the reason she was asking.
“I was worrying,” he admitted. “What if he doesn’t play well? Will he want to quit?”
She watched his son take up position in front of the goal. “I bet his self-esteem is higher than you think. He knows he’s rusty. So do the other boys. But he really has a knack for playing goalie, you know.”
“I remember.” Brett was fearless. Skinned elbows, scraped knees, bruises mottling his cheek…none of that worried him. He had a good eye for the line the ball would take and instincts that helped him intercept it. Craig let out a ragged breath. “It’s just that…”
“He looks happy, and you want him to stay that way.”
Craig shook his head. “How do you do it?”
She turned a surprised face to him. “Do what?”
“Know what I’m thinking.”
She was the one to sigh this time. “Because I’m worried, too. I got him into this.”
Craig didn’t say anything. He’s not your responsibility didn’t seem appropriate. Sure, she’d gone above and beyond to help Brett. But in doing so, she’d accepted a level of responsibility. She must realize that.
The two teams lined up. One of the Puyallup boys made a powerful kick and the action was on. When it came close to Brett’s goal, Craig watched intensely. The rest of the time, he watched Robin.
She wore a loose-fitting royal blue T-shirt tucked into the waist of jean shorts that showed off long, tanned legs. Her glossy hair was trying to slip out of her usual ponytail. Craig had to shove his hands into the pockets of his khaki shorts to resist the urge to tuck a strand behind her ear.
Her face was so animated, he could tell how the game was going without looking at the field. It brightened, fell dramatically or became taut with suspense. Her mouth formed an O as she gasped in disappointment. A moment later, she would laugh in relief or delight at a great steal or stop. Craig wondered if her students appreciated how easy she was to read.
When her head swung toward the Salmon Creek goal, he focused on the game again. The Puyallup boys had a fast break going. Running with them, the ref was watching for an offside violation, his whistle in his mouth. Defenders scrambled to get into position, but they weren’t going to make it. Brett advanced out of the goal.
“Too far,” Craig muttered.
“Maybe not.”
The coach was yelling, “Get back!”
Brett never turned his head, never wavered. Light on his feet, he crouched waiting for the shot.
Parents on the other sideline screamed encouragement. Craig’s heart drummed. This wasn’t just a game. For Brett, more rode on it. Way more.
The player pulled back his foot as if he were going to boot the ball, then deftly tapped it to a teammate who had come up at a run. A huge, booming kick rocketed toward the corner of the goal.
Brett flung himself sideways. The ball deflected off his fingertips and fell to the ground in front of the goal. Players from both sides scrambled for it. Brett, in another headlong dive, came up with it.
Groans from the other side mingled with exultant cheers from the Salmon Creek rooting section.
“Yes!” Craig said, under his breath.
Robin laughed up at him, her face alight. “He was brilliant!”
Bemused, Craig saw his son nonchalantly kick the ball, which soared over the heads of the other boys and rolled nearly to the other goal. “He was, wasn’t he?”
Salmon Creek won, 2–1. The boys lined up to slap hands with the opposing players, then ran off, grimy and triumphant. Brett paused by his dad to exchange high fives, then joined the others to grab juice and brownies.
Robin had melted away, Craig realized. He saw her helping distribute brownies, congratulating boys and talking to other parents.
Nobody spoke to Craig as small family groups broke away and headed for the parking lot, but almost every parent called, “Great stop!” or “You did a heck of a job,” to Brett. Craig was satisfied.
Brett joined him, water bottle in his hand and soccer ball at his feet. “Wow, I didn’t think I was going to be able to stop that one!”
“I never had a doubt,” Craig lied, then grinned when Brett made a rude face. “Yeah, okay. Maybe one or two.”
“I mean, they had me. It was just luck.”
Craig stopped walking. “Not luck,” he said seriously. “You were good. I saw your focus.”
“I really like playing goal.” Brett’s expression and voice were both eager in a way Craig hadn’t seen in a long while. “I mean, it’s cool to score goals, but I like the pressure of it all coming down to you. The ball’s coming at you, and you’ve got, like, this tunnel vision. What a trip!”
Craig had felt that way about flying when he discovered it. He remembered his early flights, that sense of being in a bubble, in which nothing existed but him, the controls, the clouds streaming past, the checkerboard landscape below. It all came down to him. There was an adrenaline rush you didn’t get in everyday life.
He slapped his son on the back. “I know what you mean.”
When they reached the car, Craig asked, “Are you still planning to go home with Malcolm?”
“Yeah.” Brett tried to sound as if it was no big deal, but he failed to hide his pleasure. “I’m just going to grab my stuff.”
“Do I need to pick you up tomorrow?”
“I don’t know.” Brett tossed his soccer ball and the bottle on the floor and reached for his duffel bag. “I guess I’ll call you. Okay?”
“Sure.”
A horn beeped, and Craig turned to see Robin’s car stopped behind his. Malcolm jumped out and jogged over to thrust a scrap of paper at Craig. “Mom says to give you our phone number.”
“Thanks.” Craig smiled at the boy, then waved toward Robin.
A hand waved back from inside the car.
“See ya, Dad.” Brett loped off next to his new buddy.
Craig got in his car, but didn’t reach immediately to put the key in the ignition. He was alone. It was the strangest feeling. Both kids were off with friends, both spending the night. He hadn’t spent a night alone at home since the early days after Julie’s disappearance, when the cops were putting intense heat on him and his father had taken the kids a few times to spare them.
Here was the chance single parents rarely had, and he was going to let it go to waste. Well, not entirely—maybe he’d rent a DVD on the way home, something he wouldn’t let the kids watch. After all, the TV would be all his for a change.
He grunted in wry amusement. That was sad.
Craig
