[September 24]

"Is this seat taken?" Mr. Taylor gestured to the bleachers next to Tami. She had a flashback to Eric's first college game, and she smiled. She'd been afraid he wasn't going to come.

"It's all yours," she said.

"Dew?" Julie asked.

"Home with a babysitter," Mr. Taylor answered her. "You'll see him Monday though."

By the end of the JV game, which Bowie won, Julie was in a crazy sleep-deprived buzz because it was past her bedtime, so she threw herself ecstatically at her father on the sidelines and was giggling when he plucked her up for a hug. Tami kissed Eric quickly on the mouth. "Good game, hon. I'm proud of you."

"Well coached game, son," Mr. Taylor said. "You do seem to be in your element."

"Yeah?" Eric asked with a hint of doubt in his voice. "You think?"

Mr. Taylor slapped Eric's shoulder. "NFL material son, NFL material. And those coaches make over a million!"

"I'm never going to coach for the NFL, Dad."

"Reach for the stars, Eric, and you might land on a high tower."

Tami announced she had to get Julie home and to bed, and Mr. Taylor walked them to their car. "Hold on a second," he said, "I have something in my truck I want you to give Eric for me."

He returned after she had Julie strapped in and handed her a bottle of brown liquid. "Scotch," he said. "That's what a real coach should have after a victory. Not beer. Scotch. Tell him I want him to drink one every time he wins a game, and I better see this bottle empty by the end of next season."

Tami shook her head, but she took the bottle, and when Eric came home and slumped down on the couch, she poured him one and related his father's words.

Eric rolled the scotch on his tongue before swallowing. "Not bad," he said. "I could get used to this." He took another sip. "I'm surprised he came to the game. Did you make him?"

"No one makes your father do anything, Eric."

"Did you hear what he said? About coaching the NFL? The man's insane."

She chuckled. "Is that a real saying, about reaching for the stars and landing on a high tower, or did he just make that up?"

"I think he made it up."

"But I bet it felt good to have him there, huh?"

Eric shrugged. "He'll still always think I should have – "

"- Stop. Just stop. He's accepted your decision. Accept his acceptance, Eric."

Eric drained the scotch. "How was work today?"

"Good. I think I made some progress with one of my clients."

"Good."

He was quiet for a while. She lay her head on his shoulder.

"So…." he said eventually, "is it time for my victory screw?"

She smiled. "Only if you can catch me." She stood up and ran toward the bedroom. When she was halfway down the hall, she heard his knee hit the coffee table, the empty scotch glass roll to the carpet with a thud, and Eric curse.

"I'll give you a three second handicap," she hollered back.

[October - November 1992]

Eric and Tami continued to settle comfortably into their jobs and to build relationships in the community. Eric's JV season was fairly successful, with more wins than losses. Tami invited the varsity head coach and his wife over for dinner toward the end of the season, and during the meal the man intimated that, if Eric continued to prove himself next season, he might be replacing the varsity QB coach his third year on the team. Eric's JV coaching contract was renewed, with a $100 bump in his stipend.

As much as Eric loved coaching, he was looking forward to concentrating on teaching for the next semester. Tami continued to work three days a week, enjoying her days off with Julie, and, at less than three months on the job, she won the "new counselor of the year" award from the counseling ministry. She'd hoped the award would come with money, but it only came with a plaque. Eric wanted to hang it on the wall of the living room, but she left it in her shared office at work.

They spent Thanksgiving day at the parsonage in Tyler. Shelley brought a new boyfriend, who, to Tami's relief, was only twenty-one.

"What do you think of Shelley's boyfriend?" she asked Eric, who had snuck away to the living room to watch football as soon as he was done eating. The rest of the family was still in the dinning room.

"He talks a lot," he said, not taking his eyes from the TV.

She slid down next to him on the couch. "Do you think he's duplicitous?"

"No. I think he's an open book. He says everything he thinks." He made a talking motion with his hand. "He talks a lot for a rocker. Rockers should be sullen and silent. Not all...bubbly."

"I don't know how much of a rocker he is. He plays one gig a week." The young man made his real living, such as it was, as a waiter. "At least Shelley took that cosmetology class." Tami's sister was working full-time at a salon now.

"Uh-huh." Eric leaned forward and stared at the TV.

"I don't have your attention, do I?"

"Sure. Whatever you think."

She shook her head. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Happy Thanksgiving, hon."

The rest of the family came into the living room, settled into chairs, and began talking. Eric was clearly frustrated by the distraction from the game, but halftime soon enough came on, and so he muted the television.

Pastor John announced he was retiring to work on a novel.

"A novel?" Tami asked. "What genre?"

"Historical fiction. So I might be tapping the history major there for information," he said, nodding toward Eric.

Later, when Tami was helping to clean up the kitchen, her mother said, "I think John is having a bit of a mid-life crisis."

"It is a little early for him to retire," Tami said. "He's, what, 54? Is the church giving him a good retirement?"

"Not much. But he apparently has some money saved up that he inherited from his first wife. She had a little family money. So we'll get an annuity and we'll be fine. And writing a novel is certainly better than having an affair or buying an expensive sports car. But he's going to drive me crazy, being home all day. So if you need more babysitting, you let me know. I'll make the trip out to Arlington."

"We should take her up on that offer someday," Eric said as they drove back home. He reached out and squeezed her knee. "I know football season's been real busy. I know I owe you some time."