Will drove a pickup, but his older sister drove a Mom car. Lana pulled up to the curb in an over-sized SUV. He threw his bags in the back and climbed in the front seat. "How many kids do you have?"
Lana laughed. "Sometimes two and sometimes half the neighborhood." She smiled. "You look good, kid."
"Thanks. I guess."
She turned to him with a narrow glaze only for a moment as she inched into the line of cars leaving Dulles Airport.
"So after school is dance. Charlotte wants Uncle Will to come see her."
He silently groaned, but nodded his head. "Is Liam playing any sports?"
"We've tried, but he's a one sport kid. They are both in swimming lessons. Liam likes it more than he admits."
"I thought they could swim."
She chuckled. "They are both fish, but they're learning technique and diving."
"Can't dive in your pool."
"They know. Ryan's like a broken record."
"How's the old guy doing?"
"He's great. If you call him old, he'll deck you."
Will laughed. "I'd like to see him try."
Lana cleared her throat. "Have you, um, talked to Mom lately?"
"I talk to them at least once a week, but sometimes I time it so only Dad is home. Why?"
"She's been talking about retiring, but she's not sure where they want to live."
"Live? Like selling the house?"
"Uh-huh. She keeps talking about Maine, but maybe a place for the winter."
He tried to hold back a giggle. "Not Virginia."
"Yes. Since she'll only ever have two grandchildren."
"Don't write me off yet."
"But she had you late in life and if you wait until you're thirty like me then she'll be too old."
"Take out the damn violins."
"The woman deserves an Oscar."
"I'm glad Buffalo has snow."
"They wouldn't want to move there. No grandkids, remember."
"Right." He wanted to have kids, but knew it wouldn't be easy. "What does Ryan say?"
"He's more chill than me, but he'll change his tune when it happens."
Oddly he always thought of Massachusetts as home even though he rarely went back. It would always be where he grew up and went to school, but he wanted a home-base. Buffalo was a great place, but without Hailey it felt like the place he worked.
Silence fell over the siblings as Lana drove to her large home in a gated estate. Will looked up to his sister who overcame heartbreak more than once. He was young when she married Erik, but he remembered the divorce. There was lots of whispering at home and Lana cried a lot. Then she met Ryan and hated him. He smiled. At the time, he couldn't understand why she didn't like the cool guy staying across the street. Will loved him from the moment they met. He idolized Ryan like the kid in the hospital idolized him.
When Lana turned in her driveway, she pressed the button so the garage door went up. "Does this boat fit in there?"
"Ha, ha. You're not funny. Sam gave me the same shit the last time he was here."
Will turned to her. "When was Sam here?"
"Last fall, Rory met him here for a few days off."
"He travels more than me. At least I have home games."
Lana shook her head and smiled before climbing out of the vehicle. He followed her and grabbed his bags. "What's so funny?"
"Funny? Nothing."
"You were laughing." If his hands were free, he might tickle her.
"Not laughing. Put your bags down. The kids will bring them up later. Water?"
"Yeah, thanks. What are you raising bellhops?"
"No, but they're so excited about your visit."
"Why were you smiling?"
"I was just thinking about how far you've all come. I remember you as a stupid teen."
"I wasn't the only stupid one."
"You won the prize, but Rory was the runner-up."
"I was thinking about when I loved Ryan and you hated him."
She smirked. "I never hated him, exactly."
"Could have fooled me, but I am a fool." He frowned.
Lana sat next to him on a bar stool and put her hand on him arm. "No, you aren't. What's wrong?"
He gulped down air. "She never loved me and I still love her."
Lana frowned. "I'm sorry. I, um, I should have... Nevermind." She waved her hand in dismissal.
"Should have what, Lan?"
"Told you, but I knew you wouldn't want to hear it."
"You knew?"
"It was obvious. You tried way too hard."
"You didn't like her." He spat feeling the familiar need to defend Hailey.
"Because she didn't love you. See you are defending her, but you don't have to anymore."
