The Safety's Sideline Obsession

Back To School

Caylee

“Mama! You don’t need to send so much food back with me. I know how to cook; you taught me. Won’t starve.” I laugh watching her give me a look as she continues to pack the cooler. Sofie Jameson can give the stern do-not-mess-with-mama looks better than anyone I’ve ever seen. She might be the tiniest one in our house but as Sean and Liam always say “Dynamite comes in small packages too. Don’t mess with Mama.”

Watching my dad grab the cooler from the table but not until after he wraps my mom up pulling her against his chest and kissing her neck softly has me smiling. We grew up with more love than is describable. Not only did our parents always make sure we knew how important we were; we have three sets of grandparents, four uncles, Bennett, Jared, Elliott, and Dylan with families; three aunts, Ella, Avery, and Lola and then what Mama calls “The Team” family. That’s their friends and families including her Aunt Delaney and Dad’s best friends, Colby, Clint, Manny, and Baylor. Uncle Bennett and Uncle Jared always joke they should be called Real Uncle while Dad’s friends just get to be Uncle. Sean got creative and called them Runcle Bennett and Runcle Jared for a while.

The fake uncles all played football together at Harrisville and then in the pros. When they decided to have kids, they all bought houses in this one cul-de-sac and we’ve grown up together. Basically one massive circus but a happy one.

I sigh a little remembering what we talked about yesterday. I’m going to take Mama’s advice and relax, just go with my feelings with Joey.

“Is this everything we need to pack up Caycay?” Dad asks me, pointing to the small pile of bags and boxes at my feet.

“That’s all.” He grabs a bunch and starts taking it out. Alex comes to help him; he and Quinn are staying here today. Sean and Liam are already hauling some of my stuff out. They are staying until the weekend when they’ll leave for their own apartments and more training. Sean and Liam ride with me while Mama and Dad lead the way in his truck. They spend the whole trip talking about their upcoming training and games. Their excitement is contagious and I feed off it. We all love football; live and breathe it in the fall it seems like.

Once at my apartment, we make quick work of unloading my stuff. Liam went and dropped off Noah’s boxes at his apartment. Mama is unloading the cooler while my brothers unpack the rest. I hear a knock on the door and Dad opens it, revealing Joey. “Hi, Mr. Jameson.”

“Hello Joey. How have you been?”

“Not too bad.” He steps around and his face lights up in a big smile. I walk over and he lifts me in a big hug. “Hey babycakes. I am so happy to see you.” He gives me a quick kiss and I squeeze him in another hug. As he sets me down so he can greet my mom, I look him over. Joey Clanton is tall though my family seems to dwarf him still. Right at six feet with that black hair and dark brown eyes, he’s plenty handsome. He got more tan this summer. His body is built like a baseball player. Upper body toned but not really bulky. His legs are trim but muscular. He turns heads easily like he’d turned mine the first time I met him. I remember that day. I was supposed to meet Violet to go to the homecoming pep rally last year. Running late, I had taken a shortcut and cut through the athletic dorms. Sean and Liam were texting me to hurry up, they had something they wanted to show me before the rally started. I was almost there when I turned the corner and literally rammed into Joey. He caught me and made a joke. I’d laughed and he ended up walking me to the pep rally. I missed out on Sean and Liam's surprise. As we got there, he asked me for coffee and I accepted. The rest is as they say history.

“Nice timing there, Joey.” Sean teases. “We’ve already unloaded and unpacked everything.”

“What can I say, I’m a lucky guy.” He says with a grin and a wink at me. Liam groans loudly and rolls his eyes.

“Joey, would you like to join us for dinner?” Mama offers. “We are going to go to the diner and eat before we leave.”

“That would be nice Mrs. Jameson. I’d love to.” He smiles charmingly at her but she’s unaffected. He always tries to charm my mom but he hasn’t figured out she’s not that type. I’ve seen her cut people down with her sharp tongue one too many times. Dad always said she was never one to suffer inane flattery, idiots, or fools quietly. A few parents found that out when they went after my brothers and ‘cousins’ in high school complaining they got advantages because their dads used to be pro players. None of us will forget the way she ended all that.

At the diner, Joey tells everyone all about his summer baseball work. Dad had gone before dinner and met with the football coach. Dad and his old teammates all come each year and give a talk to all the players about planning for their futures and being careful in the decisions they make. He’s done it every year since he retired.

I’ve already heard all the stories Joey’s telling. Sean and Liam listen but I’m sure they are bored to tears. They hate baseball. Sean keeps texting someone, probably Violet. She had to work today and couldn’t come.

We are halfway done with dinner when I see my dad waving at someone. I turn to find Noah and Uncle Colby heading our way. Noah is looking right at me for a second but then he moves on to my brothers.

