Page 71 of Hard Count
“How is she doing?” Gavin asks, when he sees me. His hand holds onto his mug like a lifeline. Coffee might not be a good idea. He looks like he’s been up all night drinking it. What he needs is sleep.
“Good. She’s still sleeping. She’ll probably have one hell of a hangover.” I pull out a chair at the end of the breakfast table and sit.
“She’s not much of a drinker?” he asks.
I shake my head. “She doesn’t drink.”
“That doesn’t surprise me after living with her mother. Laura thought vodka was an entire food group. I stopped drinking once Drew was born. I wanted one of us to be sober at all times to take care of her.” He sighs and drops his head. “Her drinking is one of the reasons I filed for divorce.”
“How did she end up getting custody of Drew if that was the case? None of this makes sense to me.” I’m not sure it’s for me to make any sense of but if it will help Drew, I want to understand.
“Laura did what she does best. She covered all her flaws. She's been doing that since I met her in college. She put on a show and manipulated her way to get what she wanted. I tried to fight her in the courts but I lost every time. Eventually I learned the less Ifought—the less attention I gave her—the more I actually got what I wanted. Time with my daughter.”
“Whatever set her on a spiral last night wasn’t just about the letters you mentioned. She said something about her mom not caring about her during her drunken ramblings.”
“There was a note from her mom. I should have tossed it. Drew didn’t need to see it. I tried to protect her from her mom’s bad side. I thought it was the right thing to do but I realize now it was a mistake. She got hurt in our crossfire anyway.” He sighs, dropping his head.
I lean toward him. “You need to tell her everything. She’s owed the truth if nothing else. Since she’s moved here you’ve kept her at a distance. The least you can do is tell her why. Otherwise she’s going to go the rest of her life thinking neither one of her parents loved her. We both know that isn’t true because she’s impossible not to love.”
“I do love my daughter very much. Are you saying you love her too?” He narrows his eyes.
“I’m not telling you anything before I tell her but I would get used to seeing me around. I’m not going anywhere.”
Smiling, he says, “The first time I went to see you play was the last game of your junior year. We already had your offer letter ready. I watched your tapes.” He looks at me with hesitation.
“She showed me the video.”
His eyes widen in surprise. He nods as if he’s accepting just how close his daughter and I have become over the last few months. “After I saw the video package she put together, I had to seeyou in action for myself. Only you didn’t play in that game. You gave up your spot knowing it was your last chance to be scouted.”
“I still had my senior year to prove myself. Mitch—the guy that started—was a senior. It was his last game. We had already made the playoffs. It was the right thing to do.” It wasn’t just Mitch’s last game of high school. It was the last game of his career.
“I never wanted Drew to date a football player. I didn’t want her to end up with someone like me. I loved the game more than I loved her mother. Because I love my daughter so much, I didn’t want her to fall for someone who wouldn’t put her first. I learned more from watching you stand on the sideline than I ever could have on the field.” He pushes his coffee cup to the side and leans on the table.
“You’re selfless. You care about your teammates. You won that game because of the way you led your team from the bench not the plays made on the field. When you were behind on the scoreboard, you made them believe it was possible to come back.
“I left that game knowing you were meant to be at Newhouse. And every time you leave my house with my daughter, I know you’re meant to be with her. I know you love the game but if it were ever a choice—”
“There’s not a choice to be made. It would be her.” Now that I have Drew in my life she will always be my priority. I don’t want to consider a future without her in it.
“Do you think she’ll talk to me?” he asks, nervously.
“I think she will as long as you’re prepared to answer her questions with honesty.”
“I am. I’ll tell her whatever she wants to know.”
I nod. “I’m working on a surprise for her birthday. It was yesterday.” I’m not sure if he acknowledged it or not.
“I’m aware. I sent her a message but she never wrote me back,” he says with remorse.
“No disrespect but I think we’re beyond texting. She needs more than that. We could go out to eat if you want.”
“You already have plans. I can wait. Whenever she’s ready, I’ll be here for her.”
“I’ll mention our conversation but you need to make the first move. You've pushed her away too many times. She needs to know you won't do it again and that she’s not the only one putting in the effort to mend your relationship.”
“You’re right. I can do that.”
“I could use your help on something.” I tap my fingers on the table.
