Page 86 of Tuxedos and Tinsel

“What?” Lewis asked. He couldn’t believe he was discussing his love life with a bartender. On the other hand, he was in a bar so who else was going to talk with him? It beat staying home and wondering what he was going to do with his life. “If you have an opinion, you might as well go ahead and say it.”

The bartender shrugged. “You didn’t strike me as someone who hesitates about going after what you want, no matter how out of reach it seems.”

“Once upon a time maybe.” When reaching meant getting out of a lesser situation. “Unfortunately, just because you want something doesn’t mean it’ll last.” Especially if you didn’t belong in the same world. People walk away.

Unless you send them away. Like he had Susan. Why wouldn’t he though? He was washed up. His chance at redemption had blown up in his face. Why would Susan want to stick around when she could do so much better?

“Here.” The bartender set a bright red drink in front of him. “You look like you could use this.”

“What is it?”

“A virgin Christmas Wish. On the house.”

Lewis had to laugh. There was a joke in there.

He stared at the bubbles rising in the red depths. Susan. The bubbles reminded him of Susan. Oh, how he wished he could fix what he’d messed up.

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.He remembered someone telling him that as a kid. His first foster mum maybe. The one who was like Susan. Because of course.

“Excuse me. Are you Lewis Matolo?”

Looking up from the glass, Lewis saw a man in a bellman’s uniform. “I saw you walk in,” the man said.

He was middle-aged, with salt-and-pepper hair and weathered brown skin. “My name is Darcus Alajua,” he said. “You met my grandson David at the Youth Ambassador Event.”

The man pulled a phone from his jacket pocket to show its wallpaper—a picture of Lewis and a young boy of around eight.

“I remember him,” he said. “Speedy little thing. Good footwork.”

“I wanted to thank you. Meeting you is all he’s talked about for the past week.”

“Wow, with Christmas right around the corner, that’s a pretty big feat,” the bartender remarked.

Lewis was surprised. He remembered praising David’s skills a few times, but he hadn’t given the boy any additional attention or singled him out in any way that would merit the boy being that impressed.

“I’m glad he enjoyed himself” he said.

“It’s more than enjoyed,” Darcus said. His eyes dropped to the screen for a moment and grew misty. “David came to live with me a year ago because his mother…my daughter…has some demons. He’s been discouraged, feeling sorry for himself. Sports has been the one thing he’s enjoyed.”

“I know the feeling.” He’d been in David’s shoes once.

“I know and when you talked about how football saved you, how it helped pull you out of tough times, it lit a fire in him. He’s excited about something again.”

“I’m glad. You tell him not to give up, and to keep playing. Sports isn’t about being a superstar. It’s about belonging and being a part of a team and learning to work at what you love.”

The older man smiled, the lines on his cheeks fading and his face turning youthful. “I can see why he enjoyed your talk.”

“I enjoyed giving it. Being with the kids reminded me of why I fell in love with football to begin with. When you grow up like I did, you need that escape.”

“Yes, you do,” Darcus said. “That’s why it means a lot to the kids when someone like you comes back home.”

Comes back home.Was that what he’d done? “Can I see that photo again?” he asked Darcus.

This time he studied David’s face. The kid was looking at him like he had hung the moon.

Who else had looked at him like that? Susan.

Lewis handed the phone back with a smile. All his life he’d needed—wanted—a place where he belonged. He thought that place was football. But it wasn’t. Athletic stardom had never come close to how he felt when working with those kids. The only thing that made him happier had been when he was holding Susan.