by Mandy Baggot
‘I just don’t think he’s the best person to manage the team, that’s all,’ she finished.
‘Well, I think you’re exhausted and jetlagged. I don’t think you should be worrying about the hockey team right now. You should concentrate on spending some time with Eddie,’ Brad said, changing the subject.
‘Did that already, right after the Old Country Buffet. He’s still the same arrogant, pig-headed, stubborn ass he always was. No, I need something else to focus on—the roadhouse and the hockey team. Tomorrow night, at seven, can you do that? Can you get everyone there?’ Robyn asked Brad and Mickey.
‘Sure,’ Mickey agreed with a nod.
‘Good. So, who’s the best person to get in to redecorate this place? Does Old Man Harrison still do painting and stuff?’ Robyn asked.
‘Oh Robyn, Old Man Harrison died,’ Sarah informed her.
‘He did?’
‘Yes, it was about what? Five years ago?’ Sarah asked the two men.
‘Something like that,’ Mickey agreed.
‘But who has the annual town barn dance now? Pam always made pumpkin pie, and I could never remember the steps to any of the dances and… why didn’t she tell me? I always rode his pony and…’ Robyn’s eyes welled up with tears.
‘Okay, I think it’s time you went home. The veil of jetlag is finally descending,’ Brad said, taking the beer glass from her hand and helping her down from the stool.
‘Why didn’t anyone tell me about Old Man Harrison? I mean, I was only in England, we have phones there and the internet and… what happened to Bessie the tractor?’
‘She’s still going. Come on, I’ll give you a ride,’ Brad said, coaxing her toward the door.
‘But I need to lock up. Shit, I don’t have keys! I don’t have keys to my own roadhouse!’ Robyn screeched.
‘Don’t worry about it. We can get the locks changed in the morning. Night guys,’ Brad called as he pushed open the door.
‘I’m not tired. Sarah, I’ll call you tomorrow and we’ll maybe go for lunch or go and see if we can find a decorating firm. Or maybe I could do it myself. Do they still do paint in Walmart?’ Robyn asked as Brad hurried her out of the roadhouse.
‘Night Robyn,’ Sarah said with a giggle.
‘She hasn’t changed,’ Mickey remarked with a smile.
*
‘Nice ride,’ Robyn said as Brad drove his expensive-looking station wagon up the street toward Pam and Bob’s home.
‘Thank you.’
‘So, you’ve gone all lawman on us,’ Robyn continued.
‘Yep. It’s been six years next month.’
‘Well, good for you. Never would have thought it, but…’
‘What did you think I’d be doing?’ Brad asked, glancing at her as he drove.
‘I don’t know, captaining an NHL team or playing for the Yankees or something.’
‘I wish.’
‘Do you?’
‘Maybe, I don’t know. Your expectations change when you grow up, don’t they?’ Brad replied.
‘Yep, didn’t think I’d be back here helping out Dad. Didn’t think I’d ever be back here to be honest,’ Robyn said.
‘So, what’s England like? What do you do there?’ Brad asked her.
‘This and that,’ she replied.
‘That’s evasive.’
‘It’s different. It isn’t like here. I’m an office manager for a motor company,’ Robyn informed him.
‘You’re shitting me! A manager!’ Brad exclaimed with a laugh.
‘Why are you laughing? I’ve always been good at organizing and I’ve always been good with cars. It’s the perfect job for me.’
‘There is no way you would prefer sitting in an office to having your head underneath a hood,’ Brad answered.
‘Well, given the tough economic climate, I had to opt for the job that was going to pay the most,’ Robyn told him.
It was as close to the truth as she was going to give. She answered the phone, she made appointments, and she did the filing. But all the while, she gazed into the workshop, envying the mechanics covered in grease, their hands in the engine of the latest job. It was all she could do not to roll up the sleeves of the blouse she’d bought from Saks and climb under the hood of a car on her lunch hour. But she knew Clive would hate that.
‘My, my, Robyn Matthers the office girl,’ Brad teased.
‘Brad Willis the cop sounds more ridiculous to be honest,’ Robyn replied with a scowl.
‘I’m not so sure.’
