by Kitty Parker
"Baby, you do not have to play if you do not want to," Daisy speaks up. "You know that."
Matty nods and is quiet as he cuts a piece of chicken. "I'm going to think about it," he then says in a soft voice but the words drop like rocks down on the table and they're all quiet for a few passing minutes.
"So," Daisy breaks the silence. "I've been working on my new carrot whoopee cupcake to take to Celtus on Sunday. Are you sure he likes carrots?" Daisy asks Jack and he's glad that she knows what to say to completely switch the subject.
Jack smirks a little. "Pretty sure Celtus'll eat anything if it's not rocks or still movin'."
…
She has a thing for his arms. It's not a secret to him. He doesn't really understand it but whatever works for her. She's always finding a way to grip them – whether he's on top or she is, her fingers will find a way around his biceps and she'll hold onto him as if she'll afraid to let go and have him completely disappear.
Even though Matty is a deep sleeper, they still always try their hardest to keep quiet but sometimes, a low moan or a sharp gasp will escape from one of them before they can swallow it down. They know they can probably be a little louder but they never test it out. When Matty is having a sleepover at Tavon's or he's staying at the farm for the night, they both know that they can let it out but no other time.
Jack makes sure he always takes care of Daisy before he's able to finish himself and tonight, on top of her, he kisses her deeply and dives his hand between their bodies, between her legs, and she moans into his mouth, her back arching from off the bed and her fingers gripping his biceps tightly.
In the seconds after, they lay there, sweaty and panting and he's always so worried about crushing her but the times he has tried to move off of her, Daisy always stops him, wrapping her arms or legs – or sometimes both – around him and keeping him right where he is until he's reached the point where he doesn't try anymore.
She presses a series of soft kisses along his scratchy jaw and her fingers run through his hair. It's getting long again and he's noticed that she loves sifting her fingers through it. Maybe he won't cut it just because of that. Maybe he'll just get it trimmed.
He buries his face in the side of her throat, taking a deep inhale of her skin. Chocolate and buttercream are her usual scents and they're mixed in now with sweat and sex. She's the best thing he's ever smelled. He takes another big whiff of her.
Jack doesn't know if they made a baby tonight. All he can really do is hope they did.
Daisy's fingers are light on his back, skimming over all of the scars that litter his skin, but he's stopped flinching so long ago at her touch and can hardly remember when he did.
"Do you think you can get a deer?" Daisy asks suddenly and pretty damn randomly.
Jack doesn't say anything. He just lifts his head and looks at her. She smiles, almost laughs, and shakes her head slightly.
"I was thinking that if you can get us a deer, we can have people over. A housewarming party kind of thing," she explains.
"Mmmm," Jack replies, noncommittally, not really liking the idea of entertaining some party but knowing that it probably comes with having bought a new house.
She knows he'll do it if that's what she wants. He'll do pretty much anything for this woman and he knows that Daisy probably knows that but she probably doesn't know just what anything means. And it means absolutely anything. This little woman has him completely under her thumb and he's not looking to be under anyone else's because the thing with Daisy is she would never think she has any control over him and even if she does know, she would never think of taking advantage of that. Daisy wouldn't know how to take advantage of a person if someone said her life depended on it.
"When you wan' it by?" Jack asks and he slowly slides from on top of her, lying down on his front, keeping some of his body still over hers, his arm resting across her stomach, and he keeps his head turned towards her as Daisy turns her head towards him. Her fingers are now trailing up and down his arm.
"Maybe for this coming Sunday," Daisy suggests. "Anyone you would want to invite?"
Jack thinks that over for a second. He assumes she'll be inviting their family and their friends but he thinks of someone else. "The new kid on the team. Henry. Maybe him and his dads."
Daisy smiles at that. "Aaron did seem really nice. I didn't know he had a husband," she then comments.
Jack smirks a little and moves to rest his head on her shoulder. "Don't think they go 'round, tattooin' it on their foreheads."
Daisy playfully pinches his arm and he chuckles softly, his eyes slowly falling shut, listening to the sound of her soft breathing, feeling her fingers once again on his arm. He can't remember ever sleeping as good as he does now; not until he started sleeping next to and sharing a bed with Daisy.
But she sighs softly and he opens his eyes again, tilting his face up towards her. She doesn't have to say anything. He can pretty much read her mind – especially about this.
"You always said he can quit whenever he wants," he reminds her.
"I know," Daisy sighs again. "I just want him to make sure it's what he really wants because I know how much he loves it and I know how happy it makes him to play and he's so good at it. I just don't want him to quit because practice was terrible today. And I hate that practice was so terrible today."
Jack's not too sure what to say to that so he doesn't say anything. If he's being honest, sometimes, he just likes to listen to her being a mom. She loves that kid more than anything and everything is about him. He knows Matty doesn't know how lucky he is. That kid doesn't know what it'd be like to have a mom who doesn't love him and make him her entire world. All that kid's known is Daisy being there for him and thinking about him and staying up at night because of him.
"Matty's a smart kid," Jack says after another minute. "He'll make whatever's the right choice for 'im." He settles his head back against her shoulder and closes his eyes once more. "He's the only one to know whether he wants to keep playin' or not."
