Page 27 of Home Town Advantage (Fourth Quarter Fever #1)

TWELVE

VANCE

“ M erry Christmas, Mom.” I smile into my cellphone as my mother’s face appears on the screen.

Her green eyes light up. “Merry Christmas! I miss you.”

“I miss you too.”

We have a game in New Orleans today. I offered to fly my parents in, but they declined. They always do.

I’m rarely off for Christmas. If I am, I fly into Montana for a quick night. Never more than that though. I’ve always offered to fly them to wherever I’m playing, and they’ve never once taken me up on it. Fortunately for me, Daylen’s family is always around wherever we play, so I hang with them.

“How’s New Orleans?”

“It’s a fantastic city. You should have come. You’ve never been here.”

Her face falls. “You know your father. He doesn’t like to leave the ranch in anyone else’s hands.”

I nod. “Yep. I do. What are you up to today?”

She gives me a small smile, knowing it’s the same thing they do every year.

“We’re heading over to the O’Shea house in a bit.

Sullivan is in town. She’s been here for a few weeks.

Such a sweet, pretty girl. It’s been a particularly hard year for Nancy, but I think having Sullivan around has helped. ”

“What’s wrong with Nancy?” I hope Sulley’s mom isn’t sick or anything along those lines.

The first year after Francesca was born was tough on my parents’ relationship with their best friends.

Fortunately, forty years of friendship won out in the end.

They’ve gone back to the status quo with the understanding they don’t discuss Maddie, Francesca, or any of the events surrounding what happened after Francesca was born.

My parents are privy to everything but have agreed to keep my secret.

She swallows. “It’s now been five long years since she lost her son.

I think all the things he’ll never get to do hit her particularly hard this year.

It never gets easier.” She places her hand over her heart.

“I can’t imagine the pain of losing a child ever goes away.

It’s a never-ending nightmare. They don’t get to wake up and have Finn home safe and sound. ”

I shake my head. “I know firsthand that the pain doesn’t go away.”

She nods in understanding. “I know, sweetie. Will you be with the Humblecuts today?”

“Yep. I’m leaving for brunch with them in a few minutes before we head to the stadium.”

She smiles. “Tell them I said Merry Christmas.”

“I will. Is Dad around?”

She looks out the window. “I don’t see him. He’s at the stables feeding the horses. He gave everyone the day off, so he’s running around like a madman, making sure the animals are taken care of.”

“What about MeeMaw?” That’s what I call my grandmother who now lives with my parents.

My mother looks to the side and then whispers, “Her little habit cost us over a thousand dollars last month.”

I can’t help but let out a laugh. For some inexplicable reason, my eighty-five-year-old grandmother has a paid porn addiction.

I’ve tried to explain to her how easy it is to access free porn, but she has her favorite channels and refuses to make the change.

She says the paid channels and websites are “interactive.” I have no idea what that means, and I don’t want to.

I’ve never told a soul about it. I can only imagine the shit I’d get if my teammates found out.

“Send me the bill.”

She shakes her head. “No, we’ll cover it. You should see what she’s into these days. That’s one dirty old woman.”

I hear my grandmother’s voice shout, “Is that Vancy pants?”

I chuckle at her nickname. She makes new ones up for me constantly. I yell back, “Yes, MeeMaw. It’s your favorite grandson. Merry Christmas.”

Half her face appears on the screen because the two of them don’t know how to manage to get both their full faces on the screen at the same time, and I’ve given up trying to explain it to them.

I see her lips turn up when she sees me. She shouts out, “Vance, I fartled in my sleep last night.”

“Oh, Mother, stop it,” my mom chastises as she playfully swats MeeMaw’s arm.

I shake my head. “I’m afraid to ask. What’s that?”

MeeMaw winks. In her always loud voice, she explains, “When you’re startled awake by a loud fart.

It’s all downhill after eighty, Vancy pants.

I can no longer control my bodily noises.

The good thing is I can’t hear it half the time anyway.

That’s how loud the fart was. It may have left a mark on my panties. ”

“Mother!” my mom screams in embarrassment.

I laugh hysterically, like I always do at MeeMaw. She’s one of the handful of people who can always bring a smile to my face.

She squints at the screen. “There’s the smile my handsome grandson should show more often. You never smile when I watch you on the tube. Even on the movie-screen-sized one you installed in the living room, you’re always frowning.”

She was having trouble seeing the old television with her vision fading, so I recently had a ridiculously oversized TV put in for her because I know she loves to watch me play.

