Leopard Spots - 13. Chapter 13

“Dad, be careful.”

Jim frowned at a serious-looking Ty, who was standing in the doorway to Jim’s bedroom. Jim had been getting ready for work when Ty had knocked on the door. “About what?”

“About Neil. There’s something odd about that guy. Don’t you think it’s a bit strange that he’s starting work at the same place you do?”

Jim chuckled as he pulled on his shoes. “Do you think he’s stalking me? Don’t be ridiculous. Mr. O’Grady told me that Neil saw the ad for more staff in the window because he was early for our game and had decided to wander around Lilydale to fill in time. The ad was only there because I’m quitting. It’s just one of those things.”

“Still, be careful. When I was speaking to him yesterday, before Todd told me that Neil was going to be working with you, I noticed that he was really keen to know anything he could about you.”

Jim snorted. “How many gay guys does he know? He’s probably just curious.”

“Then why didn’t he want to know anything about Tony when I tried talking about him, instead? I think Neil’s got a crush on you, Dad. Don’t give him any reason to think you might be more than friends.”

“A crush?” Jim frowned. “Okay, I can see that as a possibility. Thanks, brat. I’ll watch what I say and do with him.”

“That’s all I want.” Ty pulled a face. “I feel for the guy. He’s not a bad person, but he hasn’t had things easy. He’s...” Ty threw up his hands. “I don’t know! Just...be careful.”

“You’ve made your point, brat.”

“Did you mention Karen when you spoke to him at the club?”

Jim blinked at the change of topic. “No. Why?”

“Todd says he didn’t, either, but Neil knew about her. How?”

“Maybe he heard someone else mention her?”

“Maybe...” Ty grimaced and took a step away from the doorway. “I’ll leave you alone. Time I got ready for work, too, or I’ll be late.”

Jim slowly finished getting ready for work. Ty had given him a number of things to think about, and he would have to work out how to deal with Neil if Ty was right.

* * *

“Mum, I’m going to be fine!” Neil scowled as his mother adjusted the collar on his shirt.

He was wearing the dress pants and one of the button-up shirts that Clarissa had made him buy on their shopping trip the week before. He had tried to wear something less smart as he thought he was overdressed for the job he would be doing, but his mother had flatly rejected the first outfit he’d worn and ordered him to change.

“Do you want me to drive you there? Just for the first day.” Mrs. Rosewood frowned. “Are you sure you shouldn’t be wearing a tie?”

Neil started to grind his teeth. “No one else was wearing a tie when I was there. Even the store owner wasn’t wearing a tie! And, no, I don’t need you to drive me. If I leave now, the train will still get me there in plenty of time. Now, can I go?”

She gave him a hug and a smile. “Your father said to wish you all the best.”

Neil kept his opinion to himself. He didn’t believe his father had said any such thing. That was just what his mother thought he should’ve said.

Fifteen minutes later, Neil was waiting on the platform at the Ringwood East train station. The next train to Lilydale was due to arrive shortly. The day’s forecast was for a fine, pleasant day, but it was a brisk morning. The walk hadn’t been enough to warm Neil, so he was shivering slightly when the train arrived. He hadn’t taken a jacket, given the forecast, a decision he was regretting.

The trains to Lilydale ran approximately every twenty minutes at that time of the day. Neil had picked an earlier train than the last one that could get him to work on time. He was due to start work at nine, and that earlier train would get into Lilydale just before eight-thirty. It was only a few minutes’ walk up the main street from the train station to the sports store, so he should be there at least twenty minutes early. He had thought that earlier train was better than potentially running late on his first day if the next train was delayed for any reason.

When he arrived, Neil headed into the alley that ran behind the store and knocked on the back door.

“You’re early,” Mr. O’Grady said as he let Neil in. “The staff room is up ahead on the right.”

“Thank you. Sorry about the time, but the next train would get me here just on nine, and I didn’t want to take the chance that it’d be late.” Neil slipped off his backpack as he entered so he wouldn’t accidentally knock over anything as he walked.

“Smart thinking.” Mr. O’Grady followed Neil and then pointed out the tea- and coffee-making equipment as well as a small fridge that held milk and anything the staff needed to keep cold – usually their lunch. “Would you like a cuppa?” Mr. O’Grady asked when he finished.

Neil smiled. “A cup of coffee would be great. It’s a cold morning.”

“It’ll warm up soon.” After putting on the kettle, Mr. O’Grady examined Neil with a critical eye. “You’re a little overdressed, but it’ll do for today. Do you have a smart polo or sports shirt you can wear tomorrow? Also, runners are preferred to shoes. Our customers are expecting to be served by sportsmen, not businessmen.”

Neil cringed. “Sorry.”

Mr. O’Grady chuckled. “It’s okay, Neil. I didn’t spell out what I wanted you to wear, and I can certainly keep you busy out back where only the staff will see you, so it doesn’t matter.”

Neil gave him a tentative smile. “I was going to wear a polo shirt, but Mum told me to wear this shirt. She also wanted me to wear a tie...”

He got a laugh in response. “Most of the time Mum knows best, but not always. As long as you look smart and semi-sporty, it’ll be fine. I draw the line at tracksuit pants, but a smart, clean tracksuit jacket is very acceptable.”

“You don’t have branded shirts for the employees?”

Mr O’Grady shook his head. “If we were bigger, it might be worthwhile, but we’re small enough that nametags are all we need. I’ll have yours ready tomorrow morning.” He narrowed his eyes as he scanned Neil’s clothes. “Once you’ve had your coffee, come and see me in the front of the store. We’ll find you a shirt you can wear for the day. Not much I can do about the shoes, though; runners are too expensive to write-off.”

