Reed's Reckoning

Luke freezes and he looks at me. Reed stops beside me, noticing the tension in my body. He looks back and forth between us and puts his hand on the small of my back. I jerk away.

“What the fuck?” he says a little too loudly.

“Hey, big man, why don’t you, your daddy, and me go get set up and let Uncle Luke talk to your mom?” Sophie takes Davis and starts walking towards the other parents.

I look at Reed pleading with him to follow. He nods his head and drags all our stuff to the sidelines.

“Hey,” I say to Luke when he gets to me.

“Hey, yourself. Anything you want to share?”

“Yesssss,”my lips tremble and I spill the whole story and try to catch the few tears that fall. I have enough going on and showing up to the first game of the season with a puffy face will only start rumors.

“Jesus Christ!” he shouts when I am done and wraps me in a hug. I squeeze him back and calm down.

“Are you mad at me?” I ask cautiously.

“Absolutely not, but why the fuck didn’t you call me?”

“I was going to but I had to think about how in the hell I was going to tell Davis, and then I got sidetracked.”

“Babe, I love you and Davis like you are my own. I would have helped you. But seeing as now it’s done, I’m proud of you.”

“You are?”

“Hell, yes. I’ve never wanted to hide this shit, but I knew how you felt. I think it’s great that Davis will know his dad.”

“What about the other stuff? What about Reed wanting to get to know me again?” I ask him silently seeking his approval. He has been the glue that has held me together for years.

“Yeah, well. Let’s see how that plays out.”

“Okay.”

We walk arm in arm to the sideline area where the kids are jumping with excitement. Reed is right next to the coach with the other kids but watching me closely. I give him a small grin and start to talk to other mothers and unload the cooler.

The game starts and even though these little boys have no organization, they clearly enjoy chasing the ball and hearing all the parents cheer. I tried to set our chairs back away for Reed’s sake, but he still attracts a crowd. I’m so thankful for Travis warning me about Reed being recognized.

Several dads approach him and introduce themselves. A few of the moms even talk to him. When a beautiful brunette walks up to him, he freezes. He’s polite enough to shake her hand but looks around nervously. I have a pit in my stomach watching her size him up. His eyes find mine and he widens them, mouthing ‘help’. I shake my head and giggle.

I take a few pictures with my phone for Grandma Katy.

“Hey, Ari, I guess last night went well, huh?” I look up to see Travis standing next to my chair.

“I guess so, why?”

“Davis told Miles about his new daddy. Miles was excited and wants to come over and play with some kind of ship.”

I chuckle. “Yeah new Lego toy. We should set it up next weekend.”

“Travis,” Reed breaks in with his hand outstretched. “I really appreciate you giving Ari a heads up.”

“No problem. I’m really fond of Davis and know how hard it can be on a kid to hear that kind of news.”

“Let’s go, Davis!” Luke shouts and we all go back to watching the game.

Sophie helps me set out some snacks when the game is over. Even though it’s only the first weekend of June, the summer heat is in full force. Davis is covered in sweat, dirt, and grass but he doesn’t care. He’s having a ball. He makes a point to tell anyone who will listen about how awesome he played. Reed soaks in every word like it’s the best thing he’s ever heard.

Reed surprises me by hugging me from behind and kissing my neck softly.

“What are you doing?” I hiss.

“Saying hi.”

“Why couldn’t you say it like normal? You just kissed me in front of all these people.”

“Yep, and if I wasn’t trying to prove I can take things slow, I’d be doing a lot more right now.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I needed your help back there with that woman, and you sat back and laughed at me.”

“You’re a big boy; I figured you could take care of yourself.”

“Boy? Did you just call me a boy? And besides, I was kind of hoping you would walk over and stake your claim.”

“I don’t play those games, Reed. If you wanted to talk to her, who am I to stop you? I can’t control what you do.”

He spins me around to face him and he is annoyed. “You’re wrong. You hold the control here. Everything is in your control.”