The Players (TP4)

16 - Never dropped the football

Ryan

Life on The Point was becoming a routine. He ran early with his brother and Peter and then went for coffee and something for breakfast. He smiled and even exchanged greetings to others like a social individual. Some mornings he saw Lana, but they didn't say anything other than a comment or two about the weather. If it was Thursday, she'd mention seeing him later. Most mornings, he saw Alex who always had a friendly greeting.

He also saw Rory waiting for the bus. He greeted her the same. "Hey kid."

She typically responded in one of two ways. "Hi Uncle" or "Good morning, Uncle."

He liked the kid, she was spunky and obviously smart. It relieved him to see her genuinely happy. He had listened to his mother talk about her struggles for two years and was proud of her for finding a way forward.

After his outing to The Landing, he went to shower and got to work. Some days he took a walk at noon. Often at home, he would have gone out to lunch and socialized, but here he walked to the ocean looping back home. It was relaxing and helped him feel like life wasn't just passing him by. At the end of his workday, he swam in the pool since the water was pleasantly warm. It was his favorite part of his day. His evenings were more often than not spent alone in front of the game, but a few times he had dinner at Jack's and thanks to Maddie it was nice. His best evening so far was the night Peter invited him to join his poker game. Meeting Jack's friends, he understood why his brother was happy living on The Point.

He detoured down Gull Road on his way back from his midday walk. As he approached Jack's house, Maddie planting flowers.

He waved. "I didn't know you were a gardener."

"Hi, Ryan. I try, not that I have time to get much done these days."

The stroller was a few feet away, but he didn't see any other children. "Where's the rugrat?"

Maddie smiled. "Emma's at daycare today. Rugrat, kid. What are you going to call JP when he's older?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe Junior, but that's Jack. So Trey or just JP like everyone else."

Maddie smiled. "You're all right Ryan Harris. I don't care what anyone else says."

"What do people say about me?"

"You know the typical... grouchy, commitment-phobe, playboy."

"I'm really not a playboy, but the rest is pretty much on the nose. Where's Jack? He didn't run this morning."

"He went down to meet with clients. He makes the trip once or twice a month, but this is his first overnight since before the baby. Why don't you come over for dinner tonight?"

"You sure Jack would like that? I have a reputation for being a player."

"Even if Jack doesn't trust you, he trusts me. As tempting as you are, I'll stick with your brother."

Ryan was just about to answer when the baby started crying. Maddie looked at her hands, which were covered with dirt.

"Would you please carry him in for me?"

He froze. He had never held a real, live baby, but he also never dropped the football, so how different could it be.

"Just support his head."

He looked down at the red-faced, screaming human and slid his hands underneath him and lifted. He was heavier than he expected. He thought of Jack who had probably never held a baby, holding an even tinier baby in the NICU. He felt the sorrow in his chest and realized again that he had been selfish when his family was mourning. He had a lot of regrets and some went back for a long time.