Page 17 of Brad & Finn
“Yeah? You think he’s good enough for her?” Brad asked, running his finger over a large crack in the surface of the table.
“Well, obviously, I didn’t have much time to investigate, but he seems to have a good, steady job, some sort of computer work I could never hope to understand. He also has his own place, which I suppose he and Chloe will have to figure out because I think I remember Jill saying Chloe had also bought a place not too long ago.”
Brad tried to hide his grin with a yawn. Leave it to his mom to find holes in their story without even trying.
His mom scowled at him and pointed meaningfully at his coffee. He obediently took another long drink as she launched into a well-rehearsed lecture about how Brad should consider investing in real estate in Chicago. The lecture continued until their food was delivered, at which time Brad got a second wink from Ethan. He had to force himself to choke down another swig of coffee to avoid answering when Ethan asked what he was up to until the reunion started.
“He’s either going to come help me with the garden or perhaps help Chloe at her mom’s place,” his mom volunteered.
Brad’s eyes bulged as his plan backfired, and he struggled to swallow his mouthful of lukewarm coffee. From the way Finn acted last night, it didn’t seem like this was public knowledge.
“Oh, that’s right. Chloe’s mom mentioned to my dad she was thinking about moving,” Ethan said.
“Yes, seems they’ve been hard at work already and are trying to fit in as much work as they can around the reunion. Maybeyou two strong boys should go over and help?” His mother’s eyes gleamed, and Brad spluttered.
Thankfully, even with his winking, Ethan seemed to know better. “While that does sound—” Ethan glanced up and down Brad’s torso in a way that made his shirt suddenly feel ten times too tight. “—like lots of fun, Ms. Willson, I’ll be completely swamped at the café this weekend. I’m sure they’ll make do with just the captain of the football team to help.”
Brad got a third wink and then Ethan hustled back behind the counter.
“Mom, you really shouldn’t encourage this!” Brad hissed, tearing off a large piece of his cinnamon roll to reward himself for everything he’d been through that morning.
His mom tore off an equally large piece of her roll and popped it in her mouth. She let out a satisfied groan and began unwrapping her sandwich.
They hadn’t had money for nice food growing up, but his mom had always been a foodie. Anytime they had extra funds at the end of a month, she’d take him to the grocery store, and they’d each pick one exciting new food to try.
While his mom thought that his proudest career moment thus far had been getting this promotion, it had really been when he’d finally made enough money to not only pay his bills but send some back to his mom. It had been a bit of a fight at first, and he’d bumbled through it as a dumb twenty-something-year-old who just wanted to help the only parent he’d ever truly known. Eventually, after lots of tears on both sides, she’d accepted his monthly checks, and he loved seeing all the fun foods in her pantry and the extra plants in her back garden.
“I know, dear, but I’m allowed to have a little fun!” She grinned at him, but it turned a little forced when she said, “We both know Ethan is married to his job about as much as you are, so I know there’s no chance of anything happening. It’s not likeyou would ever move back here, and I’m sure he wouldn’t move to Chicago.”
That familiar ache started at the base of Brad’s sternum. Even though he very clearly wasn’t interested in Ethan, it was true that even if he was, there was nothing to be done about it. That’s how things had gone for almost a decade, and while this promotion would hopefully change things soon, for this weekend at least, nothing much had changed.
After breakfast, Brad didn’t end up going to help Chloe and Finn. He figured he was more likely to fall asleep in a packing box than be of any real use. His mom excused him from garden duty so long as he promised to get some shuteye.
He managed to get a few hours of sleep in the hotel, and a brief walk around downtown helped clear the remaining fog from his brain. Unfortunately, that left room for nerves to creep in, and he decided to go back to the hotel to change into something slightly nicer than a Henley and joggers. Secretly, he also hoped he’d run into Finn, but when his watch read five minutes till registration began, he decided it was time to head over.
He’d only been back to the school building twice since graduation. The first time was for a fundraiser his mom had brought him to a few years after college, and the second was three years ago when he’d visited as a recruiter. Unfortunately, they hadn’t ended up recruiting anyone from Gomillion that season, but standing on the other side of things, shoulder to shoulder with his old coach, had been incredible.
Stepping into the front hall of the building was at once familiar and yet somehow underwhelming. The school had been built in 2001, and back then, it was state-of-the-art. But very little had been updated since, giving the entrance hall a bit of a time capsule feeling.
He pulled out his phone and double-checked the invitation, despite the fact he’d basically memorized it after reading it incessantly for months. Registration was in what the school called the “small gym,” even though it was the exact same size as the “large gym” on the other side of the building.
He walked down familiar hallways, stopping to run his fingers over his old locker and check to see if he could find his junior year football trophy. They’d never been competitive at the state level, but they’d played in a regional tournament and won. As he traced his finger over the glass display case, he spotted the football-shaped trophy in the very back of the top row.
If he closed his eyes, he could almost hear the deafening cheer of the crowd and feel the back slaps and helmet bumps from his teammates and coaches. He’d been on a particularly good streak with Kendall that month, and she’d run across the field to greet him. She’d jumped on him, wrapping her legs around his waist so she could rip his helmet off and kiss him in front of the whole school.
Chloe and Finn had run over, too, and Chloe was greeted by her boyfriend, Cory. They were never much for PDA, but she gave Cory a tight squeeze before Finn gave him a friendly hug as well. When Kendall had finally jumped off Brad to high-five the rest of the team, Finn and Chloe had allowed him to pull them into a sweaty hug.
He opened his eyes and found his thirty-eight-year-old face staring back at him.
The loudspeaker crackled overhead, and the voice of the Gomillion principal echoed through the halls. “Welcome, Gomillion Inaugural Class Alumni. Please make your way to the small gym for registration so the evening’s festivities can begin.”
Brad rolled his eyes as he turned away from the trophies and continued down the hall. Principal Bushman must be nearing sixty, and he still talked exactly like Foghorn Leghorn from theold Saturday morning cartoons. Brad had often seen him in the bleachers during practice and at almost every home and away game. Rumor had it he had wanted to be the football coach but had somehow ended up the principal.
As Brad neared the gym, he passed several fellow alumni, one or two of whom seemed remotely familiar. No one stopped him, though, so he followed the sounds of voices and squeaking shoes into the gym.
The first thing he noticed was that the smell hadn’t changed one bit. The warm scent of rubber, the tang of industrial cleaner, and cloying teenage body spray weren’t enough to cover the underlying presence of sweat. It had only taken six months of use for the gym to develop its scent, and it was almost comforting that it still smelled the same two decades later.
The second thing Brad noticed was the gaudy yellow decorations all around the gym, leading towards the two long tables he assumed were for registration. He tried to casually glance around for Chloe and Finn, but a mass of alumni were moving towards the tables, and he got swept up in the flow.