“I wouldn’t mind another pair of sneakers,” Neil said quickly. He didn’t need them, but if it helped ingratiate himself with the boss and gain him a fulltime job, it would be worth the money. “If you’ve got a pair that’ll fit me, I’m happy to buy them. Same with the shirt.”

Mr. O’Grady had a faint frown on his face. “Okay.... Come see me when you’re ready. The store opens at nine-thirty, so you’ve got time.”

It was ten past nine when Neil returned to the staff room, dressed in a new polo shirt and sneakers. After organising the footwear, Mr. O’Grady had pointed Neil to the shirt rack and told him to select something. He then left Neil to finish up by himself.

“Ah, Neil, that looks much better. Stow your other clothes somewhere and I’ll introduce you to Jim.”

Neil had only been paying half-attention to Mr. O’Grady. He had spotted Jim Henderson as soon as he stepped into the room. Jim and Mr. O’Grady had been sitting at the small table, talking quietly, each with a hot drink in their hands. Both had looked up at him as he paused in the entranceway.

“Er...hi, Jim.” Neil found himself tongue-tied again and had trouble meeting Jim’s eyes. He forced himself to explain why he didn’t seem surprised. “Todd told me that you worked here.”

Jim rose to his feet and stretched out a hand. “G’day, Neil. It’s good to see you again. Yeah, Todd rang me last night to tell me the news that we’d be working together.”

Neil flicked his gaze up for a moment as he grasped Jim’s hand and was glad to see a small smile on Jim’s face. He also wondered if Jim really meant it about it being good to see him or if he was just being polite.

“Neil, I’ve given Jim the job of training you today. He’ll run through the basics, and you’re to shadow him while he does his normal tasks. The plan is that by the end of the week, you’ll be doing those tasks instead while he watches. Any questions?”

Neil’s heart leapt. He was going to have a whole week with Jim! He couldn’t keep the smile from his face as he answered. “No, that’s sounds cool to me.”

“Good. I’ll leave you two to get to know each other.” Mr. O’Grady paused on his way out and fixed Neil with a gaze that had him wondering if he’d already done something wrong. “Remember, Neil, you’ve got this week and next to show what sort of person you are. I’m not making any promises as to what happens after that. It’ll be largely up to you.”

Neil gulped and nodded his head. “Yes, sir.” He needed to be careful. He had to balance learning the job with making Jim like him more than Tony. He didn’t need to be told that if Jim gave a bad report to Mr. O’Grady, any chance of fulltime employment at O’Grady Sports would be out the window.

Neil jumped when Jim, who had ended up behind him when Mr. O’Grady had stopped for his final words, put a hand on his shoulder.

“Relax! The first thing I’ll show you – we’ll go through it in more detail later – is how to ring up the sale for the things you’ve just bought. You’ve kept the barcodes, haven’t you?”

Neil nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

“Good, let’s get that done before we open. If you’ve got any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. If we’re with a customer, try to hold off until they’re gone, but otherwise, ask at any time.”

Neil had questions he wanted to ask, but they had nothing to do with work. He was going to have to wait until he found appropriate times to slip them into the conversation.

* * *

Peter glanced up from his laptop and grinned. “G’day, Julie. What have you got for me today?”

Julie slipped into the seat opposite the head coach. “I want to run my plans for Ty past you before I kick them off.”

“I’m sure they’ll be fine, but go ahead.” Peter pushed his laptop to the side. “It’s time I took a break from the computer, anyway. I’m sure it’s starting to affect my eyes.”

“I’ve reviewed Ty’s report from last year’s draft camp. He’s a little slower than I’d prefer for a midfielder, but not by much. The major concern I could see was his endurance, and while we’ve done some work on that in the pre-season, he could do with more. He’s too used to the stop-start running of a defender, and he’s experiencing the same on the forward line.”

Peter nodded. “All obvious so far.”

“Obvious, but still things to work on. Rather than work on specific midfielder skills, I want to push him to build up his endurance and to work on his speed. That’s going to help him no matter where he plays.”

“And...?”

Julie took a deep breath. “I want to start building him up as a speciality tagger for when we need him. It’s something we don’t have a lot of in the team.”

Peter frowned. “True. Apart from Jim and Dave, we’re light on that capability.” The ability to shut down a key opponent by playing extra-tight defence was limited in the team to those two players, as most of the time a looser form of man-to-man was used.

“And Dave’s currently unreliable. The other midfielders can do it sometimes, like Jarrod did in our practise match against Werribee, but we don’t have a lot of depth.”

“It’s not something we’ve needed since that game, but well-spotted. Thanks, Julie.”

She grinned. “In that case, I’d like to get your opinion of how I’m going to motivate Ty into the role.”

“Do you think he needs motivation?”

Julie shrugged. “Just in case he does, my plan is to have Jim tag Ty hard at training on Wednesday. All training, every exercise. Ty is probably going to get tagged similar to what’s been happening with Roger and Deon, so he needs to learn how to handle it. By the end of Wednesday’s session, Ty should be completely frustrated by Jim consistently blocking him from getting the ball.”

“Dave’s the better tagger, but there’s too much chance at the moment that he’d injure Ty.” Peter smiled. “Ty’s also more likely to take it from Dad than he would from anyone else.” He narrowed his eyes. “That’ll get Ty working on dealing with being tagged, but that’s different to learning how to tag.”

“Next week, they swap. Ty will have to tag Jim for the night. I was intending to play it by ear as to what happened the week after – who will be tagging whom. If Ty still needs to cope with being tagged, I’ll put Jim back on him. If he seems okay with that, I’ll get him tagging Jim again. Once he’s able to tag Jim, I’d start rotating him through the other key players.”

