“Wow, Mom, what’s going on? You look like you play quarterback. Has Dad been beating you?”
“No, I’ve just been clumsy lately. I need to be more careful.”
“Well, for now you’re out of the kitchen.”
I grabbed a bag of frozen peas.
“Go put this on your arm. When Greg gets here with Angie and Kyle, I’ll come get you so you can ‘Put them to the Question.’”
Mom loved to interrogate people. We were all wondering if Angie would move back home or not and a thousand other questions. I’m sure Greg was prepping Angie as to what to expect. We all still remembered Mom’s infamous ‘Well, if I never see you again...’ parting shot to Greg’s first girlfriend. I doubt she was going to go that hard on the mother of her grandson, but I’m sure Greg wouldn’t take any chances.
When dinner was ready, everyone showed up. It was amazing how that happened. I’d met Angie only a couple of times when Greg had dated her in the spring. At the time, I was a pudgy little stoner, so it wasn’t a surprise when she looked at me quizzically.
“David?” she asked.
“Hey, Angie, you’re looking good.”
Angie was still sporting some of her baby weight, but it did look good on her. She no longer looked like a girl, she looked like a woman. She held a small bundle in her arms.
“Is this my nephew?”
“Yes, this is Kyle.”
He was sound asleep. Angie and Greg seemed so happy that I wanted to be happy for them. Dad pulled my old bassinet out of the attic and had it ready for Kyle. Angie was able to put him down while we all ate. From the early conversation, it became apparent that her parents weren’t supportive of her keeping Kyle. I could tell from their body language that Greg and Angie weren’t willing to put him up for adoption. Mom seemed to pick up on that also.
“If your parents don’t want you to keep Kyle, are you welcome in their home?”
Mom always seemed to get right to the point. Angie for the first time today looked sad.
“If I keep Kyle, my parents aren’t letting me come home. For now, I’m staying with my aunt and uncle. They’ve been very supportive, and I can stay with them as long as I need to.”
Mom looked at Dad and he nodded slightly. She turned to me and I nodded also.
“Angie, if you’d like, you and Kyle can move in with us.”
She looked at Greg, and he smiled at her.
“You can have David’s old room. We can set it up as a nursery for Kyle,” he said.
She still looked uncertain. Mom put that to rest.
“We love you and Kyle. Even if you decide not to marry Greg, you’re welcome here. I know you don’t have everything planned out yet, but at least this way you’ll be close to your family and friends.”
Angie jumped up from her seat, and she and Mom hugged.
“Thank you. My nights have been sleepless, worrying about what to do.” Then the tears came. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to cry, but this is something that’s been weighing on me. I never knew that having a baby would change my life so much. You don’t know what this means to me.”
After dinner, I got stuck cleaning up. I guess it was my day. Greg and Angie went to her aunt and uncle’s and packed up all her and Kyle’s things. Dad and I boxed up all my stuff. We went up into the attic and found a changing table and crib. We left the crib until Kyle was older. For now, the bassinet was large enough. Mom was in charge of cleaning. By the time everyone got back, Angie and Kyle’s room were clean and ready.
Greg and I were in charge of bringing in all of Angie’s belongings. Mom was in charge of Kyle. I could ask for anything at this moment and Mom would let me have it. She was just so happy to be holding her first grandbaby. There was a special love reserved for grandchildren, and my mom had it bad.
By the end of the day, we’d added two new members to the family. I was surprised at how quickly Greg took to being a father. He’d taken off school since Tuesday, when Kyle was born. He seemed to be the happiest with them moving in. Now he’d be able to be a part of Kyle’s life on a daily basis.
My biggest concern had always been Angie and Greg. We were brought up to take care of our responsibilities, so I never was concerned that Kyle wouldn’t be supported by Greg and our family, but that didn’t mean they would necessarily get married. To my relief, I could tell that they loved each other. It was all the little things—a sly glance, how they touched, a little smile. It made my heart hurt to see them so much in love. I understood what was missing in my life. I was also smart enough to know that I wasn’t ready for that kind of love. For now, I would get my fix, so to speak, from my brother, Angie, and Kyle. It made me a little sad for Greg and Angie because they were so young, but my brother was very determined, and I knew he’d find a way to make this work. We had both been taught that God doesn’t give us things unless we can handle them.
Chapter 29 – You Need to Get Used to This
Wednesday October 30
I got a text message to meet Coach Harrington before school in his office instead of on the practice field. When I got there, Coach Lambert and Coach Engels were both there. I took a seat and Bo kicked off the meeting.
“David, I want to talk to you before you hear it from anyone else.”
Oh, hell, this can’t be good.
“After Friday’s game, I’m no longer going to be able to help you. I have another assignment I have to take on. If I didn’t have a long-term relationship with this other organization, I wouldn’t be going.”
I thought for a moment. Bo Harrington had helped me tremendously. I wasn’t ready to lose him.
“Why exactly are you leaving?”
“The Houston Texans lost their starting quarterback to injury two weeks ago. Last week they lost to the Chiefs. This week is a bye week and then they play the Colts after that. I can’t really go into detail, but they’ve asked me to come in and help out.”
“Bo, what would it take to keep you?”
“Believe me when I tell you if it wasn’t an emergency, I wouldn’t be leaving,” he said, and then chuckled. “You have the potential to be special. The biggest reason is how hard you work. I’ve only had a few guys work as hard to improve as you have. There are going to be players who can throw farther than you. There will be guys with more football savvy. There will even be quarterbacks who are better runners than you are. Not many guys have the combination of all three attributes, and that’s what gives you such a high ceiling.
“I’m going to tell you some things that cannot leave this room. Can I have your word on that?” Bo asked.
“Of course.”
“Coach Lambert also has some news.”
“Thanks, Bo, for putting me on the spot,” Coach Lambert said, looking uncomfortable. “I wanted to let you know I’ll be leaving after the season.”
He paused a moment for that to sink in. With all the attention that the program had received, now would be the perfect time for Coach Lambert to move into a better position.
“Someone’s going to be lucky to have you, coach,” I offered, as a smile broke out on my face.
I clearly surprised everyone.
“Thank you,” Coach Lambert said.
“It looks like Coach Engels will also be moving on,” Bo Harrington said.
This shocked me. I’d hoped he would take over for Coach Lambert.
“When I heard the news about Coach Lambert, I immediately thought of you as his replacement.”
“I hate to disappoint you, David, but there’s a requirement that our head football coach must have head coaching experience. For me to advance in coaching, I need to get that experience. I’ll be moving on whether Coach Lambert goes or stays.”
“Well that’s just stupid. You guys are telling me that I get a new coaching staff next year?”
“You need to get used to this,” Bo said. “In the next several years you’ll have many new coaching staffs. It’s rare that you’ll have a team of coaches in place for more than a couple of years. If you’re lucky, the ones you work with will be leaving for better opportunities. That’ll mean you had a good year with them.