“When you see me on television, I’m focused on my games. That’s my game face.”

She shakes her head. “Focus on finding a wife. I need great grandbabies before I enter the porny gates.”

“The pearly gates, MeeMaw,” I correct.

She winks. “Suuuuure.”

I sigh. “This has been fun. I’ve got to run. I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas. Your gifts are under the tree. I’ll be home for a visit whenever our season is over.”

We say our goodbyes, and I head out to brunch with my favorite crazy family.

“Yo mama is so fat; I took a picture of her last Christmas and it’s still printing,” Hank says to an unflinching Daylen.

We’ve had a fun brunch. Ashleigh, Daylen’s stepmom, showed up in a barely there Santa outfit, complete with a short skirt and halter top.

Jagger refused to participate in a family photo unless Ashleigh covered up.

I have some amount of compassion for Jagger for having Ashleigh as a mother.

It can’t be easy with the way she dresses, but she’s otherwise an attentive, loving mother. Jagger should be thankful for that.

Jagger flipped for the Bluetooth sunglasses I got her. She’s been wearing them throughout the entire meal, bopping to the music now playing into her ears from the sunglasses. I have to admit, they’re super cool. I might need to get myself a pair.

Daylen narrows his eyes at his father. “Yo mama is so stupid; when she went to a movie and it said no one under seventeen, she went home and got sixteen of her friends.”

I let out a small laugh, but Hank doesn’t budge. He almost always wins.

Hank stoically stares at Daylen and says, “Yo mama is so ugly; when she gives head, it qualifies as anal.”

Daylen tries to hold it in, but eventually the floodgates open, and his loud laugh bellows throughout the restaurant. The entire restaurant.

Hank wipes the corners of his mouth with his napkin as he smiles in satisfaction. “Winner, winner.”

Jagger covers her face in mortification. “I swear, Dad, just when I think it can’t get any worse, you never fail to surprise me.”

Hank winks at her. “Thank you.”

Daylen shakes his head with a huge smile on his face. “Man, I never win. You’re the McDaddy jokester. I bow to the king. I guess brunch is on me.”

He moves his hand to reach for the check, but Hank slaps it away. “Nonsense. No child should pay for their parents’ meals. It’s an unwritten law.”

Daylen chuckles. “I’m a grown man. And happen to make a very good living from simply catching a ball.” He mumbles, “Even though Vance throws for shit. Thank God he has me to make him look good.”

I elbow him, and his smile widens. Hank turns to me.

“Don’t listen to his nonsense. He’s a grown man who drives a car intended for sixteen-year-old girls.

I think Barbie has the same one in the movie.

Speaking of cars, how do you like your new vehicle, Vance?

Daylen was telling me about it. Now that’s a manly car. ”

Ashleigh smiles. “What kind of car did you get? A sports car? I love those.”

Daylen lets out a laugh. “Vance would never get a car like that. He’s from Montana and thinks he’s still a cowboy. Homeboy wears cowboy boots and jeans when it’s eighty-five degrees out…to the beach.”

I roll my eyes at Daylen before turning to Ashleigh to politely respond, “No, it’s not a sports car. It’s a pickup truck. A Ford F-450 Super Duty.” I crack a smile. “To answer your question, Hank, I love it.”

Hank nods. “I was thinking of upgrading my truck too, but with gas prices and my long commute, it’s hard for me to justify one as big as the F-450.”

Daylen shakes his head. “You can get gas for under a dollar at Taco Bell. At least I do.”

Hank lets out a loud laugh. Jagger smacks Daylen’s chest as she giggles at his joke. And Ashleigh still has no idea what’s going on. Basically, a typical meal with the Humblecuts.

SULLEY

I wake on Christmas morning. Not hearing any voices, I assume my parents are still sleeping, but when I quietly make my way to the kitchen to turn on the coffee machine, I see my mother in her nightgown sitting at the kitchen table, staring out the window with tears silently falling from her eyes.

“Momma?”

Her head snaps toward me, and she quickly wipes her tears away while offering me a small smile. “Good morning, sweetie. Merry Christmas.”

I move toward her and take her hand in mine. “What’s wrong?”

She shakes her head. “Nothing. Just missing him a little extra this morning.” She motions toward the stocking with Finn’s name on it. “Seeing his stocking on Christmas morning with nothing in it makes me sad. ”

It’s not just this morning. She’s been unusually sad these past few weeks since I’ve been home.

I sit down in a chair next to her, still holding her hand. “Did something specific happen? You’ve been down for weeks.”