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Most of the crowd has cleared by now, but there are still a few streams of students leaving the stands. We’re stopped several times, which only increases my anxiety. I’d rather get this over with.
We finally reach the shade of the oak. “Hi, Dad. Hey, Sandra.”
“Saylor!” Sandra speaks first. She steps forward to give me a quick hug. “What a fantastic game!”
“Thank you,” I reply, my gaze bouncing back to my father.
He doesn’t say anything.
“Uh, these are my teammates and housemates: Emma, Cressida, and Anne.” I point to each of them as I say their names.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Mr. Scott…and uh, Mrs. Scott,” Emma says.
The last two words are a bit of a question, and yeah…I probably should have provided a bit of context. They know nothing about my mom leaving, about the family trip two weeks ago actually being my father’s wedding.
“Nice to meet you two.” Cressida jumps in, smoothing over the awkward moment, and Anne echoes the sentiment.
“Lovely to meet you all. And my goodness, you’re all so gorgeous!” Sandra comments.
“So kind of you to say that,” Emma replies. “It’s really hard on our egos, being friends with the Saylor Scott.”
I roll my eyes. “The trip here was okay?” I finally address my dad directly.
“Yup. Quick and easy,” he replies. I don’t know how you could categorize a fifteen-hour drive as quick, but I don’t challenge him on it.
“That’s good.”
Silence falls over our little group.
“Are you free for dinner?” my dad finally asks. “Your friends are all welcome to come too, of course.”
It’s just past five, which is awfully early for dinner, but I’m starving, so I nod. “You guys want to come?” I ask them.
They all stare at me, obviously trying to suss out whether or not I mean the offer. I nod again.
“Yeah, we’d love to!” Emma answers for all three of them. “Tony’s?” she suggests, referring to the local pizzeria just on the edge of campus.
“Are you good with pizza?” I ask Dad and Sandra.
“Sure,” Sandra replies, looking overly thrilled about it. Since I know she’s not a huge sports fan, she’s probably happy that part of the visit is over. Or maybe she’s trying to encourage my dad, who hasn’t said much.
Sandra’s enthusiasm carries us through the walk to the restaurant. It’s mostly filled with her rapid questions about Lancaster. I answer the ones posed at me directly, but let my friends pick up some of the slack in the conversation.
Tony’s is packed, like usual. The commotion is welcome, washing away some of the awkwardness between me and my dad, but I didn’t think through how many students would be here, fresh from the game.
Normally, I’d enjoy the attention, but in front of my dad and Sandra, the constant congratulations are kind of embarrassing.
Jason Williams leaps up from a table filled with his frat brothers to give me a bear hug. “Scott! Way to kick ass! You better come to Kappa tonight to celebrate. I even got gin and?—”
“Jason, this is my dad,” I interrupt, raising my eyebrows meaningfully as I nod at my father.
“Oh. Hi, Mr. Scott. Nice to meet you.” Jason switches from partier to polite with a charming grin.
“And this is my stepmother, Sandra,” I add. It’s the first time I’ve called her that, and it feels weird.
“Are you two…dating?” Sandra asks, her eyes on the arm Jason has slung over my shoulder.
“Plead my case, Mrs. Scott,” Jason says. “I’ve been trying since freshman year, along with every other guy on campus.”
