hurling it towards Otto.
“Get out! Go wait in the parlor like a normal suitor,” she said as Otto caught the pillow and began to laugh.
“Okay, I’ll leave you to your dance party, but hear me out Holly. The guys want to win this game for you, and it would mean the world if you showed up,” said Otto before he retreated to the living room.
“Shit,” said Holly under her breath.
“Feel free to borrow anything out of my closet,” said Sam as she began lining her second eye. Sam had fully accepted her fate as the Henry girl who’d returned home for a bit, and was sleeping with Otto Harrison before she left again. If Sam could do it, Holly could accept her place too. A little wine always helped. Sam refilled the glass and put it in Holly’s hand.
“Get ready. We’re going out,” said Sam.
Holly raised her eyebrows and sighed.
“For you, I will, because you’re being like this, and I’m enjoying it very much,” said Holly. She took a deep gulp of wine.
* * *
T he night was chilly and the air smelled of rain. Layla had joined the three of them on the way out.
“Randy’s been annoying me all week about the game. I really don’t want to hear it from him if I don’t go,” she said.
On the walk to the football stadium, the four friends laughed and talked about what crazy jobs they had, the fact they had signed up to help guide adolescents through their teenage years.
They had taken the back way by the locker rooms. It was their escape route for the sakes of Holly and Otto. Holly was in no mood to listen to parents tell her how sorry they felt about the collapse of her marriage. She couldn’t decide which would be worse: the people who wanted to voice their concerns for her, or the pitying stares. There were sure to be many of both. She kept reminding herself out loud over and over that she was doing this for the team’s morale. They’d all been abandoned by Ethan.
Otto had no desire to hear the complaints of parents about the new coaching staff if the game didn’t go perfectly.
The light still glowed from the boys’ locker room. Loud male voices echoed toward Sam, Otto, Holly, and Layla. One in particular was louder and deeper than the others. As they grew closer, they could tell it was Randy.
“He loves this so much,” said Holly.
“I didn’t want it to come about this way, but I’m so glad he’s head coach. He deserves it,” she said. She looked away as her voice began to crack.
Sam and Layla put their arms around her. Otto looked toward the locker room, and then looked toward Holly.
“I think it’d mean a lot if they knew you were here,” he said.
Holly waved the idea away, but it was too late. One of the boys poked his head out to see who was talking.
“Hi Mrs. Cooke,” he said from under his helmet.
Caught, Holly waved and walked toward the doorway. She walked now toward Gus’s voice. It was his turn for his pep talk.
She stood quietly in the doorway. Holly was struck by how the boys watched him with such an intense energy, it was almost overwhelming. She had no idea how the boys had reacted to Ethan; she’d never listened in to a pep talk by him. She’d always waited, sitting patiently, looking pretty, in the stands.
But now it didn’t matter what Ethan had said to the boys once upon a time. Ethan had left them. He had left her. Therefore, he no longer mattered.
“We’ve gotten to know each other over the past week, and I don’t take that lightly. What those guys out there don’t understand is how we all showed up for each other this week. I showed up for you. You showed up for me. We all showed up for Randy. No one can take that away from us, showing up. I sense that many of you feel abandoned,” Gus stole a glance at Holly, now leaning in the doorway. Holly didn’t dare move, she didn’t dare breath.
“But we can’t control that, or who abandons us. What we can control is when we decide to show up, and to know who shows up for us. The other team
“Get out! Go wait in the parlor like a normal suitor,” she said as Otto caught the pillow and began to laugh.
“Okay, I’ll leave you to your dance party, but hear me out Holly. The guys want to win this game for you, and it would mean the world if you showed up,” said Otto before he retreated to the living room.
“Shit,” said Holly under her breath.
“Feel free to borrow anything out of my closet,” said Sam as she began lining her second eye. Sam had fully accepted her fate as the Henry girl who’d returned home for a bit, and was sleeping with Otto Harrison before she left again. If Sam could do it, Holly could accept her place too. A little wine always helped. Sam refilled the glass and put it in Holly’s hand.
“Get ready. We’re going out,” said Sam.
Holly raised her eyebrows and sighed.
“For you, I will, because you’re being like this, and I’m enjoying it very much,” said Holly. She took a deep gulp of wine.
* * *
T he night was chilly and the air smelled of rain. Layla had joined the three of them on the way out.
“Randy’s been annoying me all week about the game. I really don’t want to hear it from him if I don’t go,” she said.
On the walk to the football stadium, the four friends laughed and talked about what crazy jobs they had, the fact they had signed up to help guide adolescents through their teenage years.
They had taken the back way by the locker rooms. It was their escape route for the sakes of Holly and Otto. Holly was in no mood to listen to parents tell her how sorry they felt about the collapse of her marriage. She couldn’t decide which would be worse: the people who wanted to voice their concerns for her, or the pitying stares. There were sure to be many of both. She kept reminding herself out loud over and over that she was doing this for the team’s morale. They’d all been abandoned by Ethan.
Otto had no desire to hear the complaints of parents about the new coaching staff if the game didn’t go perfectly.
The light still glowed from the boys’ locker room. Loud male voices echoed toward Sam, Otto, Holly, and Layla. One in particular was louder and deeper than the others. As they grew closer, they could tell it was Randy.
“He loves this so much,” said Holly.
“I didn’t want it to come about this way, but I’m so glad he’s head coach. He deserves it,” she said. She looked away as her voice began to crack.
Sam and Layla put their arms around her. Otto looked toward the locker room, and then looked toward Holly.
“I think it’d mean a lot if they knew you were here,” he said.
Holly waved the idea away, but it was too late. One of the boys poked his head out to see who was talking.
“Hi Mrs. Cooke,” he said from under his helmet.
Caught, Holly waved and walked toward the doorway. She walked now toward Gus’s voice. It was his turn for his pep talk.
She stood quietly in the doorway. Holly was struck by how the boys watched him with such an intense energy, it was almost overwhelming. She had no idea how the boys had reacted to Ethan; she’d never listened in to a pep talk by him. She’d always waited, sitting patiently, looking pretty, in the stands.
But now it didn’t matter what Ethan had said to the boys once upon a time. Ethan had left them. He had left her. Therefore, he no longer mattered.
“We’ve gotten to know each other over the past week, and I don’t take that lightly. What those guys out there don’t understand is how we all showed up for each other this week. I showed up for you. You showed up for me. We all showed up for Randy. No one can take that away from us, showing up. I sense that many of you feel abandoned,” Gus stole a glance at Holly, now leaning in the doorway. Holly didn’t dare move, she didn’t dare breath.
“But we can’t control that, or who abandons us. What we can control is when we decide to show up, and to know who shows up for us. The other team
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