Chapter 148: Tree Hill

Tuesday, January 10th, Evening

At the end of his workday, he would not always run straight home. Especially now, with Sawyer old enough to do her own thing, Lucas would take his time before heading home. Over the last four years, mostly Tuesday nights Lucas would stop off at a diner and have dinner, Nathan would usually join him.

The brothers would have dinner and catch up about the events that happened in their lives over that last week. Often the conversation would turn to basketball. Often enough, though, it was usually about the family in general, the children, and the grandchildren in specific. Nathan, of course, had more grandchildren, with nine, Lucas had only three grandchildren, while Lucas had more children, with five, while Nathan had only three.

The blonde and brunette Scott men sat across from each other; their dinner plates sat empty in front of them. They were drinking their after-dinner coffee and enjoying the moment of peace.

"So, I've been grading these essays that I got handed to me Friday," Lucas said.

"Yeah," Nathan said, "Does that ever get old?"

Lucas shrugged, "Some years it does, but based on the quality of the students; it can be interesting, sometimes," he said.

"So, what was this essay about?" Nathan asked as he played with some empty sugar packets.

"Antonio's speech to Sebastian in The Tempest, Act two, Scene one," Lucas said.

"Okay?" Nathan asked, not being the most literate of the family.

"You're not familiar?" Lucas asked.

Nathan shook his head, "No, not at all," he said.

"What is past is prologue," Lucas said, "What that line means to them."

Nathan nodded, "I see; I've heard the statement what is past is prologue," he said, "How bad is it?"

"There were a few times I wish I had a bottle in my desk," Lucas said.

Nathan laughed, "I'm sure I had a few teachers that felt the same way about me and my school work," he said.

Lucas joined his brother in the laugh, "So, that's been my last few days," he said.

"I've seen how hard you work," Nathan said.

"Trying to get through this season, is hard work in itself," Lucas said.

"How big of a pain-in-ass is my granddaughter?" Nathan asked.

"Brett?" Lucas asked, to clarify since Nathan had three granddaughters.

"Yes, Brett," Nathan said since Brett was the only one old enough to play for Lucas.

Lucas sighed, "She's a contradiction," he said.

"What does that mean?" Nathan asked.

"Most people want to compare her to Ashlyn, Angela, hell they even tried to compare her to Kay and Candi," Lucas said.

"No, Willa?" Nathan asked.

"Sometimes," Lucas said.

Nathan nodded, "That's a hell of a company," Nathan said.

"The problem is she doesn't compare well to any of them," Lucas said.

Nathan nodded, "What's the real issue with Brett?" he asked.

"Ego," Lucas said.

Nathan nodded, "Yeah, I could see that with her," he said.

"It makes coaching her difficult, at times," Lucas said.

Nathan nodded, "Do you want me to talk to her?" he asked. Nathan was Brett's old basketball mentor and did have some sway with her.

Lucas shook his head, "I'll deal with her. For now. Did you hear she's grounded?" he said.

Nathan nodded, "I did, but I don't know the details," he said.

"From what Ashlyn told me, last week Brett and Garvan snuck into Absolution. Well, the owner is really good at sniffing out underage patrons. Well, the owner of the club is a friend of Chase and told Chase about catching Brett," Lucas said.

Nathan nodded, "That sounds like someone we both know," he said.

Lucas nodded, "God, sounds so much like Brooke, our junior year," he said.

Nathan nodded, "Brett did spend a lot of time with Brooke growing up," he said.

Lucas laughed, "Also time with my family and yours as well, can't pin this all on Brooke," he said.

Nathan shrugged, "Some people leave a bigger impression than others," he said.

Lucas nodded, "I guess that's as true as anything," he said.

"You've been looking worn down lately," Nathan said.

"I've been," Lucas said, going with Nathan's subject change.

"How bad?" Nathan asked.

"Surgery after the season, hopefully, the summer," Lucas said.

"Serious?" Nathan asked.

"That's what Doctor Copeland says, But, when it comes to the heart, it's always serious," Lucas said.

"You're not being poetic, are you?" Nathan asked.

"No, I'm not," Lucas said.

"That doesn't sound good," Nathan said.

"It's not, that's what Doctor Copeland says, again. But there's nothing else they could do, and nothing else is working," Lucas said.

Nathan nodded, "Who else knows?" he asked.

"I'm surprised you didn't because I only told Haley, Sawyer, and Brooke," Lucas said.

"Haley was vague. What about the rest of your kids, or grandkids?" Nathan asked.

"I wanted to wait until after the New Year," Lucas said.

"Well, it's after the New Year, now," Nathan said.

"With Keith, Izzy and the grandkids, they have enough on their plate without worrying about me right now," Lucas said.

"What about the girls? I kind of get the twins, but Candi, well, isn't something like this what she's going to be a doctor of?" Nathan asked.

"I've just not called her yet," Lucas said.

"I think you should, Luke, sooner, rather than later," Nathan said.

Lucas nodded, "How's your surgery planning coming along?" he asked.

"Changing the subject, but staying in the same genre?" Nathan asked.

"Well, you asked about my health; I'm asking about yours," Lucas said.

"I'm trying to get a package deal for Ashlyn and me on getting new knees together," Nathan said.

"She doesn't seem to be as bad as you," Lucas said.

"Yet," Nathan said, and nodded, "She's not, but she's not too far behind."

"Why are you putting it off?" Lucas asked.

"It's not me, it's the whole medical process," Nathan said, "If it were up to me, I'd be already rehabbing it post-op."

Lucas nodded, "Funny when you could make money for someone else; you were in the express lane for surgery," he said.

"Yeah, isn't it," Nathan said, a bit biter.

"So, how is the next generation coming along on the court?" Lucas asked.

"Lennon is getting it, but well, I'm not sure his heart is into it," Nathan said.

"He'll find his path," Lucas said.

"Hopefully, it will be a good one," Nathan said.

"Not everyone is their dad's son," Lucas said, and laughed, "I remember an old saying that works for right about now," he said.

"What would that be?" Nathan asked.

"From your lips to god's ears," Lucas said and laughed some more.

Nathan started to laugh, "Yeah, well, I hope so," he said.

"How about the girls?" Lucas asked.

"They're coming along nicely, the one thing is we need to find a point guard and a center, to have a whole line up," Nathan said, "I'm not too worried, you'll find those missing pieces. So, don't worry, your future is solid."

Lucas shook his head, "They're not for me to coach," he said.

Nathan looked shocked, "What? Then who?" he asked.

"My replacement," Lucas said, "I made a promise to retire after Sawyer graduates."

Nathan just nodded but understood what Lucas said.