Chapter 42: Growth

After a week of finals that nearly killed me, I was suddenly free. Spencer and I had packed both our cars for the trip home for the holidays. We would be leaving, along with Jesse, early in the morning.

Alex and I were over at Erin's apartment to see her off on Thursday afternoon of finals week.

"Are you sure you should be leaving so late?" asked Alex.

Erin gave her a look.

"Okay, never mind," muttered Alex in resignation.

"No hanky-panky tonight, you two," admonished Erin. She knew there wouldn't be any, but she couldn't resist yanking on both Alex's and my chains.

"You're a fine one to talk," retorted Alex. "You're the one who's the hussy."

She pronounced it with a Z sound, huzzy, and Erin smiled at her a little indulgently.

"So don't you go trying to take that title away from me," she replied.

They hugged, and held the embrace for several moments, long enough to make me want to shuffle my feet. They kissed each other, a much more chaste and sisterly kiss than I had occasionally seen them share, but still hot enough to make me think bad thoughts.

"Come back early?" Alex's voice was very soft, almost pleading.

Erin leaned back and looked her in the eye. "You could come up to Atlanta and visit for a few days," she said.

"No..."

"Yes, do," insisted Erin. She smiled. "You know you want to."

Alex matched her smile. "We'll talk about it," she said.

Erin stepped over to me and put her arms around my neck. She kissed me softly. Definitely not a sisterly kiss, however. "And you should come back a few days early, too. You can stay at our house, and we can drive down together."

"I'll be driving back with Spencer and Jesse," I said.

"Can they offer you the same hospitality I can?" she asked teasingly.

"A different kind," I stammered, suddenly sweating just a little.

Finally, Erin had her fill of teasing me, and she got into her car. With a wave and a cheerful "Merry Christmas," she drove off, leaving Alex and me behind. We waved at her receding car until we couldn't see it anymore.

Without looking at me, Alex said, "Will you stay with me tonight?"

I felt a lump form in my throat. I thought enough of her to not want to disappoint her, and yet at the same time I felt a slight surge of resentment at her for even asking.

"Alex, you know I want to..."

"But you can't?"

"But I won't." I put my arm around her shoulder, but she was stiffly resisting turning in to me. I didn't insist. Instead, I hugged her that way, and I kissed her temple.

And then I walked away.

Our convoy left very early the next morning. We drove straight through, stopping only at need. Jesse pulled off at his exit, and Spencer and I continued on, until finally Spencer reached his exit. Then it was just me, but only for a short distance more.

I was glad to crawl out from behind the steering wheel by the time I got home. I stretched in the December cold, standing in the driveway. It felt good to be back home.

The front door opened, and Stephen came out, holding Kyle in his arms.

"Hey, look, it's Uncle Sean," said Stephen to his son.

Kyle looked shyly at me, fingers in his mouth. He didn't remember me. I walked up and shook Stephen's hand. "How you doing, man?"

"Good," he said.

"And how's Big Kyle?" I said. I held out a couple of fingers for him to grab, but he turned his head into Stephen's shoulder.

"It's okay, big guy," soothed Stephen. "He lives here. You can say hello."

I didn't think Kyle believed him, though. He stayed with his face buried as we hustled back inside.

There were good smells coming from the kitchen. Tara walked out, wearing an old apron of my mother's, dusted with flour. She smiled and came over and gave me a hug.

"Welcome home, Sean," she said.

"Well, aren't you getting domestic in your old age," I said. I held her away from me and looked her up and down. She had grown. She was taller, her hair had grown out from its spiky length of a couple of years before, and she had filled out a little. Her face showed more experience than a girl her age should have had to go through, but she looked great, considering the circumstances. "You look good, Tara."

She examined me. "And you're too skinny," she proclaimed.

"You've been spending way too much time with my mother," I said.

"And that's a bad thing?" My mom appeared at the kitchen door, a big smile on her face and a spatula in her hand.

"Nope," I said. "It's not." I walked over and gave her a big hug, picking her up and twirling her around.

"Sean! Cut that out!" Mom sounded stern, but I could hear the happiness in her voice.

"What have you got to fatten up a poor, starving college kid?" I asked.

