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It’s a bit of a relief that I don’t have to see her tonight.
“Pregnancy is rough! Do you know what all the female body has to go through?”
“I remember enough from health that you can stop that sentence right there.” Ben has never had a filter, and I really don’t have any need to ever know anything about Belinda and her changing body.
“What are you two weirdos doing out here?” Millie is walking up the path followed by my brother and Torrance running to catch up. Jon gives me the slightest of head nods then he and Torrance go into the house. Millie hangs back a little longer. “You do know you can come into the house. Aren’t you two cold?”
I’m about to agree with her when Ben and his incessant need to argue launches his verbal charge. “Look who’s talking. It’s 40 degrees out, and you’re wearing leggings, flip flops, and a sweater that doesn’t even cover your shoulders. Maybe if you wore more substantial clothing you wouldn’t be so cold.”
Now that he mentions it, her clothing is all I can focus on. I have to admit, I don’t mind what I’m seeing. There is something different about how she looks this evening versus how she looked yesterday when I saw her in the office. I have to stop myself as my eyes start drifting. Nope. Don’t do it. Do not check Millie out with Ben standing right here. Just get through tonight and then go home. It’s a simple task. The look that Millie is giving me tells me she noticed me looking at her. She doesn’t seem to mind.
Oh, boy, am I in trouble.
Norah pulled out all the stops tonight. She made all of my favorite things. If it was anyone else, I’d swear they were trying to make up for all the dinners I’d missed over the years, but since it’s Norah, I know she is just wanting to make me feel welcomed. And I do. A little overstimulated, but welcomed.
In typical Jacobson fashion, the whole family was at the door to greet me the moment I walked in. From a failed prank attempt by Jake and Drew to Matt putting me in a head lock after giving me a big hug, it’s as it always has been. Except it’s not.
Danny is married. He and Ashleigh are expecting baby number three. Their twin girls run all over the place with Matt’s daughter. Jake and Drew are graduating from college. Maeley is home from school for the weekend. Then there’s Millie.
She’s hardly looked at me all night. I caught her eye a time or two, and she gave me a smile and a wave, but then she went right back to talking to Jon and Torrance. I have to force myself not to watch her as she laughs at something my brother said. I have a sudden jolt of jealousy towards my little brother, which is ridiculous. They’re friends. If something was ever going to happen between them, it would have by now. Wouldn’t it? Not that it matters to me. It shouldn’t matter to me. Oh, but it does.
Bottom of the 9th, my arm is sore. I’m tired. I don’t want to look at Coach, I know he’ll ask if I want out. If I want him to bring in the closing pitcher. I’m this close to pitching a no-hitter, I’m not giving up now. I take another breath and glance up into the stands.
The entire Jacobson-Winters Clan is in jerseys and face paint with our numbers plastered everywhere. Pretty sure I saw poster cutouts of our faces at some point. Jon and Millie had got the entire crowd hyped up during the 7th inning stretch and haven’t stopped except to shout onto the field. Millie is currently trying to get everyone to sing “Sweet Caroline” with her. It’s sort of adorable. I’m sure Ben is beyond annoyed, which I’m sure is probably a prominent reason for her doing it.
I turn to look at Danny over on first base. He nods telling me I’ve got this. Somewhere behind me in left field I know Ben has my back. One more breath and I windup for my pitch with laser focus.
It’s all a blur as the crowd goes completely bananas. I did it. I’m still in shock as I get tackled to the ground by my team. Coach pulls me up and pulls me into a hug. With the biggest grin on his face, he shouts, “I knew you could do it!”
“Thanks Coach!” At the end of last season I thought he was crazy. I’ve been playing third base since t-ball, but he needed a new pitcher on varsity and insisted I was the man for the job. We trained all summer and all pre-season getting me ready. “Thanks for believing in me.” And I mean it. No one has ever believed in me more than Coach.
A new swell of cheers comes from the stands and I don’t even have to look to know who it is. I laugh as I look up to see Millie scream- singing her new theme song for me. It’s been her new thing this season to give each of us a new theme song each game. Something about how, “Everyone deserves theme music. It makes them special.” I notice that she also selected my number to wear this week.
Somewhere behind me I hear Danny and Ben joking and laughing about Millie. I don’t pay them any mind; I think it’s kind of cute how excited she is.
Later that night as a crowd of girls surround me and Ben, all I want is to go home, but Ben is loving all the attention. When asked which of the girls I’m interested in, I give Ben a death glare. None of them, and he knows it. I know if I was ever to actually have an interest in someone Ben would step down, but I’m not.
“What, are you waiting for Millie to grow up or something?” Ben jests. “Because I think she’d be totally cool with that.” He laughs. I know he thinks it’s funny now, but I also know that if circumstances were different, he’d totally freak out. Good thing Millie is five years younger than us and odds are in his favor of never having to deal with that.
Chapter 8
Millie
Family dinners have been a staple for as long as I can remember. We always had dinner together growing up, but Jacobson Family Dinners were an event. They were one day a week that my brothers didn’t have practice or games, and I didn’t have a rehearsal or show. As we got older and moved out of the house, the dinners where we were all there became fewer and further between. When I moved back home, it was the first time in years that all of us children lived close enough to be at dinner each week. It’s something that we all make an effort to attend. For one, we know how important it is to Mom to have that one dinner with all of us, but I know it’s something we all love as well. At least I know I do. I love being able to see my brothers and sister on a weekly basis. We might talk almost everyday in our group chat, but being in the same room is completely different.
Most weeks Jonathan and my roommates come with me after our weekly dance class at the gym, but this week it’s only Tori and Jonathan. Amara has plans with Duncan, who no matter how many times he has been invited has yet to come with us, and Kiersten has been studying for a big test she has coming up and wanted to take advantage of a quiet house. Not that I can blame her on that one; living with three other people can get pretty loud at times.
“I’m pretty sure Missy was trying to kill us this week,” Tori huffs out.
Jonathan hands each of us a bottle of water. “It wasn’t that bad.”
He’s not even out of breath. I guess there was a time when I wouldn’t have been either, but those days of being able to dance and sing at the same time for hours on end are long past.
I take a long drink from my water bottle before I finish packing up my stuff. “She did seem to be a little more intense than usual.”
We grab our stuff and head out to Tori’s jeep. It’s cool out, but after working up such a sweat driving with the windows down blasting our favorite tunes feels amazing.
As we drive towards my parents’ house, it’s clear that we are the last to arrive. Tori parks, and as we head towards the house, we run into Ben and Mark talking beside what I assume is Mark’s car. I know I just saw him when I ran into him at Lexington, but that doesn’t stop me from noticing how much more filled out and muscular he looks now. Our eyes meet, and I’m pretty sure I catch Mark checking me out. It’s kind of a great feeling, but it’s a short-lived one as I feel my brother’s glower. Nothing like the presence of your big brother to throw a bucket of ice water on a moment. After a less than pleasant exchange with Ben, I head inside.
