The Comeback Route

by Jamie Bennett

  “Madonna,” Domenico breathed.

  I looked at the painting. “No, this is definitely a man,” I corrected him. “Kind of an ugly old mug, but…” I looked at their two faces, both of them staring at the portrait. Daisy started to cry.

  “Holy shit. Is this it?” I asked them.

  “You found it, Tates,” Daisy told me through her tears. “You found the portrait we’ve been looking for.”

  The professor threw his arms in the air and whooped, and there went the second cup of coffee.

  Chapter 13

  Absence makes the heart grow fonder…or does it? If we’re never apart from the people we love, we don’t need to test that theory! Hold them tightly, like you’re the anaconda and they are the capybaras.

  Have you renewed? Can you start your day without the wise advice and loving reminders from Mysti’s Morning Musings™?

  Yours in needing the subscription fees, Mysti

  I blew my nose, again, and then hit the remote against my palm. It wasn’t this little piece of plastic’s fault that the reception was so poor and the audio wasn’t working, but I really wanted to be able to see the game, and hear it. Nico had insisted that none of the players’ wives or families ever went to the Junior Woodsmen away games, but I was wishing that I had driven down to Toledo separately to watch. We hadn’t been apart since that night when he’d been in the clink, and it was making me nervous. The thought of Nico playing in this game was making me nervous, too.

  “Hitting the remote won’t fix this, it’s a bad signal,” Daisy’s husband commented. He started messing with the TV equipment and the picture did get marginally better. They had invited me over to their cottage to watch the Junior Woodsmen play on our local TV station, which thankfully broadcast all the games. Daisy hated to be alone while watching Knox play, and she thought that he could give me some insight into the game, as well. “Thanks for bringing all the snacks, Tatum.” He gestured to table, laden with the different food items I’d carried in. “And thank you for the, uh, prophylactics.”

  “Well, newlyweds. I figured you’d need them. Oh, there’s Nico!” I squinted at the screen. He had insisted that he felt totally fine, totally back to normal, but I wasn’t sure that I believed him. “Watch the quarterback carefully,” I instructed Knox as the other Junior Woodsmen took the field. “See if we can make him improve somehow.”

  “Make him?” Knox asked. He settled down next to me on their couch, which Daisy had bought especially for him since he had moved in with her as they worked on building their new house. It was made of reinforced kryptonite or something to take his size and weight.

  “Drink this,” Daisy said, and handed me a mug full of hot, steaming liquid. “You seem sicker than the last time I saw you.” That had been yesterday, but she was right, I did feel worse. I had been going non-stop, working on my stuff and also trying to help Daisy and the professor as they sorted out their next move after finding the Renaissance painting. Both of them had been floating around on cloud nine for the whole week, and Domenico seemed like a different person, he was so relieved and happy.

  “Thank you for the tea. I can’t seem to shake this dumb cold,” I complained. “Holy shit, did they already turn it over?”

  “The center recovered the ball. One thing the quarterback could do to improve is to not let go of it like that,” Knox commented, and Daisy laughed. He had been kind of coming out of his shell with humor the longer they were together, but I wasn’t sure I liked the smart-ass comments, so I let him know that.

  “I’m looking for actual help, Mr. I-Want-to-Be-a-Coach-Someday,” I informed him, and sneezed. “Oh, shit, oh, no.” Teddy lofted one of his lighter than air passes and it drifted downfield and out of bounds. Not even Nico could have caught that. The Junior Woodsmen huddled and I tried to see number 22 in the bunch of uniforms, wondering what the announcers were saying. “Can I do something to try to fix it?” I asked, gesturing at the screen. “On a separate note, totally unrelated to me fixing the TV, do you have a hammer I can borrow?”

  “Here,” Daisy said. She tuned her phone to pick up the Woodsmen radio network. “At least you’ll be able to listen to it.”

  “The Junior Woodsmen are having another rough start, it’s third and ten with quarterback Teddy Hayes still looking pretty hinky, Herb,” the radio commentator stated.

  “Nervous as a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs, Buzz,” Herb agreed. “He needs to settle down out there. We know the boy can throw but we haven’t seen that cannon used very effectively.”

