Explosions

Ryan was sitting on a chair in the hall, eating a sandwich and reviewing some plays in his notebook. He glanced up as someone walked by, but he looked back down. He heard a pair of light footsteps further down the hall, and he looked up again. He spotted her dark brown hair, and he stood up.

“Charlie!” he called out.

Charlie stopped. She was carrying an armful of papers and a coffee in her free hand. She smiled lightly when she saw Ryan jogging down the hall.

“Hey, I just wanted to say I’m sorry,” he said, stopping near her. “J.J. told me about Kyle.”

She nodded and said, “Thanks, but I can’t say I didn’t see it coming. Does that make me a terrible person?”

“No, not at all,” Ryan replied.

“I just wish he could have gotten help sooner,” she sighed. “You know, before it was too late. I think he’s in a better place now. He’s not struggling. And, to be honest, it takes a lot of the struggle off the family as well.”

“He was a good guy. He just got in with the wrong shit.”

“Well, he’s not in with any shit anymore.” Charlie tried to shift the papers.

“Can I help you with those?” asked Ryan. “I’m just waiting on Mal to get done with some conditioning. Might be awhile.”

“Um, sure, yeah,” said Charlie.

Ryan took the stack of papers from her, and she began leading the way back up the hall to the front office.

“I gotta thank you, Char,” he said.

“For what?” she asked.

“I went out with Kelsey on Saturday for lunch,” he said. “She and I actually talked a little. It was nice.”

“You gonna go out with her again?”

“I think so. Thing is, I don’t really feel physically attracted to her. I’m not saying I won’t maybe get there, but what do I do right now, you know?”

“I guess you just go out with her again, and see what happens,” suggested Charlie.

“I guess so,” said Ryan.

“You know, if you don’t like her, you’re not obligated to go out with her,” she said.

“Yeah, I know,” he replied.

They were silent a minute, and Ryan listened only to the sound of her shoes against the tile floor. He watched her hair sway back and forth around her shoulders. He always had liked it when her hair was down.

“My mom saw you on T.V.,” said Charlie.

“Bet she was real thrilled to see me in the same city as you, huh?” snorted Ryan.

“I think she took a lot of it out on J.J.,” she said.

“Why?”

“He defended you,” answered Charlie. “He likes you, Ryan. You’re a good guy.”

“While I appreciate that, I can’t say your mom is totally unwarranted,” Ryan said.

“We were young. Shit, if the worst thing that happened to me when I was that young was our breakup, I think I did okay.”

She chuckled slightly and looked over at him. He gently nudged her with his elbow.

“I think you did more than okay, Char,” he said. “You did better than me. Look at you – you’re a big shot here!”

Charlie blushed and said, “No, I’m not really. I had to do a lot of bitch work during my internship to get where I am now.”

“But your internship was a while ago,” said Ryan. “I give it a year, and you’ll get another promotion.”

“You’re just saying that.”

“I’m not, Charlotte. You’ve always been great at what you do. One year. You’ll see.”

“Thanks, Ryan,” said Charlie. “My office is right here, so I’ll take those and…”

He was already in her office, setting the papers down on her desk. She thanked him. He glanced around. There was a picture of her and J.J., a little J.J. Watt doll next to her computer, and on the wall hung a picture of her and Yao Ming. She looked like a child next to him. Charlie followed Ryan’s eyes to the photo and smiled.

“That was during my internship with the Rockets,” she said. “Yao was retiring after that season.”

“That’s incredible,” said Ryan. “You’ve met some pretty amazing people. Lebron James, Yao Ming”-

“You met Tom Brady,” laughed Charlie.

“Oh, yeah,” he sighed. “I forgot you have a thing for him.”

“Hell yeah, I do,” Charlie said. “He’s a stud.”

Ryan chuckled and said, “I’d better get back. I’m sorry, again, about Kyle.”

He put his arms around her shoulders. She hesitated, then put her arms around him. He squeezed her shoulder gently before letting go.

“Thank you, Ryan,” she said. “Good luck Sunday, if I don’t see you before then.”

Ryan smiled and left her office. She sat down at her desk and stared at the stack of papers in front of her. Her eyes scanned the contents of the top page, but she didn’t pick it up. She just sat there, for a long time.

---

J.J.’s brothers, Derek and T.J., were basically just smaller versions of him. Charlie noted it immediately when she set foot in J.J.’s childhood home. T.J., a senior in high school, looked almost exactly half the size of his oldest brother. J.J. hugged his mom and dad before turning to Charlie and reaching out to her. She took his hand and smiled.

“Guys, this is Charlie,” he said. “Charlie, this is my mom, Connie, and my dad, John. These are my brothers, Derek and T.J.”

