Estate as a kid and thinking the king and queen of Ryder must live in the big house on the hill. That thought was pretty much confirmed the one time I visited Tiger to work on our science project. We sat on the back porch, overlooking a fruit orchard beyond the pool, while her housekeeper served us sodas and cookies. I didn’t know that kind of life was actually real, until that day. I’ve never felt more like a street rat than when her parents got home, gave me the once-over, then ended our study session.
The phone in my car rings through the speakers. It’s my trainer, Duke, the best middle linebacker to ever come through Ryder High. His high school and college accolades rival mine. I’d be chasing his professional awards too, if his NFL career hadn’t been cut short by an injury he couldn’t rehab back to top performance.
For the last four years, he’s worked with high-performance professional athletes to improve their play or get them back in the game. We were always friendly, but now that he’s taken on the job of helping me stay ahead of my injuries, we’re closer than brothers.
“Hey, man.”
“How’s the bustling metropolis of Ryder?”
“Weird.”
He laughs. “That’s a given. How’s your mom?”
“Not sure, I haven’t seen her yet.” I glance behind me, do a three-point turn to get out of the driveway, then head into town. “Have you talked to her? If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was purposely ditching me.” Duke and my mom are close. Sometimes I think she likes him better than me.
“No, not in a couple of days. But it’s ridiculous to think your mom’s ditching your calls. Gracie King is the most loving, attentive mom around.”
“I know, that’s why her unavailability seems odd. I’ll figure it out. I didn’t return her phone calls yesterday or the day before. She could be pissed about that.”
“Why didn’t you return your mom’s calls?”
“Do you return all of your mom’s calls?”
“Good point.”
“Besides, I’ve been busy and haven’t felt like hearing Ryder gossip or how her second cousin’s father-in-law had prostate surgery last week. I’ve also had shit on my mind.” I can be a selfish bastard during football season, and this injury has only made it worse. Guilt kicks me in the gut. I should’ve called her back or at least returned her texts. I’ll have to make it up to her.
“Still, your mom is great.”
“Yes, but she also has a temper. You know that as well as I do. That’s probably why she’s giving me the cold shoulder.”
“Good luck with that.” Duke’s witnessed Gracie King’s temper a time or two. “When will you be back to Fort Worth?”
“I’ll be back for the game Sunday.”
“Alright, see you then.”
“See ya.” I disconnect the phone and try to ignore the guilt slapping me in the face. Duke’s right, I should’ve called my mom back. The last time I talked to her before today was about a week ago, but she knows how important football is to me. She also knows all my energy goes into being the best I can be.
Keep telling yourself that, Cash, and maybe you’ll believe it.
I adore my mom, but the truth is, her civic pride gets to me sometimes. She conveniently forgets how terrible people were to her while my dad and uncles were running roughshod all over this town. How she and I weren’t welcomed places, or how store owners used to follow us around to make sure we didn’t steal anything. Or what hearing our last name used like a swear word felt like.
It took my dad and uncles being killed in a car accident, and me excelling at football, for the good folks of Ryder to offer her a seat at the table. A seat she deserved long before they found her worthy.
I’m grateful that I found football and appreciative of how the town has supported my career.
But I have a longer memory than my mom.
Six
Tiger
I throw the last of the debris on the scrap pile behind the house, but some of it slides off the other side. “Damn it to hell.”
“Baby girl, I’ve never seen you this rattled. Is this about the rec center?” James asks.
My anger dwindles some at the use of the endearment. James is in his fifties and has taken on the role as my surrogate father. He and his wife Barb don’t have children, and it was nice to know I had them in my corner as my life