Page 72 of Red Zone Realizations
We follow Mikey most of the way up the path while he makes his way to the door. We stop a few feet from the front door as Mikey goes up and rings the doorbell.
I take the time we’re out of earshot to ask Audrey about her mom’s comments. “Is she always like that?”
Audrey waves to the woman who opens the door. “Who? My mom?”
“Yeah.”
“Pretty much.” We watch as Mikey gets his first piece of candy. The bar so long it almost sticks up out of the pumpkin bucket. “Say thank you,” she calls to Mikey as he turns to come back toward us.
“Even after everything from your ex? She still lays it on like that?”
She shrugs as she guides a hyper Mikey down the walkway and back on to the sidewalk. The next house has their porch light on, too, so we go up toward the door with him. We stop a few feet from the front porch as Mikey goes up again. “I don’t know if it’s because I’ve never spoken up enough, or because she doesn’t know when to quit.”
“I guess only time will tell on that.”
We continue to walk, enjoying the cooler temperatures and the crisp feeling in the air. Mikey runs into a friend from school and his parents, so we walk together for a block. When they split off, Audrey checks the time on her phone. “We’d better start getting back, Mikey.”
“I don’t wanna,” he whines back at her.
“You can hit the houses on the other side of this street on the way.”
This consoles him for the moment, but no less than five houses later, he’s in front of Audrey asking to be carried because he’s too tired to walk more. “I can’t carry you anymore. You’re a big boy now. You’ll knock me over.”
I speak before I even realize it. “I’ll carry you. Give Aunt Audrey your helmet and candy to carry.”
He hands over the goodies to Audrey, and I bend down to let him climb on my shoulders. We walk the rest of the way home, rating the other costumes we see go by. I ranked a bunch of teenagers dressed as the apostles highest, Audrey rated a little girl dressed like Tour Guide Barbie her highest. Mikey was just looking for other football players to form a team.
We delivered Mikey right to his grandma to get him ready for Sarah to pick him up after her class.
If seeing Mikey in his adorable Halloween costumes for five years hasn’t changed Audrey’s mind on having kids, I’m certain nothing will. I’m still on the same page: we let it rest for a few years and check in later on. If we want different things, we move on because that’s what you do when you care about someone. You want them to have what they want in life, even if it’s not with you.
But I’m damn sure that for me, it’s her.
Chapter Forty
AUDREY
DECEMBER
The leaves in Houston don’t change colors until December. Places that have a real fall and winter are on a way different schedule. Nash told me the leaves start changing at the end of September in Wisconsin. Still, this is one of the best times to be in Texas, when there’s that beautiful break between the hellscape of summer and the detrimental freezes of late winter.
Things have been so good between me and Noah. I go to all his home games and sit with Nash and Chrissy, who have become some of my closest friends. I learn all about Nash’s overseas volleyball career and promise to go to her games during the upcoming inaugural season of the Women’s US Pro Volleyball Federation. When Nicole isn’t working, she tags along, and I think she wishes she could get an introduction to a few players.
When the Hurricanes are away, I either go and share a hotel suite with Chrissy, or I stay home and work. Noah has decided to stay a client even though I gave him a stern talkingto about business ethics. He said, and I quote, “I don’t give a flying fuck.” Now that I know a bit more about his career, I realize that he actually owns the commercial strip The Lush is in. He’s more than just a supporter, he’s an investor. When I asked him why, he told me that real estate is a good investment, and that he is able to keep the rent low for Pia by owning the building. His kindness for someone he considers family makes my heart swell, and that particular “business meeting” ended with me on my knees for him in the dining room.
“Happy New Year’s Eve!” Chrissy exclaims as she opens her front door for us. “Come in, don’t let the heat out.” It’s only fifty degrees, but for Houston, that’s cold. I remember when I was a kid there was a New Year’s that was like eighty degrees and it was miserable shooting fireworks when it wasn’t even a little chilly.
Noah, Nicole, and I step into the house chock full of Christmas decorations. I can see three different trees just standing in the entryway. I’m a little surprised Chrissy isn’t the type of person to take them down the day after Christmas, but then again, I can see her enjoying the ambiance until January second. The house smells like she’s been cooking and baking all day. Of course, she refused to let anyone else bring anything. You’d think with all their money they would just cater, but Chrissy loves hosting.
The days between Christmas and New Year’s that are usually an unaccounted for blur are not that way when you’re dating a professional football player. The Hurricanes played the last scheduled game before the break for the end of the year, so Chrissy and I packed our heaviest jackets and went with the men to Denver for the weekend. We spent the Saturday living our winter dreams with cute snow outfits andoodles of hot chocolate. We topped it off with a win on Sunday.
I worked all the days between that game and New Year’s because Noah was at practice, so what else did I have to do? I could have spent more time with Mom and Dad, but they are only closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, so they were working too.
I’d been taking turns between sleeping at Noah’s place and mine. As much as I loved waking up next to him, I couldn’t leave the girls alone too long. One morning he suggested I just bring them with me, but moving my pets into his house seemed a little too serious to me.
When we walk into the living room/kitchen combo area, we’re loudly greeted by the rest of the gang. Jaden is sitting on the arm of one couch looking over Wyatt’s shoulder at a video on his phone. Nash sits next to them, a mug of what smells like Wassail in hand. Mack is here, too, fiddling with the remote control, flipping through the channels. He whips around quickly when he hears me say, “You guys remember my best friend, Nicole?” Nash gets to us first, giving us all hugs in turn.
“Good to see you, girl,” Nash says to Nicole, who in turn points at her mug and asks, “Can I have one of those?” Nash takes her by the hand and brings her to the stovetop where a pot is bubbling away.
