Epilogue
Six Years Later...
THE ROAR of the crowd is unlike any other celebration we've been a part of. Or maybe it's that life has changed so much for me, that each moment is something to truly be grateful for.
The cup is passed around and we all kiss and hug it like it's our baby. Well, not me. If I held Matías the way these guys are tossing around the cup, Jolie would have my head. I mean, I can see her point. The little guy is only ten months old. But don't let his age fool you. The little meatball weighs a ton.
The Havoc owner stands at the microphone and thanks us all for an amazing season, and Coach Hammer gets a little misty eyed. Having a girl has made him soft, but it is truly for the better. Before her he was like a cranky drill sergeant. He's still like a drill sergeant, but at least now he barks at us with a smile.
We all gather around for a picture and I jump when the boom of pyrotechnics sounds behind us just as the cameras start clicking. I look over to where Jolie stands with Mattie in her arms with giant purple headphones on his head. His black wavy hair is starting to fill in making him look less like an old bald man and more like an old man with a bad toupee.
Jolie's bright smile still lights up my morning, noon and night. Each day she is more beautiful, inside and out, and I remind myself that even though I have her, I certainly do not deserve her. She's an angel and I'm just the lucky asshole who gets to bathe in her glow.
The team finally breaks up and families start descending on the ice. I speed over to Jolie and take Mattie in my arms and help her step carefully. She glides her feet and I quickly pull her to me, wrapping my arm around her waist, and she circles her arms around Mattie and me.
"Way to go, hotshot," she says against my lips.
"Couldn't have done it without you Bunny." I give her three short kisses on her lips and Mattie smacks my cheek. "I don't think Meaty likes me kissing his mommy."
"I'd be mad too, if you nicknamed me after a meatball."
"Jo…look at him. The kid probably weighs as much as a toddler." I bounce him up and down and he giggles, his fat cheeks rising so that his eyes are but small slits. "What are you feeding him?"
"Oh you know, the usual. A six egg omelet for breakfast. Monte Cristo and chips for lunch, and a New York strip steak with baked potato and all the fixin's for dinner."
I kiss his chubby little face and pretend to bite his hands. "No more steak for you, Meaty. Salads and clean protein. We need you fit and working on your speed by the time you're two."
I kiss Jolie again and we make our rounds, talking with players and their families. It feels like thirty minutes pass before I finally see Jordan.
"Where the hell have you been?" I ask him, accusingly.
"I've been here, asshole. You just couldn't see me with Meaty blocking your view."
"Hey. Language. Mattie's going to start talking soon and I'll be damned if the first word my nephew says is asshole." Brooke smacks Jordan's arms and we laugh.
"C'mere Meaty. I'm hungry and need a nibble." Jordan pulls him from my arms and nibbles on his neck causing Mattie's laugh to roll.
"So are we celebrating like only we know how?" Brooke asks.
"You know it. No one parties like the Santos' and Fairchilds." Jolie lifts her hands and waves them like she's dancing at a nightclub.
"Perfect. Then we'll get the Chinese and you two set up the Twister. What kind of alcohol should we buy?" Brooke grabs Mattie's hand and pretends to munch on his little sausage fingers.
"The non-alcoholic kind." Jolie's words have me freezing and my heart lodging in my throat.
"Why would we need non-alcoholic drinks?" I ask her.
She grabs the bottom of her blouse and slowly raises it, inch by inch. We crowd around her to see what the surprise is, like she's a magician and we're getting the secret to her trick. The blouse exposes her belly button and I see something written on her stomach.
"Why is there a potato on your belly, Jo?" Jordan asks, taking the words right out of my mouth.
She and Brooke stare at us like we speak a language they don't understand, but clearly its them speaking a different language.
"Seriously?" Brooke says with an arch of her brow.
"Yeah. Seriously." I look at her then back to my wife who is still standing there with her shirt lifted high and a potato drawn on her belly.
"Wow. You guys really suck a Pictionary. A potato. Meat and potato." She stares at me but still the words don't click. "I'm pregnant! Meaty is going to have a little brother or sister. Meat and Potato."
"What the fuck!" I shout, and people around glare at me. "We're having a potato-I mean baby?" Jolie nods her head and I scoop her into my arms and kiss her.
I kiss her lips, her nose, her cheeks, her eyelids, her forehead…any piece of skin I can lay my lips on that is appropriate for a PG audience.
"Did you hear that Meaty? You're going to have a little brother or sister. We better not call it a potato or chunkers might try and eat it when it's born."
Jolie's legs are wrapped around me and we kiss again, giving the crowd a show.
"You're amazing. What did I ever do to deserve you?" I ask, looking into her big brown eyes.
"We deserve each other, Bean. Always remember that. There's no me without you."
"And now there's no Meaty without potato." I smile at her and she gives me a wide grin back. "I love you, Bunny."
"I love you too, Bean."
My hand holds the back of her head and I crush my mouth to hers. The fingers that I love so much tangle in my sweaty strands, and I immediately grow hard under the cover of my pads. Thank god they're still on, otherwise that would really give the press something to write about.
"Jesus. Do you two ever stop?" Jordan groans.
Our lips separate and without taking our eyes off one another, we both shout, "Get used to it. It's happening," and go back to kissing, barely missing a beat.