Destiny (2 page)

Chapter 2

Puppy
Love

The
following morning, I awoke to the sound of my aunt making breakfast in the
kitchen. I slowly rolled over and attempted to get up. It was too early. A lazy
Sunday morning sounded like the perfect thing for me. I closed my eyes for just
a second before I heard a knock at the door.

“Hey,
sorry to wake you up, but do you want to join me this morning?” Uncle Gary
asked.

“Join
you?”

“Yeah,
it’s kind of a tradition around here for us to tailgate before the game. Some
friends from college and I have been doing it for over fifteen years. We
normally don’t invite outsiders, but you seem like you would be all right. What
do you say?”

“I
don’t really watch football, but I wouldn’t mind going.”

“Great!
You’ll fit right in. Just wear this,” he said and threw me a green and gold
jacket.

It was impossible not to know what those
colors stood for. Even though they were on the outskirts of Green Bay,
everything in the surrounding area seemed to be decorated with those colors. It
was bizarre, but at the same time, comforting. Everything was so orderly and
normal for me back at home. For once, bizarre sounded like a good thing to me.
I got ready and joined my uncle for their tailgating party. How difficult could
it be to fit in, after all? There’s a question that I never would have asked
before. The answer always seemed to be nearly impossible, but my luck was
changing lately. I had hope, and that was a really rare thing for me back then.

I
met him downstairs, and my aunt, Kristen, served us breakfast. It wasn’t
something I was used to. Back at home, we pretty much grabbed what we could and
went straight out the door. Sitting down to a family breakfast was completely
out of the question. Now, I don’t want to give you the wrong impression. I
didn’t have bad parents, but this kind of thing wasn’t something I was used to
experiencing. I thought I could get used to it, though.

After
we got to the stadium, a part of me regretted going. It was freezing, and
everyone standing around the grills didn’t seem to notice this obvious fact.
Still, it wasn’t all bad. The food was great, and I warmed up pretty quickly
throwing the football around with some of the other people’s kids. The
environment seemed almost too good to be true. Everyone there was like family.
I soon learned that the atmosphere outside of the stadium was totally different
from the one inside it.

Once
we were inside and the game had started, I heard words that I didn’t know
existed. We were playing Chicago, and for some reason, that was a really big
deal to everyone there. None of the fans from Green Bay or Chicago seemed to
like each other very much, to say the least.

After
the initial shock from how seriously everyone took the game wore off, I started
to enjoy myself a little bit. We were seated in the end zone, and I noticed
that every time our team scored, a player would jump into the stands for a
celebration. That would become very relevant when they scored on our end of the
field. One of their receivers caught a touchdown pass and turned straight
toward us to jump into the stands.

“I don’t
care what you have to do. Don’t let this guy into the stands if he comes this
way,” Uncle Gary said.

What
did that mean? What was I supposed to do? A fourteen year old me had no idea.
What lengths should I go to in order to prevent this man, who was twice my size,
from taunting us by jumping into the stands? My level of fear rose as he came
straight at us. This was it. It was now or never. As he jumped, I buckled my
legs and reached out for his facemask. I grabbed it and pushed with all I had.
Others around me gave him a push, too. He fell backward and landed right on his
back. I had actually done very little, but to the people looking at the
jumbotron, it looked like I had done a lot. The shot centered
on me and my hand on his facemask
as he fell backward. A
cheer rang out from the crowd. I had done it. There I was thinking that I was
about to be embarrassed by someone who clearly would have been able to get into
those stands ninety-nine times out of a hundred, but I seemed to be a hero.
High-fives were given, and for once, I fit right in at a sporting event . . .
that is until security came around. You have to realize it appeared that I had
grabbed a player by the facemask and thrown him to the ground. Boos resonated
throughout the crowd as my uncle and I were escorted out of the stadium. As we
made our way to the car, I was sure he was going to be mad. My uncle didn’t
exactly react the way I thought he would, though.

“That
was really something you did in there,” he said as we sat down in the car.

“I’m
sorry. I . . .”

“There’s
nothing to be sorry about. I told you to do that. Given, I didn’t think you
were going to assault the guy,” he joked.

“I
. . . I didn’t mean to . . .”

“Relax,
Eric. They didn’t ban us from ever coming back. We got kicked out of the
stadium when the game was almost over. If nothing else, we’re going to beat traffic.
This is a good thing.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.
It doesn’t hurt that this is going to leave us with a story for years. Do you
have any idea how many people will remember you as the kid who threw Brandon
Jeffery to the ground? Everyone here hates that guy. It’s going to be a great
story in Green Bay, and it might just get you some attention if you ever come back
with me.”

“I
didn’t expect you to react like this. My dad would’ve been angry.”

“Yeah,
well, Jerry never did know how to have fun, even when we were growing up. Do
you know why I invited you today?”

“I
thought it was just because my dad wasn’t going.”

“No,
around here an extra ticket is like gold. I could have found someone else to go
or sold it for some extra money, but I see a lot of your dad in you.”

I
didn’t know what to say to that. I had never seen a single thing that my father
and I shared.

“What
do you mean? My dad and I are totally different. If anything, I’ve been a
disappointment to him because we’re such opposites.”

