Second Down - Chapter 35

I set a glass pitcher on the dining room table and double-checked the place settings. We’d moved a few chairs around to make space, and Dad had insisted we use the “nice” tablecloth, the one my mother usually saved for Easter. I was surprised he didn’t pull out the good plates, but I think there were limits to what Mom was going to allow.

It looked odd next to the chipped everyday plates, but I wasn’t complaining. It wasn’t like Eduardo was going to really notice. At exactly six, the doorbell rang.

It was so exact, I had to wonder if he’d been standing outside the door, waiting. I could hear my father coming down the hall, so I hurried from the kitchen to get to it first.

Eduardo was in pressed slacks and a buttoned-down shirt, way overdressed considering my ratty blue jeans and t-shirt. He was holding some kind of plate with plastic wrap over something sitting on it.

The poor guy looked nervous. Not ‘talking to Sarah for the first time’ nervous, but definitely uneasy.

“Hey man,” I said.

“Hey. Thanks for inviting me.”

I stepped aside so he could come in. “No problem. What’s that?”

“Mom made a flan for me to bring.”

“Ohh, that was really nice of her,” I said and led him toward the kitchen.

Dad was already in there, checking on the pot roast, the one thing he knew how to make.

“All done?”

“Yep, it’s looking good,” he said.

“Here, Eduardo’s mom sent this over for dessert,” I said, handing the plate over to him.

“Ohh, nice,” he said, taking it from me and sticking it in the fridge, then turning to Eduardo and extending his hand. “And I assume you’re Eduardo.”

“Yes, sir,” he said, shaking it.

It looked like a firm handshake. Good. Dad was always one of those ‘you can tell a lot about a person by their handshake’ kind of people.

“Good to have you here. I appreciate your family giving Blake so much of your time these last few months.”

“My parents are thrilled to have him. He’s really done so much work around the house, I swear they would marry him if you wanted to.”

“Really? Like what has he been fixing?”

“All kinds of things. Fixed the back fence door, replaced the rotted eaves on the back of the house, even fixed the leaky faucet that’s been driving Mom crazy forever. She was really impressed, although it’s made her get on me cause I never wanted to learn this stuff from my dad like he did.”

“Me?” Dad said, surprised. “Trust me, I’ve never been very handy and didn’t teach him any of that. Actually, where did you learn all of it?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I read a few DIY books and the rest just … made sense.”

That was as good of an explanation as I was going to be able to give him. It wasn’t like I was going to explain that I had almost thirty years of construction work under my belt, or at least the knowledge of it from the dream world.

I think Dad was getting suspicious though, putting this together with the gambling thing and starting to really wonder where I was coming up with all of this.

At some point, I was going to have to come up with a better story than ‘trust me.’

“Well, that’s something,” he said after another beat. “Let’s sit down for dinner. I’m gonna get your mom, you get the pot roast out of the oven.”

“Sure,” I said and grabbed some oven mitts to pull it out. “Mom’s not feeling great, so Dad cooked and this is pretty much the only thing Dad can make. It’s not bad though.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Come on, don’t get all modest. I’ve had your mom’s cooking. Trust me, we’re not going to live up to your mom’s cooking.”

“Hey, I resent that,” Dad said with a smile as he and Mom walked back into the kitchen.

“You haven’t had her cooking yet,” I said, spooning some of the food onto a plate and handing it to Eduardo to set down. “Wait till you try her flan. She is amazing.”

Mom gave me a look, but she’d never been much of a home cook either. We tended to eat boxed meals even before she got sick. Other than the occasional pot of spaghetti or Dad’s pot roast, I’m not sure we ever ate anything that could be considered ‘homemade.’

Although, to be fair, Dad’s pot roast was good. He’d also made some dehydrated mashed potatoes which would be okay mixed with the gravy from the pot roast.

“We’ll see,” he said as I prepared two more plates. “I’ll take over here. You go get your brother.”

It was all I could do to keep from rolling my eyes. The last thing I wanted to do was go and deal with that little psycho. Thankfully I was saved when he came thundering down the stairs all on his own.

He dropped into his normal chair, which didn’t have a plate in front of it, and then reached across and grabbed the one in front of my seat, the little shit.

As soon as it was in front of him, he dug his fork in and got a big scoop full, ready to shovel it into his mouth.

