Page 21 of The Home Game

“I’ll uh, help get the other kids ready if you can manage Reese,” Antoni said, face feeling a little warm at being caught shamelessly ogling.

“Oh, yeah, I’ve got this,” Matty said confidently. “Reese and I will be right here entertaining each other.”

He shot Antoni a smile, then made another silly face at Reese.

Reese, who already seemed completely charmed by Matty, grabbed at his beard, and laughed.

“Uhh, okay,” Antoni said, tearing himself away.

“What on earth is Matt Carlson doing in our entryway?” Antoni’s mom hissed when they were out of earshot.

Antoni blinked. “You know who he is?”

“Of course I do! Everyone in Toronto—oh, Antoni,” his mom said with a little laugh. “You didn’t?”

“I …” Antoni sighed. “You know I’ve never really watched sports and it’s not like I can afford to now.” Nor did he have any real interest in it. Although he’d maybe googled Matty the other day.

He’d nearly fainted at the sight of Matty’s last contract. No wonder he owned a house like that.

Eliza laughed softly. “Oh, my. How’d he take you not recognizing him?”

Antoni shrugged. “Said he was relieved to talk to someone who didn’t want to complain about how bad the season was last year.”

“Well, there you go.” Her eyes danced with amusement. “I had a feeling that might be the case or I would have said something to him. How’d you meet, anyway?”

“He lives in the neighborhood.” Antoni said vaguely. “Ran into him when I was house hunting.”

“This neighborhood? Huh, I didn’t realize that.”

“Yeah, um, his place is two streets over. Anyway, what do we need to get together? You need to leave soon, right?”

“Shit. Yes. Let me get your father and then I’ll make sure Eli and River are set. You can wrangle Alexis.”

Antoni groaned under his breath. “Rough day?”

His mom gave him a sympathetic look. “She’s … in a mood.”

“Okay,” Antoni said, bracing himself. “I’ve got this.”

He found the fourteen-year-old parked on his parents’ couch, doing something on her tablet. “Hey,” Antoni said, leaning against the doorframe. “You ready to head out? Uh, your Aunt Eliza and Uncle Enzo are leaving soon.”

“Be there in a minute,” she mumbled, not even looking up.

Alexis had been spikey lately. And of course that was to be expected. The grief counselor she saw once a week had said it was perfectly normal, part of the grieving process and part of being a teenager.

But it was hard for Antoni to know how to connect with her when she acted like she barely tolerated him.

They’d been close when she was younger and he was just “Uncle Antoni”—her parents’ closest friend. But she’d pulled away the moment she learned she was coming to live with him.

Antoni understood, but it still hurt. And he felt lost as to how to help her.

With a stifled sigh, Antoni wandered away and found his mom in the guest room, helping River clean up toys.

“Hey, River. Looks like you had a fun day,” he said.

River smiled, but didn’t say anything. She so rarely did.

Before her parents’ death, she’d been struggling a little with her speech. They’d ruled out hearing loss and neurological disorders, and most of the typical cognitive delays.

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