‘Sorry to hear about you and Michelle. I mean, I never really liked her much, she always called me Bobby and said she would rather die than wear jeans, but Pam says you were dating a long time before she ran off with—’
‘Randy Dennis. Yeah, Randy Dennis, the ugliest kid in school,’ Brad interrupted.
‘That surgery he had must have been pretty extensive.’
‘Yeah, right.’ Brad sighed.
‘Plenty more fish in the sea, right? No point looking back when forward’s the only way you can go,’ Robyn said.
‘So they say. So, are you dating?’ Brad asked.
‘Nope, too busy being an office girl.’
‘I don’t believe that.’
‘Believe it!’
‘I can’t imagine you’re short of male admirers working in a garage, though. All that testosterone and having to look at a pretty manager all day.’
‘Most of them are over forty and married.’
‘Bet they’ve thought about it.’
‘Eww! Brad, don’t! That’s creepy!’
He laughed and pulled the car up outside Pam and Bob’s.
‘They don’t know you’re out, do they?’ Brad said.
‘Well, Pam worries and she wouldn’t understand that I had to go to the bar tonight. She thinks I need sleep and…’
‘You do need sleep. Did you sneak out the window?’
‘Kind of,’ Robyn admitted.
‘You’ll be okay getting back in?’
‘Of course. It isn’t like I haven’t done it before, right?’
‘It’s great to see you, Robyn,’ Brad said as she opened the car door.
‘You too, and you won’t forget about tomorrow night. Seven at the arena, the whole squad of ten.’
‘I won’t forget,’ Brad promised.
Robyn shut the car door and hurried up the driveway, hugging her sweater to herself.
Once at the house, she eased open the window and climbed up onto the sill. She looked back to Brad who was still watching her from the car and she waved, before disappearing inside. One mission was accomplished.
Seven
Robyn tried to open her eyes, but it wasn’t working. They felt so heavy and sticky, like they were glued together. She grabbed hold of the pillow and hauled herself up into a sitting position, rubbing at her eyes with a fist. Her head ached, her mouth was dry and she smelled bad. Sunlight streamed through the blinds, and that hurt her eyes, too. She looked at her watch. Her vision blurred and she blinked to focus on the dial.
‘Shit!’
It was almost midday.
She stumbled out of bed, caught her foot in the bedding and fell flat on her face. God, she felt terrible! And she so desperately needed coffee.
When she had managed to stagger into the kitchen, she found a note on the table and a set of keys beside it.
Keys for you! Help yourself to everything! Dinner at six—meatball stew! Pam
The thought of meatball stew made her stomach rumble. She was starving and she needed breakfast.
She dialed Sarah.
‘Hi, it’s me. Wanna meet for breakfast? Yeah, I know it’s almost lunchtime, but I slept in. Theo and Stacey’s in an hour? I really stink and need to shower. Hey Sarah, do you know anyone who could lend me a car?’
*
Robyn was on her third mug of coffee when Sarah joined her at the table in the diner.
‘You made it! Did you manage to get me a car?’ Robyn asked, signaling
to the waitress that they were ready to order.
‘Are you crazy? Where did you think I was gonna get a car from in an hour? You’re lucky I’m here! Someone called wanting to see a property on Romence Avenue, and I had to give it to Sheryl. I should be hoping they buy, but I’m not.’
‘I really need a car. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but I need something to get me from A to B, plus I need to go to Meijer’s after here and get ten tons of cleaning equipment to make a start on the roadhouse. Meijer’s is still the best supermarket, isn’t it?’ Robyn asked, taking another look at the menu.
‘Why didn’t you rent a car?’ Sarah asked.
‘Because Pam and Bob insisted on picking me up, and I didn’t really think about it. I’d forgotten how spread out everything is over here. It isn’t like that in England where there’s a local shop on most corners,’ Robyn reminded her.
‘Well, I’ll give Mickey a call. Steinberg Motors might have something, I guess,’ Sarah said with a sigh.
‘You sigh a lot. When did you start sighing so much? You never used to do that. Is something wrong?’ Robyn asked.