“Joshua! We haven’t said grace yet,” Mom said.

Josh frowned but dropped his fork on his plate and crossed his arms, making it very clear he wasn’t happy about it. I motioned for Eduardo to take the extra chair we’d put out and grabbed a new plate for myself.

As I sat down, Dad put his hand over to me and said and looked at me expectantly.

“Uh, sure,” I said, bowing my head. “Dear Lord, thank you for this food, and for Eduardo being here. Please bless our family and keep us safe. Amen.”

“Amen,” Dad echoed.

As soon as the word left his mouth, Joshua dug into the food like he hadn’t eaten in days. I noticed Mom had pushed her own plate out of the way and had a glass filled with some kind of thick green liquid that looked awful.

I saw Dad’s brow crease as he noticed it too, but he didn’t say anything about it.

Instead, he looked at Eduardo and said, “Blake mentioned your dad works in Midland too, what does he do?”

“He works construction. He just got on with the people building a new shopping mall on the north side of town.”

“Oh yeah? I’ve driven past that place a few times. Looks like they’re making good progress. I may have to stop by and say hello, thank him for all the times he’s fed Blake.”

“Uhh, yeah. I’m sure he…”

“Why do you need to go talk to a bunch of wet-” Joshua said, interrupting him.

“Joshua!” Dad yelled, cutting him off.

Josh glared at Eduardo, like he’d done anything other than just sit there and have a nice conversation, slumping back in his seat and stabbing at his food.

Eduardo looked over at me, kind of nervously, and then awkwardly tried to change the subject. “What’s it like being a police officer, Mr. Sims?”

Dad gave him a small smile. I think he was happy Eduardo was the one to change the subject, since there was no way to keep what happened from being weird.

“It’s good work. I like helping people, making a difference. But it can be grueling. Long hours, tough situations.”

Mom finished the last of her foul-smelling green drink and pushed back from the table. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to lie down.”

“Of course, honey,” Dad said softly.

We watched her head upstairs before Eduardo tried to get conversation going again.

“That game yesterday was intense. I’ve never seen mud like that.”

“That game should never have happened. I had words with Coach Holloway about it,” Dad said with more intensity than I’d expected.

“Dad, it wasn’t that bad…”

“It absolutely was that bad, Blake. That field was a safety hazard. I made it very clear to Coach Holloway that putting kids at risk like that is completely unacceptable.”

“I think he’s right,” Eduardo said. “Everyone in the stands was just waiting for someone to slip and hurt themselves on every play.”

“I guess. Although it let me get what’ll probably be my longest run for as long as I play football. Whose ever heard of a quarterback getting eighty yards on a scramble. No way that would have been possible if the field wasn’t trash.”

“You’re just lucky you didn’t get hurt,” dad said, not letting go.

Josh finished and just left the table, not excusing himself or saying anything. I think dad was just happy to have him go, since he didn’t want to get into it with him when company was around. Things got a lot more relaxed once Josh left and we talked about school, football, and what it was like to live in Midland.

I couldn’t really contribute to the last part, but they knew a lot of places and it was something they could talk about, which was the whole goal of this. The closer Eduardo got to us and especially dad, the less likely the future where he killed dad in a carjacking would ever happen.

“I shouldn’t have had that second helping,” Dad said, patting his stomach and pushing the dessert plate back. “Going to get too big for my vest at this rate. Tell your mom her flan was amazing.”

“I will,” Eduardo said, laughing.

“Let me grab my keys and I’ll give you a ride home.”

“That isn’t necessary,” Eduardo said. “It’s not that far of a walk.”

“No, this late, I insist.”

“It’s okay, let him take you,” I said.

“Okay. I appreciate it.”

As dad disappeared into the living room to get his keys, I said, “Thanks for coming, man. I’m sorry about my brother.”

Eduardo waved it off. “Don’t worry about it. I know what annoying brothers are like.”

“No way. Alex is way better than Joshua.”

“Yeah, maybe. Your dad’s really nice though.”

“Yeah, he’s alright,” I said as dad came back into the room. “See you tomorrow at school?”

“Yep, see you then,” he said, following my dad outside.

Even with Josh doing his best to derail things, that went well. While I knew I wasn’t done with this until I got him completely separated from Raf, it was starting to seem like I’d done it.

