Timothy Patrick - Ollie Come Free

Timothy Patrick

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters,organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products ofthe authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblanceto actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purelycoincidental.

Copyright 2021 by Timothy Patrick

Country Scribbler Publishing, Santa RosaValley, CA

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, orstored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, orotherwise, without express written permission of the author.

Vector art courtesy of PCH.Vector/Freepik

Publishers Cataloging-in-Publicationdata

Names: Patrick, Timothy, author.

Title: Ollie come free / Timothy Patrick.

Description: Santa Rosa Valley, CA: CountryScribbler Publishing, 2021.

Identifiers: LCCN: 2021902195 | ISBN:9780989354486 (hardcover) | 9780989354479 (paperback) |9780989354462 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH Brain--Injury--Fiction. |Family--Fiction. | Savants (Savant syndrome)--Fiction. | Peoplewith disabilities--Fiction. | Artists--Fiction. |California--Fiction. | Suspense fiction. | Mystery fiction. | BISACYOUNG ADULT FICTION / Disabilities & Special Needs | YOUNGADULT FICTION / Thrillers & Suspense / General | YOUNG ADULTFICTION / Mysteries & Detective Stories
Classification: LCC PS3616.A8738 O45 2021 | DDC 813.6--dc23

Tea Cups & Tiger Claws

Death of a Movie Star

For my son, Taylor

Mom, I cant find my jockstrap.

Cathy looked across the yard and saw Olliestanding on the patio, his skinny eleven-year-old body dressed onlyin a pair of baggy baseball pants. And she almost fell for theprank, but then she caught a glimpse of the face that looked just alittle too blank. She said nothing and continued setting up tablesand chairs. It didnt matter. He got his laugh when a chickenwearing a jockstrap strolled onto the patio.

Ollie laughed so hard he almost fell over.And so did Mariah, his friend who had been helping Cathy set up.The bird slipped free of the garment, and Cathy told Ollie tofinish getting dressed. He staggered back into the house.

Please tell me he doesnt act like that atschool, said Cathy.

All the time, said Mariah.

And what do the teachers say?

They try not to laugh, but it usuallydoesnt work. Everybody likes Ollie.

Maybe they should try living with him for aweek, said Cathy.

A few minutes later everyone loaded up anddrove into town for the baseball game. Ollie and Mariah sat in theback row laughing and talking. Cody, eighteen months older thanOllie, sat alone in the middle row. Cathy sat up front with herhusband, Bob, who drove the minivan and gave Cody the pregame peptalk.

Now remember what we talked about, Cody.When the ball moves, you have somewhere to go. Youre alwaysthinking and moving.

Yes sir, said Cody.

And on the cutoffs, set up for the throwbefore you catch the ball.

Yes sir, but if Ollie doesnt hit thecutoff, what good does it do? Can you tell him to at leasttry?

Cathy saw Bob look at Ollie in the rearviewmirror, but he didnt say anything. The boy liked being on the teamwith his brother but the finer points of baseball didnt interesthim, and Bob knew there wasnt much he could do about it.

Mariah, do you have a ride home from thepark? asked Cathy.

Yes, Mrs. Buckmeyer.

And youll be back at the ranch tomorrow atten?

Yes.

Thank you. Were going to be busy.

The ranch had started hosting special eventssuch as weddings and birthday parties, and Mariah had become theright-hand wunderkind. Ollie also workedsporadicallywhen he camedown from the clouds. And Cathy, who didnt need more things tojuggle, ran the weekend events because the ranch needed the money.She and Bob had been married for twenty-two years and now theyfound themselves scrambling like newlyweds to pay the bills. Butshe didnt complain. She lived on one of the last cattle ranches inSouthern California, had a hardworking cowboy for a husband, andhad two sons that she adored. That added up to a pretty goodlife.

After they got to the park, Mariah ran offwith some friends, and Cathy and Bob found their seats in thebleachers. And then the game unfolded just like any other. Cathysocialized. Bob watched the game and didnt talk. Ollie goofed offin right fieldthe least important position on the team, and theplace where he did the least amount of damageand Cody played withhis usual intensity.

In the eighth inning the manager brought in arelief pitcher and Ollie, already past his boredom quotient, threwdown his glove and marched to the corner of the outfield. He leanedagainst the foul pole, kicked at the dirt, and waited for the newpitcher to throw his warmup pitches.

And then it happened, but Cathy didnt seethe flash of light, and the thing didnt completely register. Shescreamed, like everyone else, because the crackling explosion hadsnuck up on her, not because she perceived any specific danger. Andno one seemed to be hurt. A nearby man said something about a blowntransformer. Cathy scanned the baseball field and saw Cody standingsafely near second base. She looked into right field but didnt seeOllie. She touched Bobs arm. When he turned, and she saw the alarmon his face, she knew that something had happened.

He said, Get Cody and call an ambulancetrythe phone in the snack bar.

Whats wrong, Bob? Please tell me!

He didnt answer. Instead, he stood up,turned to the other parents, and said, Get your kids and findshelter.

Just then the rain began to pour and a flashof lightning exploded from the sky. Now everyone understood, andthe little stand of bleachers erupted into a frenzy that quicklyexpanded as hysterical parents ran all over the diamond gatheringup their bewildered children and herding them to safetysome totheir cars, some into the snack bar, some into the wooden equipmentsheds that littered the grounds.

Cathy ran toward Cody but continued to searchfor Ollie. She didnt understand how he had just disappeared.Another bolt of lightning pierced the sky, followed by the angrypeal of thunder. She kept running and searching. The rain and thepanic made it difficult. She still didnt see him. She also didntsee the smoking cleats that lay neatly on the ground next to thefoul pole.

Seconds later, Cathy, with Cody by her side,stood inside the snack bar and stared helplessly out through theserving window. She saw a solitary girl run onto the field that hadjust been evacuated. It was Mariah, and she led Cathys eyes to herson, who lay face down in a heap, some thirty feet from where hehad been leaning against the foul pole. Mariah knelt next to Ollieand shook him. His body looked limp and lifeless in her hands.Mariah pleaded with him, her desperate cries comingled with thesound of the pounding rain and howling wind that echoed across thefield. Cathy felt the panic rise, but then Bob got to the scene,and she steadied herself. Bob nudged Mariah to the side. She roseto her feet and paced back and forth while Bob tended to Ollie.

First, he rolled him onto his back and feltfor a pulse. He then tore off the soaked baseball jersey, formed ahardened fist, and pounded it one time onto the bare chest. Hechecked again for a pulse. He pinched the nose closed and blew intohis mouth. The chest heaved. Bob sat back and watched. The chestheaved again. And then again. Ollie tried to move. Bob took off hisjacket and sheltered Ollie from the rain.