Epilogue #2
Carmen waved at the screen. “Happy end-of-season! We’ve got a terrible connection, so if it cuts out, know that we love you.”
“We won!” Freya blurted out, unable to hold the news in as she nearly knocked the lemonade over. “Three-nil! And I got two awards! Look!” She handed the phone to Emma, who held it steady while Freya hoisted the plaque and mimed the trophy with her hands.
Ben’s grin spread over his entire face. “Get in! That’s our girl.”
“Players’ Player?” Carmen’s voice trembled. “That’s amazing, Freya.”
“They all voted and…they picked me.”
“We’re so proud of you,” Carmen said. “Did you thank your teammates? Did you thank your coach? Are you—”
“Behaving?” Ben cut in. “No food fights with your sister.”
Vanessa angled the phone so both she and Emma were in the frame. “We would never allow such a thing.”
Emma gave a stern look to the camera. “We are pillars of the community.”
Freya laughed. “I am behaving. Promise. Emma and Vanessa are feeding me so much that I can’t move.”
“What are you having?” Ben asked.
“Everything,” Freya said. “Including the sharing platter that I am not sharing. Except the mushrooms. Emma can have those.”
“Poor Emma,” Carmen leaned back, and the camera showed a strip of sun-bleached boardwalk and a kite surfer in the distance. “We’ll be back Sunday. We’ll take you out to celebrate with us on Monday night.”
“Can we go to the same place we went to for my birthday?” Freya asked immediately. “Because they have those chips with the fancy salt.”
“We sure can,” Carmen said. “Alright, love, we’ll let you eat before your sister steals the rest of your dinner.”
When the call ended, Freya stared at the blank screen, almost dazed.
“You okay, kiddo?”
Freya nodded. “Yeah, I just…I like that I get to tell both of you. That I don’t have to pick.”
“You never have to pick,” Emma said, not trusting herself with anything more complicated.
Freya smiled as she nodded, then… “Can I have some of your pasta?”
Emma pushed her bowl across. “Knock yourself out.”
“Not literally,” Vanessa said. “We only brought one inhaler.”
They traded bites of food, opinions, and then leftovers. The waitress came back twice to marvel at the speed at which one small person could demolish an entire platter. Emma watched Freya eat the way she played—wholeheartedly and oblivious to anything other than joy—and relaxed against the booth.
Six months. That’s how long it had taken to build this ordinary yet brilliant relationship.
“Right!” Vanessa slid out of the booth. “I’m going to see what I can find at the dessert counter. Be prepared!”
“Okay, babe. We’ll trust you.” Emma watched her wife go, madly in love with everything that Vanessa was. She didn’t know how she’d ended up being the luckiest woman in the world, but Emma was grateful. God, she was beyond grateful for moments like this.
“Can I ask you something?” Freya asked as she shifted closer. “It’s okay if you say no.”
“Ask away, superstar.”
Freya picked at the corner of a napkin. When she looked up, her eyes seemed a little more hesitant than usual.
“Do you think I could really leave one of my trophies at yours?” She spoke quickly, as though slowing down might lead to a different outcome.
“Not because I don’t want them at home, Mum will make me put it on the mantelpiece anyway, but because…
” She lifted one shoulder. “Because it feels like they’re both for all of us.
And you came to every match. And if it’s at yours, then when I’m not there, you can look at it and…
I don’t know. Remember I’m your sister.”
Emma didn’t manage a response at first. She reached across and unclasped Freya’s fingers, the ones that had curled into fists as if she was bracing for a no. “Which one?”
“Players’ player,” Freya said without any hesitation. “That’s the one that matters.”
“That’s exactly what Vanessa said.”
“I know.” Freya grinned. “That’s because she’s always right.”
Emma squeezed Freya’s hand. “We’ll put them on the shelf in your room like you suggested earlier. Right by the window, so it’s the first thing you see when you wake up at ours.”
Freya smiled. “And, um…this, too.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the captain’s armband from that afternoon. She fiddled with it, then held it out, not quite meeting Emma’s eyes. “Will you keep this? Just for a bit. Until next season starts. So you can…have a bit more of me.”
Emma took it carefully. “I’ll keep it safe, and every time I look at it, I’ll remember you scoring goals.”
“I always look for you, you know.” Freya looked down at her hands in her lap. “After I score or before I take a corner. Even when I tie my laces wrong and pretend I didn’t. I always look for you first.”
Emma pressed a hand to her chest. “I look for you, too. All the time.”
“Do you like me being your sister, Emma?”
“Like it?” Emma asked, her brows lifted. “I love it.”
They sat quietly for a moment, taking stock of the day’s events. The armband lay between them like a promise, but Emma had already promised forever to Freya. Even if only in her head for the time being, the fact still remained.
Vanessa returned with three spoons and a brownie with ice cream. She took one look at their faces, set the dessert down without a word, and slid in beside Freya, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Everything alright?”
Freya pressed her head to Vanessa’s side and nodded. “Yeah.”
“Good.” Vanessa looked at Emma and lifted a brow. “You okay, too?”
“Of course, babe. Freya and I were just making some arrangements for the precious cargo she received today.”
“Oh?”
“We’re splitting the trophies. Players’ Player lives at yours. Top Goal Scorer at home-home. And Emma’s keeping my captain’s armband until next season.”
Vanessa’s eyes shone. “Excellent decisions all around.” She plucked a spoon from the napkin and pointed at the pudding. “Now, who’s going to show me how an elite athlete takes down a brownie the size of London?”
“Challenge accepted.” Freya dug in with delight, wiggling her eyebrows as she brought the spoon up towards her face. “You so pick the best desserts, Vanessa. Look at the size of this bad boy!”
On the way out of the restaurant, some thirty minutes later, the waitress stopped them for a photo by the door. “For the wall,” she said. “We put champions up there.”
“Champions!” Freya laughed as the flash went off.
“Hey, Emma.” Freya turned to her, holding her hand as they crossed the road towards the carpark.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for finding me.”
Emma turned to her and crouched a little. “You found me, kiddo. You walked into my office and told me who I was. I’m just…catching up.”
“Well, thank you for being my sister.” Freya pressed a kiss to Emma’s cheek and then darted away before Emma could catch her. “Come on! Vanessa will think we’ve run away!”
Emma touched the spot on her cheek, breathed in a deep breath, and followed the kid she would move heaven and earth for. She climbed into the passenger seat, and Vanessa glanced across as she started the engine, reading Emma’s face the way she always did. “All good?”
“So much better than good, babe.” Emma leaned over the console and kissed Vanessa, lingering for a moment while she caught her breath. “Got everything I need, haven’t I?”
Emma sat back and watched the world buzzing around outside the shelter of the car, safe in the knowledge that she could lose years…but still find her way to everything she had now. She reached behind her seat, found Freya’s hand, and squeezed it, then smiled when Freya squeezed hers back.
“Home?” Vanessa asked.
“Home.”