“Let’s get our tent up,” Noah says, tapping me on the arm. Together we unload everything from the bag and lay our tent out on the ground. We angle it so that when we wake up, we’re looking at the river and not our fathers. Our dads do the same and once both tents are up, we work together to string up a couple of tarps in the event it might rain. It’s Oregon and the weather tends to change every five minutes.
Noah and I hike back to the car. It’s about two miles through the woods. “What’d you forget?”
“Just going to grab the fishing poles.”
With a fishing pole in my hand, I stand there, trying to remember when the last time I went fishing was. The more I think, the more I realize that Liam used to take me when I was a kid. It all stopped when Noah… well, when he found out he had a son. I guess it didn’t matter that much to me back then. Maybe I don’t like fishing after all.
We get back to camp and find a fire going. The dads are sitting there, drinking beers, and right now look completely relaxed. It’s not a feeling they’re used to, although the band has been slowing down lately. Liam spends a lot of his time traveling back and forth between Los Angeles and Beaumont, until football season kicks off and then we’ll see him in Portland. His big thing is that he wants to be there for Betty Paige. I get it, the dude missed ten years with his son, and those are years you never get back.
“You kids hungry?” Liam says after Noah and I drop the gear off. I take the seat closest to the river, the sound of the water moving over the rocks is oddly calming.
“We’re not kids anymore, Dad,” Noah says. He’s searching through the cooler and tosses me one of the pre-made sandwiches we bought at the store before heading here. Thankfully, he carries over the can of soda. Right now, Noah isn’t drinking. It’s too close to the season and he’s on the ‘my body?
??s my temple’ program. I’m fine with it.
“So, what’s the plan for these four days?” I ask, after taking a bite. I take another one immediately after because it’s that good.
“Absolutely nothing,” my dad says. “We’re here to rest, relax, recoup, and reenergize.” He looks directly at me. Not sure why, but I’m already three of those things. The reenergizing one doesn’t apply to me. I’m not overworking myself or draining my energy doing things I don’t want.
Noah sits down and starts to stuff the sandwich in his mouth. I elbow him, and he looks at me. “Dude, this isn’t jail. You don’t have five minutes to eat.”
He laughs. “How would you know what jail is like?”
“Fine, this isn’t your locker room where some three-hundred-pound linebacker is waiting for you to turn your head.” Noah reaches over and gives me a fist bump.
“That’s more like it.”
“Are you ready for the season?” my dad asks.
“I am. I think this will be our year.”
“It’s definitely your year,” Liam adds. “Your mom is itching to start planning a wedding.”
“You know it’s not up to me, Dad. We wanted Peyton to finish school first and now that she has, I’m sure she’ll start planning our wedding. Besides, it’s something she’ll do with her mom, not mine.”
I choke and start laughing, so does Liam and my dad. “You do know that both moms are going to be heavily involved, right?”
Noah shakes his head, reaches for his drink and takes a sip before setting it back down on the ground. “My mom’s just gonna have to wait for Paige to get married.”
“She’s never getting married,” Liam blurts out.
“Unless it’s to Mack,” my dad says. It’s like everything moves in slow motion. Dad chuckles as Noah says, ‘oh shit,’ and Liam’s head turns slowly (now if this were a sci-fi movie there would be fire coming out of his eyes), his chest puffs out as his hand cocks back and the can of beer is thrown at my dad. Dad’s shirt is drenched, and his hand is covering the spot where the can landed. I think for one fleeting moment my father forgot that not only was Liam a quarterback but that he hates the fact that Paige has a crush on Nick’s son. Loathes, really.
And here I am, sitting back and watching it all unfold like a daytime soap opera.
Because that’s what it is. Liam and my dad are best friends, even before JD joined the group. Anyone else would be pissed for being pegged in the chest with a can of beer, but not my dad, at least not when it’s thrown by Liam.
“You forget your daughter is marrying my son.”
Dad laughs. “If it were anyone but Noah, I’d have a problem with it.”
“Do I get to call you dad?” Noah asks. I can’t tell if he’s serious or not. However, by the look on my dad’s face, the answer is no.
“Mr. James will work.”
I spit out my beer and cover my mouth during my coughing fit. “You okay, son?” Dad asks.
“Good, good,” I say, putting my hand on my chest. “Just didn’t expect you to answer that way I guess.”