Chapter 18

Traffic was light on Route 322 until I crossed the Susquehanna River. I crawled around Harrisburg in bumper-to-bumper traffic until I passed the turnpike. I-283 and Route 30 were busy, but moving well as I headed around Lancaster to my home. I pulled in front of my house a few minutes after five o'clock. Mom's car and Andy's car were both in our driveway. I parked on the street in front of my house.

I headed in the door and found the living room was deserted. I followed the smell of supper to the kitchen. "Hey everybody, I'm home," I announced as I rounded the corner into the kitchen.

"Hi, Kyle," Liz said as she turned away from the stove. We hugged and I gave my sister a kiss on the cheek.

Liz turned back to tending the pans on the stove.

"You're cooking dinner?" I asked.

"Mom gets so tired now," Liz explained. She turned and gave me a wink and a grin. "It's hard work carrying our little sister."

"Oh?" I quizzed. "I thought Mom and Dad wanted to be surprised by the sex of the baby."

"It isn't official," Liz explained. "I KNOW it's going to be a girl. Probability is on my side. We have way too many boys in the house already. It has to be a girl."

"I don't think it works that way, Liz," I replied. "We have a fifty-fifty chance for a little brother or sister on July... ?"

"First," Liz explained. "Mom is due on July 1st."

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Mom is upstairs taking a nap," Liz answered. "Andy and the twins are in the family room. Dad isn't expected home for another fifteen or twenty minutes."

Liz turned back to take care of the food on the stove. I took a good look at my sister. She appeared to have grown an inch or so in the last few months. Her figure was filling in nicely too. She definitely did not look like a little girl anymore. I was sure she was driving the ninth and tenth grade guys nuts with her perky breasts.

I headed for the family room to see Andy and the twins. Andy was sitting on the couch holding one of the twins and watching a movie. The other twin was standing at the coffee table intently pushing around a pile of blocks.

"Hey, welcome home, Kyle!" Andy said as I walked into the room. "It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too," I answered as Andy and I went through our ritual hand clasp, shake and knuckle bump that we had been doing for years. "Who is who?" I asked. "I haven't learned to tell the twins apart yet."

"This is Noah," Andy explained. Andy handed me my nephew wearing the blue shirt.

"Do you remember your Uncle Kyle?" I asked. Noah stared at me for a few seconds. I gave him a hug and kiss, which brought a smile to his face. "You're getting so big, Noah." He giggled when I said his name. I nuzzled his nose and then handed him back to Andy.

Connor had watched Noah and me. He smiled when I picked him up. "How are you doing Connor?" I asked. He grinned at his name. "Do you remember your Uncle Kyle?"

Connor stared at me intently for a couple seconds before he answered, "Ky?" I gave my nephew a kiss on the cheek.

"You're a smart boy, aren't you Connor," I said.

"Mart," Connor confirmed. He grinned at me. I set him back down on the floor. He toddled a couple steps back to the coffee table and went back to arranging his blocks. I noted he had on a red shirt today. I would need to pay attention to how my nephews dressed for a while until I could recognize them on my own.

"How big are the boys?" I asked. "They've grown so much since March.

"Noah is 31 ½ inches and 38 pounds. Connor is 31 ¼ inches and 37 ½ pounds," Andy explained.

Andy and I talked for a couple minutes, filling each other in on the happenings in our lives over the last few weeks. A few minutes into our conversation I finally worked in the one question I most wanted an answer to.

"I hear you talked with Coach Burton a few days ago," I said hopefully. "I understand he's offered you a scholarship to come to Penn State."

"Yes he did," Andy confirmed. "Are we allowed to talk about this?"

"Sure," I replied. "Coach Burton said it isn't a violation of the recruiting rules for family to discuss recruiting. We can talk all we want."

"That's cool," Andy answered.

"When are you going to accept Coach's offer?" I asked.

"Coach Burton's offer is one of a dozen I've gotten in the last two weeks," Andy replied. "I'm seriously considering four of the offers."

"Really?" I asked. "Who are you considering?"

"Penn State, of course; Temple, Rutgers and University of Maryland," Andy explained. "I have offers from Tennessee, USC, Ohio State, Michigan, Boston College, Virginia Tech, LSU and Florida too. I'm not considering them – they are too far away."

