Page 61 of Catch
“Let’s have a seat in the living room. Are you ready for the game?”
I gave her a look. “Let’s not talk about football. Tell me about your day. You sometimes volunteer at the school. What do you do when you aren’t being a mom or a wife?”
“As much as I love my children, it’s nice to have adult time. I have Pilates on Mondays and Fridays. I have book club on Wednesday nights. The rest of the time I’m either fielding calls for Grayson’s charity or volunteering in the classroom. My life is very simple,” she said.
It was far from that. I had a simple life. “I definitely don’t think it’s that.”
“You’re right. It’s not simple, but it’s going to be soon. We met with the lawyer today.”
“Oh?” I told myself to act only mildly surprised. I knew Grayson left after films today for personal reasons. “How’d that go?”
“It went well. The girls and I will stay here at the house. We’re figuring out custody because we want equal time. I’m sure the sooner we get it done, the happier we’ll all be.”
I wanted to know more, but I had to be delicate about it. “I have so many questions, but I know it’s not my place.”
She finished her glass and kicked off her boots before folding her legs underneath her. “There’s not much to tell. You know everything really.”
“What about you? Why didn’t you put yourself first? I know you said it was because your parents were jerks about it, but that’s a huge sacrifice.”
She ran her fingertips delicately over the cashmere throw she pulled from the back of the sofa to cover her lap. “I felt it was punishment.” That didn’t sound like the Parker I knew.
“For what?”
“For going against my parents, for hurting you, for making bad decisions one after another.”
Her mouth tilted down at the corners. I reached out and touched her hand. “Hey, high school was a long time ago. We were kids on different paths. You’re doing what’s best for yourself and your family. Do you think what happened between us was wrong or that what’s going on with Grayson is wrong?”
She covered my hand with her own and squeezed. “No, of course not. I’m proud of him. I’m even proud of myself for finally seeing what we were doing. I hate that the girls will be affected by this, but it’s the best for our relationship as their parents.”
“What about you? What happens to you?” I didn’t move my hand.
“I’ll still run Grayson’s charities. I’m not worried about me. I want to make sure the girls are good. The lawyer recommended some therapy for all of us to get used to the idea of being a split family.”
“They know and love Uncle Matt, right?”
“They do. So much. And he adores them. Plus his parents love the girls so I know they are going to be loved and well cared for. I’m worried about my parents’ reaction to all of this.”
I clenched my jaw to keep from spouting horrible things about her parents. That was her battle. “What do you think’s going to happen?” I was fearful of the O’Neals. They had money and the power of the church behind them. If nothing else, they could destroy Grayson in the press, which would affect Parker and the girls. “I mean, do you think they would disown you? You’re their only child.”
“I really don’t know. They’ve gotten even more ‘churchy’ over the last few years. Maybe they suspect about Grayson, but they definitely know about me.”
What did that mean? “Know about you how? What do you mean?”
She pulled her hand back and linked her fingers together and rested them gently on her lap. She was always so graceful, even as a teenager. “My sexual identity. I’m tired of trying to fit in a mold that the whole world wants me to fit in. I understand Grayson’s frustration. Only he has it ten times worse because he’s in a sport that doesn’t accept gays.”
“Hopefully, that’s changing. I think if Grayson comes out to the world on his terms and not in a way that has him scrambling around, it will help other players. Homophobia exists everywhere, but the younger generation is more tolerant.”
She leaned her head back on the couch and sighed. “You’ve always been so strong and proud. I always envied your life. Your dad was so supportive. And your friends. You’re even still friends with guys you played football with.”
“I can’t believe that some of your cheer friends haven’t reached out on social media to use you.” I smiled at her to let her know I was joking.
She laughed. It made my stomach quiver again. “I finally had to block Missy because she was incessant. I guess she’s still in Oak Grove. She’s been married twice and has at least one child. She wanted more of my time than I could give her. And all the perks that football wives got.”
I crinkled my nose. “What kind of perks do you get?”
Another laugh. Another quiver. “I’m sure you get a lot of products that companies want you to endorse.”
“I never responded to any of my emails. I know we have a whole public relations team that fields stuff like that to our agents, but I always delete them.” It never dawned on me that my voice would be heard. Now that I was the first at something, the world would be listening. “Think of all the macaroni and cheese commercials I could be doing.”
