They didn’t need to.
Management
She had spent the last several minutes insisting her son deserved the ball because he was the real football fan, only to have an entire stadium watch him return it to the eight-year-old girl she’d mocked.
For someone who cared so much about who “deserved” attention, becoming
the center of it clearly wasn’t as enjoyable as she’d expected.
The usher led us through a hallway beneath the stands.
People & Society
Maisie held the football so tightly I was surprised she could breathe.
“Do I say something cool when I meet him?”
“Probably.”
“What?”
“I have absolutely no idea.”
She gave me the look Gavin used to give me whenever I was useless during football conversations.
American Football
Then a door opened.
Cole Brennan was waiting on the other side.
Family
Maisie stopped walking.
For the first time all day, she was completely silent.
Cole smiled and crouched slightly so he wasn’t towering over her.
“You’re the girl with the sign.”
Maisie nodded.
He looked at it again.
Baked Goods
“What was your dad’s name?”
“Gavin.”
Cole’s expression softened.
“He was a big fan?”
“The biggest.”
I laughed quietly.
Language Resources
“That’s unfortunately true.”
Maisie finally smiled.
“He said you were the best receiver on the team
even when you dropped easy catches.”
Cole put a hand over his heart.
People & Society
“That sounds like a loyal man.”
“He yelled at you a lot too.”
“That sounds even more loyal.”
Maisie laughed, and hearing that laugh in a stadium Gavin had always wanted to bring her to nearly broke me.
Cole asked for the football.
Then he pulled a marker from his pocket.
American Football
“I usually just sign my name, but I think this one needs something better.”
He wrote slowly across the white panel.
Family
When he handed it back, Maisie read the message.
For Maisie and Gavin — keep watching together.
Her lips trembled.
She hugged the ball against her chest and started crying again.
Cole looked at me with mild panic.
“Did I make it worse?”
Baked Goods
I shook my head while wiping my own face.
“Those are good tears.”
Maisie nodded hard.
“The best ones.”
Cole gave her a
signed pair of gloves as well, then arranged for us to stand near the tunnel when the team came out.
