Page 24 of Their Greatest Strength

He doesn’t move a muscle as he takes me in. “What happened?”

“Nothing you need to worry about. I have something to give you before we leave.” I spin away and press my thumb into the corner of my eye to make sure it’s dry.

“It’s not my birthday.”

“It doesn’t have to be a special occasion for me to give you a gift.”

“Alright,” he relents, suspicion still heavy in his voice.

I shoved his new cleats in the front closet behind the mop bucket, knowing that he wouldn’t find them there. The last time Nate mopped the floor, he left it so wet that the linoleum started to peel.

It’s been hard keeping them a secret, but I wanted to wait until his next practice came around first. He’ll want to wear them as soon as he sees the box. And after today, I think I need to give them to him just as much as he deserves to receive them. Especially after he made it through his first week of school with only a few complaints.

School has never been easy for him, and I was expecting the worst. I always told him that while he can’t start the fights, he can always end them, but he’s still maturing and, with that, still putting on muscle.

Last year, he was picked on quite often, and I watched as it tore him down peg by peg. My only hope for this school year is to see him without a frown when he gets home at the end of every day.

“Go sit on the couch and cover your eyes. No peeking!” I order, moving toward the closet.

He obeys with a wave of his hand, so I grab the box from the exact spot I left it and join him in the living room portion of the apartment. It’s just one open space with the addition of the single bedroom and bathroom, but at least the pull-out couch helps break it up a bit.

“Okay, you can open your eyes now.”

“It better not be a snake,” he warns before staring at the box.

I let loose a quiet laugh. “It’s not a snake.”

“Holy shit!”

I stumble back a step when he shoots off the couch and takes the box from me. With his height in comparison to mine, he dwarfs me as he yanks me into his arms for a hug, squishing the box between us.

Mouthing curling into a soft smile, I hug him back. “I’ll take this as you liking them?”

“Like them? I love them! These are top-of-the-line, Lake! How did you manage to get them?”

Breaking away from me, he gapes down at the writing on the lid. With a flick of his wrist, he has the shoes revealed. White with orange details, they look worth the price, even if it still makes me want to throw up at how much they cost.

It helps that I wasn’t the one that paid. But only partially. Once I remember that the man who tapped his card at the store is still waiting for an answer as to whether I’ll become his fake wife, my stomach sours once again.

There are far worse things to be, but I still haven’t decided if I want my first and maybe only marriage to be a sham, even if it won’t be for forever.

Divorce isn’t just a possibility. It’s the only path ahead for us. If I go along with this, I’ll be divorced before I’m twenty-five.

“That’s not important. What is is that you like them. That’s all I want,” I say.

“Bateman wasn’t my favourite player on the Pythons last year, but you should see him move this season! You blink and he’s already in the end zone!” he gushes, picking a shoe up and lifting it in front of his face.

I play with the ends of my ponytail, growing antsy. “He’s that good?”

“He’s a beast. I want to be as fast as him one day.”

Oh, I’m sure Jamie wouldlovehearing that.

“What else do you know about him?”

Nate glances at me, eyes wide and bubbling with excitement. “Are you interested in ball now? Is that part of the reason you got me these?”

“Slow down, buddy. That’s not what I said.”

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