Going Long (29 page)

The crowd was quiet at his
words, his face full of love and affection as he turned to Rosie and spoke his
words right to her. “Rose, my love. It took me years…way too many, I know…to
get my head on straight. But it’s on there now, straight as an arrow. And I am
so happy that I get to spend the rest of my years making up for lost time with
you. I love you, my heart, and my soul. And thanks for picking me right back.”

Rosie stood at his words and
grabbed both sides of Buck’s face, kissing him on the lips and causing a
renewed round of cheers and whistles from the crowd. Everyone lifted their
glasses in the air and took a drink in their honor. I was setting mine on the
table when my napkin slipped from my lap and I bent down under the table to
pick it up. Just then, I saw Reed’s boots step up on top of the seat next to me
and heard the clanking of his spoon on the glass again.

“Sorry…almost done,” he said,
his voice so similar to his father’s now. “I’m the best man, and it’s sort of
tradition that best men say something at these things. I’d know…I’ve done this
before, right Pops?” Everyone laughed at Reed’s joke, picking on his dad’s
marriages. His father just wadded up his napkin and threw it at his son.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I
love you Pops, you know that. And Rosie, you’ve been family to me my entire
life. Tonight? Well, that’s just a formality for me. It makes it official.”
Reed gulped a little, looking down, his eyes wide and concentrating.

“It’s funny, I do this a lot.
Talk in front of crowds. But sometimes I get nervous. Phew, I’m a little
nervous now,” he reached down to take another sip from his glass. I felt bad, I
almost wanted to rescue him. I knew he didn’t really like attention. He
tolerated it, played his part when he had to, whatever it took to get back out
on the football field. I squeezed his hand at his side, and he looked down, his
eyes intent on me, and his smile faint and thoughtful. He left his gaze on me
when he continued to talk, and I hoped it would help calm his nerves.

“So, I’m supposed to say
something wise—something meaningful, and deep—about love. But
everything I know about love you taught me, Pops. So it just doesn’t seem right
passing on any words of wisdom to you here,” he spoke, his eyes still trained
on mine as he lifted one side of his mouth into a half smile, his irresistible
dimple punctuating his words. That dimple. I was done the first time I’d seen
it.

“I’m not going to give you any
advice. At least, not anything you don’t already know. But I would like to tell
you what I’ve learned, what you’ve taught me. I’ve learned that sometimes love
is hard. Life makes love hard, constantly pushing against you and finding
things to throw in your way. And sometimes those things knock you down. No…they
knock the shit out of you, knock you on your ass, isn’t that what you said,
Pops?”

“Sure is, son. Sure is,” Buck
piped in, leaning back in his chair, his face proud, and his head nodding. I
looked back at Reed, his eyes never once leaving me. My heart was starting to
race from his attention.

“Right. It knocks you on your
ass. But then you get up. You get up, because that person, the one you love
more than anything on earth…well, putting it bluntly, like my father taught me,
they make getting your ass knocked down worth the trouble,” Reed said. He was
speaking to me, and I knew it. My hands were sweating from the attention, but
my heart was swelling for the love from this man, the fact that he was washing
away my insecurities right here, in front of everyone.

Reed stepped back down from his
chair to the ground and everyone reached for their glasses, getting ready to
toast. Only Reed didn’t reach for a glass. Instead, he pushed his hand in his
pocket and pulled out a tiny antique box, holding it for a few brief seconds in
his giant hand before slipping down to one knee in front of me. I heard the
gasps and a few whimpers from my friends just before the entire scene folded in
on me, my ears drowning out everything but Reed. “Oh my God!” my mind screamed.

“Nolan. From the moment I met
you, I knew you were different. You were tough, and honest, and smart, and
funny, and beautiful. But you also fit me, like nothing else in my entire life
had ever fit before. You are all of my missing pieces,” he spoke, shaking his
head a little as he laughed to himself softly, his eyes returning back to mine.
“You are the good in me. What drives me, what motivates me. Yeah…I love
football. But what I leave out there on that field, it’s all for you. And I’d
give that all up in a second if I had to. Because you…well, you’ve knocked me
on my ass. But you’re worth all the trouble.”

