'Tis the Off-Season (8 page)

“Thanks so much, Laura,” said Scott. “And Ava, don't bother with a pillow. I brought my own. It's kapok.”

“What the—” Coach stopped and began again. “What is kapok?”

“Oh, it's made from the seed pods of sustainably harvested kapok trees,” said Scott, with an apologetic smile.

Mrs. Sackett was looking a little worried, but she stepped over to the study and pushed open the door. “Well, there's a fold-out couch and a small bathroom just for your use. You'll find it quite a blessing most mornings in this household.” She shot Alex a meaningful look. Alex had been taking such long showers in the morning that she'd used up the hot water on several occasions, so Mrs. Sackett had had to set strict time limits for her. “Oh, and Alex, you need to clean up that craft project that's all over the floor. What
is
it, anyway?”

“It's my Secret Santa gift for the Christmas party,” explained Alex. “I have Rosa, and I'm making her a padded bulletin board.”

“Still our artistic one, huh, Alex?” asked Scott with a smile.

Alex beamed and nodded, but then her expression clouded suddenly. “Although right now the status of this party is in serious jeopardy, because a certain mother has told a certain daughter that she is not allowed to host the party, which is basically resulting in the ruining of that certain daughter's entire life. But—”

“That's enough of that talk, Alex,” interrupted Coach.

There was an awkward silence.

“And
speaking
of presents,” said Alex, barreling through the silence obliviously, “you are the absolute best present giver in the family, Uncle Scott. Remember those metallic markers you gave me for Christmas when I was eight? They were so awesome. Did you bring us anything from—”

“Alex!” said Mrs. Sackett. “That's enough for tonight. Scott looks like he's ready to get some rest. You can talk to him tomorrow.”

A few minutes later, the bed was made and Alex had cleared her bulletin board supplies from the floor of the study. Scott thanked Mrs. Sackett and waved good night to the rest of them. Then he went into the study and closed the door.

“How long is he staying?” asked Tommy.

“I'm beat too,” said Coach with an exaggerated yawn, ignoring Tommy's question. “Think I'll head to bed.”

“You kids should get to bed early tonight as well,” said Mrs. Sackett, turning and walking quickly toward her and Coach's bedroom.

As she lay in her own bed that night, Ava couldn't stop thinking about Uncle Scott's sudden appearance. Her parents
must
have known he was coming. Scott's arrival must have been the reason their Boston trip got canceled. And why her parents had been so secretive recently, with those private phone calls and whispered conversations. But why hadn't they said anything? Why were they not answering the question about how long he was staying? And why were they being so polite to Scott? In the past, they'd always given him a hard time about his eating habits and crazy lifestyle, and he'd always taken their teasing with a good-natured smile. Now they were acting like he was a complete stranger.

Just before she fell asleep, she thought she heard male voices murmuring somewhere. Her bedroom was directly above the study. Was her dad talking with Uncle Scott? She was too sleepy to decide if she was really hearing it or just dreaming. And then she fell asleep.

On Saturday morning Alex awoke to the faint sound of a car engine purring. She glanced at the clock: it was 6:37. Now what was going on?

A few minutes later she tiptoed through the empty kitchen and followed the sound out to the yard.

Her father, Scott, and Tommy were in front of the shed, working on an old, beat-up car. There were car parts everywhere.

“Morning, honey!” called Coach. He turned off his sander and wiped his brow.

“What are you doing? Whose car is that?”

“It's for your uncle,” said Coach.

Scott finished polishing one of the hubcaps and looked up at Alex. “Your dad picked this up for me and is helping me get it into good working order,” he said. Alex could hear his appreciation in his voice.

Ava awoke to the sound of power tools. She glanced at the clock—6:55—and groaned. She sat up blearily. She was never one to wake up quickly. After a few minutes of listening to the clanking and banging, she realized the sounds must be coming from outside. What was going on?

By the time she managed to rally herself to get out of bed and pull on clothes, half an hour had passed. She made her way down to the kitchen and found Coach, Tommy, and Alex sitting around the kitchen table. Her mom had just come in from walking Moxy. Uncle Scott was wearing an apron and stirring something at the stove. It smelled strange and exotic, but wonderful.

“Morning, sunshine!” called Uncle Scott cheerfully. “Just in time for breakfast.”

“Uncle Scott insisted on cooking this morning,” said Mrs. Sackett, hanging Moxy's leash on the hook.

“It's a South Asian–style porridge with carrots, peas, cumin, ginger, and turmeric!” said Uncle Scott. He ladled something brown and gloppy into a line of bowls.

“What was all the noise I heard?” asked Ava, raising her eyebrows at the porridge Scott carried to the table.

“They're restoring a used car,” said Alex. “For Uncle Scott.”

Ava looked from her mother to her father and back again. “Is Uncle Scott going to live with us from now on?” she asked.

“Sit. Eat your, uh . . . porridge,” said her father. Once again he had ignored her question.

Ava slid into her chair and took a bite of the porridge. It was quite good. This was getting stranger and stranger.

The rest of the day passed, and all Ava's unspoken questions remained unanswered. How long was her uncle here? What had brought him here? Were her parents glad to have him or not? Uncle Scott was so busy helping Coach in the driveway and then offering to run to the health food store and prepare dinner for everyone, she didn't have an opportunity to ask him.

For dinner, he cooked a spicy stew, with rice and vegetables. She had to admit, it was delicious, whatever it was. Tommy had three helpings. But her parents continued to avoid any conversation related to Scott's stay. And Scott seemed to be going along with it, changing the subject whenever one of the kids tried to bring it up.

