“It’s December eighteenth, not Christmas Eve,” I say. “Besides, we’re strangers, and that’s beyond trivializing.”
He sighs, putting his elbows on his knees and massaging his temples. “You’re probably right.”
A shiver overtakes me, so I take the coat from my lap and put it on. I glare at Fletch’s head the whole time.
I’m a people person. I’ve bent over backward for so many people, it’s amazing I still have a spine at this point.
But I cannot get away from this Grinch fast enough.
The rental car lines are every bit as bad as the airport ticketing lines were. Mr. Grinch and I both bet on different lines. But as we each inch forward, one rental place after another announces that they’re out of cars, and the lines are forced to merge.
And somehow, we’re right back together again.
And he’s in front.
Oh, crap.
“Oliver Fletcher,” the man behind the counter says, starting on the paperwork. “That’s funny. There was a big MLB debacle with a guy named Ollie Fletcher a few years ago. Dude was awashout. Injured in his first game, after the Braves gave him a two-million-dollar signing bonus. Suckers.” He chuckles and then looks up.
And then the color drains from his face.
“You’re not him, are you?”
“In the flesh,” Ollie Fletcher says, his tone more bitter than coffee.
The guy behind the counter doesn’t say another word until it’s time to get down to business.
I stand frozen behind Fletch, my face burning with secondhand embarrassment. Does that happen to him often? No wonder he’s so defensive.
“Do you want insurance?” the agent asks.
“No.”
“Rental period?”
“Two days,” he says, which is optimistic even without snow.
“Where will you be returning it?”
“Rochester, New York.”
“Will you return it with gas or?—”
“With gas.”
The agent nods, takes Fletch’s credit card, and quickly gives him the papers and keys. “You’re in luck,” he says, hazarding a smile that is clearly not welcome. “This is the last car in the lot.”
Shock ripples through me.
The agent looks past Fletch at the other twenty people in line and calls out, “Sorry, people. That was the last car.”
Cries and curses issue from all around the room, but I stand there speechless.
I’m going to miss Dad’s party.
I can’t miss it.
Even if I want to.
