Sparks the Matchmaker (Aaron Sparks Series) (12 page)

Ollie and Joy could tell he was okay after the fall, but Greg sat motionless staring at the blacktop for a while before finally getting up and chasing his board down, about one hundred feet away. Ollie and Joy chatted quietly as they watched him go through the whole ordeal again, starting with small scoots and ending up on his back again, staring at the blacktop.

“It’s amazing how quickly he swings from one mood to another,” Joy said. “For sixty seconds or so he’s having the time of his life and then he falls on his back and he’s got a facial expression that makes you think his dog just died or something.”

“I know,” Ollie said. “I wonder how many times he’s going to go through this before he finally calls it quits.”

“Or cracks his head open,” Joy said.

“He’ll be fine,” Ollie said, halfway wishing he had brought the Yankees hat so he could ask Sparks to be certain. “I don’t think he ever gets that thing going fast enough to really damage himself. He will end up with his share of bruises and scrapes, though.”

“Are you my worker?” Greg asked as he sat on the ground near his skateboard.

“For today, yeah,” Ollie said.

“Okay,” Greg said. “I was just making sure.”

Then everything clicked into place. Ollie caught his breath, unsure of whether he should smile or sob: Sparks wanted him to apply to be Greg’s staff worker.
Oh, crap.
It was going to be Greg, not Marie that he would be spending a lot of his time with. He was going to be handling urine-soaked laundry two to three times a week. Most importantly, he now knew the “friend” Sparks had been talking about when he told him he was going to get himself punched in the near future. “Greg needs a new manager,” Ollie sighed, speaking the truth with an air of inevitability.

“Are you thinking of applying for the position?” Joy asked.

“I don’t think I have much choice.”

“Not much choice? What do you mean you ‘don’t have much choice?’”

“I mean someone’s got to do it. Nobody else is going to apply for the job.”

“You sound so sure of that.” She looked at him. “I’ll bet some others will apply.”

“Yeah, well… somehow I’m not so sure about that. The little voice in my head is telling me so.”

Joy smiled. “That’s kind of a turn on.”

“It is? What, you got a thing for guys who handle urine-soaked clothes all day?”

“Yes, I do— for guys who know how to step up to the plate when nobody else will.”

It took him three more falls, but Greg had successfully skated to the far end of the parking lot and back. He was leaning on a parked car as he caught his breath triumphantly. Ollie wanted to cheer him, but he wasn’t sure if that was right or not. But he had finally done it. Greg and Ollie shared a grin with each other.

He soon got going again, this time much faster. The fall now was a hard one, leaving him on the pavement much longer, with a very sad expression on his face.

“Are you okay?” Joy asked, getting up and running to him. “Are you hurt?” Ollie followed her.

“I’ll be fine,” Greg said, sitting up on the blacktop. “It’s just that... I used to be really good at this. Before my accident I used to go to the skate park every day and ride. My friends and I used to compete to see who could jump the highest, or do the coolest tricks and stuff. Now I can’t even ride this thing in a parking lot without falling off.”

“Come on, Greg,” Ollie said, helping him to his feet. “I think you’ve got enough scrapes and bruises for one day.” They returned to the laundry room, and even though Greg’s clothes were now soaked with clean water instead of urine, Ollie put on a new pair of gloves and transferred everything from the washer into the dryer as Greg stood behind him watching. He popped a few quarters into the money slots.

It hadn’t been as difficult as he’d thought it would be with Greg. Most of the time he was happy hanging out with a remote control in his hand, although he was constantly surfing channels whenever a commercial came on, and his short term memory problems made him forget what show he was watching. About once every hour or so, Greg would lift weights until he got bored with them, which was usually after about a minute. He’d flip through a few channels until he decided it was time for a snack, and then he’d wander into the kitchen for a bite.

Lynn stuck her head in through the front door. “How’s everything going in here? I haven’t heard anything from you guys for a few hours, so I figured either you were doing just fine or you were all dead.”

“All dead,” Greg laughed.

“Glad to hear it,” Lynn said, walking in. “What have you done all day, Greg?”