The future where dad died was done and gone, and this new future was starting to look pretty good.

***

The week flew by, even with having to take midterms. Everyone was ready for the weeklong holiday. At least the teachers were smart enough to make sure we were done by Thursday, since everyone knew that the day before a long break was more or less wasted.

More so this week, since tonight was our first playoff game, and they’d scheduled a big pep rally to send the team off which would take up the last hour or so of the school day. It basically turned the entire day into a party and the teachers were having a hell of a time trying to keep everyone in check.

All bets were off as the bell rang and we were sent to the gym, with basically the entire student body trying to squeeze into the hallway that led to the gym and through the only set of doors into it.

At least we didn’t have to fight for a place to sit. There were spots for the JV and freshman teams, for the dance team, for the band, and chairs up behind a podium under one of the baskets for varsity to sit at.

Not that we took our seats until Vice Principal Ford got up behind the podium and tapped the microphone a few times.

“Students, I expect exemplary behavior today. I know you’re all excited to head home and start your Thanksgiving break, but we will be holding detention today for anyone who causes a scene. So unless you want to start your break an hour and a half after the rest of your classmates, I suggest you sit down and mind yourselves.”

She gave a particular look toward a section of bleachers made up of mostly seniors. At the last pep rally, they’d caused all kinds of problems, with stupid chants interrupting speakers and passing around a beach ball someone had snuck in.

The seniors seemed immensely proud of the scrutiny, grinning at each other like they’d been given a shout out from stage at a concert. Mrs. Ford gave a nod to the band director and they struck up the fight song, which was clearly a cue for the pep rally to begin, since right after the both varsity and JV cheer squads burst through the door, running into the gym.

While the JV girls positioned themselves facing our section, the varsity cheerleaders created two lines, holding up a massive paper banner decorated with “Run Through State!” in blue and gold letters. Melanie had positioned herself well and was practically directly in front of me, giving me a big grin.

Principal Robbins switched places with Vice-Principal Ford and said, “Tonight marks the beginning of our run for the state championship! Let’s hear it for our varsity Mustangs!”

The crowd erupted as Kenneth led the varsity team busting through the banner, ripping it apart dramatically and running into the room. They charged around the gym in their traditional victory lap, slapping hands with students in the front rows.

As they got back to their seats and took their place, Coach Holloway took the spot behind the mic next. “What a season it’s been, Wheaton! Eight and two, and we’re not done yet. These boys have fought through every challenge, every setback, and tonight they get to show what they’re really made of. But they need your support in those stands tonight! Who’s ready to watch the Mustangs make history?”

The crowd responded with thunderous cheers.

“Alright, that’s what I want to hear. Now get up on your feet and let’s show your quarterback some of that Mustang pride!”

Kenneth leapt up and practically bounced to the mic. He was pumped, and everyone could see it.

“When I say ‘Mustang,’ you say ‘Pride!’ Mustang!”

“PRIDE!” the crowd roared back.

“MUSTANG!”

“PRIDE!”

I know it’s typical to think of kids as being jaded and not really caring about anything, but kids in West Texas loved football and went absolutely feral for the team. Especially when it came to playoff season.

Everyone was stomping and cheering, as the cheerleaders all moved to the center in front of the podium and started doing a routine, with the band playing.

It was a party atmosphere.

They also had a moment to introduce the varsity basketball teams, which would be starting their season near the end of the month. It was wild to see Li out with all of the other girls, towering over most of them, and looking nervous as hell.

Well, nervous and a little proud. She saw me and gave a little wave, which I returned.

Finally, Principal Robbins returned to wrap things up. “Have a wonderful Thanksgiving break, everyone. And remember, be safe. We want to see all of you back in a week to finish this semester off right. I also hope to see many of you tonight. We’re all going to be there supporting our Mustangs as they start their journey toward that state championship!”

As students began flooding toward the exits, I spotted Brandy making her way over to Tammy. Why couldn’t she take a break from her constant scheming? Everyone was in a good mood, happy to be headed home for a week of vegging and watching TV.

This was the last thing we needed.

I saw Melanie looking over at them and knew it was going to ruin at least the rest of the day for her. We had a date tonight, and it was almost certainly going to be the only thing she wanted to talk about.

