Read Running Interference for Free Online

him.
    “When isn’t he hungry?” his mother asked.
    He laughed and held the screen door for her. It felt good to be here. He hadn’t been able to spend much time with them at the Super Bowl. He’d paid for their transportation and rooms and set them up in a stadium suite, but between media obligations and game prep, he’d only been able to share one full meal with them.
    “Yo, man.” Cam’s cousin, Detrick, sat on the couch with a heaping plate of food balanced on his legs. Detrick had been a year behind him at school and they’d always been close. Now they were lucky if they talked once or twice a year. Different cities. Different lives. It seemed rational when Cam wasn’t here, but now that he was, it seemed kind of pathetic. This was family, man.
    “You couldn’t wait?” Cam teased.
    “Nah. I don’t wait for nobody, not even no Super Bowl champion.”
    The noise level in the living room rocketed to a roar, and hands reached out to grab him. Cam bent beneath all the head rubs and back pats from his cousin, aunt, and mother.
    “Where is he?”
    He looked up to see Aunt Renee, wearing an apron and smile, coming in from the kitchen. She pressed a finger into her cheek and said, “You come plant one right here.”
    “Nay Nay,” he said, and lifted his mama’s baby sister right off the ground. She hadn’t been able to make the trip to Arizona for the Bowl, so it was extra special seeing her now.
    Over her shoulder, he could see into the kitchen, where a man he didn’t recognize sat at the table. Skinny, hairy, and unsociable. Nay Nay’s type.
    Cam set her down and gave her a look that was supposed to inquire about the guy.
    “You’re so strong!” She squeezed his biceps. “Are there rocks in there? Take off this coat. I want a better look.”
    Nothing like his aunts to embarrass him.
    The man from the kitchen wandered into the living room, looking about as warm as Lake Erie.
    “Jerry.” Aunt Renee hooked the guy’s arm. “This is my nephew, Cam.”
    “Nice to meet you,” Cam said.
    The guy grunted a hello, and then planted a sloppy kiss on Aunt Renee’s lips. “I’ll see you later, baby.”
    Nobody said a word until he left.
    “You can do better than that,” his mother said.
    Go, Ma
.
    But Aunt Renee gave a sad shrug. “He’s fine.”
    “Fine ain’t good enough,” Aunt Yvonne said. “You know Charles wouldn’t let that man in this house if he were here.”
    Aunt Yvonne’s husband, a traveling bricklayer, ran a tight ship.
    “Well, Charles isn’t here,” Aunt Renee said. “And fine’s as good as it gets in this neighborhood.”
    She looked right at Cam.
    Back when he’d been entertaining offers from colleges, Aunt Renee had made the most noise about him going far away and not looking back. “Get out while you can,” she’d said. As if he’d only get one shot. God, so many nights he’d lain awake wondering if that was what had happened to most of them—they’d missed their shots—and dreaming of the day when he could take them all with him. Big dreams. Some of them crazy naïve. Both his agent and his accountant warned him about the fleeting nature of a professional athlete’s income. Relocating an entire family and being held responsible for their happiness and welfare didn’t come cheap. One career-ending injury, and they’d all be screwed.
    “Can we eat?” Corinne asked.
    “’Course you can,” Detrick said. “What’s it look like I’m doing?”
    Cam made a plate and after chatting in the kitchen joined Detrick on the couch. “How you been, man?”
    “Can’t complain. Your mom got me a job doing linens for the hospice. Decent pay. Benefits. Nothing flashy but it pays the bills.”
    Seemed to be the motto around here. That damn guilt pushed against his ribs, making it hard to comfortably swallow his bite of barbecue chicken. He did a lot for his family, but it never seemed to be enough.
    “Met somebody,” Detrick said.
    “Oh yeah?”
    Detrick nodded.