Chapter 57

Sawyer

Linksfield High faced their second loss in their eighth week of play in the middle of October. They played Eastridge High and got crushed 13-27. Asher is devastated and blames himself.

The fact that the terms of his suspension include not attending any matches and the prohibition of contact with any of the team members makes it much, much worse.

They were distracted, the guys at the woodlot said. It was obvious. Plus, they're resistant to the new interim coach.

Regular season games are not televised and since I'm not allowed to attend the games either, according to the suspension terms, we catch live streams or social media updates.

"Hey." I step outside on the porch on Sunday morning. Reece and Ash are outside, watching the sun come up. It's too early for Reece but he hasn't been able to sleep much these last few weeks.

"I terminated my lease agreement on the apartment," Reece says. He walks over to me, lifting his face to mine for a kiss. I kiss him softly. "That's great. I'll help you move your stuff later."

"I want to help with the expenses. Don't say no. The house got sold. I have some money."

I press my lips to his again. "Okay. Yes. Thank you."

My eyes move to Asher. It's been a week since the hearing. One more week to go and we'll know if he still has a job. "Morning, babe," I say.

He holds out his hand and I take it, moving into his embrace. "Morning. Want to visit my mom today?"

"Of course."

Asher looks over at Reece. "Mom's place?"

***

Look, I'm not a small guy. I take up most of the space in the bed and I'm not allowed to sleep in the middle since Reece started sleeping at our house because of my size. But when I'm in Mrs. Cameron's house, I'm somehow able to get myself buried in her five-foot frame like a new-born baby.

It's not just me. It's all of us. Big babies with Mrs. Cameron.

"You need to stop working so hard," she scolds, inspecting my calloused hands. "And don't they give you things to protect your skin?"

"They do," I laugh, kissing my mother-in-law on the top of her head when she greets us at the door. "My hands are just rough like that."

"Well, I don't like how hard they work you boys down there."

Asher kisses his mother's cheek, and Reece holds back, waiting his turn. It does something inside me to watch Reece greet Mrs. Cameron. Like a shy little baby seeing his mama after a long day. She takes him in her arms and whispers something in his ear that makes him break out into the cutest grin I've ever seen on his face.

"Hey," Asher yells from the kitchen. "No secrets in this house."

Mrs. Cameron laughs and pulls Reece into the living room. "I just told him that if any of you two give him a hard time he needs to just let me know and I'll sort the two of you out."

I only just manage to not look at Asher over that hard time reference because never in my life am I ever going to scandalize my mother-in-law over her innocent words. It's of no use, though. Asher catches my eye and bursts out laughing.

I shake my head, telling him to stop, but the truth is my heart leaps for the happiness on his face. It's been a tough few weeks for him, and I'm glad we came over to his mother, the only other place Asher feels safe.

After Mrs. Cameron has managed to seat three grown men around the small table in her kitchen, she gets on with the task of feeding us. And while she does that, she asks questions.

"Asher, I'm worried about you, honey. Is it one more week until you hear back?"

He bites into his mac and cheese. "Yeah."

"Have you boys been talking about what you'll do if things don't work out in Asher's favor?" She places a jug of fresh orange juice in the center of the table and joins us for lunch.

Asher answers. "Not yet, Mom. We're still hoping things will work out in my favor. They presented no evidence related to my actual job. Everything was about the morality of it all and how it can negatively affect the children. I don't see how they can render a guilty outcome based on that."

"And if they do, it's discrimination," I say.

"Well, I do agree that such views are outdated," Mrs. Cameron says. "But what worries me is that this country is quite capable of taking us right back to the fifties. We've seen it happen, haven't we? They could very well say that their subjective understanding of moral indiscretion is enough for a termination."

"I'll fight it," Ash says.

Reece is eating quietly. I know all he sees is his own guilt when we talk about Asher's work situation, and I feel sorry for him. That he's not able to see that none of this is his fault.

"You'll fight it, honey? If it comes to it?"

"It's the most reasonable thing to do." Ash regards his mother carefully. "You don't agree? You don't think I should fight it if they terminate me?"

She lifts her shoulder in a shrug. "Sometimes you have to fight, but sometimes walking away is just as brave. I always told you that, remember?"

Reece finally speaks. "Your mom's right, Ash. Sometimes, when you walk away you end up in a better place than if you'd stayed and fought."

I love the way Ash looks at him. A private moment between them, Asher understanding the subtext. He reaches over to squeeze Reece's hand. "I know. But I don't think it'll come to that. I don't think I'll lose."