Chapter 67
When Cal and Kelly walked through the doors of The Register's office late Thursday morning, the handful of employees remaining stood and clapped. News traveled fast, though the magnitude of such news in Statenville warranted a special edition. But it was an edition that would never get printed.
Guy was gone and FBI agents combed the publisher's office for anything that could link him to the illegal activity going on with Gold and Cloverdale Industries. Joseph Mendoza was destined to lose control of the paper due to his ties to Gold. Sammy Mendoza would likely find some jail time, too - not the ideal candidate to take over the family business. If Kelly chose to stay in Statenville, it looked increasingly likely that the keys to the Mendoza treasure trove - The Register - would be handed to her at a young age.
Daniel Richardson, one of The Register's board members, greeted Cal and Kelly. He informed the pair of the plans to restructure the newsroom, offering Kelly the role of publisher and Cal the title of executive editor. It was another decision that needed time.
Cal thought it sounded like a romantic idea - marrying Kelly, settling down in a small town, and making The Register a trusted source of information again. But as much as Cal liked the thought of it all, the idea that he would have to stay in Statenville - cow town, Idaho, as he liked to call it - for the rest of his life wasn't so appealing. Maybe it wouldn't have to be that way. Maybe he could have his dream girl and his dream job. They could investigate more corrupt politicians and governments together and win a few Pulitzers ...
But that wasn't really Cal's dream, the kind he had an opportunity to seize right now. His deepest professional desire was to cover professional sports for a large metro daily newspaper, not write grip-and-grin cutlines for a podunk weekly. He wanted to talk about the Super Bowl at dinner parties after he returned from covering the event. He wanted to share his opinion in columns and online for websites - and have fans talk about his thoughts on whatever particular subject he decided to broach. He had long given up the idea that he would play in the NFL after he tapped out at an average 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds wearing winter clothes. Cal's dream of covering an NFL team still remained a attainable. And it was too early to determine if it was worth sacrificing that dream for Kelly.
Cal sat down at his desk and began going through his papers and notebooks. He knew that he wasn't long for this job or this town. The Tribune job was a nice offer, but it wasn't a sportswriter job; though it was far better in pay and exposure than anything The Register had to offer - even at the executive level.
His iPhone buzzed, slowly walking across his desk. It was Josh.
"Hey, Josh. How are you?"
"I'm all right, but probably not as good as you, Mr. Scoop."
"So, The Times ran my story there in Seattle?"
"Oh, did we. It dominated the front page of today's paper. Why didn't you tell me you were working on this?"
"Probably because nothing started happening until the moment I hung up with you on Monday."
"Impressive. You'll have to tell me all about it this weekend."
"You're still coming?"
"You better believe it. I wouldn't miss thrilling eight-man football action on Friday night for all the taters in Idaho."
"Great. I'll see you tomorrow at the airport."
Cal couldn't believe it. A conversation - albeit a short one - that did not include one single insult from Josh. It was a first.
"Who was that?" Kelly asked.
"Oh, that was my friend Josh. He's coming into town this weekend. You'll have to meet him."
"Aww, that's too bad. I've got other plans. I'm going on a fly fishing trip with my dad this weekend. Maybe he can help me figure out what to do with my life and this opportunity here."
"Sounds like fun. Have a good time. Let me know what you decide."
Kelly laughed. "What? You want to know if I'm going to be the publisher or not so you can decide if you want to work for me?"
"No, it's not that. I'm just wondering what I'm going to do and I'd like to hear your thoughts."
"Don't worry - I'll share them with you as soon as I know something. We do make a great team though."
"I can't argue with that."
Cal wondered if he was at a crossroads in his life or a simple fork. Maybe those paths would converge again one day - or maybe they would branch out in opposite directions never to intersect again. Everything was uncertain for Cal. But it was a good uncertainty, the kind most people wished they had again when life was still unscripted.
Cal knew tough decisions were ahead.