Fallen Elements (14 page)

Donnie tucked a copy of Ryan’s proposal under
his arm as he walked toward the door to the conference room. “Very
pleased.”

Ryan was thrilled her first major project was
going well. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, she felt
confident her proposal would become policy that would allow
thousands of Howard County children to benefit from free
nutritionally balanced school meals.

“Great work, Ryan.” Linda had hung back as
the rest of the room emptied.

“Thanks for lobbing me some of those
questions. It made for good discussion.” Ryan began packing her
laptop up.

“No trouble.” Linda hesitated as if she had
something else to add.

“Did you have more questions?” Ryan slung her
laptop bag over her shoulder.

“What happened to your lip?” Linda’s grey
eyes looked at Ryan’s still swollen lip.

“Don’t let anyone tell you flag football
isn’t a contact sport.” Ryan grinned as she walked toward the
door.

“Oh, do you play on a BSSC team?” Linda
walked with Ryan as the two women exited the conference room and
headed toward Ryan’s office.

“I do, but clearly not well.” Ryan pointed
toward her lip.

“When I first moved here in 2008 I joined a
team. I’m still friends with some of the folks I met.” Linda leaned
against the door frame of Ryan’s office, her eyes following Ryan as
she unpacked her laptop and reattached it to its docking station.
“I was on a softball team.”

Ryan walked around the front of her desk and
leaned against it. “Super extreme social division?”

Linda chuckled. “Drunk by noon on a Saturday?
You bet.”

Ryan laughed. This was the first time she had
talked with one of her new colleagues about something other than
work, and the casual banter was refreshing. She had interned enough
over the years to know making casual connections with co-workers
was crucial if she was going to have the necessary influence to
move her agendas forward.

“Would you like to have a drink sometime
after work?” Linda spoke in a casual enough way, but the nervous
expression that fluttered across her face told Ryan she was being
asked out.

Ryan had noticed several other people in the
office were either dating or married, but she had never thought it
wise to comingle work and pleasure on the all too likely chance
things turned sour. “Actually, that would be great. Donnie was just
talking about how we should all go to Pub Dog for drinks.” Ryan
could see the disappointment on Linda’s face, and felt bad dodging
her advances, but not bad enough to risk their working
relationship.

“Oh, great idea. Do you want to set that up
for this week?” Linda managed to smile.

Ryan walked back around her desk and sat
down. “I’ll send the email right now.” Smiling, Ryan started
typing. “Thursday work for you?”

“Perfect. Chat with you later.” Linda left,
and Ryan drafted a short invite and sent it out to her primary
working group.

A faint buzzing sound came from Ryan’s top
desk drawer. Pulling her cell phone out, she smiled to see a text
from Leah.

Hi. I know you’re busy with the new job and
we’ve been missing each other with that drink outing, but would you
like to have drinks this Thursday around 6?

Ryan frowned. Her timing was not good. Ryan
wondered what the odds were of her colleagues declining the invite,
and Linda having something come up.

Just as Ryan was hoping for a slew of “no
thanks” from her co-workers, her laptop chimed, and three people,
including Donnie, had already accepted.

Pushing past her disappointment, Ryan
responded to Leah.
I just scheduled a work outing for drinks.
Boo.

After nearly a minute, Ryan’s phone buzzed.
How about dinner after?

Squelching the urge to cartwheel with glee,
Ryan quickly responded.
Great! I guess we should try to expand
our horizons… no Wegmans?

Leah responded in kind.
LOL. Petit Louis
Bistro at 8? Does that give you enough time?

Ryan wanted to tell Leah she would slip out
the back of the Pub Dog if it meant having dinner with her, but
opted for a less emphatic response.
Perfect. See you
there.

Ryan felt karma had instantly rewarded her,
and her principles, for not accepting Linda’s invite. She would
spend an hour with her colleagues and then pop over to the bistro
to meet Leah.

“I’m sure she understood. It’s a new job and
you can’t just bail.” Nicole reassured Ryan as the two women
strolled through the Butcher’s Hill flea market and craft fair held
in Patterson Park. It was a clear Saturday morning, the
temperatures hovered around fifty five degrees, and the market was
teeming with vendors selling a variety of goods ranging from local
arts and crafts, pottery, and clothing to crab cakes.

