Perfect by Design

13: Grayson James

Spencer

"Put it on speaker," Olivia whispers as she nudges me.

I know there's no use in fighting my wife on this, so I quickly switch the phone to speaker mode.

"What's going on, Gray?" A part of me wants to mess with him about how immature he's been, but something in his voice tells me he really doesn't need that right now.

"Why were you so mad at me for not going to LSU? You always told me you didn't want me in your shadow, and then you turned on me when I didn't follow your perfect plan."

"Grayson," I sigh before setting the phone on my bed and turning to my wife for help. She shakes her head and crosses her arms over her chest, leaning against the headboard.

"I didn't know that LSU was my perfect plan. I wasn't upset with you for not choosing LSU. I was upset that you felt the need to blindside me with your decision."

"If I'd said something to you beforehand, would you have actually listened? I stopped being excited about LSU months before I made my decision, and it's like you didn't even notice."

"Of course, I noticed, Grayson. Or do you not remember I was the one who advised you not to commit early and let the entire recruitment process play out? I've always been on your side."

For whatever reason, these kids of ours seem to think Olivia and I are on a mission to make their lives harder than necessary. I just don't understand what we did to make them feel this way.

"G, of course I would've been excited for you to play at my alma mater, but I didn't push for it just because mom and I went there. I genuinely thought it was the best program for you."

"And following me to Florida was what exactly?"

"I honestly believe your commitment to FSU had more to do with rebellion than anything else. You're a smart kid, Gray, and I knew you'd realize that eventually. I just wanted to make sure you had support around you when that happened."

He's silent for a long time. Even my wife has a look of disbelief on her face. Everybody thinks I'm this crazy dad who followed his son out of state, but I know my kid.

I mute the phone for a second and turn to my wife. "You wound me, little tiger." I pretend to pout. "You really thought I needed that much control over his life?"

"Really, babe. You are talking to the woman who suggested we split time between here and New York when Leah left. I'm not above stalking our kids." She laughs, and even after all of these years, the sound still warms every part of my body.

"Dad, I messed up."

I quickly take the phone off of mute. When his name appeared on my phone screen, I knew something terrible was coming. Like I said, I know my kids, and he didn't magically come to his senses in a few hours.

"I'm listening." I attempt to keep my tone even.

"Coach thinks I'm not focused—said my image isn't that of a team leader."

I turn to Olivia, who rolls her eyes. I told her weeks ago she needed to do her mom thing and reel him in. She told me he needed to get it out of his system, and everything would be fine. One day this household will learn that I'm always right.