The Friendship List(6)

“It is.”

“Fine. Tell me about your day.”

He reached for a chicken leg and put it on his plate, then added two more. “I had to deal with another pregnant girl. Why does this keep happening and why do they come to me?”

“In reverse order, they come to you because you’re capable and the odds of the guy involved being an athlete are high. As for why they get pregnant, that’s easy. Men don’t control their sperm.”

He stared at her. “What?”

“Sperm. It’s not the sex that’s the problem.” She waved her beer bottle. “Think about it. Women can have sex all day long and not get pregnant. They can have orgasm after orgasm and nada. It’s all about ejaculation. If the male half of the species made sure that didn’t happen inside women, there would be no unplanned pregnancies. Everyone looks to the girl, but she’s not the one who made it happen. He did.”

Despite the hell that had been his day, Keith chuckled. “You always have a unique perspective.”

“I know. What was it you said? I’m glorious.”

“You are. So if you’re right, then the system is rigged against women, but that doesn’t change the pregnancy outcome.”

Her expression turned sympathetic. “You worry about Lissa too much.”

“Do I? As you just pointed out, she’s one wayward ejaculation away from getting pregnant.”

“She’s on the pill.”

“If she takes them.”

Ellen put her hand on his forearm. “Your daughter doesn’t want to get pregnant, Keith. She’s a smart girl and she’s on birth control. Plus, from what I can tell, she’s not seeing anyone. You know how she gets—once she likes a guy, that’s all she ever talks about. On the boy-girl front, things have been quiet.”

“I hope you’re right. The whole situation makes me crazy.” Lissa was his daughter, his world. He wanted to do everything in his power to make her life perfect.

Ellen reached for the mashed potatoes. “When we’re back from the college bus trip, Lissa and I will be working at the fruit stand for the rest of the summer. I’ll find out what’s going on. Between now and then, she’s busy with school, then she’ll be with you on the bus. She should be perfectly safe. And speaking of the bus trip, I think we’re pretty much done with the details. What do you think?”

“I agree. I’m buying the Disneyland tickets this week,” he said. “The hotel reservations are all made.”

“You’re a good man for doing this.”

He raised one shoulder. “I don’t mind it.”

Since moving to Willowbrook, he’d started taking a group of his athletes on a tour of West Coast colleges. The students spent the school year raising money to pay for gas, hotels rooms and food. Keith made appointments with the various colleges the students were interested in. The trips were about two weeks long, with a few fun stops along the way. This year’s students had decided they wanted to spend an afternoon on the beach in Santa Monica, a day in Disneyland and a day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. They’d raised enough money and Keith always let them plan the agenda. They would visit a half dozen colleges, see the West Coast and, for many of his students, leave the state for the first time.

“You excited about the trip?” he asked.

Ellen smiled at him. “Excited is strong, but I’m happy to be the bus mom.”

It would be her first time joining him, but with Coop going, she’d volunteered. He was bringing Lissa.

“Too bad it’s only guys,” he said. “I think Lissa would have liked a couple of girls along.”

He always had more students apply than he could manage. In November, he held a drawing with twelve students chosen at random. This year both of the female students who had won a slot had dropped out.

“She’ll have me,” Ellen said. “Plus Coop’s like her brother. And all the guys are scared of you, so no one will bother her.”

“Damn straight they’re scared of me,” he grumbled. “If I catch any of them with my daughter, I will let my fists do the talking.”

She tsked. “Violence? Is that the best you can come up with?”

“When it comes to Lissa, yes.”

They finished dinner and talked for another hour before he helped her clean up. Close to eight, she walked him to the front door.

“Thanks for listening,” he said, hugging her.

“Thanks for the info on Stanford. I’ll sleep easier tonight knowing I just might be able to pay for college.”

She looked up at him as she spoke. As always, her bangs were too long, almost touching her big eyes. She looked impossibly young—as if there was no way she could have a seventeen-year-old son. Only she’d been Lissa’s age when she’d gotten pregnant.

“You did a great job with your kid,” he told her.

“Thank you. Back at you.”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t still in high school when she was born. And I had a wife.”

“I had my parents.”

“Hey, I’m trying to pay you a compliment here.”

“Sorry.” She smiled. “Thank you, Coach Kinne.”

“You’re welcome, Ms. Fox.”

She laughed. “See you tomorrow.”