Scarlet had taken Hiram and Marianne around town, to the daycare center, and to our offices. They wanted to see what their daughter was getting herself into. I got the impression they’d set a pretty low bar for rejecting her stay here. While they loved their daughter, the tension that her pregnancy had caused in their household was ever present. I was happy to see that they didn’t ever intend to turn their backs on her or our boys.
Carol came right to me, and I was happy when both Dawson and Allen wanted my attention. I guess I was okay now. I noticed that Marianne watched me like a hawk. When it was time to eat, I glanced up at her, and she smiled. I must have passed her test.
Brook had met everyone when we were at Alabama. She hit it off with the girls, and they were laughing in the kitchen when Hiram came over to talk to me.
“If Ashley or the boys need anything, please let me know. My daughter is too proud to ask sometimes,” he shared.
I bit my tongue. The reason his daughter didn’t ask for anything was he’d made it so that she felt like she couldn’t ask him without a battle. I understood that her getting pregnant wasn’t ideal. Believe me, that little fact wasn’t lost on me. It was like my dad always said: problems will happen. What matters is how you handle them.
Ashley knew she was in deep doo-doo when she found out she was pregnant. Most girls would rather wait until they were married to have children. Unfortunately, God sometimes has other plans for us. I hoped that by giving both her and Scarlet some stability in their lives, they could still achieve their dreams and not have them sidetracked by raising kids. Of course, if they decided they just wanted to focus on raising babies, I was more than happy to help with that. More than anything, I wanted to give them options.
Dinner was, well, interesting. No one got food poisoning. Brook teased me about how little I ate. Sometimes, having a girlfriend with a sense of humor can be a pain. She didn’t complain when we drove back to my place and ate leftovers from what Melanie had made.
◊◊◊ Wednesday November 23
It was the day before Thanksgiving. In the past, I’d gone on a date with Beth as a sort of affirmation that we might someday bind our families. Today, that tradition would end. Mrs. A had told my mom that Beth had found some college boy. I’d predicted that might happen with our dear girl. Her mom told my mom he was some fast-talker who had somehow deceived Beth into falling for him. My mom and Mrs. A took the news badly. I couldn’t be happier for my friend.
The family had started to arrive. My uncle from Florida and his crew were staying in one of the cabins at Brook’s. When I’d suggested it, my mom latched onto the idea. Dad was happy when he learned that Uncle Jim and Aunt Tanya wouldn’t be under our roof for their stay. Uncle Jim had worn out his welcome more than once.
Grandma Felton had been invited to the farm. Brook was also housing Uncle John and Aunt Bonnie. In their last cabin, Adrienne and Tyler had come to visit. I’d received a text that Kara Tasman was also home for Thanksgiving.
It had started to set in. I was about to embark on my last high school football game, and we were about to play for what every high school player dreams of: a state championship. If we won this one, we would establish ourselves as one of the best high school teams our state had ever produced. There were only a handful that could ever compare to what we planned to accomplish.
Seeing so many people coming to support me made me nervous. Caryn had made arrangements for all our staff to fly in on Friday and attend the game on Saturday. I was sure there would be some other surprises. Everyone was being close-lipped about it, even Tami. She’d told me that paybacks were hell, reminding me about the Dawson cone of silence I’d implemented when we were fighting.
The upside was we’d only had a half-day of school today and then a quick practice. I’d fought hard with Tim and the defensive backs to help them prepare for Damion. When they were able to stop me three times in a row, Coach Hope called the practice.
That left me home alone with my girlfriend … unsupervised. Oh, my! What should we do?
◊◊◊
Melanie about had a heart attack when Brook and I burst into my apartment. I’d forgotten that someone might be in the house. Thank goodness she was done cleaning my place.
“Do you think she suspected anything?” Brook asked.
I burst out laughing. Our new help might be older, but I suspected she wasn’t dead. It would be interesting to see if my mom became privy to what was about to happen. That was when there was a knock at the door. I suspected that Melanie had forgotten something. I opened it and found Cindy there.
“Well, hello, Sexy,” she purred.
Standing beside her was Suzanne. I didn’t know what to say because my brain had locked up. Cindy simply pushed past me and went upstairs. I heard her say the same to Brook.