Peter nodded. “Part of tagging is learning your opponent and playing accordingly. Jim’s a good one to start with, but, yes, Ty would need to practise on the others, too. If he can do it, another solid tagger would be real asset. Don’t wait until next week. We’ll swap them for Friday night’s training, and then you can decide who tags who the following week. Friday will be lighter than Wednesday, but it should give Ty an understanding of how much he still has to learn.” Peter chuckled. “Of course, if he’s tagging, he’s not doing his usual job of defending a zone or kicking goals. Another problem for me, but it’ll be nice to have someone who’s that versatile.”

“I believe he has the ability to do it against all but the fastest or most agile of opponents. Unless he can improve his speed a lot, he’s only ever going to be an average to good midfielder, but a hard tagger is a role I think he can do if he boosts his endurance.”

“Excellent work, Julie. Thank you.” When Julie started gnawing on her lower lip, Peter narrowed his eyes. “There’s more?”

Julie nodded. “There’s another position, currently vacant, that I think we should fill. It’s not an essential job, but with the right person, it could boost the whole team.”

Peter frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“A vice-captain. Roger’s doing a great job as captain, but he could do with some help. I think I know just the right person for the position, though it’ll mean increasing his workload, and it might turn out to be too much for him.”

As Julie explained over the next couple of minutes, Peter was initially cold to the suggestion. Julie’s arguments in favour, though, had him slowly warming to the idea. He could see complications, but it was worth investigating further, even if he wasn’t ready to commit.

* * *

“Brat, what are you doing calling me? Shouldn’t you be working?” Jim waved a hand to Neil, who had paused when Jim’s phone had rung, silently instructing him to continue shifting the boxes of sportswear that had just been delivered.

“I’m on a short break, Dad. I wanted to check how things were going between you and Neil.”

“Well, I’m working, even if you’re not.” Jim pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment. “Neil, they go over there on the left.” He returned his attention to the call, taking a couple of steps away and lowering his voice. “You were probably right this morning, brat. I’m dealing with it, though.”

“He does have a crush on you?”

“Don’t sound so surprised, and don’t make any jokes about it.”

“Ah...that’s not fair.” Ty’s amused tone disappeared quickly. “He’s still in earshot, isn’t he.”

“Yep.” Jim kept his eye on Neil while the younger guy worked. Jim couldn’t help noticing the quick glances in his direction every few seconds. It had been that, as well as how Neil had trouble looking him in the eye while not having the same difficulty with anyone else, that had told Jim that Ty was right.

“Tell him I said hello and that I hope everything works out for him. Better still, put him on and I’ll tell him myself. Don’t worry, I won’t say anything to make things worse.”

“Brat.” Jim’s one-word comment was tinged with wary amusement. He raised his voice back to normal levels and held out the phone. “Neil, Ty’d like a word. I’ll move the next set of boxes while you two talk.”

Jim kept a surreptitious eye and ear on Neil while he worked. Neil was more animated as he talked to Ty than he had been with Jim. It reinforced Jim’s impression that Neil was infatuated. The conversation ended while Jim had his back to Neil, and when he turned around he found the younger guy gnawing at his lower lip while frowning at Jim’s phone.

“Something wrong?” Jim asked as he held out a hand.

There was a slight pause before Neil handed the phone over. “No, nothing wrong. I was just wondering...”

“Wondering what?”

“Can I get your number?” The words tumbled out of Neil in a rush, unlike the other conversations the two had been having that morning where Jim had had to draw the words out of the new employee.

Jim hesitated while trying to think of the consequences if he said yes. When he saw Neil visibly deflate at the lack of a response, Jim knew he didn’t have a choice. He pasted a smile on his face while praying that he wasn’t making a big mistake. “Sure.”

Neil lit up, and he made eye contact with Jim for one of the few times that morning. “Thank you!”

Jim gave him the number and then immediately started damage control. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

Neil immediately dropped his gaze. “Not at the moment, but I’d like one. Someone like you who’s a lot more confident than me.”

Jim had been expecting an answer similar to what he got. “Tony and I are a bit too old to know gay guys around your age, but Tony’s flatmate is only a couple of years older than you. He might know someone appropriate.”

“I don’t mind someone older.” Again, the words rushed out, almost as if Neil was in a panic.

Jim suddenly remembered that he did know of one gay guy of a similar age to Neil. “What school do you go? I’ve forgotten.”

“Ringwood East Secondary. Why?”

Jim smiled. “I know of another gay guy at your school. He sent me a letter just after I went public. I don’t know if he’s out or not, but maybe I could introduce the two of you.”

Neil frowned. “Who?”

“I don’t think I should give you his name without his permission. You wouldn’t want me outing you to others, would you?”

Neil stood for a moment and then lifted his head to look Jim in the eye. “Is his name Liam?”

Jim’s jaw dropped for a moment, and then he grinned. “I take it there’s someone at school by that name who’s out or assumed to be gay?”

“He came out a couple of weeks ago. He’s one of the guys who’ve been bullying me for years.”

Jim winced at the bitter tone. “Okay, I won’t contact him. I’ll speak to Alex, though, and see who he knows. He’s a student at Melbourne Uni, and knows others who are gay. If you go there next year, he’ll be able to introduce you to some of them.”

“I won’t be going to uni. I’m dropping out of school to get me a fulltime job so I can leave home. I told you that at the club when we first met.”

Jim seized the opportunity. He’d been struggling to find a way to introduce the topic, and Neil had given him the perfect lead. “You’ll have more options if you finish Year 12. If you stick it out until the end of the year, there’ll be more job opportunities for you, even if you don’t go onto university.”

“I can’t! I’m going crazy at home. You don’t know what it’s like! I have to go...I can’t stay there anymore!”

“Neil, why don’t we take a break and discuss this further? Mr. O’Grady won’t mind, and this work can wait.” Jim sat down on the edge of a box of gym equipment and patted the place next to him.

