Free Chasing Rainbows by Amber Moon Page A

tent.
    They sat down at a small wooden table, when two ladies joined them.
    Olivia introduced Doug to her mother, who looked him up and down before saying, ”Hello, I saw you at the last fashion show, it was very good, my daughter is good at what she does don't you think?”
    Doug smiled, feeling very uncomfortable, little did he know it was about to get much worse as the ex mother in law began to ask prying questions.
    He wondered if she was a news reporter in her spare time. Doris was like a dog with a bone and she was not going to give up with her questions.
    She certainly put him on the spot with her observations, “You two do seem to spend a lot of time together Olivia is hardly ever home these days.”
    Olivia laughed and said, "You know how much this charity means to me and the amount of people it helps, there is so much to do and I do it.”
    The two women rose and said their goodbyes. Olivia's mother kissed Doug on the cheek, she liked him.
    Doris gave a pert ,”Goodbye,” followed by a look that told him she knew what they were up to.
    When they sat in the car Doug asked Olivia why they had gone there.  She looked at him with that wicked cynical grin that would light up her face. “It was time for you to meet them,” she replied.
    Did she know what a dangerous game she was playing?
    A few weeks later Olivia mentioned the garden party to him.
    She said her mother never said a word but Doris had plenty to say.
    Doris rang Olivia and told her that she knew what was going on, it was obvious and probably other people saw the connection between them in the garden. She said they could perhaps have been more discreet and not parade about like two juvenile peacocks.
    Doug asked Olivia what she said to that. Olivia opened her eyes wide, smiling she whispered, “I lied”.
    Doug didn't often daydream, but one day while he was having some 'me' time at his boat he began to think about his relationship with Olivia and as one thought led to another he found himself thinking about the meaning of love.
    He had always been interested in the word, love.
    He looked for it, chased it, read about it, researched it, never believed that he felt it, until he met Olivia.
    There were countless films and books written about it.
    There was all kinds of love, sexual love, family love, love of pets, love of money, love of material things and spiritual love.
    Many times had he heard and read, “I am not in love with you but I do love you”. What did that mean, being 'in' love and just loving?
    Loving was for the material, possessions and pets, family, work, what a person does.
    You can not be in love with those.
    So does that mean that 'being in love' was about romance and passion for someone with whom you had a sexual bond and relationship?
    With that type of love there was a downside. There was jealousy, obsession, infatuation, ownership.
    Doug was fascinated by the love of two people and all that it entailed. He read books and listened to music about it.
    If there was an exam on love, Doug would surely pass it, he knew so much about it but wasn't sure if he could do it.
    As he stopped polishing the boat his eyes rested on a passing bird and he felt a rush of feeling rising from his toes as he remembered Olivia.
    She loved birds, in fact she loved all animals. The nearest he believed he had ever been to love was now.  He loved 'brown eyes'; his pet name for Olivia.
    Those eyes were the most beautiful he had ever looked into. They were pools of desire that spoke to him, saying, “I want you.”
    Love could be blind, unconditional and without reason.
    People say things like, “ I don't know why I love her but I do”.
    It cannot be controlled.
    The physical side of love perhaps was controlled by oestrogen and testosterone levels in the body.
    There could be instant attraction with love and attachment growing over a period of time.
    At times attraction would be inexplicable with no reason. Attachment would be a bonding at different