I found I liked the Laciers. April’s parents were named Bill and Donna. Her younger brother was eleven and played basketball. Her younger sister was twelve and was going to be a heartbreaker. She was the beauty of the family, and she knew it. She flirted with me until April took her aside and had a talk.
I survived dinner. When Donna found out that my parents weren’t home, she offered to have me come over to dinner anytime. She told me to bring Angie, Kyle and Greg. Between Mrs. Dole, Mrs. A, and now Mrs. Lacier, I think we have our meals covered.
WHEN WE GOT TO CASSIDY’S, Coach Hope answered the door.
“David, April, welcome to my home.”
He shook both our hands. Then he pointed to the basement stairs.
“Everyone’s down there.”
April led me down the stairs. It was obvious she’d been there before. There were about eight girls and Brad in the basement. He was talking up one of the girls. Cassidy saw us and made a beeline to April. They took off to chat. I found a cooler full of Cokes and grabbed one.
I felt surprisingly uncomfortable. I hadn’t been at a freshmen-only party before. I was also the only guy there besides Brad. I found the couch empty so I sat down. The girls continued to ignore me. Normally, I was up for talking to everyone. For some reason, I wasn’t feeling it.
Cassidy noticed me, came over and sat down next to me.
“What’s up, locker-mate?”
“Just relaxing. How about you?” I asked.
“I’m good,” she said. Then she leaned in close. “I may have to kick my brother’s butt.”
I glanced over and could tell the girl he was hitting on wasn’t happy.
“Do you want me to go have a talk with him?”
“No. Could you go get my Dad? I don’t want to hurt Brad too much.”
I just shrugged, got up and went upstairs. Coach Hope was watching a movie in the living room. He gave me a curious look.
“Cassidy sent me up to ask that you come downstairs. She said she didn’t want to hurt Brad too much.”
Coach Hope jumped out of his seat and almost to the stairs. As soon as he hit the top of the stairs, all hell broke loose. I wasn’t missing this. Girls were yelling and Brad grunted in pain. I followed Coach Hope down to find Cassidy behind Brad, with him on his knees. Her legs were around his waist and she had an arm wrapped around his throat. He was bright red.
“Release!” Coach Hope ordered.
Cassidy let Brad go and gave me a sly smile. Brad gasped for breath. I was going to have to have Cassidy teach me what she just did. Coach took both his kids upstairs, and when the upstairs door closed, April hurried over to me.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Cassidy told me that Brad has been hitting on Trish all night. Apparently, he just wouldn’t take no for an answer, so Cassidy told him to back off. He made some smartassed comment and told her to mind her own business. She warned him that if he didn’t back off, she’d take him down. Then she made some martial-arts move and Brad was on his knees. I think she would have choked him if it had gone on much longer.”
“Wow, little Cassidy took her big brother down.”
“She sure did. It was scary how fast it happened. Brad would’ve been down for the count if their dad hadn’t told her to release him.”
Trish decided she was upset and needed me to hug her. She’d seemed fine a moment before. The next I knew they all needed hugs. I just put up with it because April seemed worried about her friends. Cassidy came back downstairs and the girls wanted to dance, and I started to have fun at that point.
I walked April home at ten o’clock. I liked that she wasn’t clingy. She could go hang out with her friends and not have to be with me all night. She did check in, so I never felt she’d abandoned me. I gave her a sweet kiss at the door. She floated into the house with a promise to go out next weekend.
Sunday January 12
GREG WAS NOT A HAPPY camper when he was dragged to church. He couldn’t say anything because I used the ‘Mom card’ on him. She had complained that I didn’t go enough lately.
I knew that they wanted me to speak. I’d told Clare what I had in mind, and she had one of their PR people give me some ideas. I liked some of them, so I put those into a speech. I forgot to tell Greg, so he was surprised when I was asked to say a few words.
“I’m sorry I missed Pastor Dan’s funeral, but I was asked to say a few words about him. Whenever he preached, I felt like he was talking directly to me. I think that’s a function of a good youth pastor; he needs to relate to his flock. Something teens have an abundance of are feelings. We feel everything, and we get emotional about everything. Much of that comes from a sense of not feeling like we’re in control of our lives. We’re growing into adulthood, and we face daily challenges that seem insurmountable.
“I know for a fact that those feelings can be soul-crushers. Pastor Dan taught me the cure. It’s love. I challenge you! If you’re feeling down, find a friend. Once you’ve found them, comfort them, listen to them, and show them your compassion. The simple act of reaching out and helping someone will be rewarded. You’ll find someone who will, in turn, listen to you. Do not be afraid to share your pain. A true friend will support you. By sharing, it will help you no longer feel lonely. Those dark feelings will slowly go away.
“Love saved me. I was full of despair when I was trapped in the cellar after the avalanche. To be honest, I’d given up. Once I was rescued, I remembered Pastor Dan’s words: ‘Care about someone else’s pain and suffering more than you care about your own.’ Switching the focus from my problems to others saved me. The love of my mother saved me. Pastor Dan will be missed, but not forgotten. His teachings of love and compassion will always be with me.”
When I got back to my seat, Greg leaned in.
“I’m glad I came. I love you, little brother.”
After church, I met with most of the church youth group and their parents. Pastor Dan really would be missed. I was surprised when one of the moms hugged me. It turned out she was the mom of the little guy I talked to about the difference between gifts and charity. The passing of Pastor Dan had been weighing on me. I felt better after talking with everyone. One step at a time, I guess.
WHEN I GOT OUT OF CHURCH, there was a message from Bo Harrington to call him back. I’d been slacking on football for way too long. I called him when I got home.
“Hey, how’s my favorite coach doing?” I asked.
“He’d be doing better if you wouldn’t try and get yourself killed. How are you doing?”
“Not bad, considering. I still have some aches, but I’ve been working to get back to my old self.”
If I had to rate my health right now, I would put it at about 85%. My biggest problem was stamina. The aches and pains I could live with, but I felt out of shape. The doctors assured me I would be back to 100%, with work. I guess I shouldn’t complain too much, because this could have turned out a lot worse. I still had all my body parts.
“That’s good to hear,” Bo said, and then changed the subject “I talked to your new coach. I was surprised when he said he planned to play you at fullback. Does this guy even have a clue?”
I could tell from his tone that he was obviously upset with the news.
“I was a little miffed when he told me. His son played quarterback at his old school and he’s going to be a senior. I’m going to focus my off-season on working on my quarterback skills. Even if I don’t get to play this year, I will my junior and senior years.”
“You’re taking this better than I would. Are you sure you don’t want to fight this?”
“I plan on letting my game speak for itself. If Coach Hope’s idea doesn’t work, I want to make sure I’m ready to step in. Moreover, I need to be a team player. If it’s best for the team for me to play fullback, then that’s what I’ll do.