At least I didn’t have to go to practice after this. With the season over, we were done with afternoon practices, except for those who signed up for the seven on seven tournaments in the spring, but even those practices wouldn’t start up until almost March.

I’d still have training with Coach Greer, and that was switching to afterschool now that football was done, thank God, he’d put us on hold until after Thanksgiving too.

So for once, I would actually be home after school. As long as Josh stayed in his room, I would have a good afternoon sitting in front of the TV, rotting some brain cells.

As I passed by the trophy case, someone yelled out behind me, “Blake, hold up.”

I turned to find Kenneth jogging up toward me, which was a little surprising. We were on the field at the same time during practice, and we both sat at the same lunch table, except I sat at one end with JV and he sat at the far end with varsity.

We existed in very different parts of the same world, so for the life of me, I couldn’t think of a reason he’d be coming over to find me, let alone run out of the gym to catch up to me.

“Hey man, got a minute?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“It’s been so crazy this week, I haven’t gotten a chance to say it yet, but I wanted to tell you how great you’ve been doing since you got to JV. I don’t know how you got the balls to ignore coaches’ play calling and then managed to not get benched, but you’ve been absolutely killing it since then.”

“I have no idea either. I think I went temporarily insane.”

“Well, it worked out for you. I went to see your last game and man, that mud bowl against Dunbar? That first scramble of yours was freaking nuts.”

“Thanks, although I just got lucky. That whole game was pure chaos. Had the field not been such a mess, I would have never managed a run like that.”

“No way, don’t sell yourself short. They may not have been as long, but you managed some good runs in other games too. You’re fast as hell, and you’re way better than I was as a freshman. You’re going to be a monster when you get to varsity.”

“I hope so,” I said, and then wasn’t sure what else to say. “Looking forward to tonight?”

“Yeah. We got a good draw for the first round, and I think we’ll sail through easy. Next weekend is going to be the big problem. I looked at the bracket, and if Midland wins their game tonight, which we both know they will, we’ll have to face them on Black Friday. I don’t know if you saw the homecoming game, but it was kind of brutal.”

“You never know.”

Actually, I did know. This was the height of Midland’s dominance for our district, and they’d get to state three times in the next five years. In my dream, at least, they lost this year and next year, although before I had to drop out of school, we were building a strong team that I thought, or at least liked to think, could have pulled it out the following year.

Not that it was going to change what happened this year. Coach might have changed the playbook for me, but I guess Kenneth never pushed back and just accepted the plays he was going to get.

“I’m not sure if I share it, but I like your optimism,” Kenneth said with a smile. “Anyway, just wanted to say hi since we haven’t really talked before. Try to hang out with us more, okay?”

“Sure.”

He gave a wave and started to head back inside when I said, “Actually, could I ask you something?”

Actually, could I ask you something?”

He stopped. “What’s up?”

“Would you maybe talk to Tammy about the varsity cheer squad for next year? It’s just...” I shifted my weight. “I’m dating Melanie, who’s on the JV squad right now. She’s really good, but my ex Brandy, who’s also on JV, is trying to keep her off the team. She’s still mad about me breaking up with her, and she’s taking it out on Melanie. She’s been in Tammy’s ear a lot, telling her all kinds of things, trying to convince her to keep Melanie off the team, even though she absolutely deserves it.”

Kenneth rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Tammy’s mentioned there’s drama with the JV squad. I swear, the squabbling they all do, it’s exhausting.”

“Tell me about it. Look, I know it’s not really your problem, but I’d appreciate any help evening things out. Melanie shouldn’t get punished just because Brandy’s jealous.”

“No, I get it. That’s messed up.” Kenneth nodded. “I’ll talk to Tammy, see if I can get her to look past whatever BS Brandy’s spreading.”

“Thanks man, I really appreciate it.”

“No problem. It’s the downside of dating cheerleaders, right? I’ll see you at the game, right?”

“Yeah, wouldn’t miss it.”

“Good,” he said, slapping me on the shoulder and headed back toward the gym.

I felt oddly satisfied. It was a small thing, but maybe it would help protect Melanie from some of Brandy’s schemes. Though knowing Brandy, she’d probably just find another angle of attack.

But Tammy was more likely to listen to Kenneth than Brandy, so it should at least slow her down.