Back in town

> It had been years since Francisco had been to Royal Woods.
> He picked up a good decade-long career in major leagues. Then he just fell out of love with the game.
> Coming home again he had hoped he could reconnect with some old friends. But in reality, he only wanted to see one person.
> Lynn Loud.
> And she was out of town.
> But she did have family here, even most of them were hard to get ahold he did learn one interesting tidbit about her recently.
> She had a kid.
> Word was she had a fling with some guy and he left town the moment the news broke.
> Bastard.
> But he barely knew anything about her kid. Just that her name was Lacy and she tended to spend time at the park
> Once he got there, she wasn't hard to spot.
> It was Like Lynn had shrunk and whitened her hair a bit.
> She was in the middle of playing frisbee.
> By herself.
> He felt a bit sorry for the girl until she threw the Frisbee
> Chased after it
> And jump about 3 feet in the air to catch it.
> Yep, she was Lynn's kid.
> He wasn't sure what he wanted to ask her?
> I mean he had a goal in mind but its little awkward to ask your high school crushes kid how to get a hold of them.
> Well if she's anything like her mother, I'm sure she'll appreciate the direct approach.
> He walked directly over to the chipper little girl.
> "Hi there, Are you Lacy?"
> "STRANGER DANGER!"
> Francisco choked on his own breath, clenching his now very sore balls.
> "Oh wow, I'm so sorry mister. I don't have a lot of control of my reflexes."
> "I noticed." Fran managed to squeak out.
> "Also, how did you know my name?"
> "Augh, Give me second here." He had to catch his breath for a second. "Okay. Okay... Uh yeah, I knew- I knew your mom back in middle school. I was hoping to... Holy shit..."
> "You want me to go get some ice?"
> "Nah, Nah." He sat down on his grass trying to ignore the pain. "Did she ever mention a Francisco to you?"
> "She played in San Francisco once."
> "No. I meant like a person."
> "Oh!... no."
> Well now his pride felt sore.
> "Hey mister, can I ask you a question."
> "Uh sure. What do you want to know?" She probably something about what her mom was like back in school or something or the time they spent together.
> "Are you a stalker?" Wishful thinking.
> "No! No." He just tracked down her kid so he could get information out of her.
> Upon reflection, that did sound pretty stalker-like.
> "That's good. Those guys are so creepy. Like this one, I walked into a locker room during one of my games and caught this guy sniffing her jock strap."
> "Yeah, that's pretty messed up."
> "You're not into sniffing jockstraps are you?"
> "No." Though Lynn did have a tendency to fling her jockstraps at people she liked. Often used.
> Francisco found the feeling in his legs again and Lacy led him to a water fountain to get some water. She seemed pretty nice.
> "So why do want to see my mom?"
> Augh, how to explain this to a kid?
> "I just want to see how she's doing."
> Lacy gave him a look. He wasn't sure what kind of look it was. But it was a look.
> "I uh, heard she was out of town."
> "Yeah, Mom wants to take a shot at the Olympics."
> "Going for gold huh?"
> "That's my mom."
> "So whose looking after you."
> "My da-uh Uncle. Uncle Lincoln." Oh yeah, Lincoln, Lynn's little brother. He seemed like a good kid from what he remembered.
> Probably the closest thing the girl has to a dad.
> "I'm gonna guess he isn't the most active relative you have?"
> "Well d-hmmm... He tries. He just doesn't really know how to catch... Or throw... or hold a ball... I miss mom." Yeah, he knew that feeling. Being the only real sport minded one in your family.
> "Well you know. I'm gonna be in town for a bit, so if you want someone to play ball with. I got some time." Lacy lit up at this request.
> "Really?"
> "Sure. Why not?" I mean, he didn't mind hanging out with her. She seemed like a pretty nice kid.
> Lacy was a bit of a talker, going on about her family, her mom, the different kind of sports she tried and quit a week later, Her mom, Her friends at school, Her mom, Her uncle Lincoln
> And for a nice change of topic, he mom.
> God, this girl seemed more obsessed with her then he was.
> While they were waiting at the bus stop, Fran thought since she had been so open. Maybe he should be too.
> "Lacy. Can I be honest with you?"
> "You really are a stalker?"
> "No! Look... There's a reason why I want to see your mom again."
> Man this was gonna be awkward. He could back out now, maybe makeup something to get off the topic.
> "Actually, never mind, it's not important-"
> "You're in love with her aren't you?"
> Well shit. Good job Francisco. Even 12 years old can read you like a book.
> No getting out of this now.
> "Yeah... I do."
> "Do you really care about her?"
> "Well I tracked you down just to get ahold of her. So I guess that's a yes.
> Lacy just sat there looking at her shoes. This much be a lot of process. Probably felt used.
> He was feeling like an ass.
> She got up and walked over to edge of the bus stop. Fran followed her and knelt down beside her.
> "Look. I know you might be thinking that I'm just using you to get to your mom. And I kinda was at first."
> Lacy looked him in the eye.
> "But until I do. I don't mind spending some time with you. I mean If I gonna catch up with her, I might as well get to know you too."
> She gave him a bright smile.
> "So what do you say, Lacy?"
> Francisco heard the sound of the bus coming up. Looking to see if it was the right number.
> No it was the wrong one.
> Francisco suddenly felt a strong tug on his jersey.
> "Your bus is here."
> The next thing he knew he was thrown face first into the front of the oncoming 4L Bus.
> Everything was kinda blurry after that.
> He was able to make out the crowd around him. Being drag out from under the bus.
> Not feeling anything below his waist.
> Being propped up into the ambulance, he did make out one thing.
> Right in the middle crowd he spotted a small smiling face, waving goodbye.