These Paper Walls

by Magan Vernon

  I hadn't even accepted the job and he was acting like I had it. That I wanted it. The more I thought about it and my feet digging back in the sand, the more I did want it. Even though I should have probably discussed it with Libby. I guess I didn't expect an offer and knew we'd be in for one hell of a long talk when I got home.

  "Now, to take over the head coach position, you would need some sort of teaching experience. You've got a little bit of time before I retire, and I know that Coach Murphy is looking to possibly hire on an assistant coach for JV football as well. If you started taking classes now, you could easily get your teaching degree within in four years, and then have enough experience to take over for us."

  Holy hell. I blinked once then twice, my mouth going completely dry as I tried to form words. I'd never thought about being a coach, much less a teacher. I figured I'd be on the road crew forever and this would just be a hobby.

  "That's awfully nice of you Coach, but I'm not sure I'm the teaching type." I rubbed the back of my neck.

  He laughed. "Hell, son, when I was your age I didn't think I was good for anything else but hitting a ball. My coach sat down with me and did the same thing I'm doing for you. He found me scholarships and soon I was going to school part-time while working at the couplings factory. It sucked. It sucked hard, son. But after a year into it, and especially once I started student teaching, I knew this was where I belonged."

  He leaned back. "Now I know you think that you're going to make shit as a teacher, but with stipends for coaching, you and the Mrs. could have a pretty good paycheck coming to you. You'd also have most of the summer off, except for practices in August, and be on the same schedule as your kids."

  I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yeah. That would be nice."

  He stood up and patted my shoulder. "I know it's a lot for you to think about, Crabtree, and you don't have to give me your answer right now, but the board wants it soon. Go home and talk to your wife. Talk to your friends. Hell, talk to your former teammates. Then get back to me by the end of this week, because I'm going to have to interview someone else and I'd hate to do that."

  I swallowed hard, letting everything sink in. Coaching. Going to college. Teaching. All things I never associated with me. Now they were right in front of me and I had to make a decision if it was what I wanted to do.

  "Thanks, Coach. I'll get back to you ASAP." I stood up and shook his hand.

  He smiled and patted my back. "I know you will, son. I know you will."

  ***

  My head was swimming with information. So much that I just sat in my car for a few minutes, scrolling through my phone before I even left the parking lot.

  I could take classes the same time as Libby at night and we could use a babysitter during the day. Or even work opposite schedules.

  But when would I see her?

  When would I see our son?

  I sat the phone down and drove down Conger Road back to our house, still trying to wrap my head around everything.

  Someone finally believed I was more than a set of muscles. That I could actually do something for other people. Hell, that meant more to me than anything else in my last twenty years.

  If I was still living with my parents, I would probably jump on the opportunity, but now I had to think about the two other people in my life. Two other lives I had to support instead of just thinking about myself, which I had been doing all of my life.

  When I pulled up to the front of the house, Jackson's truck was parked out front.

  Shit. Was I supposed to do something with him and forgot and now Libby was in there, probably giving him the third degree?

  I parked next to him and got out, running to the front door. I didn't expect to hear the sounds of a hammer and laughter.

  I walked down the small hallway to the living room, where Libby and Jackson were both on all fours, locking in wooding flooring. They hooked in another board before Libby looked up and smiled, jumping up and running over to greet me.

  "Hey, Blaine! How was the first day? And the interview?" She looped her arms around me in a big hug, almost making me feel guilty for being gone so long. And for having coffee with Julie that morning. But I wasn't going to ever tell Libby that last part.

  "It was long. Really long."

  Jackson stood up, wiping off his hands. "Yeah, that's the last time I'm letting you be gone late. Your wifey here couldn't wait any longer to get in this floor so she called Dina to help, who of course was working and called me."

  I looked down at the dark wooden floor that took up half the living room. There was still a lot of work to be done but they had a good start. "Thanks, brother, I appreciate you helping out."

  He laughed, patting my back. "Libby didn't give me much of a choice."

  I put my arm around Libby. "Yeah, she's pretty convincing."

  Libby squealed when I pinched her side.

  Jackson shook his head. "And on that note, I'm going to take off before you two christen these floors and try to get Libby pregnant again."

  "Oh, come on, Jacks. I owe you dinner or something for helping out," I yelled.

  Jackson just smiled. "Naw, I'm sure you'll return the favor when I need help."

  With that he put on his boots and headed out the front door.

  As soon as he was gone, Libby spun around to face me. "Sooo...how did the interview go? Are you the new coach?"

  I rubbed the back of my head. "Well, not exactly. Coach said I basically had the job, but he wants me to look into going back to school, since an assistant usually needs teaching experience. He said that I could have a few years, and then when that was up, I could start teaching there and take over his job."

  Libby's eyes widened. "Wow, you want to teach and you never told me?"

  I shrugged. "I didn't know that I did. I still don't."

  "Well, that's kind of what college is for. You go and figure out what you like and don't like. If you don't like your teaching classes or this coaching job then you do something else."

  I sighed. "Baby, I barely got through high school. I only did because Coach helped me out."

  She smiled. "Well, then you could be that same coach to do that for another kid. I think it's a great opportunity."

