Page 11 of Ancient Obsession

After finishing both classes, Oliver drove out of Glenmont heading for home. He turned the idea of a spooky campfire stories TikTok channel over in his mind. He would definitely need to make some practice videos and get a feel for how things would turn out. And dig into the tags and how they worked with the algorithms. He also needed to talk with Robin more about how they used the app.

Why had he signed up for an advanced journalism course?

“Because it had felt comfortable and safe for a return to college,” he said aloud. “And now you’re talking to yourself, so it’s time for some music.”

Singing along to music was the more acceptable form of talking to yourself.

When he entered Parson’s Hollow’s city limits, Oliver pulled into his and Dave’s complex. He turned off the music and sat with the engine running, staring at their apartment door. Dave had gone into Pittsburgh for work, a commute that took over an hour. Making a quick decision, Oliver put the car in gear and pulled back out on the road.

The business district was busy. School had ended for the day. Packs of students roamed the sidewalks, jaywalking at the single stoplight. Hot, prickly irritation washed through him. Had he behaved this way?

He rolled slowly along Main Street, pausing as parents and student drivers alike waited for or backed out of the angled spots. Once he had made it through all of that, Oliver accelerated, leaving the crazy circus of the business district behind. Not far along Route 118—about halfway between downtown and the Hollow Leg bar, which squatted just this side of the border between Parson’s Hollow and Harriettville—Oliver pulled into a strip mall. He found a spot at the far east end of the four businesses and parked. Cody and Demetrius’s F-150s were both nearby, each with a magnetic Critter Catchers business sign on the doors. Jugs’s truck was a short distance away. Apparently not a lot of critters needed to be caught this afternoon.

Oliver approached the building. The May sunshine warmed the top of his head and shoulders. After a colder than usual April, it felt good. He paused to turn his face up, closing his eyes and drawing in a breath.

A lifted truck roared past, leaving him a cloud of exhaust. He coughed, shot a glare after the vehicle, and opened the door to the Critter Catchers office. It wasn’t a large space and, in his opinion, was oddly shaped. Longer than it was wide, they’d managed to fit three cheap business desks and some file cabinets inside. Cody and Demetrius’s desks were a few feet inside the entrance, pushed together facing each other with Cody’s back to the door. When Oliver entered, Cody sat in his ridiculously lowered chair—how it supported him, Oliver had no idea—his big work boots propped on his desk. He repeatedly tossed up a football-shaped stress ball and caught it. He was talking, and Jugs, sitting at his spot in the back corner of the room, was clearly trying to get a word in.

Cody’s face lit up when Oliver entered.

“Ollie!”

“Hey, Oliver,” Jugs called in his deep voice.

Enid Helen, Jugs’s Yorkie, barked from her bed by Jugs’s feet. He scooped her up, cradling her in the crook of one arm and stroking the back of her head with a thick finger. She was little-dog stylish with a tiny pink bow on top of her head. Back in high school, Jugs and Cody had been football rivals who nevertheless managed to become friends.

“Oliver?” Demetrius appeared from the doorway leading into the break room. “Hi. Good to see you.”

“Hi.”

Demetrius approached and, with one smooth movement—obviously having done it many times in the past—grabbed the stress ball in mid-air.

“Hey,” Cody protested.

Demetrius crossed his arms. “Don’t you and Jugs have a possum to wrangle?”

“Wow.” With a wounded expression, Cody dropped his boots to the floor with a heavy thud. “Just wow. That’s how it is?”

“Yep.”

Cody stood, towering over Demetrius. He stared down at his husband, big arms folded. “So, you’re the boss now?”

“At this moment, yes.” Demetrius grabbed the front of Cody’s short-sleeved polo and pulled him down for a lingering kiss. “When we get back home, you can be boss.”

One corner of Cody’s mouth curled up, and he squinted slightly. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

“You can hold me to anything you want...later.”

“Come on, Bonker. Let’s go earn some coin.” Jugs carried Enid Helen in one arm as he headed for the door. He held up a fist and Oliver bumped it as he passed. “Good to see you, Oliver.”

“You, too.”

Cody put an arm around Demetrius’s waist and pulled him in for another kiss. This one didn’t stretch out as long, but it still had some heat in it.

Oliver cleared his throat, and Cody ended the kiss. Demetrius’s face was flushed, his pupils wide.

Cody tipped an imaginary hat to Oliver. “Future brother-in-law.”

“Yeah, yeah. Go chase down a possum.”