That night the twins tagged along to a movie with Tommy and Cassie. Ava was pretty sure their parents had forced Tommy to get them out of the house so they'd stop asking questions.

It was after ten o'clock when they pulled back into the driveway. Tommy turned off the engine and the three of them stayed in the car, peering at the house. Their parents' light was off.

“Uncle Scott's still up,” said Tommy.

Ava nodded. She knew he was as curious as she and Alex were.

“Why do you think he's here?” asked Alex.

Ava shrugged. “I wish I knew,” she said. “I feel like there's a story we haven't heard yet.” She peered out the car window. “He just turned off his light.”

“Should we go talk to him?” asked Alex.

Ava looked at Tommy. He nodded.

A few minutes later the three of them were standing outside the closed study door. Moxy had joined them, as though she sensed there was drama.

“Knock again,” whispered Alex.

Tommy did, this time a little louder.

From inside they heard rustling and the creaking of bedsprings. “Come in, guys,” came Scott's sleepy voice.

How does he know it's us?
Ava wondered. It was almost like he was expecting them.

They all filed into the study. Uncle Scott had turned his light back on and was sitting up in bed. He smiled sleepily at them and patted the bed, inviting them to sit down. Moxy jumped up immediately.

“Sorry to wake you,” said Tommy in a low voice.

“Hey, this is the best good night a guy could wish for,” said Scott. “The world's three most awesome kids. And their awesome, if large, dog.”

Now Ava remembered why she'd always loved Uncle Scott and been so charmed by him. Even as a tiny kid, she'd felt his warmth and his kindness and had constantly been showing him bugs she'd caught and baseball cards she'd collected when he visited.

They all settled in around Moxy. The bed was now very crowded. Ava could feel the lumpy bedsprings through the thin mattress. Not the world's coziest place to sleep.

“Let me guess. You want to know why I showed up like this out of the blue,” Scott said.

They all nodded.

“Well, it was kind of sudden for me, too,” he admitted. “I lost my job last week. I got laid off at the software company where I'd been working for a couple of months, over in San Antonio.”

“I'm sorry,” whispered Alex, her eyes round.

“Yes, well, it happens,” said Scott. “I haven't exactly been Mr. Responsible since I graduated from high school.”

“But you've done so many cool things!” protested Tommy.

“All that traveling,” said Ava.

“Well, yeah, that was pretty cool,” admitted Scott.

“That little red sports car,” said Tommy wistfully.

“It was constantly in the shop,” said Scott. “I traded it in.”

“That glamorous actress girlfriend!” added Alex.

“She left me for a stock trader,” said Scott with a shrug.

“So are you here to stay? Will you move in with us permanently?” asked Ava.

Scott smiled. “Probably not permanently, guys,” he said. “But it may be awhile before I get on my feet again. Your parents are the most generous people ever. I hope you realize that.”

None of them said anything. Ava thought about how her parents weren't letting her play basketball.

“I always thought you had the coolest life,” said Tommy. “Traveling, seeing the world . . .”

“Listen, T,” said Scott. “You're right that seeing the world is great, and I have no regrets about that. But I wish I had worked harder in school. Your dad set some pretty high standards for the rest of us—he got good grades, he was a great athlete, he won a college scholarship. I guess in a way I felt like I couldn't measure up to him, so I stopped trying. And I didn't apply to college. That I do regret.”

The three of them were quiet, thinking about that.

“I've never been much good about saving for a rainy day. But now, thanks to your parents, I think I'll be able to swing going to college part-time. I'm good with computers, so hopefully I'll find a decent-paying job soon. I'm on a new path. A good one. But I couldn't have pulled this off without your parents' help.”

“If they're helping you, why were they being so weird about telling us why you were here?” Alex asked.

“That's my fault,” said Scott. “I asked them not to tell you why I was coming. I guess I was a little embarrassed about my situation, and I didn't want you guys to think badly of me.”

“We would never—” Ava cried out.

“I know, I know,” Uncle Scott said, patting her knee. “And it was silly of me, anyway—you guys are smart, and obviously you all were going to wonder what was up when I showed up on your doorstep. I shouldn't have put your parents in that position when they've done so much for me. Your mom has even been calling around trying to help me get interviews. So you guys should really stop being angry with them about that.”

“It wasn't just that,” said Tommy, “even though that was part of it. They promised we could go to Boston, and my whole career was riding on it, and—”

“And nothing, champ,” Scott interrupted. “I hear you're incredibly talented, and that your band is a hot ticket. It's not going to stop being that. Again, be mad at me, for being such a terrible planner. Because I'm guessing the reason you guys aren't going to Boston is that your parents used the money for your trip to help
me
out. They invited me to stay here until I could get back on my feet, and your dad bought that car so I'd have a way to get around.”

That shut Tommy up.

“And you,” said Scott, turning to Alex. “What's this I hear about you giving your mom the silent treatment because she won't let you have a Christmas party?”

“Oh, that,” said Alex, the color rising in her face. “Well, yeah. I mean, I sort of forgot to mention the hosting part to my mom before I told my friends I would have it here at our house, and now they're making it into this massively important party with decorations and contests and food requests, and I haven't gotten up the nerve to tell them I can't host it and they're all going to ostracize me and—”

“Alex,” said Scott, leaning forward and putting a hand to the side of her cheek. Her talking had sped up and her voice had grown shrill, which Ava knew was a sign that her sister was seriously stressing. Scott seemed to understand that too, but his gentle touch calmed Alex quickly.