Neil sat in the indicated place, closer than Jim would’ve liked but not quite touching. “I can’t stay at home! I have to move out, and that means I can’t stay at school. I need a job so I can pay rent.”

“Not necessarily. What if we found you a place to live while you continued going to school?”

Neil sat still, his gaze fixed on the stained storeroom floor.

“Mr. O’Grady asked me last week to start looking for a place for you to stay,” Jim said, trying to sound sympathetic.

Neil’s head snapped up. “Last week?”

Jim nodded. “He told me last Monday about you, and he said enough for me to realise you were the same guy I’d met at the club on the Saturday. Neither one of us wants you to drop out of school, so we’re looking into options.”

“Then Todd and Ty...” Neil’s eyes narrowed and his tone dripped suspicion.

Jim shook his head. “I hadn’t spoken to Todd about you until last night when he rang to let me know we’d be working together. Same with Ty. This was just between Mr. O’Grady and me. Also, Anne from the club. She’s helping me look for a place where you can stay while you finish school.”

“Could I stay with you?”

That question had tumbled out in the way that Jim was beginning to realise meant that it wasn’t premeditated. Jim knew he had to answer carefully.

“Possibly, but probably not. We don’t have anywhere spare at our house, so it’d be a bit cramped. You’ll be better off somewhere else.”

“I can sleep on the couch. I wouldn’t mind.”

Jim knew he was starting to lose control of the conversation. “Neil.... No. Give us some time, and we’ll find you somewhere. We’re looking for a place close to the train station so you can commute to school each day. Where I live is too far away.”

“It’s not that far.”

Jim felt a cold chill. To the best of his knowledge, Neil shouldn’t know where he lived.

“Time to get back to work, Neil. We’ll talk about this some more later, but finding you a place to live is dependent on your agreeing to finish school. No one is going to take you in if you just want free rent while you’re working. Let me know later in the week if you’re going to go back to school, and I’ll make sure you have somewhere to stay. Mr. O’Grady will need to know soon what you’ll be doing so he can work out what to do about the job.”

* * *

Neil had felt a wall go up between him and Jim after the conversation in the storeroom. He mentally kicked himself for being too eager, too soon, though the opportunity had seemed heaven-sent at the time. In hindsight, he realised Jim would need to know him better first and to have come to his senses about the blond mistake before he made a move.

At least he had resisted the urge to send a text to himself from Jim’s phone while he had it. He thought it would be a good way to get Jim’s contact details, but he had told himself it would be a breach of trust. As it turned out, all Neil needed to do was ask for Jim’s number. Jim giving it to him was one of the highlights of the morning.

When Todd sent him a text message at lunchtime saying that he hoped Neil’s day was going well, Neil almost rang him back to ask for advice. Recognising the potential danger in time, as he didn’t know where Todd’s ultimate loyalties lay, he restricted himself to a simple reply, saying that it was interesting and he’d talk to Todd that night. He didn’t know if there was a conspiracy between Todd and Jim or if Todd honestly cared how the day had gone. He needed to be cautious.

Neil spent the rest of the day trying to be completely professional: to treat Jim as a fellow employee and a possible friend, but to try not to push past that point. It seemed to work. Jim had given him a number of smiles of encouragement that afternoon and once a friendly slap on the back.

As he walked the short distance back to the train station, Neil wondered if he had destroyed his chance of a relationship with Jim. Sometimes he felt the answer was yes, in which case he didn’t know what to do. Other times he felt the answer was no, using the evidence of Jim’s camaraderie in the afternoon as proof. The end result was that Neil was a tense bundle of nerves while he waited for the train to take him back to Ringwood East.

By the time he walked through the front door of his home, he had made two resolutions.

The first was to not give up hope.

The second was to give Jim time to learn where his heart should really belong.

* * *

“How did it go, Dad? With Neil, I mean.” Ty and Jim were waiting for Deon and Ryan to get home so they could go to training together.

“That all depends on the answer to one question.”

Ty frowned at the distracted tone. He was also concerned that Jim stopped with that single statement.

“What’s the question?”

“Did you tell Neil where we live?”

Ty gulped. The implications were too obvious. “No.”

“He seems to think he knows.”

“Why do you say that?”

Jim sighed. “We were talking about his plans to drop out of school because he doesn’t think he can live at home any more. I told him that I’m looking into places where he can stay but that will allow him to complete Year 12.”

Ty broke in at the short pause. “He’s going to drop out of school?”

“That’s what he told Mr. O’Grady, and that’s what he said at the club when Todd introduced him to me and Tony.”

“Why?”

Jim’s silent stare made Ty fidget. “Don’t look at me like that! I don’t know why, even if you obviously think I should.”

“You know about his home life?” When Ty nodded, Jim continued. “He doesn’t think he can stay in the closet for the rest of the year. His parents are homophobic, and he’s expecting to be kicked out as soon as they learn he’s gay. He’s planning on getting out first, with a fulltime job and a place to live, before they discover the truth.”

“And what’s that got to do with where we live?”

“He wanted to move in here with us. With me. I was trying to discourage him by saying we’re too far from the train station. He said it wasn’t that far.”

“Well, it’s not.”

“Yeah, but how does he know that?”

Ty frowned. “Maybe Todd told him? He and Neil are getting along well.”

“I hope you’re right, brat, because otherwise I might’ve been really wrong this morning when I scoffed at the idea that Neil’s stalking me.” Jim pulled a face. “This was just after I gave him my phone number.”

“Ouch! How many text messages has he sent you?”

“That’s the one bright light in all of this. So far, none. If he’s really stalking me, I would’ve thought he’d have sent one by now.”

