Chapter 19
Caleb
What a week it had been. The impossible had happened. Love happened. Caleb had traveled to Chicago where he met a woman and fell in love with her. Meeting Lila had sent him reeling. It had changed his life. He knew things were going to be different moving forward.
Caleb traveled back home to California, he had been sick, and he had encountered the whole thing with Bailey. Now he was going back to Chicago on a moment's notice. He had barely recovered physically, and there he was, on another plane.
His life felt a bit like a dream lately. But his heart was speaking to him loud and clear and it was saying that he should be near Lila Decker.
Caleb called Marcus before he left L.A. and told him he was coming back to Chicago. He said he would stay somewhere else since they weren't expecting company again so soon, but Sasha was there and she insisted, saying that Kevin loved having him around. She and Marcus both said nice things about loving his influence on the whole family. He knew they had the room to put him up without being a bother, so he agreed and thanked them. He told them he'd be there sometime late that night and that he would sneak into his room and see everyone in the morning.
Caleb got a seat on the same flight as Lila, but it happened at the last minute, and the flight was packed, so they couldn't sit next to each other.
It was 6:30pm in Chicago when they arrived there. Lila got off the plane first and waited for him at the gate. Her SUV was parked at the airport, and they decided to ride together. Caleb knew that Marcus could have a rental dropped off at his house the following day, so he agreed to ride with Lila for the evening.
She threw him the keys and told him where to go. He didn't hesitate to get in the driver's seat of her SUV. Caleb knew that she would lead him to her parents' house. She had told him that they would go there so that he could meet her parents and eat dinner. It took them over a half-hour to get there, and they talked the whole time, recounting individual experiences from the flight.
They pulled into her parents' driveway, and Lila changed the subject abruptly. "Oh, good, they made it! I'm sorry. I forgot to even check my phone. I also forgot to tell you…"
"Tell me what?" Caleb asked.
"My brothers. I talked to Mom earlier and told her to call a family meeting, but I didn't know how seriously they'd take me. Dom had to drive from Milwaukee, so I wasn't sure if he… I wonder if Marley came with him. I should've told you I did this," she said, holding his hand. "I honestly forgot I mentioned it to Mom until just now when I saw their trucks."
"Your brothers are here?" he asked.
"Yes. It looks like everyone's here. I wanted them to all meet you. I asked Mom right when you said you were coming. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Are you okay with it?"
"Meeting them? Yes, I want to meet them. This is great."
"Really? I'm sorry if you're tired."
"No, I want to meet your family," he said.
It was true. He was happy that she wanted him to be a part of things enough to call them. He was also happy that they had shown up. He wondered what she would say to them and how they would react. Caleb had to assume she was going to say something to define their relationship, but he didn't ask.
He parked on the side of her brother's truck, and they got out, leaving their things in the vehicle. He followed her inside and within a minute, they had entered Eddie Decker's living room. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at them. It was all five of them… EJ, Dominic, Marley, Caroline, and Eddie. They were all in the living room, sitting around with music playing in the background. It was something old—something with soul. It wasn't loud enough to interfere with the conversation, but Caleb noticed it because it got otherwise silent when he and Lila came inside.
"Hello, everyone!" Lila said since her family all looked that way. "Thank you for coming over. I forgot I called a family meeting, but I'm so glad you're all here because I wanted you to meet Caleb. I don't know how long he's going to be able to stay this time, so I wanted you to come over so I could introduce you all. This is Caleb Caldwell. EJ met him. And Dad has before. He's good friends with Marcus Reyes."
Caleb held his breath, wondering how they would respond to the introduction, but her family wasn't awkward about it at all. They all came forward and greeted Caleb and Lila the instant she finished talking. Caleb got sincere handshakes from her brothers and Eddie, and then Caroline and Marley both hugged him. It was a warm welcome with no further explanation needed.
They didn't act surprised or stiff or have any pretenses. They just went to joking around and talking—including Caleb in the conversation and asking him lighthearted questions. They ate together and then they played a round of a game where you had to get your team to guess the clue by using either charades or drawing. Caleb found himself in a few situations where he could make a good joke, and it was well received by her family. They were kind and easy to be around.
The twins, Dom and EJ, left at the same time, and by 8:30 it was just Caleb, Lila, and her parents. There had been no hand-holding or any other type of PDA in front of her family, but Caleb thought they knew he was interested in having a relationship with her. It all seemed too easy for that, though. They had been quick to accept him and Caleb couldn't help but think that it might be too good to be true—it might be too easy.
Caroline called Lila into the bedroom to talk to her, and the first thing Eddie Decker said was, "I'm glad we have a moment alone because I wanted to talk with you man-to-man."
Caleb's heart dropped. He braced himself.
"Yes sir," Caleb said, trying not to sound nervous. There was no music. They had turned it off when they were playing the game. Caleb swallowed hard and waited for Eddie to speak.
"I love my daughter with all my heart. She's my only little girl. For her whole life, I've joked about her becoming a nun and no guy ever being good enough for her."
