Page 1 of You've Found Oliver

Prologue

Before

After all this time, I still think about him.

It feels like yesterday when he was here.

Sunlight flickers through the branches as I open my eyes.

I’m lying out in the grass, hands resting on my stomach.

A few petals fall from the sky as I turn my head slowly.

Sam is sitting there beside me with a notebook in his lap.

And suddenly, it’s the spring of freshman year again.

“Enjoy your nap?” he asks.

I close my eyes again. “I wasn’t napping.”

“Oh, really ?”

“I’m just resting my eyes.”

“For forty minutes? Well, the snoring was a nice touch.”

“Forty minutes?” I blink at him. “Jesus, why didn’t you wake me up?”

“I thought you were resting your eyes ,” Sam says, smirking a little.

He pushes himself up, setting his pencil on the grass.

“I actually just lost track of time. Had to finish my drawing.” A breeze comes, gently ruffling his dark hair.

I could lie out here all day, watching him. “It’s looking pretty good, too.”

“What about the math assignment?”

He winces. “I forgot about that…”

“Sam, it’s due tomorrow! Who am I supposed to copy off?”

“You don’t want to see my drawing?” He glances at me. “It’s of you.”

I narrow my eyes. “Show me…”

Sam hands me his notebook. There’s a sketch of me, lying in the grass with one hand behind my head, surrounded by flowers. I’ve never had anyone draw me before.

“I’m not the best at shadows,” he says.

“You did this while I was sleeping?”

“You can tell me if you hate it.”

“I mean, it’s not bad .” I point at myself in the drawing. “But you got the arms wrong. My muscles are much more defined.”

Sam rubs his chin. “I knew something was off…”

We both laugh. I hand him back the notebook. “I like the flowers you added. Roses, right?”

“White roses. Those are my favorite.”

“Mine too,” I say. To be honest, I didn’t have a favorite flower before. But that’s what it is now.

“You know what I’ve been thinking about?” says Sam. “Guys don’t get enough flowers.”

“ Agreed . Society needs to change.”

Sam smiles. There’s a silence before he says, “Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“Who’s Zach?”

The name catches me by surprise. How does he know about Zach?

Sam glances at my phone, which is between us. “Sorry, I noticed he texted you a few times.”

“He’s a friend,” I say, vaguely.

“How come we haven’t met yet?”

“He lives all the way in Redmond.” It’s another small town in Washington, right outside of Seattle, about an hour and a half away from Ellensburg.

“Cool. How long have you known him?”

I run my hand over the grass, not wanting to answer. “I don’t know. Not that long.” We’ve only been talking for a few weeks. I haven’t even met him in person yet. And I’m too embarrassed to mention this. Especially when I’m not exactly out at school yet.

“You know you can tell me anything,” he says.

I hesitate. Sam and I have been best friends since seventh grade. We know pretty much everything about each other. But there are a few things I’m not ready to share yet. “I know…” is all I say.

Sam offers another smile. Then he stares out at the lake. “The water looks nice today,” he says, changing the subject for me. “Maybe we should go for a swim.”

I scoff. “And put off our homework?”

He lets out a breath. “You’re right. We have to be responsible.”

We both narrow our eyes, looking at each other.

There’s this game we play sometimes. I wait for the smirk to rise on Sam’s face, and then we both jump to our feet.

The next thing I know, we’re racing toward the dock, shirts thrown behind us.

The second we crash into the water, everything around us vanishes as the memory changes…

Dress shoes slap on marble floors of the hotel lobby. Sam and I are standing outside the ballroom, wearing button-up shirts and bow ties. Music pours out through the double doors as Sam sticks his head in and says, “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

“We get arrested.”

“For crashing a wedding?”

Sam sighs. “I don’t know how you talk me into this stuff.”

It’s the fall of sophomore year. The Sagamore is the nicest hotel in Ellensburg.

We’ve walked past it a hundred times and joked about sneaking in someday.

To be completely honest, I never thought we’d actually do it, but here we are.

I clasp Sam’s shoulders and say, “We’ll go in, grab a slice of cake, and go.

Maybe a drink or two. No one will ever know we were here. ”

“I hope there’s shrimp cocktail.”

“That’s the spirit.”

We adjust each other’s collars before heading inside. Flowers fill the entrance as we make our way toward the crowd of wedding guests. You know these people have money because the ice sculptures are bigger than both of us. I reach out to touch one of the ice swans.

