Page 19 of (La)Crosse My Heart

The hard part is my brain keeps pointing out all the ways he’s not like the old Clark I knew from the glitter-bomb incident.

Nora and I chat for another few moments when Clark comes back, wiping his face off with the shirt he’d tucked into his back pocket.

“It looks great again, Clark,” Nora says, grinning at him. “But I thought you said one of the boys would help with it.”

“I had some time, so I figured I’d get it done before it got too hot. You know Burton. He’d be whining the rest of the day if he had to mow in the early morning heat.”

“Well, Jessa and Clark, I think I’m ready for a little catnap. Thank you so much for working in the yard, Clarky. And Jessa, it was so nice to meet you. I hope you’ll come over often.”

Clark helps open the door and stands at the ready as the woman maneuvers her walker into the house.

Once she’s inside, I ask, “What did she do before you moved in?”

Clark shrugs. “From what I’ve heard, she had to hire someone to do the lawn work, and she was pretty lonely.”

“Does she not have family?”

He shakes his head. “No, Fred died three years ago, I think. And they could never have children.”

I know it’s not everyone’s dream to have children, but for people who would love them and do everything to mold them into good human beings, there’s a touch of mourning there for her.

“Are you ready for this?” Clark says, winking at me. No shirt and a wink are a terrible combination. Not that I knew that before, because Dan never tried.

“Um, yeah. Lead me to your mountain of clothing.”

8

Jessa

Okay, so I’ve said it a few times, but we’ve got more work to do than I thought.

“These are all the dress shirts you own?” I ask, holding up the two that are semi-decent. The others have way too loud of patterns or are missing buttons. A few even have holes in them.

“Probably. My typical wardrobe is a T-shirt and shorts.”

“What about for game days? You don’t have to come in a suit or something?”

He shrugs. “This isn’t a sport where we worry about that.”

“Maybe you should, though.”

He scrunches his nose before he runs the towel through his hair. At least he went into the bathroom for a shower with clothing instead of coming out and making it difficult for me to concentrate again.

“I don’t see how that would help.”

“You’ve said the world doesn’t know the sport of lacrosse. Why not educate people?”

He purses his lips. “Do you forget why you’re here? I’m not the trailblazer. I’m just the one who wants to play lacrosse for as long as possible.”

“But don’t you see that by providing more opportunities and advocating for your sport, you’ll be helping not only yourself but others who might look up to you?”

“I don’t like it when you get ideas. That means I’ll have to do more,” he says, his tone sour.

I roll my eyes. “Again, you put in the work for your sport but a little more off the field and things get better for everyone.”

“Agree to disagree. What’s the verdict on my closet?”

“You’re a bachelor who keeps everything, even if it’s threadbare and falling apart. You definitely need a girlfriend just to help with your personal style.”

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