It’s been a busy week and now I not only have to be prepared for practice, but I have to pump Jason up about going to his father’s this weekend. I’m nervous as hell, but I’m trying hard not to show Jason. I got lucky today and my boss let me leave a little early so I could come home and square some things away. I have Jason’s football gear and weekend bag by the door and ready to go.
“Do I really have to go?” Jason whines.
“Jason, your father is coming to get you, and I can’t stop him. I know he’s pulled some stuff lately, but it’s because he’s upset and wants to spend time with you. When you get a little older, we’ll work it out that you two decide together when you’ll visit. But right now, you’re only eleven and I’m sorry to say unless he treats you poorly, there isn’t a judge out there who’s going to say he doesn’t get visitation.” Jason scoops up his bag and heads for the door. “Jason,” I call out. He turns to me with a look of frustration on his face. “Give him a chance. If you are truly not happy or he does something to upset you, call me and Jesse, and I will come get you.” He closes his eyes, pulling himself together, and nods.
“I just hope he doesn’t do anything stupid. I was actually excited to see him until he started running his mouth at the party.”
“I know, and I really hope he turns this around for you two.” I follow him out the door.
When we arrive at the field, Jesse is already there with his gang. We hurry down the hill and get settled for dinner. Jason looks incredibly nervous, and it’s killing me. I hate that I have to force him to go see his father, but at the same time, I’m hoping Brian will do something fun with him. I want him to have a good relationship with his father, and that’s hard to say at this point. He hasn’t been very good to him the last few years.
“What’s up with him?” Jesse asks when I get to the blanket.
“He doesn’t want to go with his father.”
Jesse closes his eyes. “I hate that he feels that way. It would kill me if my kids didn’t want to see me.”
“Well, you didn’t abandon your kids or cheat on their mom.”
“I wish there was something I could say or do.”
“Me too.” We all sit down to eat. There’s an uncomfortable silence lingering tonight. I wish I knew what to say, but I don’t.
“Can I be excused? I’m not hungry,” Jason says.
“I guess so.” He jumps up from the blanket and walks out to the field to start stretching. Gabe looks at Jesse, and there’s a silent exchange. Jesse nods, and Gabe jumps up to join Jason on the field. They both sit on the ground and stretch. I can see they’re talking, but they’re too far away for us to know what’s being said. Josephine tells us she’s going to take Grace to the gym for practice, leaving Jesse and I alone on the blanket waiting for practice to start.
“Any idea what they’re talking about?”
He shrugs. “Not really. I know Gabe came to me the other day and told me that Jason had sent him a text saying he couldn’t come over this weekend because he had to go with his father.” We both lean back on our hands and watch our boys. “He told me they talked a little about Jason’s situation with his father. Gabe wouldn’t give me too much info, but I made him promise to tell me if something was happening that we needed to be concerned with.” My head whips around. “He promised that Jason hadn’t said anything bad happened. He also promised to let us know if it did. He doesn’t want to break Jason’s trust.” I shrug. “I can’t say I blame him. They’ve grown close already, and I have to trust Gabe the way Jason is trusting him.” He kneels, kisses me, and tells me he loves me before he walks off to start passing ball with the boys.
I can’t help but think about what he said. I know he’s right, I need to trust Gabe, but that’s hard to do when it’s your baby. The other kids are starting to show up. They’re all dropping their stuff and passing the ball with the others like any other practice. It’s been a long week, but they’re looking good and we’re all excited to see what happens at the first game of the season this weekend.
Trystan comes down the hill with DJ by his side. The two of them have huge smiles on their faces. That’s when I realize Stella’s not with them. Trystan picks up on me watching them so he calls over, “Stella’s sick.”
I frown and pull my phone from my purse to send her a text telling her to feel better soon. Practice is about to start when Misty comes running down the hill with Mason. The ladies have all set up their chairs a short distance behind me. Someone had the nerve to complain because a few of the moms were sitting with me and parents were asked to sit back a little. Misty, not giving a rat’s ass what anyone thinks, takes a seat on my blanket. “How are you?”
“I’m okay.”
“Just okay? You sound worse than just okay.” She plops a piece of apple into her mouth. “What’s up?” she asks as she chews.
This is why I love Misty. She doesn’t let anyone change her. She is who she is and if you don’t like it, you’re happy to see your happy ass away. I laugh and go into my fears over Brian taking Jason this weekend. “Girl, I totally get it, but he’s an idiot if he tries to do anything. He would ruin his career and never see his kid again. Surely he has to realize that.”
I shake my head. “I hope so. I just wish he was as good with Jason as Jesse is. It’s amazing to me. Jesse’s not his father and yet he spends time with him. He passes ball with him before practice and helps him to get better. Brian is never here and when he is, he causes a scene and embarrasses him.”
We sit and chat a bit then Misty suggests we walk around the practice area. There’s space for us to walk without interfering with what they’re doing. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”
She starts her walking app. “Let’s see what the distance is.” She puts it in her pocket and tracks the distance around the circle. It ends up being about a quarter of a mile. We continue walking and as we do Arien, Lori, Stacey and Emma join us. When we get back from our first lap Tricia comes over. “Hey, Karen.”
“What’s up?”
She nods toward the field. “What’s up with that kid? He doesn’t seem to want to play?”
