First and Ten Read Online Free PDF Page A

completely off guard. It was a bizarre feeling, like looking into a mirror. The man was tall, about six-foot-four, and thin—not rakishly thin, but athletically slim. He had brown eyes and wavy brown hair. The only thing radically different between he and Matt, besides age, was that his nose was larger and much more pointed. Matt had the round small nose of his mother.
    â€œHello, Matt,” the man said, clearly nervous himself. “It’s been a long time.”
    A long time? Matt felt as though he had never ever met this man. They might look alike but they had nothing in common. Matt couldn’t remember having done a single thing with his father. The anger and frustration built up over ten years was welling up inside him again.
    The man stretched out a large right hand with long slender fingers. Matt responded, shaking his father’s hand. The ritual felt stilted, unnatural.
    â€œYour mom tells me that you’re quite an athlete,” the man said. “I loved sports myself when I was a kid.”
    Matt nodded. He didn’t know what to say. His voice seemed lost in the moment. He wanted to talk to his dad, to ask him questions, especially about why he had never bothered to show up or contact him until now. But he couldn’t get anything out.
    â€œI’ve actually been to a couple of your football practices,” the visitor said. “You’ve got good hands.”
    â€œYou were at my practices?” Matt asked incredulously. “Why?”
    â€œI just wanted to see you, Matt,” he said. “I thought it would be too much of a shock to just introduce myself to you, especially at a football practice. This afternoon, I was just coming here to talk to your mother, to figure out what would be the best way to meet you. I didn’t realize you’d be coming home so soon. We both thought you would still be practicing. I’m sorry it happened like this.
    â€œI’ve been out of the country for almost ten years, working in Saudi Arabia as an aircraft mechanic,” he continued, now rushing his words. “But I’m back now and I guess it’s about time we met.”
    Matt was confused. How should he feel about this? Happy to have a dad, finally? Or angry that his dad didn’t care enough to even send a birthday card for the last ten years? There wasn’t an easy answer here. He stared at his father. Nobody said a word. The silence was uncomfortable.
    â€œListen,” his father finally said. “I’ve got to go now. I didn’t expect you to be home. But I’m glad you were here. It’s great to see you, son.”
    Son? The word felt false and awkward to Matt’s ears.
    â€œCan I take you out for lunch tomorrow?” the man asked, hopefully. “I could pick you up and we could go somewhere, catch up a little.”
    Matt wasn’t sure. He looked at his mother, who had been silent. Then he looked back at the visitor.
    â€œI usually play basketball on Saturday mornings,” he said slowly. “ But I guess I could, after that.”
    â€œHow about one o’clock, then?” the man said. “I’ll pick you up here.”
    Matt glanced at his mother again. She simply shrugged her shoulders and arched her eyebrows. “It’s completely up to you, Matt,” she said.
    â€œI guess so,” he said, shaking his father’s hand again.
    â€œGreat! I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    With that, the man turned, said a quick good-bye to Matt’s mom, rounded the corner into the hallway, opened the screen door and walked down the front sidewalk. Matt watched out the living room window as the lanky figure eased into the front seat of the dark suv and began to back up out of the driveway. He noticed Matt looking and waved. Matt slowly brought up his hand to return the gesture.
    He turned to his mom, shaking his head. “That was too weird,” Matt declared.
    Mom was sitting on the couch, a serious