by Tracee Ford
“I think I’ll live. Thanks for asking. By the way, I can still run pretty fast, so you guys better watch out.” She smirked.
“Oh,” he chuckled, “well I’ll have to make sure I keep up with you this evening then.”
Just as Matt predicted, her ankle healed without complication. She was thankful for that, but being cooped up in the apartment made her feel like a caged animal; it brought out the worst in her. The few days off of work helped her build some much needed strength though. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she needed a break from work.
Soon 6:00 turned into 6:15 and Robin’s anger grew, the calming inner voice overridden by frustration. Being stood up made her feel completely humiliated even though she was the only one who knew that plans were made for Matt to see her play ball.
As she stood in the outfield fuming, she heard the roar of a diesel engine and the gravel crack under the tires. She glanced over to see the white truck pulling in.
The game continued as the opposing team took the field. Happily, Robin ran to the dugout looking forward to a drink of water.
Still put off, she made no effort to go to Matt. The anger seethed from her. Again, the inner voice spoke up telling her to be patient.
From the corner of her eye, she saw him sitting on the blanket with Wendy and some of the other spectators. Robin stood, her shoulders squared and her arms folded defensively. She continued watching as he excused himself from Wendy’s presence and walked toward her.
He wore a pair of dark washed jeans, black Converse high top tennis shoes, and a plain gray v-neck t-shirt. He wore aviator sunglasses and his head was down as he continued walking briskly toward Robin. The wind blew his hair everywhere. His shirt clung to him, his upper body muscles cutting through the fabric of the cotton shirt. Robin’s heart sped up.
Nonchalantly, she turned her head toward him. He smiled and waved. She smiled superficially and walked to meet him.
“Hey,” he said as she got closer, “I’m sorry I was late. I went to the wrong field. When I realized kids were playing, I knew I was in the wrong place.”
“It’s okay,” she lied.
“Really, I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to think I wasn’t coming, so I tried to call your cell, but you must have already been on the field.”
“Really, Matt, it’s okay. Mistakes happen, right?”
Shamed by guilt, she realized she hadn’t checked her cell phone before going onto the field. He smiled and then took a deep breath.
“I was wondering if you wanted to watch me bowl tomorrow night. Some of the doctors and nurses formed a league. We meet in Oxford every Wednesday night.”
Pleased with the invitation, she grinned, “Sure. What time?”
“We start at 6:30. I usually go right to work afterward, so can you meet me there, otherwise I’d pick you up myself.”
“I can meet you there. That’s no problem.”
With grins, they parted and she made her way back to the others. When she reached the dugout, she looked in her bag. Sure enough, a missed called from Matt showed up on her phone at 6:03. A text from him at 6:08 said, “Got lost. OMW to the field.”
Relief swept over her. The inner voice spoke again reminding her how exhausting anger is. Happy relief took the place of the poisonous hostility.
The game continued as Robin kept a close eye on Matt. At one point, she saw Matt and Wendy having an intense conversation. Curiosity overwhelmed her, but she focused on her duties in the outfield.
During another break, Wendy came over to the dugout to talk to Terri. Robin interrupted them quickly.
“What were you talking about?” Robin asked bluntly.
“Huh?” Wendy asked.
“You and Matt; what were you talking about?”
Wendy hesitated.
“Well, I just told him that you had been hurt, you know, and he needed to be careful with you.”
“Wendy!”
“What? I’m just trying to protect you.”
“Oh my God! I can’t leave you alone with anyone!”
“Oh, it’s not that bad. I just don’t want to see you hurt anymore. I’m not going to let him be an ass to you. Every man needs a good warning talk every now and then.”
Robin buried her face in her hands as she sat on the wooden bench. “Wendy,” she said, “you have got to get a grip. Tell me what you said!”
“I just told him if he wasn’t serious about dating you he needed to step off.”
“Oh God,” Robin sighed.
“I told him that you have been through a lot. I told him that I knew you guys were just getting to know each other, and I didn’t offer to give him any details, but I told him that you have dealt with a lot of gamers and a lot of jerks. I told him that if he was one of them, to just leave you alone.” She paused and then hesitantly continued. “And I also told him that if he was still hooking up with his ex-wife to leave you out of it.”
“Well, sounds like you covered everything,” she bit out angrily.
Wendy threw up her hands.
“Listen, if I scared him off with that, then he wasn’t worth hanging onto anyway.”
At the end of the game, the team met at a sports bar in town. Matt drove Robin to the restaurant. In the truck, he complimented her on her performance in the game. He asked about her ankle and they talked about the upcoming concert Saturday.
In the cab of the truck, the aftershave Matt wore intoxicated her. She glanced over at him as he drove. Impressed by his good looks, she found it hard to take her eyes away from him. He felt her staring and turned his head slightly to smile.
“What?” he asked.
Startled by his words, she jumped a little.
“Nothing,” she answered with an innocent smile.
She took off her cleats before going into the bar and slipped on a comfortable pair of flip flops. Still sporting her ball cap and uniform, she knew she smelled of dust and sweat. She looked forward to tomorrow night’s bowling league when she could dress decently and put on perfume.
