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He nods. Tamara, his aunt, told me that Mikey said his first word when he was nearly two years old. He said his second nearly two months later. It’s been several years since then and my son still isn’t much of a talker.
He tries to get his point across in as few words as possible.
Like now, he gestures to me with his hockey stick, and I take it from him. Then he takes my hand but only for a moment. I thank God anyway, for that little mercy. It’s only been recently, after several rounds of therapy, that Mikey can initiate touch in a way that’s comfortable for him.
“Wanna go home?” I ask because I know that’s what he intends to say, by taking my hand.
He nods again.
“You sure you don’t want to stick around for a little bit, maybe say goodbye to your friends?”
He doesn’t smile but I have a feeling that he thinks I’ve said a joke as much as it breaks my heart to think about what the joke is. The whole idea of me coaching this team in the first place is because I thought it would be a good opportunity for Mikey to make friends. His therapist suggested it in the first place, and I thought it made sense because sports has always been how I made the majority of my friends.
And a young boy needs friends. Even one who is as prone to solitude as Mikey.
I know most of the time, he enjoys his alone time, and spending time with just me. But sometimes, I see him look at other kids walking together and playing, and I can just sense the loneliness in his eyes. I can feel that he wants that, but he's just not sure how to get it.
And what better way to form camaraderie between two people than to put them on the same team?
I thought it would be as simple as that.
So far though, my plans have been falling far short of genius.
Because so far, Mikey is still zero for zero on the friendship score. I think I’ll have to try something different but that's a problem for another day.
“Alright,” I say. “Let’s get home.” I stand and he lets his hand take mine again. As we walk, I catch a glance at the other side of the court where the other team is leaving. Mia and her son are standing and talking but she looks up suddenly and our eyes meet.
For a charged moment, I remember back in the hallway, with her body against mine. I almost felt the whisper of her lips underneath mine. I almost kissed her.Man, why the fuck did I even do that?
Mia and I have a complicated relationship to say the least. There are so many layers to it, but the chief of those layers is that she’s my best friend’s sister. Liam made it abundantly clear to me that she was off-limits. That was years ago when Mia was blossoming into the beautiful woman she is today. Still, I know that any attempt to get with Mia would mean forgoing my friendship with her brother and I’m not willing to lose Liam over a good time.
Even though I’ve already betrayed him once.
I shake the thought off, but it’s not as easy to shake off the memory of the feel of her lips under mine. Even though she didn't kiss me back this time, I still recall how her kisses felt like a heated aphrodisiac; how her taste sent me through the roof.
The thought is quickly replaced by the memory of her talking to that man, smiling at him during the game. I told myself it was none of my business, but I still couldn't stop myself from approaching her and clarifying the nature of their relationship.
My phone rings the minute I get to the car, and I check the caller ID.
Speak of the devil…
“Yo,” I answer as I climb into the car. I hear Mikey get in on the other side and I switch the phone to Bluetooth mode so that the sounds come through in the speaker. “What’s going on?”
“Not much. What’s going on with you buddy? How are things?” Liam is his usual cheerful self and I know he wouldn't be if he knew the directions of my thoughts towards his sister.
“Not much either. Just finished the Little League game. We won, obviously.”
Liam snickers. “That’s a great buddy. But it’s just ironic to me that you of all people, who swore never to go back to hockey, ended up exactly like your old man, teaching little league.”
"Shut up,” I tell him. I’m only doing this temporarily. At least until Mikey finds a solid group of friends. “Anyway, today we played your sister’s team.”
“Oh? That’s who you won against? No doubt I’ll be hearing all about that today.”
I chuckle. "I bet.” Liam knows all about his sister’s and my animosity. We've done our best to get on each other's nerves ever since we found out we live next to each other, and played a lot of pranks through the years. Liam has always pretended not to like our little squabbles but I think a part of him gets a kick out of our fights.
And the best thing is that despite her innocent blue eyes and sunshine appearance, the little spitfire gives as good as she gets.
“Speaking of my sister how is she? She doing ok?” he asks.
