“That’s not what I asked,” Monique said, bouncing. “Are you nervous?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it,” she said. She nodded at the field. “Here we go.”
Sean lined up wide-right. The second the ball was hiked to Murphy, Sean shot off the line and ran the same route that had gotten him injured before. I held my breath as I imagined it happening again.
Murphy scrambled back and Leon and the other linemen did their best to protect him, giving Sean time to make it down the field.
Murphy launched the ball like a cannon ball. I watched the ball spiral through the air. It arced high above the field before making its descent and dropping perfectly into Sean’s hands.
This time there was no freight train waiting to run over him.
Sean tucked the ball under his arm and sprinted the remaining twenty yards down the field and across the goal line.
Touchdown!
No one even came close to stopping him.
The stadium erupted as fans jumped to their feet to herald the return of their beloved gladiator. The stadium announcer led the chant, “Sean! Sean! Sean!”
I released the breath that I’d been holding and put my hands on my cheeks. He’d done it. He’d really come back stronger than before. I couldn’t have been happier for him.
The entire team mobbed the field to congratulate Sean. The refs, who normally wouldn’t allow such a celebration, just backed away and let it happen.
Leon and another lineman lifted Sean onto their shoulders like he was a rag doll. He held the football in his right hand and lifted it high above his head.
As they carried him toward the sidelines, Sean took off his helmet with his free hand and looked my way.
Even though we were far apart, I could tell that he was looking into my eyes. He tossed the helmet down to a teammate, then smacked his hand to his lips and blew me a kiss. I pretended to catch it and brought my hand to my lips.
“You gonna make an honest man out of him?” Monique asked with a smile.
I wiped away the tears of joy in my eyes and smiled. “I’m certainly going to try.”
THE END
10
EXTENDED EPILOGUE: DIRTY PROFESSOR
Elena
Once we agreed to live together officially, things happened fast. Liam got my stuff into the condo in the next couple of days. Ginger played up that she was upset even though I knew she was happy for me, and for Liam. She made it clear from the beginning that Ali was going to be at her place a lot, giving us the alone time that we needed. She also got along with her new boyfriend Ray a lot, since he was a high school teacher and just easy to be around. I suspected that he’d be moving in soon anyway since Ginger loved her place for the moment and had worked hard in the pink room for her niece. We loved spending time with both so living in separate places wouldn’t do a thing to our friendship. We were always at one place or the other, having dinner or just hanging out.
I made the condo my own since I was in the nesting phase, decorating it with pictures and things from my apartment. It was always warmer than most bachelor’s homes in my opinion anyway, and I wasn’t out to change anything; just make it ours. Liam tried to tell me to take it easy, but I was too full of nervous energy to stay still for too long. Between being anxious about labor and worried about how good of a mom I was going to be once that part was over, my mind was racing all the time.
He’d massage my feet on the couch as he told me how amazing I was going to be. He told me that I was a kind and loving person and that our daughter couldn’t learn from anyone better than me. He acknowledged that Alanna’s crazy aunts would shake her world up a bit with laughter in his voice, but was quick to assure me that I would be her everything when it was all said and done. We both would.
I loved sleeping beside him every night. I felt saf
e and loved there in his arms, even if my body was too big for his hands to touch now. We worked on the nursery, painting it a pale shade of the most delicate pink, hanging beautiful cream lace curtains over the windows. The crib was a soft white and placed along the wall across from the window, along with a matching changing table. Everyone in our life was so generous, and it felt like Alanna had a room in everyone’s house.
The closet was full of clothes that I’d washed and hung up or put away in the tall cream dresser in the corner of the room. I had blankets folded neatly and ready to go as well and Liam took a tour every day when he got home to see what I’d done. The closer it got to my due date, the more excited that I became. The last trimester of pregnancy was uncomfortable, and I was ready to feel like me again, even if that involved the constant care of a newborn.
I packed the hospital bag just over a week before the due date and sat it in the dining room as I paced. Marie, Ginger and even Ellie checked up on me constantly, and I was never alone, but when I was my thoughts raced. It seemed like everything happened so fast and while I knew it did, I was madly in love with Liam. I knew that we didn’t start off right, but there was something between us that couldn’t be ignored. I tried to do the right thing and end it with him, but I knew that I couldn’t stay away from him forever, no matter how stubborn I was.
I worried at first that he would be punished, but nobody could prove that we were together when I was in the class. I left quickly after the accident and wasn’t even a student there any longer. The baby was a topic of discussion amongst everyone that saw us, but I couldn’t care anymore. It was Liam and I that would be loving her, raising her, and showing her what love was, not the rest of the world. I didn’t share the story of the baby with anyone other than those that were close to us, the ones that wouldn’t judge me. It was ours, not theirs.