“Good boy.”
Cue major sigh of relief.
“I think if I can kind of play nice with her for a while…you know…string her along...be all boyfriend like…”
“Fuck her when you’re done with this semester,” he concluded. “Then dump her and move on, though—okay?”
“Yeah!” I agreed. “Exactly!”
“Sounds pretty good,” Dad said with a nod. He picked up the phone and started dialing. “But don’t miss another practice.”
“I won’t,” I promised. “She’s already going to do our whole biology project.”
“Good, good.” He nodded and started ordering his dinner.
Holy shit, that went about as well as it possibly could have. The timing was good because he was usually a little easier on me after…well, just after. When he was at games, I’d be able to hang out with Nicole, and he wouldn’t question it, and if word got back to him, he wouldn’t be blindsided by the news.
Perfect.
Actually, Dad was a little on the buddy-buddy side after he ate some dinner. He asked about my running times, practices, and which team we were playing in the next game. He even called me into the living room and had me sit with him while he flipped through channels with the remote.
“How’s your side?” he asked.
“Not too bad,” I replied. “It hurt a bit when I was lifting.”
“You didn’t take any more of the Percocet, did you?”
“No,” I replied, “I took four Motrin.”
“Good,” he said. “I don’t like you taking that strong stuff. It’s not good for you, and you’re a tough kid. Tell me if you think you need one, though, okay?”
He wouldn’t have let me have one. I knew that. I was kind of surprised he gave me one the first night. Suffering through pain was more aligned with his values.
“Sure, Dad.”
He reached over and patted me on the shoulder. I tried to hold still as he left his hand there for a minute while he kept channel surfing. He finally stopped on the World Cup game.
“Is the US going to win this one?”
“They better at least tie,” I said. “If they don’t, they might not make the round of sixteen.”
“One of these days, I’ll be watching you in that goal,” he said with a flick of his wrist. Tim Howard filled the screen, the ball grasped between his gloved hands. He ran to the top of the box and punted it nearly to the other side of the field. “Play club overseas, but I want you taking his place on the national team when he retires.”
“He’s awesome,” I said with a nod. It had been a while since we had just sat and talked soccer—not since the last World Cup. “I wish Hejduk was still on defense, though. With him there, Howard’s job would be easier.”
“He was always fast,” Dad agreed. “Who is he playing with now?”
“Retired,” I replied. “He’s some kind of fan-relations guy with the Columbus Crew now.”
We chatted about soccer for most of an hour, even cheering together when the game ended with just enough points to move the US forward. It was weird, but in a good way. Rare times like these made me think the other shit was sometimes all worth it.
It was late by the time we went through all the World Cup teams’ stats and determined each one’s potential for getting to the final. I finally started getting ready for bed. After a shower, I took a couple more Motrin, and Dad retaped my side. Once I was in bed, the day began again, flowing quickly through my head. I smiled at Rumple and how she had gotten a PK past me and then cringed as I heard her story again. I remembered the way Frankie talked about her in the lunchroom, and I recalled stories about him using similar tricks on girls at parties. It never made sense to me; he could have gotten pussy anyway. I didn’t understand why he did that shit.
The thought that he could try that on Rumple just fucking pissed me off. I pushed the thought away. If I thought about it too much, I’d never get to sleep, and I had to pick Rumple up in the morning.
I closed my eyes as the game replayed in my mind in full color HD, and I watched Tim Howard make another fantastic save. I wanted to capture it on paper…but I didn’t. I didn’t want to take the chance right now because I had other, more important things to keep hidden.
I didn’t know why I felt nervous when I left my house to pick up Nicole. I mean, I had already taken her to school once though that hadn’t been planned, so I guess I hadn’t had a chance to get nervous. We had also been late, so there hadn’t been anyone to see us. This time was different. We were going early with the sole purpose of making sure everyone who was hanging out around the parking lot saw us come to school together.