  I had. My stomach and ass still bore the marks.

  “It’s a successful snap to Hayes, he drops back in the pocket…good protection by the offensive line…” Buzz the commentator sounded shocked by this. “Hayes is looking, looking…Williams is wide open at the forty-five, he’s waving his arms but the free safety is closing in on him…”

  “Throw it!” I shrieked at the radio. “Throw it!” I screamed at the TV.

  Teddy let the ball go. It went pretty much as fast and hard as it had when he had nailed me in the stomach with it, and with the same accuracy. Nico had to dive for the catch but he managed to stay on his feet with just one hand on the ground, and then he spun and was running—

  “Go! Go!” The blurry figure raced down the field and into the endzone.

  “And that’s a touchdown!” Buzz shouted. “Teddy Hayes to Nico Williams, and the Junior Woodsmen are up six to zippo on the Frogtowners!”

  I hadn’t realized that I was screaming and jumping up and down until I saw the tea sloshed all over my shirt and also all over the floor. “Sorry! Sorry!” I told Daisy, still pretty much hollering it, but she was jumping up and down too.

  “Man oh man,” Herb crowed from Daisy’s phone, “Am I glad to see Nico Williams back out on the football field!”

  “As am I, Herb,” I told him. “As am I!” The kicker came out for the extra point, and miracle of miracles, the Junior Woodsmen were up by seven. The defense took the field after the kickoff and I sat back down on the edge of the couch to watch, right after I ran to the kitchen to get something to mop the tea off the floor and off myself. I felt a lot of sympathy with Domenico and his coffee spilling issues.

  And speaking of Domenico, if I had thought the endless discussion about their mysterious, missing painting would be over after it was found in their crates of art, I was wrong. Every moment that we weren’t listening to Herb and Buzz calling the game, Daisy was giving us more details about dealing with the Ministry of Culture in Italy, and trying to keep the whole thing secret while Domenico was practically bursting to tell. But I wasn’t sorry to hear more about it, because it made me happy to see Daisy so happy, and Knox and I just sat and smiled at her, in between me yelling at the television screen and the radio broadcast.

  The game seemed endless as the Junior Woodsmen tried to hold on to their lead, but finally, it was over. And it wasn’t pretty, not at all, and it made me as nervous as I’d ever been in my life—maybe worse than the long-tailed cat scenario that Herb had mentioned—but the Junior Woodsmen actually won their first game of the season, 24-21. It hadn’t been exactly an offensive clinic with Teddy and the other players, but Nico had put on quite a show, ending up with 12 receptions for more than 140 yards and all three touchdowns. He carried the team on his back and forced the win.

  The TV broadcast switched to an infomercial after the game but the guys kept going on the radio. Herb and Buzz played an ad for a local bait shop and made their way down to the field to interview the players for the postgame show.

  “Nico played great,” Knox summed it up. “But I could see where the quarterback could use some work. I can meet up with them, show him things from the defensive side, if Nico wants to.”

  “Really? That’s so cool! I would hug you, but I think Daisy would get jealous and also I don’t want to give you my cold,” I told him. “I’m sending you a hug though, if that’s ok with you, Daisy?”

  “Tatum, please. You can
hug him,” she told me, “when your cold is gone. He’s really nice to hug.” Both she and Knox smiled at each other.

  “Please! You know I love you both, well, I like you a lot,” I corrected myself in Knox’s direction, “but I don’t want to see the couple stuff right now. My own relationship with Nico is not progressing like it should, and it’s a little upsetting. He’s excited about my bakery work, and he’s been helping with that, like buying all kinds of equipment so I can test recipes at our apartment. I guess he benefits from that too, because he eats most of the things I make, except when by mistake I mixed in the coffee grounds. But as far as coupling us up…” I frowned. “I guess I need to put more effort into it.”

  I saw Knox shaking his head from his position on the couch. “Tatum, I’m not sure how you’ve managed to get yourself this far with him. You two had one date here, after which you made his life fairly uncomfortable—”

  “I don’t know where that comment comes from, Knox Lynch!” I exclaimed, furiously forgetting that I liked him a lot after his offer to help out Teddy Hayes. “Uncomfortable? I have no idea what that even means.”

