Nicole Edwards - Perception

“You look great,” Mercedes told his mother as she glanced back at Xander and his father who had fallen into step behind the women. “As do you, Mr. Boone.”

“I definitely don’t mind when a beautiful young lady calls me Mr. Boone, but I prefer Stan, Ms. Bryant.” Xander’s father teased Mercedes, making her blush.

“Stan,” she tacked on, followed by, “How are you feeling?”

The four of them came to a stop in front.

“Much better,” he told her as Xander glanced over at his father. “Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?” Stan redirected.

Mercedes met Xander’s gaze, and she knew as much as he did that Stan had purposely avoided saying more. Fine. He would give his father a brief reprieve for a few minutes, but he fully intended to ask him for the details. The real details this time.

Xander spent the next half hour following his mother and father and Mercedes through the many exhibits that highlight football’s greats and the numerous details about the history of the game. It was true, he had been there once before, but even now, he felt a bit nostalgic.

No, he didn’t miss his football days. Not in the least. He had moved on to bigger and better things, and he didn’t have to worry about a potential life altering injury changing the course of his career. He’d made that decision long before that could happen.

“How about some lunch?” Stella asked, turning around.

“I could handle lunch,” Xander told her. He wasn’t starving, but he would get the chance to talk directly to his father. And he knew his father was doing his best to avoid Xander’s questions, which was why he’d been hearing all about football for the last thirty minutes.

The café they entered was nothing more than a snack bar with chairs and tables, but Xander wasn’t picky. It didn’t hurt that they were the only people in the place aside from the ragged looking guy behind the counter. Ok, so maybe he wasn’t ragged, maybe he was just trying to stay awake because it was clear today was not a day he was hustling to keep up.

The four of them ordered and then took their seats at one of the few tables. Once they were seated, their little baskets of food and bottles of water in front of them, Xander decided now was as good a time as any to talk to his old man.

“How’re you feeling?” he asked. It was the same question Stan had managed to avoid earlier, but as far as Xander was concerned, he didn’t get a good enough answer.

Stan sighed. “I guess it’s safe to say I’m getting a little old to be swinging from the rafters.”

Xander looked up then, looking over at Mercedes. She was staring at his father with wide eyes. When she looked over at him, he smiled at her and just shook his head.

“Hush,” Stella said, laughing. “We were certainly not swinging from the rafters. No matter what Xander told you.”

“We?” Mercedes asked, obviously realizing they were joking.

“How was the trip?” Stella asked. Leave it to his mother to try and change the subject.

“Quick.”

“Well, I guess that’s a luxury that’s worth the price, huh?” Stan asked.

Xander laughed.

Although his parents hadn’t ever hurt for money, they weren’t by any means wealthy. They were comfortable, having always managed their money efficiently. And Xander hadn’t grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth either. But, once he made his first million at twenty-five, he’d vowed to ensure that they didn’t have to worry about money. He didn’t spend extravagantly, but he did prefer to travel and dine in style.

Glancing over at the snack bar behind his father’s head, he grinned. Ok, so maybe not always in style.

“It’s worth the price, Dad.”

“Where’s Shane?” Stella asked as she picked at her hamburger. Or what looked like a hamburger.

“Working, I’m sure.”

“He should’ve come with you.”

No, he shouldn’t have. But Xander didn’t respond. That’s the way his mother was. It was her little way of pressing the issue. The Mercedes issue.

Knowing they would rather talk about anything but his father’s health, Xander decided it was now or never. “How are you really feeling?”

“Better than I was. Nothing’s broken, thank the good Lord, but there for a couple of days, I wasn’t so sure they hadn’t been looking at someone else’s x-rays.”

“How’d you really fall?”

Stan glanced over at Stella before meeting Xander’s gaze once more.

“I was heading out of the RV, planning to sit outside and watch the sun set. While I was walking, I had a sharp pain in my chest that stole my breath there for a moment. I guess I lost my balance, and that’s when I took a tumble down the stairs.”

