Page 100 of Playing for Keeps
And I hadn’t seen my dad since he walked in on Ethan and me two days earlier. I was fairly sure a paternal lecture awaited me if he managed to get me alone.
I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
My mother opened it to reveal herself in a black New Zealand rugby jersey. “Congratulations!”
I had to laugh. I didn’t think I’d ever seen my mother dressed in a rugby jersey before. She was more a cashmere sweater and pearls type of woman.
“Looking good there, Mum.” I brushed a kiss on her cheek.
“Well, your son doesn’t get chosen to represent New Zealand every day,” she said.
“Uncle Luke!” Theo came bursting out and slammed into my legs. He was dressed in a New Zealand jersey too.
“Hey, Little Man.”
“Look. My tooth came out.” He opened his mouth to show a gaping hole where his front tooth once was.
I crouched down to get a closer look. “Wow, that’s a big gap.”
“My new one is already growing through. I can feel it with my tongue.”
Mum smiled down at Theo indulgently. It was weird, because my mother had always been strict and aloof with Char and me, but Theo had her wrapped around his little finger.
Dad and Char came out into the hallway, both dressed in black too.
“Here he is.” There was a forced joviality to Dad’s voice and his smile was stiff. Shit. I wasn’t used to my father greeting me with anything but one hundred percent enthusiasm.
“Hey, Dad.”
“I see they managed to rope you in too,” I said to Char, nodding at her jersey.
“Actually, it was my idea,” she said.
“Oh.” I blinked. “Well, it’s a great idea, although now I feel out of place.” I gestured to my jeans and button down green shirt.
“You’ll be wearing a New Zealand jersey soon enough,” Dad said.
“I hope so.” The familiar nerves swamped my stomach. Because making the training squad was only step one. I had to prove myself at training camp, and make the team too.
We moved through to the kitchen.
“I didn’t know what type of wine you guys are drinking at the moment.” I held up the bottle. “I thought a savvy was a safe bet.”
“That looks great.” Mum took the bottle from me and set it on the counter top. “And I’ve cooked a leg of lamb and made pavlova for dessert.”
“Smells delicious.”
“I’ll have a glass,” Char said with surprising assertiveness, picking up the bottle. “Anyone else want some?”
“We can all have some with dinner,” Mum said. “We’ll have a toast to Luke.”
And we did exactly that, the whole family sitting down around the table, us adults with our wine and Theo with a glass of lemonade.
“To Luke,” Mum said with a smile.
“To Luke,” the rest of my family chimed obediently.
Theo took a large swallow of his lemonade then set his glass down. “Dad says he’s a good rugby player, but he’s not as good as you. He said he’s never been as good as you, that even when you were kids you were way better than him.”