They walked into the restaurant and sat down with the team members. Terri and Wendy sat beside Dalton Carver, Terri’s best friend. Landon Phillips, an ongoing worker, Patricia Felix, the agency secretary, Carla Vincent, an ongoing worker in the delinquency unit, and Paul Riser, the intake supervisor, sat around the table. Laughter filled the room.
Matt pulled out a chair for Robin and suddenly the laughter stopped. The smiles continued.
“Everybody,” Robin began, “this is Matt.” Everyone greeted him warmly with hellos.
The police department’s team came and sat down with the children services team. Colin sat across from Matt, making Robin feel awkward. But, both Colin and Matt grinned cordially.
Pitchers of beer peppered the table and orders were taken. Cheers could be heard throughout the bar as patrons watched the ball games on big screen T.V.’s.
“You played like a champ tonight, Robin,” Colin said sweetly. “Looks like that ankle really is fixed.”
“She did play well, didn’t she?” Matt said as he looked over at her with an adoring smile. Gently, he put his arm around the back of her chair.
“I was very impressed.”
She blushed at the compliment.
“So what is it that you do?” Colin asked Matt candidly.
“I’m an E.R. doctor in Oxford.”
“Cool,” he said. “At least if Robin gets hurt, she’s got someone to take care of her.”
“Oh God, here we go” Robin said softly.
Confused, Matt glanced at the faces around the table.
Everyone laughed, but still Matt looked around clueless of the joke.
“Robin has a real bad habit of tripping over her own feet,” Paul explained. “I’ve seen her literally trip on the carpet when there was absolutely nothing there.” The laughter grew louder. Robin felt Matt’s eyes on her as she kept her head down bashfully.
“I will admit,” she began as she finally looked up, “I’m no
t the most graceful creature, but I try, damn it.” She turned her attention to him, “I told you I had two left feet.”
The night continued comfortably, but 9:15 meant Matt needed to leave. He leaned over in Robin’s ear. His breath against her ear lobe sent goose bumps down her arms.
“I need to get going,” he whispered.
She turned her face toward his with his lips mere inches away.
“Okay,” she answered. The lump in her throat almost made her mute. “I’ll… I’ll walk you out,” she stuttered.
When he stood everyone at the table sighed and booed.
“Leaving already?” one of them asked.
“Unfortunately, yes. I have to be at work in about 45 minutes.”
Everyone said their good-byes and told him how happy they were to meet him, even Colin. Matt walked out with Robin following.
Standing on the sidewalk in front of the building, Robin dropped her head.
“I’m glad you came,” she said.
“Me, too. I’m really sorry I was late.”
“Oh no, don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you made it.”
“It was fun. Your friends are hysterical, too.”
“They’re crazy, it’s true,” she said as her posture straightened and she looked into his eyes.
“I will see you tomorrow night, okay?”
He took her hand into his, but it was too soon for a kiss, so she turned her head to avoid his lips. To her surprise, he leaned in and kissed her cheek.
“I will be there,” she answered.
Chapter Two
The Naked Truth
Robin walked into the cool air conditioned agency. She didn’t remember May ever being so humid. She flopped into her office chair and gazed up at the clock. It was 3:50 and 4:30 didn’t seem to be coming fast enough.
Paul walked into her tiny office and sat down in the vacant chair. He saw her fatigued scowl.
Paul was a tall, thin man. His career started years ago in mental health. He gravitated toward children services work in the late 70’s and found his niche. He had always been fair to work for. The investigations staff respected him a great deal.
“Hey Robin, you have a minute?” he asked.
“Sure,” she answered. “What’s up?”
Paul paused and inhaled.
“Well,” he began, “I’m retiring and I want you to be the first to know.”
“Retiring? When?”
“I gave my notice today. In a month, I’ll be gone.”
“Is everything okay?”
“It’s just time. I’ve been in this business for a long time, Robin. My wife and I want to travel. Halie is getting married and my other daughter is pregnant with our first grandchild.”
“Wow.” Surprised and saddened, it took only a few seconds for what he said to register. “Well, we’ll miss you. You’ve been a great mentor Paul. I couldn’t have asked for a better teacher.”
A smile found its way to his lips. “I’m going to be very frank with you, Robin,” he continued, “I want you to apply for the supervisor’s position when it’s posted.”
“Me?”
“You are more than capable of doing the job.”
“But, what about the others? They have seniority.”
“Seniority doesn’t matter. We aren’t a union agency. Capability, leadership, and respect matter more than who’s been here the longest anyway. The money is better and you won’t have to be bothered with the pager all of the time. Of course, you’ll carry the supervisor’s pager, but it doesn’t come with the same pressures. It’s a lot to consider, I know, and a lot more responsibility. But I know you. I know your work. You were made for the job.”
“I don’t know,” she said shaking her head.
“Please.”
“I thought Jim Kelsing was next in line.”