"Well, we're baking cookies right now," said Mom.

"Cookies!" cried out Kyle.

"Yes, sweetie," said my mother, looking at Stephen and Kyle. She turned back to me. "How about a nice ham sandwich?"

"Make it two, and you've got a deal," I said.

"Okay, dear. You unload your car, and by the time you're done I'll have your sandwiches ready." She bustled back into the kitchen to get busy.

"I guess she was implying I should unpack my car right away, wasn't she?" I said to Stephen.

He smiled. "I don't think it was implied at all. It sounded like it was a request, from Her Imperial Highness."

"Ah, it's good to be home," I said. I went to the front closet to look for a heavy coat. It felt like I had become more of a Florida wimp than I had thought. It was cold out.

More than anything, I wanted to take a nap after lunch. I had an obligation, though, if only to myself, one I was happy to fulfill. I called Kayla's house to let her know I was back.

Jake answered the phone.

"Dude! I hear you had a good tournament."

"Well, except for the part where we lost, it was good," I said.

Jake chuckled. "Only one team wins, pal. All the rest lose."

"Yeah, well, I wanted us to be the one who didn't lose."

"Nobody wants to lose, dude. It's just that somebody always has to."

"Okay, next year we don't lose," I said.

"Unless you run up against my Hawkeyes, buddy," Jake warned.

"Gators eat Hawkeyes for lunch," I said. "Hey, how's Jaimie?"

I could hear the smile in his voice. "She's damn near perfect, thanks for asking."

"Is she home, too?"

"Yup. Caught a ride with me."

"Lucky you," I said.

"Lucky me," he agreed. "We're going to the mall to begin our Christmas shopping tonight. You're coming along."

"Uh ... I was going to see what Kayla was doing tonight," I said.

Again, Jake's smile was evident through the telephone wires. "I'll get her for you," he said. There was a loud clunk as he let the handset drop onto the little countertop. I heard some random shuffling noises over the line, and then Kayla picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

Just that one word from her sent a whole tribe of butterflies I hadn't realized lived within me to fluttering. "Hey," I managed.

"You're home?" She sounded happy, carefree, just the way I always thought of her.

"Yeah. You want to get together tonight?"

"I thought Jake told you," she said.

Those butterflies started battering against the walls. "Told me what?"

She paused, and I girded myself for the first foray of bad news. She's busy. She has a date. Something is up.

But instead she said, "We're going shopping."

"Huh?"

"You. And me. And Jake and Jaimie. We're going shopping." She was holding back a laugh at my expense, but I didn't care.

"Okay," I managed.

"We'll pick you up about four," she said.

I glanced at my watch. I could grab a couple of hours of shuteye. "I can do that," I said.

"See you soon," she said.

I skipped up the stairs. I didn't think I would be able to fall asleep, though, after that conversation.

I did manage to nap for about an hour. It was enough. I was freshly showered and shaved. I had on a pair of jeans and a wooly sweater. I thought about wearing my old high school letter jacket, but it just didn't seem appropriate. Instead, when I heard Jake honk his horn, I grabbed my trusty leather coat. Functional, good-looking, and warm. Warm is good.

I yelled to my folks that I was heading out, and I ran out to Jake's car. I opened the back door and got in. I glanced over at Kayla, meaning to say hello, and I froze in place.

God, she's so beautiful, I thought raggedly to myself. How could I have forgotten?

"Dude? The door? You're lettin' the winter in." Jake's voice sounded very amused. It broke the spell.

"Sorry," I mumbled, and I slammed the door closed.

Kayla sat next to me unmoving, smiling softly at me. She had on a short wool jacket with a pale blue and white knit scarf around her neck. "Hi," she said.

"Hummunnah," I stammered.

Jake guffawed, and Jaimie laughed.

"Well, kiss her, you dolt," said Jaimie.

I glanced at Jake's girlfriend in the front seat. Her eyes were twinkling and she was smiling broadly. "Not with you watching," I said, suddenly shy.

Jaimie exaggeratedly turned to face forward, grinning at my discomfort. I turned to Kayla. "May I?" I asked.

