Page 71 of Can't Help Falling

“I don’t know. Things are going well. I just don’t want to rock the boat.”

A court opened up, and the conversation stopped as the play started. The game alternated back and forth between Seb and Ty attempting to shove the ball down each other’s throats and lifting Matty up onto their shoulders so that he could dunk. Ty was thrilled to see that Matty’s ball handling had improved a lot since the last time they’d played together.

“Hey, Dad, can I have money for water?”

“Water is free.”

“Not the kind I want.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes and peeled a five-dollar bill out of his pocket. “Get one for me and Uncle Ty too.”

“No strawberry flavor for me!” Ty called at Matty’s retreating back.

Seb turned to Ty and passed the ball to him. “Any news?”

Ty didn’t have to ask what kind of news Seb was prying after.

Ever since Kylie had come to Brooklyn, there’d been pretty much crickets on what the hell was happening with Lorraine. As much as he’d called his lawyer, Kylie’s social worker, they always said the same thing: nothing to report yet.

Today, however, was different. “Actually, yeah. Got a call from our lawyer with an update.”

“And?”

“And she’s not going to get jail time.” Tyler took a shot; it banked off the rim and went wide. Seb caught the rebound and popped it in the hoop, chest-passing the ball to Ty when he caught it again.

“I...have no idea how to feel about that,” Seb said after a minute.

Tyler laughed, because it was the only thing he could do. “Join the club. Part of me wanted the judge to lock her up and throw away the key. After what she did to Kylie? Jesus. It’ll be years before Kylie can fully sort through all this crap.”

“But another part of you was relieved?”

“Yeah. I mean, she’s Kylie’s mom. I don’t want her to go to jail.”

“So, what was her sentencing?”

Tyler sighed, shot a three-pointer that sailed gracefully through the net. “Time served, three years’ probation and six months of mandatory rehab.”

“Oh, the wonders of what having a little money in your pocket can do for you.”

“I know. If only my dad knew that all his money was going toward keeping Lorraine out of jail...” Tyler paused, stared at nothing for a minute. “Actually, I have no idea how he’d feel about that.”

“What does it all mean for Kylie? For custody?”

“Well, that’s the good news. It’ll be at least a year and a half before Lorraine can appeal the courts for custody. Under the judge’s orders, she has to ace rehab, get a job and keep her nose clean for at least that long. Sounds like once she’s out of rehab, we’ll have to do mandatory visits to Columbus once a month so that they can see one another. But beyond that?” He shrugged. “Pretty good news, I guess.”

Seb was quiet for a minute, jogged to one side of the court, peered down the hallway for Matty and jogged back, shaking his head. “Kid’s stuck in, like, a ten-person line.” He held his hands out for the ball. “So, you have her for at least eighteen more months.”

“Thank God.”

“Thank God,” Sebastian echoed, studying Tyler closely. “I’m glad you think that’s a good thing.”

“A good thing? Oh, jeez. I know I was freaked out before, Seb, but I always knew I was a safer place for Kylie than Lorraine. I don’t care if it’s been hard. If worst comes to worst and I lose custody of her in eighteen months, I’ll move to Columbus until she’s eighteen. I’ll, I dunno, rent the house next door. Be there for her and hope to God she wants to go to college in New York.”

Tyler suddenly found himself the recipient of a disgustingly sweaty hug from his best friend.

“Dude. Space.” He shoved away and then got a look at Seb’s face. “Are you crying?”

“It’s just cool is all,” Seb said, brushing a tear or two off his face with the inside of his elbow. “You used to have such distance between you two. All those stilted phone calls, neither of you knowing what to say to the other. She seemed like such an obligation to you. I guess I’m just saying that it’s good to see you care this much, Ty. It looks good on you.”

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