“A fair question. In the official records, I am thirty-four.”
“Oh,” he said, tone flat.
I had a hunch where his mind went. Thirty-four lived next door to thirty-five, and I knew who rented that place in his memory. Not a neighbor I wanted to be compared to.
“Alright, give me the vibe check here, Ollie. Is that an ‘oh cool’ or an ‘oh yikes’ or an ‘oh, give me a minute to process?’”
“Uh... no... I mean, it wasn’t a bad oh, maybe more of a surprised oh. You don’t seem thirty-four. That’s all.”
“Ah, I see. It’s the demeanor, right? The whole ‘guy who wants a hook for a hand’ thing. Reads like late-onset Peter Pan complex, or a tragic case of man-child syndrome?”
“No! That’s not what I meant.” His voice cranked up half a note. “You just... um... you don’t look thirty-four. You lookyounger. And you act... I mean, not in a bad way... your energy, it’s like... yeah, I mean, it just doesn’t radiate thirty-four.”
As he spoke, a warm blush painted the tips of his ears a vivid, heated pink, betraying his fluster more than his rushed and stammered words.
I chuckled. “I’ll take that as another compliment. Graciously accepted and noted in the archives of my fragile ego, preserved for future mid-life crises.”
Oliver gave a quiet huff, glancing down at the blanket pooled around his lap. His fingers curled and tugged at the fabric, methodically straightening an invisible wrinkle, then doing it again. “I... I don’t know what to make of you.”
“Fair. I do tend to come in high doses. Fortunately, I’m also water soluble and compatible with most antihistamines, so in the event of an allergic reaction to my personality, we do have treatment options.”
Oliver met my eyes with a teasing smirk. “I think I’ll get used to it through exposure. And lucky for you, I don’t seem to be breaking out in hives thus far.”
Yeah, he had wit. If he really let himself go, I could tell, it would keep me on my toes. I couldn’t wait.
“Excellent. To be safe, I’ll keep some Benadryl on hand, in case your system develops a delayed response.”
“I think I’m more inclined to need collagen pills than Benadryl.”
“For what?”
“Anti-aging. I already feel closer to your age than my actual age,” he said.
“Are you implying I’m old? I fear now I should be gravely offended.”
“I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that some mornings I wake up and the number twenty-four doesn’t feel like mine. Like it doesn’t belong to me at all.”
Ah, okay. Not the moment for easy banter anymore.
“Numbers don’t tell the whole story. Some stuff we go through ages us faster than birthdays, leaves marks inside us long before they show up on our face. And you’ve survived things most people couldn’t even picture, let alone get through. So if the number doesn’t feel like it matches who you are inside, that tracks.”
“How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Shift the conversational tone like that. One moment you’re joking, and the next you’re saying something that cuts right to the bone.”
“Humor’s kind of my go-to shield. It helps me deal with the heavy stuff I see all the time at work. But I’ve figured out you can’t joke your way through every situation, some moments are too real. It’s all about balance, y’know? I try to keep it light enough to stay sane, while also making sure the people I’m helping don’t think I’m nothing but a joker who can’t take anything seriously.”
“Do you ever tire of it? Of dealing with people like me?”
“Never. I get tired of the reasons. Tired of the violence and abuse people have to go through before they end up needing someone like me, but not the people themselves.”
“You probably help so many. So many who actually deserve it. And here I am, eating your food, sleeping on your couch, stealing your time when you could be helping someone else. I’m grateful, but I think I should go. I’ve interfered with your life enough.”
“Look, if leaving’s what you need, I won’t stop you. But if you’re bolting because you think you’re a burden or that I’m secretly annoyed, don’t. Please don’t. You matter, Ollie.”
“I... I don’t want to impose. I appreciate that you let me stay the night. That’s more than I could have asked for.”
