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“I hope so. I plan on asking her,” I add. Back in high school, we went to every festival together, and sometimes we were even recruited to help out at them.
“Do you still do the pumpkin guillotine?” I look over at Evan.
“Heck yeah, we do. And it’s gotten even more epic,” he says. “Pete just…” Quickly looking over at Sasha, he tries to hide a grin and stops. “Nothing, it’s great. You’ll see.” He scoops up the apple pie, puts it in his mouth, and looks away from Sasha’s glare, but she smiles and shakes her head.
“Oh, I know all about your sneaky little pumpkin shenanigans,” Sasha teases. “You two better be careful.”
It feels good to be back here and be around this family that teases each other. A part of it makes me sad that I was gone and shut all of this out for the past twelve years. I should have made more of an effort to get back here to visit or, at the very least, stay in touch.
Evan slides a glass of iced tea to me and looks me in the eye. “You good, man?”
Shaking myself out of it, I say, “Yeah.”
“Let’s head outside for a walk,” he says as I stand and reach for my glass.
I whistle softly for Harley, and she immediately gets up and trots after me.
“Bye, Harley!” Kase calls and waves.
“We’ll be back,” I call as we head out into the crisp fall night.
We walk a ways up the path, and Evan says, “I’m sorry to hear about your buddy.”
I swallow a lump in my throat and nod.
“I think she needs you as much as you need her.” He nods to Harley, now walking at my side.
“I have no idea what I’m doing with her. I’ve never had a dog, much less a service dog.”
“Your buddy clearly sent Harley to you at a time when you needed her the most. A time when he knew SJ and Harley both needed someone to lean on and get them through,” Evan says thoughtfully.
I scrub my hand over my face and nod. “Maybe you’re right.”
“One day at a time, you’ll figure it out. Look at your life now and how everything has worked out. You’re a coach. These players need you. Callie’s back. Life is good.”
“I’m worried I’ll mess it up again.”
“Honestly, you probably will. We’re not perfect. You need to give yourself a break. Wasn’t it Bob Marley who said something like, ‘If she’s amazing, it won’t be easy. If she’s worth it, you won’t give up.’”
“But I did give up.” I hang my head, running my hand over my jaw.
“The truth is, buddy, everyone gets hurt. You just have to find the one worth getting hurt for. Go get your woman.”
twenty-two
Callie
Then
The party is dying down,and I look at the clock and realize that I have to get home before my parents figure out I’m gone. They’re rarely sober enough to parent me. But on the off chance that they do realize I’m not home, I don’t want their drunk selves to come looking for me and embarrass me. There’s just no telling what they’d do, so it’s better not to take any chances.
“SJ, we’d better go,” I call to him in the crowd of our friends.
He looks over at me, holding a bow that the guys are shooting at a target affixed to the side of the barn. Music is playing, and there’s a cooler of sodas and a small table set up with chips and snacks. Everyone is just hanging out, enjoying our evening with games, laughter, and fun.
“Already?” He looks at his watch and back over to me and nods. He hands the bow to Evan and heads toward me, his eyes fixed on me and full of desire. “SJ.” I giggle and reach for him as he wraps his arms around me and leans down to kiss me.
“I don’t really want to leave either,” I admit.
