John Dodge wasn't a tall man, but rather stout, broad in the shoulders, with a round belly, and despite his age, still sturdy on his feet. He was old farming stock; raised up poor. He would do his best for his family over the years, and kept chugging along, to the point where he still worked at the city hall, although now, it was mostly for something to do. He was the kind of man that didn't enjoy sitting still, and Hutch could sympathize, understanding how frustrating it could be.
"Shotgun," Ren stated as he opened the front passenger door. "Get in behind me. More leg room."
Hutch nodded and quickened his pace to catch up. Opening the back passenger door, he climbed in behind Ren. His stomach in his throat, and his heart playing his ribcage like a set of drums.
"Good morning, Mr. Dodge," he said before closing the door.
"Good morning to you too, Jules," Mr. Dodge replied, glancing at him over his shoulder with a welcoming smile, that tore through his heart.
He was wearing an old, knitted, forest green toque with an oversized pompom on the top, his short sideburns the only visible fringe of his grey hair. He was clean shaven, with thick bushy eyebrows and a prominent hook to his nose. He was the type of older gentleman that you knew to be trustworthy, helpful, and kind with only a glance. He exuded friendly grandpa vibes, like a radiator radiates heat. Hutch hadn't realized how much Ghan'dono had reminded him of John Dodge, but now it was the reverse.
"Grandpa," Ren grimaced as he and Hutch fastened their seat belts.
"Oh, right. I'm sorry. Ren told me earlier that you mostly go by Hutch now."
"The last thing you should be doing is apologizing to me," Hutch replied, adverting his gaze. "I know that me being here is probably a bit of a surprise. I took Ren's friendship for granted and I failed to appreciate a lot of things. Mostly how generous you were with me. I can't imagine how much disappointment you must have felt. I'm sorry for how I behaved. I've come to understand a great many things recently, and I'm working to get my life on a better path. One that can prove that Ren's forgiveness hasn't been wasted."
Mr. Dodge pursed his lips and bobbed his head. "Well, that is certainly a good start. I don't know what happened to you, but I'm pleased to see that you got tired of being the delinquent punk you were the last time we spoke. You and Ren both have plenty of potential, it's nice to see that you're finally starting to use it."
"Thank you," Hutch mumbled, eyes to his feet.
He couldn't really explain why, but having Mr. Dodge speak to him so candidly, managed to strike a chord, and in that moment, he believed that if Ghan'dono had been there, he would have been proud of him once again. For the more he remembered about who he was and the man he was growing into, the more ashamed he felt over the decisions he had made.
Hutch was never one to choose the difficult path, even when he knew it was the better choice. He tended to wallow in the misery of his own making and abandoned those who had tried to help and pushed away those who refused to abandon him. He could now clearly see the error of his ways thanks to Ghan'dono's teachings and guidance. Something he had foolishly believed he had been raised without, when, it was perhaps only a matter of it being more distant than he needed it to be. And as difficult as it had been to live through at the time, he appreciated it, more and more, every day.
"Well then, if you're both buckled up, let's get this show on the road!" Mr. Dodge exclaimed, putting the car in reverse, and stopping at the end of the driveway.
"Good to go grandpa."
"Buckled up, sir."
With a thorough look around, and a stiff nod, Mr. Dodge pulled out onto the road, put the car in drive and they were on their way to the downtown core of Cauthard City.
Whatever awkwardness Hutch had feared, thankfully never developed, and his stomach eventually settled back where it belonged. If it was because of what he had said or simply because of the good nature of Mr. Dodge, he didn't know, and decided that it was probably a combination of both.
The drive into the city's downtown took a little more than thirty minutes, thanks to traffic, but unlike the general public, that had to either fight for every parking spot or pay and walk from one of the massive parking structures, they got to take advantage of Mr. Dodge's job and park in the underground, employee only parking lot of the city hall, conveniently located across the road, which was a major thoroughfare of the city, from the entrance to Cascel Tower.
The tower itself was an enormous structure, being the tallest building in the city, but it was also the central building in a three-building complex, connected by covered walkways that bridged the spans between them created by the width of the roads ten stories below.
Even though the two side buildings were about three quarters of the height of the main tower, they shared near identical architecture. All three of the buildings sat along a one-way driveway that was separated from the main thoroughfare via a standard cement curb and metal railings, with appropriate crosswalks where necessary. On the other side of the driveway however, where the two side buildings had doublewide sidewalks and cement canopies protecting their entrances, the main tower sat further back creating a large courtyard decorated with round garden boxes lined with park benches.
All three buildings shared the same façade; the first ten floors keeping to the neo-baroque aesthetic of the historical buildings in the city, while the floors above took on a modern appearance covered in thick panes of black glass, floor to ceiling and wall to wall. With the two side buildings capped with flat roofs, the central towers upper floors tapered in like a step pyramid, featuring open balconies, garden terraces, restaurant, bar, and observation deck. From the ground, they resembled oddly shaped castles with glass skyscrapers growing out of them. To Hutch they were as impressive as they were ludicrous.
"I see it nearly every day, but it doesn't make it any less impressive to look at," Mr. Dodge muttered as they made their way across the driveway and into the courtyard of the main tower.
"Certainly impressive, but what could anyone ever possibly need with buildings of this size?" Hutch wondered in reply as they neared the entrance, which consisted of three sets of glass doors at the top of a short flight of stairs beneath a small overhang prominently displaying the Cascel Tower name and logo.
"Money," Mr. Dodge answered as Ren ran ahead. "All of this is corporate real-estate. The east building has my bank and a convenience store on the ground floor and my dentist is on the second. The west building has retail stores and a bakery with a doctor's office above it. Most of us only go there because the lobby smells like cinnamon rolls and fresh baked bread. But this tower is famous for its historical significance, restaurant, and the view from the observation deck; the real reason I agreed to come."
"Observation deck?" Hutch questioned, as an even worse, sinking feeling began to set in.
"Well yeah," Ren remarked, as he opened the door, holding it open so they could walk inside.
"You didn't mention anything about an observation deck," Hutch said, glaring down into Ren's eyes as he passed him.
"It's a part of the tour," Ren said, slamming his hand into Hutch's back, pushing him further inside. "You didn't really think we'd come all this way and not check out the view, right?"
"I suppose not," he replied, lowering his voice as he leaned down towards Ren. "Except that I didn't know it had one."
"Still don't see what the problem is," Ren remarked as Hutch groaned and pulled off his gloves; his hands already sweating with discomfort.
"I don't like heights," he admitted.
"Oh," Ren paused. "I didn't know that," he paused once more, rubbing thoughtfully at his chin. "You know, I don't think you have anything to be worried about though. It's not like the observation deck is on the very top of the building. And this time of year, they don't even let anyone out on the terrace. I promise, we will be all safely contained behind a wall of glass."
Hutch grimaced. "If it's not on the very top, what floor is it on?"
"Sixty-sixth, right above the restaurant."
Instantly regretting that he'd even asked, Hutch's heart struck so hard against his ribs, he could feel them bruising, and he was suddenly feeling far less enthusiastic as his anxiety returned with a vengeance. He had become distracted in the car ride over. The short time he had spent with Ren and his grandpa had been enough to put his mind into a state of ease, letting go of the worst-case scenarios he had formulated in his mind earlier that day. For those few, brief minutes, he had forgotten the reason that he was there, and simply enjoyed the moment, and now, he would have done almost anything to find that sense of peace again.