Page 16 of Honey Pot

“I’m here to see Ryan Cody? My name is Ma—”

“Clementine Matthews.”

His voice sounded just as scary as it always had and, when I managed to turn myself around to face him, I felt all the angry resolve leave me. He looked so old and tired, his dirty blond hair had started to gray and curl around his ears, tangling into a messy beard. But his eyes were the same, mossy green and kind. It was hard to stay mad at him when he was looking at me like that.

“You look more like your Mama everyday,” he said, trying to break the tension, but his words burrowed into my chest and left a stinging sensation. “Thank you, Susanna.” He looked over my shoulder, waving off the old lady, and directed me toward his office.

“How did you know it was me?” I asked.

“They sent over your picture for press tags.” He handed me a navy blue lanyard with two cards on it, one my ID and the other a scan card. “You can use that to get into the building,” he instructed.

“How are you?” I asked him, not even sure I wanted the answer.

“Small talk feels weird, Clementine. I used to watch baseball with you in the living room each Saturday since you and Cael were in diapers.”

The mention of Cael made my heart race.

It was inevitable that he’d be brought up and, to my knowledge, I had prepared myself for that moment. Turned out I had been lying to myself.

“Small talk is a formality.”

He stopped, swallowing whatever he was going to say, and opened the door to his office. It was a mess, which I assumed it would be. He had never been good at keeping things together; that had been Lorraine’s specialty. Towers of boxes created a tunnel into his main office that seemed much tidier than the previous. He had a small ratty couch in there that he swept blankets off of and tucked into a cabinet behind his large wooden desk.

He offered me a seat and I set my bag down beside the couch, waiting for him to say anything that might make me feel a little better about everything.

“Do you want coffee?” He asked me after a beat of silence and I shook my head.

“Mr. Cody,” I said, trying to sound polite. “I’m here in a professional capacity to interview your team on their incredible win after such a drought. I’m not here as Clementine Matthews; I am not the girl you watched run around in diapers. While I’m here I would appreciate it if you upheld that level of professionalism.”

He cocked his head at me, mulling over my words.

“You certainly are not.”

“Thank you.” I swallowed tightly. “I’ll need an office space to conduct the interviews and if you know of any hotels in the area that would be wonderful. The drive into the city is nearly an hour.”

“I thought you were staying in town.” He licked his bottom lip. “If I had known you were traveling in, I wouldn’t have asked you to meet me this early.”

“Why did you?” I asked, ignoring his half-assed apology.

I’d been curious since the email came through about why he wanted me here long before any of the other players would arrive.

“I’m here to interview the players, Mr. Cody, and if it was to prevent us from colliding—”

The door to his office swung open wildly and all of the air was sucked from the room.

“What the hell is wrong with you, letting Arlo leave? Offer him a long-term position, more money, something. You can’t just—”

Whatever he said next was muted.

My ears rang and the corners of my vision grew dark.

Cael stood, mere feet from me, in a sweater and shorts; he had grown. His frame was at least a foot taller than the last time I’d seen him and he had developed nicely into all of his chiseled features. He had to be at least 6’3 now. His jaw ticked when his father didn’t answer him. He hadn’t even noticed me sitting there.

“Cael,” Ryan clenched, “it’s not a good time.”

“I don't give a shit,” he said, stepping further into the room.

His hair was longer than in the photo and stuck out in dirty blond chunks from beneath his backward hat. He stared at his Dad, ready to fight, and I’d never seen him so aggressive. It was intriguing and terrifying.

---