Page 20 of Love on the Sidelines

"That girl is sixteen?" I ask, pointing to the main girl.

Emily nods, giving me a look like she's surprised I'm even sitting here.

I tell myself I'll leave after five minutes, which turns into twenty, and then four more episodes.

"That's a lot of minutes of my life I'll never get back," I say after the last episode. I stand and stretch, knowing I need to check on some things, but I'm not feeling like it right now. Maybe the binge took it all out of me.

"Sometimes it's nice to escape for a bit."

I turn to look down at Emily. She's got a faraway look in her eyes and I sit back down, pulling her into a hug. I've never really been an uncle to her. Not like a traditional uncle, anyway. Since I was a surprise several years after my‌ sister was born, I'm more like an older brother to her.

"I know, Em. It was a lot to bring you down here and upend your entire world. I'm sorry about that. It's just what I felt needed to happen, with work and everything."

She sniffles and nods, trying to put on a brave face.

"How about we take a trip back and visit a bunch of your friends before school starts?"

Emily looks up at me with so much hope I know this means a lot. "What about Mimi?"

"She should be out of the hospital in the next couple of weeks. We'll take her with us."

"But what about the hockey season? Isn't that when you'll need to be here to check on how everything is going?"

I chuckle and then ruffle her hair a bit. "You definitely got the questions from your mother."

Emily finally smiles, as though that's exactly what she wants to be.

"Let's plan on it. I'm learning to delegate more."

She raises an eyebrow. "Is that why you could sit and watch the show with me?"

I sigh. "It might take a while, but I need to work more normal hours. Hopefully there’s a lot more time soon. I'll be going with you to Tennessee for your next tournament."

"You won’t make things weird, will you?"

Frowning, I turn to look at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I think you have a crush on Coach Ava. You know how much lacrosse means to me and if I'm going to be stuck here, I don't want you to ruin it and make things weird with her."

I didn't think I'd done anything for her to worry about. I'd just tried to be helpful on the field and tournaments.

“Bringing sports drinks to your team means I have a crush on your coach?” I ask, trying to play this off.

She rolls her eyes. “Uncle Charlie, you might think you’re being coy, but you’re not.”

“You know she’s the one who made me get stitches, right?”

“You asked her out and she said no, didn’t she?” Emily asks with a soft laugh.

Shaking my head, I say, "I haven’t asked her out."

“But you want to.” She doesn’t even make it a question.

“No,” I say, almost as a reflex response. “I like my life the way it is. Besides, I’ve got enough drama from you to fill my life for decades.”

“Haha, funny,” she says, glaring at me.

When she gives me a look that says she doesn't believe me, I raise my right hand as if taking an oath. "I promise. I'll be on my worst behavior." Am I allowed to cross my fingers and think of the quote by Jim Halpert fromThe Office?

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