Page 37 of Breaking Rules
“Honey, don’t shortchange yourself. You are sweet, well mannered when you want to be, and you certainly are gorgeous. I’m only relaying our conversation. I’m not going to force you to go or do anything you don’t want to do. I did offer to help out with decorating, though. If we’re going to live here, then let’s build that foundation we talked about.”
Train wouldn’t be taking me to the dance.
“On another topic, I tried out for football today.”
“What?” Mom’s voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard.
“I shouldn’t have done that. I looked awful out there. Actually, my throw was great, thanks to your ex, Joey Dennison.”
Mom sighed. “He was a good player. But that’s not the point. Tell me more about the tryout.”
“Coach was interested in me if I could kick, and I can’t. I only tried out because Train made me mad and because one of the guys on the team made a chauvinistic comment on the beach the other day about how girls don’t belong on the football field.”
She draped her arm around me. “Please tell me you apologized to the coach for wasting his time.”
“Yes, ma’am. But I might be ridiculed in school tomorrow.”
She pulled me to her. “I love you.”
Whether people looked at me funny or whispered about me at school the next day, I would worry about that tomorrow. For the moment, I was with my mom, and it was one of the best moments I’d had in a long time. “Ditto.”
