Page 132 of A Whole New Play

“Valerie is here.”

“Ah.” Understanding crosses his stern features, softening his expression just a bit. “Yeah, she is.”

“Is she happy?”

“What?”

“In California.” I hear my heartbeat in my ears. “Is Valerie happy in California?”

He frowns. “Why would you ask me that?”

“Because I just saw her, and my gut tells me something is wrong.”

“Wrong?” Worry fills his gaze. “What do you mean, ‘wrong’?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know. She just… she didn’t look like her normal self. She didn’t look… happy.”

And despite what I did—despite putting an end to the best relationship of my life based on the belief that I was doing it for her own good, I am ready to take it all back.

I will go to Valerie crawling on my hands and knees if her dad admits these past months have been just as horrible for Valerie as they’ve been for me.

Seeing her in person broke the seal holding back the full extent of my regret.

Now that it’s unleashed, only one thing will keep me from begging Valerie to forgive me for breaking things off. And that’s if she is glad to be in California and glad to have this new start in life.

But the only way I can know that is by talking to her which I don’t know if I can do without revealing my position and potentially influencing her response—the exact thing I wanted to avoid when I ended things.

The alternative is talking to someone who knows her inside out. Someone like the man staring at me like he thinks I’ve been hit in the head one too many times playing ball.

“What makes you think Valerie is unhappy?”

Because even though we haven’t known each other for long… I know Valerie.

“It’s just a feeling.” I swallow the lump in my throat. “Just tell me, Coach. Is she glad she took the job? Is she happy in California?”

His eyes drift away as he considers his response.

I hold my breath, bracing myself for whatever I’m about to hear.

If I’m wrong—if Valerie is happy with her decision, I’ll keep my conflicted feelings to myself.

But if she’s not, nothing will stop me from righting the wrong I committed to both of us.

“She enjoys the challenges being a CFO gives her.” His words puncture the balloon of hope that had been billowing in my chest. “But no… I wouldn’t say she’s happy living in California.”

The balloon inflates once more.

I steel my nerves with resolve. “You told me you didn’t want my relationship with Valerie to influence her career decisions. And because I respected you and cared about her, I listened.” The words flow from my lips. I don’t even stutter. This moment is too important to stutter.

I continue, “I ended things with Valerie even though it was the last thing I wanted to do, but I know now that it was a mistake. I’m going to ask her if she feels the same way. I just thought you should know.”

I sound like a nervous teenager asking my girlfriend’s dad if I can take her on a date.

I might be a grown-ass man, but I have a healthy respect that borders on fear for my defensive coach. I don’t need his approval, but I want it. Bad.

Coach Palmer watches me for a moment and then releases a heavy sigh. It’s not an outright disagreeable sound.

I brace myself for his response.

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