  "But I still need to work. We both do. How the hell am I supposed to support us if I don't?"

  She chewed on her bottom lip. "Well, we could work around each other's schedules. I just signed up for my spring semester. I only have four classes left and I was able to get them all at night. 6-8:50 Monday through Thursday. You can still work most of the day and do one or two classes at night or after work, head on over to a class."

  "Monday through Thursday all night? If I stay working in New Orleans, when am I supposed to see you?"

  She looked at the clock above our stove. "Well, hopefully you would be home at seven every night and if not, then I'll be here after nine."

  "Who is watching Mathieu?"

  "I've got that all figured out. Your mom has off on Mondays, so she can watch him when we work during the day. Aunt Dee said I could do the accounting from home on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Thursdays Dina has off and said she could help out and Britt said she could help watch him anytime you're working late and I need to leave."

  My head was spinning. All these plans revolved around me working late and handing off our kid to someone else. Maybe Coach was right about getting on the same schedule as our kid. And if I was leaving every morning by five and getting home at seven, there was no way in hell I was going to see Libby by the time she got home from school. I'd be passed the hell out.

  Something was going to need to change.

  But I tried to keep those thoughts off my face.

  "That all sounds great, baby." I leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Now, let's get something to eat, then you can watch me finish these floors."

  Chapter 10

  I was completely running on empty.

  Two nights with only three hours of sleep, so I could finish t
he floors, then working twelve hour days in the sun was wearing on me.

  And now I only had two more days to figure out if I was going to take the coaching job.

  Instead of spending the night discussing it with Libby, we were going over to her Aunt Dee's for supper.

  "So what's the occasion for dinner tonight?" I stared over at Libby who was holding her tray of deviled eggs like it was the Holy Grail and she was afraid to drop it at any moment. Aside from bacon, she was now always craving eggs and I'd had more recipes with eggs in them the last few weeks than I ever wanted in my life.

  "She just said it would be nice to have us over since we've all been so busy."

  I nodded. Dee was always a sweet lady. She'd had it rough most of her life with an addict daughter who abandoned her granddaughter. I always wondered why she agreed to take Libby in in the first place, but it was never my place to ask.

  We pulled up to Dee's small, shotgun style house that was only about a mile from our place. I guess that would be good if Britt and Dee were going to be watching Mathieu at all. None of my family was too far and with them down the road, it would definitely help. Now if only Libby and I would actually find time to see each other and our kid, that would be the best situation.

  Dee stepped out onto the front porch and waved us in.

  She'd always been pretty spry for an older lady, but once we got inside, I noticed she wasn't moving as fast and her usually colored red hair was now streaking with gray.

  Shit.

  This was going to be one of those dinners in which she told us she was sick and that Britt was going to move in with us when hospice came in.

  I knew it.

  "Dee, you look lovely as always," I said, giving her a big hug, but making sure not to squeeze her too tight.

  "Oh, well thank you Blaine. Sorry, I've been a little under the weather."

  I waved my hand. "Well, you look great and I'm sure it's nothing that a little chicken noodle soup and some good Gris Gris can't fix."

  Dee smiled and put her hand on my shoulder before she turned and went back to the kitchen.

  Her house was small, but really not that much smaller than mine and Libby's. It just looked smaller because the outdated yellow kitchen ran smack dab into the family room that was full of way too much furniture. Just looking over the two rooms, my head was spinning with ways I could improve it. First thing would be to knock down a few walls.

  "Hey, y'all." Libby's cousin Britt walked out of the back room.

  I'd known Britt since she was just a little thing, hanging on Dee's leg at every school function. She grew into a tomboy that was the best softball catcher in the parish. If she wanted to, she could easily get a scholarship.

  "Britt, what's going on with your hair?" Libby ruffled her fingers through Britt's short, spiky black hair that now had streaks of blue in it.

  Britt put her hand to her head. "Just a little something some of the other girls on the team were doing. Grandma already lectured me on it."

  "Don't worry, I'm not going to scold you too. I'm just saying, it's not my style," Libby said.

  Britt laughed. "What are you going to do when little Matty comes home with blue hair?"

  Libby shook her head. "First off, he will not be called Matty and second off, his daddy will probably have his hide if he did that."

  Britt held onto her stomach and laughed. "I doubt Blaine would do that. He's still keeping up with that blond do, so he has no room to talk."

  I ran my fingers through my hair. It was badly needing a cut and probably to touch up my roots. My mom first started dying it blond when I was in middle school. The girls thought I looked like a boy bander and started giving me their numbers left and right, so I kept it. But I guess at twenty, it was starting to look a little stupid.

  Libby took my hand and kissed my knuckles. "Blond is different than blue. And it looks cute on Blaine."

  Britt made a gagging noise.

  "Now, stop fighting y'all and let's eat before the fish gets cold. No one wants to eat cold catfish," Dee yelled, before setting the big tray on the table.

  "Here, let me help you, ma'am." I grabbed the other bowls of black eyed peas and grits and set them on the table.

  "You're always so helpful, Blaine. My Libby is lucky to have you." Dee smiled, patting my back as we sat down.

