Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The days after blurred into a tangle of meetings with police, university officials, archaeology professionals, and doctors.
Dave tried to limit the number of interactions and flow of information in order for them both to recover, but it was difficult.
Because of the concussion, he could only manage short periods of screen time before needing to lie down.
The questioning happened over the course of several days, sometimes multiple sessions a day.
A staff member at the botanical garden had discovered a bed of leaves in a back corner.
Bits of dirty linen lay among the wilted greens.
All of it was a few feet from the vine-covered door Cody had seen.
Apparently, the vines had hidden the fact the door was slightly ajar and able to be opened.
Carter’s team had examined it all and returned the bits of bandage to Dr. Brennan.
Dylan’s body was found in the woods outside the campus fitness center the day after the wedding attack.
He’d been killed in the same horrific manner as the others.
From what Carter and the forensics team could piece together, the mummy had surprised him after his last workout.
They decided Dylan had fled into the woods and the mummy caught up to him there.
Of the original team, only Samira, Dr. Brennan, Beryl, and Ricky remained.
Dr. Brennan and the university threatened to bring legal action against Oliver and Samira, claiming they were owed money for destruction of an archaeological artifact.
But Dave got in touch with each of their guests as well as the event staff and collected mobile phone video of the mummy’s rampage.
He placed a call to Dieter, and within a day the university had received a letter requesting they cease any legal action or else he would file a suit against the university for having no cameras outside the buildings, and no fire suppression system in the examination room.
They heard nothing more after that.
A short time later, Oliver told him he’d heard Dr. Brennan had left on sabbatical. Dave hoped it would last a very long time.
Oliver would respond when spoken to, but his words and tone were measured.
When Dave’s family dropped by to say goodbye before they all flew home, Oliver tried to act engaged, but his attention drifted and he had to ask several times for things to be repeated.
How was he supposed to support someone who had just been stalked by an obsessed and murderous mummy?
They talked around the possibility of a rescheduled and pared down wedding, but neither of them took the initiative.
Dave had early on created a spreadsheet to keep track of the wedding costs.
When he updated it to include amounts for damages to the gardens, their tuxedos, and hospital visits, the total stunned him.
He did not share any of it with Oliver.
After a week, Dave logged back into work and played along like the wedding had gone according to plan. He doubted anyone on their Teams calls would believe any of it if they heard the truth. The rumors online were running rampant, but a lot of people dismissed the videos as AI.
The week after the Fourth of July, Robin came by for a visit.
Dave was glad to see Oliver shifting in his chair, leaning slightly toward Robin.
Within the first ten minutes, Oliver had laughed more with Robin than he had in the past few weeks.
Dave found he was able to breathe a bit easier just hearing him laugh again.
Robin went on for a while about how cool and funky Clarabell was.
The two of them had kept in touch after the wedding, and when Clarabell had learned about Robin living in their sister’s basement, she immediately told them to pack up and move into her spare bedroom.
It had taken some work to convince their sister, but the addition of a new job at Hollow Grounds coffeeshop—at which point Oliver feigned terror and said, “Save the lattes!”—had helped her say yes.
Robin’s eyes were wide with excitement as they talked about the cryptids they’d been learning about.
A couple of days after Robin’s visit, Oliver let Dave know Robin had passed all the courses they’d signed up for. After that he had sighed and shrugged.
“Maybe next year.”
He’d dropped his courses the week after the attack, taking an incomplete for both. Dave hoped he’d take more classes in the near future but tabled that discussion for another time.
After the third week, Dave decided to act. He told Oliver he was going to run errands and received a distracted smile and a chaste kiss in response. Driving to the Critter Catchers office, he walked in and said to his brother, “I need your help.”
Cody stood slowly and held himself a bit stiffly, but there was no hesitation when he said, “You got it.”
Dave drove them out to Parson’s Pond, and they walked the trail that circled the water. Cody flinched every few steps, and Dave frowned.
“You sure you’re healing all right?”
“Oh, yeah. I got a good report from Zenona this week. The scratches are healing, but they feel tight, you know? They pull sometimes.” Cody grinned. “Don’t worry about me, little brother. I bounce back pretty well.”
They came to a spot almost opposite of where Dave had parked and stopped. Trees framed a stretch of soft grass. Sunlight turned the still water to fire. Birds flitted between trees and called to each other.
“This is a good spot,” Cody said. “What do you think?”
“Yeah.” Dave nodded. “I like it.”
A week after his visit to the pond, Dave packed a picnic lunch of deli meats, cheeses, olives, pickles, and bread. He included a bottle of wine, a couple of plastic cups, and two big bottles of water. At the last minute, he remembered to add the corkscrew.
