“Is that your mom?” Isabelle said, running up behind me and whispering forcefully in my ear.
“I know, right?” I replied. “Never thought I’d see the day.” Then I headed for the team bench to drop my bags and get ready for the game.
As I paced in front of the bench, waiting for the game to start, Isabelle walked with me, and we talked about the upcoming Homecoming dance that night.
“What are you wearing, Isabelle?” I asked.
“Wait until you see my dress. It’s short, strapless, and light blue with sequins, so it sparkles when the lights hit it. What about you?”
“I’m wearing a teal green dress. It’s tight on the top, but the skirt is really short and made up of loose, ruffly material that moves when I twirl. I think you’ll like it.”
“Oh, I can’t wait to see it. Green is your color! I could come over if you want me to do your hair?”
“I think I’m just planning on wearing it down like always, but you can still come over; that would be fun to get ready together. Why don’t you come over at 6:00? I need to study a little for this stupid math test as soon as I get home from the game.” I said.
Just then, I felt warm hands on the sides of my neck, and I turned quickly to the touch. It was Chris.
“Hey! I just had to see you before your game, baby.” Just the sight of him gave me butterflies. “I need to get back up to my field, but I wanted to wish you luck. Is that your mom over there on the bleachers?” he said, motioning his head in her direction, trying to be discreet. I nodded. He made surprised eyes and then nodded in acknowledgment. “Ok, I have to run. See you tonight!” Then he leaned in to kiss me quickly and turned to leave. I watched as he ran away, the muscles of his legs flexing with every stride.
Just then, my fixation on his sexiness was broken by the referee, who blew the whistle to start the game.
24
Right as the referee blew the whistle to end our victory against Norwich Academy, I looked over to see that my Mom had actually sat through our entire game to watch me play. She smiled and nodded at me as if to show a sign of approval at my performance, and I felt a sense of momentary pride that quickly dissipated by the overwhelming reminder of lingering betrayal. But I smiled back at her effort for showing up at all.
Hands on my hips and completely out of breath, I headed back across the field to our bench, sweaty but enthusiastic, knowing that this was a difficult team to beat. As always, our team grabbed the cooler, unscrewed the lid, and dumped some of it on Coach DeLaney and then the rest of it on Courtney for blocking the shot that helped us win the game. We were undefeated and headed for the playoffs after Christmas break if we kept up our streak.
After that tradition, I assembled my teammates and we offered a cheer of camaraderie to the opposing team as they gathered to leave, then we went to greet our families, who were waiting for us to congratulate our win. Isabelle’s mom hugged me in front of my own, which caught my Mom off guard. I think she was surprised to see me being supported by someone other than her.
“Congratulations on another tough win! I always love watching you play, Allie!” Mrs. Wharton exclaimed loudly. Wake Forest will be lucky to have you!”
“Thanks, Mrs. Wharton!” I said as she pulled me in for a hug. My mom looked pensive as I pulled away and headed in her direction.
“You’ll have to come out to the farm for another trail ride sometime soon!” she said as she put an arm around Isabelle, squeezing her shoulders tightly.
“See you at your house at 6:00 tonight!” said Isabelle, and I nodded as they turned to leave.
“Hi, Allie,” my mom said. She seemed out of place in this environment, and I could tell she didn’t know what to say. Sports were not something she ever played, and she was clearly uncomfortable, so I was thankful to see Coach DeLaney heading in my direction.
“How about your daughter out there, Mrs. Wyatt? She’s quite a force to be reckoned with,” Coach said, patting me on the shoulder. My mom nodded, but didn’t know how to reply. “She’s going to be a huge asset to Wake Forest,” Coach continued with a smile. “Have fun tonight, Allie.” Then she walked away to greet other parents.
“I need to head home, Mom. I have a big math test on Monday that I need to study a little more before the dance tonight,” I said with a sense of urgency. Mom looked surprised at my sudden dedication to my school work, which snapped her back into her element.
“Oh. Yes, of course, dear. That’s very important, let’s get you home right away,” she said, trying to stay calm, but I could tell that on the inside, she was pleased that I was taking academics seriously.
Once we arrived home, I showered as quickly as possible and got to work studying for the test. Calculus was something that I had struggled with the entire year, and there were a few concepts that I still didn’t understand. My only option was to ask my mom. She had helped my sister occasionally with her AP math classes, and I figured it was worth a shot.
“Mom? Could you please have a look at one of these chapters?” I called from the top of the stairs. She appeared at the bottom of the stairs in a flash.
“Sure, sweetie, why don’t you bring them down to the kitchen table and I’ll have a look,” she said with a wide smile.
I gathered my materials and brought them downstairs.
We sat together under the green floral chandelier at the kitchen table while she showed me how to work out problems that gave me difficulty until I was able to solve them with ease. I was finally confident enough that I could study a few more times over the weekend and would be ready for the test on Monday. It was time to get dolled up for the dance.
“Thanks, Mom, I really appreciate your help,” I said quietly. It was hard for me to say, and she understood why. Asking for help never came easily to me, and we never had a close relationship, especially with the recent development, so I think she was surprised that I came to her in this moment of great tension between us.
“You’re welcome, Allie. You know you can always come to me. I’ll always be here for you,” she said, then she pulled me in for a hug that I didn’t resist.
