Jan texts Andy. It is Saturday. Andy is in Baton Rouge, broadcasting the radio pregame show before Auburn plays LSU. Jan is at home in Auburn. She has a question: Josh, who is 16, has asked for more than the usual allowance of $75 that Jan and Andy give him every two weeks. Jan texts her husband: "What should I say?"
Andy's eyes go wide. He isn't used to texts like this. Jan's Saturday texts are usually things like "Good first quarter" or "How did we not score there?" During a commercial, he calls her.
They discuss the issue, as parents do. Jan thinks they shouldn't give in; learning how to budget is a part of getting older. Andy agrees. They hang up. Even though they're on the same page, Andy still feels unsteady. He sees Kirk Sampson, the longtime communications head for Auburn sports, walking by.
"Kirky!" he says, and Sampson stops. The pregame show goes on behind them as Andy tells Sampson, who has teenage sons, about the situation. "Will you check me on this?" Andy asks. He stares at Sampson intently. Sampson chuckles and says their thinking sounds right to him. Andy goes back on the radio.
At home, Josh pleads his case. He points out the progress he has made on keeping a budget lately. He has a job at a gift shop, but he also has a car now, and things are expensive. "I'm really working hard on this," he says, and Jan sympathizes. She does want to help him. She and Andy want him to be happy. "We know you're working hard," she says, and Josh brightens. Maybe there is a sliver of light here. But then Jan touches his arm and shakes her head. "We're very
proud of you for that," she says. "Keep it up."
Josh realizes he has no chance. He goes to his room. Jan exhales and texts Andy. Andy exhales and gets ready to broadcast a football game. On this day, they've done what mothers and fathers do all the time: A child presented them with a choice. They talked about it. They made a decision. They followed through. It was, by almost any measure, a fairly ordinary act of parenting. Except for this: Josh is not their son...READ MORE
