Free Striker Boy Kicks Out by Jonny Zucker Page B

drinks.
    After eating, Nat played another couple of games of snooker with Adilson and then wandered to the hotel lobby, intending to use the quietness of the place to phone his dad. It was empty save for an elderly couple enjoying a cup of coffee and a large, suited businessman with oversize dark glasses talking on his mobile. Nat spotted Emi sitting by himself on an armchair next to a low coffee table. A bottle of lemonade was sitting there,half drunk. Emi looked serious and was busy sending a text on his mobile.
    Nat strolled over and sat down on the armchair opposite. He waited until Emi had finished texting and then spoke.
    â€œHey Emi, what’s up?”
    Emi looked up. “Oh, hi Nat. I’ve just been texting my mum. My dad’s not well.”
    â€œWhat’s wrong with him?”
    â€œHe was rushed into hospital this morning in Yamoussoukro – that’s the capital of Ivory Coast. He complained of chest pains last night – he and my mother thought it was just indigestion. It went away and he got a good night’s sleep. But this morning it was a whole lot worse and he also got these shooting pains up his left arm.”
    â€œWas it a heart attack?” asked Nat quietly.
    â€œThe doctors thought so at first, but they ran some tests on him and it wasn’t.”
    â€œSo what was it?”
    â€œThey don’t know,” sighed Emi. “They’ve kept him in for more tests. My mum is really worried. She’s convinced he’s at death’s door. But my father is a fighter and keeps telling her not to be ridiculous. He says if he was facing death he’d know about it, and that these are definitely not his last breaths.”
    â€œWhen will they know what’s going on?” asked Nat.
    â€œNo one knows,” replied Emi. “But I’m worried andit’s tough not being there with them. A part of me feels I should get on a plane right now.”
    â€œWhy don’t you? The gaffer would totally understand.”
    â€œI know, but my dad would kill me! He’s so proud of what I do that if he thought I’d shirked away from any team duties even for a day or two he’d never let me hear the last of it. But look – here I am going on about my dad, when you lost your mum. I shouldn’t be complaining about it.”
    â€œOf course you should,” smiled Nat sympathetically. “You’re worried and you
need
to talk about it. It’s natural.”
    They sat in silence for a minute or so.
    â€œNat,” said Emi softly, “did your mum die of a heart attack?”
    Nat felt a jolt in his chest. He’d told Emi and Kelvin that she’d died but he hadn’t given them any details.
    â€œNo,” sighed Nat. “She was killed in a car crash.”
    â€œMy God!” whispered Emi, “I’m so sorry.”
    â€œIt was awful,” Nat murmured, “the worst thing that could ever happen to you as a kid – your mum being taken away from you in such appalling circumstances. My dad was so crushed by the whole thing that we packed up and left England. If I hadn’t been discovered by Stan Evans in the States, I’d probably still be out there.”
    â€œDo you still miss her?” asked Emi quietly.
    â€œEvery day,” said Nat, “but it’s much, much better thanit used to be. It’s been so long that I’m used to it now. There’ll often be moments when I want to tell her about something I’ve done, but the pain isn’t so great now. It’s still there, but I can live with it.”
    They sat in silence for a few moments, both of their eyebrows furrowed in thought.
    â€œI can’t believe you had to go through all of that,” said Emi.
    â€œBut come on, Emi. You’re going through a rough time at the moment. It must be really difficult for
you.”
    â€œSo should I go back?” asked Emi.
    â€œWhy don’t you speak to one of the doctors,