Page 62 of More Than A Game

Her rendition of the national anthem will always be my favorite to hear before a game.

Her scrawny arms wrap around my waist, and she squeezes me like the stuffed teddy bear I won for her one summer on the boardwalk.

“Missed you too. What are you up to?”

“I just got back from my voice lesson and promised Mom I’d go through my stuff and decide what I want to donate. Do you know she and Joe are talking about us moving in before Thanksgiving?”

“I think that might be what she wants to talk to me about tonight.”

A distinctly female voice is heard behind me. “Aiden Murphy, does a mother need a reason to want to see her only son?”

Turning around, I wrap my mom up in a big hug. “I missed you too, Mom.”

“I’m going upstairs. AJ, let me know before you leave.” Carys pops her earbud back in her ear and walks away.

I watch my sister disappear down the hall before my mom links her arm in mine.

“Come with me into the kitchen. I was just about to make a pot of tea.”

I sit down at the kitchen counter, and my mom begins to move around the kitchen. She fills the tea kettle with water and sets it on the stove, not asking if I want a cup, just knowing I do and how I like it.

God, I love my mom.

“So, Momma, what’s going on with the move and the wedding?”

She gives me a look over her glasses that conveys her thoughts before she speaks them. “Tell me what’s going on with you before we discuss what’s going on with me.”

“Well, my arm is feeling better. Not quite back to a hundred percent yet but getting there. I should be back to full force by our next game.” I flex for her and get an eye roll in return.

“How are Sebastian and Brady doing?”

“Bash is going through some crap with his dad right now.”

Mom makes a hmm sound. She knows I won’t elaborate, but she always asks. Bash spent more time at my house or Brady’s than his own when we were growing up. Mom did a good job of making sure Bash knew he was always welcome. He definitely ate more dinners at our table than he ever ate at his own.

“Brady’s good. He’s having a hell of a season.”

She grabs two Twinings Irish Breakfast tea bags out of her tea box and drops them into her favorite mugs. “Any girls catching your eye?”

When I don’t answer right away, she stops and stares at me for a moment. “Oh. Well then, tell me who this girl is.”

“I’m taking Sabrina Cabot to her dad’s fundraiser this weekend.”

“You’re going to Senator Cabot’s fundraiser? At the Union League?” She hands me my mug across the counter.

Blowing on the tea before I drink it, I hold the mug up and wonder if I can hide behind it. “Yeah. We’ve been kind of seeing each other for a few weeks.”

“And why is this the first time I’m hearing about this?” Her voice hasn’t raised a single decibel, but the look on her face tells me exactly how excited this is making her.

“Come on, Mom. Let me figure out what’s going on before you have me married off, will ya?”

“Aiden, you’re too young to get married. Get that thought out of your head. However, Sabrina Cabot is a sweetheart. Lucky for her, she’s nothing like her mother and only takes after her father.” Rounding the counter, she takes the seat next to me.

“I didn’t know you knew her parents that well.”

“My family has always been supporters of the Cabots. Your grandfather was good friends with Senator Cabot’s father long before he was governor of Pennsylvania. The senator and I went to Kroydon Hills together back in our day. Joe and I will be there to support him Saturday night too.” She’s practically giddy with excitement.

I choke on my tea before swallowing. “What? Why will you be there?”

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