Ryan walked into the elegant offices of New Match and looked around for his mother. He smiled at Julie, who was on the phone in a glass-walled conference room and then he spotted the familiar blond head at her desk, leaning over some paperwork. Ryan couldn't help but smile. Since Marissa's death he had learned to take a special pleasure in every moment and memory with his new family.
Ryan stood in the doorway for a moment watching the lights in her office play on his mother's blond locks. She was so different from Dawn. Yes, the two women were both alcoholics, but Kirsten had gotten help and pulled her life together. Now here she was the co-owner of a successful company. Kirsten oozed sophistication and grace. Dawn had gotten rid of her family before she had given up the booze. Kirsten was the glue that held the Cohen family together, and Ryan was thankful every day that she had asked him to stay with them three years ago.
Just then, Kirsten felt his presence and looked up. Her face lit up with joy when she saw him. It always made Ryan feel so loved when she did that.
"Ryan! Come in Honey. How was your day?" Kirsten asked as she rounded her desk so that she could hug him.
Ryan returned the embrace and then Kirsten led him over to the couch against the wall. Once they were both seated, Kirsten took his hand in her own. Ryan could tell that she was nervous about something, but he would bide his time and let her tell him at her own pace.
"It was fine." Ryan shrugged. "I just got off work."
Kirsten smiled and nodded before she glanced down at the floor and took a deep breath. "Ryan I asked you to come by because I needed to tell you something about your father."
Alarmed by her tone of voice, Ryan's hand gripped Kirsten's a little tighter. "What's wrong? Is Sandy sick or something?"
Kirsten stared at Ryan strangely for a moment before a smile lit up her face and she spontaneously hugged him. Ryan was too startled to return the hug, and Kirsten had pulled back before he had a chance to embrace her.
"Do you have any idea how much I love you?" Kirsten asked.
"Um, I love you too?" Ryan replied tentatively, unsure of what was going on.
"Ryan, sweetie I wasn't talking about Sandy. I was talking about Frank." Kirsten explained.
"Oh." Ryan mumbled, his body tensing up at just the thought of the man who had contributed DNA. "What about him?"
Kirsten sighed and took Ryan's hand again. "Sweetie, I don't know how to tell you this, but the reason that Frank is so anxious to see you is that he's dying. He has cancer Ryan."
Ryan didn't know what to think. If this was coming from Frank, he wouldn't have believed it, but with Kirsten telling him then Ryan figured that it was probably true. "How long does he have?" Ryan asked softly.
"I'm not sure of the details. I just wanted to talk to you because I think you ought to meet with him." Kirsten told him.
Ryan raised his blue eyes to meet hers. "Really? You think I should?" He asked. The thought of seeing Frank again made him uncomfortable. He could still remember the beatings that he had received before Frank when to jail.
"I don't want you to have any regrets." Kirsten informed him.
Ryan sighed. He had been making a point of not taking his family for granted. He supposed that still included the Atwood's. "Alright, I'll meet him." He agreed.
Kirsten smiled happily. "I don't think you'll regret it." She told him as she stood and made her way to her desk. "Why don't I call him and we can all meet at the pier? Then maybe the two of you could have coffee or something and talk."
"That's fine." Ryan replied taking a deep breath. He had hoped to have a little more time before this came up again. He knew that he was far from comfortable with the idea of seeing Frank Atwood again.
Ryan still remembered the night that he got his arm dislocated. Frank had been drunk when he came home from school that day. Ryan was drinking a cup of water when Dawn came in and slammed the door. It startled the small six-year-old so much that the cup slipped out of his hand and water splattered across the floor.
Frank had come rampaging around the breakfast bar that separated the living room and kitchen in their small rental house. He took off his belt and then grabbed Ryan by the arm and wrenched him around to beat him when Ryan felt a sickening pain shoot through his shoulder and screamed. He blacked out a moment from the pain. When he realized what was happening, he was already covered in welts through his shirt and Frank was putting his belt back on and shouting for him to clean up the mess.
Fortunately Dawn was still sober that day and she took him to the clinic to get his arm fixed. The small local clinic was the type to turn their heads – or at least the doctor had been after Dawn showed him her appreciation. Ryan had stood outside the door with his shoulder in a brace while he listened to the moans coming from the exam room his mother and the doctor were still occupying.
"Ryan?"
Kirsten's voice brought Ryan out of his musings. She smiled at him uncertainly. "Are you alright?"
Ryan took a deep breath and pasted a smile on his face. "Yeah, just thinking. What did he say?"
"He'll meet us in twenty minutes. We can drive separately so that I can give you two some privacy to talk." Kirsten informed him as she reached into a drawer of her desk and retrieved her purse. She didn't see the wince that crossed Ryan's face at the thought of spending time alone with Frank.
Taking out her keys, Kirsten smiled at her son and slipped her arm through the crook of his elbow. "Ready?"
"Sure." Ryan replied as they both headed for the exit.