She just nodded. I leaned to her and gave her a soft kiss, and somewhere in the universe a star exploded. I leaned back and put my seatbelt on. All was right with the world.

It was the four of us, just like old times, walking around the mall and shopping. Or, more accurately, Jake and I accompanied the shoppers and carried their packages. I found a nice jeweled pin for my mother, and I looked for some sort of power tool I thought my dad wouldn't hurt himself with. My brother Michael had all the tools he could want from working at the auto parts store, so he was tougher to buy for. I settled on a videocassette of Rocky for him. I was planning on giving Stephen money for Christmas. I knew that was what he needed the most. And I couldn't shop for Kayla's present while she was with me, but I made sure I paid attention to what she and Jaimie were saying whenever we stopped to window shop at the jewelry stores and clothing boutiques. I managed to pick up some good hints that way, and so did Jake.

Before I got loaded down with purchases, Kay and I walked slowly behind Jake and Jaimie, who were holding hands. It seemed only right that we should, too, and so we did. It was wonderful, until we met up with some of Kayla's friends. She let my hand go and took one step away from me, as if she didn't want them to see us together. I felt a momentary disappointment, but then I remembered that it didn't matter much. She held my hand, and for the time being that was enough. It's enough.

About the time we were beginning to feel like beasts of burden, Jake and I took the purchases out to his car and locked them in the trunk. We went back into the mall, and we all went down to the food court to grab a bite to eat.

"Sustenance to get us through the rest of the night of power shopping," said Jake as he ordered up a double helping of chicken chow mien. I had opted for pasta, while Kayla and Jaimie were sharing a Caesar salad. Jake and I brought the food over to the table the girls were holding down, and then we went back to get our drinks. Mall food could never be mistaken for gourmet. In fact, it was nearly tasteless, probably purposefully designed so that it would neither thrill nor disgust. We ate, and we talked, and we were satisfied.

We stayed until the mall closed. It was nearly midnight by the time we got home. Jake dropped me off. I unwound my arms from around Kayla, gave her a quick kiss, and got out. Jake popped the trunk open, and I grabbed my packages. I waved as they backed out of my driveway, and then I hustled inside. It was far too cold out for this Florida boy.

The public schools still had another week to go before the holiday break. During that last week of school, I persuaded Kayla to leave her car at home. I got up early and drove her to school, and I was waiting for her at the end of the day. She had a lot of work to do, plus she was helping out at her dad's store, so we couldn't spend any time together beyond that, but winter break was coming. I could wait.

A couple of times, I went back home after dropping her off and went back to sleep, catching up on much-needed rest. I went for a long run early every afternoon. Sometimes I took a ball over to the park and dribbled, but that got boring quickly. I didn't feel I had to work on my skills. I just wanted to stay conditioned.

I also helped Jake and Jaimie watch Kyle. Mrs. Jacks and Mrs. Lehigh conspired to try to cool the romance of their oldest children back down to a simmer by making them aware of the work and responsibility of taking care of a young child. Helping them that week certainly made me want to wait to have kids, but Jaimie took to stepmotherhood like a duck to water. She loved taking care of little Kyle, and Kyle obviously loved his Auntie Jaimie. And, of course, Jake was so head over heels in love that if Jaimie enjoyed it, Jake did, too.

One morning, instead of heading home, I stopped in and saw Dr. Osgood, the principal of our high school. I talked with him for nearly an hour as he filled me in on the discussions with the school board about the summer soccer camps.

"I trust you and Coach Neville have been in communication?" he asked, peering at me over his half-glasses across his desk.

"Yes," I replied. "He's been keeping me up-to-date about how the proposal has been received."

Dr. Osgood smiled. "Martin has also been making sure each board member has been kept up-to-date on your career."

"Coach Neville is like a mother hen," I said. "He likes to keep track of his brood."

"You've made him very proud, Sean. As has Eric Johnson, and Trent Abbott, and Jorge Mendoza, and Tessa Navarrone, and Theo Jameson."

"Theo! I haven't heard from him in a long time. How's he doing?" Theo was Skip Horvath's best friend, and had been severely injured in the car crash that took Skip's life.

