"He's not quitting football," he said, staring her down, breathing hard. It was as if he thought he could breathe some sense into her. His wife rarely let anyone talk her out of anything, unless she knew she had no choice.
"Oh? And you plan on stopping him?" She stared back at him, not intimidated.
"Yes. He's my son. If I tell him I won't let him, he won't do it! We cannot let him be a quitter, or he will learn that's okay!" He was devastated, but he didn't want to let her know how much it meant to him. They had two older sons, both of whom were currently playing football in college. They had been his prides and joy, and he was determined that his youngest son would make him proud as well. He was the most talented of the three, and had the most potential to make it pro.
"And you honestly think that he would be okay with that? He might continue to play, but he would resent you. Hard core. Is that really worth it to you? He doesn't want football for his life. That's just the way it is. Besides, I've seen him act. He's great at it! The best thing was do for his is encourage him in what he wants to do.If we want him to keep talking to us at least...."
"My goal is NOT to make him want to talk to me! It's to make sure he has a future!," he interrupted. He was getting mad now. Partially because she clearly was not going to back down and partially because he knew she was right and he did not want to admit it. He had pinned a lot of dreams and hopes on Raul, put a lot of hours in with him, sweated and bled with him. For what? What was it all for if he dropped out of football? He could not help but feel let down. His wife recognized that, he could tell. It was annoying, how she knew just what he was thinking all the time. They'd been married for 26 years. That is what happened when you had been married that long. But, it still annoyed him.
"He won't have a future with acting?" She paused, waiting for a reaction from him, but he just glared at her, eyes looking through her rather than at her. "Baby, he is not doing this to punish you." She shrugged, and moved closer to him. "This is what he wants. I know you're disappointed. I am too, honestly. I had hopes that this would be his future. Maybe he could have bought us a house in the Bahamas." She smiled at him, letting him know she was joking. He smiled back, sheepishly. She shrugged again. "It's clearly just not in the clouds for him. We might have a little grieving to do about it, and that's okay. This is life. His life. Haven't you seen him act? He's amazing at it!"
He looked at her, arms crossed, wall back up for a time. Finally we said, "We shall see." He turned around and walked out of the tack room. She smiled, shook her head, and went back to sweeping it out.
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