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Twenty-Four
Eliza
“So,how long have you been dating my son?”
Junior chokes on his water. “Mom…”
“What? Is that not an appropriate question?”
The entire Morgan family stares at us from around the dining room table and I feel more on display than the fancy centerpiece Bonnie obviously pulled out from the back of the closet. It’s a sea of brown hair and brown eyes; sharp cheek bones and strong chins. Maggie and her mother could almost pass as sisters but it’ll take Junior about twenty years to catch up to his father’s wrinkles.
“Oh…” I shrug. “Not too long, but I’ve been tutoring him in geometry since the start of the semester.”
Bonnie looks at Junior. “I didn’t know you had a tutor…”
He nods. “Yeah… I needed to get my grade up a little.”
Roy furrows his brow. “You weren’t in any academic trouble were you?”
“No, Dad. I wasn’t… I just wanted someone to check my work and help me study.”
Bonnie points her fork at him. “Get the grade up and keep it up. It’s just as important as football.”
He answers through clenched teeth. “I know, Mom.”
“I don’t want you flunking out before graduation,” she continues. “My baby is going pro!”
I laugh. “I can confirm that Junior has made excellent progress. You shouldn’t have to worry about him flunking out. I won’t let that happen.”
Bonnie grins at me, her eyes bright and accepting. I guess I haven’t lost my touch. “And you… he’s never said a word about you at all.”
“There’s nothing to say, really…”
“Well, you’ve clearly been quite the good influence on him.”
I smile. “It’s nothing he didn’t already have in him. All Junior really needed was the right incentive.”
Junior chokes on his water again.
“For heaven’s sake, Junior…” Bonnie snaps at him. “Chew your food.” I look over to find him glaring at me. “One thing’s for sure, I need to call up that coach.”
“Why?” Junior snaps.
“To thank him, of course! I’m not one to speak ill of the dead, but if that old coot that ran the team before hadn’t have died then Cary Pierce wouldn’t be here and you wouldn’t be on your way to the championship. And if he weren’t here, then Eliza wouldn’t be either. If you ask me, we owe the Pierces a great deal of gratitude.”
He shakes his head. “No, Mom. Really. Don’t call him.”
“Yeah,” I say, keeping my cool better than he is. “I’d be more than happy to pass on any message you have…”
Maggie flashes us a knowing wink. “Don’t bother the guy, Mom. Remember when you harassed one of my professors after he wrote me that recommendation letter?”
“I did not harass Professor Shelton — that was completely different,” Bonnie argues. “And that recommendation letter got you into graduate school!”
“Correction: Being a badass got me into graduate school. The recommendation letter was a formality.”
Bonnie sighs. “Well, I can’t help it if I appreciate those who help my children. Your father and I did the best we could to provide you two with every opportunity but we couldn’t give you everything. Cary Pierce has changed Junior’s life and if we keep our heads up and minimize mistakes, then nothing can stop him from achieving his dreams.”
My gut lurches, weighed down by the growing black hole lodged deep inside.