“Maybe he just found out, somehow.”

“Do you really believe that?”

Jim’s tone told Ty it was a rhetorical question, but he answered it anyway. “No. It’s like how he knew about Karen.” Ty grimaced. “What are you going to do?”

Jim shrugged. “Talk to Todd after training. Maybe he’s got some ideas.”

Ty grunted. There didn’t seem anything else to say.

* * *

“...so, I’m tentatively in favour,” Will said.

Peter frowned. “You don’t think it’s too risky? We don’t want him to burn out.” He and Will were sitting in his office, having a private discussion before the start of training. Peter had passed on Julie’s suggestion regarding the role of vice-captain and who she thought was appropriate.

Will shrugged. “Anything’s a risk, but I think he can handle it. My major concern is that it’s something we traditionally leave up to the players to vote on. They may not go along with our opinion.”

“True, but he’s the obvious candidate. Okay, I’ll discuss it with Roger later tonight. If he’s fine with the idea and who we want in the job, we’ll move forward. My concern is that if there is division amongst the players in the voting, we could break team unity.”

“That’s a possibility, but I think it’s unlikely. They’re a good bunch of guys; they’ll get behind whoever is chosen even if he’s not their personal choice.”

“I know. It’s just after last year’s debacle, I don’t want another major team disruption. That’s also why the thought hadn’t crossed my mind before Julie suggested it.” Peter grimaced at the memory. One person had derailed the entire team with his actions, destroying all cohesion and most of the goodwill within the club. Getting rid of that person had started the healing process, but the team had only really started to come together again in February.

“She wasn’t here for that. The potential upside is a massive boost in team consolidation. The downside is the possible loss of team cohesion, but I think that’s a lesser risk.” Will chuckled. “That doesn’t mean I’m not nervous, but I’ve got faith in the guys.”

Peter nodded slowly. “That pretty much sums up my feelings, too. I’ll get Roger’s opinion tonight, and if he doesn’t have any strong concerns, we’ll tell the players on Wednesday.” He glanced at the clock. “Time to start training. I’ll let Julie know the plan while you get the guys started.”

* * *

Neil was lying in bed. It was quarter past nine, he was on the phone to Todd, and the conversation wasn’t going well. They had been discussing his first day of work...and Jim.

“Neil, I want to emphasise that I’m your friend. If you need help at any time, call me. If I have to take time off work to come and see you, I’ll do it. However, don’t try to make me choose between you, Jim, or Tony.”

Neil swallowed. He had sensed that Todd had been reading between the lines or that Jim had said things to him, but by the mention of Tony, Neil couldn’t avoid the fact that Todd knew.

“Todd, I...”

“Neil, Jim is a great guy, but he’s got a boyfriend. He’s also four years older than you.”

“Lorraine’s nine years older than you!”

Todd laughed. “You’ve got me there, but the difference is that I’m also six years older than you. Those six years make a big difference. I’ve finished school and completed an apprenticeship. I’m settled in not only my job but also my life. You’re just starting out, and you’ve got a lot to learn. I got to know Lorraine first and then spent a week wrestling with the idea before I went back to her and started a relationship. You don’t know Jim, and he doesn’t know you. You may think you know him, but you don’t.”

“Will you help me get to know him?”

There was silence for a couple of seconds. “Yes, I will, but only on Jim’s terms, and without even asking him I know that will mean you getting to know Tony, too. Are you up to that?”

Neil gritted his teeth, but he knew he didn’t have a lot of choices. He had overplayed things too much that morning, and Jim was on the defensive. If he were to have any chance, he would have to let Jim do things his way...which meant associating with the blond mistake.

“Okay.”

“Hey, cheer up! I’m sure things will work out. It might not be with Jim, but you’ve got a lot going for you, Neil. Other guys will see the same thing if you let them.”

“Why can’t Jim see it?”

“He probably will, given time, but that doesn’t mean he’ll fall in love with you.” Todd chuckled. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think you’re a great guy. That doesn’t mean I’m going to fall in love with you, though. I’ve got someone else in my heart. Three people, actually, each in their own special way.”

Neil didn’t want to see the point that Todd was making, but he couldn’t fool himself that much. “So, I’ve got no chance?”

“I’m not going to discuss it, Neil.” Todd’s tone was hard.

“I thought you were my friend!”

Todd sighed. “Neil, I told you; I’m not going to choose between you, Jim, or Tony. You’re all my friends. Changing the topic slightly, I’ve got an idea that I wanted to run past you. Do you think your parents would believe you if you told them that you’d been invited out on Friday night by someone from work?”

Neil’s heart leapt. The only person he’d really met at work was Jim. “I think they would.”

“Then how about you tell them that. I’ll get Ollie to pick you up when you finish at the store and bring you here to our place. You’ll have to come to training with us, but afterwards we’ll have dinner. You can even stay the night if you want, and I’ll drop you back home in the morning. That’ll be early, though, because I need to get to Lorraine’s place in time for Sean’s AusKick on Saturday. How does that sound?”

Neil blurted out the first thing he thought of. “Jim could take me to your place.”

“He could, and you can ask him when you see him next, but don’t push, Neil. If you want Jim as a friend, let him come to you. Don’t try to force him.”

“Will Jim be at the dinner, too?”

“I haven’t asked him, but if I do I’ll be inviting him and Tony.” Todd snorted with amusement. “I’ll probably have to invite Ty, too, which is making dinner larger than I had originally intended, but that’s okay.”

“Alright, Todd. I’ll ask Mum tomorrow morning before I head off to work.”

“Great! Let me know if you can make it and whether you’ll be staying the night. I’ll organise everything else. Take care, mate! I’ll see you soon.”

