Page 25 of You've Found Oliver

I wake up early to call Julie. She’s been traveling around Northern Europe for the past few days, sending me photos of her trip. We haven’t had the chance to talk over the phone. She should have returned to Copenhagen this morning. I’ve been waiting all week to catch up with her.

It always takes ages for her to answer. Will you pick up already.

“Julie? Are you there—”

“Sorry, I literally just got home,” she says finally. “Long day again. We went to this gorgeous harbor bath. I’ll send you a photo of it. Apparently, everyone’s into cold plunging here. I didn’t do it, obviously. But it was interesting to watch.”

“Honestly, that sounds nice right about now.”

“It’s supposed to be good for your health. I really wish you could visit. I miss you.”

“I miss you, too.”

“What have you been up to? Tell me everything.”

“Oh, you know…school, work, Ben.”

“Right, the new boy. How are things going with him?”

It feels strange keeping things a secret from her. I wonder if I should just tell her already. “The distance is still a lot. But we’re making it work so far.”

“That’s good to hear. Are you seeing each other again this weekend?”

I sigh. “I wish. He has this research presentation. He’s been stressing about it all day. We’re making plans to see each other next week though.”

“What kind of research does he do?” she asks.

“He’s an astronomy major. So something smart like that.”

“Why don’t you go to his presentation and surprise him? I bet he’d really appreciate that.”

“Do you think I should?”

“It could be really sweet,” Julie says. “I remember performing something at a poetry reading once. Sam was the only one who showed up. It’s one of the moments that made me realize I was falling in love with him.”

Sam was always thoughtful that way. Maybe I could borrow a page from his playbook. “That might not be a bad idea. Since it sounds important to him. It’s not like I have other plans tonight, unless you count rewatching Downton Abbey .”

“Oliver, you’ve watched every season twice already.”

“That’s what makes it comforting. I already know what happens.”

Julie sighs. “Sounds like you need a break from your dorm. What about that Pindar Dance? Isn’t that happening tonight?”

“It’s next weekend.”

“You should invite Ben to that.”

“It’s way too expensive,” I remind her.

“But I thought you had tickets already?”

“Correction, they were Nolan’s tickets. And I have a hunch he’s not taking me anymore.” The Pindar Dance is an annual formal that begins with a fancy four-course dinner. It was created by some rich alumni who wanted to make sure students knew the right spoon to use.

Julie exhales. “Well, forget it, then. I’m sure you’ll find something better to do.”

It sounds pretentious anyway, having to dress up in a suit and tie. Admittedly, it might be fun to experience that once. But it’s not like I can go with Ben anyway. I guess there are a lot of things we can’t do together.

I must have gone quiet for a long time, because Julie says, “Is everything else alright? I’ve been a little worried since our last call.”

I think about how to answer this. Part of me wants to tell her everything, but how would I even explain it to her? Maybe there’s a way to ease it in. “Actually, I do have a question. If I told you something crazy, would you believe me?”

“Like what?”

“If something unexplainable happened and I decided to tell you, would you believe me?”

“Is it about Sam?”

“No…Why?”

“I was just wondering.”

“It’s not about him.” Well, not really.

“Then what is it?”

“It’s a hypothetical question, okay? Just answer it.”

There’s a brief silence. Then she says, “Of course I would believe you. You can tell me anything. No matter what it is.”

“I really appreciate that.”

“Is there something you want to tell me?”

Another silence.

“Maybe not this second,” I say.

“Well, okay. You know how to reach me.”

Thankfully, she doesn’t push me. This would be so much easier in person.

I’m sure I’ll tell her eventually. For now, we just chat like old times.

It’s nice hearing her voice over the phone.

Julie tells me about her trip to Lund. Apparently, it’s only a short train ride from Copenhagen.

She went on a spontaneous date with some Swedish boy who showed her the best meatballs she’s ever had.

It’s to be determined if they’ll see each other again, which she seems to find more romantic to leave up to fate.

It sounds like she’s truly having a great time.

I bet she would stay longer if she could.

After we hang up, I call my mom. She’s working a half shift today. I ask if I can borrow the car when she’s back. I think about what Julie suggested earlier. Ben’s conference should go into the evening. That gives me plenty of time to get there.

