Train Wreck

fifty-nine

My face instantly turned red and hands slapped my cheeks as I gasped at her insinuation.

Trisha snorted at my reaction, "Wow, you are so whipped. I know you guys are in love and stuff but come on, Liss..."

Now I laughed, turning slightly to swat at her leg while Daisy chuckled at Trisha's teasing. "Yes, Becca, it's adorable. I just... this is all new to me."

"What do you mean?" Trish asked, furrowing her brow as she slid her shades back on her head. "I mean, I know it's a new relationship but still. You guys make it seem easy."

"Seeming easy and actually feeling easy are two different things," I commented, shaking my head as I grabbed my coffee.  "I just can't shake this weird feeling..." my voice trailed off while I took a drink and attempted to get the bad vibe out of my system.

 Benji returned from hanging out with the little ones and handed me Peach's leash, ushering her toward us on the bottom bleachers.

"Do you have cash? I want a soda."  His hand reached forward with the palm up, an expectant sigh from my little brother who apparently forgot how to ask politely.

"You have cash and your Apple Pay if you want something, Beep," I answered. "I saw they take digital transactions."

He rolled his eyes and shrugged, "Fine then, I'll get money from Remington."

I turned to Remi and slid off my seat with a groan, realizing now I had to address the issue since my brother was going to defy me. Doc reached for the leash and took Peach, offering her a strawberry as Trent came off the field for a break.

"You're doing such a good job, buddy!" I cheered, ruffling his hair as I walked past and approached Remington.  He grinned back and cuddled into Peach while the rest of the group moved closer to encourage him

Taylor caught my eye while Remi was helping the soccer player they were assisting with his goalie stance. "There ya go, just keep yourself hunkered down like that... you got it, Liam, now you can reach better like a spider!  Stay low and you're gonna be such a great goalie!"

"But it's too much work!" the boy whimpered, bottom lip stuck out.  "I can't do it!  I'm not big enough."

"Well, you have two choices. Do the work to be on the team, or no work and no team." Remington said while looking down at him, shrugging lightly. "I mean, yeah, it's work... but then you get all the reward, too... and you're not big enough YET.  Remember that, Liam.  Just not yet."  He accented the last words with taps on Liam's nose, reassuring the boy in a way that made my heart melt.

Liam let out a sigh and nodded, "I will try next time, Coach, and keep growing!" before running back to his team.

"Not bad, guys," I smiled, noticing how Remi's dimples appeared deeper when he was around the kids. "He can whine all he wants but in the end, you either do the work or you don't get to play the game.  And I love that you reminded him he will grow.  Too many kids forget that they're only little for now."

"Exactly. Everyone is welcome to play but they have to be willing to try." Taylor smiled, "That's the biggest lesson I try to instill with my kids. They have the choice here. They get to decide the effort they put into what they do. If a kid really tries and wants to be on the team but just doesn't have any skill, I am going to find a way for them to be on the team.  They're going to get taller and better with practice.  We just have to give them opportunities."

I grinned as he talked about the way he coached then felt a warm hand on my back as Remington slid next to me. 

"Well, I'd love to help more if that's okay. This was fun and I know there's more game left but I just... yeah. This feels right." His gaze ran over the kids as they took their halftime break with pretzels and orange slices, moms opening Capri Sun juice boxes while others had nice sports top water bottles with their names inscribed.