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“Agreed. Besides your job with the Titans, do you have any other scheduling conflicts? Something part time? A small business?”
“No. I’m available whenever you need me, and I’m happy to be here as much or as little as you want. I live about twenty-five minutes away with traffic during rush hour, though. If you need me to be somewhere quickly, it might take me a second to get there.”
“I feel ya. Getting to the stadium is a chore; I leave an hour before practice and I barely make it there on time. Let’s talk about game days. When we play on the road on Sundays, we typically fly out Friday afternoon or very early Saturday morning, and we don’t get home until late Sunday night. When we play at home, the team requires us to stay in a hotel room the night before games,” I explain.
“Wait, what? Even when you’re playing fifteen miles up the road?”
“Yup. They claim it’s to keep us free from distractions, but I think it’s because they don’t want anyone getting out of hand and showing up to games inebriated or out of control. It’s a pain in the ass, but that rule isn’t going to change anytime soon.”
“Wow. I had no idea. So I’d be here on weekend nights, basically.”
“Yeah. And on Sundays when we have a home game, you can bring June to UPS Field with you and drop her off in the nursery. I’ll pick her up after, then you’ll be free.”
“Got it. I’m sure you have a routine with her, and I’ll follow that routine as best as I can. Naps. When she eats and when she goes to bed. I’d never do anything with her outside the house you didn’t approve first,” Maven says.
“Skydiving is allowed,” I say. “She really likes to jump out of planes.”
“Cool. I thought I’d take her to an archery range. Or maybe do some bullfighting or ax throwing. We could also walk barefoot on glass. Nothing builds character like cutting your foot open on broken bottles.”
“Have you ever considered a career in early education? Who needs addition and subtraction when you can teach kids how to fire a bow and arrow like they’re inThe Hunger Games?”
“Survival of the fittest. She’ll be fine,” she says.
“What questions do you have for me?” I ask.
“Talk to me about June. Is there anything you want me to focus on with her? Things we should or shouldn’t do?”
“She’s the best kid in the world, and I hate that she has to come to the stadium with me every day. I’d love it if she could spend her time in museums. Art galleries. The park for more than twenty minutes on our way to practice. She deserves to have her own childhood."
“I’ll come up with some fun things we can do together. What about around the house? Running errands? Cooking? Cleaning?”
“Don’t worry about cleaning—I have someone who comes once a week to mop and dust. Everything else helps, though. Being one person but having the responsibility of two… it’s a lot,” I admit. “I know how privileged I am to have the job I have. I make good money. We have a roof over our heads, and we never have to worry about where our next meal is going to come from. Sometimes I’m not sure I’m allowed to complain.”
“Money or not, you can still be exhausted and overworked, Dallas,” she says gently. “Tell me about your nights with her.”
“We usually get home from practice around five. It’s a rush to make dinner, give her a bath, change into pajamas and have a little bit of playtime before I’m reading her a bedtime story and turning the lights out around seven-thirty. When she falls asleep, I still have things to do. I catch up on team emails and messages from my agent. I shower and have groceries delivered so I can get food going for the next day. By then, it’s late. I don’t go to sleep until after midnight. June wakes up around six, and then we’re at it again.”
It feels safe to tell Maven the things because I don’t see any judgment on her face. I see understanding and the recognition that I’mtrying, even if I’m coming up short half the time.
“Hey.” She bumps my shoulder, and I look down at her. “I got you, okay? I know you’ve been doing this by yourself for a whilenow, and you’re sogoodat it, Dallas. June loves you, and you’re present in her life. That’s the most important thing in the world. But you don’t have to do it alone anymore. I’d love to help you, if you’ll let me.”
I suck down a lungful of air. “When can you start?”
“Are you saying I got the job even though no one else applied and I’m your only choice?” Maven asks.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
She lunges for me. Her arms wrap around my neck before I can blink, and she buries her face in my shirt. I stand there for a minute, frozen.
It’s been so long since I’ve had a real hug by someone other than my daughter, and I forgot how nice it is.
“Thank you,” she says. “This means a lot. I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t. We’re going to make a good team.”
“Should we check on June?” Maven asks into my chest, and I nod, a little disoriented and a little confused. She’s warm and soft and I feel like I’ve been tipped off balance. “And eat some dinner?”
“Yeah. We can go over schedules for the next few weeks after we eat. I’ll show you her nighttime routine for when I’m away, too. There’s a lot of bedtime reading, and if you don’t do voices with the characters, she’ll make you do it again.”
