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The Education of Matthew Buchanan - Chapter 7   Nora's last stop was Rodi’s. She had come up empty at Carlotta’s, Hallowed Grounds and the Community Center. She didn’t think Matthew would be at Rodi’s but if Rex had found him, maybe he had convinced her son to grab a burger and she was now hoping to run into them. Bo had touched base with her once. He had struck out at the school, the docks and the playground. He was going to hit Carlotta’s and Hallowed Grounds again, just as a double check. He would meet her at Rodi’s and they could plan their next step from there.   She stopped just inside the entrance, scanning around the crowded dining area. The booths were all taken, an intense game of nine ball going on at the pool table and the juke box was blaring ‘Coldplay’. She moved over to the bar, hipping one of the stools and ordering seltzer water over ice. She sat waiting for her drink, barely hearing the music as her mind played back the events of the afternoon.   No matter how many ways she went over it, no matter how many times she replayed it in her mind, her life’s failures always came back to her lie. The blame was squarely on her shoulders; again. The bartender slid some popcorn and her drink in front of her and she sipped it, thinking again of the afternoon’s events. She had reacted badly to Bo’s revelation of his engagement to Lindsay. She almost choked on the thought, choosing instead to chomp on an ice cube from her drink. Bo’s goal for his future had put her goals, her future into perspective. She WOULD take that job in Chicago. Moving Matthew away from this town and her past would help heal all of the old wounds and might finally allow her to move on from her feelings….no; she corrected herself, her connections to Bo Buchanan. There were no more feelings.   She lifted her glass into the air in a silent toast. Here’s to Chicago and a life without Bo or Lindsay. As she threw back the last of her drink, the sound of that voice saying her name had her choking for the second time that day.   “Nora.”   She coughed and grabbed at the bar napkin, coughing into it as she turned to face her daily penance. “Lindsay.”   Lindsay ordered a drink and squeezed between the bar stools so that she was elbow to elbow with Nora. “Drowning your sorrows?”   “Excuse me?”   “I know that Bo went to see you today to tell you our good news.” Lindsay nodded towards Nora’s glass. “Drinking to our good health?”   Nora turned from Lindsay, grabbing a handful of popcorn, lifting her glass towards Max the bartender. “Hardly.” She stuffed the popcorn in her mouth, chomping down hard on each kernel.   “Another seltzer Mrs. Buchanan?” asked the bartender.   “Scotch,” she corrected, swallowing the last of the chewed popcorn. “Straight up.” She would need something stronger than seltzer water if she had to endure Lindsay.   “Mrs. Buchanan?” Lindsay asked incredulously.   “And it’s Ms. Hanen, Max,” she said with a straight face. “You know that.”   The bartender glanced at Lindsay before smiling at Nora sheepishly. “Old habits.”   She returned his smile, stuffing some more popcorn in her mouth. “He did that on purpose,” Lindsay growled.   “You heard him, old habits. Now go away, I’m busy.”   “I can see that. Drinking to your losses. How sad for you.”   “Actually, to my successes.” She thought of the job in Chicago, offering her an escape as well as a future.   “Liar,” Lindsay accused. “You’re upset about Bo and me and you came here to drink away your regrets. I’m surprised you ventured out to drown your sorrows instead of staying holed up in that mansion of Asa’s; easier to save face when you lose it, as you always do when it concerns Bo.”   “Believe it or not, my life does not revolve around you or Bo Buchanan. Now go away, before you have another breakdown over a spilled drink or a lost olive.”   “Everything okay here, ladies,” came a deep familiar soft voice. “RJ,” Nora smiled, allowing him to lean in and kiss her cheek.   Lindsay linked her arm through RJ’s. “You’re late,” she crooned at him.   “I had some business to finish up at the club. You’re not starting any trouble are you?”   “Why is it you always think the worst of me? Why don’t you ask Nora if she’s starting trouble with me?”   RJ gave a slight laugh. “Because I know you,” he looked at Nora, “both of you. And it’s never good when you two are alone together. So, I’ll take Lindsay off your hands and bid you good night, Nora.”   “I’ll never get the connection,” she said to RJ, moving her forefinger back and forth between RJ and Lindsay.   “Because you have no friends, Nora,” Lindsay replied snidely. “Just the exs and the disasters you leave in your wake for some of us to clean up.”   Nora gave a high laugh. “You mean the disasters you start that I clean up after.”   “Enough,” RJ said, tugging at Lindsay’s arm and pulling her away from the bar area.   Nora raised her eyebrows at their closeness. “I hope Bo knows about your little rendezvous, Lindsay. You know how much he likes RJ.”   “Shut up, Nora. My relationship with Bo and RJ has nothing to do with you.”   “What is she talking about, Lindsay?”   Lindsay’s cell phone interrupted their verbal cat fight. Lindsay glanced down and then looked up at RJ. “I have to take this. I’ll only be a minute.” She moved away from them as she took her call.   “What did you mean just then, what you said about Bo?”   Nora took a deep breath then shook her head. “Nothing that matters anymore. Just getting in my shots when I can.”   “Why do you still let her get to you?”   She shrugged. “Don’t know but won’t care much in a few more weeks.” “Meaning?”   She chewed on some more popcorn before answering. “I got a job offer back home. I’m taking it.”   “Home as in Chicago home?”   “Is there another home I have you know about?” He gave her a look and she bit back her sarcasm and answered more gently. “Yes, in Chicago.”   “You’re leaving Llanview.”   