“Wonderful.”
“Isabella struggled with fluid around her lungs, but now she’s on the mend.”
“I gather no heart’s become available?”
“Still no heart.”
“I’m sorry.”
He didn’t want to make her sorry. About anything. He wanted to make her life lighter, not heavier. “How’s Dylan?”
“Content to drag his feet with his college applications and to procrastinate conversations about potential career tracks. In other words, he’s fine, but I’m dying inside because of the feet dragging and procrastination.”
“I see.”
“Thank you again for the art supplies you gave him. He loves them. So much so that I regret not giving him a set like that for his last birthday.”
“Not all of us can be superior gift givers.”
“The next time you realize what gift my brother requires, will you kindly text me to let me know?”
He dipped his chin.
The announcer’s voice came over the sound system. “Welcome! Please find your seats. Sophomore Daisy Harris will sing the national anthem in five minutes.”
Don’t leave, he thought.
Her hair dipped over her eye. She pushed it back.
Stay.
“I always sit with my friends Tess and Rudy,” she said. “You and Ben are welcome to join us when you finish your shift here.”
“Thank you, but . . . ”Ben won’t want to sit with you if I’m there, too. “The Colemans saved us seats.”
“Okay. I’m glad we ran into each other.”
“So am I....” His sentence faded as he caught sight of Ben. His friend stood several yards away. People drifted between their two positions, yet Ben was looking right at him and Leah.
How long had he been watching?
Sebastian refocused on Leah. “I’m glad, too.”
Leah left and Sebastian’s world turned dull and flat. Ben handed drinks to the girls. He said nothing about Leah, but Sebastian could almost hear the wheels of his friend’s mind turning.
As in many small southern towns, Misty River’s high school football team was the whole town’s team. It didn’t matter whethera resident had a child in high school or whether they’d graduated from Misty River High. For many, including the Colemans, cheering for the Mountaineers at Friday night home games was a family tradition.
Sebastian sat in the stands with a niece on one side of his lap and a nephew on the other. He remained mostly silent during sporting events. The Colemans didn’t share his approach. From every side of him, they shouted a running stream of encouragement and criticism at the players and referees.
After the Mountaineers kicked a field goal to win the game, the spectators filed from the stadium in a satisfied tide of blue and gold.
In the past, Sebastian had kept one car in Atlanta and one car in Misty River so that whenever he flew here, a car was waiting for him at the field. But he’d wrecked his Misty River car the day he’d met Leah and hadn’t replaced it. Because of that, he’d been driving here lately instead of flying since it was a headache to get around town without a car. This weekend was the exception. He’d missed flying enough to pilot the twin-engine here earlier today.
Ben had given him a lift to the game, so they walked together toward the faculty lot. The farther they went, the more the crowd thinned. Only the light from the outdoor fixtures punctuated the darkness.
“Everything okay?” Sebastian asked. Ben had been subdued during the game.
For several seconds, Ben didn’t respond. Then he said, “I’d like to know how you feel about Leah.” He kept his head fixed straight ahead.
