Chapter 29 #2
“We are a team. Offense, defense, special teams, we are all Monarchs, so if we lose, we all lose. I think we’re going to go to practice tomorrow and make sure we handle business next week.”
“Good answer,” I murmured proudly.
“There are videos of people begging for more information about you,” a different journalist asked. “For instance, they are really interested in your relationship status. What are your thoughts about that?”
“My only thought is for all of you to leave anyone you think I’m with alone.”
“Does that confirm you are in a relationship with her?”
“It confirms that I want you to leave her alone. Some of the comments I’ve seen pissed me off to be honest.”
“Because she’s your girlfriend?”
“Because she doesn’t deserve to be dragged like that just for standing next to me in a picture,” he countered.
“She’s beautiful, smart, funny, passionate, tough …
She’s not any of the negative things that are being said about her.
She’s the person I most look forward to hearing from.
She’s the best person I know. And disrespecting her is disrespecting me. ”
My stomach flipped.
“So, she is your girlfriend?”
He hesitated. “She’s … What if she was? What then? I’d be blessed to have someone like her in my life. And to imply otherwise would be some dumb shit.”
“Do you think this negativity surrounding your … friend is fueling how you dominate the field?”
“No.”
The next few questions focused solely on his gameplay. When the clip concluded, I replayed the part about me. I hadn’t been expecting that, and it made my heart swell. To be defended so publicly did something to me. I put my hand over my heart and drifted to sleep.
A few hours later, Monica’s soft, compassionate tone jarred me awake. “Jazmyn.”
My eyes flew open, and my stomach plummeted. Aunt Addy.
I sat up quickly. “Monica?”
“You should come see your aunt.”
The sadness in her tone told me everything I needed to know.
“Okay,” I said shakily, getting out of the bed. “What’s changed?”
“Her breathing. I don’t know how much time she has.”
I’d thought I had a week with her, but death didn’t wait for anyone.
My mom was in the hallway with watery eyes and a teary smile.
We hugged for a full minute, not saying a word but fully understanding.
I walked down the hallway, and I saw my dad at his sister’s side.
His red-rimmed eyes and solemn expression tugged at my heart.
When he saw me, he stood, wrapping his arms around me and squeezing me tight.
I’d kept it together through those emotional embraces, but when I looked at Aunt Addy, I almost lost it.
“Aunt Addy,” I whispered, hugging her lifeless body.
Her breathing was shallow, almost imperceptible, and strained. Her eyes were closed as if she were resting. Her cheekbones were more pronounced due to her weight loss and the way she was lying. More than anything, I wanted her to hug me back.
I shut my eyes tight, but the tears seeped through my lashes.
“Thank you for everything.” I spoke softly, as if I were scared to disturb her rest. “I’m sorry if I ever made you feel bad about dying.
I was being selfish because I’m going to miss you.
I wasn’t thinking about you and what you’re going through, what you’ve been going through for years.
I’m so sorry about that. You’re hurting.
You’re in pain. If it’s time for you to go, I understand.
Don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay. I am so thankful for how you took care of me, but now you have to take care of you.
Thank you for this summer. Spending that time with you was everything.
I’m sorry I didn’t help you get your party.
You deserved the party of your dreams. You deserve everything.
” A sob erupted out of me. “I would’ve died in this town if it weren’t for you.
It would’ve swallowed me up and suffocated me.
Thank you for all the you that you poured into me. I love you.”
I lifted my head and looked at her. I grabbed her hand and held it while I cried.
She was relatively young, and her life ending at fifty-four was heartbreaking.
Although she’d lived such a full, vibrant life, she still had so much she could’ve done and accomplished.
So I cried for her—what she had done and what she had yet to do.
“Jazmyn?” Monica interrupted me twenty minutes later.
I looked up.
“I need to check her,” she said softly.
I moved out of the way so she could do her job.
Monica called everyone in the room, and my dad said a prayer.
We sat in silence for a few minutes while Monica used her stethoscope to search for a heartbeat.
