“Dad!” he said. “I think I’ve finally found my sport!”
Of my three children, my youngest might be the brightest, but he is, shall we say, challenged athletically. Ali had tried various sports—basketball, baseball, and even lacrosse—but nothing ever clicked, and he seemed to trip over his own feet a lot.
“I’m hoping your sport’s not ice hockey,” I said.
“What?” Ali said, almost indignant. “No.”
“Horse jumping?”
“No. Darts.”
“Darts?”
“There’s a tournament coming up,” he said. “I’ve been playing a bunch at my friend Charley’s house after school, but I need my own board and a set of good darts if I’m going to have any chance of qualifying.”
Feeling a twinge in my ankle, I closed my eyes. I heard Bree say, “Where’s this tournament?”
“At a bar on Capitol Hill,” Ali said.
“A bar?” I said, opening my eyes.
“Technically, a tavern. I walk by there all the time after the bus drops me.”
“You’re not going to a bar or a tavern to play darts.”
“It’s a ten-thousand-dollar prize, Dad!”
“You’re too young to be playing darts where people are drinking alcohol.”
“No, I went in and asked. As long as you’re with me, they said I can play.”
The doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Bree said.
“Let Ali,” I said.
“Can I get the dartboard?”
“Start by getting the door.”
He hesitated, then ran out.
“Darts?” Bree said, trying to hide her smile. “In a tavern?”
“Nana Mama is going to have a cow,” I said, laughing.
“She’s going to have two cows. Maybe an entire dairy farm if this becomes a regular thing.”
“Darts,” I said, and I shook my head at how quickly Ali went from a sharp and analytical adult-like person to a young boy attracted by the next shiny object.
I heard his footsteps pound back to us, and I thought for sure he was going to ask about the darts again.
Instead, he said breathlessly, “It’s Ned and Krazy Kat!”
CHAPTER
101