Dr. Osgood leaned back and smiled. "Theo is doing quite well," he said. "He is a senior at Northern, majoring in sports education. He wants to be a high school teacher, and he wants to coach. He'll be a good one."

"Yes, sir, I know he will," I said. It got me to thinking.

I also stopped in to see Coach Neville during one of his history classes. I slipped in the back and took an empty desk. He saw me right away, of course, but he kept on with his lecture. I saw a few kids look around at me, and some of them began to whisper to each other.

Finally, Coach clapped his hands to get everybody's attention. "Yes, we have a visitor," he said. "Many of you know Mr. Sean Porter, since he graduated from this institution." He walked to the desk of a boy I didn't know and stopped. "And, Mr. Erlandson," said Coach, stopping and looking down at the kid, "you will be getting to know Mr. Porter quite well before long."

"I will?" The kid looked genuinely puzzled. He looked like he was about fifteen, lean to the point of being skinny. His growth hadn't caught up to the size of his feet yet, making him look gangly and a little disjointed.

"Yes, indeed," said Coach Neville with a smile. "That is, if you have any intentions of moving from the Junior Varsity team up to Varsity."

The kid gave me a startled look. "The Porter clinics? But ... he's not much older than me," he said.

Coach looked at him with a twinkle in his eye. "Oh, but he is," said Mr. Neville. "In terms of experience, he is much older than you are."

"Okay," said the kid doubtfully.

Coach winked at me, and then said to the kid, "Peter, you will become a believer. I guarantee it."

A couple of nights during the week I met up with some of my old friends. College kids operate on a different time schedule than most of the rest of the world, and so my mother was a little startled when I came bounding down the stairs at ten-thirty at night. I reached into the closet and grabbed my leather coat.

"You're going out? At this hour?" Mom looked almost shocked.

I shrugged. "Sure," I said. "I'm meeting friends at Mike's Pizza."

"Who's going to be there?" asked my dad. He was merely curious, though my mom paid attention to my answer.

"Jake, Jaimie, Eric, Keisha, Trent. The usual crowd."

"It's nice you're keeping in touch with your high school friends," said my mom.

I laughed. "They're my best friends, mom, I wouldn't forget about them."

"Don't stay out too late," she said automatically. I didn't think she even realized she said it. It was just what she always said to her boys when they wanted to go out.

"Don't wait up," I said by way of warning.

Miko, the owner of Mike's, was a good guy, somebody we had known for years. Weeknights were slow, and he was glad to have the business. He looked at all our fake ID's and just shook his head as he drew a couple of pitchers of beer. We were the only group in the small restaurant, and we were around one of the big round tables.

"So, Boss, when do you have to meet with the school board?" asked Trent.

"First meeting in January," I said. "They meet twice a month, on the second and the fourth Tuesday."

"What if there aren't four Tuesdays in a month?" asked Jake.

Jaimie looked at him as if he had lost his mind as the rest of us laughed.

"Hey, it could happen." He paused and thought about it. "Okay, so maybe it can't. Never mind." He turned a little red. "Okay, so I'm an idiot," he exclaimed. "I blame it all on getting my bell rung too many times playing football."

"Can't blame football for everything," said Eric.

"You're right about that," said Jaimie, making us all crack up again.

I was a little hesitant to bring up the subject, but it was going to crop up sooner or later. Might as well make it sooner. "I've been talking with Danielle," I said. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched for Trent's reaction. He was silent, stonily expressionless. I turned to him. "Look, dude, I'm sorry, but she is my backbone."

"Yeah, I know," he said. He shook his head, as if he was getting bugs out of his ears.

"If you two don't get back together, are we going to have a problem this summer?" Now I looked him in the eye. "Let me know now so I can do something. It'll be too late if we find this out in June."

"We're not getting back together," said Trent. "But we'll be able to work together."

"You're sure? I don't mean to be harsh, but we're growing again, and I don't want to have problems here in my own backyard."

"I'm sure. Take my word on it."

"Okay, done," I said. If Trent said he would work it out, I trusted him.

