“Yeah,” I said, still feeling kind of surprised. “She took it really well. I mean, she’s still pretty anonymous, so that helps. I think we’re gonna go out again some time next week. I just have to figure out where.”
“Good,” he said, patting my shoulder as he headed toward the door. “I already have one emotional woman to deal with at home. I don’t need to deal with your pansy-ass, too.”
I peeled off my sweaty shirt and threw it at him, smiling as I did it.
“Why did you decide on football as a career?” Addison asked me while picking up a rock and trying to skip it in the lake. She failed miserably at it, but it was a solid effort.
Addison had a random day off of work a couple weeks after our first date, so I decided to take her on a picnic on the beach at Lake Grapevine. It wasn’t a swimming adventure. It was too cold for that, but hanging out near the water in the middle of October made for a really nice day.
“I’m not sure I really chose it as much as it chose me,” I replied, picking up my own rock and chucking it. “When I started playing in sixth grade, I just liked it. It wasn’t until high school that I realized I could get a scholarship to college. Once I got to college, my coaches kept telling me I was shooting for the pros. So here I am.”
“Your mom must be really proud of you,” she remarked, taking her shoes and socks off.
“Are you gonna stick your feet in that cold water?” I asked.
She smiled at me. “Of course! It’s a beautiful day! The water won’t be that cold.” She shoved her socks inside her shoes and dropped them on the sand before heading toward the water. “Are you coming?” she asked me over her shoulder.
I really didn’t want to, but what could I do? Addison wanted to put her feet in the water, so I was taking off my shoes because we were going to put our feet in the water.
“It feels good,” she called toward me, already in ankle deep. “Come on!”
I shook my head and grinned as I headed toward the water. “Aren’t you in a little bit too deep? What if there’s an alligator or something?” I asked as I stepped in. “Holy mother of all that is holy! That is cold!”
“It’s not that cold,” she said with amusement. “I think you’re just more worried about the alligators.”
“Are there really alligators in this lake?” I asked nervously. “Did you see one?”
She looked at me . . . and started laughing. “You’re not really afraid of alligators.”
“Don’t judge me,” I answered seriously. “Alligators kill people. I like being alive.”
“You’re right,” she said, holding her hands up in front of her. “I shouldn’t make fun of your totally irrational fear.”
“Thank you for your sincerity,” I said sarcastically.
We continued walking in the surf and talking, enjoying each other’s company.
“What about you?” I asked. “What made you decide on social work?”
She picked a small twig up out of the water. It still had a few leaves on it, so she started ripping them off mindlessly as she spoke.
“Um, I think it was always a no-brainer for me to take that career path.”
“How come?”
“Ever since I was little, it’s what my mom would do. She doesn’t have a degree in it or anything. But there’s not a person or creature out there my mom wouldn’t help if they needed it.”
I stuck my hands in my pockets and looked at her as she spoke.
“I remember after my dad’s company had bought out a smaller one, all of these people started being transferred to Kansas City, where we lived. They weren’t given a whole lot of time to find housing. So my parents would just bring them in and they’d live in our basement while they got themselves settled in town.”
“Really?” I asked. “Complete strangers?”
“They were strangers to me. But now that you say that, my dad probably knew them at least a little bit from work. One time, an entire family lived with us for about three months. The girl was my age. It was kind of cool having a live-in playmate.” She shrugged. “That’s just the way I was raised, ya know? If you have extra and someone needs help to get on their feet, you give that extra to them. Social work just seemed like a natural fit, I guess.”
“Wow,” I said, eyeing what I hoped was a piece of floating wood that had caught my eye. It made me nervous, but it was just a log. I was sure it was just a log. “Your parents sound pretty amazing.”
“Oh, they are,” she agreed. “They are just about the only thing I miss about Kansas. And my sister and her family, of course.”