Page 12 of Ancient Obsession

“Don’t have to, they come to me.” Cody leaned down and whispered in Oliver’s ear, “I’m a possum magnet.”

Oliver stepped aside, rubbing his ear against his shoulder. “Gross. Get out of here.”

“Better get used to me. We’re going to be family in a couple weeks.” Cody gave him finger guns as he backed out the door.

“He always has to make a big exit,” Oliver said.

“He does.” Eyes soft and color still high in his cheeks, Demetrius squeezed the stress ball in a steady rhythm, watching through the window as Cody climbed into his truck.

With a quiet sigh, Demetrius dropped the ball onto Cody’s desk and fell into his own chair. He gestured toward Jugs’s desk. “Sit down and tell me what’s going on. Seems like there’s something on your mind.”

Oliver sat. “Guess I’m trying to figure out what to do with my life.”

“Oh, is that all?”

They chuckled together, and then Demetrius leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Are you nervous about the wedding?”

“No, nothing like that. I’m trying to decide what I can do to actually earn a living. I can’t keep letting Dave pay for the bulk of the bills, groceries, and dinners out.”

“Isn’t that why you’ve gone back to school?”

“Oh, he paid for my classes, too.” Oliver put his head back and blew out a frustrated breath as he spun in the chair. “What is wrong with me?”

“Okay, don’t fall into the well.”

Oliver stopped his spin and frowned. “The well?”

“The well of despair. It’s pretty deep and hard to climb out of.”

“That analogy needs work.”

“Fine, forget the well. Talk to me. Remind me what classes you’re taking.”

“An advanced journalism class called Expanding Viewpoints and Social and Online Communication.”

“Those both fit with your background and interests.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“But?”

“But the visits to my blog have really dropped off. No one reads blogs any more, right? So, I was thinking about maybe trying something new, like videos or something. Try to tap into a different market.”

“TikTok.”

“Yeah, exactly. Maybe YouTube as well. But it’s all…” He put his head back and spun again.

“Exhausting because you’re already tired from having created an online presence after leaving The Herald, and now it feels like starting over from scratch.”

Oliver stopped spinning and stared at him. “Yeah. Oh my God, how did you put it so succinctly?”

“I know a little bit about starting from scratch more than once.” Demetrius turned in the chair to grab his phone off the desk. “It’s almost four. Do you want to join me at Margie’s for an early dinner to avoid the crowd and we can talk about this some more?”

“Will Cody be mad if you eat before him?”

“I know you’d like that, but he won’t care if I take home some of Margie’s meatloaf for him.”

Oliver stood and pushed in the chair. “You know, as much grief as I give the two of you, you really are a good match.”