“Hey peppermint.” Uncle Colby hugs my mom. Not like he didn’t see her this morning, but that’s them. My mom is a hugger but Uncle Colby, he’s an extreme hugger. Never hesitates to show affection. Dad says he’s always been a teddy bear but after he almost died six years ago, it got multiplied a hundred-fold. That whole year changed most of us. I won’t forget how much my parents cried.

I stand and happily let him squeeze me. “There’s my little Cayleebug.” He nods to Joey with a smile.

“Join us. Didn’t think you were going to make it today, Colby.” Dad says and they sit down. Liam, Sean, and Noah immediately begin talking football.

“We got Beth settled in time for me to come with Noah. But I still appreciate you bringing his extra stuff.”

He looks my way. “Cayleebug, did Noah tell you his mom is going to be teaching here this semester?”

I glance at Noah briefly as his eyes meet mine. “I hadn’t heard that. What’s Aunt Ava teaching?”

“Creative writing the senior class for the entire semester and then half the semester of introduction to journalism.”

“Awesome! I’m taking creative writing.” I tell him happily. Aunt Ava was a journalist. She wrote investigative pieces for years in the major newspaper at home.

“The one for seniors?” He asks.

I nod. “Yeah I have enough credits and my advisor approved it since my major is basically in writing and I’m on the advanced track for classes in that category.”

Dad winks at me. “She got her writing skills from me.”

Mama fires back. “Obviously. Not like Colby can’t remember how terrible I am at it.”

Colby snickers. “If sarcasm was a skill Peppermint, you’d be the leading expert. Anyway, you’ll be seeing her three times a week then.” He looks back to me before glancing at Noah. “And she can keep her eye on Noah too.”

Noah silently chuckles as he looks at me playfully rolling his eyes. I grin at him and whisper loudly. “We’ll pretend to behave.”

He gives me a conspiratorial wink. “I was thinking we could finagle lunch out of her a few days.” Everyone laughs and Uncle Colby nods. “You know you can.”

Suddenly Joey slides his arm around my waist pulling me tight against his side. “Maybe I should sign up for this class too.” I tear my gaze away from Noah to look up into Joey’s face. He looks upset and I pat his other arm on the table. “You hate writing. And Aunt Ava will be ruthless in her grading.” He stares down at me before saying “as long as you don’t run off on our lunch dates all the time. Would miss my time with my girlfriend.” He emphasizes the last words playfully and I shake my head at him.

Dad changes the subject asking if anyone has chosen their dessert orders. I peek over toward Noah, Sean and Liam hearing Sean whispering something unintelligible. All three look extremely irritated though Noah looks pissed off. They hide it well but I’ve known them too long. That jaw set, and tense shoulders….all dead giveaways with those three. I wonder what they were talking about.

Webb

“Call if you need anything alright baby girl?” I hug Caylee tight as we ready to leave.

“I will Daddy. I love you.” I lean back smiling at her.

“I love you too. Going to miss you.”

“I’ll be home in two weeks for the game.” She tells me laughing.

“I know. Doesn’t mean I won’t miss you. Have fun but not too much fun like Pop always says.” I tease her. Pop, Sofie’s dad Arthur, always tells her to enjoy herself but responsibly. I still remember him telling Sofie the same thing the first time I met him. I give her one more hug before finally walking out the door. She looks so much like her mom right now. I listen for the sound of her door locking and the chains. Old fears will always be there. I like to think it makes us more aware and more cautious. I made all the kids take different types of martial arts their entire lives so they could fight back. Sofie too when the kids were young.

I’d made sure to wait until Joey went home too. He could come back but I might have mentioned that we’d be leaving late tonight.

Sean and Liam sit in the back of the truck already. As we drive away, Sean says “So weird not to be going over to our old apartment right now.”

We all agree with him and I continue to drive home. A few minutes in, Liam breaks the silence. “I was hoping Caylee wouldn’t be so happy to see Joey today.”

Sean snorts. “I can’t stand that guy.”

We say nothing but I glance at Sofie out of the corner of my eye and she’s doing the same.

“Come on you two. You never say anything but we’re fully grown now. Paying our own bills, real jobs…you can tell us what you really think of him.” Liam pleads quietly.

I clear my throat. “I don’t like him for Caylee, but your sister is also a big girl.”

We all wait but Sofie says nothing. “Sof sweetheart…”

“She won’t end up with him. Don’t worry. Everything will work out.” She reassures all of us.

Once home, I watch Sofie climb into bed. “I always promised to defer to your wisdom, sweetheart, but are you sure about Caylee?”

She smiles tilting her head. “Jellybean, did I not tell you that Sean and Violet would end up together when they were fifteen?”

I make a knowing face. “Yeah, yeah you did.”

“Look, I know my daughter. And you do too. Do you honestly think she’ll stay with Clingbot Clanton?”

I snicker. My wife has not changed much. “No I don’t.”

“She’s already wavering and wants out. But she has to come to that realization on her own, otherwise she’ll doubt her decision. Our hardest challenge as parents, letting them spread their wings and making tough decisions without interfering.”