  “It means, for example, that when you saw him out with another woman last fall, you told her that you were the mother of his child. You said it with your hand over your stomach,” Knox continued calmly.

  “I meant that I would be in the future,” I protested, “and, by the way, that’s still a true statement. I also happened to have menstrual cramps that day and that was why I was holding my stomach, not to indicate any type of pregnancy, current or future.”

  “You announced to the entire Woodsmen team and all their families that you and Nico were breaking up, and that you thought he was a…what did she call him while she was up on the table?” he asked Daisy.

  “A faithless dog,” she supplied, and Knox nodded.

  “You yelled that he was a faithless dog while standing on a table in the Woodsmen Stadium family lounge. After all that and more, like the wax doll thing that I’m not even going to get into, you showed up at his door in Miami and moved yourself in. Then you came back up to Michigan with him and moved in again. In the meantime, he got arrested, demoted, and—” Knox broke off his harangue for a moment, looking at me. “Tatum, Nico—”

  “He what? Don’t stop now, you’re on a real roll!” I urged Knox. “I know I haven’t done as well as I could as a life coach, but there’s no need to rub it in like this.”

  Knox opened his mouth then closed it. “You want to try?” he asked Daisy.

  “Tates, all we’re trying to say is…” She stopped. “You know, I’m not sure what we’re trying to say. It is pretty amazing that he’s letting you live there after the way you’ve behaved. He paid for her plane ticket to come home,” she told Knox. “And he gives her all kinds of stuff, like a phone and the things for baking, and she’s not paying rent.” Daisy shrugged. “I really don’t know what Nico is doing.”

  “Daisy, I don’t want to say duh, but, duh! It’s because in Nico’s heart of hearts, he knows that he and I are meant to be together.” I shook my head. “Why am I the only one who sees it? And I will get his life straightened out. I’ve already made some very positive steps, and so has he. He’s a different guy from the one who was running around with the thousands of women in Miami.”

  “But…we can talk later, Tatum,” she said. I saw the two of them exchange a look.

  “What? What?” I demanded.

  “Well, that was the thing that Knox was going to mention when you just cut him off,” Daisy started slowly.

  “Here we are with Nico Williams, newest man on the roster of the Junior Woodsmen,” the radio announcer said over Daisy’s tiny speaker as the commercials ended.

  “Shhh!” I announced unnecessarily.

  “Nico, I’m glad to see you back in a Woodsmen uniform,” Herb said.

  “Junior Woodsmen, and me too, Herb. It’s great to talk with you guys again.”

  I could hear the smile in his voice and I smiled back at Daisy’s phone.

  “What do you think made the difference in the game today?” Herb asked.

  “The defense played very well, but I think the offensive line was key. They gave Teddy the time to make good decisions and he had the game of the season, so far, anyway,” Nico responded.

  “During our pregame talk with him, Teddy mentioned that you’d been giving him some tutoring sessions. He even said you had pulled in your leading lady to help out, too.”

  There was a slight pause. “Did Teddy say that? He’s a modest guy,” Nico answered. “He has a lot of talent and I’m glad to be on the receiving end of his throws.”

  “Beyond this game, you’ve been in some sticky situations lately. Care to comment?” Buzz asked him.

  “Well, I can’t really say anything about the legal stuff, but I would like to give a plug to my life coach for helping to turn things around for me. Tatum Smith, thank you.”

  I stood up and pointed to the phone. “Did you guys hear that? Did you hear that?” I demanded.

  “Nicodemus Williams, thank you for your time,” Buzz said.

  I grinned from ear to ear. “Wow. Good thing my website is up and running! I need to check if anyone has already contacted me.” I quickly pulled out my new phone to look. “That’s weird.”

  “Nothing yet, huh? Remember that the game was just a local broadcast,” Daisy said gently.

  “You’re right. When Nico gets back to the pros, it will be a big boost, but the local stuff may not get a lot of notice for Tatum Takes Charge Life Coaching, trademark pending.”

  “Tatum, about Nico…” Daisy said, looked at Knox, and stopped.

