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"Maybe I'll just admire you."
She smiles coyly, sipping her tea. I sip my coffee.
"Hey, this is actually good. I wasn't expecting it since, you know…."
"I'm a tea drinker?" Her smile fades. Sadness settles over her as she sits at the small kitchen table by the window. "Mom and Dad were big on coffee. I learned to do it just the way they liked it when I was a teenager. They had this cute routine on weekends, which always started with them drinking coffee in the morning. They'd sit out on the porch, enjoying each other's company. Our old house also had a porch."
"The old house?"
"The kids and I grew up somewhere else. We had to sell the house after our parents passed away. The mortgage was more than I could handle. But we love this place too."
She offers me a smile, but her eyes are glassy, and damn if I don't want to call a real estate agent and buy that house for her and the kids.
"Tell me more about your parents," I encourage. "If you want to."
"They were the loveliest people. Mom was my best friend, and Dad was just… he was a character. Always up for a good laugh. They loved each other so much. Sometimes I caught them looking at each other, and there was so much love there. I sort of always assumed that love faded away with time, and the relationship was based on respect. But my parents were in love, even after all that time."
"My parents are like that," I tell her. "They still finish each other's sentences sometime. It's weird for all of us to watch. Also, it explains why there are nine of us. Though to be fair, there are two sets of twins."
She chuckles, which is what I was hoping for; seeing her sad makes me want to walk over and take her in my arms. That's a bad idea for many reasons, not least of which is I'd end up kissing her.
"Do you talk to your parents often?" she asks.
"Yeah. In fact, I'm heading to their house for dinner tonight. We're very close. Since I returned from Hong Kong, I swear Mom is
hogging me even more than before."
"Good. Let her do it and enjoy it as much as you can. You never know when you won't have the chance anymore." Shaking her head, she adds, "Well, aren’t I a ray of sunshine today?"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Just a rough morning. Sorry you had to walk in on a war."
"Technically I just eavesdropped."
She still looks uncomfortable, and I have a hunch I know why. Moving from the window to sit at the table, I say, "You don't have to put on the professional facade now. I'm not a client you need to impress, just a friend showing Lucas how to score. Ground rule for today: relax."
"You want to set the rules in my house? You've got balls."
"You have no idea. Do we have a deal?"
"Okay. Are my eyes red?" she asks, somewhat alarmed as thunderous steps indicate the kids will burst inside the kitchen any second now.
"I can't tell. They look beautiful, as usual."
Before she has a chance to reply, the three kids enter the kitchen. Sienna carries Chloe, who appears to be in a great mood. Lucas bounces in wearing his training gear, ball under his arm.
"Hi, Christopher," Lucas and Chloe say at the same time. Sienna just nods.
"Hey, everyone," I greet. "Lucas, ready to kick some ass?"
Sienna and Victoria shoot daggers with their eyes at me, but it's not until Chloe giggles, informing me, "We're not allowed to say bad words," that I realize where I'm wrong.
Lucas's grin is contagious. "Yeah, let's go in the backyard." We walk out of the kitchen, and as soon as we're out of the girls' earshot, he says, "And kick ass."
***
Lucas's enthusiasm magnifies once we're in the backyard, which is small but gives us enough space for practice. Putting the soccer ball down, he hunches his shoulders, dipping his head downward. That's a sign of lack of confidence.
