Page 26 of Dibs
“Hi, Gage,” Lisa huffed as she and Miguel squeezed into the space next to where I was standing since the bar was packed.
“Tyler and Dylan were really upset that you bailed tonight,” I said without returning her greeting.
Miguel wrapped an arm around her as he straightened to stand at his full height. I wasn’t sure what he hoped to accomplish by that move. Maybe he was trying to intimidate me, but I couldn’t imagine why. I wasn’t the deadbeat parent in the scenario.
Lisa rolled her eyes. “There weren’t going to be any other kids where we were having Thanksgiving. They would have been bored out of their minds.”
I wanted nothing more than to call her out on her selfish behavior. She could have changed her plans to make things better for her children, but what good would it have done for me to say anything? It was a battle I’d been fighting for over ten years. If things hadn’t changed already, I doubted they ever would. She was only going to have herself to blame when our kids finally decided they didn’t want a relationship with her, and it was something I had a feeling was going to happen sooner rather than later.
Before we said anything else, Miguel must have noticed Chase sitting next to me because he said, “Chase Matthewson? That you, man? Didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Me either,” Chase mused. He didn’t seem excited to see his former teammate, but after what he’d said about Miguel earlier, I wasn’t surprised.
“You guys are here together?” Miguel asked, his gaze bouncing between us.
I waited for Chase to answer, but when I looked at him, he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, appearing at a loss for words. He’d mentioned not liking the guy, but I couldn’t think of why Miguel’s question would have caused Chase to be tongue-tied.
“We were roommates in college and got a chance to catch up,” I explained.
“Don’t you remember me mentioning that Gage knew your teammate, baby?” Lisa asked.
“That’s right,” Miguel replied as the bartender came to take their order. “Except,formerteammate now.”
While Miguel was distracted, Lisa turned her attention to the man in question. “Hey, Chase. Been a long time. What brings you to San Diego?”
I recognized the twinkle in her eye and chuckled to myself. Miguel had another thing coming if he thought his girlfriend would ever remain faithful.
Chase shrugged. “This is where my family decided to settle after I retired.”
Miguel rejoined our conversation. “So, your family lives here, but you’re at a bar together on Thanksgiving?” He quirked a brow as though he didn’t believe the explanation I’d given a few seconds prior.
“Actually, we invited Gage and his boys over for dinner when their Thanksgiving plans fell through. I’m surprised Lisa didn’t mention that our kids are friends.”
I grunted a small laugh and Lisa glared at me. The truth was, she probably had no clue who her children spent time with. Dylan and Jase had met only a few months before and Lisa had seen the boys maybe three times since then. When she did spend time with them, it was all about her. She didn’t make an effort to learn about what was happening in their lives.
I drained as much of my beer as possible and glanced at Chase. “As fun as this has been, I’m gonna head out.”
He finished his drink and said, “I think I’m going to leave too.”
I stepped around Lisa. “You should probably call the boys soon. Maybe try to make it up to them for missing today.” I walked away.
Chase and I headed toward the door, but I stopped short of going outside with him. “I need to grab my stuff, but thanks for coming to watch the show tonight.”
“I had a good time.”
Things felt a bit awkward as the night was coming to a close. I didn’t know when I’d see Chase again, and it seemed weird to say we should hang out again, so I settled for a generic, “See you later.”
“Yeah,” he responded before walking out to where he’d parked.
* * *
“Do you have a minute to chat?”Paul, the high school’s athletic director, asked as I warmed up my lunch in the staff lounge.
“Sure.” I grabbed my food when the microwave stopped, and followed him to the tables outside, where we sat at the one farthest away from the door. “What did you want to talk about?”
He blew out a breath. “Coach Feder called me a few minutes ago. His wife got a promotion, so they are moving to New York.”
“Oh.” I stirred my soup. “Are you asking me to help out?”
