Chapter 35
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
THE BIRD
WESTON
Joan calls the day after our home game. I’m chatting with Blake and Ed at the gate after a long workout and lift my hand in apology.
“I’ve gotta take this, sorry.”
They wave and go back to talking about yesterday’s game. We beat the Bears 41 - 10, and it felt great.
“Hello?”
“Have you seen the magazines?” She gets right to it.
“Uh, no. What magazines?”
“You name it, Sadie’s in them.”
“What? Why? She’s hardly even leaving the house.”
“Well, apparently she and Caleb were out buying diapers the other night, and a few days before that, they were at lunch with her parents. It’s caused a lot of commotion that she wasn’t at your game yesterday and her parents were.”
“You said it was best for her not to go, and she’s taking your word for it, believe me.”
“I still believe that’s for the best. Unless you want to do another statement of some sort, but I feel like that could backfire on you. Bottom line, I don’t want this interfering with your game.”
“It’s not. I want her at my games, but she’s convinced you’re right about that.”
“Can I have a stylist send her some clothes that she can wear when she goes out? Send her measurements and we’ll overnight it.”
“Are you serious right now?”
“Well, yes, that athletic wear she wore on Saturday looked like it could fit three people. It was horrendous.”
“Joan, come on. Sadie hasn’t looked horrendous a day in her life. She’s fucking stunning.” I pause, my head dropping. “ Shit. She and Caleb are out right now with her mom while I worked out. I need to make sure she doesn’t see those magazines.”
“If she goes anywhere that has periodicals, she will see them,” Joan says primly.
“Fuck.”
“Think about what I said about a stylist,” she says.
I growl and hang up.
I’ve never growled at Joan and I half expect her to call me back and chew me out, but she doesn’t.
I call Sadie and it goes to voicemail. I’m too agitated to leave her a message, so I try again, and hang up a second time when she doesn’t answer.
I pace around the living room for an hour and finally go take a shower when I still haven’t heard from her. When I get out, I put on gym shorts and a tee and think I might hear something downstairs. I jog down there and Sadie and Caleb are in the kitchen…next to the kitchen table covered with a slew of magazines. Fuck.
I look at Sadie tentatively and her eyes are red-rimmed, but her face is dry and her shoulders are squared.
“Hey, beautiful,” I say, moving toward her and lean in to kiss her. It’s what I would say to her any other day, but today she looks at me suspiciously.
It’s only then that I realize her mom is also in the room. I drop my hands from Sadie’s waist, unsure of what to do. “Hey, Pam.”
She smiles at me. “Hi, Weston. Sadie told me about the two of you a few days ago. I’m happy for you guys.”
I sag in relief and put my hands back on Sadie, grinning. I told my family about us right away, but Sadie didn’t, and it was starting to concern me a little bit that she hadn’t.
“Haven’t you heard? I’m not beautiful.” Sadie kisses me back and picks up a gossip magazine. She’s on the cover, and I’ve honestly never seen the face she’s making on the cover. It’s the worst angle, and she looks like she’s about to say something but is going to be sick first.
I study it.
“I’ve never seen you look like that, not one time, and I live with you.”
“Well, I don’t believe you because look…” She holds up five other magazines. “I look equally terrible in all of them.”
“I swear, you don’t,” I tell her. I lower my eyes to hers and put my hands on her cheeks. “Every day I’m in awe of how beautiful you are. I love every way you look, whether you’re just waking up, or you’re all dressed up, or Caleb has just spit up on you.” I lower my voice, “Or you’re in my jersey. But I swear to you, I’ve never seen you making those faces.”
“I told her the same thing,” Pam says. “Some of those magazines are just trying to make people look bad…”
“I’ve been avoiding looking at anything online, but we drove into Denver to go to Whole Foods and Target, and I was everywhere I looked, at both places . And they’re saying such mean things.” Her cheeks are splotchy as she gets angrier. “I’ve hardly been anywhere in weeks, months really, but both times I was out the past week, they’ve captured it. And wouldn’t you know, both times I’ve looked like a gross blob.” Her eyes fill with tears. “At least Us Weekly has a shot of me at that one game, so I look better there, but then they also show this awful one…like a before and after downgrade. And then I went online on the way home, and the things they’re saying on there are so much worse. I can see why they’d think I’m a gold digger when I’m out looking like that. I need some money to help that mess.” She waves her hand at the mound of magazines and her mom giggles.
“You’d never be a gold digger. They don’t know how much you love a good sale,” Pam says.
“Yeah, there’s a whole other group of people who are mad that I’m not wearing designer clothes. I never even shopped at Whole Foods until I met your sorry ass, and I went today to get something for you ,” Sadie says, glaring up at me. “I’m sure there will be a bunch of pictures of that too.” She points at her outfit and then lifts both hands up, giving the magazines the bird.
I press my lips together, trying to hold back my laugh, but it bursts out. Her eyes narrow, but there’s a hint of a grin on her face.
“I’m sorry this is so stupid,” I tell her. “And I’m glad your mom was with you today. I actually think it’d be best if you’d have someone with you every time you go out, if I’m not with you.”
“Is there something more that you’re not telling me?” she asks. “You’ve never said you wanted someone with me when I go out. Has Joan said something else?”
I look down and she reaches up and smooths the crease between my brows.
