Epilogue
IT ALL COMES TOGETHER
Some Time Later . . .
“Travis Adam Johnston!”
The coliseum went wild when the announcer called the next name to walk across the stage to get their high school diploma. It was an auspicious occasion, and the town of Coreland had shown up. It was Coreland High School graduation and not only did the town show up, but the world did as well.
The reason the world showed up was to support the celebration of the overall number one draft pick’s high school graduation.
All those years ago, Travis told Mega that he knew where his life was headed, and he wanted to prepare for it.
Well, Big G saw fit to not make Travis a liar.
The Augusta Chargers signed him right out of high school with a ten-million-dollar sign-on bonus and a seventeen-million-dollar contract.
It was a major win for his family and Coreland itself.
Maggie jumped up and down with excitement as she watched her man walk across the stage to receive his diploma.
Next year, it was her turn. She actually would graduate in December since she doubled up on some of her classes, but she still planned to walk the following May. Her heart was full in the moment.
Mega stood next to his wife as he cheered on the boy that he wanted to send to Club White Clouds and Blue Stars at one point in time.
Now, the Johnston family had engrained themselves in with the other families that loved Travis and Trevor.
Matthew and Joseph were Travis’s shadows at thirteen years old now.
They had one more year until they were in high school, and their baseball futures were bright thanks to the influences around them.
Baseball had calmed the boys down a lot.
When Travis received his sign-on bonus check, the first thing Mega did was walk him and his parents into Washington-Smith Brokerage Firm.
It was important to him that Travis invested and understood how to build generational wealth.
Mega wanted Travis to be successful, yes, but he also wanted to ensure that his daughter would be with a man that had the financial aptitude to guarantee financial security for his family.
Travis respected that, and Tristian appreciated it.
Tristian worked hard his entire life to make sure his family was comfortable.
Annie and he were teenage parents, so there was a lot stacked against them.
Tristian knew how to make money to pay the bills to make sure his family kept a roof over their heads, clothes on their backs, and food in their mouths.
He had no idea how to tell his son to manage millions.
Mega was proud to offer his help to provide resources for financial literacy.
Mega’s hand patted the back of Tristian who stood on the other side of him. “You did it, man. You raised two exceptional young men.”
Tristian smiled. “I never thought I’d see the day that I could say my son was a professional baseball player.” His eyes connected to mine. “You raised an amazing daughter and are raising two exceptional sons yourselves. We have another graduation to go to next year.”
That they did. Ruth used her arm closest to her daughter and niece to engulf them. The kids just wouldn’t stop growing up, to all the parents’ dismay. As much as they wanted it to stop, they wanted it to continue as well.
“Mama, did you get—” Before Maggie could finish her repetitive question, her mother cut her off.
Ruth shushed her daughter. “Maggie, yes! I don’t even know what you are going to ask me, but I did. Everything is ready for tonight’s party. Me, Shan, Mrs. Annie, Kellie, and Shanae have everything ready and set. Please relax and enjoy your man’s graduation.”
Maggie heard her mother, but she wanted everything to be perfect. She loved Travis with her whole seventeen-year-old heart. They had been together since his girlfriend proposal to her, and she prayed that God saw fit that it would lead to a marriage proposal.
The couple went through the usual teenage relationship drama, but cheating had never been an issue.
An amazing thing happened after the first night that Travis visited Mega’s bible study group .
. . He continued to attend. What was the worst thing that could happen if he continued to come?
There was no worse when it came to Big G, only better.
His attendance at bible study, church, his participation in baseball as well as being around men of substance helped Travis understand the importance of discipline and staying a man of integrity.
The men also taught him how to properly treat Maggie.
At fifteen years old, he considered her as the woman that would be his forever.
In order for that to remain a statement of fact, Travis would need to know how to keep his forever happy.
Travis loved Maggie and it showed. Maggie loved Travis and it showed.
He was not the only person who was taught how to properly love.
Ruth didn’t have her own bible study group, because that was not her assignment.
She was a part of a very powerful women’s group that was led by Ansley Gilmore, the first lady of Echo Church.
Maggie and Kellie took part in the bible study group that Ruth was a part of and a teenaged group that was very popular in the church since it was co-ed.
The graduation went on as everyone sat and waited.
Maggie and Kellie shouted for the people that they knew.
Like everyone expected, when Kellie posted the video of Maggie and Travis’s girlfriend proposal, everyone wanted to know the details about the custom jersey.
Shan helped them with the order form, and it went live a week after the video was posted.
After two days, they had to close the order form because of the volume of orders.
Eighty-two orders in two days would be enough to keep the girls and their helpers busy for some time.
Three years later, Grace Under Glitter had not only grown wings, but it had flown so far that they had paid employees.
Everyone was proud of their hard work. When Travis was in the stages of the draft, he mentioned Maggie’s business once and how proud he was of her.
Since then, the website continued to be sold out.
The world loved a pure love story. There was nothing better than a young, black love story of the overall number one draft pick.
Graduation finally ended. Everyone headed outside to wait for Travis in the designated area that was pre-selected. The press wanted interviews, so there was an entire setup for Travis and his family.
When Travis emerged from the building, the first people he went to was his parents.
They praised their son for his accomplishments.
They both made a lot of sacrifices for their family to make sure their sons could follow their dreams. For their sacrifice, Travis gifted them with a business consultant from Washington-Smith Brokerage Firm and the financial investment to start their own trucking and logistical company.
That was a dream of Tristian and Annie’s since they were young.
Travis wanted to make that dream come true for them.
“Bro, I’m so fuckin’ proud of you!” Trevor congratulated his little brother after his parents. “You did everything you said you were going to do.”
Travis hugged his brother tightly. “I learned from the best men around me on how to go after what I want. You and Dad taught me well.”
Their short talk was interrupted by an excited five-year-old Gracie. “Uncle Travie! Congratulations!”
He scooped his niece up in his arms. “Thank you, Gracie! I love you.”
After he put her down, he made his way through congratulations, handshakes, and back pats, to the girl who had his entire heart.
She was beautiful in her black jumpsuit under a custom blazer that was made by none other than Grace Under Glitter.
Her original outfit did not include the blazer, but Travis told her that she better wear it.
“Damn. Mags Manfield, you are beautiful,” Travis said once he was in her personal space. “What did a nigga like me do to deserve a girl like you?”
Time stopped as she took a moment to admire her boyfriend in his slacks, white dress shirt, and tie under his graduation gown.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, then pecked his lips.
“You prayed for favor and God said, let me introduce you to Maggie Manfield. I’m so proud of you, baby. You did it and with honors!”
“I didn’t really have a choice. If I recall, a certain girlfriend told me that she didn’t care if I got a major league contract.
She wouldn’t be with a dumb man because she wasn’t a dumb woman.
That same girlfriend doubled down with a couple study session schedule. ” Travis’s brow was arched as he spoke.
She laughed at his expression. With a tilted head, she responded, “What can I say? I like my man smart and athletic.”
He hugged her tight, then put his lips near her ear. “Well, let’s thank Big G that he could bless you with just that. He definitely blessed me with favor by the name of Magdalene Naomie Gold Manfield.”
The reporters were patient. They would wait if it meant cashing in on the young couple in love photos that they were able to capture in the moment.
Mega stood next to Ruth with his arm around her.
He looked at his daughter and, if projections were correct, his future son-in-law as they stood together and Travis answered questions from the media.