“Um… I can’t remember. I think we went to—”

“We got something out of the closet and took it outside,” Ollie said. “Remember that?”

“Oh yeah! I skated around in the parking lot for a while.”

“And what else did we do?” Ollie asked him. “Remember?”

“Well,” Greg thought about it. “We went to—”

“Laundry,” Joy helped him.

“Oh yeah!” Greg remembered. “We did my laundry.”

“Did you help Ollie?” Lynn asked Greg. “Or did Ollie do it all himself while you watched?”

“I did it too,” Greg said. “I think.”

“Well, I pretty much did it all,” Ollie said. “But we still haven’t folded it or put it away. He can take care of that.”

“Glad to see you’re all doing well,” Lynn said, heading out. “There’s a Yankees game on TV, Greg. Ollie’s a Yankees fan, if you’re interested in that.”

“Okay,” Greg said as she closed the door. He thumbed through the channels until he found the baseball game. When a commercial break came and the channel didn’t change, Ollie knew something was up. He glanced over and saw Greg’s head flopped back on the couch, mouth open, fast asleep.

He laughed, nudging Joy about it, and they shared a smile. “Sorry about the busted first date,” he said.

“No worries,” she said. “This was still kinda fun anyway.”

While the aroma of the room and sound of Greg’s snoring wasn’t exactly equal to a scented candle and violin music, the evening was turning out to be cozy nonetheless. Maybe tonight would be the night to bring things to the next level.

Chapter 14

“You’re really good with him,” Joy said softly, trying to keep from waking Greg.

“I’m glad you think so,” Ollie whispered. “I feel completely clueless still. I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“Some things just come naturally to some people. You’re a natural with him.”

“He still scares the tar out me.”

“He seems harmless enough so far.”

“Yeah, so far. That’s probably just because you’re here. Lynn said he behaves much better when a pretty girl is around.”

“You’ll figure him out. You’re going to be great with him.”

“I wish I had as much confidence as you do.” He looked at her.

“I’m trying to pay you a compliment,” she said, looking into his eyes. “Just say thank you.”

“Oh. Thank you.” They were dangerously close to one another, and thoughts of stealing that first kiss flashed into his mind.
Not here. Gotta be somewhere special.

Silence overtook them as the ball game flickered on the TV screen, forgotten. Ollie’s eyes smiled as they met up with the light in Joy’s gaze. He hadn’t felt a woman’s eyes penetrate his soul like that in a long time. She broke off under the pressure though, tucking her head against his chest. Nestling herself there, her arms slid around his waist.

It had been only a short time since his last relationship had fallen apart, yet the deliciousness of his arms tightening around Joy made him feel like it had been forever since he’d felt the warmth of a true embrace. He was happy right where he was, doing exactly what he was doing, with exactly who he wanted to be with. Though his mind tried, through habit, to revert to thoughts of Anne, Ollie successfully pushed her out for the first time in Joy’s arms. Anne was there somewhere, waiting in the folds of his mind, but he wasn’t there with her. He was on a comfortable couch, calm and finally at peace with himself, without any need for those memories.

Feeling Joy’s body rest heavier against him as she slowly fell asleep in his arms was the only thing he needed in his world. The ball game that illuminated the dark room was unimportant. Time had expired on his shift and he could go home whenever he wanted, but that didn’t matter. He didn’t need to go anywhere else or do anything different with himself. He wanted time— all the world— to freeze and leave him right where he was. He closed his eyes and drank it all in.

They sat like that until the game was over. Then he whispered, “Are you ready to go?”

Joy nodded, sat up on the couch, and then waited as he gave Greg his evening medications and got him into bed. Ollie was a little embarrassed about leaving a mound of clean clothes on the living room floor, but he’d told Greg earlier that he wouldn’t help him unless he was willing to fold alongside him— and Greg had fallen asleep before that had happened. Ollie wrote a note for the morning shift to call him about the laundry when he arrived.

The afternoon shift had been held by the staff worker who had just quit, so Ollie volunteered to work that. He made sure to stick the note in the crack of the front door just above the doorknob so the morning worker couldn’t possibly miss it when he came in for his shift.