"You have to come to Penn State, man, you just have to," I replied. "You enjoy playing in Coach Caffrey's offense right?" Andy nodded yes. "Coach Burton's offense is our high school offense on steroids. You couldn't find a more wide-open, receiver friendly offense in the country. It's perfect for your speed and size."

"I know, Kyle. I watched your games on TV," Andy admitted. "I have more to think about than just football. Could I make it home after home games from State College? You guys played a lot of night games for TV."

"Make it home?" I asked.

"I need to be able to get home to see my guys," Andy answered. Andy leaned down to look at Noah. "You want to see Daddy on weekends when I'm in college don't you?"

Noah smiled and answered "Da da"

Conner toddled over to Andy and held his arms up to his father. Andy scooped him up and held him with his other arm.

"I've got to think about more than football, Kyle," Andy explained. "I have to consider my sons too. I can't dump my kids on Mom and Dad and disappear for the six months of the college football season. That would kill me."

'Disappear for six months? Is that how Andy looked at me?' I wondered. I shook it off and asked, "You are open to considering Penn State?"

"Of course," Andy answered. "I caught a few passes from Zack when I first went out for football. I know how good a quarterback he is. I also know he's much better today than he was four years ago. I'd love to play with him." After a brief pause Andy added, "I'd like to play with Chip Brinton too. He's a hell of a quarterback."

"Good," I responded. "Keep an open mind for Penn State. I don't know if you'd have any more time to get home at the other schools. Playing college football is incredibly time consuming."

"I got that impression watching you," Andy replied. "We'll talk more while you're home. I want to hear all about what it is like to play in college."

"Sure, no problem," I answered.

"Are you going to join Ed, Jeremy and me working out tonight?" Andy asked.

"Boys" Mom called. "Supper time."

"You bet, I'll work out with you guys," I answered at the same time Mom called us to dinner.

Andy handed Connor to me. Connor looked at me, smiled and called, "Ky!"

"You're a smart boy. You know your Uncle Kyle already." Connor giggled at my praise and smiled back. I followed Andy and Noah to the kitchen.

Connor squirmed and called out, "Izzy!" when he saw Liz. I handed my nephew over to her to get him ready for dinner.

I spotted Mom. She said, "Welcome home, Kyle." I hugged her, as best I could over her huge belly.

"It's good to see you again, Mom," I answered. I found my seat at the table. Liz set the dishes out while Mom and Andy got the twins ready for their dinner.

I enjoyed dinner at home after my long absence. Liz had made tuna noodle casserole and peas for dinner. She served fruit cocktail for dessert. It was a simple meal, but tasty.

I found out that Mom planned to work for a couple more weeks and then start her maternity leave. Liz had been doing all the cooking for dinner for the past three weeks. I volunteered to relieve Liz of those duties until I had to leave for camp. I would also do the grocery shopping.

Andy was going to his junior prom on Saturday night. He had asked Mary Hoober to go with him a few weeks ago. I was a little surprised. I didn't think he would be interested what with the social stigma of being a teen-aged dad of two.

I vaguely remembered Mary from school last year. She was a quiet, very plain girl. Andy knew her through his math class. They had studied together this year and gotten to be friends. Neither had a date, so they decided to attend the prom together. Andy assured me that this wasn't a long term romance, just two friends attending a dance together.

I spent part of the evening moving my things from college from my car upstairs to my bedroom. I did a couple loads of wash. My supply of clean clothes had run short the last week while I was studying for finals.

Ed and Jeremy showed up a few minutes before eight for our workout. Andy joined us and we went downstairs to the basement bedroom to lift and workout. We traded stories about our past two months of college.

I hadn't paid any attention to how spring practice had gone for my friends. I was too wrapped up in doing well myself. Ed had impressed the Gators faithful in their final scrimmage. Ed had driven his team in for two touchdowns and seventeen points in his half of play. He wasn't going to unseat the senior first string quarterback, but he made a good case for him to be the number two quarterback on the team.

Jeremy was delighted to report he had made first string in the spring. He was slated to start at weakside linebacker in the fall for the Fighting Irish. I reported on how my spring had gone and that I expected to be the number three receiver on our team. Andy listened carefully to all our stories, soaking up the information about what it was like to play Division I-A college football.

