Thirty minutes later I turned out the light in my bathroom, hanging up my robe and running my hands over the silky material of my green nightie. It stopped about mid thigh, and it was way sexier than anything I’d worn to bed only a few months before. But now there were reasons.
Sandy put down her phone and pulled off her reading glasses, lips parting as she watched me come to bed.
“God, Melanie.”
I slipped between the sheets and into her waiting arms, sinking into the bedding as she kissed me deep and long. We were both exhausted, emotionally as much as anything else, so I knew it wasn’t going to go any further tonight. But that was fine. This was more than enough.
Our kiss ended, and I looked into her eyes. “I was proud of you tonight. You sounded so strong, confident.”
“I was just glad to have you standing next to me, holding my hand.” She paused for a second, running her fingers down my arm until they were interlocked with mine. “I remember my high school coach telling me it was vital to always stay confident, in control on the field. Even if, especially if you didn’t feel that way. And as a doctor you always have to appear confident. But I’ll tell you a secret.” Her voice was a whisper, and I leaned forward and kissed her cheek.
“What’s that?”
“I’m not always brave. I get scared, and I need a hand to hold. Please don’t ever stop holding my hand, Melanie.”
“I won’t, not ever.”
A tear slipped free from her eye. “Okay.” She pulled me close, and we slipped into dreamland together.
***
I got a text from Paige around noon.
Paige – Kaylin’s been released from the hospital.
Me – That’s wonderful, sweetheart.
Paige – The girls are so fired up. We’re going to win tonight.
When I entered the stands I could feel what Paige was talking about. There was a hum in the air, a buzz in the stadium. I think that was partly due to the fact that the visitors’ side was absolutely packed. Apparently the entire city of Greensboro had made the hour drive to the state capital to watch their Lady Warriors play this match. Our fans had turned out as well, and there was barely a seat to be had anywhere. There were cameras at multiple locations, as the game was being broadcast on local TV. All in all, it was as different as it could be from a run of mill regular season game.
The crowd roared as the Lady Panthers took the field. Sandy was wearing her most severe game face, but she let it slip slightly when she looked up at me, pressing her fingers to her lips and blowing me a kiss. I covered my heart with my hands, watching as she pulled her mask of concentration back over her features.
“I take it that was for you?”
I grinned and looked over at my dad, who was sitting next to me.
“Yeah. She makes me really happy, Daddy.”
“I’m happy for you, Doodlebug.” My dad put his arm around me, pulling me over so he could kiss my head. “Just promise me one thing?”
“What’s that?”
“That you’ll let me take you and your lady love to dinner so I can get to know her. And so I can make sure she’s good enough for my little girl.”
I laughed, letting the warm feelings of his love flow through me. “It’s a date.” Our opponents took the field, to a lusty chorus of good-natured boos from our fans, and in no time the game was on.
We scored in the first few minutes, a nice move from Adrienne earning a penalty corner that Paige buried from the top of the circle, but it seemed that for the rest of the first half the girls were under siege. The absence of our top defender was being sorely felt, and just after the start of the second quarter the Warriors equalized, and with less than a minute to go they took the lead.
The team seemed dejected heading into half time. Bill looked up at me from where he was sitting with Ashley, Georgia, and the boys. I shook my head, not knowing what to think. I didn’t move, not even to get my normal Diet Coke, a combination of being too nervous and not wanting to fight the sizable crowds.
The girls seemed in good spirits when they took the field again, but everything changed when a young woman in a blue Lost Valley polo walked through the gate and onto the sideline. She was leaning on the arm of a man I didn’t recognize, but I would have known who she was without seeing the bandages on both wrists just from the team’s reaction.
The team rushed to Kaylin, surrounding her, and I could see the tears in Dani’s eyes as she wrapped her in a fierce embrace. Kaylin’s hand slipped behind her girlfriend’s head, holding Dani to her as she buried her face on her shoulder.
