Chapter 15 - Cheer Mom

Micheal’s Sunday mornings used to revolve around pro sports.

Coffee.

ESPN.

Fantasy football updates.

Pregame shows humming in the background while Michael half paid attention to whatever Michelle or Sophie were saying around him.

Jennifer realized those routines had quietly disappeared.

Now Sunday morning meant Sophie standing in the kitchen in full cheer makeup at seven-thirty in the morning complaining dramatically about hairspray while Jennifer packed energy drinks and protein bars into a tote bag.

“Do not crush my bow.”

“I’m not going to crush your bow.”

“You literally sat on one last week.”

Jennifer rolled her eyes while zipping the bag closed.

“That was one time.”

Sophie pointed dramatically.

“And emotionally devastating.”

Jennifer laughed despite herself.

The kitchen smelled like coffee and vanilla creamer while Michelle rushed around upstairs getting ready for work.

Again.

By now Jennifer barely reacted when Michelle had to go into the office on weekends with David.

The project had consumed both of them completely.

Late nights.

Constant texts.

Weekend meetings.

Takeout containers scattered across the kitchen island at ten o’clock at night.

Jennifer had started measuring Michelle’s stress level based on how many times David’s name appeared on her phone during dinner.

That realization unsettled her more than she liked admitting.

Michelle came downstairs fastening an earring while carrying her laptop bag.

“I still feel terrible about this.”

“You’ve said that six times already,” Sophie replied.

“Because I do.”

Jennifer adjusted the sleeve of her oversized sweatshirt.

“We’ll survive.”

Michelle smiled gratefully before stepping closer to Jennifer.

“You sure you’re okay driving?”

Jennifer wasn’t.

Not even remotely. She freaked out last night when Sophie reminded Michelle that she had volunteered for carpool to the cheer competition, and Michelle looked right at Jennifer to ask her to help out.

But Sophie was already halfway out the door and added “she’s totally fine” over her shoulder.

Jennifer sighed dramatically.

“If we die on the highway, I want that written on my tombstone.”

Michelle laughed softly before yelling “good luck” to Sophie.

Then she hesitated for half a second before lightly squeezing Jennifer’s arm.

“Thank you.”

The warmth of that tiny touch lingered embarrassingly long after Michelle left.

—

The SUV became chaos almost immediately.

Five teenage girls somehow generated the volume of twenty people.

Bows.

Stanley cups.

Music.

Lip gloss.

Cheer gossip.

Jennifer gripped the steering wheel while trying desperately to focus on directions.

“Sophie, if one more person screams in this car, I’m pulling over.”

“She’s kidding,” Sophie informed the others.

“I absolutely am not.”

The girls laughed anyway.

And somewhere between the Starbucks stop and hearing about all the cheer team drama Jennifer realized something strange:

the girls were completely comfortable around her.

Not cautious.

Not awkward.

Just normal.

“Aunt Jennifer can you change the song?”

“Do you have any gum?”

“Oh my God your nails are so pretty.”

The title still startled her every time.

Aunt Jennifer.

But hearing it from Sophie’s friends somehow felt different now.

Lighter.

Natural.

By the time they reached the competition venue, Jennifer’s nerves had eased enough that she stopped checking her lipstick in every reflective surface.

Almost.

—

The competition itself was overwhelming.

Huge gymnasium.

Bright lights.

Music echoing everywhere.

Girls in glitter and oversized bows sprinting through hallways.

Jennifer instantly wanted to hide somewhere quiet.

Unfortunately Sophie had other plans.

“Come sit with us.”

Us.

Meaning:

the other moms.

Jennifer immediately realized she didn’t recognize any of the women sitting together.

And they definitely didn’t recognize her.

Half a dozen women looked up curiously as Sophie approached.

“Guys, this is my Aunt Jennifer,” Sophie announced casually.

Immediately the women shifted into friendly suburban-mom mode.

“Oh my God, hi.”

“We’ve heard about you.”

“Michelle got stuck working again?”

Jennifer nodded carefully while sliding nervously into an empty seat.

“Big project at work.”

The women groaned sympathetically almost in unison.

“Poor Michelle.”

Jennifer smiled politely while settling onto the bleachers, suddenly hyperaware of:

* her leggings,

* her oversized sweatshirt,

* her hair,

* her posture,

* her voice.

That’s when she noticed all the moms were dressed almost identically.

Oversized sweatshirts that all said “Cheer Mom”.

Leggings.

Sneakers.

And giant matching team bows clipped into their hair.

Jennifer instinctively touched her own loose curls.

Before she could think much more about it, one of the mothers — Jill — suddenly gasped dramatically.

“Oh my God, nobody gave you a bow.”

Jennifer blinked.

“A what?”

The women laughed warmly.

“The cheer mom bow,” another explained.

Jill was already digging enthusiastically through an oversized tote bag.

“You can’t sit with us without one.”

Jennifer immediately laughed nervously.

“Oh, that’s okay, really—”

“Nonsense.”

A second later Jill triumphantly held up an enormous navy-and-silver bow.

“Turn around.”

Jennifer hesitated just long enough to feel awkward refusing.

All the women were smiling at her expectantly now.

Waiting.

Including Sophie.

So Jennifer slowly turned around.

A few seconds later Jill clipped the oversized bow carefully into Jennifer’s curled hair.

“There,” Jill announced proudly. “Now you’re official.”

The women immediately approved.

“Oh my God, it actually looks adorable on you.”

Jennifer flushed instantly.

Part embarrassment.

Part something warmer.

Because the bow looked ridiculous.

And yet…

Jennifer no longer felt like an outsider sitting among them.

—

Within ten minutes the women pulled her into conversation effortlessly.

Competition scoring.

Cheer politics.

Teachers.

Wine nights.

One woman complaining about her husband pretending not to know where the dishwasher pods were kept.

Jennifer found herself laughing.

Actually laughing.

Not performing.

Not calculating every movement.

Just…

there.

—

When Sophie’s team finally performed, everything else disappeared.

Jennifer had never actually watched cheer before.

Michael had never gone to a cheer competition.

But Jennifer took it all in.

The nerves in Sophie’s face before taking the mat.

The way she searched the crowd briefly.

The sharp inhale before the music started.

And then suddenly Sophie was flying through the air.

The routine moved so fast Jennifer barely breathed.

By the end she was standing with the other mothers cheering loudly without even realizing it.

“Oh my God they nailed that!”

Jennifer clapped hard enough her hands hurt.

The excitement felt contagious.

Pure.

When Sophie finally ran over afterward flushed and glowing, Jennifer smiled so brightly it almost surprised her.

“You were incredible.”

Sophie beamed.

“You really think so?”

“I know so.”

Sophie threw her arms around her without hesitation.

And Jennifer hugged her back automatically.

Tightly.

Like it was the most natural thing in the world.

—

The ride home felt softer somehow.

The girls were exhausted now.

Less screaming.

More lazy conversation.

One of them eventually asked from the backseat:

“So are you coming next weekend too?”

Jennifer laughed softly.

“I think your mothers may deserve a break from me.”

“No seriously,” another girl added. “You’re actually fun.”

Sophie smirked smugly from the passenger seat.

“Told you.”

Jennifer shook her head while smiling despite herself.

As they drove back toward New Jersey with the late afternoon sun pouring through the windshield, Jennifer caught her reflection briefly in the rearview mirror.

Soft curls.

Glossed lips.

Heart earrings.

Oversized sweatshirt.

And still clipped into her hair…

the oversized team bow Jill had insisted she wear.

For just a moment…

she didn’t immediately think of herself as Michael anymore.

And that realization stayed with her the entire drive home.