“You
might think that, but he used to be a lot different. He was a little reserved
like you. He was average in school, and he never really stood out. It was
because he didn’t come out of his shell much. Jerry always dreamed of more,
though. I think that’s why he left this place for a college all the way across
the nation. He never liked the simplicity we have here. We don’t live in
mansions like in Miami, and we don’t take things so seriously. I think your dad
didn’t show himself to the people in this town because he was just naturally
different from us. He wanted a different life, and he found it. Sometimes I
think he missed out, though. When I first saw you and got over the initial
shock of you being hit by two cars, I noticed something. You had that same look
he used to have. You were just naturally uncomfortable within yourself. I don’t
know if it’s because of the same reasons Jerry was, but I wanted to give you a
little bit of the experience that he never got. That’s why I encouraged you to
talk to that girl last night, and it’s why I invited you.”

“Thank
you. I’m not like him, though.”

“Really?
Well, what
are
you like then?”

“Me
looking uncomfortable
has
nothing to do with this
place or wanting more than I have. Back home, I’m the oddball. Everyone is so
concerned with who has more, what school you go to, and who you’re dating that
week. Then
there’s
me. I just don’t care about any of
it. If I’m being honest, the past two days have been more fun for me than the
last fourteen years of my life, and two cars have hit me in that time. What
does that tell you?”

My
uncle laughed and wrapped one arm around me.

“It
tells me that you might be more like me than I thought. I don’t know what life
is like for you at home, but do yourself a favor, and enjoy this week,” Uncle Gary
said as we pulled up to the house.

When
I got out, I noticed Olivia and her mother going inside. Olivia hesitated for a
moment, and I walked over.

“You’re
a little early. It’s not exactly night yet,” she said.

“Maybe,
but I thought you could show me that great thing around here a little early.”

“Hmm.
It doesn’t really work during the day, but I suppose we could go now. I’m
seriously starting to get suspicious of your motives, though. I’m going to
watch you,” Olivia joked.

She
led me outside of town to a hillside, and we sat down there. It was already
starting to get dark, but there was still some light left in the day.

“What
are we doing here?” I asked.

“You’ll
see once it gets dark. So I never did ask before. What’s your story, Eric?”

“I
don’t really have much of one.”

“Everyone
has a story. I’ll tell you mine, if you tell me yours. How does that sound?”

“It
sounds good, but I’ve got to warn you. I’m really serious about not having much
of a story. I’m from Miami. We’re only here to visit my uncle before the
holidays. My dad hates it here. He grew up in the area, but he hasn’t come back
in years. As a matter of fact, this is my first time ever coming here. I never
met my Dad’s parents, and they’re gone now. As for life back in Florida, let’s
just say that there are a lot of beautiful people who are concerned with issues
that I never think about.”

“What
kinds of issues?”

“It
almost seems like everyone is concerned more with what car they’re driving or
how big their house is than anything to do with family.”

“Oh,
I get it. You’re one of those rich kids who can’t stand that their daddy never
has time for them,” she joked.

“Something
like
that.”

“Hey,
I was just playing with you. We all have little things that get to us. It seems
like if we could trade lives, we would both be doing a lot better.”

“What
do you mean?”

“Let’s
just say that my life is a little too simple, and I would love to have more.”

“I
think you guys have a pretty good set up. I love it here.”

“It’s
not bad, but it’s never good either. I don’t know if that makes sense, but it’s
just how it feels here. Sometimes I would almost rather things were bad just so
everything wouldn’t go by in a boring haze. Anyway, we’re getting off subject.
You were supposed to tell me all about yourself.”

“That’s
everything.”

“Oh,
come on. I know there’s more than that. You haven’t told me about your school
life, friends, or girlfriends. There’s got to be more to you than just a bad
family life.”

“I
wish there was. I don’t have many friends, and if it tells you how I’ve done in
the girl department, I’ve never even had my first kiss.”

There
was a long silence. As I sat there, I wondered if I should have said that. Did
she think I was some type of weirdo now? I had just told her that I had no
friends and I had never interacted with the opposite sex for any amount of
time. Why had I blurted that out? As a sick feeling centered in the pit of my
stomach, I felt a hand on my cheek, and Olivia’s lips met mine. It only lasted
for a few seconds, but it sent a shockwave through my body that was like
nothing I had felt before. Then she pulled back and smiled.

“You
know, there
are
a lot of other things
I haven’t done, too,” I said.

“Oh,
so now we really see what your intentions are,” she joked and gave me a gentle
push.

“Seriously,
though, why did you do that?”

“Would
you have preferred that I didn’t?”

“No,
I’m not saying that at all.”

“What
are you saying then?”

“What
would make someone like
you
want to
kiss someone like
me
?”

“Wow!
You’ve got a
lot
of self-confidence
there.”

“That’s
not what I meant. You’re just really beautiful, and you’re not like other girls
I’ve met. You’re special. I like who I am, but I don’t think I’m in the same
league as someone like you.”

“I
appreciate that. I’ve got to tell you that there aren’t leagues, though. I
enjoy being around you, and you told me you had never kissed a girl. I decided
to fix that. It’s just that simple. Don’t overthink things so much. Just go
with it.”

“I
can do that, but Olivia, next time give me a little warning first. I don’t want
to be so caught off guard. Maybe I can actually kiss you back then.”

“Who
says there’s going to be a next time?” she joked.

I
wrapped my arms around her, and just as I was thinking about making that next
time happen, she pointed up to the sky.

“There
it is. Have a look for
yourself
,” she said.

It
was the northern lights. A sight like that wasn’t something I ever saw back
home. It was beautiful, and even if it was freezing outside, this spot was
oddly peaceful. I think the girl next to me had a lot to do with that. With
her, I felt so scared, like I would do something wrong at any moment, but at
the same time, I felt more confident than I ever had.