Welcome Back, Riley

Chapter 17

Friday morning is when Auggie decided he wanted to sit mom down to talk to her about his future. We all listened to him talk about his plan. My dad and I supported him instantly, however, my mom took a little more convincing. As soon as she sees some of the pictures he's taken, her eyes widen in amazement. She couldn't believe that he was this talented with a camera in his hand.

The rest of our Friday, none of us wanted to go out with it being the Friday after Thanksgiving and places being crowded. We wanted to enjoy a quiet night in, so we decided to have a family game night and play monopoly. However, my mom's competitive nature with mine did not make for a quiet night.

Auggie never liked playing because he said it took an unnecessarily long, so it wasn't a surprise after two hours of playing he quit and went up to his room. Monopoly can be an intense game, especially when you have two people like my mother and I playing against each other. My dad played the mediator throughout the night to make sure things didn't do too far. The three of us played until midnight. We had to call it a night because of Nathan's game in the morning.

When we get to the football field the game had already started, we scan the bleachers for Nathan's parents. It takes a minute or two to find them waving frantically at us.

"Nathan is going to be so happy to see you guys," Jessica says as we take our seats next to them.

"We told him we'd be here. Sorry that we're late. We had a hard time getting someone up," I look at Auggie.

Jessica and Michael laugh, "We know what you mean. We practically need to drag Nathan out of bed by his feet to get him up," Jessica says.

My dad looks at into the field, "Speaking of Nathan, what number is he?"

Jessica, Michael and I scan the field, "He's number 47. Right there," I point to the right side of the field.

I try to keep my focus on the game at hand, but mind is elsewhere. I'm looking for a certain someone. This is where I told Farkle to tell Lucas to meet me. He can make it a little before half time if he comes here straight from the airport. Maybe it wasn't the greatest idea since he'd have to carry his luggage around with him.

Throughout the first quarter, we all cheer for Nathan on. He gets benched for the second quarter to give other players a chance to play. I've been to many of his games. He'll play the first quarter sit the second, and come back in during the end of third and finish the game. During the time, he isn't playing, I keep pulling my phone out from my coat pocket to see if I have any new texts or calls from Lucas, but I don't. Nathan's team is down by a touchdown when halftime rolls around. Auggie leaves to go get something from the snack bar, and my parents and Michael and Jessica go down to the field to go say hi to Nathan.

I don't leave the bleachers; I stay in my seat looking over everything. Shouldn't he have been here by now? I pull out my phone to look at the time. It's been an hour and a half since his flight landed if he made it.

"Are you waiting for a call from someone or something? You've been checking your phone like clockworks," my dad says climbing the bleachers back to me with the others right behind him.

I smile and look at my mom who is already looking at me smiling. Michael, Jessica, and Auggie are confused, but my dad catches on and smiles too. "Lucas," he whispers and I nod.

They get settled in their seats on the bench. Time continues to go by, and still no sigh of him. I look up and see Nathan's head keep turning in the direction of the other team's cheerleaders. I nudge Jessica who is sitting next to me.

"Did he get a flower?" I whisper just for her to hear.

She smiles, "Yes, he has it in his bag. I told him let me hold it, so it doesn't get smashed. But he insisted on keeping it close to him. Do you know who it's for?"