“I’m sure she’s fine, but
I’m
disappointed.” Ryan sighed. She had to call Leah Thursday night
when it became apparent her new co-workers were deciding to take
the happy hour out for a spin and into a full-on dinner. Donnie, in
particular, seemed determined that Ryan should join them and get
the chance to meet-and-greet everyone as the newest member of his
department.

Leah had understood when Ryan stepped out of
the Pub Dog to call her, and break the bad news. “No, please don’t
worry about it. I understand the importance of office politics.”
Leah had reassured Ryan.

“I appreciate your understanding, and we will
definitely reschedule.” Ryan had insisted.

“Of course. Have fun.”

“I would have more fun with you.” Ryan had
slammed her eyes shut, embarrassed she had been so candid with
Leah.

Leah was good natured about the comment. “You
flatter me.”

Ryan decided to cut her losses and wrap the
call up, even though she had felt she could go on for hours about
why Leah was a far better time than her co-workers. “Not at all,
and I’ll call you about the reschedule.”

The two women had said their goodbyes, and
Ryan had returned to the moderately rowdy group of county workers.
In spite of the evening running longer than she had anticipated,
Ryan enjoyed everyone’s company.

“I totally asked you out the other day.” An
inebriated Linda had casually said to Ryan.

Nearly choking on her Natty Boh, Ryan wiped
her mouth with the white paper napkin from across her lap. “I
thought so, but didn’t want to assume.”

“Assume away. You’re gorgeous, and I haven’t
been on a decent date for nearly two months.” Linda emptied her
fourth dark and stormy cocktail.

Ryan had blushed, and squirmed a little on
her bar stool. Linda was attractive, and Ryan wondered if it wasn’t
for their working arrangement, and her infatuation with Leah, if
she might take the woman up on her offer. After all, Jenny and she
had nothing set in stone - except that they had nothing set in
stone.

“I’m dating someone.” Ryan decided a
half-truth could save Linda and her total awkwardness the following
day when Linda was sober and sitting across the conference room
table from Ryan.

“Naturally.” Linda sighed. “Why wouldn’t you
be?”

Ryan tentatively put her arm around the
despondent woman’s shoulder. “Pace yourself, things tend to work
out.”

Linda chuckled. “Spoken like a
twenty-something.” She gestured for their waiter to bring her
another drink. “Trust me, somewhere over the rainbow, happily ever
after, etcetera, etcetera - looks far less likely in your
mid-thirties.”

Ryan hadn’t known what to say, as she had
never considered being single a handicap or something to be
overcome. She was grateful when Wally, their IT analyst, had
interrupted the group to announce he was buying the next round. The
outpouring of drunken gratitude had redirected Linda, and she moved
on to other less depressing topics.

“Subject change, my friend.” Nicole
interrupted Ryan’s recollections. “What are we going to do about
the car situation?” Nicole was only half joking. Even with her
working from home three days a week, Ryan’s commute to Columbia was
putting a strain on the roommates’ transportation options.

“I can buy a car.” Ryan said casually as the
two women perused a table full of small statues and candles.

“What? Since when?” Nicole stammered.

Ryan thought now was as good a time as any to
tell someone about her inheritance, and she felt it was right that
Nicole should be the first of her friends to know. “My mom left me
some money.”

Nicole put a small Buddha statue back on the
table, and turned her attention to Ryan. “I’ll be blunt and
tactless - how much is
some
money?”

Ryan winced. “Um, I could buy everyone we
know a new car.” Ryan watched as her friend’s eyes widened. “Times
ten thousand plus.”

Nicole flinched, and her hip hit the edge of
the table sending a stone statue of a raven crashing to the ground.
“Shit!” The two women said in unison as they looked down at the
shards of clay.

“You’re paying for that, Myers. Because
clearly you can.” Nicole pinched Ryan’s upper arm in jest.

Ryan was relieved she had told someone, and
that Nicole wasn’t behaving any differently toward her. “You’re not
pissed I didn’t tell you sooner?”

