“Her mommy and daddy are separating. Mac is spending most of her time with us while they work it out.”
“Mom has access to my account. Just have her order another ticket. Speaking of which, did Grandma Dawson decide if she wanted to go?” I asked.
“No, she’s going to Florida and staying with one of her friends,” Dad filled me in. “I think she likes the idea of being warm.”
I got my grits off the stove and added some shredded cheese and butter. I’d also made myself a cup of tea. It was something I really enjoyed during my trip to the UK. While I was doing that, Dad went and took his shower. I waited until he left to turn to the two women at the table.
“Okay, what’s really going on?” I asked.
“I really did want to take Mac to Utah with us,” Angie said.
“Come on. You knew that wasn’t an issue requiring you to drive over here. All you had to do was ask Mom, and she’d have approved it,” I said. “Plus, if you thought Kyle would care, we would have done it for sure. So why are you really here?”
“We wanted to talk to you about Tami,” Mom said.
I felt my chest tighten. I was surprised when I felt my allergies flare up. The emotions were still raw, and they came flooding back, unbidden. I had put our lives together on hold because of the purgatory we’d agreed to. I’d worked hard not to think of her constantly. That one sentence made me want to curl up in a little ball and hide from the world.
“Wow,” Angie said as she leaned over and wiped a tear from my cheek. “I had no idea how much she means to you.”
“David, she’s met a guy named Simon. She ...” Mom started.
I just waved my hands and got up.
“Please. Not right now,” I said as I got up. “I need to focus on football.”
I left the kitchen to go to my apartment. I know it sounded lame, but I couldn’t deal with this.
When I walked outside, it had started to snow. I had a feeling we were in for a big storm. The real danger with a storm this time of year was if it warmed up a little and then the temperature plummeted we could be looking at an ice storm. We were a little too far south to really handle an ice storm. The last one we had, we were shut down for days.
PAM AND TRACY WERE waiting for me at the front door of the school. Tracy looked pleased with herself.
“Ladies,” I greeted them.
“David,” they said in unison and kissed me on each cheek.
They led me inside to get out of the weather. I needed to talk to Pam and get to the bottom of the ‘boyfriend’ comment.
“Can we talk?”
Tracy got the hint and left us alone.
“Why do your mom and sister think I’m your boyfriend?” I asked.
“Sorry about that. I’ve been using you as cover to keep my mom and sister off my back,” she said.
She could tell I wasn’t impressed with her answer. She closed her eyes and then sighed.
“Look, my dad took the job here in August with no notice. I left all my friends and my boyfriend in Southern Cal. My sister was a senior last year, and she was very popular, and I was popular because of her.
“When I got here, I missed my friends, especially my boyfriend. It turns out he didn’t miss me at all. I heard he was dating my best friend the week after I left.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Sounds like you might be better off without him.”
“You know, you can be a real jerk sometimes,” she huffed.
I thought about what I’d said, and felt bad. I had no idea what kind of guy he was, or what their relationship had been. I had no place passing judgment.
“Pam, I’m sorry ...” I started.
“I don’t need your pity!” she said with a vehemence that surprised me.
I just raised my hands in surrender.
“Sorry. I guess I’m a little touchy about the subject,” she continued. “He and I grew up together, were next-door neighbors. I was surprised when he told me he had feelings for me. I just never thought of him that way. He was always the quiet one of the group, but if you got him started, look out. He had a killer dry sense of humor. To be honest, the first time he asked me out, I thought he was joking.
“Leaving him was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. When we finally started dating, I just knew. He was a special guy. When I told him we were moving, he got mad. He said some very hurtful stuff. I think I cried the whole trip when we moved,” she shared.
I could tell it was still eating her up. In many ways, I could relate to her.
“So, why did you tell your family we’re dating?”
“I had to tell them something. They couldn’t understand why I hadn’t found a guy yet. My sister seems to have a new one every time I see her. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think my sister’s a bad girl, she just likes to date. She’s also very picky. She couldn’t understand why I was dating my ex, to begin with. He wasn’t popular, or cool. He wasn’t really very good looking, while I went to beauty pageants when I was younger. She and my mom were happy he was out of the picture. They thought I should be going out with an empty-headed Ken doll.”
I started laughing.
“So, what better cover than to be dating the resident quarterback?” I teased her.
“It doesn’t hurt that you’re cute,” she said as her eyes dropped to her shoes.
“Okay, I think I understand that part. Tell me about the hotel,” I said.
It was her turn to laugh.
“I was horny, and you were in no position to turn me down. I just figured you wouldn’t mind,” she confessed. “I think I’m a little bit like my sister, in that I’m picky. No one else here really interests me.”
“What about Bill Callaway?” I asked.
I had heard him mention her. I thought he was interested.
“He’s cute. Bill’s also a senior and going to USC next year. I just got over Dan, so I don’t need to do it again anytime soon.”
I could relate. It was one of the major problems with Peggy and me. The more I talked to Pam, the more I felt we were kindred spirits.
“Can I try to scare you off before you get in deeper with me?” I asked with a smirk.
“David, Tracy’s my best friend, and she talks about you a lot. I think I know you pretty well for never really spending time with you.”
I couldn’t disagree that Tracy knew me. She would have warned Pam about all my quirks and issues. I decided just to see where this went. I waggled my eyebrows.
“I guess I have one more question,” I said, making her nervous. “Do you mind sharing me?”
“What?!”
“Tracy and I spend time together. Is that going to be a problem?” I asked, being more serious.
I was worried Tracy might flip out or they might get weird since they were friends.
“I think I can share. I seem to remember you were occupied the last time we got together.”
“Ask Tracy, she might invite you over to my place tonight,” I suggested.
I was imagining the two of them ... grrrr!
She smacked my arm.
“You’re so bad,” she said.
At least she was smiling. The bell rang and I hurried off to class.
COACH DIAMOND SENT me to the training room. Doc Hasting was there, with all the trainers, looking at my chart. I was surprised when Coach Hope was also waiting for me. When I walked in, the conversation stopped, and everyone turned to stare at me.
“Great, I hope you’re not talking about benching me for the game,” I said.
“As a matter of fact, we were deciding just that,” Doc Hasting told me. “I talked to your doctor. I was just telling Tony you should be okay by Saturday. I do want you to refrain from practicing for the next few days.”
That was good news. The group broke up, and Paige gave me a massage.
THE STORM SEEMED TO park itself to the West of us and dumped a lot of snow. By noon, we were getting a steady drizzle, and it was predicted the temperatures would be dropping. They decided to let us out of school at noon. There was a good chance there wouldn’t be school tomorrow if the suspected ice storm set in.