I found out that Ed had been home a week and a half. Jeremy and Kathy had taken a leisurely drive across the Midwest after classes ended. They had been home for three days. The four of us went out for our three mile run when we were done lifting.

I enjoyed spending time with my closest friends that evening. The month we could spend together before camp started was going to be enjoyable. I went on-line to send Kelly my promised nightly e-mail around ten o'clock. I was surprised while I was typing the e-mail by a pop-up that asked, "RedTop10 is on-line. Would you like to chat?" I quickly clicked on the Yes button.

FASTWR87: Hey, how's it going? I didn't expect to find you on-line.

REDTOP10: I was just checking to see if you sent me an e-mail this evening.

FASTWR87: I was getting ready to write it now when I found you on-line. What did you do tonight?

REDTOP10: I spent the evening packing everything in boxes so I'll be ready when Daddy arrives tomorrow morning. This place is deserted. Bev's dad picked up Bev and Christian after dinner. Cindy is gone. Jen left last night. I wish you would have stayed with me tonight.

FASTWR87: I would have liked that, but I needed to get home. My parents were expecting me for dinner. Ed, Jeremy and Kathy have been home for a few days. Hal and Tammy will be home tomorrow.

REDTOP10: Your old girlfriend – is she home?

FASTWR87: Penny? I think she is due home tomorrow. I know Will and Abby are done with classes. I haven't seen Penny.

REDTOP10: It's lonely here. We could have spent the night together. I'm going to miss having you close to me.

FASTWR87: I know. I'm going to remember making love to you on Wednesday night while I relieve myself before bedtime. You can use your "little friend" to help get off.

REDTOP10: It won't be the same as sharing my bed with you. I miss you Kyle.

FASTWR87: I understand. It's only 20 days until the long weekend we have planned at your house. We can endure for that long.

REDTOP10: I guess. I love you Kyle. XXX OOO

FASTWR87: I love you too sweetie. I'm counting the days until we see each other. XXX OOO

I browsed on-line for a while after I closed the chat program, looking for something interesting. I found a porn site with erotic stories. They got me in the proper frame of mind to get off. I imagined Kelly and me playing the part of the young couple caught in the rain and taking shelter in an old cottage. I stroked myself as I imagined making love to Kelly on the table of the cottage. I splattered cum all over my chest when I climaxed. It was going to be a long twenty days until I could feel my poor cock sliding into my lover and joining us together again. I cleaned up, rolled over and fell asleep.

--oooOooo--

The twins were much quieter this year than they had been last summer. I did hear one of them crying one time in the morning. I managed to roll over and go back to sleep. I finally caught up with my need for sleep around 11:30 am.

Ed called while I was eating lunch. He came over after I was done eating. We hung out and watched a movie for a while and then went out in the back yard and tossed the football around until Jeremy and Hal came over to join Ed and me for our daily workout. Jeremy suggested that we get our gang of friends together and go down to Gap for ice cream at the Dairy Queen in the evening. He said he'd call the rest of our friends and invite them.

Andy skipped the workout with us. He was busy getting ready for his prom. Mom and Dad made a big fuss over how nice he looked in his tux. They made Andy come back with Mary so they could get photos of the couple. The whole family waved good bye to the couple as Andy pulled his Corolla away from the curb and headed for Lancaster.

I grilled burgers and hot dogs for dinner for my family. It was what Mom and Liz planned earlier that week. I washed the dishes after dinner then went upstairs to clean up for my evening with my friends. Liz was hurrying around, getting prepared for her date.

I asked, "Where is Nick taking you tonight?"

"Nick?" Liz asked, grinning. "You're really behind the times, Kyle. I dumped Nick and his amazing ego last month. Mike Poffenberger is taking me to a movie this evening."

I vaguely remembered Mike from last year. He worked on the lighting crew for the Drama Guild and Penny had introduced him to me at one of the cast parties. Mike was a sophomore.

"What happened between you and Nick?" I asked.

"I got tired of him talking about how great he was; what a good basketball player he was," Liz explained. "OK, so he made starter on our varsity team as a sophomore. The team doesn't have a winning record. What's the big deal? Nick went on about it one time too many. I dumped his ass."