Neil lay on the bed, holding his phone and staring at the blank spot on the wall where he wanted Jim’s picture to go. Todd had given him a lot of support but little in the way of encouragement. Neil was going to have to go slowly if he wanted to have a chance of getting Jim away from Tony, and there was no certainty about the result.

The tears were flowing through muffled sobs as Neil tried to go to sleep, knowing he’d fucked up again.

* * *

Neil gritted his teeth and gave himself a once-over before knocking on the back door of the store. He was determined to get through the day without a problem – and definitely without antagonising Jim. He had secured his mum’s okay to stay the night at Todd’s place on Friday night – he’d lied and told her it was someone from work he would be staying with – and he would wait until then before trying to be social with Jim. Until Friday night, he would do his best to be pleasantly professional.

“Ah, Neil. Good of you to come in early again. I wasn’t sure if you’d decided to take the later train and get here right on nine.” Mr. O’Grady stepped back to let Neil into the building.

“I don’t intend to do that, sir. If I miss the earlier train, that’s when I’ll get here, but I’m intending to catch the earlier train each day.”

Neil had learnt the previous day that his boss preferred to be addressed formally, though he was casual in most other things. It was either Mr. O’Grady or sir. Neil didn’t even know his boss’s full name.

“Smart thinking.” Mr. O’Grady smiled. “But I’m starting to expect that from you. Apart from that silly idea of dropping out of school, of course.”

Neil pulled a face. “Won’t it leave you in the lurch if I can’t work fulltime?”

“A little, but I could make do for awhile.”

“Then why did you employ me?” Neil looked his boss in the eye, and it was the older man who looked away.

“Because I thought you needed the job.” He scowled. “I’m not a charity, though. I wouldn’t have taken you on if I didn’t think I could get my money’s worth out of you.”

“Am I going to have a job when I turn eighteen?” Neil asked quietly, dreading the answer but needing to know.

“That depends.” Mr. O’Grady waved a hand towards the tea and coffee. “Make yourself a cuppa, and we’ll talk.”

A couple of minutes later, the two were seated across the table from each other.

“Neil, if you can’t finish school, and if you do satisfactory work over these two weeks, then, yes, you’ll have a job here. However, if you have the option of continuing at school and don’t take it, then the answer is no. I won’t take on someone who isn’t going to try, and dropping out of school if you don’t have to is not trying.”

Neil stared at the tabletop while taking a sip of his coffee. It wasn’t the answer he wanted, but it was better than not knowing. “I’ve told you about how things are at home.”

“And Jim tells me that he believes he can find you a place to stay while you finish school.”

Neil sighed. He knew it wasn’t going to be with whom he wanted it to be. “Yeah...”

“So...what do you intend to do?”

Neil took a deep breath and looked up. “Finish school.”

Mr. O’Grady smiled. “Smart kid.”

Neil quickly finished his drink. “Anything you want me to do until Jim gets here?”

A frown flitted across Mr. O’Grady’s face. “Jim doesn’t work Tuesdays. I’ll be supervising you, today. Jim’ll be back tomorrow. I’ve got another part-timer, Scott, who will be here for the afternoon. I’ll introduce you when he shows up.”

Neil hoped he hid the grimace he felt. He already knew it wasn’t going to be his day.

* * *

Doug pushed the X-box controller away. “This game sucks.”

Liam laughed. “Only because you’re being thrashed.”

“It’s supposed be fun. If I’m not having fun, then, by definition, it sucks.”

“And you’re only having fun if you’re winning, which means that when it’s fun for you, it sucks for everyone else...by definition.”

Doug shrugged and then grinned. “Probably, but then it’s not my problem.” He glanced around. “Any other ideas on how to spend a couple of hours on a lazy Tuesday afternoon?”

“Not really. If Rod were available, the three of us could hang out, but the stupid git’s in Tasmania for the holidays. We can’t even look at porn any more. Our tastes are too different.”

“You can say that again.” Doug narrowed his eyes at his best friend. “But when we did, and we.... Did you...? You know...”

Liam snorted. “I was wondering when you’d ask that question. I’m surprised it’s taken this long.” He smirked. “What do you want the answer to be?”

Doug went red and looked away. “Forget I asked. I don’t really want to know.”

Liam chuckled. “Doug, you’re my best friend. That’s all you’ll ever be unless you tell me that you’ve come over to the light and joined me on my side of the fence.”

“So you do fancy me!”

Liam shook his head. “I’m just horny. I want a boyfriend, but finding one is a pain in the neck. It’ll be a little easier when I turn eighteen. I’ve already tracked down the locations of the gay bars and nightclubs. I just need to be old enough to get in.”

“I could try to get you a fake ID.” Doug settled back into his chair and frowned. “If you really wanted me to, I’d even go with you the first time.”

“Only if you’ve got two broken arms first, so you can’t flatten someone who makes a move on you.” Liam grinned. “Thanks for the offers, but I’ll pass.”

“Hey, I’m not that bad!” Doug paused. “Well...maybe I am, but I’d hold back if it made things easier for you.”

“I know you would, but there’s no need to put yourself through that. I’ll be fine.”

“Have you met any other gay guys so far?”

“Only online.” Liam shrugged. “I need to be cautious. There are still enough homophobes out there that seeing someone you’ve only met on the Internet is scary. Just because they claim to be seventeen or eighteen, that doesn’t mean they are or that they aren’t some arsehole pretending to be gay so they can lure a sucker into a trap.”

“Gee, you’re paranoid. People don’t really do that stuff.” Liam didn’t respond for a couple of seconds, making Doug lean forward in his chair. “They don’t...do they?”

Liam’s tone was soft. “No, Doug, most of the time it’ll be fine, but it only takes one...”

“Shit! That’s it. The first time you meet someone, I’m there. In the background if needed, but you’re not meeting anyone without me.”