They held each other for a long moment as the team watched, and when Kaylin broke away she started to speak to the team. The team was hanging on every word, every face in rapt attention.
Kaylin held out her arms, showing everyone the bandages as she spoke. Her voice was strong and clear, somehow carrying up into the bleachers. “Life is awesome. No matter how screwed up it is, it’s a gift. And you all get to play the game we love. That’s your life for the next half hour. I’d give anything to be out there with you, but I can’t. So do something for me. Make it amazing. Live it, with everything you got, all your strength and power. For me. For each other. Lady Panthers!” She raised her arm, palm facing outward, and the team pressed in as one.
“One, two, three, win!”
The team broke apart, fire in their eyes as they headed back to the bench. Dani held back a moment, holding Kaylin’s hand for a second longer before she joined her compatriots.
As soon as they were away I could see Kaylin deflate, obviously exhausted. The man who was with her stepped forward, and she grabbed his arm, supporting herself on him as he led her off the field and into the stands.
The team started the second half on fire. They kept the pressure on, with Adrienne creating several chances for her teammates before she threaded a pass between two defenders to Dani, who buried the equalizer past Greensboro’s sprawling goalie.
The teams traded goals at the beginning of the fourth quarter, another perfect assist from Adrienne, and as time ticked down I noticed the defense starting to play off her, expecting her to give up the ball.
During the next dead ball Sandy screamed Adrienne’s name, and she jogged over. She nodded, eyes wide as her coach gave her instructions.
With less than a minute to go Paige intercepted a pass at midfield, breaking the other way, two defenders collapsing on her as she approached the top of the circle. She turned left, firing the ball in to Adrienne. Adrienne’s head went up, looking for Dani streaking in from the right, but as her defender moved to block the passing lane Adrienne reversed her grip, drawing the ball back between her legs.
Her defender was completely wrong footed, and suddenly Adrienne was one on one with the goalie. Her stick spun in her hands, and time seemed to stand still as the goalie swung her stick in a desperate attempt to block the shot. She failed, and the net billowed as the ball made contact. Everyone on our side of the field erupted, the sound strangely muted in my memory as I rose to my feet. I watched my daughter be the first to reach Adrienne, jumping into her arms as the rest of the team mobbed her seconds later.
Sandy turned away from the field, her head bowed as she closed her hand into a fist, pumping it close to her body, trying to hide her enthusiasm. She turned back to the field shouting to her team that the game wasn’t over yet. The girls lined up, and thirty interminable seconds later the game was over, and they had won.
I watched as people congratulated Senator and Mrs. Perry on Adrienne’s goal, and I tried to let go of my animosity. Adrienne had played so well, and I’d lay any amount of money that Sandy had told her in the end to take her defender and score. It was the right play, one she’d earned by being a team player for the second half of the year.
I sat down, watching my daughter celebrate with her team. Several people patted me on the shoulder, and I greeted them in a daze. My dad put his arm around me, and I leaned on his shoulder. Kaylin was standing, clapping gently as tears rolled down her face, her arm still linked with the man standing next to her.
***
The players took a few extra minutes before emerging from the locker rooms, but eventually I got to hug my daughter and tell her how proud I was of her. Her father and grandfather did the same as we all gathered around her. I noticed someone else standing on the fringe of our little family group, the University of Virginia scout who’d invited Paige for her campus visit.
“I don’t mean to interrupt, but I wanted to give you this personally.”
Paige’s eyes went wide as she looked at the envelope in Coach Croft’s hand. “Is that?”
“A scholarship offer? Yes it is. I hope to see you on campus in the fall. Congratulations, young lady.”
“Thank you.” Paige whispered as she reverently accepted the letter.
The scout withdrew as Paige endured another round of hugs. My daughter was wearing an ear to ear grin as we started to walk toward the cars, but she stopped when she saw Kaylin standing to her left surrounded by several of her teammates. Dani was by her side, her arm around her shoulders.