Page 110 of Coach Me
What, are you avoiding the dugout now?
Fav Player
I’m in the bullpen helping your brother with something actually.
What a coincidence.
Miles taps on my shoulder. “Lucie, can we get our hotdogs now?”
I slide my phone in my back pocket. “Of course. You know they’re my favorite.” I stand up, reaching for his hand. “We can go to our seats after.”
“Okie,” Miles cheers, then reaches for his mom’s hand. “Come on, let’s go.”
Kate holds Miles’s hand while he pulls her, but eventually she lets go. I force my lips shut when I notice, but Milesswings our joined hands happily as we walk back up to the concessions.
Honestly, I’m grateful he doesn’t let go because the crowd today is insane. We’ve had sold-out games at home, but this place feels absolutely packed. It could be the Crimson fan base, everyone is cutting in front of us as we walk, and we even get some already drunken fans yelling Crimson chants when they notice our Blues game-day attire.
I hold Miles’s hand tightly as we wait in line at the concessions. “You want the usual, bud?”
Miles looks up at me with a toothy grin. “Hotdog with mustard. Oh, and a Sprite.”
“Coming right up.” I look toward Kate. “Do you want anything?”
She snarls her nose as she looks at the menu. “I’ll get something later.”
“Okay,” I say with a smile.
After ordering our food, I swallow down a little pride and put on my best teacher voice to ask Miles to hold his mom’s hand so I can carry the food.
“Got it.” Miles grabs Kate’s hand again and swings it up to show me.
“Perfect, I think we can get to our seats this—” My sentence ends as a random person runs into my back, sending all of my food to the ground.
“Oh, I’m so sorry! This other guy ran into me…” the man starts as he picks up our sodas, but unfortunately, the dogs can’t be salvaged. “Let me give you some cash for more,” he blurts out.
“It’s okay, it was—” I stop short as I look at the man in front of me. I blink several times. This can’t be right. No, I think I’m going insane.
“Lucie?” My name comes out as a question, and my heart rate skyrockets.
I look back at this man, who definitely looks older than I would have thought, but there is a resemblance to Will and Reagan. “Dad?”
The word feels so weird coming out of my mouth. I guess I show how I feel on my face because the man in front of me pales.
Miles tugs on my shirt, looking up at me so pitifully. “Lucie, our hotdogs…they’re your favorite.”
“It’s okay bud, I…um…” I look from Miles tomy dad, then to Kate, who’s looking at me like I’ve gone insane. Maybe I have, that could actually be what’s happening here.
Kate puts her hands on Miles’s shoulder. “We will wait for you just right over there.”
I contemplate her words for a minute before giving her a small nod. “I won’t be long.”
When they get far enough away, I slowly look to the man in front of me. Ian Anderson feels like a ghost to me, and yet here he stands.
His hair is dark brown, just like my siblings, the wrinkles are deeper, but I’m sure years of drinking did that. Although he’s standing in front of me, Diet Coke in hand, and besides us running into each other, he doesn’t seem out of sorts. He doesn’t smell like alcohol. He’s not stumbling or slurring his words.
He looks at me for just a moment and curses under his breath. “I’m sorry, I know this might be hard to believe, but I didn’t mean to run into you like that. I try to stay out of sight when I come and watch Will. I didn’t realize it was you until…” His face softens with a small sigh. “You look so much like your mother, Lucie.”
Wait, what? He came to watch Will? Actually, it sounded like he does it often. And I know I look like my mom, but hearing it from a man I haven’t seen in over a decade…
