Page 105 of The Long Way Found

On their way out, Amir pulled Luke aside to review the fundraiser paperwork. Jack stood near the door, looking around.

Luke glanced over and saw Jack standing by the door, taking in the scene—the seniors' yoga class, Dale and Evan chatting with Patty's friend, and a couple of young women working through a circuit together. Jack's expression was thoughtful, almost proud.

He'd become invested in this place. Luke could see it.

Three teenage boys bounded in energetically.

"Hey, Coach Luke!" one of them called out.

"You guys here for the strength program?" Luke asked.

"Yeah. We need to get jacked for baseball."

"Cool. Start with warm-ups, then find Amir. He'll set you up."

Jack smiled. Luke knew everyone, coached everyone, and made space for everyone.

By now, Amir was standing next to Jack, observing the scene as Luke approached them.

“Was that everything you needed tonight?” Luke asked Amir.

“Yep, all good for now… See you Saturday, Jack?" Amir asked.

Jack playfully put up his fists. "Try to keep me away."

"My man," Amir said, returning to the desk.

They agreed to pick up something prepared from the market. On the drive over, "Drops of Jupiter" came on the radio, the opening piano notes instantly recognizable. Luke reached over and turned it up.

"Wow, remember this one?"

"Oh, yeah. You used to blast it out of your bedroom speakers."

"In the afternoons, when we were fooling around after school," Luke said, grinning. "Your mom could probably hear us downstairs. We tried to be quiet but probably weren’t so good at that."

"She definitely heard," Jack said.

Luke's eyes went wide. "She knew?"

"She knew." Jack smiled. "She said she figured we were either going to figure it out or not, but making us feel ashamed wasn't going to help anything."

"Your mom's pretty great."

"Yeah. She is."

The song reached the chorus, and Luke sang along, unselfconscious and slightly off-key. “Was it everything you wanted to find? And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there…”

Luke closed his eyes, singing along to the “na, na, na, nas”... and the song finally faded out.

"Mem'ries…" Luke said.

"You haven't changed a bit," Jack said. "Except you're all grown up, from a pretty boy to a gorgeous man." He took Luke's hand and kissed it. "My man."

"Yeah?"

"Oh, yeah."

They finished listening in the parking lot, neither wanting to move.