  "You should see the way he's been working Aunt Dee. He took down all the cabinets in the kitchen and made them into a new dresser and side tables for our bedroom. I'm sure the man can do anything with his hands," Libby said, smiling and rubbing my back like a proud mother hen.

  Britt laughed, almost choking on her sweet tea. "Yeah, I'm sure he's good with his hands."

  Dee swatted Britt's leg, but it had the same effect as fly swatting an elephant. "Brittany! Manners!"

  "Sorry, Grandma," Britt muttered, putting her head down.

  "Okay, now let's pray so we can dig in," Dee said, grabbing Britt and Libby's hands. Libby held onto my other hand and I took Britt's free hand as we bowed our heads.

  Dee recited the Catholic prayer and we all kind of followed along before we said 'Amen' in unison and then let go of each other's hand and started digging in.

  "So, how's work on the road crew going, Blaine? Libby tells me you're working in New Orleans now," Dee said as she scooped some grits onto her plate.

  "It's going all right. Hot and a lot of work, but it's going," I said, watching Dee for any signs of tremors or something that would show weakness.

  "He's actually been asked to be the new assistant baseball coach for Elsbury," Libby said, staring at Dee with a broad smile on her face.

  It was a good subject change, but that still left the spotlight on me.

  Dee clasped her hands together. "Oh, that's wonderful, Blaine! Maybe you'll even get to help Britt and the girls' team."

  "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I haven't accepted the job yet." I folded and unfolded my napkin for something to do with my hands.

  "But you're going to, right?" Libby asked, staring at me with those big puppy dog eyes.

  I blew out a big breath of air and rubbed the back of my neck. "I don't know. Maybe."

  "Well, what's holding you back?" Dee asked, adjusting her Coke bottle glasses.

  "Coach said I'd have to get my degree and start teaching in the next few years. I guess he was able to get me a stipend and approval for me to start out without schooling, but I'd have to be employed by the school if I ever wanted the head coaching position."

  "Well, that sounds like a mighty fine idea, Blaine. Then you wouldn't have those long hours in the heat anymore on the road crew. Why, you could even be a shop teacher if you like working on all of those projects," Dee offered with a tight-lipped smile.

  I took a sip of my sweet tea. I hadn't even thought about doing something like that. Coach was our gym teacher and I figured that was what I'd be stuck doing. That or maybe history or some other classroom environment. None of those options sounded appealing. But teaching something where I got to still work with my hands, now that actually sounded promising.

  "I don't know, Dee. I guess we'll see what happens when Mathieu is born and Libby's out of school." I put my hand on Libby's knee.

  Dee set her fork down and smoothed out her dress. "I guess that leads me into why I wanted y'all here tonight."

  I raised an eyebrow. I knew it. I knew there was going to be an ulterior motive. I glanced over at Libby, who was biting her bottom lip.

  "What is it, Aunt Dee? Is everything okay?"

  She smiled and patted Libby's hand. "Everything's fine, dear. Well, sort of."

  Dee sighed, which made her look even older with the wrinkles creasing around her eyes. "I'm getting older. I thought I could run the shop forever, but truth be told, I know that my arthritis is getting too bad to do inventory all day. With you taking over the books, it's helped, but still not enough."

  "Aunt Dee, if you need me to come into the shop more and help you, I can. I promise," Libby said, putting her
hand on Dee's.

  I held my breath. How the hell was that going to happen? We were already struggling as it was trying to get everything juggled between my work and her school, with a baby on the way, we definitely wouldn't see each other if she was working more.

  Dee smiled. "I had something else in mind. I've been talking to my estate attorney and he agrees with me, that we should set up a trust and have you slowly buy the shop from me."

  Libby's eyebrows shot up. "What? You want me to take over the shop? Aunt Dee, I don't know anything about running a business!"

  And neither did I. Hell, half the time I didn't even feel like I was enough of a grown up to live in my own house. But, I guess marriage and becoming a parent has a way of thrusting you into those types of things.

  Dee put her hands down. "Now, I'm not saying you have to do it right away. We can build up to it. You can still finish school and I'll start teaching you the ropes. I know that you'll have your own ideas and you can probably turn the shop into the quaint little place I'd always wanted it to be instead of the pawn shop it's become. I just ask that you keep Dina on and Marion, until she decides to retire as well."

  Libby winced. She'd complained about Marion more than once and the fact that she always said she was doing inventory, but would be watching cat videos on her phone or the computer.

  Dee gently swatted Libby's leg. "Now, don't sass. Marion has been with me since the beginning and Dina knows a thing or two about business."

  Libby let out a big breath. "Wow. This is a lot, Aunt Dee. I don't know what to think."

  Dee patted Libby's hand. "You don't have to decide right now, but I'd like you to seriously consider it. There's no one else I'd rather have taking over the shop than you."

  I opened my mouth to say something, but shut it when I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. I was afraid it was going to be Coach asking about my decision, when I had no idea how in the hell this was going to change things with Libby taking over the shop. But it wasn't Coach's name flashing across the screen.

  Julie: Hey, seeing if you'd be up for coffee tomorrow again. I have an errand to run for my boss before work.