Forever by Jeff Holmes

close too, but they were close enough in age to get on each other’s nerves – basically since birth.
    Amy was the practical grown-up of the three Mitchell kids. She loved to have fun, but she’s the one who was constantly on Kimmy’s case about school and boys and basketball. She was also the one who was probably the hardest on Scott when everything blew up. Except for Wayne, of course.
    “How can you just throw this all away? How can you be so irresponsible?” she asked him one night. Of course at the time, he was holding her hair while she was throwing up at a party in Greeley where she came to spend the weekend with Mark.
    Amy had soft blue eyes, wavy blonde hair. Scott actually hooked the two up.
    Scott knew how proud his mom was of him for pretty much anything he’d ever done in his life. And he knew he disappointed her over the last year. But she never showed it. She worried and fussed and cried over Scott’s struggles and was happy about his relationship with Roni, even if she thought they were going too fast.
    “You two have all the time in the world,” she had told him on the phone during basic. “I want you both to be happy, but I don’t want you to rush things and get hurt.”
    Scott assured her they weren’t hurrying. Two weeks later, Donna was helping Roni plan her trip to Missouri.
    Wayne and Scott’s relationship had always been interesting. Wayne had taught and coached wrestling and football from the time Scott was six months old, back in Iowa. In 1962, Wayne was passed over to be the head wrestling coach at Delaware Valley High School in Masonville. Donna’s cousin, Gene Sweeney, was the principal at Wild Horse back then.
    Gene needed a new wrestling coach and offered Wayne the head coaching job, along with a chance to be head of the school’s math department. Scott was five at the time, Amy was three, and Kimmy was fresh out of the oven.
    Scott was a wrestler from an early age and excelled at every level. Wayne’s team won a State championship in 1967 and was runner-up in 1971. They won another championship in 1973 when Rick and Scott both qualified for State. Two years later the Stampeders finished third and right after the season, Wayne resigned to devote more time to officiating.
    Scott and Wayne loved each other, but they always seemed to be at the opposite sides of most issues. They battled over what weight Scott should go to and what car he should buy. Scott was very upset with his dad for giving up coaching. John Connel, his long-time assistant, took over and while Scott respected him, this was still his dad’s job. That’s why Scott never understood why his father wasn’t in favor of his volunteer coaching stint before he left for basic. And like his son, Wayne could be prone to impulsive comments – like their confrontation in December.
    “You just flunked out of college and lost your football scholarship,” Wayne had thundered at Scott, who was nursing a hangover. “You’re not just going to lie around here and party. Joe McCullough told me they’re hiring at the stockyards. Go out there today and apply.”
    “I’m not working at the goddamn stockyards,” Scott shot back. “I have almost $6,000 in the bank. Connel asked me to help with wrestling, and I can take classes at Limon CC. Give me some damn room.”
    “We gave you room all semester and look at what happened,” Wayne snarled. “If you’re not going to go get a job, then join the goddamn Army.”
    “FINE!” Scott said, slamming the back door as he went out. That was Dec. 22. He ended up at the recruiting office in Limon that afternoon. Eight days later, he was taking his physical in Denver, signing up as a medic and EMT, just in time to get in before President Ford ended the GI Bill on New Year’s Eve. He didn’t even tell his parents he was going to Denver – or why – until right before he left.
    When Donna asked why, Scott shrugged and said, “ ask Dad,” as he walked out the door. Even though