Joy held his hand as they drove back home, and she quickly slid her hand into his again as he walked her toward her front door. Once there, Ollie pulled her in and held her close to his chest. He could tell that she was getting sleepy but he could also tell that she didn’t want to let go. It felt comfortable. Cold, but comfortable. And it was exciting, so natural.

It wasn’t time yet to kiss her, though. Not while she was half awake.

That night, as Ollie rested in his bed waiting for sleep to come find him, he watched the numbers on the clock. He heard every tick and every tock of the clock on the wall call to him as the numbers glowed orange in the light of the heater.
Circus tomorrow. And maybe a kiss…

Chapter 15

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier that I’d be working with Greg?” Ollie asked Sparks the next morning, quickly removing the Yankees hat as soon as Sparks arrived. “Why do you wait for me to figure these things out on my own? It would be a lot easier if you’d just tell me.”

“If I’d told you that before, you would have considered breaking the deal.”

“Maybe not. It’s crossed my mind lots of times, and I always stuck with it.”

“It’s true. You have, but you were much more scared of Greg than you ever were of Marie. You were only scared of Marie because you couldn’t figure out how to work with her. Greg made you wonder if you’d get out of the shift alive.”

“I suppose. He’s not so bad, though. I guess.”

“He would have been much more difficult if Joy wasn’t there. He wants to impress girls so much that he’s always an angel when they’re around. I’m not saying he’s going to pound you as soon as he gets you alone, but for a first shift, it was good to have her there with you.”

“I guess that’s something to look forward to. Maybe I should call Greg’s other staff worker, though. He’s been working with Greg for a few months now, and I bet he has some insights on how to deal with him. I saw in the log book that Greg hasn’t had a single incident with him for the last month.”

“Yeah, speaking of... That guy’s gonna need to be replaced, Bomber.”

“Don’t call me that,” Ollie said. “Why does he need to be replaced? Is he going to quit too?”

“No. He’s going to need to be fired.”

“I’m going to have to fire him? I haven’t even met the guy. I’m not even the manager yet.”

“I’ve probably told you too much already. Everything will be coming in loud and clear later today.”

“What am I supposed to do about finding another worker?”

“Don’t worry about it. I know the perfect person for the position.”

“You’re not going to answer me, are you? You’re just going to leave me hanging.”

“You’ll find out soon enough. This afternoon, in fact.”

“I hate when you do that. Why can’t you just tell me?”

“You’ll be finding out on your own today anyway. You don’t need me to tell you everything.”

“Fine. I don’t suppose you can tell me who the new guy should be. It can’t be Joy; I can’t hire a girl.”

“Exactly. I’m only telling you this because you wouldn’t have thought of him on your own. You would have gone through all the applications at the office and chosen someone there when you should—”

“Just tell me who.”

Sparks paused. “Alright, take off your pants.”

“What?!”

“Take ‘em off. I wanna see the tag on ‘em.” Sparks started reaching for Ollie’s waistband in the back.

“Ow! Stop it! What are you doing?”

Sparks stopped. “I was just looking for confirmation that you are indeed wearing your Bossy Pants today.”

Ollie sighed, exasperated. “Sparks, you’re a pest.” He straightened his pants. “Well?”

Sparks waited, knowing it was driving Ollie crazy with every second he didn’t have the answer he wanted. “Okay, it’s D. The new guy is going to be D.”

“You’re right. I would never have thought of hiring him. Why D? I don’t think he’s even looking for a job.”

“He’s been interested ever since you first came home talking about Ascend with the other guys. He was planning on just taking out a bunch of loans to pay for school, but ever since you got this job he’s been thinking about applying. Actually, he’s gonna end up applying for the manager position.”

“What? You’re not going to make me do it? I don’t have to be the manager?”

“Nobody ever said you did. Why did you think you had to?”

“Why? Because you never tell me anything. All I can do is assume.”

“You don’t
have
to assume, Ollie. But you do.”

