Chicago (a Friday Night Lights fanfiction)

Young

Matt had arrived back at his grandma's house by the time Julie called. "So I hear it didn't go well."

"Oh, no. Did he yell at you?"

"No, not at me, but he yelled at my mom."

"I'm sorry." Matt wished he could have talked to Mrs. Taylor first; it would have gone better. "Is she mad?"

"No." Julie paused a moment. "I think she's sad, and disappointed, and a little bit happy. She wants to take us out to dinner."

"Like, a celebratory dinner? Or like a yelling-at-us dinner?"

She laughed. "More like a telling-us-how-young-we-are dinner."

"Oh. I kind of think we know that."

"Yeah, but they don't think so. Just ... be here tonight, seven sharp, and be prepared to be mature."

"I'll do my best." Hanging up the phone, Matt looked thoughtfully at his grandmother. She had been happy for them; she was still happy for them, when she remembered. But was that because she was drifting away from the real world, or was that because she had greater faith in him, or was that because his grandma had always taken life for what it was, rather than trying to make it something else? There was a lot to be said for that. His grandma had always lived in little Dillon, Texas, sure, and a lot of bad things had happened to her, but she'd had a happy life, for all of that.

Matt showed up at Julie's door and was let into the house by Mrs. Taylor, who clearly seemed upset but made the effort to smile at him and welcome him into the house. Coach Taylor had that white line around his mouth that said he was holding back what he wanted to say. Julie looked at Matt apologetically, and he took her hand, holding it tightly, remembering that somewhere out there was Chicago, and his own apartment, and a whole life that was only his.

He stayed quiet, as did Coach, on the way to the restaurant, letting Julie and Mrs. Taylor carry the conversation. They ordered and ate, making awkward small talk while picking at the food that none of them seemed to have much of an appetite for. Finally the server cleared the table, after which Julie's mom leaned across the table. "So, we wanted to bring you all out to dinner to talk to you about this choice you're making. I know that it seems exciting now to be getting engaged and thinking about a life together, but ... I also know that y'all are so young, and ... well ..." She glanced at Coach, who was sipping steadily on his drink and not looking at any of them. "We just don't want you to rush into anything 'cause you don't need to."

"Right," Julie agreed, "and we're not rushing into anything. It's not like we're getting married tomorrow. And you guys were our age when you got married."

"That was a different time," Coach said.

"Well, and we were a little bit older," Mrs. Taylor added.

"You were still in college—"

"It was a different time," Coach insisted again.

Matt didn't really care what Julie's parents had done, or what the time had been like, or what it was like now. None of that mattered. "It's just—" He waited until they all looked at him. "I love your daughter. I love Julie, and I want to marry her. That's it."

Coach stared at him across the table. "Maybe you don't understand exactly what I'm saying, Matt. Marriage requires maturity. Marriage requires two people who, for the rest of their lives, are willing to listen, to really listen to each other. And that marriage requires the greatest of all things, which is compromise."

Mrs. Taylor looked away from him. Her face was pale, and it almost seemed like she was about to cry. Matt looked at Julie, who shook her head just slightly before looking back at her father. "We're willing to make it work."

"Yeah," Matt agreed.

Julie glanced between her parents. "Look at you guys. You guys were married when you were our age. How many different jobs have you had? How many times have you moved? And how many difficult things have you gone through? And you guys have made it work. So, uh ..." She trailed off, as her parents looked at each other. "You guys are my inspiration."

Mrs. Taylor got up from the table at that point, excusing herself, leaving them all at the table in silence. While she was gone, Coach paid the check, glaring at Matt when he offered to contribute, and when Mrs. Taylor got back, they all got up and left the restaurant, still in silence.

Julie walked Matt to his car after they got back to her house. "So, uh ... what got decided there?" he asked her.

"What got decided is that I love you, and I want to marry you, and they can get over themselves," she said firmly, wrapping her arms around his waist and lifting her face for a kiss.

"Julie," Coach called from the door.

"Yeah, be right there, Dad." She kissed Matt anyway, taking her time about it. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Hey. Don't worry. They like you, they really do. They'll come around."

Matt hoped so, he really did, but he had a hard time imagining what that would be like.