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“Can I speak with my son privately?” Dad asked, finally sitting up straight and looking everywhere except at me.
“Of course. Take your time,” Coach Grimsby answered. The coaches left, neither one acknowledging me again.
“Are youkidding me, Charlie? Where is your head? I told you weeks ago that you needed to focus on thegame, not agirl!” he shouted, throwing his hands in the air as he stood.
“We won, in case you forgot. One to zip. The only goal scored coming from me.”
He shook his head, his eyes narrowing. “Not the point. That wasonegame. If you’re going to get to State, if you want to win State, you have to have more than justonegame. Every game has to be like today.
“So I invite Una to every game is what you’re saying,” I countered, not backing down.
“You can’t be dating right now! You’ll lose focus. And you shouldn’t be dating a Teller girl, for goodness’ sake. Especially not yourcoach’s daughter! Where is your head?”
He didn’t get it. He wouldn’t ever get it. What he and Mom had was so special, but they thought of themselves as the exception. I knew he loved her with everything he had. They were my shining examples of how amazing true love could be.
But right now, he didn’t care about that. He had my best interests at heart all the time, but he also didn’t want me to ruin something as big as soccer.
What he didn’t see was how the two didn’t have to be mutually exclusive. I could focus on the playoffsandbe with Una. If anything, today was proof of that.
Dad just needed to be reminded of his and Mom’s relationship. He had to see the parallels. Once he did, he would be on my side. I just knew it.
I paused for a moment. Then I lowered my voice and said, “Mom was a Teller girl.”
That got Dad to halt in his tracks. He spun around slowly, facing me with a look of shock and recognition on his face. “That was different. I wasn’t in playoff season. And we didn’t… we had to hide… it’s not the same, Charlie, and you know it.”
I didn’t, though. Because to me, it sounded exactly the same. Dad was a Fairview boy and Mom was a Teller girl. They were from opposite sides, at a time when cross-dating didn’t happen.
It still rarely happened. But as of recently, it was happening more and more. Which meant Una and I shouldn’thaveto hide anymore. It wasn’t a scandal.
It was just love.
“We’ve been hiding, Dad. Just like you and Mom did. Except I’m sick of hiding. No one should have to hide the people they love.” I crossed my arms over my chest, knowing very well that if Mom were here, she would have taken my side.
“It’s not love!” Dad exploded. “It’s an infatuation. You don’t know what real love is!”
“I do. I have. And now, so does Una.”
I smiled to myself, knowing where Una started and where she was now. She kissed me. She came to my game. She worried about me, thought about me, cared about me.
Thatmeant more to me than winning the game today.
She meant more. Every time.
“No, Dad. It’s not an infatuation. It’s real. And I’m done hiding it.”
Chapter 29
Una
No amount ofdamage control could fix this. For once, I couldn’t weasel my way out with quick thinking, a sly scheme, or pleading ignorance. No deal or threats would work.
As soon as I left the parking lot, my phone blew up. From random people wanting to know the real story, to Malia keeping me informed on how the game ended, to Ali, pissed off for not telling him.
In the end, I turned to Ali. Mali was going to come over later, but she said she had something she had to do first.
I waited for Ali in the backyard, the firepit already burning. I sat, my mind running a million miles a minute.
Charlie never texted me back. There was no way he didn’t see my text or the post from the Fairy Godmother by now. I didn’t know what happened to him after the game, but I doubted it was anything good.