"Sorry to hear that," I answered. "Are you and Mike a couple?"

"Mike?" Liz replied. "No, we've had a couple dates, that's all. I don't know if we have a future."

"Have fun tonight," I offered. "I hope Mike is a careful driver."

"Mike only has his learner's permit," Liz explained. "Mr. Poffenberger is driving us to the theater."

"Enjoy the movie," I said as she headed downstairs.

I showered and then pulled on a good pair of khakis and a polo shirt for the evening. I walked down the street to Ed's house where we were meeting. Ed and Jeremy offered to drive. Hal, Tammy and Kathy rode with Jeremy. I climbed in the front of Ed's car and Brandon climbed in the back. I was surprised when Penny popped out the back door and hopped in the back seat with Brandon.

I guess time does heal old wounds. Penny was pleasant and friendly to both me and Brandon. Both of us were ex-boyfriends. Drew McCormick and Stacie Thompson joined us in Gap.

We spent an hour talking about our experiences in college, reminiscing about high school and talking about our summer plans. My Blizzard was excellent. The whole group had a good time together. Brandon suggested that we ought to check out a movie that evening. We checked and found the Millersville theater's last showing was at 9:30, too early for us to travel across the county and arrive in time. We found the listing for the multiplex outside Downingtown. They had a good movie that didn't start until 10:00 pm.

The Downingtown theater was a good choice. It was eighteen miles from Gap. Millersville had to be at least that far in the other direction. We purchased tickets for Ridley Scotts' latest action thriller. The movie was excellent. The only bad thing was the time when his epic was over. It was a quarter to one in the morning when we walked out of the theater. Ed dropped me off in front of my house just before 1:30 am.

Dad had left the porch light on for me. I headed inside and found the hall light was on too. Dad had taped a note to the stair railing. "Turn out the lights and lock up when you get in Kyle. We will have a talk tomorrow morning."

I went upstairs quietly and went straight to bed. I understood what Dad wanted to talk about. I had forgotten to let him and Mom know I was going to the movies with my friends. I was going to need to remember to check in with my parents when my plans changed. I simply wasn't used to that anymore after a year of freedom at college.

I woke from the sound sleep the next morning by the sound of loud knocking. "Kyle!" Dad said. "Time to get up. You've got to hurry. We leave for church in half an hour." Dad was using his no-nonsense tone. Attendance at church was not up for debate.

"OK," I answered.

"May I come in Kyle?" Dad said. "We need to talk."

"Sure," I acknowledged. I was sitting up in bed when Dad entered my room.

"We need to talk about last night, Kyle..." Dad started.

"I understand completely, Dad," I said. "I should have called home before we went out to the late movie."

"Yes you should have, Kyle," Dad said sternly. "Your mother and I aren't trying to set a curfew for you anymore. You're welcome to do as you please with your time. All we ask is that you keep us informed where you are and when you'll be home while you live here."

"I know, Dad," I answered. "I haven't reported in to anyone for a year. I'm just not used to that anymore. I'll do better."

"You went out for ice cream at eight o'clock," Dad explained. "You weren't home at midnight. What were your mother and I to think? Did your plans change? Were you in some kind of accident? It was unnerving for your mother and me. Every parent dreads that phone call late at night that the Harrisons got two years ago."

I shuddered a little when Dad mentioned Greg's accident. I had been thoughtless and inconsiderate to my parents. "I'm sorry, Dad," I answered. "I'll do better in the future."

"Good," Dad said. "Hurry up and get a shower. You have twenty-seven minutes until we leave for church."

I hurried through my shower and shave in the morning. I had time to pop a bagel in the toaster and wolf it down before we left for church. Andy was allowed to skip church that morning. He and Mary had attended the junior class' bowling lock-in at the bowling alley in Strasburg after their prom. Mom said Andy had gotten home around seven am that morning and went straight to bed.

Reverend Hollinger's sermon that morning was excellent. I enjoyed the church service. The Rev greeted me warmly when he met me after the service. He said the two of us should get together sometime. He wanted to hear how his favorite college football player had fared this past year. The Rev was exaggerating, I think. Our church had no shortage of college football players between the Hayes brothers, the Groff brothers and me.

