Chapter 29 Maxford
MAXFORD
Ipull my Land Cruiser into my old parking spot at Garnet Charter and kill the engine. It’s only been five months but part of my story feels like a lifetime ago.
“Think you’re ready to see the kids?” Nola asks.
A month ago, I would’ve said I’d rather listen to nothing but Emma’s music for the rest of my life over seeing those rug rats ever again, but I’m actually kind of excited about today.
I look at my watch and say, “Yeah, let’s do this before I have to get to the airport.”
We make our way around the school to the field where the fifth graders have gathered around the dirt track.
“Max! Mom! You guys made it!” Emma runs toward us, alongside classmates who notice me and cheer excitedly. I hold up the foam finger the girls kept from the spring training games, waving it wildly. On it, I’ve taped a sign that says, ‘Emma’s biggest fan.’
Ian, Blake, and Jonah sprint up to us and have a million questions for me about the Seafarers.
“My mom makes sure we watch all your games, and she bought us jerseys with your number on them,” Blake tells me and Nola cracks up.
“Uh, tell Jen thanks,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck.
Blake perks up. “You can tell her yourself. She’s here today, manning the water station.” He points across the field where Jen is watching us like hawks.
Jonah pipes in. “Hey, remember that one game where you ran into the mascot and—”
“Off to class,” I say, herding the group back toward the new P.E. teacher and Principal Bennett, who regain the class’ attention and set them up to start.
“Three miles, here you come!” I look at Emma.
“I may have overestimated how far I can run,” she says in defeat.
Nola gives her a hug and says, “Guess we’ll find out.”
“We’re going out to dinner before you leave, right?” she asks me.
I shake my head. “Sorry, kiddo. I changed my flight for after your run.”
“Ug.” She kicks a rock. “I really wanted pizza.”
“We can still do pizza without him,” Nola promises.
This satisfies her and she looks at me again. “Why do you have to leave early?”
“I gotta go talk to my agent and my GM about a few things.” I adjust my baseball hat and look to Nola.
“Like what?” she asks.
“Emma,” her mom says sternly.
“It’s okay,” I say to her and then go eye-level with Emma. “I signed on for five years with the Seafarers, but after a long talk with your mom last night, I’m going to see what it’ll cost for me to bow out after this season.”
Emma perks up at this. “Really?”
“I miss my family when I’m not home.”
She nods for a second and then her eyes light up. “Wait, are you talking about home with me and Mom?”
“Yeah,” I say with a smile.
She thinks about this for a second. “But I like your house in Seattle and the one with the pool.”
“Me too.” I shrug. “I’ll probably keep them.”
Her jaw drops. “How much money do you have?”
Nola gives an incredulous blink. “Emma!”
Money was never a taboo topic being raised by Stella. She was of the mindset that if you have it, flaunt it. I think about Emma’s question and say, “Enough to have a few houses.”
“That’s so cool. I don’t think you’ll be able to get your job back, though.” She looks forlorn, as if this will be an obstacle to my return.
I wrinkle my nose and tell her, “Well, I heard a rumor the Boise Falcons need a new GM. Maybe I’ll go talk to them.”
She takes all of that in and then turns to Nola. “What about this summer and Europe?”
“It’s happening, monkey. Madelyn and Violet are going to come take turns with Stella.
” Nola and I stayed up until the middle of the night, hashing out everything.
Turns out, she’s not wrong in her love of making plans and setting goals and having rules.
It works for things like this. I’ll be able to finish out this season, knowing Stella’s got family keeping an eye on her, and Nola will be able to see what opportunities come from Europe.
Rumor has it the MoMA is sending a curator to check out a few museum displays and they will overlap with Nola’s time in Austria.
“Reese is going to lose her mind.” Emma is ecstatic and turns to head to the track.
“Em!” Nola calls out and Emma comes right back. “The only thing anybody can know about is Europe—not Max’s plans.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ve kept a lot of secrets this school year, and it’s going to start costing you . . .”
Nola smiles at her. “Phone bill is still due on the fifth of the month.”
Emma smiles at this and with a tap of her nose, she runs off to her classmates.
There’s a whistle and they start their first lap like bulls out of a chute.
Jack, the fifth grade class nerd, is heard, yelling at the top of his lungs, “This mile is for you, Molly!” as he makes his way to the front of the pack.
Between his surprising speed and brave declaration for his crush, I can’t help but laugh. He’s going to be okay after all.
I grab Nola’s hand, pulling her under a tree, off to the side, where we can watch the run-a-thon alone.
I kiss her temple and say, “Best choice I ever made was going to Gin and Bear It to watch the game that night. I almost stayed home—the Armadillos were playing, and even though they’d fired me, I had to watch them in the playoffs.
For some reason, it felt less pathetic to watch them if I was surrounded by strangers. ”
“Yeah? And what happened next?” she coaxes.
“This crazy bachelorette party came in, dressed like the Founding Fathers, and they were so loud.”
She makes a face. “Mmm, I’ll bet that was annoying.”
I nod. “They were the worst. But the woman dressed as Ben Franklin was hot. I got to talk to her in the hallway for a minute and she was funny. She kissed me on her way out of the bar, did you know that?”
“She sounds saucy.”
I hook her waist with my arm and pull her close.
“You have no idea. Turns out, her daughter was in my P.E. class and I failed her for being gone during a quarter-end running test. The woman yelled at me. Somehow we ended up working a carnival booth together and next thing I know, we have the chance to redeem our careers if we get married.”
“That sounds like one of those ridiculous romcoms your sisters used to make you watch.”
“I know, right?” I laugh.
She looks up at me and her face softens. “Let me ask you. Did you get everything you hoped for once you married her?”
“I got so much more.”