***

D did make sense for the job. Not only did he have the right personality to work with someone like Greg, but he had the bulk. He wasn’t as big as Greg was, but he was pretty close. And of course being a psychology major, he was a great fit for manager.

“Morning, D,” Ollie said. D sat on the couch in the living room with his nose in a book. “How’d things go last night with the girls in Ivy House?”

“Good, good. Well, up and down.”

“Why up and down?”

“Depending on when Richie was talking or not,” D said.

“But whenever he opens his mouth he always makes you look smarter by comparison.”

“Too true. And how are things going with you and that new girl, the one with the curly hair?”

“Joy. Yeah, things are going great. We were supposed to go to the circus last night but plans kinda got messed up. We’re going to go today instead.”

“That sounds cool.”

“You should come with us. Seriously, unless you’re hanging out with the Ivy House girls again tonight.”

“Nah.”

“Nah, you don’t wanna go to the circus? Or nah, you don’t plan to hang out at Ivy House?”

“Ivy House. You sure I wouldn’t be in the way?”

“Positive. Actually, I was planning on tricking you into having fun with us tonight so I could convince you to work with Ascend.”

“Really? Sounds interesting. I’m in. If I do like the job, I’ll consider putting in my application.”

“Sounds like a plan. I start my shift at three, but I’m not picking Joy up for the circus until five. When do you want to go?”

“Three, if that’s all right.”

***

Once three o’clock rolled around and they drove to Greg’s, Ollie couldn’t help but wonder what he was going to find when he got there. He assumed that he’d find the morning staff worker there doing something he shouldn’t, something that just cried out for termination. He didn’t.

The guy who was supposed to be working wasn’t even there. The note Ollie had stuck in the door jamb was still exactly where he’d left it.

Ollie pulled the note out of the door, and then he and D slipped inside the apartment. He found Greg still sleeping in his bed, right where he’d left him seventeen hours earlier, now with his CPAP mask lying at his side rather than over his nose and mouth. The laundry pile was right where they’d left it, in the living room. Greg’s morning medications were still in his pill tray in the lock box.

“Hey, Greg?” Ollie called softly through the cracked door.

“Who are you?” Greg growled.

“Ollie,” he said. “Remember me?”

“No. Go away.”

“Let’s go over and talk to Lynn for a second,” Ollie said to D. “She’s Greg’s acting manager until a new manager can be put in place.”

After quickly introducing D, he and Ollie told Lynn everything from the note in the door to how Greg’s medications were still untouched in the pill tray. Lynn then brought Marie over to Greg’s place with them, pulled out the notebook that contained Greg’s information, flipped it to a page that contained the staff schedule and traced her finger to a name next to the Saturday morning shift. She then flipped to the phone numbers page, copied the number into her phone, and called the staff worker who was supposed to have come in for Greg that morning.

Ollie and D listened in on the half of the conversation they could hear, filling in the blanks with their imaginations. Lynn hung up.

“He said that he came in and Greg kicked him out,” she said. “He fed me some story about Greg not wanting to get up, about him refusing to take his pills.”

“What a liar,” D said.

Lynn was visibly surprised. “That’s bold.”

“Well, it’s obvious. I gotta wonder how often he’s been doing that.”

“Hm. True,” she said. “One thing’s for sure, though. I’ve noticed that Greg hasn’t been going to work all week and this guy is the same worker that’s supposed to have been working all his morning shifts.”

“All of his medications from every morning this week are still here in the tray,” Ollie said as he examined the morning pill tray. “And the notebook has everything logged in, saying that he’s been refusing his pills every morning.”

“Looks like he’s been coming in just enough to fill out some log forms to make it look like he’s been coming to work,” Lynn said. “I wonder why he thought he’d be able to get away with it.”

“Who’s gonna tell on him? Greg?” Ollie snickered. “Greg’s not going to remember when the worker came in or not, and if you leave him in bed he’d just sleep long enough until he’s close to dying from starvation.”

“I bet he didn’t even know that the last manager quit,” D said. “He was probably expecting him to be working the afternoon shift today. Kinda makes you assume the last manager was doing the same type of thing.”

