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He couldn’t get a better man to look up to.
“I was thinking about asking her out, maybe for ice cream after the football game Friday. Do you think that’s okay?”
“I think it’s perfect. You can take the car if you want,” I suggest. “This way you’ll have transportation to and from the ice cream shop, and if she’s comfortable enough, you can give her a ride too.”
He nods. “But then you’d have to walk, and I don’t want that.”
Oh, my sweet, sweet boy.
“I’ll be fine. I’ve walked these sidewalks plenty of times.”
“Well, you could ask TD for a ride home,” he suggests, a big grin on his face.
Now it’s my turn to roll my eyes. “I could, yes. That’s not something we need to worry about now.”
“But it’s definitely an option. He’ll probably be in a good mood too. You know, after we beat West Central’s hind end,” he boasts, making me snicker.
“Don’t get too cocky,” I insist, shaking my head.
“Not cocky, Mom. Confident. We’re gonna run circles around the Rebels.” He bends down and places a kiss on my cheek. “I better get in there and review my chemistry worksheets.”
“Don’t stay up too late,” I remind him, turning and stepping into my bedroom.
“I won’t. Night, Mom. Love you.”
“Love you too, bud. See you in the morning.”
I watch as he enters his room and closes the door. I can faintly hear him moving around his space. The flooring between my apartment and the diner below is well insulated, but the walls up here aren’t that great. When I lie in bed, I can hear his bed creak from movement or his faint footfalls on the old floors.
I know someday soon, those little noises will be gone. Even though I’m not certain what his next step is after graduation, I do know he won’t live here with me forever. So, for now, I’ll soak up every creak of the floor, every muffled conversation he has with friends on the phone, every laugh I hear when he’s watching TV. One of these days—one day soon, too—those noises will be replaced with silence.
And that might be the scariest part of motherhood.
Letting them go.
“Ellie!”
I turn and find TD’s sister, Loree, waving and heading this way. “Hi, Loree. So good to see you again,” I reply as she wraps her arms around my shoulders and gives me a hug.
“What a beautiful night for a football game, huh?” she asks with a smile, turning to take in the sights and sounds of the crowd filing into the bleachers.
“Sure is, though, it’ll get cooler once the sun finishes going down.”
“We brought sweatshirts,” she states, taking a seat beside me. “It’s definitely cooler here already than in Arizona. It was in the lower nineties before we boarded the plane,” she adds, taking a bite of her popcorn. “You remember my husband, Kenton, right? And my boys, Hagen and Rogan. They’re so excited to see Uncle TD in action.”
“Well, it should be a good game. Both teams are two and oh going into this matchup.”
“Ohhh, a true test of wills,” she replies as Logan approaches.
“Hey, guys.”
“Hi, Logan,” Loree greets, as Logan goes to sit down beside Kenton. They immediately fall into a conversation, while the boys sit on the bench below us and point out onto the field.
“There’s Uncle TD!” the younger one, Rogan, announces.
Both boys stand up and start waving the moment TD turns to walk back to the sidelines. He glances up and sees his nephews waving and quickly returns the gesture, a smile spread across his handsome face.
He’s so good with kids, and he clearly adores his nephews.