Shaking her head, she continued to monitor for respiratory effort.
She lifted Aunt Addy’s eyelids and confirmed her pupils were fixed and nonreactive to light.
“There are no signs of life present. Addison is gone,” Monica announced softly, her voice breaking slightly.
It was a few minutes past eight o’clock in the morning.
There was a finality to the silence that filled the house after that announcement.
It felt like time froze and then I blinked, and it was nine o’clock and Rose had arrived.
My mom was in the kitchen cooking breakfast. My dad was in the living room making calls to family. Rose was in the office making calls to friends. Monica was on the other side of Aunt Addy’s room completing paperwork. And I sat quietly, staring at my aunt’s body.
“Addison left something for you,” Monica said gently.
From the nightstand drawer, she pulled out three sealed envelopes.
Each had directions on the front that she read as she handed it to me.
“This is for you to open now.” She handed me the first one.
“This is for you to open when you get back home.” She handed me the second one.
“And this is for you to open when you finish your list or on New Year’s Eve. ” She handed me the third one.
“Thank you,” I whispered, staring at my aunt’s handwriting on the envelopes.
Monica made the call to arrange for the body to be transported and left me alone in the room.
I held up the envelope I couldn’t open until after my list was complete.
“Did you mean everything on my list except for the student loan repayment? I know you said I can do anything, but unless they forgive my loans, I need to remind you that I teach at a public school. I think we both knew that was unreasonable for me to complete by the end of the year.” I let out a little giggle, and then my smile fell at remembering she was never going to laugh or smile back.
I took a deep breath and opened the first envelope.
Jazmyn,
This was one of the best summers of my life and that is all because of you.
I appreciate you being here for me more than you know.
I enjoyed this time with you and I am thankful you chose to stay with me.
I would’ve never asked you to do it because I know how you feel about Chance.
You deserved so much more and so much better than this town ever gave you.
Growing up here, I got to experience the magic of this place and the charm of the community.
And I hate that you were denied the opportunity to experience that because of jealousy and hatefulness.
I choose to believe you endured that in order to ensure you got out of here because so many people don’t get out.
So many people stay right here and settle.
And the last thing I ever want you to do is settle—in any area of your life.
I am so proud of the woman you are and the woman you will continue to evolve into.
Now I forbid you to mope, mourn, and wallow.
Intentional happiness means to be happy on purpose.
Do things you love, be with the people you love, live a life you love—intentionally.
So please, never stop fighting for yourself.
Never stop fighting for what you want. Never stop fighting for what you deserve. And believe me, you deserve the world.
The lists we created, and all the things we did from the lists, are reminders of who we were and who we are, what we’re capable of and what we can control.
For instance, I can’t control death, but I can control how I go out.
The last thing I have to do on my list is my party.
This is my farewell party. So the reason I never talked to you about it is because my party is my memorial service.
Because I don’t want a stuffy, sad funeral.
I want a celebration of life. I want a memorial. I want to go out with a bang.
I’ve planned everything, so you don’t have to worry about a thing.
Everyone can work together to execute it.
The directions are on the second page, and I want everyone to come together to make this party happen.
But under no circumstances are you to let Richard or Miranda choose the photos.
I love them, but you saw the pictures they’ve chosen to put on social media for my birthday the last few years.
The one from this year, I looked like I had been turned every which way but loose, and they posted it anyway.
So photo selection duties are on you and you alone.
I love you.
Sincerely,
Your Aunt Addy
PS: Take a little bit of my ashes and spread them somewhere I’d get a kick out of.
I called Lamar first, and he offered to leave practice so he could drive down to be with me.
I told him not to because of the distance, but also because on the heels of a loss, leaving practice wouldn’t be a good look.
Next, I had a three-way call with Aaliyah and Nina, and they also offered to drive down.
I told them not to since they said they were coming down for the service.
And then I waited in the living room with my parents until the pastor came to pray and the funeral home came to collect her body.