‘No. Shall we order? Can I have a Greek salad with everything?’ Sarah asked the waitress.
‘Sure. And what can I get you ma’am?’
‘I’ll have sausage patties, er no, I want links, links are the long ones, right? And bacon, two eggs over easy, hash browns and wheat toast, thank you,’ Robyn reeled off.
‘You’re welcome, I’ll bring it right out,’ the waitress said, writing everything down.
‘Did you want some coffee?’ Robyn asked Sarah.
‘No, it’s okay. I’ll just have water,’ Sarah said, picking up the glass of iced water on the table and sipping from it.
‘What’s wrong with you? You’re not on another bizarre diet, are you? Because don’t think I didn’t notice you ordered salad. You remember I think it’s the devil’s food, right?’
‘I’m not on a diet,’ Sarah said, sighing again.
‘Then have some more to eat.’
‘I don’t want more to eat.’
‘You’re not pregnant, are you?’
‘There’s nothing wrong with me!’ Sarah shouted loud enough to turn heads.
Robyn’s eyes met with a middle-aged woman seated at the adjacent table, and she mouthed an apology.
‘Okay, so that outburst’s really convinced me,’ Robyn said, lowering her voice.
‘I’m just not in a good place right now, that’s all,’ Sarah spoke quietly.
‘Theo & Stacey’s?’
‘No Robyn, in life! I’m not in a good place in life!’
‘The housing market will pick up,’ Robyn assured her.
‘It isn’t realty, it’s reality. It’s Mickey… me and Mickey,’ Sarah blurted out.
‘I don’t understand.’
‘We’re treading water, we’re not going anywhere.’
‘Well, where do you want to go? Tell him.’
‘I’m not talking about going to the movies or out on the lake, I’m talking about life. We’re not going anywhere in life,’ Sarah said to her.
‘But you’re happy together, you’ve always been happy together. You’ve been happy with Mickey since you were thirteen. You were the couple everyone said would get married and have hundreds of babies. Okay, maybe not hundreds, but at least half a dozen,’ Robyn said.
‘Yeah, I know,’ Sarah sighed.
‘So what’s changed?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Then I’m not seeing the issue here.’
‘Nothing’s changed, that’s the whole point. Everything’s just like it was when we were thirteen. We’re not married and we haven’t got half a dozen babies,’ Sarah said in frustration.
‘Ah! Now I get it,’ Robyn said, taking a sip of her coffee.
‘Do you know how much gentle persuasion it took me to get him to even consider moving in together? I mean, to just consider it? To get him to actually do anything about it was torture. Do you know he wouldn’t move into anywhere that didn’t have a view of a lake?’ Sarah said.
‘Sounds expensive.’
‘Yeah, too expensive! Out of our price range completely. So, I had to wait until the most run-down pit you can imagine came on the market. I think Mickey thought it would never happen, but it did.’
‘So you got a crap house with a great outlook.’
‘It isn’t crap now, it’s nice. But it took a lot of hard work and, even when it was finished, he didn’t seem to wanna move in,’ Sarah said, taking a drink of her water.
‘You think he’s a commitment-phobe?’
‘I don’t know, but to be honest, if things don’t move on from how they were in the beginning, I don’t see the point of carrying on,’ Sarah admitted.
‘Shit, you’d leave Mickey?’ Robyn exclaimed.
This was like suggesting the Queen and Prince Philip were going to go their separate ways and fight acrimoniously over the Crown Jewels and Corgis.
‘Well, we’ve been together forever, but he’s still in first gear. I want more than that, I want marriage and a family.’
‘So tell him.’
‘Oh Rob, you know it isn’t that easy. This is Mickey we’re talking about,’ Sarah said with yet another sigh.
‘I don’t see the problem. Tell him you want to get hitched and you want kids. Job done.’
‘But what if he says that isn’t what he wants?’
‘Then you’ll know you’re wasting your time with him. Ah, great!’ Robyn announced as the waitress arrived with their food.
‘So, what about you? Do you have someone in England?’ Sarah inquired, picking a bit of lettuce up with her fingers and nibbling on it.
‘Someone?’ Robyn asked.
