Greco: A Novel by C. G. Cooper

Author:C. G. Cooper [Cooper, C. G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: 2024-12-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 29

The next morning I got up before dawn. Leroy was snoring, and Tommy was curled up in a ball on the floor, half-covered in a blanket we’d scrounged from a girl two floors up. I left Tommy a note, though I figured I’d return before he woke. “Stay here. I’ll bring food.”

I slipped into my running shoes and took off down the road. When I got to the football offices, my coach’s light was on. I knocked on his door, and he said, “Come in.”

I walked into the room. The office walls were covered with pictures of every team he’d ever coached. Coach Grant wasn’t married. He had no kids. We were his kids.

“Greco, a little early for you, isn’t it?”

“Sorry, Coach. Were you in the middle of something?”

“No. Why don’t you have a seat? Tell me what’s on your mind.”

I took a seat, and the words poured out without prompting. “Coach, about the game. I want to say I’m sorry and I’m going to work hard to—”

To that, he put up a hand. “While I appreciate the apology, I know you’ve already beat yourself up more than I ever could. Let’s put the game and last week in the past.”

“Yes, Coach,” I said. I figured he wouldn’t rake me over the coals, but I was relieved, nonetheless.

“How are things, Greco? School, family. You went home, didn’t you?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And?”

I told him some of the truth. “My mom’s kind of a wreck, and my little brother, well, he’s on his way to becoming a mess.”

Coach Grant nodded. “Did I ever tell you that I lost my father when I was young? I was twelve. I have seven younger siblings, if you can believe that—Irish Catholic family. My mother came from poor immigrant stock. She was barely literate. My dad had been the breadwinner. When he died, the responsibility fell on me.”

I didn’t know that story. I wondered how many people he had told it to.

“That must have been hard, Coach.”

Coach Grant nodded. “It was tough, but for most of my siblings, it brought us closer together. Those of us who are still around are very close, and I’m proud to say that I kept my end of the bargain, though there were days that, frankly, I wanted to quit. Do you understand that feeling, Greco?”

“Yes, sir, I do.”

“Do you know what it’s like to go hungry, Greco?”

“Yes, Coach.”

“How many times have you gone hungry?”

“I’m not sure, Coach. A few.”

“I went without food for exactly one hundred and seventeen meals. Not all in a row, of course. But if it was a choice between buying formula for my baby sister or getting lunch for my five-year-old brother, what do you think I was going to choose?”

“You were going to choose them.”

“That’s right, Greco. And ask me if I regret it.”

“Do you regret it?”

“Not a single bit. Now ask me why.”

“Why don’t you regret it, Coach?”

“Because I can’t change it, and because I did my best. I didn’t always do everything well, but I was still a kid.

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