The Roots of Our Past

Chapter Five

"Olly, what gives?" I ask as he and I make our way to the cafeteria for lunch. "You been quiet all day."

He stops just outside the big double doors and sighs. "David came to talk to me last night."

"Bout what?"

David is Kris's boyfriend, and they have been serious for over a year now; it took Olly some time, but he eventually started to like David, and now sometimes, the two of them even go out and spend time together.

"He asked my permission to propose to my mom."

"He did? Oh my gosh. That's so sweet!" I gush. "Wait, you said yes, right?"

"Of course, I did. But—"

"But what?"

"Our lease is up on the duplex in June, and David wants us to move into his house because it's bigger."

"I see," I squeeze his arm gently. Olly and Kris have lived in the duplexes since he was a toddler. David living with them and in a different house will be a huge adjustment for Olly.

"You'll be alright," I assure him. "It will be nice having a bigger house, and your mom can work less now too."

"I know, I am glad for that. He's taking a sabbatical this summer and is going to ask her to take a leave of absence from the bar. He wants to have an early summer wedding and then an extended honeymoon. I guess they'd be gone all summer, some road trip thing."

"That sounds romantic," I say with a dreamy sigh.

"I don't know," Olly shrugs. "Why do you have to go all out for something to be romantic? Isn't just having some nice words and time together romantic no matter where you are?"

I contemplate this for a moment. "Maybe...but couples do and say sweet things all the time. Doing something extra sometimes is like..." I trail off as I'm not sure what word to use.

"Like what?" He asks.

"I don't know, Olly! I never had a darn boyfriend. Ask Hunter. He's the relationship expert now." My tone is much more bitter than I meant, and Olly looks at me.

"You told me you're over that," Olly says, as comforting as he was about my crush on Hunter and subsequent broken heart when he started going out with Mary Beth. He was also very bothered by it. He worried it would tear our friendship apart, and I get it. I told him I was over it, so he'd stop worrying.

"I am. I'm just annoyed at all the couples in general." This isn't a total lie, Brandi recently started going out with someone, and she talks about him twenty-four-seven; it can get tiring.

"I hear you," Olly agrees. "It's so stupid. Why does everyone need to have a girlfriend or boyfriend?"

Oh, Olly, I smile at his innocence. I'm glad he's not thinking about dating yet. Most freshman girls are so shallow and only think of the popular guys. I don't think I could stand it if Olly got a crush on someone and got hurt.

"What are you going to do all summer while they're gone?" I ask.

"That's the worst part of it all," Olly sighs dramatically. "David suggested I spend the whole summer with my dad in Florida."

"The whole summer!" I exclaim with a frown. "No way! You can't leave for a whole summer!"

"You know my mom will be all about it, and my dad's been calling a lot lately, wanting more time with me," Olly groans. "I'm not getting out of it, Kinsey."

"This sucks," I whine as Olly and I walk into the lunchroom, we make a beeline for the line before it gets too long.

"At least it's pizza day; that helps," Olly says as the lunch lady fills his tray.