Now Leo was walking down the stadium steps with the others.
Ethan whispered, “Dad, don’t be weird.”
Ethan liked him immediately.
Chris looked at him.
“I’m not weird.”
“You are sometimes.”
Even with everything going on, I laughed.
Ray reached our row and held up the tabletop game.
“Captain.”
Ethan groaned. “You snitched.”
“Commissioner,” Ray corrected.
“You cheat.”
“Unproven.”
The crowd around us laughed.
“I’m not weird.”
Ray set the little football game on Ethan’s lap.
The stadium announcer spoke again.
“Ethan told our wish team that if this was going to be his football day, he wanted his hospital league to somehow be part of it too. What he didn’t know was that a few members of that league decided watching from home wasn’t good enough.”
People cheered.
“He wanted his hospital league to somehow be part of it too.”
Ethan covered his face.
“I’m never going back to the hospital.”
The nurse leaned over.
“You have an appointment Tuesday.”
“Cancel it.”
More laughter.
Then the announcer said, “Ethan has one rule for his league.”
Ray pointed at Ethan.
Ethan shook his head hard.
“Don’t.”
“Ethan has one rule for his league.”
Ray grinned.
The announcer finished anyway.
“Everybody plays.”
The people nearby applauded.
I smiled.
Then I looked at Ethan.
He wasn’t smiling anymore.
He was watching me.
“Everybody plays.”
A stadium staff member soon came over and explained that Ethan could rest in a quieter family room nearby before deciding whether he wanted to return to our seats.
That part I welcomed.
Ethan had begun leaning against Chris.
We followed them inside.
That part I welcomed.
The sudden quiet felt almost strange after the stadium.
Ray put the tabletop football game on a small table.
One plastic player immediately fell over.
“Cheap equipment,” Ray muttered.
“Bad coaching,” Ethan replied.
Cody laughed.
The adults lingered for a minute, but Ray seemed to understand something before I did.
Ray put the tabletop football game on a small table.
He looked toward the door.
“Come on, people. Captain’s got a family meeting.”
Ethan’s head snapped up.
