It was the last game of the regular season. If we won, it clinched the division. Ethan, Kelsey, and I sat in the front row, a few feet down from the home dugout. It’d been a few weeks since my dad had died, and I’d seen some shy smiles exchanged between Kelsey and Matt.
It was funny really. They seemed so opposite of each other, and she denied it anytime I mentioned anything. He’s fucking hot, but so not my type, was all she would say.
Matt came up to bat in the bottom of the ninth with runners in scoring position and we screamed for him. Ethan squeezed my thigh. “He needs a hit right here. His contract is up.”
I stared back at him like he was an idiot.
“Sorry, you already knew that. I forget who I’m dating sometimes.”
I patted him on the top of his hand. “It’s okay. You’ll get used to your other half knowing more than you.”
He shook his head. “Such a dick.”
I laughed.
Matt dug his cleats into the dirt and the pitcher came set. He kicked his leg and fired a fastball in Matt’s direction.
Crack!
The roar of the crowd was deafening. Camera flashes sparked everywhere all at once from the sold-out crowd. The ball nearly disappeared into the night until we watched the crowd fight for it in the upper deck in right field.
Kelsey and I jumped up and down clapping and hollering. I jumped on Ethan and squeezed him as hard as I could. I looked up and caught him beaming with pride as Matt rounded second.
I turned my head toward the field and Matt pointed at Ethan as he trotted toward third base, his giant smile glowing from his boyish face.
Ethan pointed back with the same look directed at Matt, and then turned his stare back to me. “He fucking crushed that thing.”
“Yeah, he did.”
Matt leaped onto home plate and his teammates dog-piled on top of him. It was perfect.
The crowd hadn’t gone anywhere. Players were spraying champagne around and wearing matching hats and shirts that read division champions on them. Matt had made his way down near us and was giving an interview with an ESPN reporter a few feet away. The mic was live so that the whole stadium could hear what he was saying.
“I need to get my agent out here. He’s been my best friend for ten years.”
The cheers were insane. Matt could’ve said anything into the microphone and the fans would’ve gone crazy.
Ethan turned to me.
“Go,” I said, shoving him toward the reporter.
“If you insist.”
Ethan walked over and stood next to Matt. I looked up at the giant screen in center field and they were both front and center in the frame. Matt turned to Ethan. “Well, don’t you have something to do?”
“Yep,” Ethan said and looked over at me.
What was happening? I caught Kelsey smiling to my right. Everyone seemed in on it, and I was clueless.
Ethan took a few steps toward me as the cameraman shifted to let him by. I looked up and now both of us were on the screen and Matt had disappeared.
Ethan took both of my hands in his and the reporter held the mic up near his face. “Jenny Jackson, I love you more than anything. And I don’t want to ever love anything else the way I love you.”
I started to get light-headed and rubbed my hands down my shorts to wipe the sweat away. Butterflies exploded in my stomach and my face numbed.
“I couldn’t think of a better place to ask you a certain question.”
He dropped to a knee and I covered my face with both hands, and then opened my fingers slightly outward so I could see him. I giggled. Again. Ethan and his ability to make me giggle. My palms quivered against my cheeks.
He pulled a small box from his pocket and opened it up. The lights of the stadium reflected off the large diamond solitaire that now sat right in front of my face.
“Will you marry me?”
My legs turned to Jell-O and tremors rolled through my body. I nodded my head, and somehow managed to speak a single word while shaking uncontrollably. “Y-yes.”
The stadium went wild—clapping and shouting—and it all slowly morphed into a steady roar as he slid the ring onto my finger. It was gorgeous and perfect, and he’d have to pry it off my finger if he ever wanted it back.
I looked down at the ring for a second and then he kissed me in his signature style, both hands on my face and then running back through my hair. It was a brief kiss. I wanted it to be a little longer, but didn’t want to offend any parents of children watching. He was going to be rewarded later though. Oh, would he ever be rewarded. His touch had a way of ruining my panties, to the point I considered just getting rid of all of them and going commando 24/7.
He leaned into my ear. “I love you, J.J.”
My heart turned to a puddle of mush. He’d never called me by my initials before. Only Dad had ever called me that. “I love you too.”
“I have to take care of a couple things, and then I’m taking you home.”
“Deal.”
He walked back over to Matt, who hugged and congratulated him. I held my hand out to Kelsey to show off my new bling, and we both squealed like schoolgirls, jumping up and down, not giving a fuck who was watching us. After a few brief seconds, I pulled out my phone and clicked on my fantasy baseball app to check the final standings.
Even with Matt’s home run, Dad had beaten me by one point. The moment I saw that it was like I felt his presence—like he was hugging me. I basked in that brief moment and my eyes closed, imagining his arms wrapped tight around me in the kind of hug he’d always given me until he’d been too weak to do so. The kind of hug he’d still done his best to give me up until the day he finally left.
I knew he was there, watching every second of it, happy that I was happy. And I imagined him saying, Finally, I kicked her ass for once.
I stared up at the bright stars and I smiled a content smile before whispering, “Goodbye, Dad.”