“Thanks, Doug. You’re a mate.” Liam grinned. “Actually, I was thinking of meeting someone on Thursday. Are you free?”

Doug picked up a cushion from the back of the chair and threw it at Liam. “You little shit! You’ve been joking about the danger just to suck me in!”

Liam parried the missile, his grin slipping away as he did so. “No, I wasn’t. However, this one’s safe. I’ve found out where Jim Henderson works, and I thought I’d go there and say hello. Find out if he got my letter and whether he’ll be able to visit the school this year.”

“Just because he’s a public figure, that doesn’t mean he can’t be a creep.”

“True, but this is going be out in public. I’m not interested in going anywhere private with him, so I won’t have anything to worry about.”

“He’s not your type?”

Liam shrugged. “He might be, but he’s got a boyfriend. I’m not going to try to steal him away, and I don’t want my first time to be a one-night stand.”

“Your first time? You’re a virgin?”

Liam grimaced. “With guys, yes.” He glared at Doug. “And unless you’re volunteering to fix that, you keep your trap shut. I only told you because I trust you.”

Doug grinned as he held up his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, and I’m not volunteering. That’d be taking friendship a little too far for me.” He stared thoughtfully for a moment. “Thursday, it is. Where are we going?”

“Lilydale, to a shop called O’Grady Sports.”

* * *

Jim was taking advantage of a rainy late Wednesday morning to show Neil how to handle orders for items they don’t have in stock when his phone rang. He frowned as he pulled it out of his pocket, grinned at the name displayed, and answer the call. “Tony!”

Jim noticed Neil turn away, giving him a modicum of privacy. Jim enhanced that by taking a step away.

“G’day, Jim. Sorry to ring you at work, but something’s cropped up.”

“It’s okay. Things are quiet here at the moment.” Jim frowned. “What’s happened?”

“We’ve had a reporter ring here asking for you. They want to ask you some questions about a press conference that’s happening this afternoon.”

“Just a sec.” Jim turned to Mr. O’Grady. “Do you mind if I take lunch early today? There’s something going on at the club.”

Mr. O’Grady waved a hand to dismiss him. “Neil and I will look after things until you’re back. Let me know if you’re going to be late.”

“Thank you!” Jim put the phone back to his ear as he headed to the back of the store where his car was parked. “I’m heading off to see you now. I won’t be long.”

“Wait! You don’t have to come in. You can do the interview over the phone. I’ll give you the reporter’s number, though I’d advise against using your own phone for the call unless you want the media to have a direct number for you. Either that, or set your phone up so your number stays private.”

Jim frowned as he changed direction to the staff room. He had a feeling he’d need to be sitting down. “What’s it all about?”

“Later today, the heads of Cricket Australia, the AFL, rugby league, rugby union, and Australian soccer will be sitting down to sign a commitment to eliminate homophobia from their sports. Someone from the federal government is supposed to be there, too, to get behind the deal. The reporter wants some comments from you for a newspaper article to appear in tomorrow’s paper.”

“No. Fucking. Way!” Jim cringed and glanced around to make sure Mr. O’Grady wasn’t near enough to hear him swear.

“Yes, fucking way!” Jim could hear the excitement in Tony’s voice. “It’s to do with the Bingham Cup that’s going to be held in Sydney in August this year.”

“The what cup?” The name sounded familiar, but Jim couldn’t recall from where.

“The Bingham Cup. It’s the world cup of gay rugby. There’s going to be teams from all around the world in Sydney at the end of August, and this new commitment is to have anti-homophobia policies and whatever changes necessary in place in all of Australia’s major professional sports by the time of the cup.”

“That’s fantastic. I...I don’t know what to say!”

“I know! I haven’t stopped grinning since I heard about it. Give it some thought and then ring the reporter. You need to call him before three. I suggest you make some quick notes of what you want to say so you don’t forget anything. They’ll only use what they want, so don’t expect everything you say will be printed, but if you can say something short and clear, it’ll have a better chance of making the paper tomorrow. I’ll also send you a copy of the press release so you’ll know as much as I do about what’s going on.”

After Jim hung up the phone, he sat there in the staff room, his mind going in multiple directions at once. He scowled and forced his thoughts into more productive routes as the phone beeped, indicating the arrival of an email from Tony. He needed to prepare a statement to give to the reporter.

* * *

“I hate you, Dad.” Ty kicked the locker containing his gear. He’d had a frustrating night with barely any touches of the football. He had wondered what was going on when Julie had informed him that Jim would tag him throughout training, but that had quickly turned to anger when he found himself being outplayed by his mentor. With the rain coming down all night, the end result was that Ty was covered in mud from head to toe. The only consolation for Ty was that Jim wasn’t much better.

Jim chuckled. “Did you hear Julie tell you that it’ll be your turn to do the same to me on Friday?”

Ty jabbed a finger in Jim’s direction. “I’ve got two days to work out how to make Friday hell for you. Don’t think I’m not going to try.”

They were interrupted by another voice. “You’re going to do more than try, Ty. You’re going to do you damned best to succeed.”

Ty spun around to see Julie standing there, fists on hips. “Oh...Julie...I didn’t know you were there.” She usually didn’t hang around in the change room after training.

“Make it a quick shower, Ty. Don’t forget we’ve got a team meeting tonight. It should be...interesting.” She smirked.

Ty narrowed his eyes. “What’s it about?”

Her smirk got wider. “You’ll find out shortly. Now, get moving before I send you out in the rain to run laps.” She turned her attention to Jim. “You, too. This is one meeting you don’t want to miss.” She frowned as she scanned the room. “Dave! Grab your gear and come with me. Peter wants a word before the meeting starts.”