“Hi,” Charlie said meekly, slightly intimidated by them.

“Charlie,” said Connie, hugging her. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. J.J.’s told us so much about you!”

“Only good things, I hope,” Charlie chuckled. “He’s told me a lot about all of you as well.”

“Well, come in, please,” Connie instructed. “Did you have any problems getting here?”

“No, not at all,” said J.J.

“Wisconsin is beautiful,” Charlie said. “I’ve never been here.”

“You’ve never -? Justin James, how long are you two staying here?” asked Connie.

“We’ll be leaving Monday, Ma,” said J.J.

“This young lady needs to experience some Wisconsin sights,” said John.

J.J. looked at Charlie and rolled his eyes. “I think we’ll be back another time. I’m not going to show her the whole state in four days.”

“You could at least take her to the lake,” Connie suggested.

“It’s October, Ma,” said J.J. “I’m sure she doesn’t want to hang out by the lake.”

“It’s okay,” said Charlie. “I’ve never been here, so I’d like to see anything I can.”

John smiled and said, “I like her already. You’re not a Bears fan, are you?”

“No, I’m not a Bears fan,” replied Charlie. “Born and raised a Patriots fan, but don’t tell my employers that.”

J.J. grinned as his family erupted in laughter. She glanced over at him, and he put his arm around her shoulder. He kissed her cheek.

“They loved you before you even came here,” he whispered to her. “Don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried,” said Charlie.

She smiled as Connie led John into the kitchen. Derek and T.J. sat down on the couch, but she held J.J. back.

“I’m just a little intimidated,” she said.

“By what?” he asked.

“Your family is just so close,” she said. “What if I don’t live up to their expectations?”

“That’s ridiculous,” J.J. said. “Come on. Come sit down and you’ll see. I promise.”

Charlie followed him to the living room and sat down in the chair across from Derek. He smiled at her, and she did the same.

“You guys coming to the game tomorrow?” he asked. “It’s our last one of the season.”

“What game?” asked Charlie.

“Wisconsin,” J.J. said. “It’s Derek’s second year with the Badgers. That’s where I went, too. Yeah, we’ll be there.”

“Oh, I don’t have anything red packed,” said Charlie.

“We can get you something there,” J.J. said. “Don’t worry.”

“Oh, J.J., nonsense,” said Connie, bringing a couple beers into the living room. “She can just have one of my shirts. God knows I have plenty.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Watt,” said Charlie.

“Please, honey, call me Connie,” replied Connie with a wink. She sat down between Derek and T.J. and said, “How did you two meet?”

“Well, J.J. kind of ran into me,” said Charlie. “Literally.”

“Yeah, sometimes I don’t know my own size,” J.J. chuckled. “She was kind enough to let me apologize by taking her out for coffee.”

“The coffee was okay, but he was better,” Charlie said. “You’ve raised the best young man I’ve ever met, Connie. He’s been nothing but wonderful to me.”

Connie smiled and thanked her. The longer Charlie sat with J.J.’s family, the more comfortable she felt. That evening, as she and J.J. settled into their hotel room, she felt like she was already part of his family. She loved her own family, but they were dysfunctional and broken. It was a nice change to feel welcomed, and she was ecstatic for the rest of the weekend.

---

Ryan stood in the practice facility next to Ryan Mallett, or Mal as he’d been called all season, his backup quarterback. They were waiting for another round of drills to start, and Ryan was warming up his arms. Mal squatted down and looked up at Ryan.

“Something up, bro?” he said.

Ryan shrugged and said, “Not really. Nothing more than usual.”

“That’s a lie, you know,” replied Mal.

Ryan was silent a moment. He sat down and reached out to stretch his legs. Finally, he looked over at Mal.

“There’s a girl,” he said.

“She hot?” Mal chortled.

“Unbelievably gorgeous,” Ryan confirmed. “But she’s out of my reach. She’s got a guy already, you know? And he’s perfect for her.”

“What are you gonna do?” asked Mal.

“Nothing,” said Ryan. “I can’t get her out of my head, but I can’t do anything about it. I want her to be happy, and she’s happier than I think she’s ever been.”

“Dude, just go to the fucking club, find a chick,” said Mal, “and forget about this girl, at least for one night. That’s what you need.”

“I’ve been on a couple dates with this other girl”-

“No, not good enough. Do you want me to go with you? I could be your wingman.”

Ryan shrugged and said, “Maybe I’ll take a rain check on that. Get back to me next week.”

“Okay, but I’m telling you, Fitz,” said Mal. “The longer you wait, the worse it will be.”