“Barrett? Your father?”
I nodded.
“I think so.”
“What was he…like?”
Christian looked back and forth between my eyes. “He was a great guy. I’m not sure if that’s what you want to hear, considering how he handled things with you. But it’s the truth.” He shrugged. “At least from what I knew of him.”
I said nothing for a long time. “If you had to pick one word to describe him, what would it be?”
“The first thing that comes to my mind is honorable. Which doesn’t seem right to say to you. But the man I knew was a man of his word. There’s a lot of posturing and gambling in sports. Owners and coaches want to put together the best team possible, and that often means stepping on someone to get where you want to be. Everyone is always searching for the next best player. You can be the king one year and traded for a new royal the next. You’re only as good as your last game. There’s not too much loyalty. But when my first contract was up for renewal, and John put his hand on my shoulder and told me not to worry about it, I didn’t.”
I shook my head. “I guess I’m having trouble reconciling the man people around here talk about and the man who would let a child be passed around to different homes after the death of the only parent she ever knew.”
Christian frowned. “I don’t blame you. I am also.”
“Miller thinks I need to stop holding a dead man accountable, or I’ll never move on. But for me, it’s less about forgiveness and more about understanding why he did what he did. I’m the type of person who can’t leave a puzzle three quarters of the way done.”
Christian nodded. “I get it. I think sometimes we feel unsettled because we’re meant to know more.”
“Exactly. Why can’t Miller understand my logic like that?”
“I take it you two have been friends a long time?”
“Since he walked up to me the second day of class in ninth grade and told me never to wear orange again.”
“Why didn’t he want you to wear orange?”
I pointed to my head. “It looks terrible with my auburn hair.”
“He just walked up unsolicited and told you that?”
“Yep.”
“And you didn’t mind?”
“I did at the moment. I told him to go screw himself. But then when I went home and looked in the mirror, I realized he was right. I wore green to school the next day. Miller told me the color was intoxicating on me and handed me half of the brownie he was eating. We’ve been inseparable since. He has boundary issues, but he’s the best friend a girl could ask for.”
My cell phone started to ring from my desk on the other side of the room, so I excused myself to check whether it was anything important. Finding Wyatt’s name flashing, I smiled. “I need to answer this. I’ll only be a minute.”
“Take your time.”
I swiped and brought the phone to my ear. “What’s going on, Trouble?”
“I’m calling to remind you about Wednesday night.”
“Do I ever forget your games?”
“You missed half of the last one.”
“Yes, but that’s not because I forgot. I got on the wrong second bus. There’s a difference.”
“Is Miller driving you?”
“No. Miller wants to come, but he has a big project at work, and they can’t start on it until the rest of the office is gone for the day.”
“So you’re going to take the buses again? That’s gonna take like an hour and a half with all the stops and transferring.”
“It’s okay. I’ll have my laptop to keep me busy.”
“You know they have this thing called Uber now...”
I smiled. “I’ll be there when it starts this time, I promise.”
“My friend Andre can drive you home after. He’s a pretty good driver.”
“Does Andre have a license?”
“He’s got his learner’s permit.”
“That’s not a license to drive. I hope you’re not getting into the car with him.”
“You know, you used to be cool. Now you sound like my mom.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
“You do that…”
I laughed. “I’m at work still, so I need to run. I’ll see you Wednesday, okay?”
“A’ight. Later.”
“Later, Trouble.” I brought my cell over to the couch with me after I hung up.
“You going to the Philly game?” Christian asked.
“Philly game?”
“You mentioned a game on Wednesday. The league is trying out weekday nights a few times this season. Philly game is this Wednesday.”
“Oh.” I shook my head. “No, I’m going to a high school game, not a league one. Wyatt and his mom are old friends. He actually grew up playing soccer, but when he got to high school, the football coach drafted him as the kicker. He’s really good. Hoping to get a scholarship, but he goes to a catholic high school in Queens that doesn’t get a lot of attention from colleges.”