Page 8 of The Lawyer's Quandary
Steven’s hackles seemed to descend as his expression softened. “I get it.”
“Good. Our primary focus is on keeping you safe,” Mark said. “Have you spoken to your parents?”
Steven swallowed. “I talked to Mom, and she….” He sighed. “She was so angry when I told her what happened. Mom said she didn’t care about the bisexual thing, and… We actually had a really good talk, the best in a long time. She said that my dadwas being a jackass about it, but she knew how to handle him.” Steven rolled his eyes. “All I know is that I do not want to be my dad right now. And she said that whatever costs there are, she and Dad would pay them.”
“I see,” Greg said. At least that was a relief. “It’s good that you have backup.”
“Mom wanted me to come home right now,” Steven told them. “You were right. I never thought of Mom as a tiger, but I guess I was wrong.”
“Good.” Greg was already thinking ahead. “Make sure your mom knows when we’ll go to the board. It could be very powerful if she’s there.” An image of how this could work was forming in his head, but he had plenty of work ahead of him if they were going to make this a success. He had so much research to do in order to make sure that anything that was said in the meeting didn’t undermine any case they might bring in the future. “Talk to your teammates and get them to meet with me.” When the server brought the check, he paid it and thanked her with a nice tip.
“I’ll try.” Steven grabbed his bag and headed out. “I have practice in half an hour.”
Mark sighed as he looked around the room. “Shit,” he said under his breath.
“What?” Greg asked as a man walked toward them. He was in his late forties and looked like hell. He was wearing a face mask like during covid, and his eyes were puffy.
“Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you were out ill,” Mark said.
“I had to get some papers signed, and I wanted some things from my desk.” He sounded awful, and Greg realized that this had to be Coach Bates. Why in the hell he was at a school with a ton of people around was surprising, but then, that went with what he knew of the man. He didn’t care for anyone elseother than himself, so spreading his germs all over campus was probably no big deal to him.
“Well, get yourself home so you can rest,” Mark said, and Greg was relieved when he moved away and left the building. “I bet you can guess who that was.”
“Jesus. You ask people to send you what you need,” Greg said as he shook his head. The level of inconsideration was off the charts. “Not… that.” He had no words and just watched the man go.
“Exactly. He’s been angling to replace Coach Littleton. Bates always thinks his crap doesn’t stink and that everyone should be there to do whatever he wants.”
“I know the type. I had a boyfriend like that. Dave was one of those guys who always thought he was really smart, but he made dumb decisions, and he expected me and everyone else in his life to bend over backward to get him out of whatever jam he’d gotten himself into. And I suspect Bates is a lot like that.”
“I suspect so. Thankfully, I don’t interact with him a lot on a day-to-day basis.” They finished the last of their drinks and left the table, heading out into the spring sunshine. “Do you have time now or do you need to go back to the office?”
“I have the whole day free. Is there something you’d like to do?” Greg asked.
“Well, we could take a ride toward Carlisle through the country. This part of the state is orchard country, and the trees should be in bloom, which means that there will be entire fields and hillsides that will be covered in white and pink.”
“Then let’s go,” Greg said. “But there’s only one issue. Which car are we going to take and who is going to end up sort of stranded?”
“How about we take your car,” Mark offered. “I need to be in Carlisle tomorrow, so I can crash with a friend, and he can bring me home. Just let me get a few things from my car.” He joggedacross the parking lot and returned ten minutes later with a different small bag.
“What did you do with your wet stuff?”
“I laid it out on top of the bag in the trunk. At least the air can get to it, and it won’t be enclosed. I’ll get it tomorrow, so it’ll be fine.” He got into the passenger seat of Greg’s car and directed him out of New Berlin and then got him heading north. Once they crossed the main road, Mark had him turn and then cut over to a more country road that continued northward but wound up and down hills and cut around huge fields that were covered with white blossoms, miles and miles of them.
“I’ve always taken the highway south, so I’ve never really seen this section before.”
“You almost need to know it’s here. This is where they grow a lot of the state’s tree fruit. There are roadside stands, like one just coming up, that sell the produce most of the year. It’s too early for anything now, but wait a few months. The cherries start in June, and after that, there is a steady stream of plums, peaches, apricots, apples, and pears. You name it—everything will be available. Sometimes, I come this way just so I can pick up some fresh fruit and veggies. In the fall, there’s cider and pumpkin patches and even a corn maze.” Mark sounded so excited.
“I take it you love it here.”
“I do. Though the town is kind of small, I really like the area.”
Greg pulled to a stop at the top of a hill and got out of the car just so he could look at the undulating waves of white. It was stunning. Mark joined him, standing close enough that Greg could feel his warmth in the spring air. “I can’t believe I didn’t know this was here. I mean, I knew that Adams County grew a lot of fruit, but I didn’t know about the blossom display.” He leaned against the car for a few minutes, looking at the treeswhile every second he was hyperaware of Mark next to him. He wished Mark would make some sort of move, but then maybe he was the one who should make it. After all, they had already kissed once, even though it was interrupted. Maybe beside the road wasn’t the best place for that sort of thing.
“There’s a turnoff just ahead that goes back a ways, and there’s a farm where you can pick your own raspberries and blackberries. I love going in late July and August. The time of year varies, but the fruit is amazing.” They got back in the car and continued their slow trek toward Carlisle, stopping a few times just to look at the scenery.
It was an amazing afternoon. Just outside Mount Holly Springs, there was another farm stand. This one was open, so Greg pulled in. There were only a few early veggies available, but it was still fun to look around and scope the place out for later in the season.
“I guess I haven’t realized how much time I’ve spent working. I haven’t paid all that much attention to the things around me or what’s going on.” Greg chuckled as they walked to the car. “Last summer, I went into the office on a Saturday. I had a number of things due, so I figured I’d get them done. In the afternoon, when I left, there was a whole street festival with a bunch of antique cars and everything that had popped up while I was inside. Sometimes I swear that I’ll miss everything if I’m not careful.”
