“Anything.”
“I don’t like playing quarterback.”
I pull back and we laugh until we’re unsure if our tears are from the crying or the laughter. Finally, I have my son back.
It’s the last Friday night football game of the season. This could be Marla’s last one, but with three boys coming up the ranks, I might as well pitch a tent and call the bleachers home. Marla and Posey are waiting for me at the field entrance, and I kiss Marla hello and pick up Posey.
“Let’s stop at the concession. I need candy today,” I say.
“Twinsies!” Posey agrees. “Third grade is for the birds.”
Marla laughs, and I swing an arm around her back.
“I heard Cade is starting tonight?” Marla says.
“I heard that too.”
She’s giving me the look. The one she gives when she’s apologizing. I can’t wait until she trusts my reactions enough to never give me that look—I’m pretty sure it spawned from Jeff’s reactions to things. But it will take time and I’m a patient man.
I drop Posey on the ground. “Go get whatever you want.”
I position us so we can keep an eye on Posey and talk privately. I tuck a section of hair that’s fallen out of Marla’s knit hat behind her ear. She looks as if she has something to say.
“What?” I ask.
“I just can’t believe Jeff did it. I mean, who pays off a high school coach?”
I chuckle. “Jeff apparently. But unless you cut the check, I’m unsure why you’re apologizing to me.”
Her forehead falls to my chest. I place my finger under her chin and force her to look me in the eye.
“Cade missed this entire season.”
“He played. Not as much as he wanted, but he wasn’t going to be drafted. I think both the boys learned important lessons this year. Hopefully they’ll develop a friendship that will stand a long time.” I refrain from telling her I hope they find a brotherhood since with any luck, they’ll be stepbrothers one day.
Looking out onto the field, I spot Cade with Coach Justin, going over a play. Zeke was let go this afternoon. I always liked Torres. But the surprise is that Jed is in their circle too.
“If they win this, they might get a spot. Sure, Greywall has to lose which…” My head moves side to side because they are a powerhouse. “But they could.”
“All ready. They said they’ll put it on your tab, Hank,” Posey says.
“Posey, what do you have?” Mandi yells from the side of the fence where she’s with Adam and a mixture of girls and guys huddled together.
“They only want me for my candy,” she says before walking over.
A few minutes later, Chevelle and Posey emerge from the crowd with less candy than Posey started with. They climb the bleachers and sit down together, watching the cheerleaders.
“Come on. Let’s go watch our boys play what might be their last game.” I hold Marla’s hand and she comes with me. “What did Jeff say?”
“He tried to deny it, but then said he didn’t see the harm in what he did. Jed asked me to tell him that he wouldn’t be moving to Arizona. Jeff said he was going to fight me, but I’m not worried. He won’t.”
“He’s missing a lot,” I say, my gaze bouncing over all of our kids.
We walk up the bleachers and sit down near Chevelle and Posey. Marla says, “He wouldn’t appreciate it anyway.”
The game starts and Cade runs out to quarterback with the first true smile I’ve seen on his face in a long time. Surprisingly, Jed jogs out right after him. Derek hikes the ball and Cade does what he does best, staying patient until he has a clearing. He throws it and Jed catches, running into the end zone for a touchdown.
The entire stadium goes crazy and the boys on the field chest bump. When Cade and Jed come face to face, there’s a slight pause before they jump and bump chests, smiles on both their faces. Cade smacks the back of Jed’s helmet, congratulating him on the catch, and they both get in position again.
“He wouldn’t. The best things in life don’t have monetary value, and he hasn’t figured that out yet. Lucky for me.” I kiss Marla as tears of happiness stream down her face.
Three years later
“You do realize they’ll be in their sixties when the kid graduates high school?” Jed laughs next to me as our Uber drives past the city limits sign of Sunrise Bay.
Anyone who knew us when we first met would be shocked to hear that we don’t just attend the same college, we room together. Who would’ve known Jed is a pretty great guy? Still a little cocky at times, but I can be too. Our senior year, we scored the last spot in the playoffs but got eliminated right before state finals. As my dad and Marla always say, it’s the journey, not the end result.
“They’ll be showing up in walkers at his graduation.” I slap the seat. “Our family can’t get any weirder anyway.”
“True story!”
There’s a new baby in the Greene family. Rylan Greene. Only Hank and Marla Greene would decide to have a baby when there’s light at the end of the tunnel of having nine kids out of the house. Though Jed and I have money on the fact that they didn’t plan the pregnancy. No one really wants to think about how that happened, so we didn’t ask.
I pull up to what was my grandparents’ house and is now Dad and Marla’s. They were quick to move in after their engagement that turned into an even quicker wedding. But Grandma Ethel is happy the house is in use. Jed and I both have dibs on it after they die (joking, obviously) because we had to put so much work into renovations being Dad’s manual laborers.
The Uber parks on the hill where we can see the blue stork sign with Rylan’s name, length, and weight. This
