Free Offside by Kelly Jamieson Page B

playing
sports―hockey, baseball, golf―and doing it well. Honey wasn’t into
sports. In fact, as a child there hadn’t been anything she’d been
really good at. As she got older, a modeling scout had approached
her and her family about doing some modeling. She’d been excited
about it, thinking that maybe it was something she could be good
at, something she could do that would please her parents. But her
mom had shut that down right away. Her mom didn’t want any female
competition, even from her own daughter, and had done her best to
make sure Honey knew she couldn’t compete with her. That was when
Honey had discovered that any attention was better than no
attention. And that had led to a whole lot of trouble. Not that
she’d seen it at the time.
    But no more. She still wasn’t entirely
secure in her self-image, but she’d accomplished things she was
proud of, even if nobody else noticed or cared. Maybe it hadn’t
been her choice to go to college, but when she’d hit bottom and
realized she needed to make some serious changes in her life, she’d
done it. Once there, she’d been the one who’d set goals for
herself, put her head down and worked hard, and she had a college
degree to show for it. And now she had a new job that she also
wanted to be proud of.
    But even though she was doing exactly
what they’d wanted—staying out of trouble—they still weren’t all
that interested in her.
    But that was okay, because now she
knew that the only person’s opinion she really needed to care about
was her own.
    A small, wet body landed against her,
startling her out of her thoughts. “Auntie Honey!”
    Honey screeched and laughingly set her
little niece away from her. “Kavita! You’re getting me all wet! Oh,
who cares.” And she pulled the little girl in for a damp hug. “You
feel cold.”
    The sun was very low in the sky now
and the air taking on a chill.
    “I am cold,” Kavita said, starting to
shiver. She danced up on down on her little toes.
    “Where’s your towel, bunny?” Honey
looked around. She set her wine glass down on a little table and
reached over for a towel draped on a nearby chair.
“Here.”
    She folded her niece up in the big
beach towel and pulled her up onto her lap, wrapping her arms
around her. “So, what’s new, bunny? Got a job yet?”
    Kavita giggled. “No.”
    “Well, that’s no good! How are you
going to support your parents?”
    “I’m four, Auntie Honey!”
    They were joined by Kavita’s little
brother Sebastian. Honey bent down to give him a smooch. “Hey,
little dude,” she said. “Have fun in the pool?”
    He nodded, still not talking a whole
lot, but since Kavita was only too willing to talk for her little
brother, he didn’t need to.
    “Yes, he had fun,” Kavita said. Honey
grinned.
    “Come on kids, let’s go inside and get
your clothes on for dinner.” Their mom rose out of her chair and
scooped up Sebastian. She held out a hand for Kavita who scrambled
off Honey’s lap.
    “I’d better go check on dinner,” Mom
said, rising as well.
    “Need any help, Mom?” Honey
offered.
    “No, I think Jess has things under
control.”
    Her parents had a caterer they often
used when they hosted dinner parties, who brought a small team into
the kitchen and took over cooking and serving, after planning the
menu with Mom.
    Honey shifted her chair to face
Kortney as James took their son into the house to get changed as
well. “How are you feeling, Kortney?” she asked.
    Kortney sighed. “Huge. Fat.
Uncomfortable.” And she launched into details about her last doctor
appointment and how much weight she’d gained and a whole lot of
other things pregnant women always seemed to want to talk about,
including decorating the baby’s room. Honey went with
it.
    Soon dinner was served at the big
table in the formal dining room.
    “We like family dinners,” Mom told
their guests. “So we keep things really informal.”
    That meant the kids ate with them,
which