“Listen to me, if I have anything to do with it, I’ll pull for you. You are so good at this, Robin, and you truly love the work. Jim’s burned out. You’re so good with your families. Why do you think we promoted you to intake? You were so wonderful with the ongoing families; it was hard not to notice. I wish everyone had your devotion.”
It was quiet between them. Speechless at the proposal, she still found herself trying to process it.
“You just give it some thought, okay?” he concluded. “The position won’t be posted for another week. So you have some time to mull it over.”
****
That night, Robin enjoyed watching Matt and his friends at their bowling league. She welcomed the distraction. She felt energized near Matt. Her heart felt heavy though. The possibility of being a supervisor was something she never considered before. Once again, her insecurities bound her like chains; such a curse, to feel so inadequate.
When the evening met its end, Matt walked Robin to her car. As they strolled through the lot, Matt took her hand and smiled. She didn’t react negatively, but graciously received the closeness. But, no matter what, she couldn’t hide how troubled she was.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” he asked.
“What?”
“You’re distracted.”
A deep sigh escaped her lips. “Do you remember Paul?”
“Sure. The older guy; bald.”
“He told me he is retiring and he wants me to apply for the supervisor’s position.”
“That’s good isn’t it?”
“It certainly has its benefits; better pay and no pager.”
“That would be a plus, right?”
“Yes. I just don’t know if I can handle all of the responsibilities. I don’t feel like I know the laws and the regulations and all the odds and ends well enough. I just don’t know if I’m capable.”
She leaned against her old Ford Bronco feeling defeated as if the battle was already lost. Matt still held her hand, their eyes meeting intensely.
“Change is something that isn’t always welcomed. In fact, we fight against it most of the time, but without it we don’t grow.” He sounded like a philosopher, which surprised Robin. “Just in the short time I’ve known you,” he continued, “I can tell you that I think you’re brilliant. You’re such a hard worker. I really think you were born to lead. Don’t sell yourself short.” He smiled. “But, I’ll admit, I am biased.”
“Thanks,” she said, looking down at his hand as it twisted into hers.
“I will pick you up at six on Saturday, but you have to tell me where you live,” he continued.
“I will. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow night online and give you directions.”
He nodded. She could see how unsure he was about intimacy and whether or not he should even try to kiss her.
“You know,” he continued, “I’m not the forward type. My dad always said that a lady loved to be kissed on the hand and I’ve never done that before. Call me old fashioned, but I don’t feel like we’ve really been out on a date. So until then,” he said bringing her hand to his lips, “I’ll leave it at this.” He respectfully kissed her knuckles.
“That is very chivalrous of you Dr. Gregory.”
Relieved at his gentlemanly act, her lips turned up to reveal a beautiful appreciative smile.
“I had a good time tonight. It was really fun,” she said, her hand still to his lips.
“I’m glad you were able to make it,” he said as he dropped her hand slowly. Still, he held it in his. “I planned on coming to your game tomorrow night, but my daughter is playing soccer, so I’m going to go to her game.”
“Oh, that’s fine. It’s okay.”
“I will call you, okay?”
She nodded, pulling gently away from him and settling into the driver’s seat. He looked at her.
“Be careful going home,” he added as he leaned in and gave her a lingering kiss on the cheek. Her head turned to him, his face still close to hers. The emotions made it hard for her to breathe.
Smiling, he pulled away.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, beautiful.”
Her stomach filled with butterflies as she answered.
“Okay.”
****
A very long night at the E.R. made Matt yearn for his bed as he sat on his couch in his apartment. He sent a text message to Robin. “Good morning gorgeous. Sleep well?”
His phone vibrated momentarily with a reply: “Very well, thanks. How was your shift?”
He quickly typed the words, “Long. Glad to be home. I will be online at about 7:30 tonight. I should be back from Olivia’s game by then; can get directions then,” and sent the message.
Another moment or two passed when his phone vibrated again. The words, “Okay. Sleep well,” popped up on the screen.
He replied, “Will do. Stay safe.”
He realized he couldn’t remember what life was like before he started talking to Robin. He knew things seemed to be moving really fast, but her safety meant everything to him.
A knock echoed through the apartment. Bill Kindell, his best friend, walked through the door.
An EMT for a local ambulance company, Bill met Matt through the hospital. A Mexican-American and proud of it, Bill was much shorter than Matt with curly jet black hair and tanned skin. Genuinely, he cared about helping people and most of all he bent over backward to help Matt. In fact, Bill could find out anything about anyone. So, Matt utilized this. He had approached Bill about Robin and asked that information be gathered. Matt knew that this impromptu visit from Bill meant that information was acquired.
Bill also worked night shift. Tired and cranky, Bill made his way to the couch and collapsed.
Matt walked to the kitchen. “You want coffee?” he asked courteously.
“No thanks, amigo, but after last night’s shift I think I need to hook it up to my veins, you know? Damn. I hate the full moon. I stopped counting how many times I saw you last night. Felt like we just kept bringing them into the E.R. Are you the walking dead this morning, too?”
Matt nodded as he walked back into the living room with a hot cup of coffee “I’m pretty tired.” He sat down in the recliner. “What’s up?”