“Oh, wow! I’m so jelly!” I told her. Charlotte is a few years older than us. Her middle school soccer team mentored our elementary school team. Charlotte was one of the nicest girls I’d ever met, and besides being really cool and an awesome soccer player, she had taught me so much. Thanks to Charlotte, I became a better player. I’ll never forget what she taught us about dribbling. While passing is important and shows good teamwork, Charlotte had explained, the best players in the world dribble the ball like it is part of their foot, without even looking down. She would hang around after practice and help us perfect this skill.

“You need a light touch,” Charlotte had encouraged us as Kara and I practiced dribbling with both feet, seeing how many touches we could take between two cones set about two yards apart. “Some people prefer dribbling with the inside of their foot, others on their laces. Experiment and see what feels right for you.”

Thanks to Charlotte, Kara and I both became really good at dribbling, although it’s a skill that takes years of practice to perfect. That feeling of the ball being an extension of my foot really helped me find my groove as a soccer player. I’ll always be grateful to her for that. One of the reasons I liked helping out Maisie’s elementary soccer team was because I wanted to pay forward what Charlotte did for us.

I suddenly realized how much I missed her. We’ve kept in touch on social media since I moved, but it hasn’t been the same. I was happy for Kara but totally jealous I wouldn’t be there to share the fun and excitement of Charlotte’s big day.

“Don’t be jelly, Devin. You’re invited too!” Charlotte’s face suddenly popped up on the screen.

“Charlotte?” I gasped.

“Surprise!” Kara smiled.

Looking at Charlotte’s kind brown eyes and light red hair brought a rush of memories. She had taken us under her wing right away when her teammates started coaching us. Kara and I called her the Little Mermaid because of her hair, and she had thought that was funny.

“I know it won’t be easy for you to come, since you live in California,” Charlotte said. “But I wanted you to know that you’re invited and I would love for you to be there. You’re going to get an invitation in the mail, too.”

“You’ve got to come, Devin!” Kara pleaded. “It will be so much fun to have you there, and I haven’t seen you in forever!”

I was touched that Charlotte and Kara had planned out asking me during this call. It was such a great surprise! But I couldn’t imagine any way that I’d be able to fly all the way out to Connecticut for the party.