Nicole bent down with Ryan, and the two began
picking the mangled statue up. “It’s your business, Ryan, and with
everything else that had happened with your family, I appreciate
you needed some time to wrap your head around it.”

Ryan’s eyes filled with tears. She felt so
fortunate to have Nicole in her life, and thankful for the honest
friendship the two had. “Thanks, Nic.”

Nicole’s eyes welled with tears. “Shit, look
at this.” She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “And you
are seriously paying for this mess.”

Ryan pulled Nicole to her feet, and hugged
her. Reaching into her back pocket, Ryan took her wallet out and
handed the irritated merchant a twenty dollar bill. “Sorry, and
keep the change.”

Nicole lay what was left of the raven statue
back on the table, and the two women hurried off. “So – ah – what
does this mean for you?”

Ryan could tell that for one of the few times
in their friendship, she had managed to genuinely shock Nicole. The
woman was rarely awkward and hardly ever at a loss for words. Ryan
resolved not to give her too much grief, and would try to keep the
conversation straightforward. “I’ve decided it really doesn’t have
to change much of anything for me.”

Nicole’s brow arched. “Is that
realistic?”

Ryan shrugged. “I know at some point I’ll
need to decide where the money should go. I mean, there is only so
much one person needs.” Her deadline for contacting Mr. Perkis
regarding the transfer of the estate from his firm had come and
gone. Even the process of vetting a new attorney was proving more
work than Ryan had anticipated.

Nicole nodded. “You should start some type of
cleverly named philanthropic organization.”

Ryan pursed her lips. “Well, you lost me at
cleverly named.”

The two women strolled through the market,
Ryan imagining Nicole had a thousand questions, but thought it best
to let her come to them on her own. After all, Ryan wasn’t exactly
riddled with answers these days.

“Let’s get a corn dog.” Nicole pointed to a
nearby food truck.

“It’s ten o’clock in the morning.” Ryan’s
stomach did a quick somersault at the idea of the greasy, meat
by-product laden concoction.

“Suit yourself. Do you want a lemonade then?”
Nicole asked.

“Sure.” Ryan reached into her back pocket for
her wallet.

“Oh, no – let
me
get this.” Nicole
winked, and disappeared into the crowd.

Ryan didn’t want to wander too far and end up
separated from Nicole, so when she spotted a table full of books
nearby, she worked her way over to the booth. The books were lined
up in rows, with their spines facing upward. Turning her head to
the side, Ryan scanned the titles and couldn’t help but think of
Leah, and wonder what she was doing.

Her eyes came to rest on a colorful book with
a series of brightly colored circles on its cover. Liberating it
from its counterparts, Ryan grinned at the title,
Super Sad True
Love Story
, and thought it apt. She flipped through the title
page and introduction, scanning text as she went.

Ryan hadn’t heard of the book or the author,
but it was clearly satirical and not altogether unfunny. Ryan’s
eyes paused on a sentence:
By reading this
message you are denying its existence and implying consent.
Continuing to scan, she thought of her mother,
and her family as she read another passage:
Do not throw away your heart. Keep your heart. Your heart is
all that matters ... Throw away your ancestors! ... Throw away your
shyness and the anger that lies just a few inches beneath ...
Accept the truth!
 

“That seems a little heavy
for a beautiful Saturday morning.” Leah’s voice startled Ryan, and
she nearly dropped the book.

Ryan’s eyes narrowed. She
managed to gain her composure quickly after initially being
surprised to see Leah. “Are you stalking me?”

Leah’s expression turned
serious. “Clearly not well if it’s that obvious.”

The two women laughed, and
Leah leaned in to give Ryan a quick hug. It occurred to Ryan how
tragic she was that even when Leah was clearly offering a brief
show of friendly affection, Ryan’s heart still pounded, and her
skin warmed.

“Are you here alone?” Ryan looked behind
Leah.

“No, my friend Marty is around here
somewhere. I think he’s given into his base instincts and is trying
to find a funnel cake vendor.”

Ryan was acutely aware that Leah had not
released her hand after their initial hug, and was fighting the
urge to squeeze the woman’s hand tighter. “Nicole is on a similar
quest – corn dogs.”