He found Oliver sitting on their bed with his back against the headboard, knees up to support a notebook he was writing in. Oliver smiled when he saw him, and a cool, quiet sense of relief worked its way through Dave, loosening his muscles and making it easier to breathe
“May I interrupt?”
“Of course.”
He leaned in the doorway. “Feel like getting out of the apartment today?”
Oliver closed the notebook and set it on his nightstand. He didn’t even hesitate before saying, “I’d love that.”
While Oliver was in the bathroom, Dave snuck the picnic basket down to the car. He returned to the apartment to find Oliver putting on his shoes. When he was ready, he gave Dave a quick kiss and said, “Let’s go.”
During the drive, they talked about friends and updates from Dave’s family—Roman was still complaining and vowing to never set foot in Monster Town again.
Brady had been checking in more often, and wanting to know more about the things they’d dealt with in the past. Grant suggested a variety of cannabis strains and offered to drive them out.
Dave was able to draw deeper breaths than he’d managed in weeks.
He suggested they drive around Parson’s Pond to enjoy the late spring weather, and Oliver agreed. The windows were down, and Oliver rested his elbow on the frame, the wind ruffling his sandy red hair. Sunlight made the whiskers of his scruffy beard shimmer like copper thread.
Dave took the curves slowly, feeling the tires slip a bit in the sandy tracks. When he reached the spot he and Cody had picked out, he pulled off onto the grass and cut the engine. The sun was high and bright, a light breeze playing through the leaves.
They got out and Dave removed the picnic basket from the trunk.
Oliver watched with one eyebrow raised and a corner of his mouth lifted. “I think you may have planned this.”
“What? No. I just remembered I had this in the car, so I figured we may as well use it.”
“Uh huh.”
They chose a spot in the shade of a tall tree and spread the blanket. Oliver watched as Dave pulled each dish from the basket. When he brought out the wine and corkscrew, Oliver took both and set about opening the bottle.
They didn’t talk much at first, but Dave was okay with that. It was nice to be sitting outside together and enjoying the day. Eventually though, Oliver started talking.
“I know I’ve been distant lately.” Oliver glanced at him, but Dave simply nodded, allowing him to have the space he needed to go on when he felt ready.
“It’s nothing you did or didn’t do. I don’t want you to ever think that.
I needed to process what happened, kind of one step at a time.
Those awful murders, the questioning and arrest, all the accusations from Dr. Brennan and Dylan.
” He blew out a breath and pulled a few blades of grass.
“It was a lot. Not to mention the disaster of our wedding day.”
Dave took his hand briefly and said nothing.
“You’ve been so patient with me, so caring.
And you went through it all as well. I don’t want you to think I don’t know that.
It had to be awful to see that thing carry me away, to fight it and realize just how strong it was, how…
unstoppable it seemed to be.” He grabbed Dave’s hand again and held it tight in both of his.
“I love you, Dave. I love you like no one else I’ve ever known.
You are the kindest man with the most generous heart and a strong sense of honor. ”
“I will always love you.” Dave’s words were thick in his throat. “Don’t you ever doubt that.”
“I don’t. And not because you say it to me often, which I love, so please don’t stop.
But it’s also in the ways you show me. The time we spend together, even doing nothing.
” He smiled. “Especially doing nothing. You give me space when I need it, and you know when to push me a bit to do something I need to do but keep avoiding. You understand my oddball quirky side that no one else has ever seemed to get. You know my favorite foods and snacks, and it always feels as if you’re right beside me, even when we’re not together. ”
A tear trembled on the edge of one eye, and he released Dave’s hand to swipe it away. “I don’t ever want to be apart from you. I want us to find a new date for the wedding, and a different venue without plumbing problems or a mummy hiding among the plants.”
Dave shifted to sit beside him. He cupped his face and looked into his eyes.
“Oliver Berridge, will you marry me?”
Oliver gasped and tears streamed down his face. He tried to speak but could only nod until he was able to say in a voice thick with emotion, “Yes! Oh my God, yes.”
Dave kissed him. It was a firm, deep kiss that left them both a bit breathless when they finally pulled apart.
“When?” Oliver said. “It has to be soon. I want to be your husband as soon as possible.”
“We’ll figure out a date that’ll work for all our friends.”
“What about your family?”
Dave shrugged. “If they want to come back, they can. Or we can have them on a video call.”
Oliver laughed and kissed him again. “Okay, we’ll pick a date soon. What about venue?”
Dave looked around. “What about here?"