Page 31 of When We Were Young
Noah came up with a plan to get Emily and Clara there.
Over their cafeteria dinner Friday night, Noah turned to Clara. “I have a football game tomorrow. Right here.” He grinned at Emily and then back to Clara. “I’d really love you to go.”
Emily shook her head and gave him a wary look. But she couldn’t keep from smiling. Especially as Clara’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Yes... please!” She turned to Emily. “Please!”
There wasn’t any choice after that. Noah winked at Emily, and her cheeks darkened just a little. The next day Noah reserved seats on the fifty-yard line for Emily and Clara.
He would always owe Clara an assist for helping him win Emily over. Because Clara loved football from the first drive of the game. Knowing Emily and Clara were in the stands watching, Noah played even better than he had the week before. He threw for more than four hundred yards and three touchdowns to beat Southern Illinois by one point.
After the game, he didn’t get to see them, so he texted Emily and asked if he could stop by her house. He was shocked when she responded with her address and a smiley face. Up until then she’d repeatedly kept her home life a mystery.
When he arrived at her small house, she answered the door and stepped out onto the porch. “Clara’s asleep.” Her voice stayed at a whisper. She looked up at him. Her eyes were even more beautiful in the moonlight. She pointed to a couple chairs. “Let’s sit for a minute.”
When they were side by side, their knees almost touching, Emily turned to him, her face all lit up. “Must’ve been the decaf.”
“What?” Noah didn’t track at first.
“No caffeine. Your coach asked you to stay away from regular coffee, remember? And I’m glad you did.” She smiled big. “Because, Noah, you are a very good football player.”
“Hmm.” He rubbed at a bruise on his right arm and surveyed her. “You think so? Did someone explain the game to you?”
She laughed out loud. “You crossed that white line a bunch of times and everybody cheered. So, yeah. I didn’t need a lot of explaining.”
Noah nodded. “Thanks.” He let his eyes hold hers for a while. “That means a lot. Coming from a non-fan like you.”
“You never know.” She was teasing him again, allowing just enough flirting to take his breath away. “You play like that, I might have to come back.”
“Well, that might just make my whole season.” He grinned. “But mainly”—he felt the shine in his own eyes—“what did Clara think?”
“Clara?” Emily laughed again. “She is your new number one fan. No question.” Emily brought her voice back down to a whisper. “If I don’t take her next time, she’ll find another way there. I’m sure of that.”
The conversation seemed to stall there, and Noah gripped the arms of his chair. He had no idea what was coming. He looked at the closed front door. “Your parents sleeping, too?”
A half minute passed before Emily took a deep breath and settled back into her chair. “That’s what I want to talk to you about, Noah. It’s sort of a secret. About my family.”
In the next ten minutes she told him a story he had never expected and could hardly believe. Both her parents were gone, and at eighteen, Emily was the head of the household.
“So... you take care of Clara full-time?” Noah couldn’t get his mind around the responsibility. Until then he had never guessed that the two girls lived alone. “Who takes her to school?”
“Me.” Emily didn’t look troubled. “The summer was the hardest. Right after our mom died.” She hesitated and looked into the night sky. “What choice did I have?”
He had to agree. “Now I get it.”
“Get what?” She faced him, calm and sure of herself. Like someone twice her age. Her eyes were wide and full of trust. Noah had the feeling she was starting to care for him, too. Maybe more than he knew.
“Why you are the way you are... with Clara.” He narrowed his eyes. “You care so much.” He paused. “I have a secret, too. But it’s not as big a deal as yours.”
She angled her face, flirting with him. “I’m listening, Nashville.” There she was, the same Emily from coffee that first day. Teasing, having fun with him. “Let me guess. You really do have that big ol’ hat at home.”
“Maybe.” He looked at her for a long moment. “Before I met you, I was... watching you.”
“What?” A laugh slipped from between her lips. “Watching me? Like where?”
Her laughter was a good sign. He added a weak chuckle. Then he looked at his tennis shoes for a few seconds and back at her eyes. “Actually, I’m serious. At the cafeteria.”
He explained the situation, not quite sure what she’d think. But as soon as his words were out, compassion came over her. “Because you wondered about Clara? That’s why you watched us?”
“Well...” He winced. “I sort of thought you were the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. So there was that.” His smile fell off. “But it was something more. The way you cared for Clara. I figured she might be your sister.”
