The Game by Vi Keeland by Vi Keeland

Coach was sitting on the other side of Bella, but his wheelchair was positioned in front of the bleacher seats. He leaned back to get my attention. “Where’s that hot dog and pretzel you promised me?”

I smiled and looked at Bella. “You want something?”

“Definitely. A hot dog with the works, please.”

“I’ll take the same,” Coach said.

I stood. “Be back.”

It was mid-second quarter before I returned.

“It’s about damn time. I’m starving,” Coach said.

I handed him and Bella each a box with a hot dog, pretzel, and soda before sitting down. “I had to wait in a long line.”

“Awww…” Bella bit into her hot dog and covered her full mouth with her hand while she spoke. “Did no one let the superstar cut the line, and you had to wait like a mere mortal?”

“Wiseass…”

At halftime, the game was tied. I took a run to the men’s room, and when I came back, Bella was on the phone. She hung up as I sat.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, fine. I was just giving Talia an update on the game.”

“How’s she feeling?”

“Really good, though she’s anxious to be back to work and her regular routine. The doctor said she can go back Monday. Wyatt’s been invited to Ohio State by the football coach to see the school and come to their game next Saturday.”

“Oh yeah?”

She nodded. “I told Talia I’d take him since she’s had to miss so much time from work with her appendix.”

“He’s gonna love it. Those fans are wild. They make the stadium shake.”

“We can probably fly out late Friday evening or early Saturday morning, do the tour and stay for the game, and then I could bring Wyatt with me to the Cincinnati game. It’s only about a two-hour drive.” Bella shook her head. “Oh shoot. I told my grandfather two minutes ago that I’d come with you guys next Saturday.”

“Next Saturday?”

“He said you were going to see a car collection my father left him. He thought I might be interested.”

Fuck. Pretty sure I was out of my mind for thinking what I’d been thinking, but it still wasn’t a good idea for her to come.

“You won’t be missing much.” I leaned close to her so Coach wouldn’t hear. “I’m just trying to get him out more.”

“Oh, okay.”

The rest of the game was a nail-biter. The teams battled it out until the last ten seconds, when the game hinged on a long field goal attempt.

Bella and I stood as Wyatt jogged out onto the field.

“God, this is so stressful,” she said. “I can’t imagine what he feels like right now.”

I smiled. “This is the moment you live for playing this game.”

She covered her heart. “I couldn’t do it. I’d fall apart under the pressure.”

“Nah. You’d kill it. You find out how strong you are at times like this. But even if he doesn’t make the shot, it’s coming back the next day to work harder so you have a better chance of making it next time that counts. Like you walking into that corporate office on day one only to have your sister screw with you the first hour. You kept coming back. That’s what makes you better at what you do.”

Years of pep talks from a dozen coaches had definitely influenced what I’d said, but when Wyatt reared back and punted the ball, I’m not going to lie—I held my breath.

“He made it!” Bella jumped up and down, while I stuck two fingers in my mouth for an ear-splitting whistle. The bleachers went crazy, and I might’ve gotten a little choked up when the team lifted Wyatt onto their shoulders and paraded him around the field.

“Damn,” Coach yelled. “That was some game!”

Between the after-game celebration and people asking me to take selfies and sign autographs, we didn’t get out of there for almost two more hours. Then we dropped off Coach and Wyatt before going back to my place.

“I had a really good time tonight,” Bella said.

“Me too. It was a great game.” We were sitting on the couch, and I lifted her feet onto my lap and rubbed as she sipped the wine I’d poured her.

“It was. But it was more than that. It felt like I spent the night with family.”

I looked back and forth between her eyes. “Yeah?”

She nodded. “It’s been a long time since I felt something like that. Ever since I found out about my father and got to know my grandfather, my visits have mostly been learning things about him and the family I never knew. And while that’s great, and I love listening to his stories, it was really nice to just hang out tonight. I realized I’d spent my time with him over the last two years trying to fill in missing pieces, but while I was doing that, I wasn’t moving forward and enjoying who he is today.”

“What changed?”

She looked into her wine glass for a while. That was one of the things I loved about Bella; she didn’t fill airspace. She thought about her words carefully, which made them so much more meaningful. “I think I changed. I’ve spent the last fourteen years afraid to get attached to anyone new because it hurts so much when they leave me.” Bella looked into my eyes. “It’s not that I’m not afraid anymore, but I finally found people who are worth the risk.”