In Riley’s Arms: Part 1

“Jon, who’s the chick?” I gave my older brother the same look I had given him before we even left the house.

Before I could tell him, once again, that he could have left me at home, he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and looked to the guy who’d asked the question. “This is my sister Holly. She’s going to be hanging out with us, and everyone will be nice to her, got it?”

“I will personally make sure of that.” Riley, Jon’s best friend, stood on my other side. Whereas Jon was somewhat lanky and nonthreatening, Riley was rather nicely built, though still somewhat in his awkward stage at fifteen.

The rest of the guys, five total, were in front of us, all eyes on me. “What are we going to do with a nine year old?”

“We’re going to do the same thing with my twelve year old sister that we were going to do before you all knew she was coming. We’re going down to the beach.” His grip about my shoulder tightened a bit and he gave me a reassuring smile. “Come on.” We all walked off together, working our way down the mile of neighborhood to the “beach” at the edge of our community.

It was their volleyball day. They went every Tuesday during the summer months for a bit of a two-on-two sand volleyball tournament. This particular day, Jon decided not to leave me home by myself and instead take me along to hang out with him and his friends. I continually insisted they wouldn’t want me hanging around, but Riley eventually was the one who convinced me that everything would be alright. “How are we splitting up the teams? There’s an odd number of us.”

When we got to the beach, I sat down a bit away from them at the edge of the sand. “Odd number?” Jon questioned, looking at yet another guy in the group. “I see eight.”

“Come on, man. I get you’re playing nice big brother, but you can’t expect one of us to play on your sister’s team.” Instantly, I felt silly. I shouldn’t have come. It was so obvious that they did not want me there, and even more obvious that I didn’t belong. They saw me as an intruder on their ‘guy time’, and that’s what I was.

“Like I’d let any of you get this beast of a player to yourself.” Riley walked over and plopped himself next to me. “She’s on my team.”

“You don’t have to, Riley.” I whispered to him, appreciating him trying to come to my rescue, but still feeling embarrassed and out of place. “I don’t mind sitting here.”

He slung an arm around my shoulder, giving me a playful smile. “You’re on my team, punk, whether you like it or not.” He stood up and offered me his hand, pulling me toward him. “Now get up, and let’s play!” Riley didn’t baby me. He didn’t jump in front of me to get the ball or make me feel bad if I messed up. In fact, he never stopped smiling. I got a high five every time we scored a point (even if I didn’t contribute) and a huge, crushing bear hug after the games we won. Jon made sure I was welcome among his friends, but Riley made sure I felt welcomed.

When all of the rounds were done everyone was sweaty and good natured. Riley and I finished in third place, a fact that both upset and comforted some of the other guys: this team with the little girl had beat them, but this little girl wasn’t entirely useless. To celebrate the end of the ‘tournament’ for this week, the boys stripped down to their boxers and jumped into the lake.

“Sorry, Holly.” My brother gave me a sympathetic look as he tossed his clothes away from the water. “I forgot to tell you to bring something to swim in, and I definitely don’t want you out in your underwear. If you want to jump in in your clothes, that’s fine, but you’ll be cold walking home. You want me to hang out with you in the shallow parts?”

The tone was genuine, but his expression wasn’t as much so. He was willing to stay with me, and he would do it without complaint, but hoping I wouldn’t ask him to. I wasn’t the best swimmer, and hanging out with me would mean only being in water that went up to my chest. “Don’t worry, Jon. I don’t want to swim anyway. Go.” He smiled, somewhat relieved, and gave me a quick hug before running out to join his friends.

I stood watching for a moment, again feeling left out but knowing it was better this way.