Caleb was tempted to reply with, "Yes, sir I know I'm not good enough for your daughter, sir. All I know is that I will do my best." All that stuff was on the tip of his tongue, but he just stood there, looking at Eddie and letting him finish what he wanted to say.
"We were talking about this before you came over here tonight. We knew you were coming, and we knew Lila was interested in you. She had been in touch and told her mom enough that we knew what her intentions were at this family meeting. Needless to say, all of us did our research on you. All three of us, Dom, EJ, and myself… we had all watched your videos. My wife, too. I think I've watched the most of us all. I think I might have seen them all."
"That's so nice of you," Caleb said, thinking about how many videos he must've watched.
"Me and the twins were fully prepared to threaten whatever man Lila brought over here, and all of us were stunned that we had nothing bad to say about you. We laughed about it earlier. We were just like… 'welp, I guess we like him'."
Caleb felt humbled and he stared downward. "That's so nice of you to say, Mr. Decker. I think your daughter is amazing."
Eddie put his big, football-catching hand on Caleb's shoulder, gripping him. Caleb looked at him, their dark eyes locked on each other.
"I feel like everything I need to know about you I can know by watching those videos. The way you seek God, young man, it's different. You're wise. The way you represent God in your life and how you're so knowledgeable about scripture. I feel like I look up to you in that way. With those things in order, there's just nothing else I can ask for. If my daughter isn't going to be a nun, I think the next best thing is to be with somebody who's… like you."
"Thank you, Mr. Decker."
"Eddie, please. And it's true. My boys were saying the same thing. We're really picky about Lila's boyfriends… and because of where you stand with God… I feel like there's just nothing we can say against you."
He paused, and Caleb knew he needed to respond. "Well, I'm humbled by that."
Eddie patted Caleb's shoulder. "There is one other thing, too. I don't know how to bring this up other than to just say it." He took a deep, heavy sigh. "I saw that video where you talk about your childhood and your father and everything—your upbringing."
Caleb braced himself, hoping this wasn't taking a turn for the worse. He imagined this coming down to a moment where Eddie said he respected him as a man but that their families were too different. Caleb felt nervous in those seconds as he waited for him to get to the point.
"I wanted to tell you… I don't know how to say this. As I was just saying, I think my daughter likes you. I think that's why we're all here tonight. And I-I hope I say this the right way so you don't get offended. Look, I know things with you and Lila are new. But what I want to say is that, aside from your relationship with her… I'm sure by now you've probably made good friends in your life, and maybe you don't need this offer. I know you have your brother and everything, but I wanted to say that I've been a father for decades. I've been a coach and mentor for years, too. I know in some ways, you probably have it more together than me because you seem so wise… but I just wanted you to know… regardless of what happens with you and Lila. I'm a pretty good person to call, in general, with dad questions, and I… I guess what I'm saying is that if you ever need to call someone in that capacity, I’m here."
Eddie was fumbling his words, and he reached out to hug Caleb. It was a type of sincerity that couldn't be misunderstood. Caleb felt his eyes start to sting, and he blinked.
"I'm sorry you got left when you were young. I wanted to let you know that I'm just a phone call away if you ever have any dad questions. I know there's YouTube, but you know, sometimes it's nice to call a human. Sometimes the boys will just call for, I don't know, advice about something silly. I know a few things about life outside of football."
Eddie Decker was being vulnerable and sincere, and it was the most heartfelt thing. At that moment, Caleb felt lighthearted and nostalgic for the Deckers and being in this house. He felt like Eddie was going to be a father to him, and not just in a friendly, charitable, way, but in the way that things were going to work out with Lila. He wasn't going to say any of that to Eddie at the moment. But he did pause to appreciate the feeling of peace and fulfillment and even purpose within the conversation.
"Thank you, Mr. Decker, for saying that."
"I mean it. Put my number in your phone, and call me anytime. Caroline's always praying for the kids. I know you have a lot of fans and support and everything, but we'll be praying for you, too."
He was being so heartfelt that Caleb had to hold back tears. He normally didn't have grown man father figure types being all sincere and warm with him. It felt a bit overwhelming. It was a feeling Caleb didn't even know he longed for, and he was moved. He looked away, stifling the urge to produce tears. Eddie Decker already loved him, and it was because of the relationship he had with Jesus. At that moment, Caleb realized that he was also right with God almighty because of his relationship with Jesus. It was the same unearned favor. He took a second to let that truth sink in, and then he turned to Eddie because he knew he needed to say something.
"Thank you. It really does mean a lot, what you're saying. The video that I recorded of my testimony, it was rehearsed, and I knew what I was going to say. So, anyway, I'm sorry if I'm a little speechless. But thank you. What you're saying means a lot. And thank you guys for having us over tonight it's been so nice meeting the family."
"How long are you staying in Chicago?"
"It's, uh, um, maybe a week? I have no return date as of now."
"Well, you're welcome to stay here if you need a place."
Caleb knew Marcus was expecting him and was happy to have him there, but it was nice to have such a warm invitation from Lila's dad.
"Thank you for that offer and for everything you said."
"I mean it. Get out your phone. I'll give you my phone number now since I'm not sure when Lila will want to take off."