Ty and Jim exchanged glances as Julie marched off, Dave in tow, both puzzled by her comments.

“Come on, brat. Julie’s got me intrigued.”

“She’s got me worried. I’ve always said she’s a bitch, and I don’t see any reason to change my mind.”

Jim frowned at Ty, who rolled his eyes. “She’s also a bloody good coach, Dad, and I respect her. That doesn’t mean I can’t see that things have to be done her way or else.”

Jim laughed. “You’re still mad at her because of the ploy Peter pulled with Julie’s boyfriend earlier in the year. That was Peter’s idea, not hers, so don’t blame her for it.”

“It was her boyfriend!” Ty grimaced as he recalled the incident. It had been an extra training session that had been called due to a general lack of fitness. They were running laps around the Lilydale Lake, and Aaron, Julie’s boyfriend, had joined in. After the first lap. Aaron had sped up, and Ty was one of three players who sped up with him, forgetting Peter’s instruction that it wasn’t a race. It turned out afterwards that Peter had asked Aaron to do what he’d done to see who couldn’t resist the challenge. As Ty worked out afterwards, it was a lesson in not letting the opposition dictate his actions.

“Then blame him, not her.”

“He’s not here; otherwise I would.” Ty scowled. “Yeah, I know I’m not being fair, but after the way you treated me all training, I’m not in the mood to be fair.”

Jim chuckled. “Brat.”

“And don’t you forget it!”

Fifteen minutes later, they were in the small room the team used on Friday nights to hold their strategy meeting for the weekend’s game. Peter, Will, and Julie were up the front of the room, while the team was seated in a rough, two-deep U shape before them. Ty’s eyes narrowed when he noticed Dave sitting at one end by himself. He was clean and in fresh clothes, even though he hadn’t returned to the change room after Julie had led him away.

Peter’s gaze swept the room. “First up, for those who didn’t catch the news before coming to training, there was a major event this afternoon that impacts on us.” He smiled and nodded towards Jim. “Mainly Dad. The heads of all four major football codes in Australia, plus the head of Cricket Australia, have signed a commitment to eliminate homophobia in their sports. The AFL already has anti-homophobia policies in place, but there’s now a commitment from the top to push through, and there may be more policies coming out over the coming months. It’s not going to happen overnight, but it looks like the league is going to take the issue seriously and stamp out homophobia.”

Amongst the general enthusiasm and yelling, Ty thumped Jim on the back. “Great news, Dad!”

Jim grinned. “The absolute best, brat. You can’t imagine what this is going to mean to lots of kids.”

Ty rolled his eyes. “Let’s not get carried away. The absolute best news is getting drafted.” He punched Jim lightly in the arm. “This is up there, though.”

When the noise in the room settled down, Peter smiled again. “I’ve also heard that someone in the team has already been interviewed about the announcement. We’ll find out in tomorrow’s papers if he said anything worth printing.”

There was a ripple of laughter around the room as everyone’s attention turned to Jim.

“Dad!” Ty shook his head while grinning at his friend. “Why didn’t you say something?”

Jim shrugged his shoulders, looking sheepish. “Tony rang me at lunchtime to tell me a reporter was looking for a comment from me. I didn’t want to make a big deal about it.”

“Guys, settle down.” Peter’s expression was serious as his gaze swept the room. Once quiet was restored, he continued. “The coaching staff have been discussing another matter this week, and after consulting with Roger,” Peter nodded towards the team captain, “we’ve decided to do something about it.”

Ty, along with most of the team, glanced at Roger before returning his attention to Peter.

“Roger has been the captain of the Leopards for the last three seasons and hopefully will continue to do so for several more years. However, it’s time he had someone to help him, to start learning the ropes in case something happens and he’s unable to continue in that role. I know we haven’t had a vice-captain since the end of 2012, but it’s time. Tonight’s meeting is for you guys to vote on who you want in that position.”

“You’re not giving us much time to think about it.” Greg Chambers glanced around the room. “It needs someone with a particular set of skills, and they’re not common. I know; I had the job three years ago, and it nearly killed me. My form dropped off because of all the extra distractions. I definitely don’t want to go there again.”

Peter smiled. “You’re right, Greg. It’s not for everyone. However, the coaching staff believe we have someone in the team who can do the job, and that’s why we’re discussing this now. If the team wants more time to think about it, we’ll delay the vote to either Friday or sometime next week, but we’re confident it’ll be decided tonight.”

Zach frowned. “Who? Not me, I hope!”

Roger chuckled. “Are you sure you don’t want the job, Zach?”

“No fucking way! I’m not a leader. I’m a follower. In both senses of the word.” A chuckle ran through the room. Zach was the team’s primary ruckman, a position that is part of a specialised group known as ‛followers’ or ‛onballers’ because of their role in following the ball around the ground instead of having particular zones to concentrate on as is the case with the forwards, midfielders, and defenders.

“Then who?” Ty asked, glancing around the room. He saw a number of players staring in his and Jim’s direction. He turned to his housemate. “Dad?”

Jim looked uncertain. “I don’t think so.”

Roger stepped forward to attract attention. “I’m thinking of someone who already well-respected, that everyone listens to when he expresses an opinion. Someone who turned morale around on the bus trip back from Geelong when everyone was despondent. Someone who’d had enough and kicked everyone back up onto their feet. Someone with more football skills than seems fair in one person.” Roger grinned and stuck up an arm. “Hands up if you want to vote for the brat as vice-captain.”

To choruses of “Fuck, yeah!”, “Too bloody right!”, and “Ty! Ty! Ty!”, everyone in the team put up an arm.

Ty’s mouth dropped open as he stared at all the grinning faces looking at him. He glanced at Jim who smiled and nodded his head. “Congratulations, brat. You’ve got a new job.”