Home Field by Hannah Gersen

went with her to a service. I knew it was going to be bad as soon as I saw the church. Have you seen it? It’s prefab. Real shoddy construction. I said, ‘Joelle, Jesus was a carpenter!’”
    â€œI bet she loved that,” Dean said.
    â€œYou can’t joke with her anymore—that’s the worst thing.”
    Dean had no idea what he’d done to get his mother-in-law on his side, but it felt good to have at least one person in the family rooting for him. She had an independent streak that he admired, one that he felt the rest of the family failed to recognize. They were all shocked when, after her husband, Paul, died, she decided to renovate one of the old outbuildings at the edge of the pasture and live there. Joelle and Ed insisted she continue to live with them in the farmhouse, and even offered to build out an addition, but Geneva said she could smell Paul’s death in the rooms.
    â€œWho’s ready for a burger?” Ed called from the grill.
    â€œI’m going to go help Aunt Joelle with the salads,” Stephanie said, glaring at Dean before heading into the house.
    â€œWhat was that about?” Geneva asked.
    â€œShe wants me to ask Joelle to help out with her brothers this fall, but I’m not crazy about that idea.”
    â€œI don’t blame you,” Geneva said. “Did you know she’s going to homeschool Megan and Jenny this year? She doesn’t want Megan going to the high school.”
    â€œThat’s crazy; she won’t be able to play sports,” Dean said. Megan was the older of Joelle’s two daughters. She was a petite girl, and Dean still thought of her as a little kid around Robbie’s age. But now she was moving into Stephanie’s world.
    â€œOf course sports are the first thing that comes into your head!” Geneva laughed.
    â€œThey give you confidence. I always told Stephanie that. She got her confidence from her grades, but that’s not available to everyone.”
    â€œMost people would see it the other way. They think sports take away confidence.”
    â€œThose people are overly competitive. They can’t enjoy something they aren’t winning.”
    â€œAren’t you that way?”
    â€œI’m a coach,” Dean said. “I’m supposed to want to win. But I don’t say you can’t enjoy yourself if you don’t. Maybe it’s harder to. But you still get the physical benefits.”
    â€œI’ve touched a nerve.”
    â€œI’m just tired of my PE classes getting cut. Or I see a girl who looks athletic and it turns out she’s a cheerleader. I told Stephanie I’d break both her legs if she became a cheerleader.”
    â€œMaybe it’s good Megan’s not going to high school. She won’t risk getting her legs broken by her fanatical uncle.”
    Dean smiled. “I shouldn’t be so hard on cheerleaders. They raise their own money. They can do what they want.”
    â€œI shouldn’t be so hard on Jo,” Geneva said. “All this Holy Roller stuff started after Paul passed on.”
    Dean took his mother-in-law’s hand. It was cool, despite the mugginess of the afternoon—like Nicole’s used to be.
    â€œThere goes one of my buzzards.” Geneva watched a bulky-looking bird take flight from the pasture adjacent to her little house.
    â€œAre you still encouraging them?” Dean asked.
    â€œI left scraps out this morning.”
    Geneva’s vulture fixation had started when she noticed the birds were eating the dry mix that she put out for the barn cats. She began leaving meat scraps for them—gristle and poultry gizzards. After a few months, the vultures got accustomed to her treats and would hang out in her yard, waiting. No one could understand why she fed them, and Joelle thought she was just plain losing it. But Dean trusted she had her reasons.
    More guests had begun to arrive, mostly Ed’s family