“It’s fine, Julia,” Gramps said. “Boy’s got a right to blow off some steam.” He turned back to Lucas. “But I don’t want you to ever call a time-out like that and take yourself out of a game ever again. Is that understood?”

“It is,” Lucas said.

“If you don’t show me respect,” Gramps said, “the others won’t. They take their lead from you.”

“They don’t know what you did,” Lucas said.

“No, son, they don’t,” Gramps said. “Those other boys don’t know. And if you choose to tell them about me, well, that’s up to you, nothing I can do to stop you. But if there’s one thing I still know, it’s how I want players to play and how I want them to act, and not just when they’re having a good day.”

Lucas took in some air, a lot of it, like he was blowing off some steam. There was more that he wanted to say to him now, a lot more, put it all out there once and for all, let Gramps know how angry he was, and hurt, and betrayed. But in that moment, he didn’t want to make things worse than they already were. They were already bad enough.

And he was smart enough to know that Gramps was right about the way Lucas had acted today.

“It won’t happen again,” Lucas said.

His grandfather pushed down with a hand on each knee, as a way of getting himself out of his chair. This time it took him two tries, but he finally made it.

“I’ll see you tomorrow night at practice,” Gramps said.

Julia said, “I’m glad you came by, Sam.”

“I can see myself out,” he said.

When Gramps was gone, Lucas’s mom turned to him and said, “Now I want to say something.”

“Mom, I got the message,” Lucas said. “I did.”

“That was his message, not mine,” she said. “Would you like to hear it?”

Lucas smiled and said, “Do I have a choice?”

“Never,” she said.

She smiled.

“You only get so many seasons in your life,” Lucas’s mom said. “Not all of them are going to be special. This one still has a chance to be.”

“I know that,” Lucas said.

“I know you know,” she said. “You’re not just a smart basketball boy. You’re smart, period. So the choice you have to make is whether you’re going to make the most of this season going forward. Because if you don’t, you’ll always regret it. I asked your dad one time, after he got sick, if he had any regrets. He smiled at me—he had a great smile, your dad—and said, “Other than not still being a kid?”

“You think Dad really did forgive Gramps, even if he never got to tell him?” Lucas said.