Daisy's quiet and he is almost drifting off to sleep when he feels her arms tighten around him and her lips brush across his forehead.
"And you think you're not good at this parent stuff," she murmurs to him softly and he can hear the faint smile in her voice.
…
Martinez makes him the manager of the garage after talking with his wife and realizing that he needs to spend more time at home with her and the kids. For Martinez, it is an easy decision to make. Jack is his close friend and the best mechanic he has and he's also pretty confident that Jack is the most responsible guy there is – even more responsible than him, in Martinez's opinion.
The garage is open Monday through Saturday but Jack is never scheduled to work on Saturdays – at least not during football season – so Friday is always a bit more busy for him, trying to finish up all of his work before the weekends. Sometimes, after school, the bus will drop Matty off at Daisy's cupcake shop and he'll help her clean up before they go home and he starts on his homework and getting ready for practice as Daisy gets a start on dinner. And sometimes, Matty will get off the bus at the auto garage and help Jack clean up there before going home with him.
Today, the bus drops Matty off at the garage and he comes into the front office where Jack is typing up a receipt on the computer for a customer who's standing at the counter, ready to pay.
"Hey," Jack looks up when he sees him enter. "How was school?"
Matty shrugs, coming around the counter and climbing up to sit on the stool there as Jack stands beside him. He drops his book bag heavily to the ground. "Tavon's mad at me," he says.
Jack prints the receipt and then processes the customer's credit card, thanking them for coming in, and only when they leave the office does he turn to Matty and speak.
"Best friends fight," Jack offers.
Matty shakes his head though. "Nah. He's really mad at me. I told him that I might take a break from the team for a while and he said it's gonna
be all my fault when they lose."
"Would think it'd be their fault for puttin' all of that on you," Jack says and that really is the problem when it all comes down to it.
He didn't know shit about football before meeting Daisy and Matty and becoming involved with their lives but now he can watch the games and understand what's going on and the offense for the Gators team is seriously flawed because almost the entire damn thing relies on Matty. The kid can run – fast – and they use that to their advantage in nearly every single play. And having an entire team rest on their shoulders would take their toll on an adult, let alone a nine-year-old.
Matty nods and doesn't say anything and Jack puts a hand on his head for a moment. He then leans in and kisses him on the top before another customer comes in, ready to pay, and he wonders how dinner will go. Daisy has invited T-Dog and her brother, Shawn, over so they can all discuss Matty's decision to take a step back for a while. Actually, it's not going to be much of a discussion because it won't matter what T-Dog and Shawn say. This is the way it's going to be for a while. The kid's burned out and he just needs the chance to rest up and the Gators coaches need a chance to think of some new damn plays that don't always surround his kid.
If they don't have to worry about a football game tomorrow, maybe Matty will come hunting with him and help him bag a deer for Daisy.
…
Part Two.
Daisy doesn't know why she's so nervous. She has absolutely no reason to be nervous. It's just her brother and Coach Douglas coming over for dinner and they have all shared more than a few meals together. Tonight, it will be no different, and she tells herself this again and again as she moves around the kitchen even though she knows perfectly well that it will be very different.
A couple of years before – when Matty got hurt for the first time on the field during a game – she had wanted to pull him from the sport right then and there. And then he had been hospitalized for a minor concussion and she had hoped she would never see her son in football pads again. But Matty's always gone back because he loves playing and Daisy wants him to be happy – even though she still can hardly watch him getting tackled without turning her head and burying her face in Jack's arm.
But lately, she's noticed that Matty hardly smiles anymore – not when he has to go to practice or when practice is over or on game days when they win. Not like he used to. And as his mother, it's something she's noticed almost immediately because when it comes to Matty, football has always made him smile like few other things can.
When Matty told her and Jack the night before that he was ready to take a break, they were both understandably surprised because even though he seemed tired, she never excepted him to actually be willing to give it up for a while. But then, deep down, Daisy also felt relief at the decision. Matty's only nine and she feels like everyone involved in this football organization forgets that. These boys are all just that. Boys. Kids. Practically still babies. And they need to enjoy their childhood because they only get one of them. If he wants to quit altogether or go back and just take a couple of weeks off, Daisy will support him no matter what. Matty loves playing football and she hates the idea of that love dying. But that's exactly what playing for the Gators is doing and Daisy is so proud that Matty is able to see that and make a decision like this on his own.
It makes her think like maybe she's doing a pretty okay job at raising him.
Daisy hears the rumble of the familiar pickup truck and then the garage door opening. Otter is in the laundry room, standing in front of the door, his tail wagging in anticipation. Matty opens the door first and steps into the laundry room from the garage and he smiles as Otter eagerly jumps all over him, excited to have his best friend home again after being gone at school all day. Jack comes in behind him, hitting the garage door button, closing it once more, and then closing the laundry room door.
Jack wears a backwards baseball cap on his head and his dark blue Martinez Auto Garage tee-shirt, the familiar scent of oil and grease wafting from him. And Matty is wearing a plain black tee-shirt and though she saw what he was wearing this morning before he went off to school, Daisy still thinks it's a bit jarring to see once again. Usually, on Fridays, the boys will wear the tee-shirts of whichever team they play for.
