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Matt's coworkers on the paper ("cow orkers," as he called them) were relieved to see Cheryl Ford bounce into the office and drag him out for lunch.
His colleagues had noticed how preoccupied he’d been lately. He had given no indication as to what had been bothering him. They all knew the bubbly and gung-ho Cheryl from her frequent appearances in the sports section of the Avalanche. There were more than a couple glances and raised eyebrows as they silently asked each other: could there be something here? Will Cheryl bring some light to Matt's life?
But Cheryl had other things on her mind. As they sat in Matt's pickup outside the Sonic Drive-In, mashing fries in ketchup and trying not to drip it on their clothes, she finally got to the point.
"Have you heard anything from Darcy?" she asked.
"Not a word. It's like she disappeared. You?"
"No, not directly. But I imagine she’s training real hard. She’s probably busy all day long."
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Listen, Matt. I’m worried about her. The big lawyer at the law office that's sponsoring us called me this morning."
"Yeah? What about?"
"'About Darcy. He’s worried too. He says her training started real good, but now it's pretty bad. He said they'd had doctors lookin' at her; they even flew in a big guy from the states. They can't figure anything out."
"Poor Darcy!" Matt swallowed and shook his head. "That's terrible!"
Cheryl nodded in agreement.
"The lawyer asked me if I could use a little vacation in Barbados, maybe talk to her, see if something's bothering her. Man, I can always use a little vacation in Barbados, especially if someone else pays for it!
“I'd be gone probably three, four days. I’ve been thinking, though. Me and you and Luisa are practically the only friends Darcy has, far as we know. Why don't you come with me? You can talk to her too, maybe help cheer her up!"
Matt sat back quickly in surprise and a glob of ketchup fell into his lap.
"Golly! That'd be great! But...but I can't afford it. If I use my credit card, I'd be years paying it off."
"No, you doofus! I'll call Mr. Braithwaite and tell him you'll go with me and that it'll help Darcy. He'll go for your ticket too, I'm sure. Those lawyers got money they don't know what to do with! You got a passport?"
"Um, I think so. From my grad student days. I don't think it's expired. I'll check."
Matt prayed Cheryl was right, that they could at least cheer Darcy up. For sure, he knew it would cheer him up.
