A car pulled into the park, going slowly. It was the first people to come to the park besides them – the day was cool, damp. Not a day to bring people to a park. COVID or no.
The driver parked. A man got out. He was short, blond, but about Vic’s age. Jonathan Tremont, Ryan hoped. And he hoped that Vic was a good judge of character.
“Ryan Matthews?” the man said. “I’m Jonathan.”
“ID?” Ryan said. The man approached, handed him a business card, and showed him his driver’s license.
“Are you always this suspicious?” Jonathan Tremont asked.
“I’m learning fast,” Ryan said. Teresa just smiled. Rafael smiled at the newcomer too, and Jonathan smiled back at him.
“So, that’s a rental car. It’s all in my name, but they know I’ve rented it for a client who is stranded with car trouble. Your name and driver’s license number — Vic gave it to me — are in their files as a secondary driver. Don’t know how diligent they’ll be in searching you out, but you aren’t listed as the primary.”
Ryan nodded. “Where do we drop you off?” he asked. “I’d like to get out of here.”
“Is there anything you need from the car?” his new attorney asked.
Ryan shook his head and smiled at Teresa. “We have everything we need,” he said.
Jonathan nodded. “Then get out of here,” he said. “I’ve a friend who’s going to come pick me up once you’re gone. Get on I-5. San Francisco is eight hours from here. That’s a long haul since you’ve already been on the road for a while, and you have a toddler. If you don’t think you can make it all the way to San Francisco, then stop in Ashland. Make sure you’re in Ashland, not just near it. Just like here, Ashland goes rapidly from liberal to conservative to very far right. Spend the night in Ashland, then you can go into San Francisco easily.
“That’s what I’d recommend. Otherwise, you’re going to get into SF late tonight and too tired to find a place.
“And do not think just because you’re in California, you can relax and just pull over when you get tired. That’s a long drive through conservative towns. Vic is working to get you off the BOLO list, but I wouldn’t take chances, myself.”
Ryan nodded. “Ashland it is,” he said. “Woo-woo City, here we come.”
Jonathan Tremont laughed. “It’s a nice town,” he said. “There’s a nice place to stay called the Bard’s Inn that my partner and I stay in. If you want, I’ll call ahead and make you a reservation.”
“Bard’s Inn?” Teresa asked.
“Oregon Shakespeare Festival is the dominant industry,” Ryan said. “Although I think they canceled the season because of COVID.”
Jonathan nodded. “First year we haven’t gone since we moved to Eugene,” he said.
Ryan thanked him. “You billing Vic for this? Or do I need to give you a check? Or cash?” Somehow, he didn’t think attorneys took cash payments in city parks very often. Jonathan just grinned at him.
“I’ll bill Vic,” he said, laughing. “You all just drive safe.”
Ryan and Teresa got Rafael buckled into the car seat. We owe Vic big time, Ryan thought. He thinks about the details.
Ashland was a pretty town just as Jonathan had said, and the Bard’s Inn was courteous and welcoming to Mr. and Mrs. Matthews. They were happy to bring in a cot.
Ryan grinned at Teresa as they settled into the room. “I liked the sound of that,” he admitted.
Teresa smiled back. “I did too,” she said.
They went out for dinner — take out, because no one had dine-in seating, — and brought the food back to the room. Rafael snuggled on the bed with them and happily listened to Ryan tell him a story about a little boy named Rafael. After he was asleep, Ryan put him in the cot, and then returned to the bed and pulled Teresa into his arms.
She sighed contentedly.
“Time for more talking? Or can we make love first?” he added hopefully.
She hesitated, looking at his face as if she was searching for something. “Ryan? Are you sure about us?” she said finally. “Are you sure I will be enough for you? Because I am serious. I will not marry a man who will not be faithful. And you were not faithful to me. I was not enough for you then. You say things have changed. What changed?”
Ryan was silent. He didn’t know where to start.
“I almost died,” he said finally. She looked at him in horror. “The fall after you left. Ian Black tried to poison me at a party, as part of his plan to get back at the Provost. I’ll tell you that story tomorrow,” he added when she started to ask a question. “But I realized I was in a bad way, and I called Cage. He took me up the OHSU, to a psychiatrist there. She pumped my stomach. Saved my life. And she told me I was an alcoholic and if I didn’t stop drinking and doing drugs, I’d be dead in a year. She saved my life twice.”
Teresa kissed him, a long slow kiss. “I could have lost you and not even known it,” she whispered.
Ryan snorted. “Just like you could have been pregnant and given birth to my son without me knowing it?” he asked.
She flushed.
“No,” he said. “No, you were right to do what you did. I was a mess. An alcoholic and drug user. I was partying hard.”
He was silent. “So, getting clean was the first thing. It’s been 1,000 days,” he said. “And once I was clean, the party scene didn’t appeal as much.”
“And the women?” she prompted.
Ryan shook his head. “This fall, I started seeing Dr. Clarke again. I was so needy, so desperate, and I didn’t know why. It was as if I couldn’t get enough to fill me. And then Rafael came, and I wanted to be a man who could be his father.” He looked
