I plopped into my seat and buried my face in my hands. Why does she keep doing this to me?
“Emily!” I ignored the voice, but it called out to me again. I looked over to where the voice was coming from and saw Jake standing at the glass in the bench area. I stood and walked over. “Are you okay? You’re pale,” his voice was full of concern.
“My mom,” was all I could manage to say. His eyes showed conflicting emotions of rage and sadness.
“Benson! Let’s go! NOW!” He turned to look at his coach and gave me an apologetic smile. Then he was gone.
A hand touched my shoulder and I jumped, turning to see my dad. “C’mon. Let’s go outside and talk for a minute.”
I followed him outside and relished the cool air as it brushed over my skin. We walked away from the door a bit and my dad embraced me in a bear hug. “I’m so sorry, honey.”
I took in the comfort that was my dad. “She called last night. I should have told you. I just didn’t know what to think. I was just hoping she would leave me alone.”
“You should have come to me, hon, but it’s alright. She shouldn’t bother you anymore.”
“I still miss her, Daddy,” I barely managed to choke out.
“Oh, honey, I know. Sometimes I miss her too. She isn’t the same person anymore so we have to remember that.” He sighed. “I just want you to remember that I love you so much and that I’m always here for you no matter what. You can come and talk to me about anything. If you just want to talk and get something out, you can. I won’t say a word if you don’t want me to. Just know that I’m here for you, honey.”
I squeezed him in reassurance. “I know, Daddy. I love you too.” He held me in his arms as if I would dissolve and blow away in the breeze if he were to let go.
I knew right then that my Dad did love me and he meant what he said. I don’t know what I did to be worthy of his love, but I had it and I would try and try to become a woman he would be proud of. Maybe I could do the same thing for Jake and Drake.
“Emily, we won! We get to go get ice cream now, right?” I turned around to see Drake rushing to me. It seemed that everyone was gone or leaving.
“Of course, buddy. It won’t be like what we had Saturday, but it’ll still be good,” I told him. He was so excited and it brought a smile to my face.
“Emily? Everything okay?” Jake came up to me and gave me a one armed hug and a kiss on the forehead.
“Yes. Dad and I talked about it.”
“Good.” He visibly seemed to relax.
“Sorry I missed the end of the game.”
“It’s fine. I hear we are going out for ice cream?”
I smiled over at Drake, “Yes, we are.”
“Jake, can I ride with Mr. Mike?” Drake looked at Jake with pleading eyes.
“If you ride with Mr. Mike, then Emily has to ride with me,” he said pulling me a little closer.
I had yet to look over at my dad. I was too nervous to see his reaction. “Well, let’s go then,” I said. We broke away from my dad and Drake and headed over to Jake’s Mustang. “You smell good,” I giggled.
Jake chuckled and said, “Of course I do. I took a quick shower after the game once I found out about going out for ice cream.” He opened my door for me, then he walked around and got in himself.
The Dairy Queen was about ten minutes from the school. Jake wasted no time. “What did Mike say about
your mom?”
“Just that she wouldn’t call me anymore. I hope he’s right.” Jake reached over and took a firm grasp of my hand, intertwining our fingers.
I looked over at him brightly, “So, when is this date we are supposed to go on?”
He grinned. “I was thinking about Friday.”
I nodded and said, “Sounds good to me. I haven’t told my dad yet.”