“Thank you,” Aaron said, quickly jumping off the stool and running out of the room as if he had something pressing to do.
Shaw and I both waited for his door to shut. Then Shaw’s face fell, and his real thoughts showed. “Should I not have done that? I thought it would be a fun surprise.”
I let out a beleaguered sigh and shook my head. “No, it was sweet, and we do appreciate it. Aaron has always wanted to go to a game. But James was afraid to take him.”
“Afraid?”
I shook my head and waved my hands to dismiss that conversation. “It will be fine. I have an idea that may work. We will have a blast. I appreciate you doing this for us.”
He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his hands through his hair as the word Carolina that was scrawled across his t-shirt stretched over his broad chest. “I just thought you both could use a distraction, and it would be something fun for him to do after school starts.”
I nodded. “It will be fun.”
“I can’t believe how grown-up he’s becoming,” Shaw said, and I didn’t miss the melancholy tone in his voice.
“Yeah, I know. He’s like a little man now.” My heart ached that he’d missed out on knowing Aaron all these years. “I wish?—”
Then a feminine voice said, “Shaw, honey, we have to get you dressed and ready.” Shaw turned his head. “We have to go in forty-five minutes.”
Riley, with long blonde locks of hair, entered the frame. She leaned over Shaw’s arm to see who he was on the call with.
We’d met only a handful of times, and she had a quizzical look on her face, indicating I wasn’t that memorable. Shaw helped her out. “Riley, this is Kelcie. Remember, she’s one of my friends from back home.”
And that was what I was—just an old friend from home. Nothing more or less. Someone he was helping through a tough patch. Her face brightened with understanding. “Ohhh! Yes.” She nodded and flashed me a sympathetic but no less dazzling smile. “Hi, Kelcie. I’m Riley.”
“Yes, I?—”
Shaw interrupted before I could explain how we had previously met. “Kelcie, her son, and a few others will be at the Baltimore game.”
“Oh, what fun.” She stared open-eyed at him, as if trying to say something. “Umm…but I’m going to be sitting with the?—”
Shaw shook his head, lowering his voice. “I got them their own box suite. They’ll sit with Grace, Maeve, and the group. You can hang out with the wives and girlfriends in their section.”
She straightened then smiled again. “Oh, oh. Okay.” Then, she began shooing him off the call. “Nice to talk with you, Kelcie, but I need to get this guy in the shower and ready for the evening.”
Get this guy in the shower. I’m sure she did.
Stop. It.
I plastered on a “you-two-are-so-cute-I-could-puke” smile and said, “Have a great night. Thank you for the invitation, Shaw. We will see you in a few weeks. Night!” and I closed the laptop before I said something I shouldn’t.
Believing I was alone, I gagged at the computer.
“Mom, are you going to puke on the computer?” Aaron snuck up on me. “Are you sick?”
I stood, pushing the offending laptop away. “No, darling, I’m fine. What’s up? I thought you were in your room.” I went into the kitchen to make him snack, hoping against hope that he wouldn’t share my reaction with Shaw when he saw him.
7
Kelcie
September
“Mom…” Aaron came into the kitchen, holding his headphones. “Do I have to take these?”
I opened the dishwasher and started to put the dishes away but turned to give him my full attention. He usually took his earphones everywhere without issue, especially somewhere unfamiliar and with a very loud, very big crowd.
Even after years of various therapies, noise was still extremely difficult for him to handle. The fact that he was even willing to try to attend the game was monumental.
