Page 91 of The One I Want
“All right guys, this is it,”Bryce Donald, our quarterback, says as he enters our huddle. “For all the fucking marbles.”
The huddle erupts in claps and chants of “Let’s go!” as we get the play call from our league MVP quarterback.
I put my toe on my mark, my fingers dangling as I look down the line while Bryce yells out the cadence. Our receiver, Dexter, goes into motion as the play begins to run.
This is it. Our last chance. We’re down by four, so a field goal does us no good. There’s less than thirty seconds left. It’s now or never.
“Ninety-two red…ninety-two red…set…go…hike!”
I run my route exactly as planned. I’m not the first option for Bryce, but as I’m going, I see an empty pocket in the end zone. My defender is a few steps behind me, guessing the wrong way I was going to run. If I turn on the jets I think I can make it to the end zone. I only hope Bryce sees me.
I say a prayer to the football gods that I still have the speed I need to make this work. As soon as I turn up a gear, Bryce has locked eyes with me. He fires back a pass, just past the tips of the first line of defense. I have to jump slightly for the ball, holding it for dear life as I come down into the end zone.
“TOUCHDOWN FURY!”
I hear the whistle blow, and before I know it, my teammates are mobbing me in celebration. I’ve never been a showy guy, but I just made a fucking touchdown in the fucking championship game. So I stand up, toss the ball to the referee, and start doing the dance I saw on one of Hank’s video games. I must be doing something right because my teammates are jumping and hyping me up.
I hear the crowd roaring as we jog off the field as the extra point team comes on. I celebrate with Coach McAvoy and Davis before Bryce and I give each other one more pat on the back.
“Hey,” Bryce says. “Turn around. This moment is yours.”
I’m confused, but do as he says. And I’m so glad I did.
The crowd is standing in applause as they chant my name. I’m overwhelmed. I’m glad I don’t have to say anything right now because I don’t know if I could get any words out. I raise my hand and wave, showing my appreciation to the fans who have stuck by me, and this team, for the past twelve years.
I try my best to bask in the moment. Because this is it. This is how I want to go out. With that play. With this memory.
As I’m waving to the crowd, I somehow pick out my family in the crowd. Probably because they are cheering the loudest of all of the seventy-thousand people in the stadium.
My mom and dad are hugging as they wave to me. My brothers are next to them, giving me the slow clap they always do when I score a touchdown. The kids are celebrating like they caught that pass themselves, which makes me laugh as I also hold back the tears. Hank is giving me a thumbs-up, obviously for my amazing dance moves. Emerson is crying, which only makes me cry harder. Magnolia is dancing to the music, living her life to the fullest.
And then there’s Betsy. I can see the tears on her cheeks as she holds her hands over her heart. We make eye contact, and like we’ve done so many times, we have a conversation with just a look.
I love her. I love this woman so much.
I wasn’t planning on her. Hell, she just showed up one day and somehow never left. There were days after Cara left that I was so hurt and angry I never wanted to lay eyes on another woman again.
But Betsy made me forget all that. She healed me without even knowing it. She healed my family. When I thought of raising the kids by myself, I always wondered if they would think there was a piece of our puzzle missing. Turns out the piece was a sassy stranger who gave my kids candy and me a reason to smile again.
I see out of the corner of my eye that some of my teammates are grabbing the Gatorade dispenser from the training table. I turn to look at the clock, and there’s now just three seconds left in the game.
Holy shit we did it…
Coach McAvoy gets doused with the liquid as we all run and yell our way onto the field. I’m bombarded by teammates and staff as we start jumping around in celebration. Someone hands me a hat that calls us the champions as I make my way through the mob on the field.
I quickly shake hands with a few of the players from the opposing team that I’ve become friendly with over the years, when a reporter taps me on the shoulder, asking me for an interview.
“Wes, first of all, congratulations. Tell me what was going through your mind on the last play.”
Normally in interviews I’m very guarded. I never want anything I say to be taken out of context. Over the years I’ve become the king of canned answers. But this is my last one, and we just won the whole damn thing.
“All I was thinking about was getting open. I knew it was my last game, and our last chance to win it. I wanted to give Bryce another option and I saw my opening. Somehow my old knees beat out my defender. I’m just glad it worked.”
This makes her laugh. “As you said, this is your last game in a Fury uniform. What are the emotions right now, knowing this is the final game of your career?”
“Overwhelming,” I answer honestly. “I’ve had a great career with a great franchise. Players don’t often get to spend their entire careers in one place, and I’m so grateful it was with the Fury. I never thought I’d catch the game winner to win the first title in the franchise’s history. That’s…well… that’s once in a lifetime.”
“Daddy!” I stop talking to scan the crowd and see Magnolia sprinting toward me, her arms in the air. I lean down and scoop her up, kissing her cheek as she giggles and claps.
