A small scene

I was just sitting in my room listening to music when my cell phone rang. It was his ring, the one he programmed. I picked it up.

“Hi,” I said with a smile.

“Hey,” He said. There was a long pause.

“How was the game?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“Cr-Cr-Cristo… he said-he-he said—”

“Whoa, Ben!” I could hear him breathing hard on the other end. “Calm down, take a deep breath.” He took a small shallow breath. “Are you okay?”

A grunt was all I got as a response. He obviously wasn’t.

“Ok, we have to talk, Hang up and meet me at the park.”

“But it’s raining.”

“I don’t care,” I said and snapped my phone shut. What the hell happened? Was the only thought racing through my head as I grabbed my hoodie. Racing down the stairs, I barely managed to get it on without tripping.

“I’m going for a walk!” I yelled to my mom. Then I remembered she wasn’t home. I scribbled a quick note on a Post-It and stuck it on the counter so she’d se it in case she got home from Target before I made it back.

I opened the garage and wheeled out my bike, hopped on and started racing down the sidewalk. I almost hit a runner who’d gotten caught in the rain, desperate to get home. I apologized loudly, but didn’t stop to see if they’d heard me. I didn’t care. I just had to get to the park.

Rounding the last corner my legs were on fire, but I could see the park ahead of me. Ben was there already, still in his jersey, but had traded his cleats for sneakers. When he saw me, he stood up off the bench he’d been sitting on.

I dropped my bike next to his and he was standing there to meet me. The rain was harder now and I glimpsed a flash of lightning off in the distance.

Before I could say a word, he spoke, “We lost.” Well, at least he’d gained a little composure since our phone call.

“I’m sorry,” I said and waited for him to go on.

“Cristo yelled at the team after it was over. Then he screamed at me. He screamed at me! No one else. Just me. In front of everyone. I missed the final PK, and it cost us the game. He yelled at me. Told me I’d given up. That I didn’t want to win. That I didn’t care.” He looked at the ground and took a breath. I stood silently staring at him.

“He said I’d never make it,” Ben continued, “That not only was I too short and too skinny, but that I had no heart. He told me that I have no heart. He-he-h…” He couldn’t finish. He just broke down. Ben. The Ben that could always take it. The Ben that just let everything roll off his shoulder. That same Ben was standing in front of me in the pouring rain with his head in his hands.

Before I knew what was happening, I’d put my arms around him and held him tight, whispering, “It’s okay” in his ear over and over again. We just stood there. He letting me hold him. Eventually, I broke away and put my hands on his shoulders and started at him.

“Look at me,” I said, He didn’t. “Look at me.” Still didn’t. “God dammit! Look at me!” I screamed at him. Taken by surprise he looked up, our eyes meeting.

“You,” I said, my voice softening, “you are an amazing, fantastic, brilliant player. I’ve said this before and I forever well again. You’re so great, my sister begged for your autograph because she thought you were a professional. Do you remember that?” I saw a small half-smile crack on his face at the memory of that day.

“You are the perfect height and weight for soccer. You’re every team’s nightmare. If you were bigger, you’d be slower, clumsier with the ball. You are quick and nimble, always faking out defenders and catching everyone off guard. And, you have more heart than anyone else out there. Who played all day everyday all summer? Who gets in trouble daily for playing soccer instead of focusing on homework? Who sits at their computer and watches soccer videos when they can’t go outside to play? Whose one goal in life is to become a professional soccer player and will stop at nothing until the dream becomes a reality? You. You, you, you. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you have no heart. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you won’t make it. Ever.”

I stopped and stood there, unblinking, with my hands on his shoulders. The rain was still coming and my hoodie was now even wetter than it was before. A chill ran through my freezing body, but I didn’t stop staring at him. He held my gaze.

He reached over and put his hands on either side of my face. “I love you,” he said and kissed my left cheek. “I love you,” he said and kissed my right cheek. “I love you,” he said and kissed my forehead. “I love you. I really, truly do,” he said and kissed my lips.

My eyes became wide, but then I closed them and kissed him back, letting everything fade away.. Our bikes, the park, the wind, the rain. Everything. It was just us, standing there, floating falling, soaring. My chill was gone. The world had melted away. And time had stopped.