Home Field Advantage by Janice Kay Johnson Read Free Book Online Page A

kind
shows him moving and talking."
    Anna looked doubtful, but
stuck her thumb back in her mouth and continued to stare at the screen, where
the two men tossed jargon back and forth. Their greatest interest seemed to be
in pass rushes and sacks. Marian had a suspicion it wasn't brown paper ones
they were talking about.
    Eventually the other
broadcaster leaned toward Emma's father. "Okay, John, it's time to put you
on the spot. What's going to triumph today? The flashy passing attack of the
L.A. Rams, or the powerful defense of the Washington Redskins?"
    John directed a crooked smile
at the camera and began to answer. The lazy humor in his eyes made Marian's
heart do a peculiar dance. She felt as though he were looking only at her.
    "A million other people
feel the same way," she muttered.
    Emma bounced on the couch
beside her. "What, Marian?"
    "Nothing." Marian
blinked. A commercial was galloping raucously across the screen. "What did
he say? Did you hear?"
    "I think he said he was
prejudiced. What's that mean?"
    "That he wants the team
he used to play for to win. It was L.A., wasn't it?"
    "Um hm." Emma gave
an additional bounce. "Can we go ride Snowball now?"
    Marian gave her a startled
look. "I thought you wanted to watch your dad?"
    She shrugged. "I've seen
him. I don't want to watch football."
    Marian wondered if Emma said
the word in quite that disgusted way around her father. If so, it would keep
him humble. Except, Marian remembered, that Emma had sounded proud because her
father was famous.
    "I wouldn't mind
watching for a while," Marian said. "I'd be embarrassed to tell your
father we'd turned him off before the game even started. Can you guys color for
a while?"
    "I guess." Emma
flounced off the couch and headed for the table. "C'mon. Let's make a TV
show. We can color the pictures and then tape 'em up and make a story. What do
you want to do, My Little Pony?"
    Grateful for Emma's
bossiness, which resulted in all three children settling happily at the
dining-room table, Marian soon found herself drawn into the game, despite her
ignorance. There was something compelling about the sweating, grunting,
slamming bodies on the television screen. She especially liked the long, high,
arcing passes that were apparently called "bombs."
    At half-time she hustled the
kids out for one of the fastest pony rides in history. Even Snowball looked
startled when she surprised him into a fast trot with Emma flopping around on
his broad back like a loosely tied bundle of sticks.
    "Ride again?" Jesse
asked as his mom hurried them back into the house.
    "I want to see the rest
of the game," Marian said. "Later we can ride again."
    "I thought you didn't
like football," Emma protested.
    "I guess I'd never
watched it before. It's interesting."
    It didn't hurt, of course,
that the camera flashed from time to time into the broadcast booth, showing
John with headphones on, watching the game with an intensity that shouldn't
have surprised Marian, considering his success at the sport. There was no question
who was the authority, as he made crisp, unexpected analyses, spiced with an
occasional dash of humor. Marian had to ask herself whether it was the game
itself that interested her, or the man commenting on it. But how could she
separate the two?
    In the final seconds L.A. had
a chance to kick a field goal for the victory. Marian found herself on her
feet, breathless as she watched the ball spiral toward the uprights, at the end
barely clearing the bar.
    "How come you're
screaming?" Emma asked with interest. "Did someone die or
something?" She stared avidly at the TV, while Jesse and Anna stared at
Marian.
    Feeling foolish, Marian shut
her mouth. "No, uh, I just got excited. Your dad's team won."
    "But Daddy doesn't play
anymore."
    Thank God, Marian thought,
picturing the way the behemoths on the other team had swarmed over the young
quarterback, who had looked frail in comparison. Although the quarterback
hadn't been hurt today, Marian couldn't