“People can be so hateful.” I take her hand, weaving our fingers together. “I hate it, but it seems like it comes with any high-profile job. We’ll get through this. It’ll all die down. Joan called right before you came home, so I’d just heard there were some periodicals, as Joan put it, featuring you.”
She snorts when I say periodicals .
“What did she say? Tell me everything.” She looks at me expectantly.
I hesitate and she pins me with her stare.
“Tell me.”
“She still thinks we’re doing the right things…unless we did some kind of a statement, but she said that could backfire on me. And that she doesn’t want any of this interfering with my playing, which I assured her it won’t.”
She nods. “What else?”
“That was…it.”
“No, what did she say about me being in the periodicals?”
“Just that you were in a lot of them…”
“And?”
I raise my head to the ceiling and groan. “She offered to hire a stylist for you and she’d overnight the clothes. But Joan is a snob and I wouldn’t pay any attention to that. I like the way you dress.”
She holds up the magazine with the baggy sweat suit. “Gross. Blob.”
“You wear comfy clothes sometimes. Everyone does.” I point at myself and what I’m wearing. “If you want to go shopping, you should buy things you like…unless…do you want a stylist?” I frown, trying to get a read on her mood.
“I don’t really trust my sense of fashion, but the press would really have a heyday with that if I suddenly turn up everywhere looking all done up.”
My phone buzzes and I check it. Felicity.
“It’s my sister. Hey —she’d love to go shopping with you.”
She’s shaking her head, but I grin and answer the call.
“Hello?”
“Hey. You guys okay over there?” Felicity says.
“You saw the magazines.”
Sadie makes a face.
“Yeah. I saw them at Cecil’s this afternoon and was going to call then, but my phone has been going crazy with all of my sisters-in law calling to check on Sadie. They really loved her and we all want you guys to come back soon.”
“That’s sweet. Maybe we can on one of my Mondays off.” I put my hand over the receiver and whisper to Sadie, “She’s checking on you and the female Landmark crew have been calling her to see how you’re doing too.”
“Aw,” she says softly.
“Tell her she does not look like that,” Felicity’s saying when I start listening again.
“I’ve told her. I’m not sure she believes me yet.”
Sadie’s eyes widen.
“Can I put you on speakerphone?” I say, laughing. “Here, tell her.”
Felicity laughs and says it again, “You do not look like that.” And then softer, she whispers, “Those motherfuckers are messing with the wrong family.”
“Whoa, sis,” I laugh. “Better hope Owen doesn’t hear that potty mouth.”
“He’s almost got me trained, but not quite,” she says, laughing. “Seriously, Sadie, I’m sorry they’re going after you so hard. It’s ridiculous.”
“Thanks. I’ve laughed and cried and spewed curses about it. It’s just weird. I’m used to minding my own business and staying under the radar.”
“Yeah, no one should have to get used to this kind of garbage,” she says. “If you need to get away for a few days…or weeks, come anytime.”
“I might take you up on a visit sometime,” Sadie says. “And…the next time you’re visiting your parents or coming to a game, if it’s convenient…would you ever be interested in going shopping and helping me pick out cuter clothes?”
“Hell, yeah,” Felicity says. “Dangit, hi, Owen. Yep, go ahead and stick it in the jar for me. You’re bleeding me dry, Ace.” She laughs. “I’d love to go shopping with you. I don’t think you need me to pick out cute clothes, but it’d be fun to hang out.”
“No, I definitely need you,” Sadie says.
“You know who would be better at it than me and would love to come along too? Scarlett and Ruby. My clothes are all right and Marlow and Sofie always look great too, but Scarlett and Ruby have that eye for fashion. I swear, I can look at something and not see the potential at all, and they’ll look at it and pair it with another piece that makes it amazing .”
“I do not have that gift,” Sadie says.
“I’ve only seen you look fabulous,” Felicity says.
“Except for the sweat suit on most of the covers right now…” Sadie laughs and Felicity joins in.
“Except for that,” she says.
“I was having cramps. I wanted something loose.”
“See? I get that. Women everywhere get that. One sec, I’m just gonna look at the calendar real quick. Weston’s leaving Saturday, right? I don’t know what time he’s leaving, so it might depend on that whether you want to go Saturday or Sunday. But if I can get the girls together this fast, what if we come pick you up Saturday and go to Boulder? Maybe there’d be fewer photographers there, and there are cute shops, great food. Ooo, we could spend the night Saturday and then shop all day Sunday…what do you think?”
“That sounds so fun. I don’t want anyone to feel like they have to go...only if?—”
“Are you kidding? They’ll all want to go. We need a girls’ trip desperately and I need my Caleb fix.”
“Well, that would be…amazing.” Sadie looks at me with wide eyes and I smile, squeezing her hand.
“I’ll call or text later tonight once I’ve heard back from everyone, okay?”
“Okay. Thank you.” She clears her throat and I think she might cry. “This is really great of you, Felicity.”
“Sadie, I can’t wait to spend time with you,” she says.
“Love you, sis. Thanks for checking on my girl,” I add.
“ My girl , heehee, I love the sound of that,” Felicity says. “Talk later. Bye.”
When we hang up, I put my arms around Sadie and hug her. She melts into me, and we stay like that for a long time.
“Does this mean you’ll come to a game?”
She smacks my arm, but it got a laugh out of her.
“I may as well, since they’re gonna be like this,” she says eventually, but I don’t think she’s convinced.