Chapter 10
Ryan had expected he would get some punishment for talking to the man like this. But either the guy hadn't told his father about it or he simply didn't want to punish him. But nothing happened. The whole time when Ryan was working for Douglas, nothing special happened anymore. Only that, as soon as he had gone through Douglas' office and had finished putting order on the chaos, the work stopped being that easy. It became more what Ryan had expected in the beginning; he had to do a lot of things which he found rather unpleasant. He never told anybody about it, though. Especially not Ron. If he had found out about some things Ryan had been asked, no, ordered, to do, he would surely have blown the whole building down. In the silent moments, Ryan had to laugh about it. Ron was a wonderful person. But still, he couldn't talk to him about everything. It was pure irony: He couldn't talk to his father because Daddy didn't care, and he couldn't talk to Ron because Ron cared too much. He noticed that one big rule his father had given him had gone into his blood: Don't bother other people with your problems. No one. A strong man always keeps problems to himself, tries to solve them alone, and if they can't be solved, then he takes the consequences, and tries to make it work again, no matter what it takes. But he never ever bothers other people, or asks them for help. Ryan had always thought that this was wrong, that you needed other people at least at some point. But slowly, he had noticed that he was always reluctant when it came to asking others. He just had the impression they would think him as an annoyance, wussy, and completely incapable of doing things.
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But then, at some point, Ryan's last day working for Douglas had passed. When he left the base for the last time, he felt it. This feeling of freedom. Absolute freedom. No more Douglas, no more those looks from the other soldiers, no more…. He shook his head. Don't think about it. Just forget it. Besides, this is not the last time you're here. You have to come back…He hadn't made a decision. He knew he had told Ron he would, but he just couldn't. Okay. He didn't like it there. But then again… He wanted to make his father proud. What son didn't? He always tried to pretend it wasn't that bad, and that his hugest problem was how to get out of the army thing. But the truth was the biggest problem he had was that he longed for a nice word from his father. It didn't matter to him what the old man said. Just something nice. And right now, after those hard weeks, he would have done anything to get a "Well done, Ryan." Or something like that. He hoped, when he would get home tonight, since it had been his last day, his father would say something. Something positive. Though Ryan seriously had done nothing to deserve a negative statement this time. But you never know.
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Ron drove him home, but he was silent the whole time. Ryan noticed it.
"Bad news?"
Ron nodded, "Yeah. I'm afraid, but I have to leave. I need to go back to Miami. Tonight. Important job. You know I would stay here, normally, but this job is really important…"
"You don't have to feel bad, Ron. Seriously not."
Ron sighed, "But I do feel bad, Ryan. This is why I ask you now, and you have about two hours to decide: You want to come with me to Miami? You're finished with your job, you still have some time before school starts again, and I think you could need a bit of fun time."
Ryan frowned, "You think he will let me go? I mean…"
"Oh, he will. And if I have to convince him."
Ryan shook his head, "No, Ron, don't. I will try, and if not, then I'll stay here. But thanks for the invitation…"
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When Ryan arrived home, he immediately went to see his father. When he knocked on the office door, his father only responded ten minutes later.
"Get in." Ryan opened the door, entered the office, closed the door behind him and waited for his father to ask him what he wanted. It took another seven minutes. "Why are you here?"
"I just wanted to tell you this was my last day at work…"
"I know. What else?"
Ryan looked down, "Uncle Ron has asked me… if I'd like to spend the rest of my time before school starts with him in Miami… May I, sir?"
"Yes."
"Thank you, Sir." He left the office. When he had closed the door he smiled and raced to the phone to tell Ron.
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Ron picked him up an hour later. Ryan was just about to load his luggage into the car when his father came outside. Ryan felt his heart getting heavy. What was he doing here? But Duke just walked over to Ron.
Ron raised his head, "What?"
Duke gave his brother a serious look, "You gonna bring him back, won't you?"
Ron grinned, "If he wants to stay with me, I'm not going to throw him out…"
"Why would he stay with you in Miami?"
Ron shrugged, "If you don't know… I just tell you one thing, Duke. If he doesn't want to come back, he will stay with me. I'm not going to send him back just because you want it. In contrast to you, I'm interested in what Ryan wants."
"And I am not?"
"Oh, of course you are…. Sure…. Well… Our plane takes off soon, and I'm sure you wouldn't want us to miss it. So good-bye brother, I see you again soon, maybe…" He smiled and got in the car.
Ryan said his parents good-bye and got on the passenger's seat. When Ron drove to the airport, Ryan felt himself smile. Miami….
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AN: I know, this is a short chapter, but it was only for filling the gap… Thanks for reviewing, and adding the story to alerts list and stuff, it makes my day.