Page 52 of Conflicted
“I’m going to see if I can find us some food. I don’t know what’s open at this hour, but there must be something available. Anything either of you want?” Sandra asked.
“If you could find some decent coffee that would be nice.”
“That’s easy. I made a fresh pot over there,” she indicated an alcove at the other end of the waiting room. “It should be about done. Let me get you some. You like cream and sugar, don’t you, Jewel?”
“Yes, please.”
“What about you, Ruby? The usual black with three sugars?”
“You know me too well.”
Coffee acquired, Sandra left Ruby and Jewel alone. The rest of the waiting room was deserted. They could speak freely.
“So what now?” Ruby curled her hands around the Styrofoam cup and stared into the black liquid.
“What do you mean?”
“You and Luke. What happens now?” Ruby kept her head lowered.
“I don’t know. We’ll have to see.”
Ruby’s head shot up and she faced Jewel. “What, no clichés about lost love, Momma?”
“No, Ruby. I regret the years I didn’t have with your father.”
“Then what happened to all those times you told me you didn’t need a relationship and I had to be strong enough to stand on my own two feet?”
“Honey, being able to function independently doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with relationships. It just means that you need to be independent to have successful relationships. Now what’s happening with those men of yours?”
“Oh, Momma,” Ruby collapsed into her mother’s arms, sobbing. “I think I’ve lost them.” She wanted to climb into her mother’s lap but realized she didn’t fit any more. She cried out the whole story to her mother and heard more from Jewel about her relationship with Luke over the years.
Neither noticed when Sandra and GT returned, and they politely moved to the far end of the room to give the mother and daughter all the time they needed to work through their emotions.
Nathan was in his tiny office at the gym at the end of work on Monday. It had been a busy day, with several of his clients wanting extra sessions to make up for their over-indulgence the weekend before. He’d had to double up a couple of times and he hated not being able to give each person his full attention. But he was glad to have had the extra work. It helped keep his mind off his personal life. He pulled out his phone to check for messages, hoping that there might be one from Ruby—or even Will. He guessed they were together, and he was going to end up alone. There was one message, but not from either his Ruby or Will. It surprised him when he heard who it was from and even more when he listened to it.
“Gomez, this is Coach Rogers. I could really use your help if you have some spare time. Give me a call as soon as you can.”
He hadn’t heard from Coach Rogers in ages. When he went to Homecoming at school, Nathan tried to check in with him, but he now realized he hadn’t seen him the last couple of years. Nathan assumed the coach had retired. Come to think of it, Homecoming must be in the next couple of weeks. No point in postponing. He pressed the icon to return the call.
“Rogers,” the voice was like gravel and brought back all sorts of memories, mostly good.
“Hi Coach. Nathan Gomez. What can I do for you?” The nerves at the base of his skull tingled.
“You can help save the football season.” Roger’s voice turned even gravellier, like he spoke through clenched teeth. “Budget cuts just cost me all my assistant coaches. Any chance you could help out? I’ve been calling former players who might be capable all day with no luck.”
“I’d be glad to help, Coach.” The words left his mouth before he could second guess his decision. “I may have to rearrange my work schedule a bit, but that’s no trouble. When do you need me?”
“Practice is last period and an hour after school. Games are still on Friday nights. I need to see you before that to get you the playbook and bring you up to speed. What works for you?”
“Have you had supper yet, Coach?” Nathan did a quick mental calculation. “I could meet you in about half an hour. How does the Peachtree Café’Teria sound? My treat.”
“I’ll see you there.” The line went dead before Nathan could end the call. The coach had always been a man of few words.
It would take him most of the thirty minutes to get to the Peachtree at this hour, so he hurried through the rest of his end-of-day tasks. After rescheduling one of his regulars and sending in his weekly supply order, he headed out the door with a nod at the receptionist.
Nathan pulled up to the restaurant not quite thirty minutes later in his Nissan Rogue. He noticed an old pickup truck nearby with a worn bumper sticker saying, “Go Falcons!” on it and realized the coach had beaten him there. He must be anxious. Ever since Nathan had known him, he’d always been late for social events.
He walked in the door and the noise of the dinner crowd and the smells of great soul food washed over him. He looked around and spotted Coach Rogers seated by a window. The coach waved at him and he signaled back before getting in line for the food. He was looking forward to the fried catfish, one of the Monday night specials.