I sent Kelly an e-mail apologizing for not writing the previous night. I explained about how late my friends and I got back from the movie. I read through the e-mail Kelly sent me last night. She talked about the trip home and trying to adjust to living with her parents again. She concluded the e-mail by telling me how desperately she missed me.

I gave Jake Kring a call on Sunday afternoon. We talked a little bit about things at our high school and then about the spring football drills Jake was running this year.

"Do you want any help for the last few weeks of drills?" I asked. "I'd be glad to come around and work with the receivers."

Jake laughed. "Sure, we can use more help running things."

"More?" I asked.

"Ed helped at the last two practices. Jeremy showed up on Thursday," Jake explained. "We can't keep you guys away, can we?"

"It's football," I replied. "It's what we do."

Jake went over the details. We met at the same practice field as we had for the last five years – three pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

I spent some time in the afternoon reviewing plays in my playbook. Later in the afternoon Andy loaned me his copy of Madden NFL Football. I loaded it up and played for an hour. It was fun. I hadn't had much time for computer games in the past year.

I was settling into a comfortable routine at home by Sunday evening. I cooked dinner and did the dishes. I studied my playbook, read, watched some TV to pass the time. I worked out daily with Ed, Andy, Jeremy and Hal.

I made some time to play with my nephews. By Sunday evening both boys recognized me as Unka Ky and gave me big smiles when they saw me. I enjoyed holding, cuddling and goofing around with them.

My daily e-mails to Kelly were easy for me to write. I told her about how my day went each time I wrote. I also told her how much I loved and missed her. Her replies were heartbreaking. I guess over time you get used to separations from your lovers. I know Penny and I had a hard time my first summer working at scout camp. It got easier for me in the years that followed. Kelly didn't have that experience. I knew she was having trouble dealing with our separation. I did my best to console her from half a state away.

Monday afternoon I went out to do the weekly food shopping. I got a few stares from the old ladies and stay-at-home moms in the store. I planned a couple casseroles, a roast chicken, meat loaf, and brats on the grill for dinner during the coming week. Mrs. Kurtz, the cashier who knew me from church, teased me about buying so much food. She seemed impressed when I explained about how I was helping out Mom with the shopping and cooking.

Tuesday after lunch I prepped the evening's casserole and put it in the refrigerator. My afternoon was free to help coach the spring practice with Jake, Ed, and Jeremy. When I got home after practice I would throw the casserole in the oven and would have dinner ready with little fuss forty-five minutes later.

I checked in at the school office and dropped by to see Coach Caffrey before I took the field. Coach Caffrey and I talked for a couple minutes about my experiences at Penn State. He complimented me on having a good game at the Blue and White Game the previous month. He had watched me play on the Big Ten cable network.

Jake Kring took the JV quarterbacks under his supervision. Ed worked with Logan Mitchell and Matt Sauder. Jake gave me the varsity receivers to coach. Jason Harting, a senior now, coached the JV receivers.

I was surprised to find Garrett Houseman was playing wide receiver. Garrett explained that he was learning this position at Coach Caffrey's recommendation. He had no chance of beating out Matt or Logan and the varsity team would have only two quarterbacks in the season. Garrett would serve as the team's emergency quarterback if anything happened to QB #1 and #2.

I worked with my brother Andy, Jonathan Landis, Garrett, Ryan Anderson and Dave Mitchell, my sister's close friend. Jonathan was a good compliment to my brother – he ran crisp routes and caught the ball well. He would be a good possession receiver opposite Andy. Garrett was still learning the wide receiver position but had nice hands catching the ball. Ryan Anderson had grown since last spring. He was six feet tall and probably matched my weight of 200 pounds. He played tight end and didn't mind mixing it up with the linebackers.

Dave was a revelation. He had grown to 6'-2" and probably weighed around 170 pounds. Dave caught any ball that was close to him. He was nearly as fast as my brother. I predicted that Coach Caffrey would be using Dave a lot next season, even though he would only be a sophomore then.

Logan Mitchell ran the Wolverine offense well. He knew the plays and ran them properly. Logan didn't have the strongest arm, but he got the ball there. He would be steady, but probably not spectacular next season.

