Sparks the Matchmaker - By Russell Elkins Page 0,3

to run from the spot on the trail where everything finally came to an end, but his slow moving feet had a difficult time propelling him forward.

He wanted nothing more than to be alone, but he couldn’t have his solitude until after he drove Anne home. And with four other people making their way toward him on the trail, his world felt very crowded.

“Oliver, you said that you’ve been thinking about this lately, and I’ve gotta tell you… so have I,” she said. “I mean, I spent the last hour talking to my mom and she wasn’t about to tell me what I should do or anything, but… ya know. She left it all up to me. She told me I needed to make this decision for myself.”

Ollie reached the car before she did and opened her door. “Oh,” he said, “that was your mom on the phone. I was worried you were talking to some new boyfriend.” Not that this is much better. After she got in, he closed her door and walked around to the other side.

“Anyway,” she continued when he sank behind the wheel, “Mom and I have been talking a lot lately, and I’ve thought about how things used to be between us. It used to be great; wonderful. I don’t really know where it went wrong, but it’s just… gone, ya know? How do you feel? I mean, don’t you see that? Or do you think there’s still something there between us?”

“I don’t know.”

“When Richie told me you were planning to propose today, ya know, at first I was thinking that—”

“Richie told you?”

“Well, you know Richie. I don’t think he meant to. It just kind of slipped out a few days ago. Anyway, when I woke up this morning I think I was planning to give it a shot but it just didn’t feel… ya know? It’s just not there.”

Ollie looked at her as he shifted the transmission into drive. It was the first time they had made eye contact all day. The look in her eyes only drove his heart deeper into his stomach— a look that said, Come on. This would be easier if you would just agree with me.

“Let’s take some time apart, okay?” she continued. “I just think that we need some space. We’ve been together for so long and I think we’ve both forgotten what it used to be like— back when we used to truly live our lives and not just, I dunno, coexist. It’s been a while.”

Each word poured a little more lemon juice into his open wound. It didn’t take long before the pain turned it numb and his mind began to coast. And just when he thought things couldn’t get more uncomfortable, the car began to sputter. Kicking himself for not stopping to fill the tank when he had the chance, Ollie shifted the car into neutral and coasted it down the long hill. They didn’t quite make it all the way to her apartment. Feeling anxious to be alone, he actually felt a tiny bit of relief knowing he would be able to say goodbye three blocks early.

“Do you want me to help you push?” Anne said. “I mean, you probably don’t want to leave your car here to walk me home. We could push it to the gas station or at least to the side of the road or something.”

“No. You can just go.”

“Look, Oliver. I know you’re upset. I just, ya know… it’s for the best. It’s been a long time coming and I think you know it. I feel really bad about all of this, but it’s for the best. It really is.”

“Please just go.”

“I feel really bad. I mean, I should have told you a long time ago, and now you’ve gone and spent all that money on a ring and everything. I guess that was really insensitive of me. I’ve been wondering for a little while now if you were going to do something like this, but I didn’t really think that…”

“Please go,” he said. She reached over and turned his face toward hers. He knew those eyes; eyes that insisted he understand her point of view. He didn’t think understanding her would be enough for Anne, though. He knew she wanted him to agree with her—to think it, to say it out loud. He knew her well enough to understand the look, but he refused to cave in.

“This doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends,” she continued. “If you’re