I leaned in and looked around the table. Keisha was sitting back, watching it all, seeming like she was studying us, but everybody else leaned forward to listen. "Okay, here's the story. We're growing way fast, and I don't know how much time I'm going to be able to spend here at home with the camps. If the school board approves, we're going to be divided up anyway, so here's what I would like to do. Trent, I would like you to run the school program with Coach Neville. We'll all work on drills and skills specific to playing high school ball, but you will be the man in charge."

Trent nodded.

"Eric, I want you to head up the program at the park. Mostly they will be the rec players and the younger ones, so we'll make sure you have plenty of help. That okay?"

"A course," he replied with a smile.

"Let me know who you want as your corps of instructors, Eric, and we'll try to work it out. I think I'd like Posey and Jorge to work with Trent, but you can have anybody else you want."

"That works for me," said Eric, and Trent concurred.

"Trent, you will have most of the competitive players, from about age twelve and up. Along with them, you'll be running the school- sponsored soccer camp. We can do what we want with our campers, but you'll have to follow Coach Neville's program for the school."

"No problem," said Trent. Finally, he smiled. I could see him anticipating teaching advanced skills.

I turned to Keisha. "You going back to your old job this summer?" I asked.

She glanced over at Eric. "Hostessing at Bacchus? Only if I have to." Bacchus was an upscale restaurant that featured high-priced wines from around the world and a menu that was exclusive and costly. "It's nights and weekends. The money's good, but the hours really suck."

"Porter Enterprises is doubling in size," I said. I enjoyed watching their faces. Everybody except Keisha looked a little surprised. "I need to get somebody to help Danielle manage it all. Would you be interested?"

"Shit, I thought this was just a fun summer gig," marveled Jake. "It's a real freakin' business, isn't it?"

"It's a real freakin' business, all right," I said with a tight smile. I looked over at Keisha. "You want to think about it?"

"I already thought about it, Sean. Sure, I'll do it."

"That quick? Great!"

Keisha smiled at me, turning on the full wattage of her considerable energy. "Dani and I had already talked about it some," she said.

"Ah, and I fell right into the trap, didn't I?" I said. I looked around at my friends, sitting with me. "Let this be a lesson to you all," I said. "The girls rule. You are only in charge as long as the girls say you are in charge."

"You're just learning this?" asked Jaimie with a smile.

"Took him awhile, didn't it?" agreed Keisha.

Lori and David McMasters were holding their annual Christmas open house on Friday. I picked up Kayla at five-thirty in the afternoon, and we drove over to Lori's house. It was dark out already, and the houses in the neighborhood were decked out in festive lights and decorations. Nobody's was decorated like the McMasters house, though. I practically needed sunglasses to walk up the sidewalk.

The front door was open, and it was noisy. There were a lot of people there. David was at the door, acting as official greeter. I opened the storm door and let Kayla go in ahead of me.

"Kayla! Sean! How great to see you!" David's voice boomed, a noise to suit his large frame. He was wearing a bright red sport coat and a tie that had tiny lights woven into the fabric that blinked off and on. It was a startling effect on a person I normally considered to be a little on the conservative side.

He enthusiastically shook my hand, and then he carefully wrapped Kayla up in a gentle hug. "You look angelic," he said to her, and I had to agree. She was wearing a long-sleeved white blouse with ruffles around the high neck and around the cuffs, with more ruffles spilling down the front. She had it tucked into a black skirt that fit her very well, one that ended at her knees. Her pale blonde hair was gathered together with artful wisps framing her lovely face. She had on a pale pink lipstick that matched her nails, and just the right amount of blush to bring out her high cheekbones. She looked like a vision from heaven to me, but I thought I might have been somewhat biased. I was gratified to hear a confirmation from David.

"Come in, and welcome," said David. "Mrs. M. will be so happy to see you." He leaned in toward us. "She's been following your progress at Florida, Sean. She is so proud of you, you'd think she was your older sister."

I could only shake my head. She was probably my biggest supporter, and always had been, despite my many failings. We found a pathway back into the house, and we came upon Lori, sitting in the family room, surrounded by friends and family. I could only stare for a moment, surprised by what I saw.

Lori was huge, but there was a good reason for it. She was nearly nine months pregnant.