Chapter 30

Renee’s POV

I head over to the bleachers to take my rightful seat to watch Debbie practice soccer.

I’m actually grateful for the moment to sit in peace away from Eric, who has been keeping a very careful eye on me in his office.

Aside from his constant staring, I am also hyper aware of his smell. Not just his expensive cologne, but his underlying scent that I’m sure he can pick up on me too.

He doesn’t say anything, but I’m waiting for him just to explode like a bomb about to go off. Being near him, makes it all the more challenge to concentrate on my work which I’m positive it’s going to result in another mistake.

he fresh air is like taking a step of cold water on a hot day. Eric’s office has become stuffy, unbreathable.

I sit down on a beach with a sigh. I lean back and kick my feet up. I spot Debbie on the field and wave to her. She stands on her tippy toes and waves both her arms high in the air to make sure that I see her despite and I am the only parent on the bleachers.

I don’t see Mrs. Hazel yet. I check my watch. She should be out soon.

“All right team, lineup!” I jerk my head up and set my eyes directly on Eric. No.

Eric is sporting a pair of gym shorts that cut off just above the knee, a white T-shirt that cuffs his biceps, and a whistle hanging around his neck. My body goes still except for my heart that pounds in my chest. Is Eric their new coach?

You think this would be something that would be mentioned during our long hours together at the office.

I half expect one of these kids to ask what happened to Mrs. Hazel, but no one does. The kids simply do as he says as if he’s been their coach this entire time.

I wish there were other parents around someone else that I could talk to about this. Shouldn’t there have been a notice sent out to the parents that there was going to be a change in who was coaching our children?

Even as I ponder this, I know that Eric practically owns the school. He was the biggest donor when it was being built, his face and name are plastered all over the schools website. He could be their principal if he so much as snapped his fingers. Still, as a parent, I feel like I should have been made aware of this.

I try to keep this sense of entitlement strong as I march down the bleachers. As I approach the field, I swear I see Eric smile smugly.

“What is this?” I ask waving my hand at Eric as though to summarize my question. Eric widens his stance and licks his tongue across his teeth.

“What do you mean?” Eric asks, playing dumb.

Debbie runs over and hops side to side on her feet.

“Eric is our new coach isn’t that great? I asked him to and he said yes,” Debbie says still bouncing from side to side. I hate to admit it, but I do think soccer has improved her health.

My jaw falls open. “Debbie why would you do that?” I start to wonder if anything bad happened with Mrs. Hazel, but I’ve come to every single practice and I’ve never seen there be any issue with her.

“Mrs. Hazel put me on the bench too much,” Debbie complains. I groan. Mrs. Hazel was only following a request that I had made because I was concerned for Debbie’s health.

“So, you just asked Mrs. Hazel if Eric could be your coach and she agreed?” I ask to make sure I have this bizarre story straight.

“Yup,” Debbie nods. Eric laughs and I shoot him a glare.

“This isn’t funny,” I point my finger at him. “Don’t you think you’re involved in our lives just a little bit too much? I mean for goodness sake, Eric we already share an office.”

“Kids go run a lap,” Eric says to the children who have gathered nearby. I didn’t realize all of the children were listening. The kids immediately listen to Eric and start to go for a jog, their little legs running as fast as they can. “That means you too, kiddo” Eric says looking down at Debbie.

“Awh man,” Debbie says, but I can tell she’s happy to be doing what the other children are doing. Eric turns himself towards me.

“I’m laughing at Debbie’s retailing of the story, and by the way, I’m not just Debbie‘s coach. If you haven’t noticed there are twenty other children that I am helping out,” Eric says to make me feel like I’m the one who’s crazy.

“Mrs. Hazel reached out to me first and I told her I would be happy to help,” Eric says as if that makes anything better.

“Well how kind of you,” I say sarcastically.

Eric shrugs. “This way, I can make sure Nilo is nice to Debbie, and I can make a man out of him by giving him harder warm ups and positions,”

There’s no way I really believe that Eric took on this role just so Nilo gets better training, but I have no way to prove it otherwise.

A breeze brushes past us in our moment of silence. The touch of the air reminds me. We only have one more month left of soccer season. I can tolerate this for one month. I don’t say anything.

I just walk away and sit down on the bleachers where I once was looking forward to this long stretch of relaxation, now wishing it to be over.

Eric divides the students into two different teams, and has them play a mock game against another. He puts Nilo as the goalie. I suppose Eric thinks that him taking a few hits by a soccer ball will toughen him up.

The kids verse one another until both sides are painting. I grow nervous about Debbie’s health, but despite the heavy fall and rise of her chest, her smile is wide.

After twenty minutes of nonstop practice, Eric blows his whistle and the kids gather. He bends at the waist so he is at their level, and I can tell by the way he looks at one student and then points to the field that he’s giving specific instruction.

The kids look at him as though he is the only person in the world, they soak in every word. After a couple minutes, and the children are back at it.

Whatever he said to them made the impact because, each of their skills have significantly improved. I find myself drawn into the game as though I were watching a pro-soccer tournament.

A few shots are taken at the net, but Nilo catches each ball thrown his way and just as quickly throws it back into the field.

There’s a lot of back and forth between the teams, the ball is everywhere on the field. Each side is trying their hardest to keep the ball on the other teams’ far end of the field.

Children headbutt and dive, dancing on their feet to throw off their opponent.

At some point during the match, I’ve moved down in the bleachers to get a better view of the game. The ball is zipping around quickly it’s hard to keep track of.

Suddenly the ball is in Debbie’s area. I suck in a sharp breath and focus all my attention on her. At first, Debbie looks stunned like she doesn’t know what to do. Then, Eric runs up the side line next to her and he begins to cheer her on and gives her pointers.

Debbie keeps the ball between her feet and avoids her opponents attempts. Eric stays with Debbie the entire time until she’s at the net, face to face with Nilo.

She fakes a kick towards the left and Nilo throws his body that way, leaving his right side vulnerable. Just then, the ball flies to the net making a whooshing sound.

I jump to my feet and begin cheering. Debbie stands shocked, like she can’t believe she just did that and before she even process it, her teammates run up to her and swoop her onto their shoulders and praise her.

Eric stands back and smiles wile Nilo sinks to the ground, shaking his head at himself

Eric notices me looking at him.

“Thank you,” I mouth to him.