Flags flutter above the entrance of the Plaza Hotel.

Ben mentioned where he’d be over text this morning.

I hurry into the lobby and look for the elevators.

The conference room should be on the seventh floor (I checked online before I left).

I thought about bringing him flowers, but I didn’t want to get here too late.

Especially since Ben doesn’t know I’m coming.

I’m hoping I’ll find a crowd of students to follow.

But the elevator opens to an empty floor.

I turn down the hall and manage to find the conference room.

All of the doors are locked. I probably should have planned this better.

How close do we need to be to find each other?

I try to turn the handle one more time. It doesn’t sound like anyone’s on the other side.

Several minutes go by. I’ll have to let Ben know I’m here. I’m sure he’ll still be surprised.

A man approaches from behind.

“Can I help you, sir?”

I turn around to face him. “Uh, just waiting on a friend,” I say.

“Does he have a room here?”

“Maybe…”

“I’m gonna have to ask you to wait downstairs.”

I should have lied better. “Just let me text him real quick—”

As I’m about to press send , the doors behind me open and a crowd begins to pour out, filling the hall with students wearing colorful lanyards.

The security guard has vanished. I stand there for a second, taking in my surroundings.

A sign has appeared next to the door: Astronomy, Astrophysics students are presenting their research. I walk through the middle row, glancing at images of planets, quasars, and other things I don’t recognize.

That’s when I see him, standing by his poster, wearing a blue tie.

Ben is talking to a small group gathered near his table.

It’s like catching him in his natural habitat.

I wonder what my equivalent would be. Probably lying in bed, scrolling through my phone.

He looks so handsome in his button-up shirt, hair brushed to one side.

It’s worth traveling back in time just to see him like this.

I don’t want to interrupt anything, so I wait at a distance until the group of students moves on, leaving him standing alone.

Then I casually walk over, using my professional voice. “Well, this poster looks very promising.”

Ben turns his head, ready to answer questions. Then his eyes widen. “Oliver? What are you doing here?”

“I came to support you. And learn about space, of course.”

Ben smiles. “How did you get in?”

I point back to the doors. “The entrance. Why, did I need a ticket or something?”

“I guess in theory,” he says. “I had to apply for funding. I think a badge may be four hundred dollars.”

“I guess that makes me a criminal.” I hold out my wrists. “Arrest me, officer.”

The people standing nearby give me a weird look. Ben pushes my hands down and whispers, “I’m sure you’re in the clear.” Then he smiles wider. “I can’t believe you came all the way here. I wasn’t expecting to see anyone.”

“Thought I would surprise you.”

“That’s sweet of you.”

We hug each other tight. Then I take a close look at his board. “So this is what you’ve been working on…”

“It’s not exactly my best work,” he says.

“It looks really interesting.”

Ben stands next to me, hands behind his back. “Thanks, it’s part of the research from my lab. We’re looking at two massive black holes that are merging. You could say they’re tangled in a cosmic dance.”

“That’s really poetic of you,” I say.

“I wish I’d come up with it myself.”

I lean forward. “What exactly makes it a dance?”

“Notice how they’re swirling together,” he says, pointing at one of the images.

“For a long time, it was believed that black holes orbit each other chaotically. But we recently learned that they’re not random at all.

Their movements sync up, perfectly aligning in a kind of a waltz that lasts millions of years.

It’s almost like a love story unfolding in the universe, in a star-crossed kind of way. ”

“Are you saying they’re doomed?”

“In a cosmic sense,” he says, folding his arms. “As they draw closer together, they’re destined to collide at one point.

The gravitational waves are so destructive, it would alter the fabric of space-time as they travel throughout the universe for eternity.

” He looks at me. “Which is how we are able to detect it and can make these simulations.”

I glance at the photo again. “Well, at least they got to share one dance.”

“I like that perspective.”

We smile at each other. Then I notice something on the table beneath the board. The ceramic tray I made. I secretly left it at his place the last time we were together. I pick it up and say, “Looks like you found the gift I left you.”

Ben blushes. “Thought I’d bring it for good luck.”

I’m smiling inside. It’s nice to know he was thinking of me, too. “I’m glad you like it. Although it is missing a star here…” I run my finger over the lines I painted to form a constellation.