I look at him. “Gavin told her dad.”
“Oh,” Blue says.
Rowan sets his spoon down. Benson stares. Percy lifts a single brow, which for Percy is roughly equivalent to screaming.
“Gavin told Coach Linwood,” Rowan says.
“I don’t know the exact route it took. But Gavin’s been treating me as a personal punchline since August, so he probably told his whole organization, and somebody in that building has a phone, and—” I spread my hands. “Everybody knows who Stanley Ermington is. And who Coach Linwood is.”
Benson says, “Mm.”
Nobody at the table denies it. I appreciate that.
“By eleven yesterday morning, Coach Linwood knew. He called Aspen.” I let it land. “He was thrilled.”
Benson drags both hands down his face. “Stan. You’re telling me Coach Linwood is currently under the impression that you’re dating his daughter.”
“Yes.”
“For real.”
“For real.”
“And he is happy about this.” He spreads his hands. “No sarcasm?”
I shake my head. “Apparently.”
Blue makes a noise that is forty percent laugh and sixty percent dying animal.
Benson keeps his hands over his eyes one beat longer, then drops them flat to the table. “Okay. Fine. So here’s what you do. You sit down with Aspen this week. You end it clean. You tell Coach it ran its course, no hard feelings, these things happen,and the two of you walk away with your dignity.” He looks at me. “Right?”
I don’t say anything.
He stops moving.
“Right, Stan?”
“Cap.”
The whole table holds its breath.
“My dad’s in it now.”
The kitchen goes quiet for the third time in five minutes, which has to be some kind of house record.
“Robert Ermington,” Blue says.
I look at him and nod. “Robert knows.”
Rowan pushes his cereal away entirely, like he can no longer eat in the presence of this. “Robert Ermington knows.”
“Coach called him yesterday. Long conversation, I’m told. Real heart-to-heart between two old friends.” I shrug. “He was the same kind of thrilled.”
“Both your fathers think you and Aspen Linwood are together.”
“Yeah.”
“Both your fathers have been best friends since before any of us were born.”
