The Players (TP4)

42 - Broadway Tenor

Ryan

"Sweetheart do you want some breakfast?"

Ryan just came back from his run and walk over the causeway, sipping from his large to go coffee cup. He would miss Rick's coffee when he left. He was going to miss a lot of things.

"You don't need to cook for me, mom. Just cereal or ..."

"Your father wants pancakes."

"In that case."

He had been at the condo for two days and was already wondering how Lana survived living with her parents and his parents weren't psycho. To be fair only her mother was, her father was a nice guy. Ryan spent some time with Jack and Cam, but he couldn't intrude all day. As he was throwing the ball to Will, he contemplated going home early.

"First game is Friday night." Will announced as they were finishing up.

"Yeah, maybe I should come."

"You would do that?"

"I have a few things to work out, but I could stop on my way home. No promises. It's just an idea."

"You could stay at our house." Will was excited.

"I could get a hotel." Ryan answered as he had no interest in being Nora Drake's house guest.

Will shrugged. "Whatever, but we've got Lana's room. She never comes home."

"Never?"

"Well, she and the dick would come to visit occasionally. Now she only comes on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sucks cuz I don't see her all winter."

She was one holiday better than Ryan who only went home for Christmas. Thanksgiving he usually spent with Cam and Heidi and her family.

Seeing Lana's childhood home and her room appealed to him. Before he finalized his plans with Will, he wanted to see about one other stop along the way.

His palms were sweaty as he logged in. Ever since he shared his biggest secret with his mother, he felt the need for closure - a stupid buzzword. Nervously he typed out a private message and hovered over the send button. Taking a deep breath, he clicked and sent a request to meet. He didn't expect a reply right away, so he turned off his laptop and went to watch the game with his father.

The Sox had lost six of their last eight games, and Ryan was afraid they would crash and burn the last month of the season. Perhaps his summer was the same. It was great for a while, but it had to end. When Miami scored five in the eighth, he was ready to give up and go to bed, but his team pulled out the win.

He met with Alex and Jen on Wednesday night. Alex showed him his ideas and explained he could fit him into his schedule.

"Are you sure you don't have other projects?"

"I always have other projects, but I have the crew. I picked up an empty lot in town, but as long as the roof is on before the first flake flies, I don't need to fast track that project. Take a look and decide what you want. I can start pulling permits right away."

Ryan knew it all came down to how much he was willing to spend. He had the luxury of knowing that although his income could fluctuate with the economy. It was always more than sufficient for his needs. He could afford whatever Alex proposed.

"Oh, by the way, I mentioned to my brother you bought a cottage and he was asking about you. I told him you can trust a Harris. I think he may call you."

Ryan tried not to sound over-eager. "I promise I'll take good care of him."

Gaining two clients from his summer away wouldn't make up for the clients he lost over Isobel, but it was a start. He imagined Tom Goodwin and his wife could help pay for the renovations he was about to sign off on.