“I think that’s what I’m going to miss the most,” Christy said.“He always told me to keep trying to find the right person for me.When Isaac left, I thought he was disappointed in me.I felt guilty for choosing to stay in Amethyst Bay instead of following my husband to Ohio.He was always saying things about love being the most important thing in life and that without someone to share your life with, it didn’t have meaning.I blew up at him one day.I told him I got it, that he was mad.”She chuckled and shook her head.She looked up at us.“Do you know what he said?”
Oscar and I shook our heads.
“He said he was proud of me.That he knew if Isaac wanted me to leave the place I loved the most in the world, he wasn’t the right one for me.He said he was trying to encourage me to try again.To not give up on finding love.He wasn’t trying to tell me I should have gone with Isaac, but that he was proud of me for not going.”
“That sounds about right,” I said.“He was always big on figuring out what was right for each person.There were no rules in his mind.Only guidelines for a person, and every person had different ones.”
Christy exhaled a laugh.“That’s very true.”
The smile on her face made me feel better.She relaxed and reached for her pizza.
Oscar slid me a look when Christy wasn’t looking.It was good news.It was the best news.She was eating.It would take a long time for her to heal, but that was a step.
We kept talking and eating and drinking.We shared stories about Coach for hours and hours, watching the sun sink over the bay and disappear behind the mountains.We got louder as we drank more.Pizzas disappeared and dessert appeared from somewhere.
“Dad always loved chocolate,” Christy said.
“Yeah, he did,” Oscar said with a laugh.“I remember one Valentine’s Day, I left a box of chocolates in the locker room after practice one day.I was going to bring them to Emily, but we were talking, and I completely forgot about them.I went back a few hours later, and he’d come in for practice with his team.The chocolates were gone.He ate all of them in a few hours.”
Christy and I laughed hard at the picture of Coach devouring Oscar’s chocolates.
“What did he say?”Christy asked.
Oscar shook his head.“He said it was my fault!That I shouldn’t have left the chocolates on the bench.I said he shouldn’t be taking something that belonged to someone else.He didn’t care.”
“I’m not surprised.He couldn’t resist chocolate.It was his only weakness.”
“Not his only weakness.He was putty in Evie’s hands,” I said.
“He adored her.He was so excited when she came over the other night.He talked about it the entire next day.It made him so happy.”
“Evie loved seeing him.She’s going to be crushed,” I said without thinking.
Christy’s face crumpled, and the tears started again.
“Shit, Chris, I’m sorry.”
She shook her head as Oscar and I crowded next to her, holding her as she cried.“You guys don’t have to apologize.I’m going to cry a lot.God, I loved him so much.”
“We all did, Chris.We all did,” I said.It was going to be a long time before any of us found normal again.
Christy crashed sometime afterone in the morning.I convinced her to stay the night instead of going home alone and forced her to take my bed since it was bigger and more comfortable than Evie’s.Oscar debated staying, but he drank less than Christy and I did, and after Christy went to bed, he went home.
I crashed on the couch, TV on and thoughts of Coach running through my mind.
Even though we had a late night, I was up early the next morning.I didn’t know what was normal for Christy, but I needed coffee first thing.I went into the kitchen and started a full pot.I should have ordered something for breakfast when I ordered pizza and beer the night before, but I wasn’t thinking that far ahead.
I stuck my head into the fridge and came out with eggs, sausage, and milk.I had some thick-sliced toast in the pantry and knew Christy was a big fan of French toast, like Evie.
I’d just finished mixing the ingredients when I heard the shower turn on.I dunked the first piece of toast into the egg mixture, then set it on the flattop to grill.
Three slices of French toast were done when I heard my side door open.I wasn’t expecting Evie home so early, but if she heard about Coach, I wasn’t surprised she came home to see Christy.
I flipped the slice of French toast off the flattop and stepped away to see Evie come in.
Except it wasn’t Evie.
“Reegan.”
