I've lived in Love Forge, Tennessee. The years look the same to me. However, I was positive that something new was already there for me. I was playing football with my teammates. I ran against the opposing defender, battling for the ball as she tried to raise a pass for her teammate. The ball was coming down quickly. If I deflect the ball, I'll score a goal. The ball not only deflected itself; it was the scrimmage-winning assist when my winger headed it into the net. I was positive that practice was finished when sirens decreed an announcement. We huddled into the team's indoor training center, all a generous donation by NSRL. It was not revocable.
The newscaster began with an optimistic finish, saying that our future high school was almost finished by building a full-scale aquatic center. However, he made an intermission, suggesting that it would turn negative. Then, a video of a fire happened. It reminded me of Lady's tirades disguised as concern for me. The reporter showed a supposedly concerned tone about Lawton's soccer players being harmed by hostile Americans. His voice sounded soulless about the incident. In his blue eyes, Lawton was the only event he saw. There was no coverage of communities rebuilding and working with both codes. My eyes close as I see a footballer held at the stakes with the gridiron footballers sneering. Yet football is still a place for me.
When I turned 14, I was looking for a place to fight. The militia had an interest in me. I can see my friend D.B. serving with me. We could seriously get closer since he was freed from Pure Visions. I was familiar with guns as surefire machines of death. The fighting was a challenge. I gained control of the railroad by murdering all the train guards and stopping a military train. That wasn't the part I remember, however. I remember playing pickup soccer with and against the German soldiers, who were National Team players. When I began to play, I ran and shot the ball. I was an absolute beginner. I was good at playing soccer. When our white flag came, the judge remembered my pickup days. He recommended a soccer club's recreational team instead. From that day on, I wasn't caught without a ball at my feet. In my first recreational game, I scored two goals and an assist. After my second goal, the game ended, and I was high-fived as the kid who scored the game-winning goal. I ended up making the all-star team playing at the East Tennessee Championship. That environment was even more exciting, with local scouts noticing. The trophy was so large that we hauled it in our coach's Volkswagen van. Tri-Cities also took notice, recommending a tryout for their competitive program. The local ODP noticed that. I didn't make the ODP state team, but that was next year's affair. I made the state league team. I made the ODP. I played for the German youth national team.
Now, as this ordeal was done, we went into cool-down stretching. Sometimes, scrimmages can be short. However, we warmed up and practiced with 7V7 and 5V5. These warm-ups lead to scrimmaging. It's short but well-played. As I went for a cool-down lap, the thought of me punching Demetrius two years ago was gnawing at me. I've already worked with the counselor and the youth group leader on Sundays about what it means to follow Christ. I wrote down that I am loved, chosen, and redeemed. I also learned about turning the other cheek. This wasn't easy, but neither was the magistrate. The judge could have easily put me to death for my sabotaging of a railroad stop. I decided to continue running my lap and then stretching. Once I finished, his familiar look was there. Whether he was a baby or fifteen, he looked the same to me. He had a build like mine before his occupation. His skin was also beaten, suggesting that something else happened to him as well.
I said, “PeeWee, I'm sorry I've punched you before occupation. I knew better than to attack when you hated me.”
He then looked at me and thought, How on earth did I end up with a pair of cleats at my feet? I've also wondered how he ended up with a field hockey stick. We grew up in Johnson County, where the high green hills above us blocked sports other than the Big Three from coming. When the other sports came, the older generations were resentful, but the younger generations took it up. My mama sent me a text from her water polo practice.
“How's my footballer?”
“Mama, I had a good time practicing.”
“What football code? It seems like you do them all.”
“Well, I play soccer, rugby union, gridiron, and Gaelic football.“
“Lyndon, I'll never imagine playing such sports until recently.”
Then, I opened a text from Coach regarding an important person. She found a woman who could be my biological mother. As I looked at my phone, all those years of bastard taunts from Covenant came to a full circle. There is a person, possibly my mother, who wants to get to know me. She knew after my soccer highlights came along. The accounts my mama also told me were true. She was a soccer player, just like me.
I responded that I was interested, but I had to let my parents know about it. All those years, my grandmother told me that she was dead. Now, she could be alive. I sent these texts as soon as I could. My mama was so happy that I found out why I was messed up. Dad was also mighty content that his ex and my mother were found.
When I went home, I said, “Grandma, I have found the woman that could be my mother.”
“ Lyndon. Please do not lie to me. She is dead.”
“Grandma, I have already had approval from my parents about her.”
“Lyndon, I have something to say. Lyndon, I am sorry for lying to you about your biological mother. I have prioritized my image in the community over you and your father's well-being.“
The moment my father heard it, all his repressed dreams about his former lover as well as my mama's story came true. I brought the laptop and called for a live chat with her.
The woman said, “Hello everyone, I am Captain Lauren Keli'i. I am Lyndon's mother.”
I said, “Mama, how are you?”
“I'm great, Keiki. I'm coaching at Albion, SC, Hawaii. I used to play there when I was younger. This talent led me to the ODP, which led me to play soccer at the University of Hawaii with Natasha Kai, one of your role models. However, that differed. I ended up in the military as an Army engineer, where I met your dad, Tyler. He was a private. He was a great person, coming from a similar background to mine. He was from Johnson County, which was like Hana, my hometown. Just as we planned to get closer, he went back for your mother because his family did not support interracial marriage.”
My dad said, “Captain Keli'i, I miss you. Ever since I married my current wife, I have dreams of you every time I sleep. These dreams are so bothersome that I couldn't concentrate well.”
“Well, I miss you at times. Even these arguments are telling me that this relationship isn't working.”
“Well, have you talked to your wife and child about divorce? If it works, we could revive this relationship, but I'm not sure it can lead to marriage.”
Once he heard it, it felt like a burden was removed from him. After ending our Zoom call, he told all of us about plans to dissolve the marriage. Just then, my beloved Mama came out.
She said, “Tyrus, I have known since adolescence that I am lesbian. However, I didn't realize that truth because of societal norms. At water polo, I met Maike Schirmer, my true love. We have been getting together regularly by driving to Asheville and riding the 421 on a motorcycle.”
Then they talked over it before they signed the divorce papers. Typically, divorces always involve screaming and drama from both the children and the parents. However, the divorce was cool-headed. They signed the papers, and my mama moved out with her future wife together. It was painful the next couple of days getting used to life without her, but it was a lot better for all of us. My grandparents became less moody and more interested in me, letting me into their storage, which they refused to allow me. Grandpa Tad secretly had a green thumb alongside his tobacco, livestock, and Christmas trees. He grew microgreens and sprouts in there. Dad also slept better, which meant no more shooting off guns. My mother and her partner are now in my life, making sure that I have healthy queer role models by sending links to the latest LGBTQ+ news and media. Lastly, my mother, Lauren, and Tyler, my father, are back together, this time developing the relationship slowly.
When I texted her about the conference tournament, my mother no longer sullenly refused.
She said, “Lyndon, if the doctor allows, I will come.” I breathed.