by David Horne
Martin had nothing to say. There was a time when news of promotions and congratulations were best between them. Now he felt as if what he’d discovered helped Joel and cursed him.
“Well, that’s awesome.” Trying to put excitement behind the words was impossible. He couldn’t find the stabbing fear that came on the heels of the good news. “When are you planning on leaving?”
“Well, I was thinking immediately. I put in my notice today after the meeting.”
“So…” And it was impossible for Martin to finish. Bad news, layered on more bad news was like covering cancer with a third-degree burn.
“You know, they’re retiring Floyd too.” Joel knew when it was time to switch conversations. He was a master of segue in college. Now he used it to cover the pain Martin felt in his stomach.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Martin knew Floyd loved the game. But after his conversation with the man in his office, he felt the man and the game had separated long before he realized it. “He seemed like a good coach.”
“He was. They’ll give him a big severance. That comes with the territory.”
Martin knew about how the company liked to pay former employees. He got a lot more than he expected when he ended the contract. He knew there was a sum of ‘hush money’ involved in the transaction. But Martin felt he’d balanced it out by denying the check Carolyn said the laboratory wanted to pay him for securing the contract with the Coyotes.
“Leslie wants you to come when they give Floyd his going away party.”
It was another stab at Martin’s ego, and Joel wasn’t aware that it hurt him to leave. But longevity had a lot to do with Floyd’s party. Martin was barely a blip at the team clubhouse.
“They’re promoting McGowan to head coach. And you’ll love this one. They’re hiring Key as a consultant.”
“What’s that mean?” Martin asked.
“Well, I’m not sure. And I don’t know how it’s structured in the company. But it feels like he’s more than someone hanging on and watching free baseball games. Durant isn’t around as much as he was and Key is more like the eyes of the man instead of some practical aspect of the team.”
Martin felt Joel wanted him to feel this news was pleasurable. But he’d had burns on cancer scars, and there was a time when both needed to heal. Now they’d offered Joel a promotion that would separate them again.
“When are you leaving?” he asked barely above a whisper.
“You mean as promotions manager?” Joel clarified. “I said I put my notice in right away.”
“Yeah, I heard you, I just didn’t know when you’re leaving for the new job.”
Joel took another sip of wine. He padded his mouth with a napkin. He stood and walked to Martin’s chair on the other side of the table. He knelt on the floor and took Martin’s hand.
“I feel like I’m not communicating with you and I want you to know how I feel.”
Martin said nothing. Ideas raced through his mind, and he didn’t show any of the thoughts down because there wasn’t anything positive to report back to Joel. He didn’t want to fight with the man. He didn’t want to lose the man, and it just felt like as soon as something started going right in Martin’s life, he’d lost a part of him and it needed mending before he could move on.
“I love you, Martin.” He smiled. It was Joel’s smile on a man’s face that was older than when Martin first fell in love with him. The same face, aged to perfection and wiser eyes looked upon him. “I’m not going anywhere. When they offered me the promotion, I put my notice in. I’m not taking the job, and I’m quitting as their promotion manager.”
When Martin had nothing to say, too shocked at what he heard, Joel continued.
“You think for a moment I’d let them buy me off? I have morals too, Martin. I might not have taken an oath like you, but I do have some integrity.” He kissed Martin on the forehead. He squeezed his fingers, holding hands. “I know I sometimes don’t tell you how I feel. I know I went away and you might expect me to do that again. But I want you to know. Wherever I end up, I want you there with me.”
“So, what are you going to do now?” Martin asked. The anxiety diminished with Joel’s confession. But they still had the world to live in and a reality that involved making money and paying bills.
“I’m glad you asked that.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
When Martin woke up, he started his usual routine. The healthy lifestyle he’d grown accused to during his days with the Cloverdale Coyotes carried over into his life beyond the examination room and tiny office under the stadium in Tampa, Florida. His paradigm shifted, but surprisingly, he’d adapted well to the changes. It wasn’t all due to the fact he was a young man with physician’s license and no family ties so he could go anywhere a job showed up, that was only part of it. The rest had to do with the fact that what he’d once thought lost all those years ago when he and Joel separated was just a long trip of coming together again.
