"Kim (not her real name) and I bonded when our sons played on the same travel basketball team. For years, we spent weekend after weekend together in loud, testosterone-filled gyms, rife with the smell of boy sweat and breakfast sandwiches. We always sat in the same place on the unforgiving bleachers, midway up in the center, and picked up our conversation from where we left off at the previous practice or game."
"And when we were out of earshot, we discussed our love lives: new relationships (hers) and divorces (mine). Kim had dated several men, but she seemed to be smitten with this latest one, a single dad and a former University of Iowa college basketball player. I saw Evan for the first time when he showed up at practice to bring her wallet."
Two mothers form a steady friendship through years of travel basketball, spending weekends together in noisy gyms and sitting in the same spot on the bleachers. They trade critiques of coaches and gossip about other parents while sharing personal details about relationships and divorces. One mother becomes particularly taken with a new partner, a single dad and former college basketball player named Evan. His arrival at practice to return a wallet prompts an enthusiastic reaction. When the smitten mother misses practices for a wedding, her friend panics, then relaxes when she returns, wary of another parent vying for her seat and looking for signs of engagement.
Read at HuffPost
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