He looked at his sister. Pushing his anger onto her wasn't the answer. She had protected him his whole life. Lana was a teen when he was born.
"Will, your greatest strength is your biggest weakness."
"How I catch the ball?"
"No, personality strength."
He looked at her sideways. "Give me a clue."
"You love hard. For me and Rye and the kids, it is amazing to be recipients, but for you it leads to heartbreak."
"No, shit. She called me yesterday, and I got excited."
"What did she want?" Lana frowned.
"One of her little patients was a fan, so I went to meet him."
Lana shook her head. "Half the kids in Buffalo are fans. She'll be calling you every other day. You don't need that."
"Maybe not half."
"Come on! You are as big as Gronk was in New England."
"I wanted to be just like him."
"You did. You are. Only a lot smarter. You could quit football today and have a stellar career in finance."
He laughed. "Why would I ever want to? My knee is fine."
"You wouldn't. Somewhere there's a girl who will truly love you for you."
"I'll probably break my heart ten more times before I find her."
Lana laughed. "Hopefully only one or two times more. The first one was your own stupidity."
"Yeah. I know. I remember."
"I think your dick loved her more than your heart. You didn't know she put out for everyone. Well, you knew about Cole."
"I know. I should have never gotten involved with my friend's girl. It was stupid, but I honestly thought it was love."
"Yeah, I know, dumb ass."
"Hey, you just said I was smart."
"Except with women. You are lucky Sam and Cole forgave you."
"Sam's lucky. Without me, he wouldn't have his career."
Filming Will's last college season for his senior project had gotten Sam noticed. Even while the kid screwed up his personal life, his career took off. Sam and Rory overcame a lot of shit, maybe...
"Oh little bro, I know what you're thinking. The difference was Sam and Rory both loved each other. As hard as it is to accept, Hailey never loved you."
"I wish I knew why?"
Lana shrugged. "Love is a mystery. Sometimes it sneaks up on you."
"It always hits me hard."
"Maybe that means it wasn't the real thing. I guarantee you'll know when you find it."
"I hope so. When are the kids home?"
"Changing the subject? Forty minutes. Are you hungry?"
"I'm good. I need to stretch my legs. Too much sitting."
Will stood and wandered out of Lana's large kitchen. There was an office and dining room in the two front rooms with the staircase and large entry way in between. The walls leading to the front were filled with pictures of the kids. Most of the shots were of Liam and Charlotte, but their cousins JP and Emma were in some too. They were on the beach, in the pool, and eating ice cream. Their smiles lit up their sun-browned faces. Childhood summers on The Point were like living in a fantasy land.
He called to Lana. "Did Sam take all of these?"
"Yup. I love them all."
He smiled at Charlotte's baby tooth grin. It no longer existed. She called to announce each tooth she lost. Sometimes she left a voicemail because he was busy, practicing, training, working out. Frowning he remembered once he was fooling around with Hailey when his phone rang. She made him answer and by the time he hung up, Hailey had her bra hooked and sat in front of the TV.
He turned back to the kitchen. The walls had framed artwork, and the room was where the family gathered and laughter bounced off the walls. On one side of the kitchen was the garage, but on the other was a large vaulted ceiling family room. Although neat and organized the room belonged to a family with a toy corner and loads of picture books on the low bookshelves. His shelves at home were half empty. He didn't understand decor as he looked at the vases and candles and odds and ends. The few things he had Hailey bought and took with her when she left.
He turned to see Lana looking at him. "What?"
"Nothing."
"What's so interesting?"
He shrugged. "My place looks like a dive. You have nice things and I have a decorated penny jar."
"I thought your jar was at the cottage."
"One is. The other one in Buffalo is from Boston when I hung out at Sam's apartment."
"You are depressing, but good news it's impossible to stay depressed with Char around. She is six going on eighteen."
Will chuckled. "And she drives you crazy."
Lana nodded. "But I love her to bits. Wait til you see how much Liam has grown. He's such a little Ryan."
Will smiled. "I've really missed them."
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