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At that moment, I knew that nothing I could say to Tommy would help. He didn’t need reassurances that he was doing the right thing or that he was a good person. He needed to hear from his father’s mouth that he was proud of his son, and I would be damned if Tommy never got to hear those words.
Maggie
That night was the crosstown rivals game. The Cougars would be playing the Eagles, and the city was alive with energy. The rivalry ran deep between the north side and the south side. Every year when this game happened, families would draw the line of family members that were fans of the team they were cheering for and those that weren’t. Social media was on fire with fans debating who would win that night or who was the better team.
As the team bus drove across town, I watched people dressed in both teams’ jerseys walking the streets as they went in and out of bars near the Eagles’ stadium. The team was bouncing with nervous excitement. They had been waiting for this game on their calendar, wanting to take back the title. Last year, the Eagles had slaughtered them in a brutal outing. The energy on the bus was pointing toward a night of payback. The only thing I wanted to see tonight was a smile on Tommy’s face by the end of it. He deserved to be able to revel in the good moments when his parents came and not have to worry about whether his performance had been good enough.
Olivia sidled up next to me as we followed the team through the stadium and to the field. She hadn’t texted me to ask about the ESPYS yet, and I knew that was because the interrogation would be done in person.
“That dress was stunning,” she told me. “Please tell me that Tommy lost his mind.”
I stayed quiet as I tried to keep a smile off my face. Olivia studied me for a moment before her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened.
“No!” she exclaimed. “Was it mind-blowing? It was mind-blowing, wasn’t it?”
My eyes slid over to Tommy, who was walking with Adam and Jamil toward the back of the group. It was like he could feel my eyes on him because he glanced back over his shoulder and gave me a small smile.
“Oh my God,” Olivia hissed as she watched the interaction.
I pressed my lips together as she stared between the two of us.
“Tommy Mikals is smitten. Like, completely smitten over my best friend.”
Just the thought of that being true made my insides feel like a big bowl of soup. “I’m not sure he’s smitten, necessarily.”
“Are you kidding, Maggie?” Olivia asked me incredulously. “He would be insane not to be.”
The two of us continued toward the tunnel that would take us out onto the field while the team dove into the locker room to change for the game. Tommy was the last to go in, and as we passed by the door, his hand reached out to brush against mine before he disappeared after his teammates.
“Totally smitten,” Olivia told me smugly.
Part of me wished that Tommy and I could teleport back to the hotel in Los Angeles for a few more stolen moments together.
The energy in the stadium grew as the game drew longer. It was tied going into the top of the seventh as the Cougars went up to bat. Tommy was leading the team in runs batted in and hits. He was having a phenomenal night. But even with his performance, I watched him scan the crowd with a strained face and heavy shoulders. My eyes followed his line of sight to see what he was looking at. His parents were sitting behind the visitors’ dugout.
I knew in my gut that even if Tommy had the best night of his career, it would mean nothing if his dad wasn’t proud of his performance. I looked between Olivia, Tommy, and Tommy’s parents. Olivia was in the dugout with me and had barely moved her camera from her face all night. Tommy was busy putting on his batting gloves and preparing for his at bat that was coming up. I debated for a couple of seconds if what I was about to do was out of line, but something in me told me to do it anyway.
A stadium worker was standing in front of the gate that blocked off our dugout from the rest of the stadium. He pulled the gate open as he saw me approaching. I gave him a quick nod before I dove into the busy stadium, angling toward Tommy’s parents. His mom wore a shirt with his number on it, and his dad wore a Cougars sweatshirt with a hat pulled down over his eyes. The two watched Jamil’s at bat with anxious eyes, just as invested in the game as any diehard fan. I stayed back for a moment longer as I watched the pair. It was clear how much this win meant to them too. I could practically imagine them in the stands at Tommy’s games when he was younger, cheering loudly for him as he got a hit.
His father shouted out encouragement for Tommy as he approached the plate for his at bat. Jamil had gotten a double, giving Tommy the perfect opportunity to give the Cougars the lead. I watched as his dad sat forward in his seat, wringing his hands together as he watched his son take the first pitch. With the crack of the bat on the next pitch, Tommy’s dad was on his feet as the ball sailed toward right center, nowhere near an outfielder. It was the perfect hit for Jamil to score. As Tommy slid safely into second and Jamil had crossed home, Scott’s hands lifted above his head triumphantly.
I knew that it wasn’t that Scott wasn’t proud of his son. It was that he did a terrible job of showing that he was proud for his son to see. The seat next to Scott was open, and I dodged around cheering fans to slide into it.
“Maggie!” Linda exclaimed when she saw me. “It’s so good to see you.”
She reached over to squeeze my hands.
“That was awesome,” I told them, sharing in the joy they were feeling for their son.
“Yes, it was,” Scott agreed, his eyes still glued on Tommy standing on second. “He’s had a great night.”
I hesitated as the words I wanted to say weighed heavily on the tip of my tongue. The moment they left my mouth, I could ruin any chance of a relationship with Tommy’s father depending on if he took what I said poorly. But my feelings for Tommy and how much I cared about him outweighed the risks.
“You should tell him that.”
Scott turned to look at me, his eyebrows pulled together. “I’m sorry?”
“You should tell him,” I repeated. “I’ve watched your son stress about his performance this season because he wants to make you proud. This game was all he could think about on our plane ride home this morning. I don’t want to cross any boundaries. I just want you to know that I think it would do Tommy wonders to hear it.”
