Page 60 of Old Fashioned
My stomach rolled more with every minute, and I wondered how I’d be able to eat. I was just about to make my way into the kitchen to pour an old fashioned that I hoped would settle my nerves when Mikey threw one arm over the couch to look at me again.
“So,” he said. “One week from tomorrow, you’ll be fighting for that trophy again. How you feeling?”
I blew out a long breath, leaning over the couch again and clasping my hands where they hung between my brothers. “The team is ready. They’re strong, talented, and thanks to Sydney, all in a pretty healthy shape, too. But,” I added, scratching my jaw with my eyes on the television. “Pressure gets to them. I saw it in the first home game, and again twice after when we played our biggest rivals. They get sloppy, and don’t play smart. If that happens next week, we don’t have a chance.”
“You know whatIthink?” Paige said, standing and flopping down in the middle of the couch between my brothers, her chin turned up toward me.
“No, but I bet you’re gonna tell me.”
“You need to ask Rodgers to get them in the zone before Friday.”
I cocked a brow, waiting, because I knew she wasn’t done.
“What I mean is, he’s the quarterback, right? And the team captain. But, he’s a quiet guy — kind of like you, Coach. And I think that’s why the team respects you so much. They know that when you say something, it’s because it’s important. And, well, I think it’s like that with Rodgers, too. I think if you pulled him aside and asked him to step up this week, and suddenly their leader was speaking out, telling them the errors he sees, suggesting what they need to pay attention to?” Paige shrugged. “We’d win for sure.”
“That right?”
Noah shook his head from beside her. “You’re going to be president one day.”
“Nuh-uh,” she said, looking at him matter-of-factly before she smiled up at me. “I’m going to be a football player.”
It wasn’t long after that that the girls announced that dinner was ready. We called Mom and Sydney in from the garden, tore my brothers and Paige from the television, and all gathered around a feast that could feed at least three times the amount of people in attendance.
When we were all seated, Mom held out her hands, and I took her left while Noah took her right. Sydney was next to me, Paige across from us, and we all linked hands, connecting to each other around the meal that brought us together.
“I’d like to say grace, if that’s alright,” Noah said.
Mom smiled and squeezed his hand, and we all bowed our heads.
“Heavenly Father, thank you for the blessings you have bestowed upon this family. We are so blessed to be able to be here together in this way, to share a meal and spend time together when life can so easily slip away from us.”
I swallowed, my throat tightening with emotion.
“I know I speak for everyone when I say we’re missing a big piece of our puzzle today, but we know Dad is up there with you, probably watching the games and yelling at the big HD screens they got up there.”
We all chuckled.
“So, give him a big hug for us, and tell him we love him and we miss him. And Lord, I want to thank you for our amazing mother, who has filled this home with love and wrangled us rowdy boys for our entire lives, and for my brothers — who I can always count on.”
That emotion I’d felt before surged through me again, and I cleared my throat to ease the swell.
“I want to thank you for Kylie,” Noah continued. “Who has put up with us for years and still manages to like us.”
Kylie giggled.
“And for Mallory, who put up with us all being jerks to her because of her last name, and somehow still manages to love us and forgive us, anyway.”
“And fory’allseeing past that last name, seeing me for who I really am, and loving me, too,” she added.
“We pray you will keep her and Logan’s baby safe and healthy inside that little oven of hers,” Noah said. “And deliver him or her safely to us.”
“Her,” Logan whispered, and at that, all of our eyes popped open and locked on him, though he was looking at Mallory, who smiled and squeezed his hand.
“Her?” Mom cried out, her eyes flooding with tears.
Logan nodded, and the whole table buzzed with a mixture of congratulations and excitement.
“Shhh,” Noah said, calming us. “Still praying here.”
