went to Italy, darling’. Mama adds. ‘They were partners for more than 10 years. She’s a captain now.’
It doesn’t help.
Randall moves his focus to the glass door, hoping he can gather more information. The light outside has faded but he can see them clearly. He watches the woman leaning towards his brother and holding both his hands in hers. She’s talking but he can’t hear what she’s saying. She looks worried, anxious. Elliot is scrutinizing the floor as if his life depends on it and he is nodding. Then Olivia moves her hands to his chest and stares at him. He raises his head and now they’re just staring at each other silently.
‘Is she his girlfriend or something?’ Randall asks.
His mother scoffs. ‘Ah!’
‘Ah! What does that mean? Ah!’ Randall is losing his patience.
‘It means that they’re just as dumb as each other when it comes to love’.
Love. Is this what it’s all about? Randall has become quite cynical about love since his divorce. But to be perfectly honest he feels quite lonely these days, kids all grown, no one to share his bed with. When he found out about Kathy’s death he reached out, called his younger brother, feeling a new connection could blossom between them. But it never happened. Elliot was angry, desperate, dismissive. He gets it. But things have obviously changed and he’s wondering about this woman, this Olivia, who is now hugging his brother out there on the patio, oblivious of the audience.
Mama slaps his arms. ‘Stop snooping!’.
He feigns outrage. ‘I’m not! They’re just there!’
‘They need time’, his mother says. ‘And they need closure’.
Randall has no idea what his mother is talking about, obviously, and he feels a little hurt being out of the loop. Ultimately, he’s the goofy guy in the family, hiding his pain behind a questionable sense of humor. And he’s a gossip guy. He grew up teasing his siblings and he’s not going to stop now, even though he feels a bit uneasy about it nowadays, especially after all the drama of the past few weeks.
There’s movement outside. Elliot opens the door and steps inside the living room, followed by Olivia. They both look drained. Elliot’s eyes are red, and Olivia is avoiding eye contact. She walks towards Mama, pushes her hair back, revealing hoop earrings. ‘Bernie, I have to get back to work, but it was lovely seeing you, I hope we can get coffee sometime?’. His mother smiles warmly. ‘Of course, dear, I would like that very much’. They hug again. Olivia then turns to face him and extends her hand in the same manner she did when she arrived. ‘Randall, nice meeting you’. Her voice is flat. He takes her hand and keeps his composure this time. ‘Pleasure’, he says.
Elliot is waiting at the kitchen island again. He’s antsy. He’s obviously not enjoying the extended good-byes. Once Olivia has readjusted the tie of her coat and looks ready to go, he mutters ‘I’ll walk you out’, and he follows her into the hallway.
Mama sits back down at the kitchen island and resumes sipping her tea. It’s probably gone cold, but she doesn’t seem to mind. Randall is left to wonder what happened it the last half hour. He knows he’s going to grill his brother as soon as he can. Part of him wants to be gentle though. He can still hear Mama’s words about love and closure. And even though Elliot gets on his nerves sixty percent of the time, he wishes nothing but happiness to his little bro. Call it redemption.
‘Randall, my tea is cold! Where is Elliot?’.
He sighs. He knows the signs. Mama’s mood is changing. It wasn’t going to last. She’s now fidgety, nervous.
‘Where is Elliot!’. She grabs her mug and slams it on the countertop. It doesn’t break but the remaining liquid spills all over her hand.
He grasps her arm gently, trying to calm her down. Whispers ‘it’s ok Ma, it’s ok, I’m going to go get him’. He’s worried about leaving her on her own though. And anger is growing inside him. Elliot has been gone a while. Dumbass little bro and his lady friend.
‘Ma, you stay here, I’ll be back in a minute, you okay on your own?’
His mother dismisses him with her hand. ‘Of course I am.’ She’s angry too. It makes him sad.
So, he starts walking down the hallway towards the front door. He looks back for a second, but he can’t hear anything. His mother hasn’t moved. He opens the door quietly and then, he sees them.
They’re standing next to the building entrance, entangled like two teenagers hiding from prying eyes. Elliot has Olivia pressed against the wall, his hands in her hair and he’s kissing her. Although ‘kissing’ doesn’t feel like the right word. He’s devouring her. And Olivia is just as eager, her hands around his brother’s neck. They’re so close, it looks like they’re melting into each other.
When they come back for air, Elliot moves his lips to the side of her face and whispers something. Randall isn’t sure he hears it right, but it sounds like ‘You know I love you, right, I’m going to stay safe’. He sees Olivia smile sadly, and she nods. And then they notice him.
He coughs. Probably goes red in the face again. ‘Ma needs you’, he blurts.
Olivia blushes with embarrassment, and he finds it quite endearing for a badass cop. Elliot looks annoyed but doesn’t move. Randall can guess the reason why; however, he’s being kind today. No crude jokes necessary.
‘I’ll give you a minute, but Mama’s mood has shifted, you better hurry up’.
Randall walks back inside the loft. He overhears the voices behind him. They’re saying hushed goodbyes. And soon enough Elliot reappears, and he stares at his brother, frowning. ‘Randall, you better keep your mouth shut! All right?’. Randall starts opening his mouth, about to take a cheap shot at his younger brother, but he doesn’t. He lets him have it. This moment. Love seems rare and precious these days. God, he’s become all sentimental.
Instead, he slaps Elliot on the shoulder. ‘Let’s go talk to Ma’, he says.