Ethan’s head snapped up.
“I do?”
“You do now.”
Ray ushered everyone outside.
Leo was last.
Chris looked at him.
For a moment, neither man spoke.
Then Leo gave a small nod and followed the others.
The door closed.
Now only the three of us remained.
Ethan sat on the couch with the tabletop game beside him.
Chris moved a chair closer.
I sat on Ethan’s other side.
“Captain,” I said, “what exactly did you tell Ray?”
“Nothing, Mom.”
Chris pointed toward the door.
“Nothing? Ray traveled all the way here carrying a dozen plastic football players and one goalpost that hasn’t stood straight since February.”
“They’re players, Dad.”
“Fine. Athletes.”
Ethan tried not to smile.
I waited.
He picked at a loose thread on his jersey.
Finally, I asked, “Why was it so important that they be part of today?”
He shrugged. “Because…”
“Ethan.”
He met my eyes.
Then his gaze shifted toward the phone still resting in my hand.
He said quietly, “They’re people from the hospital who still act normal around me.”
Chris blinked. “Weird?”
Ethan immediately looked sorry.
“I didn’t mean bad weird, Dad.”
“What kind of weird, Captain?” I asked.
He stared at the plastic field.
“Dad pauses games to check if I’m tired.”
Chris started to respond.
Ethan continued.
“And you take pictures when I’m eating cereal, Mom.”
I looked down at my phone.
Ethan added, “You saved that hospital bracelet from when I threw up on your shoe.”
“That was a memorable evening, sweetie.”
“Mom.”
“Sorry.”
He rubbed his thumb across the plastic scoreboard.
Then he looked at Chris.
“Dad used to yell at football.”
“I still yell at football, buddy,” Chris cut in.
“No, Dad… now you yell and then look at me.”
Chris fell silent.
Ethan turned toward me.
“And Mom used to yell at referees.”
“Bad referees.”
“All referees.”
I nearly laughed.
Then Ethan said, “That’s why I picked football.”
The room went completely still.
Chris leaned forward.
“What do you mean?”
Ethan’s face tightened with frustration, as though we were forcing him to explain something that should have been obvious.
“I wanted you guys to have fun with me.”
He wiped his nose with the back of his hand.
“Everybody keeps acting like everything has to be special now just because I’m going to die.”
I placed my phone facedown beside me.
Ethan looked at it.
Then he whispered the sentence I would remember differently for the rest of my life.
“Sometimes I just want stuff to be stuff.”
Chris stared at him for several seconds.
Then he reached over and covered our son’s hand with his.
“I’m sorry, Captain.”
Ethan shrugged, keeping his eyes on the plastic field.
“I know you’re sad. I’m sad too.”
Chris nodded.
“I know. But you’re still here, Captain” he said gently. “And I’ve been acting like my job is to watch every second instead of being in it with you.”
Ethan finally looked up.
“So you’re admitting I’m right?”
Chris blinked.
“Absolutely not.”
Ethan grinned.
“Too late.”
A knock sounded at the door.
Leo stood outside.
Chris hesitated before getting up.
“How’s your son?” he asked.
Leo looked surprised.
“Home. Driving his mother crazy.”
Chris smiled. “Good.”
That was all.
Just one piece of good news Chris finally let himself hear.
A few minutes later, I looked at Ethan.
“You ready to go home, Captain?”
He glanced through the glass toward the field.
I caught myself.
“What do you want?”
Ethan thought for a moment.
“Ten more minutes.”
Chris nodded. “Ten.”
We returned to our seats.
No cameras followed us.
No players approached.
Nobody handed Ethan a signed football.
The game simply continued.
Exactly what he’d wanted.
Chris complained about a terrible play.
Ethan told him he had no idea what he was talking about.
Then a referee threw a flag.
“Oh, COME ON!” I shouted.
Ethan burst out laughing.
“Mom, you don’t even know what happened!”
“I know injustice when I see it.”
My hand instinctively reached for my phone.
I stopped.
Ethan noticed.
“You’re not taking one?”
“No.”
“Why?”
I looked at him. “I’m watching.”
He studied me for a moment, then nodded as though the answer made perfect sense.
Late in the fourth quarter, our team scored.
The stadium erupted.
Chris jumped to his feet.
Ethan grabbed his father’s arm with one hand and mine with the other, laughing so hard he could barely shout.
The tabletop football game slid sideways across his lap.
One little plastic player came loose and landed beneath my seat.
I saw it.
For once, I didn’t immediately bend down to retrieve it.
Ethan was laughing.
Chris was yelling.
I was yelling too.
And the game was still happening.
Only after the cheering finally settled did Ethan look down.
“Mom! My player!”
I reached beneath the seat and handed it back.
Ethan snapped it into place.
“Everybody plays,” he said.
Then my Captain turned toward the field again.
So did we.
