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Next to her Jackson played with his puzzle. The large zoo animal pieces were scattered around him. He picked up the elephant and tried to fit it into the lion cutout. When it didn’t fit, he looked at her.
“Help.”
“I’m happy to,” she said with a smile. “That’s an elephant.” She pointed to the piece. “An elephant has a trunk and a tail. Try fitting it into another spot.”
He frowned in concentration then slid the piece across the board. It slipped into place. His eyes widened and he clapped his hands together.
“Me!”
“You did do it. Good for you. What’s next?”
She heard footsteps on the basement stairs. Jackson looked up. When Summer came into view, he shrieked and got to his feet, then hurried toward her. The teen dropped her backpack and held out her arms.
“Hi, Jackson.”
They met in the middle of the big family room. Summer picked him up and swung him around. He yelled in delight, hanging on tight. After a couple more turns, they staggered over to her and collapsed on the ground. Jackson was giggling and Summer grinned.
“Hi,” she said, sitting up. “How was your day?”
Allison thought about selling her wedding ring and how much she’d cried, but she couldn’t talk about that. Erica had been right to chide her about depending on the teen too much.
“We’re good. Jackson’s kicking butt on the puzzle front. How was school?”
“Good. It’s nice not to have a game today.” Summer shifted Jackson onto her lap. “I love to play, but my mom’s right. The season is really busy. I can’t wait for it to start, then about halfway through I’m ready for it to be over.”
She pulled the puzzle close and handed Jackson the zebra. “I’m not sure I’m going to try out for next year’s team.”
“Why not? You’ll be a senior. Isn’t it a big deal?”
“I’m not interested in continuing into college,” Summer admitted. “I’m okay but I’m not super talented like some of the players. This was never my dream. I do it because it’s fun and most of my friends are players. But Avery’s going to focus on her grades next year and there are a couple of sophomores who are really gifted. Maybe I should step back and give one of them my spot.”
“That’s a lot to think about. Have you talked to your mom?”
Summer pointed to the spot where the zebra fit. Jackson squealed and slid it into place. They both clapped their hands.
“I was going to wait until after the season. I know she’ll support me either way.” Summer grinned. “She’ll try really hard to be neutral but she would be so happy not to have to go to all the games.”
“It’s a lot,” Allison said. If Summer didn’t want to play softball anymore, then she shouldn’t. The teen had always been thoughtful in her decisions. She was smart, funny and sweet.
Allison glanced at her. “Why don’t you have a boyfriend?”
Summer handed the monkey to Jackson. “There’s a shift in topic.”
“I’m curious. You seem like the kind of girl the guys would be all over.”
Summer wrinkled her nose. “Less than you’d think.”
There was something in the way she said the words. “What does that mean?”
Summer glanced toward the stairs, then back at Allison. When she spoke, her voice was low. “I dated someone last year. Mom said I was too young to go on boy-girl dates. She wanted me to stay in groups, so I never told her.”
“Or me,” Allison said lightly, a little surprised Summer had kept secrets.
Her expression turned sheepish. “I thought you might side with my mom. I was only fifteen.”
Allison decided not to point out Summer wasn’t that much older now. “What happened?” She mentally crossed her fingers that it wasn’t anything awful.
“Nothing much.” Summer looked away. “We went out for six weeks, then he dumped me for a cheerleader. He said he really liked me but I wasn’t girlie enough for him. I didn’t wear makeup or care about my appearance.”
