Fallon
He didn’t call when he landed. He didn’t call when he got to the hotel. He’s not returning my voicemails or texts. Not once in the entire time we’ve been dating has he been noncommunicative. Until now.
I’ve fucked this relationship up. It feels like I’m dying inside, but I can’t let on to anyone around me because we have a decisive game seven right now.
Despite not sleeping the past two nights, I’m stuffing down my own pain to do my job and be there for the amazing women on this team.
Tomorrow I’ll let myself crumble. Today I’m standing tall because I have to.
I smile for the first time in two days when Kennedy walks into the locker room. She’s wearing a short cow-patterned fur coat with the matching cowboy hat, a short denim skirt, and cowboy boots. She’s ridiculous, albeit totally gorgeous and amazing at the same time.
I wink at her as I whisper, “Did you get that outfit in the maternity section?”
She barks out a laugh. “Umm, no, but I did pop. That’s why I’m wearing this jacket instead of the crop top I had planned. It fucking happened overnight. It’s crazy. I’m just glad our uniform is loose-fitting.”
I take in her boobs, which seemingly also grew overnight. “All hail sports bras.”
“Truth.” She holds up her phone. “I got the sweetest text from my dad. Was this your doing?”
I shake my head and respond, “Nope. All him.”
He’s not even talking to me.
The girls dress in their uniforms, and I help them all get treated in the training room.
At this point in the season, nearly everyone requires some sort of assistance.
Strained muscles, soreness, tweaked backs, and even a few broken fingers are the norm.
Fortunately, Harper is here to help. The joy I have in watching her work with me is carrying me through this trying time.
The girls are now on the floor in their layup lines just before gametime. I see Diane Garma jawing at Kennedy again. She’s trying to get under her skin, probably so she fouls out of the game. We can’t win this without Kennedy.
I look at Coach Lakshmi, and she notices the same, motioning for me to go over and defuse the situation.
I quickly walk over in time to hear Diane make some sort of cow joke to Kennedy regarding her walk-in outfit. Walk-in outfits, especially Kennedy’s, are often photographed and plastered all over social media.
Kennedy remains cool as a cucumber. “It’s better than those animal print yoga pants you wore. If you’re gonna wear shit like that, you should weigh less than the animal they represent.”
“This isn’t a fashion show, Kennedy.”
“This isn’t a zoo either, but here you are,” Kennedy immediately bites back.
I move to stand between them as Diane narrows her eyes at Kennedy. “You’re such a bitch.”
Kennedy shakes her head, again remaining calm. “Nah, I was a bitch last year. This year I’m aspiring to be a cunt.” She blows Diane a kiss before retreating toward the rest of our team.
I have to bite back my smile. I truly don’t know where she comes up with this stuff, but she has a never-ending supply of one-liners and always has the last word.
I encourage Diane to head back to her layup line, which she does, and our girls prepare to play.
The game gets underway. Sulley’s shot is off tonight. Thankfully, Kennedy and Palmer have set playoff records for rebounds, while Kennedy and Layla are keeping us in the game with scoring.
We’re down heading into the second half. Sulley finally gets her act together and does what she does best—pop the three-pointers.
It’s a bit of a seesaw game with both teams having a hot hand at different times. The crowd is on its feet. The stadium is truly electric. It’s so great how much this city has rallied around these girls.
We’re down one, with seven seconds left on the clock. It’s our ball, and we call a timeout. Coach Lakshmi looks at me as the girls walk to the bench. “We’ll spread them and have Kennedy set the pick for Sulley?”
I look over at Harper, who’s sitting with Tanner in the front row. She mouths, “Do my play.”
I think she’s right. It could work.
“Coach, they’ll be expecting that. I’ve got something else in mind. Something they won’t see coming.”
She nods. “Let’s hear it.”
Two minutes later, the girls have our new play and are back on the court. I’m feeling very nervous, more so than normal, considering this play is from the mind of my nine-year-old daughter.
The whistle blows. Shay has the ball out of bounds while Sulley runs around to get open. She eventually does, and Shay passes the ball to her. She’s immediately swarmed by two players, which is what Harper said would happen.
Kennedy gets a step on her defender because they assumed she’d be helping Sulley, but she’s headed the other way toward the basket. This is where Harper’s genius comes into play. She wanted Sulley to be the decoy, and that’s exactly what’s happening.
Kennedy runs fast, and Sulley tosses the ball high in the air. My eyes widen. We called for a bounce pass, not this. Kennedy can’t dunk. She’s not tall enough. This makes it riskier.
It feels like it all goes down in slow motion. The ball sails through the air as does Kennedy.
There’s a reason Kennedy Jeffries was a four-time high school and four-time college All-American. The kid practically jumps out of the stadium—while pregnant—as she handles the pass in the air and dunks it as time expires. It’s an alley-oop, and it’s not exactly what we called, but it worked.
Kennedy hangs on the rim, basking in the glory of making the biggest shot of her career. Maybe one of the biggest shots to ever take place in the league. This moment will be memorialized in women’s sports history.
Coach Lakshmi and I are hugging and jumping up and down while the girls are all dogpiled on top of Kennedy. I have a brief moment of concern given that she’s pregnant, but she seems okay.
The best part? Harper is on top of the dog pile. Tears find my eyes at her joy.
Once the girls are back on their feet, Kennedy places Harper on her shoulders as championship hats and shirts are brought in. I know there will be countless photos of this moment. Harper will remember this for the rest of her life.
Seeing Kennedy include Harper in the big moment has me in my feels. Part of me has imagined that they would one day be sisters. I won’t give up on it. Jett and I need to talk. We need to move past this.