Page 9 of Holding On

"The kid's not going to play," the skinny bald man says to the man across from him, who looks like a professor with his white hair and beard. "After that kind of injury, he's looking at months of physical therapy. Maybe a year."

They're talking about Ethan Baxter, the star quarterback from L.A. who led the Laytham football team to three winning seasons. But their winning streak will likely end if Ethan can't play this year. Last May he was in a car accident that killed three Laytham students and left Ethan with a broken leg that some people in town say will end his football career.

As I refill waters at the next table, I can still hear the old men talking.

"He might be able to play for half the season," the white-haired man says. "Nobody really knows the extent of his injuries. Maybe they're not as bad as we think. I've heard the coach has been over to see him. That could be a sign he's planning to play again."

"Or it could just be a concerned coach going to visit his player. Coach Maverick treats those boys like his sons. Even if Ethan never plays again, Maverick will still go see him."

"I suppose you're right."

As a waitress in a small town obsessed with Laytham football, I overhear these conversations about Ethan all the time, but they're becoming less frequent as time goes by. Since the accident, nobody's seen or heard from Ethan. Rumor has it he hides out in a house he rents on the other side of town.

My shift continues and by the end of the night, my feet are killing me. I take a seat at one of the tables as Tina locks the front door.

"You should get insoles," she says, coming over to me and pointing at my feet. "You can get them at the drugstore but I get mine at the medical supply store over by the mall. They have really good ones."

In addition to my job at The Chicken Shack, I also clean houses, so by the end of the day my feet are aching.

"Are they expensive?" I ask.

"Yeah, they're fifty bucks, but they're worth it for people like us who spend all day on our feet."

"I'll check them out but right now I don't have the money."

"I could loan you some," she says, sitting beside me.

"Tina, you know I'd never take your money. You have a little girl to take care of."

"And you have a brother to take care of." She catches my eye. "It's not easy, you know?"

"What's not easy?"

"Being the one responsible for someone else's care."

"Mike mostly takes care of himself. It's not like taking care of a toddler, like you have to do."

"Yeah, but it's still hard, especially when you have to do it alone. Sometimes we have to help each other out." She gives me that warm, caring smile that made me like her the minute we met. It's why we became friends.

I also like her because, like my brother, Tina doesn't let her situation get her down. Her ex, Missy's dad, took off the second he found out Tina was pregnant. Before he left, he stole all the tip money she'd stashed away in her dresser. Five hundred dollars. She was going to use it to buy a crib and other baby supplies, but he took all of it, even the loose change.

"I'll be okay," I tell her. "I'll soak my feet when I get home."

She shrugs. "Okay, but if you change your mind, let me know. I got a $60 tip the other day from this lady who came in to get her nails done. It was like unexpected money so it's yours if you want it."

"Some woman gave you a $60 tip? Your manicures are only $20."

She laughs. "I know. I must've looked at her funny because she explained that the manicures she gets in L.A. cost $80 so she didn't feel right paying me any less than that. She didn't even get anything fancy done. Just a basic clean-up of her nails and a clear polish."

"She's from L.A.?"

"Yeah. A lawyer. She spent the whole time on her phone. You should have seen her diamond ring. It was at least four carats. And she had big diamond earrings."

"What was she doing here?"

"She said she was visiting someone. She didn't say who." Tina pauses. "Actually, now that I think about it, I wonder if she's the mom of that guy. The football player. She kind of looked like him. Isn't he from L.A.?"

"Ethan Baxter?"

---