I chuckle. “He doesn’t, but his mom is forcing him to because of some issues he has. She has had a few conversations with Coach, and he is doing what he can to encourage the kid, but he told her if he isn’t into it come game day, he will not force him to play.”
“That woman is a fool. The kid is going to get hurt or worse—he’s going to get one of our kids hurt.” The frustration is evident in her voice.
“Jesse and I will keep an eye on it come game day. I’ll be next to him often, so I can pay attention. If he’s complaining about playing, then I’ll have Coach bench him.”
“I appreciate it. I don’t need my kid getting killed out there because he’s not blocking.”
“I understand. My son is out there too.”
“Thanks.” She jogs off to sit with Jenn, another team mom. They seem to have formed their own mom squad.
“Shall we go another lap?” Lori asks.
“For sure.” As we’re continuing our laps, I’m keeping an eye on the entire field to make sure that no one is getting hurt. I’m also scanning for Brian. I thought that he would have been here by now to show some interest. I pull my phone from my back pocket and nothing. No text, no phone call—nothing.
“Why does my gut tell me he’s going to pull a no show?” I sigh in frustration
“Maybe he will. Would you really be disappointed if he did?” Misty asks.
“No, but I don’t like him toying with Jason that way.”
“I’m sure, but I think he’ll be relieved.” Misty bumps me.
“More like ecstatic.” I giggle.
“Elated!” Misty shouts with laughter.
I burst into laughter. “Thanks, Misty.” She made me feel so much better.
“Anytime, girl.”
It’s getting dark, and practice is coming to an end. I still have not heard from Brian, and I don’t see him at the field. I hurry over to the blanket where all our stuff is sitting and watch as all the boys come running over.
Jason looks around. “Where is he?”
I shrug. “I don’t know, buddy. I haven’t heard from him.”
“I’ll see you guys at the house then.” Jesse puts his bag over his shoulder, and the four of us walk up to our cars. Jesse walks me to mine first and then he tells Gabe to go to his. I pull out of my spot and head toward Jesse’s. “I’m not sure what to say, buddy. I’m sorry he didn’t show.”
“I’m not sure what to think. I was starting to get excited that he cared.”
“What changed your mind?”
“I was talking with Gabe about his mom. He didn’t ever get to give her a second chance.” He lets out a deep breath. “I guess it made me think about how lucky I am that he’s still here and then he goes and blows me off. I’m not sure how to feel.”
“Do you want to go home?”
“No. I wanna chill with Gabe. I don’t want to spend the weekend in my room thinking about him.” He sounds sad, and this right here is what I was worried about. He’s messing with Jason’s emotions.
When we pull into the driveway, Jesse is right behind us. As I’m climbing out of the car, my cell phone rings. I look to see Brian’s name on the screen. I close my eyes in silent prayer that he isn’t going to give me shit. “Go inside,” I tell Jason. He and Gabe grab their stuff and hurry into the house. “Hey, Brian.”
“Where the hell are you?” he growls into the phone.
“I’m at Jesse’s, where are you? Practice ended a while ago.”
“I was running late from work.”
“And you didn’t think it was important to pick up the damn phone to call me? First, I wasn’t going to sit at the field all night and wait for you. Second, you didn’t show, and now Jason is upset. He thinks you blew him off all because you couldn’t call. What is wrong with you?” I’m pacing the driveway, angry that he is giving me crap for not hanging around when a simple phone call could have made this all better.
“The only bitch I have to report to is Melinda, and I don’t even report to her. When I tell you I’m going to do something, I mean it. You should have waited at the field for me.” I’m taken aback by his attitude, but I’m not going to tolerate it. I hang up the phone, pissed off that he’s demanding me to do anything. I let out a slow, calming breath. I’m so furious right now. I can’t even go into the house.
“What did he say?” Jesse asks, leaning against his truck with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Can you believe that bastard demanded that if he tells me he is picking Jason up, I’m to wait for him.” I’m raising my voice the farther I go into the sentence. “He says he doesn’t need to report to me.” I run my fingers through my hair. “How was I such a fool to marry this man? He is so frustrating.”
He backs me against his truck. “You need to stop referring to yourself as a fool. You are not a fool.” He looks me in the eye, his blue eyes fixed on mine. “Don’t let him get to you. He has no control over you anymore, and you do not need to wait around for him.” My phone rings again from my pocket. I pull it out to see Brian’s name.
Jesse pulls the phone from my hand. “May I?”
“By all means.”
He presses the green button and answers very calmly. “Hey, Brian.”
“Why the fuck are you answering my wife’s phone?” He’s so loud I can hear him clear as day.
Jesse bursts into laughter. “Dude, she stopped being your wife the second you started fucking another woman. She’s mine now, and I don’t take kindly to you yelling at her and making demands.”
“You have no right to get in our business.”
“Oh but I do, and I’m going to tell something right now. You screw with Jason the way you did tonight and her lawyer will be in touch to notify you that you will not see your kid until you come to an agreement on the divorce.”
“You can’t do that,” he screams so loud that Jesse pulls the phone away from his ear.
“Watch me.” He hits the end button and hands me my phone.
“Let him stew on that for a bit.” Jesse winks at me. “Come on, we need to get the kids settled for the night.”
By the time we get inside, Grace is in bed and both boys are showered and hanging in Gabe’s room. We thank Josephine for once again taking care of the kids, and we head to Jesse’s room to settle in. It’s been a long week, and we’re both tired.