Page 162 of The Future Play

“Wait. How did you find this place? And when? And how’d you move everything in here?”

Right. That.

While we’ve talked plenty about us, caught up on more of how we were both feeling—and struggling—over the summer,and what we missed over the last few weeks, that topic didn’t come up.

“Honestly, I got really lucky. My original plan was to have a bunch of apartment listings to look through and maybe go see this weekend because this plan only started taking shape on Sunday.”

“Sunday? Do you have some kind of time magic?”

I laugh at that. “No. Butwehave some good friends. I sent texts out to everyone I could think of to see if they had any connections or knew of anywhere that might be more our style. Mark Abbott was the first person to respond. It turns out his girlfriend Frannie’s family owns this building and her sister lives in the apartment below us. I saw it on Monday afternoon right before the game and knew it was right. Then I called in every favor I could think of. Dani found similar or exact matches to the key things I wanted at places near here and made sure I could get them all here by today. Mark, some of his football friends, and a few of the guys from the Metros helped with moving stuff in and setting up. Then Dani made a trip down yesterday to help with all the details. I offered to pay her, but all she wanted was snack money so she could order as much food as possible at Mark’s game last night.”

“Wow,” she breathes.

“What are you thinking?”

“How grateful I am. How much I missed this. Not being spoiled, but feeling… cherished. And having a home. That made the summer so much harder.”

“I know this season is almost over, but I want to be prepared for next season. Plus, I was thinking we should come down here when the fall semester is over and spend a week enjoying the magic of Christmas in the city.”

“I love the sound of that.” She sits up suddenly, eyes drifting out the window. “I’m ready to go explore.”

She bounces out of bed, a huge smile on her face, and it’s such a contrast to our anniversary a month ago. She didn’t want to goout because she was too overwhelmed and didn’t like the area. Now she’s in her element. So am I. We’re both right where we’re supposed to be.

We spent the summer barely surviving. Now it’s time for us to thrive again.

I follow her into the bathroom, heart full and ready to live my best life with the girl who is more than any dream I ever could’ve imagined.

25

UNYIELDING HAPPINESS

Amanda

“You’re vibrating with excitement,”Rae says as I stare out at the field.

“Tonight decides whether they make it to the division series.” I chew on my lower lip. It’s not just excitement, it’s unrelenting nerves.

Jamie was surprisingly calm going into tonight. But I’ve seen the difference in his mental health over the last couple of weeks. It’s strange that we’ve been together for two years, but I’m still learning things about him. Like what happens when he truly gets stressed. He’s too hard on himself. And when he feels like he needs to fix things and doesn’t know how, he panics and tries to force it—which usually makes it worse.

Looking back now, I saw snippets of that before we started dating. After our first ill-fated kiss. He didn’t know what to do, then he panicked and crashed my event because he was desperate to fix it.

Once he calms down and focuses on one thing at a time, it all comes together.

Understanding that now means I can support him better.

While Jamie was unsurprised about my rejection sensitivity, he said understanding it—and the coping skills I have to use—can help him be a better partner too.

We’re still planning to go to counseling in a few weeks when the season is done. I’ve already found someone in Old Lake Town that we’ll be going to in November. I hope it’ll give us the tools to strengthen our relationship, so we never have a repeat of this past summer.

“He’s got this,” Aaron says confidently. And that actually calms me down a bit because Aaron is great at reading pitchers in general, but especially Jamie.

Our little section—not the family area this time, but right on the first base line above the dugout—is filled withourfamily. Both actual and chosen. Rae, Aaron, Trevor, Chelsea, Mackenzie, Miles, Dani, and Jesse are all here along with my parents, Pete, Josh, and Jace, and, of course, Jamie’s whole family. Calvin is bouncing like someone fed him crack, and Mila is already whining, but I don’t care. The amount of love here is incredible.

The best part is knowing it’s not just for him. It’s for me too. I’m working on reframing things I see as rejection or perceived rejection, and I’m also working on noticing the small acts of acceptance and love that the people around me show. Some people—like the hive mind—are obvious with their affection. My family isn’t, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there.

I’m learning a lot about myself and how to manage my mental health, and I’m grateful I’m doing it now. I’ve always wanted to be the best version of myself, and I’m proud of myself for putting in the work to do that, even when it’s hard to look into the deepest, darkest pieces of myself.

Emily, the reporter who did the piece on Jamie, is also sitting in our section with her girlfriend, who is apparently a photographer. She snaps photos of everyone getting ready on the field.

---