Offside!

by Diersch, Sandra

“I didn’t choose Jeremy,” Alecia said, pulling back to look at her mother. “You did.”

  “No, I didn’t, not by myself. If you hadn’t liked him, we would never have had a second date. You may not remember this, but when Jeremy came to our apartment the first time, you climbed right up into his lap and demanded he read a book to you. He was completely stunned, but he read the book. Three times.”

  She didn’t remember doing that, but she did have a lifetime of memories that included Jeremy: swimming at the lake, learning to ride a bike, picnics at Stanley Park. He had taken her to her first day of school because her mother was sick and had held her hand until she was ready for him to leave. Things were becoming clearer to Alecia, slowly but surely.

  Her mother kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly. “If you want to know who your father was, ask me. I will always answer your questions if I can. And if I don’t know the answer, I’ll help you find out.”

  “Okay, I promise,” Alecia told her. She sat up and wiped her hair out of her eyes.

  “I’m going to go change and then we’ll make some dinner. Are you okay now?” her mother asked, standing. Alecia nodded, smiling.

  “Is it okay if I keep my scrapbook, though?” she asked, touching the glossy cover. Her mother laughed, nodding.

  “Of course! I should have made one for you years ago. I think it is a nice idea. And I think I may have some more things you can put in it.”

  After her mother left, Alecia sat on the bed by herself, her thoughts swirling around in her head, all jumbled and confused. She had been looking for her father, but had she been looking in the wrong place all this time? Chasing memories of Peter Sheffield had left Alecia feeling frustrated and lonely. He had been gone a long time. And, if Alecia was truthful with herself, she knew he could never give her what she wanted and needed — a dad. She wanted a dad like Monica’s, Annie’s, and Connor’s, someone who loved her and did things with her and helped her with her problems.

  She realized, all of a sudden, how right Lexi had been. Alecia had a wonderful dad who was all those things to her and had been for a long time. She had been so intent on building a dream daddy she had lost sight of the real one. The one who was still, patiently, waiting for her to make a decision. Alecia thought of how much Lexi wanted what Alecia had always taken for granted, and she felt sorry for her. She hoped they could work things out somehow. It was time, however, that she had a chat with Jeremy. But first she had one last thing to take care of.

  Dear Peter,

  I’m sorry I didn’t get to know you before you died. I think I would have liked you a lot. But I have to move on now. You see, Mom did a really good job of picking a new dad for me and I think I’m going to let him adopt me. I know you won’t mind. I know you want me to be happy. If you don’t mind, though, I might still write to you sometimes — you know, when I need to think things through.

  Love, Alecia

  Jeremy was in the garage, puttering with his tool bench. Alecia stood in the doorway watching him, a small smile playing at her lips. He was so funny, the way he muttered to himself, even argued once in a while. He reached up and scratched his nose with one finger, frowning as he looked around the untidy bench.

  “Lose something?” Alecia asked. Jeremy turned and smiled at her. He gave a small laugh and glanced back at the tool bench.

  “Who’d think it possible, eh? I mean this is such a tidy and organized place.”

  “What are you looking for?” Alecia asked, moving into the room. She came and stood beside him by the bench, pretending to hunt for whatever it was he needed.

  “It’s called a thingamajig and it is a highly advanced piece of equipment. Only a few people in the world know how to use one,” Jeremy told her, dropping one arm over Alecia’s shoulder. She pressed in close to him, liking the solid strength of him near her.

  “I thought you might be looking for a daughter,” she whispered. There was a short pause.

  “Would you happen to know where I could find one?” he asked at last, his voice catching, just a little.

  “I’m available,” Alecia told him. Jeremy turned so they were facing each other, his hands holding her shoulders. She looked up and met his eyes, her own suddenly brimming with tears. “That is, if you’re still interested,” she added.

  “Oh I’m definitely still interested,” Jeremy said and pulled her tightly against him. Alecia wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tight.

  “I’m sorry it took me so long to decide,” she whispered against the soft cotton of his shirt. “I had some things to figure out.”

  Jeremy hugged her again, laughing softly. “That’s okay, some things are worth waiting for.”

  * * *

  The game Sunday promised to be a good one. Jeremy had spoken to the Rocketeers’ coach and to the league officials and explained what had happened with the Burrards and surprisingly, everyone had agreed to reschedule the game. Alecia woke up that morning feeling as light as a feather. She felt like she could score every goal single-handedly, make every check on every player, do anything!

  Everyone but Stacie was on the field ready to go when Jeremy, Alecia, and her mother arrived Sunday morning. Laurie had not been able to convince Stacie to come back. Alecia still held out hope that they would convince her, eventually, but she also realized Stacie was pretty stubborn. And in the meantime they had Karen, who was just waiting to be needed to give the team her best.

  “Hey, guys,” Alecia called joining her teammates at their bench. “Isn’t it a gorgeous day? It feels almost like spring.”

  “Please, Alecia,” Allison grumbled, “it is way too early in the morning for so much cheer. Besides, spring is a month away. And it’s cold.”

  “Never mind her,” Laurie said, laughing. “It does feel good today. And look who came to watch!” Alecia turned to see Connor, Monica, Anne, and some boy Alecia didn’t recognize walking toward them. Monica waved.

  “What got you out of bed so early on a Sunday morning?” Laurie asked as the group approached.

  “Well, Trevor here wanted to see your game. He plays too,” Connor said, pointing to his friend. The tall boy with sandy hair and glasses that kept slipping down his nose grinned shyly at the girls. Alecia felt herself blushing when he caught her eye and smiled at her. She tossed her head and looked away, suddenly very self-conscious.

  “Aren’t you going to introduce us?” Laurie said, poking Connor in the ribs. “He is so rude,” she told Trevor. Trevor laughed shyly.

  “Trevor Lunden,” Connor said, putting on his polite voice, “these are my friends, Laurie Chen and Alecia Sheffield.”

  Alecia smiled, but shook her head. “Actually,” she said, speaking clearly, “it’s Parker,” she told them, turning to catch Jeremy’s eye. He winked at her, smiling, and Alecia laughed.

  “It’s Alecia Parker,” she said again and found she liked the sound of it.

  Copyright © 2011 by Sandra Diersch

  First published in the United States in 2012.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers acknowledge the support of the Ontario Arts Council. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for our publishing activities. We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. We acknowledge the support of the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Media Development Corporation’s Ontario Book Initiative.

  Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

  Diersch, Sandra

  Offside! [electronic resource] / Sandra Diersch.

 
(Sports stories)

  Electronic document issued in EPUB format.

  Also issued in print format.

  ISBN 978-1-55277-740-4

  I. Title. II. Series: Sports stories (Toronto, Ont.)

  PS8557.I385O33 2011b jC813’.54 C2011-902029-7

  This digital edition first published in 2011 as 978-1-55277-740-4

  Most recently published in 2011 as 978-1-55277-851-7

  James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers

  317 Adelaide Street West Suite 1002

  Toronto, Ontario

  M5V 1P9

  www.lorimer.ca

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