It was a bad serve.
It veered right, looking like it was heading out of bounds, but thankfully the amount of backspin I'd put on it kept it in – only just though. It also made it very easy for the Chinese team to block and attack, and they sent it back over the net with speed. We defended well, and sent it back to them.
The crowd was roaring madly with each volley that we sent over, the tension was becoming unbearable. And then, I saw with horror, Harriet sending the ball over the net with a fumble, setting up a perfect spiking opportunity for the Chinese.
I didn't even think, or wait for them to do it. I just reacted, praying that I could make it in time.
I sprinted forward and dove through the air, aiming for the spot that I knew they'd spike it toward – an empty patch to the right of our court that had been left open after one of our players had just dove to save the ball.
It was a perfect spike, and the ball rocketed toward the ground. I was already airborne, but didn't know if I could make it. I hit the ground hard, and a sharp pain blasted through my shoulder, but my hand hit the ground a millisecond before the ball did, and I saved it.
The crowd cheered madly – it was a spectacular save, even if I said so myself. The ball bounced off my hand, and Harriet made up for her earlier error my smashing it back over the net with a precise spike.
The ball hit the ground in the very back corner of the Chinese court, and the whistle blew.
“Point USA! Game USA, match USA! Team USA wins the gold!”
The crowd erupted into a crazy roar. My teammates piled onto me, screaming with delight. I just laughed, and then cried – it was all too overwhelming.
“Oh my God, we did it! You did it!” shouted Harriet as she hugged me, with tears of joy streaming down her face. “We did it! We just won Olympic gold!”
After a lot more hugging and crying, we went to the side of the court, where our coach also gave us hugs and handshakes. My mom, Anne, and her husband were in the stands with Wade, and they hurried down to hug me and congratulate me. All of them also had tears of joy glistening in their eyes.
Wade was the first to reach me. He jumped out of the stands onto the court – and I jumped straight into his arms. He held me so tight that I never wanted him to let go, and I could feel just how proud he was of me and just how much he loved me. The warmth and love just radiated from him.
“You were amazing out there, Eryn, just amazing!” he exclaimed, before planting his lips on mine and giving me a deep and passionate kiss that left me breathless. “How does it feel to be an Olympic gold medalist?”
“It...it really doesn't feel real yet. It hasn't sunk in properly. I still can't believe it just happened.”
“You'll believe it when they hang that gold medal around your neck in a few minutes, trust me!” he said. We both laughed, and Wade hugged me again.
“Remember the house we looked at before we flew out here to the Olympics?” he said suddenly.
“In San Diego?”
“Yeah.”
“Guess who the proud new owners are?”
I beamed a huge smile at him. “No way...you bought it?!”
He nodded, smiling. “And, of course, there's the detached area of the house that your mom can live in.”
“It'll be perfect – and Anne will only be three blocks away.”
“And with the university just a 10-minute walk away, it'll be great for me for work. Are you happy?”
“Thrilled,” I replied, looking around, wondering why Mom and Anne hadn’t made their way to me yet. Anne was still standing at the edge of the stands, videoing everything with her camera. She smiled at me and waved. I smiled back. She’d always been the shutterbug in the family.
Suddenly, an altogether different look came into Wade’s eyes – one of extreme seriousness.
“There's something else I have to ask you, right now,” he said. “It can't wait any longer.”
“All right,” I said, feeling suddenly worried. “You know you can ask me anything.”
He dropped down onto one knee, reached into his pocket and pulled out a little, black box. My jaw dropped with shock, disbelief – and, of course, pure joy and ecstasy and jubilation. I looked up and saw that the TV cameraman had focused his camera on us, and we were currently on the huge screen at the center of the stadium.
“Eryn Barnett,” Wade said as he stared up into my eyes, “you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. Would you make me the happiest man alive and do me the honor of marrying me?”