Now he looked at Myron. Myron wanted to look away, but he held on. Aimee can be, Erik said, rebellious . Like her mother . Claire? He blinked. Rebellious?Oh man, he should learn to shut his mouth . I n what way?Myron went for the politician response: It depends on what you mean by rebellious, I guess . But Erik didn't let it slide. What did you mean by it?Nothing. It's a good thing. Claire had edge . Edge?Shut up, Myron. You know what I mean. Edge. Good edge. When you first saw Claire that very first second what attracted you to her?Many things, he said. But edge was not one of them. I had known a lot of girls, Myron. There are those you want to marry and those you just want, well, you know . Myron nodded . Claire was the one you wanted to marry. That was the first thing I thought when I saw her. And yes, I know how it sounds. But you were her friend. You know what I mean . Myron tried to look noncommittal . I loved her so much . Loved, Myron thought, keeping quiet this time. He'd said loved, not love . A s if reading his mind, Erik added, I still do. Maybe more than ever . Myron waited for the but . Erik smiled. You heard the good news, I assume?About?Aimee. In fact, we owe you a great big thank-you . Why's that?She got accepted to Duke . Hey, that's great . We just heard two days ago . Congratulations . Your recommendation letter, he said. I think it pushed her over the line . Myron said, Nah, though there was probably more truth in Erik's statement than Erik knew. Myron had not only written that letter, but he also had called one of his old teammates, who now worked in admissions . No, really, Erik went on. There's so much competition to get into the top schools. Your recommendation carried a lot of weight, I'm sure. So thank you . She's a good kid. It was my pleasure . The game ended. Erik rose. Ready?I think I'm done for today, Myron said . Hurting, eh?A little . We're getting older, Myron . I know . There are more aches and pains now . Myron nodded . Seems to me you have a choice when things hurt, Erik said. You can sit out or you can try to play through the pain . Erik jogged away, leaving Myron to wonder if he'd still been talking about basketball.

Chapter 9