We Talked

He was wearing those old grey sweats, a T-shirt, and his running shoes just like he was the day he left us. I didn't know if I could hug him or not but when I did, I felt something like flesh and bones hugging me back. Surprisingly, I wasn't overly emotional as we each took a seat at a small table near the wall of Steven's BBQ.

I had hoped for such a meeting for years and now here we were sitting together and looking one another in the eye. I had no idea how long he could stay so I didn't want to waste time or words.

"You don't look any younger," I mentioned, attempting to start some talk while I put sweetener and cream in my coffee. He was still taking his black. 

"I get younger every day," he responded. "One day younger every day. It goes the other way. I don't know when it will end. It doesn't matter. I can run again now, not fast, but I shuffle often."

"Do you get to keep up with what is happening here?"

"I get a peak from time to time. Just a peak."

"Then you know we are taking good care of Mom?"

"I know."

"Then we can talk about the important stuff?"

"Yeah."

The waitress came to our table and I ordered three eggs over medium, grits, and toast. Dad didn't order, and I didn't question his decision.

"So you know the score?"

"Just that we won."

"It was 55 to 20. I wasn't even going to watch a month ago."

"Why not?"

"I thought they'd beat us by 70. And I think they would have. Then."

"What happened?"

"Injuries to them. A big win for us. A & M was ranked number five in the nation and we beat them. That made me think, maybe we have a chance. Then Ole Miss lost their quarterback, and I thought I'd watch a few plays."

"What made you think they were that much better?"

"Their passing game. They could score and score fast. They had Alabama by 24 just before half. But they faded in the third and fourth quarters. That's been their pattern all year. They have the talent but lack depth."

"So what was our record?"

"We finished 5 and 7 with wins over A & M and Ole Miss. Not a great year, but a couple of big victories. Another reason I thought we had no chance against Ole Miss is our secondary. We have been a train wreck there all year. Everybody and I mean everybody has lit up our defense. We haven't been that bad against the run, but anyone could pass on us."

"So how did it play out?"

"We have a quarterback. Nick Fitzgerald is a sophomore and he's already broken one of Dak's records."

"Which one?"

"Single season rushing record. He's big, he can throw, and he can run like a deer. We wore out the Ole Miss defense and in the second half could pretty much run wild."

"What about next year?"

"I don't know. We need some help on the defense, especially in the secondary. Funny thing, even in the Egg Bowl, our defensive backs made some plays. That was a surprise. That was great. I cried at the end of the game."

My eyes grew moist again just thinking about how I felt then and how I wanted to tell him about it when I first experienced it. 

Then I heard a noise. Jeff was getting off the bed. No! I rolled over and closed my eyes. We haven't talked about 2014 or Dak. 

But it was too late. 

He was gone.