The Soccer Star's Forgotten Wife novel · Chapter 10 of 32

Chapter 10: Minute Nine

"Never does what?" Junie said.

"Kicks the ball away," I said. "It's a free yellow. It's the stupidest card in soccer."

"Then why did he do it?"

"I don't know."

Cody was watching me, not the TV.

"Junie," he said. "Bed."

"It's not even halftime."

"Bed, and you can take the stopwatch."

She went, complaining all the way up the stairs.

When her door closed, Cody turned the TV off.

"Talk," he said.

"Can I use your laptop?"

He got it from the kitchen.

I sat on the floor with my back against his couch and pulled up the league's match archive.

Every Front Range game for two seasons, full replays, free for anybody with a password.

Cody sat down on the floor beside me.

He'd put his reading glasses on without noticing.

"What are we looking for?"

"Every yellow Dex has taken."

It didn't take long.

Dex was a clean player.

I'd made him one.

Last season and this one, he'd been booked eight times.

I wrote them on the back of one of Junie's math worksheets.

Minute seven, shirt pull, away at Portland.

Minute twelve, dissent, home.

Minute nine, a dive in the box, away at Kansas City.

Minute eleven, kicking out at a defender.

Minute fourteen, dissent again.

Minute six, a late tackle he never makes.

Minute ten, delaying a free kick.

And tonight, minute nine.

"All eight before fifteen minutes," Cody said.

He said it in his teacher voice, the one he used for offside.

"Every one of them," I said. "Look at the offenses."

"Stupid ones."

"Stupid ones. Dissent. Dives. Kicking it away. He doesn't do those, Cody. I'd have killed him. I used to make him watch his own bookings in slow motion while I ate popcorn."

"That sounds like a healthy marriage."

"It was the healthiest part of it."

He almost smiled.

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