Matt Sauder needed more coaching from Ed to run the plays. Matt had an incredible arm. On one deep pass play Matt overthrew Andy, and Andy was running flat out downfield. I expected when it was his turn to be quarterback that Matt would be excellent.

I enjoyed the afternoon with the kids immensely. It was fun being addressed as 'Coach' again. I enjoyed teaching them some of the things I had learned in high school and in my year at Penn State. We would have six more practices before the school year ended.

I spotted Gary Harrison waiting at the edge of the parking lot when practice was over. Gary was the seventh grade brother of my friend and dead teammate Greg Harrison. Gary was learning to play tight end just like his older brother.

I stopped my car when I was beside him and asked, "What's up, Gary?"

"I'm just waiting for my mom to pick me up," Gary explained.

"I can give you a ride if you want," I offered. "Call your mom," I said as I handed my cell phone to him through the window. "Your brother gave me a ride home so many times over the years. I owe your family."

"OK, I'll see, Kyle," Gary said. He called his mom and got the OK for him to ride home with me.

Gary climbed in the front passenger's seat. Gary and I talked about scouts, school and football on the way home. He was having fun at scouts, getting good grades in school and enjoyed football. I told Gary about how Zack Hayes and I wore Greg's number inside our helmets this past season to remember our friend. I dropped him off in front of his house ten minutes later.

I got home from football practice a few minutes before five pm. I popped my casserole in the oven while I made up a salad for dinner. I skipped dessert that evening. Both sets of grandparents were coming at seven o'clock for Noah and Connor's birthday party. We were celebrating a day late because Andy and I had scouts on the boy's real birthday the day before.

Mrs. Wagner, Crystal's mom, came too. She kept in touch with the twins through Mom over the past year. Both boys knew they had two "Mo Mo's." Crystal continued to be totally aloof to her sons. Mrs. Wagner brought of her grandsons presents "from the Wagner family", but I knew Crystal hadn't been involved in choosing them. The boys may not have had a mom, but they had lots of aunts, uncles and grandparents to look after them.

Noah and Connor didn't know quite what to make of the party to start with. After Andy helped them blow out the candles (one for each boy) they got into the spirit of the party. They ripped into the wrapping paper on their gifts. I think they had more fun with the wrap than the presents inside. The boys had birthday cake and ice cream with the rest of us. More ended up on their faces than in their mouths.

Kelly's e-mail for Tuesday asked me to be on-line at ten pm so we could chat. She was desperate to talk with me. My computer chimed for me at the appointed hour. I brought up the chat program.

REDTOP10: God I've missed you Kyle. Please come early for your visit. I can't wait until the 28th. I hope you aren't busy.

FASTWR87: I miss you too sweetie. I'm not real busy, but I help Mom by cooking dinner and shopping for groceries. You remember her due date is four weeks away. I'm also coaching some of the high school kids for their spring football practice.

REDTOP10: Can't someone else help her? I NEED to be with you again. Please come out next weekend. My parents won't mind having you spend extra time here.

FASTWR87: I don't know honey. My dad is set on having the whole family together for Memorial Day for a family picnic

REDTOP10: Can you come on Tuesday? PLEASE?

FASTWR87: Are your parents OK with having me underfoot for a whole week? I don't want to get on their bad side.

REDTOP10: My parents won't mind. PLEASE COME EARLY.

FASTWR87: Could you ask your father to give me a call? I want to make sure this is OK with him and your mother.

REDTOP10: Thank you Kyle. Thank you. I'll have Daddy call right away. I love you Kyle. XXX OOO

FASTWR87: I love you too. XXX OOO

My cell phone rang almost immediately after Kelly signed off the chat program. I answered immediately. "Hello, Kyle Martin."

"Hello, Kyle," Mr. O'Keefe said. "It's Bill O'Keefe. I hope this call isn't too late in the evening."

"No, it's fine," I replied.

"I knew my daughter thought very highly of you before this week," Bill explained. "I had no idea how strong her feelings for you were until now."

"We love each other, sir," I answered.

"Kyle, I'm Bill, not sir," Bill said. "Even at her most boy crazy, Anne was never quite this bad. Kelly has moped around the house since we came home on Saturday. All she talks about is 'Kyle did this' or 'Kyle said that'. Kathy and I would be relieved if you came early for your visit and stayed for the week."