‘Yeah, a guy, you know… a boyfriend.’
‘No, too busy.’
‘Well, who was the last guy you dated? Did he have commitment issues?’ Sarah wanted to know.
‘Do you want to try some of this? I mean, that salad looks nice and everything, but it’s missing some meat in my opinion,’ Robyn told her.
‘No, I’m good,’ Sarah declined.
‘Are you sure? ‘Cause I’m going to be as fat as a house if I eat all of this and…Well, well, well, doesn’t he clean up nicely?’ Robyn remarked as the door to the diner opened.
‘Who? Who are you looking at?’ Sarah asked, turning around.
‘That guy who just walked in. The one in the suit,’ Robyn replied.
‘Wow, the really hot one?’ Sarah said, noticing him.
‘Yeah, give me a second and I’ll ask him to join us,’ Robyn said, standing up.
‘What?! Robyn! What are you doing?’ Sarah exclaimed.
*
He was starving. He missed the hot dog stand outside the front doors of the Gen-All offices in Chicago already. Maggie, one of his new assistants, had suggested this diner and recommended the soup. The state his stomach was in right now, he was thinking about ordering two bowls.
Meeting the team had been hard. The people he’d worked with in Chicago had been friends, people who’d understood what he’d been through and what drove him to do the work he did. They got his determination and drive and no explanation was necessary. The inquisitive faces today had looked at him like a specimen on a Petri dish. He knew what they were thinking. Here he was, Cole Ryan, the person they had heard so much about. He was barely out of college, how could he be the leading expert in his field? He knew he would have to earn their belief and trust, but it was so hard having to prove himself all the time. Especially when his mind wasn’t fully on the job. He needed to focus more. If he didn’t focus, he might not be able to control what happened next. He might be forced to think about something other than work. He wouldn’t be able to handle that. Work was his priority now. It had to be.
*
The suit suited him. His dark head was down, studying a newspaper and, for a second, Robyn didn’t know what to say. Robyn Matthers, lost for words—it was unimagina
ble.
He looked up all of a sudden, and Robyn stood on the outside edge of her tennis shoes and opened her mouth to speak.
‘Now how did you know this was the best diner in town?’
‘Hey, Robyn Matthers,’ Cole greeted, smiling back at her.
‘I have the best table in the place over there and a salad-nibbling friend. If you’re going to join me in eating real food, you can come and sit with us,’ she invited.
‘I’ve been told the soup is good here. Does that count?’ he asked.
‘Just this once. Come on,’ Robyn said, encouraging him out of the seat.
Sarah was flushing with obvious embarrassment when they joined her.
‘Sorry about my friend. She’s from England and I can only guess inviting strangers to eat with them is a quaint old custom,’ Sarah began awkwardly.
‘Oh, relax, we know each other. Sarah, this is Cole Ryan. Cole, this is my friend Sarah Gorski,’ Robyn introduced.
‘Oh, hey,’ Sarah greeted, holding her hand out to him.
‘Hi, nice to meet you,’ Cole greeted, shaking Sarah’s hand.
‘Excuse me… could we have some soup? And some more coffee? You want coffee, right?’ Robyn asked as the waitress came over.
‘Sure,’ he replied.
‘So, how do you two know each other?’ Sarah asked.
‘We met before the flight to Kalamazoo, and he carried my bag,’ Robyn informed her.
‘And she talked a lot,’ Cole added.
‘And I kind of kissed him,’ Robyn blurted out.
‘What?!’
‘Oh, you know, it was just one of those moments,’ Robyn responded, putting more food into her mouth but checking for Cole’s reaction.
‘Have I slipped into a vortex?’ Sarah asked, looking open-mouthed at both of them.
‘So what’s with the suit anyways? You looked like a strictly jeans and sneakers guy on the plane,’ Robyn told him.
‘Oh, I am. This is only for today. I’ve had a meeting at work. You know, getting to know everyone, meeting the team,’ Cole explained.
‘What do you do?’ Sarah asked.
‘I work for Gen-All Pharmaceutical.’
‘You and half the town. I don’t know why I didn’t guess that. So, do you play hockey?’ Robyn said.