3. Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Ryan
“Phew,” I said, sitting down in my chair and stretching my feet out. I could not believe how quickly the week had gone by, and that I was already settled into my Oceanview house. I was already enjoying the more relaxed atmosphere. Although, I wondered if I would be able to get to sleep without the noise of the city.
I had opened up the windows and I could hear the sound of cicadas and frogs outside. It was a far cry from the sirens and honking cars that I was used to, but I was pretty certain I would adjust quickly.
I started to yawn, and forced myself to stand up. I knew that if I didn’t get back to work I would not get everything done that I needed to get done. Although the house was put together, I still had to get my office set up. I knew that I could have taken care of it the following morning, but I wanted to go into work on Monday and be ready to hit the ground running. I took a deep breath, grabbed my keys, and headed out to my car.
I only had three boxes and a few pictures that I was going to bring into the office, and I figured it shouldn’t take me any longer than an hour or so to get everything organized. As much as I wanted to be done for the evening, I knew that I would be relieved to have everything truly settled.
I drove the short 10 minutes to the office, realizing how wonderful it was going to be to have such a short commute. In Manhattan it always took me at least 40 minutes to get to my office. Whether I took the subway, a taxi, an Uber, or tried to drive myself, it was always around 40 minutes.
Everyone was always surprised when they found out that I would still take the subway sometimes, but I didn’t see anything strange about it. It had always been one of my favorite parts about New York City when I was a kid, and I saw no reason to give it up once I was an adult.
However, the new 10 minute commute was going to be very nice.
I pulled up to the office building and was surprised to see a car in the parking lot and a light on inside. I had assumed that I would be alone, especially since it was 9 o’clock on a Sunday evening. However, I was wrong.
I got out of the car, grabbed one of the boxes, and went inside. I saw that the light was coming from an office on the far side of the building, and as I walked closer, I saw a petite, athletic blonde sitting at her desk, obviously engrossed in a project.
Not wanting to startle her, I cleared my throat and gently knocked on her door. She looked up, and I could instantly tell that she recognized me. I knew I had seen her before, but I couldn’t remember her name.
She got up from her desk and ran over to the door, hastily opening it with an embarrassed expression on her face.
“Oh my word, Mr. Jackson, I am so sorry. I had no idea you’d be here,” she said.
“You can call me Ryan, and there’s no reason to be sorry,” I answered.
“I don’t usually dress this casually,” she said, gesturing to her hooded sweatshirt and track pants. “But I didn’t think anyone would be here.”
I laughed. “I get it. I don’t usually wear jeans to the office either, but here I am. It’s late on a Sunday evening so it was a pretty reasonable assumption that we would be alone.”
The woman smiled and I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she was. She wasn’t wearing makeup and had her hair pulled back into a simple ponytail, but she was stunning.
“I’m sorry,” I said, realizing that I was staring. “I am sure I must have met you before, but I have forgotten your name.”
“I’m Jenna,” she answered, reaching out her hand to shake mine. “Jenna Nichols. I am the office manager here.”
“Oh, nice to meet you, Miss Nichols.” I said, thankful to have a face to put with the voice I had heard earlier.
“Oh, call me Jenna,” she said. “Especially if I’m supposed to call you Ryan.”
“Well, It’s nice to meet you, Jenna,” I said. “So, your sweatshirt… Coastal Carolina Softball? Did you play there?”
Jenna nodded. “Yes,” she said. “I was on the team for four years. I didn’t get much playing time my freshman year, but I had the privilege of being a starter for the other three.”
“What position did you play?” I was not surprised to hear that she had been an athlete, as she was clearly still in excellent shape.
“Middle infield,” she said. “Almost always at second, but I had a few games playing short.”
“Nice,” I said. I felt the familiar pang that I felt when I discussed college sports, but I knew that I couldn’t get out of the conversation now that I had started it. “I am also a former ball player.”
“Really?” Jenna asked, and I could see that she was genuinely interested.
I nodded. “Yep,” I said. “Penn State. I played for three years until an injury ended my career.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” she responded. “What position?”
“Center field,” I answered.
“I’m sorry to hear you got injured,” she said. “I’m sure it was awful not being able to leave the game on your own terms.”
I stared at her for a second, not knowing what to say. No woman had ever understood that aspect of my life, which is why I had never really discussed it. I had always brushed it off that it was part of my past and that clearly my present was working out just fine, but she was right. I was disappointed that I didn’t get to end on my terms.