While Martin ran on the treadmill, he’d increased his range to ten miles in the morning; he read the news feeds on his smartphone. There was another article about an overseas pharmaceutical company that was answering for alleged performance-enhancing substances and their infiltration into major league baseball in the United States. There were a few men Martin knew by name and face that were facing inquiries from an oversight committee that included amateur and professional organizers.
Then a phone call popped up on the phone before he finished reading the article. “What’s up?” he asked cheerfully.
“I wanted to remind you we have a dinner date tonight with some clients.” Joel, ever the organizer, made plans so often that Martin found it sometimes impossible to keep up.
“Who are we dining with again? I forget?” he asked playfully.
“You know who it is,” Joel replied in kind.
It was a small game between lovers and just having him on the phone was as good as having him in bed next to Martin every morning. Only this day, Martin was up alone because Joel had to get an early start.
“Do you want me to meet you at the restaurant?”
“No, I’ll come by the office and pick you up.” He waited a moment before adding, “Please make sure you bring a suit.”
“I put it in the car last night so that I wouldn’t forget.” Martin made sure the suit was pressed and protected in a garment bag before he started his run. “I read today they are likely going to indict Vincent Key.”
Joel didn’t answer immediately. “Well, you must have figured that out when they grabbed Durant.”
“I suspected as much.”
“I think you’re probably just breathing easy knowing you’re not the team doctor anymore and had to answer for their experiments.”
“I didn’t give it much thought. I was surprised something happened at all after Brant swept it all up and tied it in an expensive bow.”
“We’re better off away from all that.” There was a change in his voice before Joel said, “We might get called into grand jury on the business.”
“That was something I had thought of, but I’m not concerned about it. I didn’t break any ethics laws. And I didn’t betray my oath.”
“Well, I’m glad we got away from all that.”
“Me too,” Martin replied. “But had it not been for all that, maybe we wouldn’t have found each other again.”
“I don’t know. I think we would have eventually found each other again. I think it was meant to happen.”
“That’s very profound for you to say.”
“It’s true,” Joel admitted. “I believe that as much as I believe I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love you, dope.”
Martin grinned and said, “It’s the little things that mean the most.” Pet names weren’t something that ever settled on, but Joel was consistent in his adoration. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“Good luck with your presentation today.”
“Thanks.”
“Love you,”
Martin said.
“Love you back.”
The call ended, and Martin hadn’t gotten back into the rhythm of his run. Instead, he stepped off the treadmill and went to shower.
***
In the months following his departure as team doctor, Martin responded to several interviews for sports medicine positions. But Joel, looking ahead and thinking on a business model, decided Martin had the dedication and the fortitude to start his own office.
It was a scary business venture. But Joel had researched the best place to set up a practice within the United States. They had nothing tying them to one place. Joel already started his consulting firm for sports marketing. He had several clients and spent a lot of time in hotels. But he was home that week, and they intended to take time off together in the days to come.
The office was sparse of a lot of furnishing in the sense that people enjoyed comfort without a lot of noise. Martin had an orthopedic doctor who rented space in the extensive practice in Florida. Business was great.
“Good morning, Doctor Craft,” a cheerful voice called when Martin walked into the office. Leslie Underwood smiled at him. Wearing business casual, she looked more of her age than when she wore the Coyote jersey and ball cap. She accepted the offer shortly after they’d opened the practice as the office administrator.
“Morning, Leslie.” The schedule was full, and Martin wanted to get started immediately and hoped to finish the day early. He tried to prepare for their evening together. There was a long weekend planned.
“Are you nervous about tonight?” she toyed.
“Not at all,” he answered quickly. But he was nervous. It wasn’t every day his parents came to town. Combined with Joel’s parents, they’d booked the entire restaurant. Joel had a lot of sports celebrity contacts, and when he’d offhandedly mentioned the engagement party, many of them immediately invited themselves to the event.
What was supposed to be a quiet dinner between close friends and family had expanded to something just short of a gala event with a live band. Martin felt overwhelmed. But it was Joel’s calm that helped him focus on just enjoying the day and allowing the restaurant to take care of the details. They were expecting over fifty guests. And the local media caught wind of the pro athletes who planned to attend. Now it was something else entirely. Joel saw it as great business opportunities, free advertising for both of them. And he assured Martin, regardless of what the night brought for them, and the days that came after, they were going to face it together.