I suck my lip into my mouth, so I don’t cry again. I look over at my brother and Titus, who share the same thoughts. Tennis-ball Gate is over.
I don’t know where the trunk went, but it doesn’t matter. We’re free and clear, even if my dad is not.
If I thought that was all they came here to tell me, it’s not. Leela and the gang take control of the kitchen and spend the next several hours prepping freezer meals for us to have on hand during the coming weeks.
It turns out they’re all staying with Meghan over winter break.
Sometime after midnight, after someone has spiked the cider and we’re all feeling loose, loud, and festive, Leela receives a phone call.
“Hush, everyone!” Leela slurs. “It’s my dad.”
I reach both hands out, simultaneously gripping Titus and Herc on either side of me.
And we wait.
“Yes…oh really? Interesting. Right…right…yes…yes, I’ll tell them…no problem.”
When she hangs up, Leela looks more uncertain than I’ve ever seen her.
She looks down, gripping the phone in her hand, and then blows a breath.
“Leela, I’m dying. What’s going on?”
Finally looking up again, still clutching the phone, she rasps, “Dad wanted me to be the one to break the news….”
On either side of me, Herc and Titus squeeze my hands tighter.
All the worst-case scenarios run through my mind. Is Daddy okay? Did someone hurt him? Did he hurt himself? The suspense is going to make me faint.
“Leela, please,” I say hoarsely.
“Dex Treadway pled guilty to the tax fraud and embezzlement charges. The rest are dropped.”
“He did?” Herc sounds genuinely surprised.
Leela nods. “The plea and sentencing hearings are yet to be determined, but he could be in federal prison for two to five years with time served.”
I don’t want to see him go to prison, and I’m sad that everything everyone has been saying about the fallen basketball hero is true. Embarrassment and shame? I’m over it.
Mostly, I feel relieved that he’s decided to admit what he did.
The party more or less begins to break up at that news. Before she leaves, Leela approaches. “Can I talk to you privately?”
I take a deep breath. “What, there’s more? I don’t think I can take anymore.”
Leela gives me a wry smile, and I show her to my room to talk.
“I didn’t want to say this in front of everyone,” she says, closing the door behind her. “But apparently, what you said in your interview compelled him to enter the plea.”
Knowing my words had that much power is a little overwhelming. I wanted him to fight for his innocence. For his family.
I remember exactly what I said during that meeting with the defense team.“I always believed the best about my dad. He took care of us as best he could. He was our hero. At the same time, I have mixed feelings.
“On the one hand, I wish our mom was here to talk to about all of this. I wish she were here to shed some light on my questions. On the other hand, I wouldn’t want her to see dad behind bars. If I could rewind the clock, I would take away whatever made her lose sleep. I would make sure Daddy was home more for her and our sakes.”
Wringing my hands, I tell Leela,“That wasn’t my intention. This wasn’t the outcome I wanted for him.”
Leela reaches into her coat pocket and pulls out a small, red-and-green wrapped gift about the size of a ring box. “I know. Also, I’m supposed to give this to you. Your dad asked my father to get this from the house, and somehow he managed it.”