"Hi," Daisy greets them both with a smile. She kisses Matty on the head and then tilts her head up to kiss Jack on the lips. "How was school? How was work?" She asks them.
"Fine," they both answer at the same time and Daisy almost laughs.
He may have not had a hand in actually helping her make Matty but Jack is this boy's dad in every sense of the word.
"Smells real good in here," Jack then comments and he leans in, kissing the side of her head, and it seems like it should be so silly; the way this man can still give her butterflies but he does and it's not.
"Beef stroganoff and fresh bread," Daisy says, going to the oven now to check on the rising on the loaf inside. "And Uncle Shawn and Coach Douglas are going to be coming here around five." She then looks back to Matty and he seems like he's fine but still, she has to make sure. "Do you want to do the talking tonight?" She asks him.
Matty is putting fresh water into Otter's water dish on the floor and he nods. "It should be me," he says and that's all he says before bending down and peering in through the oven window to look at the bread baking for himself. He then turns and looks back to Daisy. "Do we have any dessert?" He asks with that mischievous smile that reminds everyone just how young he really is.
And for a moment, Daisy thinks about the baby she and Jack are trying to make. She wonders if it will be a boy or girl and if they'll have hers and Matty's blond curls or Jack's dark hair. If they have a boy, she already has names picked out and she wonders how they'll decide on a name if they have a daughter.
"I might have made butterscotch pudding on the stove earlier," Daisy smiles and then laughs a little as Matty gasps, his eyes lighting up at that news.
"Come on, Otter," Matty then says to the dog and grabbing a tennis ball from the basket on the floor net to the backdoor where they keep Otter's leash and his toys, Matty opens the back door and goes outside with Otter trotting happily behind him.
"I ain't never had puddin' from the stove before," Jack comments once it's just them in the kitchen. He has gotten himself a glass of water and is now leaning against the sink.
"You mean in all of the years we've known each other, I've never made it for you?" Daisy asks and tries to go through all of her memories with Jack but the truth is, they have shared so many meals together, she can't possibly remember them all. "I hope you like it. And I hope Shawn likes it, too. He absolutely loves pudding made on the stove."
Jack smirks a little at that and takes a sip of water. "So you're tryin' to butter 'im up?"
Daisy wants to smile but she can't seem to because the truth is, and no matter what she tells herself, she is nervous about dinner tonight. "I'm just worried about what Shawn will say to me about this," she then confesses honestly to Jack.
Her brother played football himself, loves football and has told her more than once that Matty is going to go far in this life, playing football. She can envision her brother blaming her for Matty's decision to not play at the moment and possibly accuse her of trying to hold the boy back.
Jack looks at her for a moment and his lips are straight and his face is serious. "I ain't gonna let 'im say anythin' to you," he then tells her.
Daisy exhales a deep breath and nods her head but there's still a knot in the pit of her stomach – even as Jack puts his water glass down and pulls her into his arms, holding her to him tightly.
…
Matty's the one to tell them. They are sitting at the table in the dining room – the five of them – and they have all said grace and are just starting to eat when Matty tells them in that rather blunt way that children speak in, unaware of just how big of announcement something truly is.
"I'm not playing tomorrow and I don't know when I'll play again,
" Matty says.
T-Dog was just about to guide a piece of beef into his mouth but the fork freezes in the air right before being able to slip in past his lips and he stares at the boy sitting across the table from him. Shawn is staring at him, too, but then his eyes slowly go to Daisy.
"Why?" Shawn asks – directing the question to Matty but still looking at Daisy.
And Daisy isn't a little girl anymore and she refuses to be intimidated by Shawn – not like when they were kids and a big brother was torturing his little sister. She's a mom and a wife and she's an adult and Shawn isn't going to bully her. She reminds herself of all of this and forces herself to look at her brother in return and not look anywhere else.
"I'm tired," Matty explains simply because when they boil it down, this is really what it is all about. They have been running him ragged and he's tired. Plain and simple.
"You're tired?" T-Dog echoes as if he's never heard such a thing.
Jack takes the opportunity to speak up. "You run this kid and you don't run any other kid. Yeah. He's tired. Matty ain't the whole team."
Shawn's jaw is visibly clenched now and he looks from Daisy to Jack and back again.
T-Dog has put his fork down and bringing his elbows up onto the table, he folds his hands in front of him. "Is that true, Matty?" T-Dog asks the boy in a calm voice.
Matty nods. "I'm tired and sore and you're making me not love football anymore."
Shawn finally looks away from Daisy and Jack to look at his nephew. "That's because you're one the best players any of us have seen in a really long time, Matt."
Daisy's not sure why but she almost flinches at that. Yes, it's his name. Matthew. Matt. Matty. They're all his name. And yet, just hearing him being called Matt, it's just another reminder that he's not her little Matty anymore. He's only nine and he's still a boy but he's growing up. He's making his own decisions and he knows what he wants and soon, he'll be too old to be Matty.