Sparks the Matchmaker

CHAPTER 7

Ollie spent the next morning washing his car. He needed some distractive therapy, and that was his favorite. He was able to think things over. He wasn’t being antisocial, or purposefully trying to cut Keith and Richie out of his life— or D either, for that matter. He needed space and time to be able to think. He didn’t feel much like one of the boys. He wasn’t used to sharing much of his life with them anymore, not since things had become serious with Anne and he’d become used to spending every waking minute with her. Now, with so many crazy things going on since the Anne era had come to a crashing end, he was at his limit. Try to explain any of it to Sparks as well? He didn’t want to go there.

He took his time washing and polishing, and when he finished up he went inside.

“Hey,” Keith said, “Richie says you were out there washing your car again today. What’s that all about? You washed it the day before yesterday.”

“I’m taking a trip for the weekend,” Ollie said simply.

“And?”

“And what? I just wanted it washed before I left, that’s all.”

“I think I know you well enough to know you’re not telling me something.”

“Like what?”

“Like why you washed your car. You never wash your car just because you’re going somewhere. Where are you going and who’s going with you?”

“Just a couple of girls.”

“That explains the clean car, but not the secrecy. Is Anne one of them?”

“Don’t be dumb.”

“Dumb? How’s that dumb? Who is it, then?”

“Just some girls I found on the ride board. I’m gonna spend the weekend at my aunt’s place in Colorado.”

“And you weren’t going to tell any of us?”

“What for?”

“Why not? Maybe it’s nice to know a little bit about your life in case you ever decide to go hiking alone or end up stuck in jail somewhere. Especially since you’ve recently taken to punching holes in things and knocking over catchers.”

“I’m just going for a short trip. I’m fine.”

“Okay, okay. I’m just a little worried. That breakup hit you pretty hard.”

“Keith, I know. I shoulda told you I was going. It’s been a crazy week. I could just use a couple days away from here, so I’m taking some textbooks with me and spending the weekend at my aunt’s place.”

“Hm. See Ollie? That wasn’t so hard, was it? Just keep us in the loop, would ya? We’re all a little worried and that’s okay. Let us worry about you. That’s what friends do.” Keith waited for a moment, but when he got no further response, he turned toward the door. “Alright then, have a fun time.”

“Okay.” Ollie headed upstairs to pack. He pulled out a duffle bag and started shoving clothes into it. In a way, he felt like he was going on this trip because he was being asked to go, but at the same time he really did look forward to a break from his normal routine. It didn’t hurt that he was going to have a beautiful traveling companion, but he knew he needed some time to get away regardless of his potential new romance. The contact he’d had with Joy had been short and sporadic over the couple of days since they’d met— just enough to plan for their trip.

Memories of Anne still dogged him on campus everywhere he went. Every sidewalk, every store, every couple walking hand in hand housed a trigger that jogged a memory of them together. He really needed this road trip. What made it worse was that Sparks was only feeding him information on a need-to-know basis. That meant there were a couple of informationless days during which he thought about little other than Anne. Yeah, a weekend with Joy; some time with family will be a welcome break.

***

Ollie was in the process of packing some clean underwear into his bag when he heard Sparks’ voice from the doorway. “Joy still hasn’t broken up with her boyfriend. I thought she would have done it by now.”

“What?” Ollie was stunned. “Are you serious?”

“Relax. She’s a little harder to read than most people. I really thought she’d have dumped him by now.”

Ollie suspected Sparks was concealing something, but he couldn’t guess it. “That’s just great. I’m picking her up in a few minutes, man! And now I’ll have that looming over my head the whole weekend.”

“It’s not a big deal. Seriously. Not a big deal.”

“It is to me. Are you trying to tell me that you guessed wrong on that? I mean, that’s something that seems pretty pivotal and important. You seemed so sure before,” Ollie said.

“Yeah, I was. She’s just harder to read, that’s all. Nothing’s gonna change. Everything is still on track. The boyfriend won’t come into play at all… for the weekend, anyway.”

“Huh, it sounds like it’s going to make everything awkward.”

“Oh, I get it. You’re under the impression that you were gonna hit it off this weekend. But you’re not going to be doing any kissing or holding hands or gazing into each other’s eyes in soft moonlight. You won’t be doing anything but getting to know each other. You know, as friends will do?”

“What? Why didn’t you tell me that earlier? Sparks, you keep leading me into situations like this, and you don’t tell me anything. You like to keep me in the dark as much as you possibly can.”

Sparks looked at Ollie like he was missing something really obvious. “Listen. I’m not responsible for the things you imagine. I give you information you wouldn’t otherwise have, and I give it to you on a need-to-know basis. You need to be able to act spontaneously in order for everything to come out right. Besides,” he pushed his hat back on his head, “I don’t like to be wrong when I’m guessing stuff. I prefer to wait when I give answers… just in case things change.”

“I can’t tell you how reassuring that is.”

“You don’t have to accept my help, you know. I could go help someone else.”

Ollie took a deep breath and then let it out as a rumble in his throat. “Ah. You’re probably right anyway. I like to find extra things to worry about, I guess. I’m sorry.”

“I forgive you, Ollster.”

“You sure you won’t, uh… come along this weekend?”

“You won’t need me. You’re just getting to know each other, remember. And trust me: that boyfriend of hers isn’t going to be a problem.”

“But why did you say Joy was harder to read than some people, though?” Ollie wondered what Sparks was setting him up for now. “That’s not going to be a problem, is it?”

“Shouldn’t be. Some people are just harder.”

Ollie sighed. “You’re cryptic, dude.” He zipped up his duffel bag, grabbed the backpack with his books inside, and headed down toward his car. “Well,” he said, “this is it. I guess I’ll see you on the flip side.”

“Wait,” Sparks said, “One last thing.”

“Yeah?” Ollie paused in the hallway outside his room.

“Remember how I told you I’d be asking you to do a few things along the way?”

“Yeeeeeeees.” Here we go. The other shoe was about to drop, but at least he would finally know.

“The other girl who’s going to ride with you— Lynn— she’s going to offer you a job. You’re going to take it.”

“What’s the job?”

“You’ll see. Don’t worry about it.” He grinned. “Have a good weekend!” And with that, he slammed the door in his face.