“Probably,” Lynn said. “I did think it was weird that a manager had himself on a Saturday night shift. Usually, the managers get to plug themselves into the good shifts because they make the schedules.”

“What a bunch of losers,” D said. “This situation may take some time to straighten out with the staff and everything.”

“You’re sounding like you already want the job, D,” Ollie smiled.

“Yeah, well,” D said, “The more I think about it, the more I like the idea.”

“What’s the most appealing thing about it to you?” Lynn said. “Getting attacked from behind? The smell of urine? I’m assuming Ollie told you everything.”

“He did. It just sounds interesting to me. See, there was this one day when I was in high school,” D said, “when I left class to use the bathroom. I got there and there was this guy in the bathroom that was obviously, ya know, from one of the special ed classes. I’d seen him around before, but I’d never talked to him or anything.”

“And you just loved him from the start,” Lynn said.

“No. That’s the thing,” D said. “I didn’t know how to act around him. He kept trying to talk to me and introduce himself and stuff, and it made me really uncomfortable. I told him my name, but other than that I just did my business and got out of there. For some reason that really stuck with me. Everyone’s always saying how wonderful people with special needs are, but I’m ignorant to that part of society. Now that I’m a little more mature… ya know, it’s interesting.”

“Awesome. I’m glad,” Ollie said.

“Ollie, you sound pretty invested in Greg’s situation,” Lynn laughed. “Is there something you’re not telling me? Are you going to work with Marie, or move on over to Greg’s?”

“It’s not that I don’t like Marie, or that I like urine-soaked laundry. But yeah, I think I’ll make a switch over to Greg’s, assuming the office people are cool with that.”

“Fantastic,” Lynn said. “Just when I thought I got a male worker for Marie.”

“Sorry,” Ollie said. “I think she’s great, but I think I’m needed with Greg a little more.”

“I know. I know, that’s the thing,” Lynn said, smiling wistfully like always. “I was going to suggest it to you, even though I was hoping you’d shoot the idea down. But it’s true: Greg needs you more than Marie does right now. Judging by how bad it seems to have gotten with his workers, he needs you even more than I thought he did.”

“I think I’m gonna just work part time here,” Ollie said. “I’m still carrying a pretty big load of credits at school, so I think I’d rather work just two evening shifts each week or so.”

“Hear that, D?” Lynn said, holding out her hand to him. “Looks like we need you as soon as possible.”

“I suppose we should go wake Greg up, then,” D said. “He didn’t sound very happy to see us earlier.” They entered Greg’s apartment and eased open the bedroom door. “Hey, Greg. You wanna get up and take your pills?”

Greg rolled over, but continued hibernating.

Ollie stepped in and tried everything he could think of. He mentioned the circus, but that didn’t work. He told him that Joy was going to go with them when they went, but no dice. He tried bribing him with food, offering to help him with his chores. Nothing worked. He shook his head, stumped.

“What’s it say in his program book?” D asked.

“Nothing about how to get him out of bed,” Ollie said. There was only one thing he could think of trying, and that was to get him out of bed the same way he used to get his little sister up: “Pooky! Come on Pooky, rise and shiiiiiiiiine!”

Greg’s mouth curled into a grin at the corners, and he opened his eyes. “Pooky?” Greg laughed.

“Does Pooky want to come get his pills and have some lunch?” Ollie asked.

“Pooky does,” Greg laughed again, then turned over in bed and put his feet on the floor. But when Greg looked down at his toes, the first thing that caught his eye was that he had wet the bed again. He would need some privacy to change his clothes, so Ollie and D quickly ducked out of his room and shut the door.

“Pooky, huh?” D asked. “I didn’t see that one coming.”

“You think I saw it coming?” Ollie asked, laughing. “It just kind of came out. Nothing else was working.”

“It was genius,” D said. “I thought he was going to stay in bed until he got too hungry or desperate.”

“Genius, huh?” Ollie said. “Yeah, well now we’re probably stuck having to use it forever.”

“Whatever works,” D said. “It’s better than letting him stay there in that swimming pool of urine the whole afternoon.”