“Thank you,” I finally said. “Well, you are obviously hard at work, and I need to get my office set up. I’ll let you go.”
Jenna nodded and headed back towards her desk.
“Wait,” I said. “Can I ask why you are here? Is this a usual thing?”
She laughed. “My son has a baseball game tomorrow, so I have to leave work a bit early so that I can watch him play.”
“Makes sense,” I said. I was surprised to hear that she had a son old enough to play baseball, as she looked really young. I had also already noticed that she wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, but I wasn’t going to pry into her personal life. I decided that there was nothing else that needed to be said, so I gave her a simple wave and walked back to my office.
I unloaded the rest of the boxes from my car, and then started getting everything arranged the way that I wanted it. I displayed a few pictures on my shelves, and then hung up my framed photo of Yankee Stadium. I didn’t have too many personal artifacts, but I always found that clients liked seeing a little bit about my life and seemed to feel more comfortable when they found out that there was more to me than just real estate.
I put the last box on my desk and hesitated opening it, knowing that it was going to be difficult to look at the memorabilia inside. However, I knew that they were excellent conversation starters, and that the people in this community would be intrigued.
It was also a huge part of your life, I thought to myself. And you spent two years in therapy learning how to handle losing that aspect, so you may as well get to it. Face it head on - now.
I knew I had to face it, and there was no use prolonging it. I took a deep breath, opened the box, and began slowly removing all of the items and placing them on my desk.
I took out my glove first, then the jersey, two signed baseballs, and finally the framed magazine article listing all of the Major League Baseball teams who had expressed interest in signing me to their roster.
I pushed aside the feeling of regret that always came when I spent too much time thinking about the past, and I ignored the dull ache that was ever-present in my knee. I would never forget the day I injured my knee and ended my baseball career. I had been running to catch a fly ball and stepped in a divot in the grass and tore my ligaments. I endured seven surgeries to get back to walking condition, but I would never be able to play professional ball.
Refusing to feel sorry for myself, I began to set up a shelf displaying all of my memorabilia. I was proud of what I accomplished during that time. I had been named as one of the top prospects for Major League Baseball, and I knew that I had achieved more than most people could ever dream of. It took a lot of work to get there, and although it didn’t last for nearly as long as I thought it would, I loved getting to play the game for as long as I could.
I finished making sure everything was set for the next day, and then I checked my watch. It was a little after 10, and I knew I should get home and get to bed. Although I didn’t have to be in the office until eight, my days always started very early in the morning.
I closed everything up, and as I walked out of my office I noticed that Jenna was also getting ready to leave.
“Heading out,” I asked, turning and walking towards her.
“Yes,” she said. “I got everything done that I needed to do. My mom is with my son, and he is most likely asleep by now. He always has such a good time with my parents, and on weekends I don’t really care when he goes to bed. But tomorrow’s a school day, so I need to get home and make sure that things are as they should be.”
As I stood next to her I noticed how small she was.
“I don’t want to change the subject, but how tall are you?” I asked.
She blushed and then looked up at me, and I noticed that her eyes were a striking shade of green. I had only known a few people in my life with green eyes, but I always thought that they were so pretty.
“Five-foot-three,” she said.
“I figured,” I said. “That makes you a full foot shorter than me!”
Jenna shrugged her shoulders. “Yeah, I’m not very tall. I got my height early, and in sixth grade I was one of the tallest in my class. Was sure that I was going to be at least five-nine. My mom is quite tall, as are several of my aunts. My brother and dad are both about your height. But for some reason, I just stopped growing. But it’s alright. A lot of times people underestimate me because of my size, and I kind of like that.”
That surprised me. “You like that?” I asked.
“Yep,” she answered matter-of-factly. “I know it’s weird. Most people don’t like to be underestimated, but I always see it as a challenge.”
“Well, okay then,” I said. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to underestimate you.”
Jenna smiled and then thanked me for holding the door open for her as she walked out of the office.
“Well,” she said before getting into her car, “I will see you tomorrow. I planned on officially welcoming you to the office and making an incredible first impression here in the office. Instead, you found me dressed in my comfy clothes and burning the midnight oil.”
I laughed. “It was an interesting first impression, but it was still good.”
“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She said she got in her car and drove away. As I watched her leave, I couldn’t help, but realize that I was feeling intrigued by that little blonde. Perhaps more intrigued than I should be.