Sam shoves me. “Stop that.”

“I was checking if it was real.”

“We’re supposed to be invisible, remember?” Sam shakes his head at me. Then he glances around the room and says, “Wait a minute. Is that a photo booth?”

“A photo booth?”

We race over to it. Several pictures later, we grab our prints and head toward the buffet to get some food. Sam’s face lights up at the chocolate-covered strawberries. He places two on his plate and says, “Everything looks so good .”

“Told you this was a great idea.”

“Could you imagine having a wedding like this?”

I shrug. “It’s a bit much, if you ask me.”

“But you want to get married, right?”

I think about this. “Maybe. Do you?”

“Of course. I mean, if I meet the right person.” His eyes move around the room as if he’s imagining it for himself. “Doesn’t have to be this extravagant though.”

“I guess weddings are a good way to get flowers,” I say.

“True.” Sam smiles, turning back to the dessert.

I wish I could tell him how handsome he looks tonight. How the light around us brings out the deep brown in his eyes. We find a table and enjoy our food. Then we wander toward the dance floor to see the band. As we’re enjoying the music, a tall man approaches us.

“Excuse me,” he says. “I don’t think I’ve seen you boys before.”

Sam and I exchange a nervous glance. Before either of us can speak, the guy behind him with a camera says, “Do you have a few words for the bride and groom?”

We blink at each other. Sam nudges me.

“Uh…of course,” I start. I put my arm around Sam and smile into the camera.

“Thank you for sharing this beautiful night with us. I think I speak for everyone when I say, you two are truly made for each other. Watching you fall in love over the years was a gift to us all. So congratulations to…uh—” I freeze, realizing I don’t know their names.

“You lovebirds!” Sam jumps in to save me.

“Stop, I’m getting emotional,” I add, fanning my eyes.

The moment the man turns away, Sam grabs my arm. I’m laughing as he pulls me aside, looking worried all of a sudden. “Oliver, I think it’s time to go.”.

“But they haven’t even cut the cake!”

“I don’t want us to get caught.”

“Relax, nobody’s noticed yet.”

“We’ve stayed long enough,” he says firmly. “I’m gonna grab my jacket and meet you at the door.”

“Boo.”

He walks off before I can stop him. The music was just getting good, too.

As I’m standing there, not yet ready to leave, an idea comes to me.

I head up to the band and make a request. Thankfully, the guitarist knows the song.

As I’m waiting for them to play it, Sam returns to the dance floor and says, “What’s taking so long?

You were supposed to meet me by the door. ”

“How about one more song?” I suggest.

“ You can stay for one more song. I’m gonna wait in the car.”

“Come on, Sammy.” I grab his arm.

But he pulls away. “I’ll be outside.”

I stand there as Sam begins to walk off again.

Then, as if on cue, there’s a familiar drum intro.

He pauses, recognizing the beat instantly.

There’s only one song that could get Sam to stay.

“Escape,” by Rupert Holmes, better known as “The Pina Colada Song.” It’s unironically one of Sam’s favorites of all time.

He’s forced me to listen to it a thousand times in the car.

We choreographed a dance to it for his parents’ anniversary a few years back.

Sam turns around slowly, narrowing his eyes at me.

I smile as I step toward him, rolling my shoulders to the beat.

Eventually, Sam taps his foot as if the music’s taken over.

The moment the chorus hits, he finally surrenders to it, dancing along with me.

To my surprise, we remember the moves almost perfectly.

I love seeing him like this, singing along to the words, as if no one around is watching us.

Haze blankets us, pouring down from a fog machine on the stage. Sam shuffles toward it, making me follow after him. The music fades as we disappear through the fog, and the memory changes once again…

Fog turns to mist as I step off the city bus.

It’s seven-thirty on a Saturday night. Zach lives an hour and a half away from Ellensburg.

We’re finally meeting after three months of texting.

I’ve never been on a date before. I picked a Mediterranean place because he mentioned it on the phone once.

I grab a table in the restaurant and wait for him to arrive.

Zach is running late. I send him another message.

Hey I just got here

I’m sitting at the table in the back left

Hopefully he’ll be here soon. The waitress comes to take my order.

“I’m still waiting on my friend,” I say.

But twenty minutes go by. Why hasn’t he answered my text yet? I keep glancing out the window, hoping to see him outside. Eventually, the waitress comes back again.

“Sorry, he’ll be here soon.”

“Alright, sweetie, but we have a long wait tonight.”