Reed's Reckoning

“God, I missed you two! Listen to you! I was just admiring his nipple ring and you went all caveman. It reminds me of college.”

They laugh with me for a second but Reed leaves and comes back with a shirt for Jack to put on.

I try to help with breakfast, but it is evident I’m not in tune with Jack in the kitchen. He shoos me away and I go to get ready for the soccer game. Davis finally can’t stand the quiet and jumps on Luke on the couch. They wrestle until breakfast is ready. Amy comes out of her room in a robe and looks exhausted. She gives me a sympathetic look and squeezes my hands before going to pour her coffee.

Jack’s French toast is delicious and I groan when I finally push my plate away. Luke reaches over, takes the uneaten portion, and continues to stuff his face. Amy relaxes and tells us she still plans to go to lunch with Katy after the game. Then she offers to watch Davis while he naps so the adults can have time on the beach. I know she wants to talk about what happened last night but no one brings it up.

We invite Jack to go to the fields with us and he happily accepts. He packed a bag to stay the weekend, even if he had to get a hotel. Then he gives Reed a hard time about our son playing soccer. Reed defends himself and Luke jumps in explaining the Pop Warner age rules. Reed’s phone rings while I clean up the kitchen and I hear him talking to his agent. When he hangs up, he smiles at me.

“Word is out. An online article on some fan site today is about Reed Matthews being a father. Connor said the article is vague, but mentions me spending the summer in Fernandina to bond with my son. There was no mention of you by name, just the ‘boy’s mother’. There’s details about seeing us around town the last few weeks and being involved with the summer soccer league for the under four boys.”

“That doesn’t seem too bad. I bet it was a soccer mom or dad who either wrote it or sent the information to the online site. No one but parents refer to it as the ‘under four’ group.”

“You’re probably right. It doesn’t bother me at all.”

“Me neither. If that’s how we’re outed, it’s fine.”

“I’ll go get Davis dressed.” He turns to walk out but I stop him.

“Reed, let me do it. You need to talk to your mom. While Luke and Jack are getting ready, you have some privacy. Go to her and find out what happened last night. Then we can enjoy the day.”

He nods his head in agreement and goes to his mom.

When we get to the fields, I roll my eyes. Sophie and Grandma are waiting on us and Katy is decked out in her Red Hat apparel, including an eggplant colored sheath dress. She sticks out like a sore thumb. Amy is dressed nicely, but not nearly as over the top as my grandma.

Davis is thrilled to have all these people here to cheer him on so he is an extra show-off during the game. Travis joins our crew and we holler words of encouragement while laughing. When the game is over, Katy and Amy leave for their luncheon. It’s been so many weeks now, the newness of Reed being here has worn off to the parents, but I notice a few people I’ve never seen before hanging around. Then I realize they are parents of the five to six year olds that play after us. A few of them approach Reed and he is cordial, but tries to stick close.

We invite Miles and Travis to join us on the beach and they agree. Selfishly, I’m glad because Miles and Davis will keep each other entertained.

The beach is extremely packed since it’s Saturday. The guys set up a tent for the kids and Reed gets my chair ready for me. He looks at me with heat in his eyes when I take off my cover up and reveal a new striped bikini that Sophie picked out. Then making sure the little boys are taken care of, he, Jack, Luke, and Travis take off towards the water with boogie boards.

Sophie makes me tell her word for word what happened last night. Her hands twitche through the whole story and her lips set in a firm line. I watch Davis, making sure he isn’t listening, and thankfully he is involved with building a sandcastle.

“You know I slapped her right?” Sophie asks.

“I think Reed mentioned it, I was pretty out of it. How’d you even know it was her? You never met her.”

“I watched you through the window and when you opened the door, your body deflated. I saw her hair and remember you describing her. Your scream and fainting triggered something in me and I filled with rage. I heard you whisper her name. It happened so fast. One minute we are on the patio and the next Luke was pulling me back. I wish I had a shot at that Alex b-i-t-c-h.”