Page 104 of Bump and Run

“Oh, man, that’s awful…” Maggie says. “I can’t imagine living without my mother.”

“Mag.”

“What?” Her eyes shift to me in the mirror and I give her the sternest look I can muster. “I’m just preparing her for the exact same questions she’s going to get from Mom.”

“It’s okay,” Eliza chuckles. “Really. I don’t mind.”

Nate adjusts his glasses. “So, Junior… What are the team’s odds for taking the championship?”

I nod at him in gratitude for switching the subject. “I’m not huge on numbers, but pretty good,” I answer.

“That’s awesome,” he says. “When I was an undergrad, no one gave a shit about the football team. Now you guys actually get news coverage.”

“I guess all it took was for someone to come in and give a shit.”

“I guess so.”

“Pfft!” Maggie spits. “Boring. I want to know about the school play. Eliza, how’s that going? Got all of your lines memorized?”

I kick the back of her seat.

Eliza laughs. “About ninety percent of them, I think.”

“Well, I can’t wait,” Maggie says. “Nate and I already have tickets for opening night.”

I lean forward. “You know, Mag, opening night and the last game of the season are on the same night.”

Maggie tilts her head, feigning ignorance. “Oh, really? I had no idea.”

“There’s a show on Sunday,” I add. “You could always go to that one instead and come see us qualify for the championship on Saturday.”

She hisses. “I mean… I would… but… I kinda already bought the tickets, so…”

“They’re refundable,” I growl. “I’m sure you could get them exchanged.”

“Nah.”

I sit back and shake my head at Eliza’s grin. “Nothing is more supportive than family.”

“Hey, you’ll have thousands of people in the stadium and half the country watching and supporting you, little brother,” Maggie argues. “Someone has to support Eliza.”

“Thank you, Maggie,” Eliza says, batting her eyes at me. “I appreciate that.”

We turn off into my neighborhood and my chest constricts. Eliza has certainly passed Maggie’s test but getting her to survive against my mother is another task entirely.

“We’re here!” Maggie announces, pressing hard on the brake in the driveway for no purpose other than to jolt the car a little.

I watch Eliza’s face as she takes in the street with interest. There’s no going back after this one. After today, Eliza Pierce will have seen where I came from and she’ll either accept it or she’ll run away screaming into the night.

I wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans as we step onto the porch.

Maggie barrels on inside, loudly announcing our arrival and Nate follows her.

“Ellie…” I slip my fingers around her arm.

She pops up onto her heels and lays a quick kiss on my cheek. “Relax,” she says. “It’s going to be fine.”

The imprint of her lips spreads across my face and tingles all the way to my toes. I take her hand and lead her inside.

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