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“Is Nana Nat okay?”
“She’s okay. Look, Mom said she left your dinner in the microwave, and there’s salad in the fridge. You eat, and I’ll be home shortly.”
“Is Mom okay?”
“Yes, she’s worried, but she’s fine. And Granddad will be all right. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Dad said calmly.
I dropped my bags again, my mind swirling like a tornado. This couldn’t be happening. Granddad couldn’t be having a heart attack or dying, not the week before play-offs. He was looking forward to it, he needed to be there.
It turned out that Granddad had collapsed earlier in the afternoon but Mom hadn’t wanted to worry us or interrupt football practice. It’s like she was being thoughtful in the most perverse kind of way. A heart specialist had assessed that Granddad had indeed had a heart attack and was being monitored overnight. Tomorrow he’d have surgery to put stents into his arteries where a plaque buildup of cholesterol and fatty substances had caused blockages.
“This is why you have to restrict fat in your diet,” Dad said rather unsympathetically as he explained Granddad’s condition.
“When can I see him?” I asked.
“There’s nothing you can do for him. He’s resting and getting the best care,” Dad said, looking over my shoulder as I picked at my dinner. My appetite had vanished, and I had no desire to eat the piece of steak, but Dad watched me like a hawk, setting his own plate across from me.
“When’s Mom coming home?” I asked.
“She’s going to stay with Nana tonight, then take her back to the hospital first thing in the morning,” Dad said.
My grandparents didn’t live too far from us, but it hit me that I often had excuses for not visiting them. They always came to my football games, even the away ones, but I would only have time for a quick hello and hug. Granddad had texted me on Sunday telling me he wanted a full rundown on the game, but I’d fobbed him off and said I was too tired.
Now I was full of regret. All it would have taken was a ten minute drive to their house, twenty or thirty minutes chatting, but in essence, I’d been lazy.
Granddad and Nana were my biggest supporters, but I took them for granted.
“I’ll go before school. See him before his surgery,” I said, stabbing a slice of tomato with my fork.
“You’ve got a run tomorrow, and gym,” Dad said, reverting to coach mode, “you won’t have time before school. And you might want to do some resistance band exercises tonight. Make up for the interview time.”
Now, I don’t know if it was the shock from hearing about Granddad or the guilt that was building, but Dad’s attitude was really starting to grate on me. Okay, it was common sense that it was too late to visit the hospital now, but to not let me see him before school, to put training ahead of that...that was plain wrong.
“Didn’t you just tell me Granddad had a heart attack?” I asked in the most sarcastic tone I could muster. I didn’t wait for his reply. “Yet you expect me to carry on like it hasn’t happened?”
“We’ve got a semifinal this weekend,” Dad said matter-of-factly. “And there’s nothing you can do anyway.”
“I can visit!” I shouted. “I can show him I care about him.”
Dad’s stare drilled into me like a retina-burning laser. “That’s not going to help him. You need to focus on the game.”
Okay, if blood could boil, mine was outright erupting. Dismissing any consequences, I pushed away my plate and stood. “You’ve got to be kidding me, right? You didn’t just say that, did you?”
“Granddad would want you to focus on the game,” Dad said. “You know he would. He wants this championship more than you.”
Adrenaline rushed through my veins—and probably my unblocked arteries—like a dam bursting, catastrophic damage about to be unleashed. “No!” I shouted. “No-one wants this championship more thanyou!Abe Mercer wants this championship. Not me. Not Granddad. You—you want it. You want it for yourself. To fulfil all your broken dreams. Not my dreams.”
I couldn’t look him in the eye—my courage wasn’t that audacious, and the rise and fall of my chest was so rapid that I was close to having my own mini heart attack. Grabbing the back of the chair may have looked like an act of defiance, but it was a necessity for my shaky legs.
“You talk about teamwork, unity, family.” My brain had disconnected from logic and my barrage continued. “You say those words at every training, but they’re meaningless. It’s about you and what you want.” I scoffed. “Family? Huh! When family matters, you don’t even care!”
It was only a glance, a heavy-lidded glimpse in his direction as I made a fearful retreat, fleeing like that aforementioned bursting dam was about to sweep me away. But instead of seeing the death stare or an enraged coach, I saw a man confused, speechless, with no retort.
Snatching my keys off of the counter, I stormed out, my anger so severe I wasn’t sure if I’d heard him shouting after me or not. The garage door had fully opened by the time I’d walked out the front door to my car. I drove out to the street just in case Dad came after me.
With the car idling, I dialed Mom’s number. Hearing her distress, I knew I had made the right move. Sure, I’d feel Dad’s wrath later, but for now I needed to be with her.
“Why didn’t you let me know earlier?” I asked.