  “I get that you guys think I’m nuts. I totally see your point. But I’m not, I’m right. You’ll see.” I nodded. “You’ll see. God, I wish I had an evil laugh, because this would be the perfect time to break it out.”

  Daisy didn’t laugh either, but she nodded and stopped talking about Nico. A moment afterwards, Domenico called her to discuss their newly-found painting, again. We spent the rest of the night rehashing everything she had already told us, and Knox and I argued about pizza toppings.

  It was only later, in the car by myself, that I remembered that Knox had been about to say something to me about Nico, but he had never finished the thought. I called Daisy when I got home to ask her about it.

  ∞

  “Con-Nar Construction.”

  “Is Conrad Smith there, please?” I asked.

  “May I ask who’s calling,” the receptionist drawled.

  “This is Ermengarde der Lügen. I’m an extremely wealthy Chicagoan interested in investing heavily in northern Michigan real estate.”

  “Oh. Please hold, Miss Loogie.”

  I tapped my foot impatiently as I waited. There was a long, long pause.

  “Are you still there?” the woman on the other end asked me finally.

  “Yes, I continue to wait,” I said icily.

  “Mr. Smith would like to know if this is actually his daughter. Is this Tatum again?”

  I hesitated. “Yes,” I admitted. “Is my dad available?”

  “Uh, no. He’s not here,” she answered.

  “Didn’t he just tell you that it was probably me on the phone?”

  There was another pause. “Uh, he left the building,” she said.

  “Can I leave a message?” I asked, and she muttered a yeah. I gave her my number and when I was available for him to reach me but I didn’t hear her typing as I said it, so at the end I just told her, “You can let him know that I’m back home, in Michigan,” and she said sure again, and I put down the phone. This was the third time I was calling him at work, after leaving messages at home and on his cell, too. He just didn’t want to talk to me, and it was probably getting to be time to admit that he wasn’t going to come to the phone.

  And me breaking into the house to leave a note hadn’t been a great idea, either. I hadn’t known about the new alarm system but the car that Nico and I rented had a l
ot of pickup for quick exits and everything had worked out fine.

  “Tatum.”

  I jumped and spun around in the barstool to see Nico behind me.

  “Why do you have that look on your face?”

  I put my hands over my cheeks. “What look?”

  “You’re staring at your phone like you lost your best friend. Did something happen with Daisy for real?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “Daisy is still so happy about finding the painting last week that I think her lips are permanently stuck in a smile.”

  He pulled on my ponytail. “Didn’t you find it for her?” he asked, and I shrugged. It had just been an accident. “Why are you down, then?” Nico pressed. “Something to do with El Asturiano Dos?”

  “Do you really think that’s the best name?” I asked.

  “Numbers are practically the only Spanish words I remember except for the obscenities I learned from a teammate and for some reason, how to talk about the weather. Está lloviendo,” he commented, pointing to the window. “Good, you smiled. I’m going over to the gym for a little workout, if you want to come.”

  I nodded slowly. I probably did need those exercise endorphins. “Sure. Give me a minute to put on a better bra.” His eyes went right to my boobs, but I wasn’t in the mood to notice. I put on his sweatshirt, too, and his windbreaker, because I seemed to be freezing, and we went down to the car.

  “Miss Smith.”

  “Huh?” I asked. I had been watching the wet trees speed past the window as we drove to the gym.

  “Are you not feeling good, honey?” He looked over at me. “I heard you coughing last night.”

  That was probably why I felt this way—I was tired from not sleeping very well and it was affecting my mood and decision-making. “I can’t seem to get rid of this terrible cold,” I said. “I blame your best friend, Teddy.”

  It was true that Teddy and Nico were getting closer, mostly because Teddy had come over to the apartment almost every day this week. He dropped by after practice, he dropped by before practice, he was in contact with Nico all the time. I had almost stopped noticing his presence, except that he was also always nosing around whenever I took treats out of the oven after testing the recipes that Lucy gave me. He had been a useful photographer for me and I had sent several of his pictures to Chara for social media use, but he hadn’t ever taken Nico’s suggestion of hiring me as his life coach, which I found annoying. My rates (as posted on my website) were quite reasonable. I was helping him anyway, even without him signing a contract, because he definitely needed it.