Page 130 of Before We Break

As I make my way toward the park, I spot a penny on the ground. I pick it up and slip it into the front pocket of my favorite overalls. I’ve been finding an inordinate amount of them scattered about lately. It’s almost like Aunt Penny knew we needed her and sent a few extras just in case. Honestly, it’s getting a bit out of hand.

Cool liquid drips from the coffee cups and onto my legs as I turn onto the side street leading to the park. Noah is posted up in a lawn chair behind Lexi. I hand him one of the iced coffees and take the chair next to him, then my gaze flicks to the field, or more accurately, the little boy in a blue jersey waving at me from inside the soccer net.

Running with a soccer ball requires a certain level of coordination and focus that Auggie lacks, so Lexi assigned him the goaltender role, which he was more than happy to accept.

I take a long sip of my iced chai and wave back. “How’s he doing?”

“He’s gotten really good at jazz hands, and… whatever that is.”

I follow his line of sight to where Auggie’s doing some kind of dance, flailing his limbs like one of those inflatable tube men you see outside of car dealerships.

I throw my head back laughing. “Lean in to the whimsy.”

He groans. “You and your whimsy.”

“You love it.”

His eyes lock on mine, and my smile falters for one very long, uncomfortable second. Why the hell did I drop the L word? I look away, internally cursing my stupidity. The whistle blows, and kids dart off every which way, a blur of black and white passing between them. Auggie shuffles this way and that, watching the action from the net.

“Get ready, Auggie,” Lexi shouts.

He bends his knees, leaning forward with his jazz hands at the ready. Three or four kids approach the net with the soccer ball between them. It’s hard to make out anything from my vantage point, but someone kicks, and the ball sails past his right hand and into the net. The Lumberjacks cheer as the Saplings walk away defeated.

“It’s ok.” Lexi claps as she jogs onto the field, rounding up her team.

Voices drift across the sidelines from the other team’s bench. “She ought to be banned from coaching with the way she was carrying on with poor Hayden.”

My knuckles blanch around the arms of the chair as I struggle against my barely contained anger.

A second voice says, “Tried to ruin his life. Honestly, Karen. I don’t know how you got through it.”

“It’s a blessing in disguise. Can you imagine? You? A grandmother?”

Shrill laughter pierces the air, and I see red. I’d know that laugh anywhere.

A voice I can’t place chimes in. “And that mother of hers.”

Karen snickers. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

I start to stand and talk myself out of it, but Noah has no such compunction. He’s out of his chair before I can blink, his hands flexing at his sides with each determined stride. He stops just shy of their seats and slips his hands into his pockets.

“Hi, Noah,” a blonde woman says in a flirty tone that only ratchets up my frustration.

He ignores the stranger, laser-focused on his main target. “What are you even doing here, Karen? Last I checked, you don’t have any kids on the team.”

She tosses her hair and looks down her nose at him. “I was just stopping by to see my friends. Not that it’s any of your business.”

“Why don’t you pull up a chair?” the flirty blonde bitch says. “We could use some eye candy.”

“Shut up, Cheryl,” Karen mutters.

There’s no talking myself out of it this time. I stand and jog across the grass to catch up with him. Whether I’ll be playing defense or offense is anyone’s guess. Maybe I’ll take a page out of Auggie’s book and distract the bitches with my jazz hands.

“This is low even for you, ” Noah snarls. “It’s like you never left high school. A bunch of mean girl bullies standing on the sidelines talking shit about a good kid who’s never done anything to any of you. And you”—he rounds on one of the dark-haired women I now recognize as Melissa Landry—“your daughter was in Clio’s preschool class. I bet she went home with one of those hand-knit hats and a pair of mittens to match, didn’t she?”

When she doesn’t answer, he continues. “Yeah. That’s what I fucking thought. Clio is a better person than all of you combined.”

I press my palm to his spine. “It’s ok. Let’s just go.”