It was a statement rather than a question and his look was not shock but something else. Suspicion, maybe. She nodded anyway, taking a larger gulp of her drink than she had intended and she closed her eyes to help ease the burning sensation of the warm scotch coursing down her throat.   “That’s right,” she muttered through the after taste.   “What about your life here, the job you have here? What about Matthew and Bo?”   “The whole point of a job offer is to change jobs which also change your life. And Matthew and Bo should be spoken in different sentences.” She glanced over at Lindsay who was in grossed in her cell phone conversation. “You should understand that better than anyone.”   RJ eyed her suspiciously. “What I know,” he said out loud, “is that there is unfinished business between you and the commissioner. THAT’s what you need to change before you run away to some job in Chicago.”   “Run away?” she repeated abruptly.   Lindsay had returned before they could continue. She pulled at RJ’s arm. “Let’s get out of her. Suddenly, this place has become too crowded.”   “Think about what I said,” was his farewell and he left the bar with Lindsay.   “Don’t care!” she called after them.   She watched them leave, mumbling after him. “Run away my ass. RJ should talk about running away. The Chicago thing was a great job opportunity, a great career move. With Bo’s news, it couldn’t have come at a better time.”   She reached into her purse and pulled out some money. She decided she couldn’t wait for Bo any longer. Matthew was out there, somewhere and she needed to find him. Moving made her feel like she was doing something while sitting still made her feel useless, worthless and guilty. She was going to circle Matthew’s haunts one more time before heading home. Bo could catch up with her there.   Matthew had been shocked when Rex had stepped courageously into the batting cage. He knew Rex had no clue about the game and was really hoping he would just go away. He had never expected him to take him up on his offer and he was sorry he had goaded him into the batting cage. Now he was stuck with him and had to come up with a quick get-a-way.   He decided to give it ten minutes. He stood next to Rex, showing him how to stand at the plate, how to grasp the bat, how to choke up and finally how to swing through the pitch, most importantly keeping his eye on the ball. He set the machine for “softball” to give Rex a chance to hit the ball and build his confidence. He stepped outside the cage as the machine started hurling balls towards Rex.   Rex danced and ducked at the first 4 or 5 balls, moaning about almost being hit. “Can’t you slow this thing down to beginner?”   “I did! Now stop being such a ‘Nancy’ and stand in there and swing,” Matthew growled. “You’re embarrassing me.”   “Give me a break, bro. I’ve never swung a bat in my life.”   Matthew rolled his eyes. “No kidding? I never would have guessed.” Again Rex swung, doing a pirouette and turning a full 360, losing the bat and his helmet. Matthew paused the machine.   “Rex, you can’t close your eyes when you swing. You have to keep your eye on the ball. You have to watch the bat hit the ball.”   Rex picked up the bat and then jammed the helmet back onto his head. “Got it,” he said. He took a few practice swings. “More like watch the ball hit my head,” Rex muttered.   “Ready? I’m starting the machine again.”   “Go for it.”   Once again, Rex watched the ball come at him. Afraid to take his eyes off the ball, he swung the bat and felt the contact vibrate through his hands; paralyze his wrists as the contact shook his arms. He watched the ball fly out into the distance.   “I hit it!” He yelled, hopping up and down, spinning around. “Woot for me!!! Did you see that Buchanan?” Rex turned to look at Matthew but the kid was gone. Rex swung his head back and forth along the outside of the fence and just saw Matthew disappear out the entrance. He dropped the bat, heading towards the gate and felt a thud in his back. “Son of a….” The last part of the curse was lost as Rex dropped to his knees, trying to reach the center of his back to rub out the pain that had started to throb there. The damn machine was still on. He heard the thrump of the machine again and curled himself into a ball on the ground, afraid to move. He heard the ball hit the fence and started to army crawl towards the gate out of the cage. He refused to stand and put himself in the line of fire, instead opting to raise his arm and unlock the gate from the ground, crawling out to the safety beyond the cage. He was met by four small feet. He pulled the helmet off, tossing it towards the bins holding the bats and helmets before looking up at number 3 and number 8. GREAT.   “What are you doing down there, Mister?” asked number 3.   “Hiding from the bees?” asked number 8.   Rex pushed himself up to a sitting position. “Just reminding myself why I don’t play sports.”   “Are you okay? We saw the ball hit you.”   “Terriffic.”   “If baseball isn’t your thing, why were you in the cage?”   “I have no clue, fellas.” He stood, moving his back and shoulders, trying to dispel the pain in the center of his back. “He glanced towards the exits. No chance of catching Matthew now. He looked back into the cage. There were still quarters there. He looked back at the two little leaguers. “If you two promise never to tell anyone about this, you can have the rest of those quarters.”   The two boys looked at each other for a second, gave each other a nod and then turned back to Rex. “Deal.”   “Great. Thanks. Have fun.” Rex left the two little leaguers, limping slowly back to his car.   Matthew made his escape from Rex, working his way towards the exit. Swinging at the balls had cleared his head and given him some idea on what he wanted to do next; where he wanted to go. He needed some answers to his past and his parents past. If Grandpa were alive, he would have sought him out. Now he was left with the enemy to give him some answers. He checked his watch. He was running out of time. He took off in a slight trot, heading to the waterfront and his next stop.   To be continued…