Age 8

Alex came in from the yard. Until now, he'd been throwing a gridball against a wall. He'd seen somewhere one of the big stars say he did the same as a kid, as it helped his catching skills. It was a bit lonely out there though, there was no one around to play with. Mom would come outside and throw a ball around with him, but not today.

"College on Saturdays, the pros on Sundays, what more could a girl want?" she grinned as she settled down on the sofa, beer in one hand, and a bag of chips in the other. Mom lived for weekends in the fall. Secretly, he did too. With his mom anchored in front of the TV, Alex would drift between the sofa and the backyard until the time came for the main event: the Zuzu City Tunnellers. They were his team, his favourite. But that was the pros, and they played on Sundays.

His second were his mom's college team; the Calico Dune Riders. He really liked the goofy camel mascot, even though dad said it was creepy looking. Mom knew the schedule off by heart, they wouldn't be playing till later. She was watching Zuzu City University play Mount Vapius instead. It wasn't a game Alex cared about, but he sat down next to her anyway, taking a handful of chips from the bowl.

"Where's dad?"

"Sleeping," she said shortly. "But that's alright. We can hang out here till he wakes up."

They'd had a fight last night. It was late when he came back from the bar, which always caused them to fight. Why couldn't he just come home on time, then mom wouldn't worry? Then he wouldn't get mad at her for asking questions and he wouldn't need to yell at her. When he felt brave, Alex thought about getting out of bed, going downstairs, and telling him that, but didn't. He knew what would happen if he did.

Dad always ruined everything, even when he wasn't here. Alex wished he'd go away and stay away. Mom seemed sad now, and Alex regretted ever bringing him up. Eyes fixed on the TV, she'd gone quiet, and her eyes were blinking rapidly. Not knowing what else to do, he leaned in and put his arms around her. She always said hugs made her feel better. Hugs made Alex feel better.

"I met your daddy in college," she said after a pause. Alex knew, he'd heard this story at least once every fall, but let her tell it again.

"It was my final year, and Calico got all the way to the national championships! The game was played out of state, I couldn't afford to go, so a group of us went to this dive bar just off campus. The bar was rammed, it was electric in there."

The only bar Alex had been in was the Stardrop Saloon near his grandparents house in Pelican Town. That bar had neither been 'rammed' or 'electric'. One time, it had only been himself, mom, and Gus, the friendly-looking bartender. Gus didn't shout at him for running around, even fixed him a glass of juice. Then dad came and yelled at them both.

"Anyway, Aunt Lucy booked us a booth in advance. There were eight of us squeezed in like sardines in a can, thank Yoba we were skinny, and this guy comes over, wants to buy us drinks. Well, you know what you're Aunt Lucy's like, she told him where to go straight away, and I thought nothing of it, y'know? All I cared about was the Dune Riders!"

That sounded like mom, although he didn't want to mention that he didn't really know what Aunt Lucy was like, as she hadn't been by since he was four years old. Aunt Lucy was a face in one of mom's many picture frames she kept on the shelf by the TV, a character in one of mom's many stories from her college days. Not her sister, so not a real aunt, but her best friend. Alex had a feeling the reason Aunt Lucy didn't come visit anymore was because of dad.

"As you know, we were down at halftime. I needed some fresh air, so I went outside and there he was, leaning up against the wall, smoking a cigarette. He looked at me, gave me that big smile of his, and I just knew. I said to myself, 'that's the guy I'm going to marry someday'."

Alex couldn't understand that feeling at all. How could you meet someone and know all that? It sounded like grown-up stuff, something he'd have to worry about later.

"Your daddy was so charming. He told me I was the prettiest girl in the bar, and that he only tried to buy us all drinks because he wanted to get to know me better. I assumed he wanted Lucy, or Maire, those two had their pick back then. But he chose me instead. We went back inside and he insisted I stay with him, kept calling me his good luck charm, and said that Calico would only win if I stayed by his side. And it worked! They were amazing in that second half!"

Superstitions were something Alex did understand. Like how on game days, he liked to wear his lucky t-shirt to make sure the Tunnellers won. Or how grandma threw salt over her left shoulder because it kept the devil away. A voice in the back of his head quipped that he'd need a whole bucket to keep dad away, and part of him wanted to smirk at that.

"Did dad go to Calico?"

Mom shook her head, "no, you don't need it to work in construction. He can work anywhere, which is why he agreed to come back to Zuzu with me after I graduated, we'd have the best of both worlds. And I'd be closer to home; Cal's so far away, its all the way across the other side of the desert. Your grandma didn't even want me to go that far, wanted me to stay in Zuzu City. Ha, can you imagine! We'd be sitting here, supporting the Zips," she gestured to the TV, where Zuzu City's quarterback could be seen fumbling the snap.

She sounded a little brighter now, Alex thought as he pulled away, helped himself to another chip. He couldn't imagine his mom supporting the Zips, they sucked. A lot of the college teams were awful, but mom seemed to like it.

"Could I play for the Zips?" he asked, knowing the answer already.

"Sweetheart, you can go to college wherever you want to," she beamed at him. "But you're not playing for the Zips, they suck."

It was an old joke, but it made them both chuckle. Calico and Zuzu City were rivals, and the Zuzu City Zips did suck.

"No, you'll go somewhere good," she smiled. "One of the big schools will take you. You'll go be their star quarterback, have all the girls chasing you, with your daddy's good looks and those eyes of his, and then you'll go to the pros! You'll get drafted by the Tunnellers, you'll buy me and your dad a big house-"

"-and one for grandma and grandpa-"

"And for grandma and grandpa. We'll be so proud of you-"

"Clara, stop filling the boy's head with bullshit."

Dad's voice, low and gravelly with his hangover, filled Alex with dread. How long had he been stood there? Alex knew every creak of the floorboards above them, but hadn't heard him so much as move. Next to him, he felt his mom's body tense.

"Joe-"

"No, you do this all the time! Fill his head up with crap about college, when he's dumb as rocks! Aren't you, Alex?"

Alex didn't want to be on the couch anymore, and he didn't want to answer his dad's question. It was best not to answer him at all. Instead, he shuffled off the sofa. Instantly, dad took his place.

"See, he doesn't even fight back, he knows what he's worth," he heard dad say to his mom, "he'll be lucky if he finishes third grade. You baby him too much."

"He's a kid, Joe!"

Knowing they were going to start fighting again, Alex grabbed his gridball and went outside. Maybe one day he would go to college. Maybe he would make the team. He'd train, and he'd train, and get so big and strong, that one day, he could come home and stand up to his dad. Stand up for mom too, get him to leave her alone and let her enjoy things for once. And maybe then he'd stop calling him stupid.