Chapter 1 #3
“The only reason anyone is paying attention to these problems is that a girl started a petition saying that our facility is in bad shape,” Ed explained. “It made its way up to somebody in the Woodsmen front office and they didn’t like the negative attention.”
“Any attention is good attention,” Ronan said. “That’s my personal motto.”
“You must be fun at parties,” I told him. “Does anybody ever get out of here?”
“There’s my car,” he said, pointing. “I’m going to be getting out of here within the next five minutes.”
“I mean, does anyone ever move up and make the Woodsmen team or get a spot at another high-level club?”
“The current Juniors quarterback will. I think so,” Ed answered. “He’s great. There have been a handful of others, too.”
“Then why don’t they do something about this?” I asked. I knew how well the Woodsmen got paid, from the coaches on down. “At Woodsmen Stadium, they’re always talking about all the charitable projects the team is involved in. This would be a giant one.”
“It’s not charity,” Ronan scoffed. “The Woodsmen own our team. It would be like buying yourself a new pair of shoes and then bragging about how generous you were.”
And what was wrong with new shoes? I looked at my feet and the fairly new pair that I wore. I hoped I hadn’t stepped in any rodent scat.
“The former Junior Woodsmen have other things on their minds. How often do you think about your elementary school?” Ed asked us. “They move on—”
“Move up,” Ronan corrected.
“They move on and then they forget,” Ed continued. “They don’t come back to visit.”
“It’s ok, Eddie. You still have me,” the other guy said. They both smiled.
I cleared my throat. “How do I get to the front parking lot from here?” It wasn’t five o’clock yet but I was more than ready to go.
It turned out that there were two ways to return to my car, and Ed explained them. One was to walk around the giant building through the mud. The other was to walk through the giant building and the mud in there, as well as the rats.
But no, there was a third. “I can drive you,” Ronan said. “My car’s back here.” He pointed again at the dirt lot. The front, where I had left my car, was where the real Woodsmen were allowed to park. It was paved and there was a guard booth to protect it.
I eyed him. “If you can drive that route, then I can also walk it,” I said.
“It’s three miles around on the roads,” Ed explained, like he was apologizing. “You’ll be fine with him or I can escort you. Happy to. The lights are probably still working in the building.”
And that was how I found myself going with Ronan. “Ronan Wilder,” he introduced himself as we walked to his car. He looked down at me expectantly.
“Cate McNaughton,” I answered. “Cate with a C.”
“That’s cute. Cute also starts with a C.”
I shook my head and we stopped beside what looked like a cross between an SUV and a truck. It was also a cross between being painted brown and large areas of raw metal where it wasn’t. I pulled on the door handle on my side but it didn’t open. “Can you unlock this?”
“Sure.” Instead of hitting a button on his key fob or even reaching across the interior of the car, he walked around to join me on the passenger side.
Then he nudged me out of the way with his hip and yanked hard on the handle that hadn’t moved despite my efforts.
The door opened with a creak that was worse than the table we’d been standing on.
“There you are,” he told me. “I feel like I should bow. What would a knight say?”
“They didn’t drive anything but horses.” But I did say thank you and I also thanked him for giving me a ride when he had gotten his own door open and we were both inside the vehicle.
“No problem. I understand why you didn’t want to be in there with the rats.” We both shuddered.
“How do you go there every day?” I asked. “You guys don’t get paid very well for it.” Ed had explained everything about the team, including their salaries.
“No, but it’s more than I’d get at other jobs.”
“Is it worth it? It’s physically difficult, like you could get injured,” I pointed out. “Badly injured. And it’s physically disgusting, because you have to use a facility full of rodents and dirt.”
“Not if your survey works.”
I shrugged, because I thought that there was only a slim chance that all those comprehensive issues would be addressed. “We’ll see,” I answered noncommittally. “Maybe you won’t be around to find out.”
“You think I’m going to run off somewhere? I might,” he considered. “I could.”
“I meant that you could try out for the real Woodsmen team this summer at their training camp and you might make it,” I corrected him.
“Then you would be on the nice side of the building for the preseason and Woodsmen Stadium for the regular season. I don’t know if you’ve been there, but it’s beautiful. ”
“Yeah, I’ve seen it. I took a tour when I first moved up here,” Ronan said. “It’s impressive.”
He didn’t sound overly enthusiastic, which I understood. You didn’t want to get yourself keyed up for something that would never happen.
He mentioned something about the weather, how it was getting warmer, and I looked through the side window at the piles of dirty snow on the ground.
I’d arrived in northern Michigan in October and shortly after that, the temperature had turned freezing, and then January had dipped into arctic territory.
I wasn’t sure how they’d kept playing through it since I’d had a hard time walking from my apartment to my car, and then into Woodsmen Stadium where I worked in the Office of Special Projects.
The three miles passed quickly due to his chatting, and also because he drove very fast. “Thanks for the ride,” I said as we approached the gate.
“You don’t have to go in.” I actually wasn’t sure if he was allowed to—I’d had to get a special pass to enter from the security office at the stadium before I came here.
“Sure. Nice to meet you, Cate.”
“You, too,” I answered, and stepped out into the driveway. I waved to the guard in the booth there, and he apparently recognized me so he didn’t tackle me into the snow and mud. I was thinking about returning to my desk, typing up my notes, submitting my milage for a gas reimbursement—
“Want to find out?”
I stopped at the sound of Ronan’s voice. I hadn’t noticed that he hadn’t yet left the driveway, even though the security guard now stood next to his car. “What?” I called. “Find out what?”
“How fun I am at parties,” he answered, as if it was obvious. “That was what you said about me. My friends and I are having one on Saturday night after the last game. What’s your number?”
He and the guard both looked at me, waiting.
I thought for a second and then I gave it to him. He nodded but the security guard shook his head.
“See you Saturday,” Ronan said. He saluted the other guy and then backed out, and I watched him drive away.