Xander swallowed hard, glancing between his mother and his father. Stella had purposely left off the fact that his father had had chest pains. He wasn’t sure whether he should be grateful or pissed. He’d have been on a plane in a heartbeat if he’d known that. And maybe that’s what she’d been trying to keep from happening.

And Xander realized then that his father had been the other reason for his melancholy mood that morning. He had known something had happened. Something more than his father just falling. Knowing didn’t do anything to settle his fears though.

“Did they do any tests?” Xander asked, not caring which of them answered him at this point.

“Yes, they did tests,” Stella assured him. “Everything is fine. He didn’t have a heart attack.”

Xander wasn’t sure he was breathing. He was looking at his father, a picture of good health and wondering just what the hell he would do if something ever happened to him.

Throughout his life, Stan Boone had been a stalwart supporter. He’d been right there beside him, rooting him on through all of the sports he played throughout his childhood, right up until college when he accepted a full scholarship. To play football. Stan had even been there when Xander decided football wasn’t what he wanted to pursue anymore.

Sure, he was close to his mother, talking to her every single day, but Xander would be the first to admit that Stan Boone was the role model he’d mirrored himself after.

The idea of not having his father in his life had the potential to bring Xander to his knees.

Mercedes wanted to reach over to Xander and hold his hand. It was a strange feeling, but she couldn’t seem to shake it.

As she listened to the conversation between him and his parents, she caught a glimpse of a much younger Xander, the one who looked up to his father as though the man had hung the moon. When Stan mentioned he’d had chest pains, Xander’s entire demeanor had changed and right before her very eyes, he let down that guard he kept in place at all times.

She’d wanted to wrap her arms around him so that she could latch onto him until the moment passed.

But she didn’t.

And then, as though nothing had happened, Xander’s walls fell back in place, and he transformed into the professional she knew him to be. Even if this was as far from a business setting as they could get.

“It’s nothing to worry about,” Stan assured Xander. “I’ve gone in for a few more tests and they haven’t found anything.”

“I don’t want you to hide that from me again,” Xander stated bluntly, the full brunt of his fear on his father.

Mercedes couldn’t imagine what he was feeling.

“You’ve got more important things to worry about than me,” his father told him.

“Bullshit,” Xander ground out through clenched teeth, his eyes narrowing. “Nothing is more important.”

Mercedes knew that Xander loved his parents. He was close to them in ways Mercedes had never known personally. She’d been introduced to Stella and Stan years ago, spent plenty of time with them when they were in town because Xander was always inviting her.

As she watched them, she had a craving to feel that emotion he very rarely showed to be turned on her. Would he look at her as though the entire world revolved around her?

Did she want him to?

The last question wasn’t easy to answer mainly because she was confused. About everything.

“How’re things with you?” Stan asked, and Mercedes realized he was talking to her.

“Good. Really busy right at the moment.”

“The housing market’s making a comeback, huh?”

Mercedes knew Stan wasn’t all that interested in talking about real estate, but she sensed he was doing his best to change the subject, so she responded, “Looks that way.”

“Tell us about Ohio,” Xander interrupted, saving Mercedes at the very last moment. When she looked up into his eyes, she saw something she’d never seen before.

And this time, she was the one whose chest was tightening.

But this had nothing to do with pain.

An hour and a half later, Xander was walking Mercedes back to the limo. They’d both walked his parents to their car, and after Xander said a few brief words to his mother, they were on their way.

When they reached the car, the driver opened it for her, and then Xander spoke to the man as she climbed inside. The only words she could make out were “detour” and “scenic route”. Although she pretended not to hear anything, Mercedes’s heart rate sped up.

Rightfully so as it turned out because the moment Xander climbed into the limo behind her, she noticed the intense expression on his face.

“Come here,” he ordered, his tone laced with nothing but pure dominance.

She complied easily, without question. Or reservation.

There wasn’t a lot of room to maneuver in the backseat of the limousine, but there was enough. For what she sensed he wanted anyway.