Page 52 of Love at a 7-Eleven

Caroline called Lila into the bedroom to talk to her, and the first thing Eddie Decker said was, "I'm glad we have a moment alone because I wanted to talk with you man-to-man."

Caleb's heart dropped. He braced himself.

"Yes sir," Caleb said, trying not to sound nervous. There was no music. They had turned it off when they were playing the game. Caleb swallowed hard and waited for Eddie to speak.

"I love my daughter with all my heart. She's my only little girl. For her whole life, I've joked about her becoming a nun and no guy ever being good enough for her."

Caleb was tempted to reply with, "Yes, sir I know I'm not good enough for your daughter, sir. All I know is that I will do my best." All that stuff was on the tip of his tongue, but he just stood there, looking at Eddie and letting him finish what he wanted to say.

"We were talking about this before you came over here tonight. We knew you were coming, and we knew Lila was interested in you. She had been in touch and told her mom enough that we knew what her intentions were at this family meeting. Needless to say, all of us did our research on you. All three of us, Dom, EJ, and myself… we had all watched your videos. My wife, too. I think I've watched the most of us all. I think I might have seen them all."

"That's so nice of you," Caleb said, thinking about how many videos he must've watched.

"Me and the twins were fully prepared to threaten whatever man Lila brought over here, and all of us were stunned that we had nothing bad to say about you. We laughed about it earlier. We were just like… 'welp, I guess we like him'."

Caleb felt humbled and he stared downward. "That's so nice of you to say, Mr. Decker. I think your daughter is amazing."

Eddie put his big, football-catching hand on Caleb's shoulder, gripping him. Caleb looked at him, their dark eyes locked on each other.

"I feel like everything I need to know about you I can know by watching those videos. The way you seek God, young man, it's different. You're wise. The way you represent God in your life and how you're so knowledgeable about scripture. I feel like I look up to you in that way. With those things in order, there's just nothing else I can ask for. If my daughter isn't going to be a nun, I think the next best thing is to be with somebody who's… like you."

"Thank you, Mr. Decker."

"Eddie, please. And it's true. My boys were saying the same thing. We're really picky about Lila's boyfriends… and because of where you stand with God… I feel like there's just nothing we can say against you."

He paused, and Caleb knew he needed to respond. "Well, I'm humbled by that."

Eddie patted Caleb's shoulder. "There is one other thing, too. I don't know how to bring this up other than to just say it." He took a deep, heavy sigh. "I saw that video where you talk about your childhood and your father and everything—your upbringing."

Caleb braced himself, hoping this wasn't taking a turn for the worse. He imagined this coming down to a moment where Eddie said he respected him as a man but that their families were too different. Caleb felt nervous in those seconds as he waited for him to get to the point.

"I wanted to tell you… I don't know how to say this. As I was just saying, I think my daughter likes you. I think that's why we're all here tonight. And I-I hope I say this the right way so you don't get offended. Look, I know things with you and Lila are new. But what I want to say is that, aside from your relationship with her… I'm sure by now you've probably made good friends in your life, and maybe you don't need this offer. I know you have your brother and everything, but I wanted to say that I've been a father for decades. I've been a coach and mentor for years, too. I know in some ways, you probably have it more together than me because you seem so wise… but I just wanted you to know… regardless of what happens with you and Lila. I'm a pretty good person to call, in general, with dad questions, and I… I guess what I'm saying is that if you ever need to call someone in that capacity, I’m here."

Eddie was fumbling his words, and he reached out to hug Caleb. It was a type of sincerity that couldn't be misunderstood. Caleb felt his eyes start to sting, and he blinked.

"I'm sorry you got left when you were young. I wanted to let you know that I'm just a phone call away if you ever have any dad questions. I know there's YouTube, but you know, sometimes it's nice to call a human. Sometimes the boys will just call for, I don't know, advice about something silly. I know a few things about life outside of football."

Eddie Decker was being vulnerable and sincere, and it was the most heartfelt thing. At that moment, Caleb felt lighthearted and nostalgic for the Deckers and being in this house. He felt like Eddie was going to be a father to him, and not just in a friendly, charitable, way, but in the way that things were going to work out with Lila. He wasn't going to say any of that to Eddie at the moment. But he did pause to appreciate the feeling of peace and fulfillment and even purpose within the conversation.

"Thank you, Mr. Decker, for saying that."

"I mean it. Put my number in your phone, and call me anytime. Caroline's always praying for the kids. I know you have a lot of fans and support and everything, but we'll be praying for you, too."

He was being so heartfelt that Caleb had to hold back tears. He normally didn't have grown man father figure types being all sincere and warm with him. It felt a bit overwhelming. It was a feeling Caleb didn't even know he longed for, and he was moved. He looked away, stifling the urge to produce tears. Eddie Decker already loved him, and it was because of the relationship he had with Jesus. At that moment, Caleb realized that he was also right with God almighty because of his relationship with Jesus. It was the same unearned favor. He took a second to let that truth sink in, and then he turned to Eddie because he knew he needed to say something.

"Thank you. It really does mean a lot, what you're saying. The video that I recorded of my testimony, it was rehearsed, and I knew what I was going to say. So, anyway, I'm sorry if I'm a little speechless. But thank you. What you're saying means a lot. And thank you guys for having us over tonight it's been so nice meeting the family."

"How long are you staying in Chicago?"

"It's, uh, um, maybe a week? I have no return date as of now."

"Well, you're welcome to stay here if you need a place."

Caleb knew Marcus was expecting him and was happy to have him there, but it was nice to have such a warm invitation from Lila's dad.

"Thank you for that offer and for everything you said."

"I mean it. Get out your phone. I'll give you my phone number now since I'm not sure when Lila will want to take off."

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