Reed flipped the box open,
revealing an antique ring with small swirls of diamonds and a pearl at the
center. It was beautiful and perfect. It was old, and told a story, like our
love. I couldn’t blink, but rather could only sit frozen in my chair while Reed
knelt before me. I managed to look up briefly at my mother, her eyes teary and
a smile on her face. Reed followed my gaze and looked back at me, grinning
mischievously. “Oh, they know all about this,” he said, reaching into the box
while the crowd snickered a little at my surprise. I was shaking now, my arms
covered in goose bumps.

“Nolan Lynn Lennox. I’ve got a
plan, and I hope you’ll be on board with it. You see, I have to leave soon for
San Diego. And I’m going to be far. And I’m going to be busy. And I’m not going
to get to come see you anytime I want. And it sucks, and I hate it, and I’m so
sorry it makes you sad. But I’d like to make you a deal,” his voice so warm and
gentle, his words making my eyes water and my hands shake. He reached down to
wipe away a tear, leaving his hand on my cheek for a second just to touch me.

“You wear this ring and promise
me you’ll love me forever, and when you’re done with your fellowship next year,
we’ll get married. That’s it. No more ups. No more downs. Just me and
you—and our forever,” he said, pulling the ring from the box and holding
it in front of me. Forever. Reed wanted me…forever.

My fingers tingled, and my eyes
zeroed in on Reed’s, the smile still there on his face. It never left, not once
all night. Through the shock, I managed to stretch my lips into a smile, and I
reached to touch his hands, nodding
yes
.

“Yes? Is that yes?” he asked,
our foreheads touching while he slid the ring on my finger. It was a perfect
fit, and I’d wear it for always.

“Yes,” I choked, the tears
falling a bit now. “Yes, I’ll marry you Reed Johnson. You’re worth the trouble,
too.”

He stood and lifted me with him,
swinging me around and knocking into the table a little, neither of us caring.
“That’s a yes, everyone,” Reed shouted. “Drink up! She said yes!”

Sarah was the first to whistle,
her fingers in her mouth so it carried loudly through the desert air. Everyone
else joined in after, but all I heard were Reed’s words in my ear.

“You have no idea how happy
you’ve just made me, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to make
you just as happy,” he said, kissing me long and hard, his hands holding my
chin and face.

“You already do,” I said, happy
tears falling now.

“God I love you,” he whispered,
hugging me tightly to his chest.

“I knew you did,” I said,
holding my breath and staring into the eyes I’d just made a promise to love
forever. He smiled at my words, the same ones he had said to me the first time
we uttered those words to one another. He just held me tighter then, and never
let go.

Reed

My body felt like it had been
carried under a freight train. I’d taken beatings in college ball, and I
thought practices had toughened me up enough, but I’d never been hit like I was
out on that field today. I stood there like nothing was wrong, though. I’d keep
it to myself until I got home, and Nolan forced me to soak in ice. Part of me
thought she kind of liked torturing me with the freezing ice baths.

I’d finally gotten my shot at
starting. Four long years as the number two, with a play or two here and there,
but this year the starting gig was finally mine. I played well today. We won,
and I threw two passes to the end zone. But that one interception was going to
plague me. I caught Nolan’s eyes as she stood to the side on the field, waiting
with my dad. She knew I’d be replaying the interception all day, too. She just
gave me a thumb’s up and mouthed, “You were awesome,” her attempt for me to
shrug off my error. I wish I could; it just wasn’t in me.

The San Diego media had been
hounding me all week leading up to the game. The team was mine this year, and I
was going to sink or swim. Today, at least, I’d get to live to another Sunday.
I gave Nolan the sign for a few more minutes while one of the camera guys
clipped a microphone to the front of my jersey. One more interview. I could do
this.

The questions were always the
same: What did you learn under Sampson? Do you feel ready? What do you need to
work on? I rattled off my answers by rote, changing a word around here and
there, just to make it seem as if I was saying something fascinating and new.

The reporter was just getting in
the groove of his questioning, when I looked over and realized Nolan was gone.
My dad was still there, so I wondered what had happened. I knew I was
irritating the reporter, because I was so damned distracted, but I couldn’t
help but search for her. I usually met her in the family area, because the
field was pretty crowded after the game.

“I’m sorry. Can I just take a
short pause? I just need to check on something. I’m all yours in just a sec. I
promise,” I said, unclipping the mic and handing it to the camera guy while I
slid through the crowd of reporters to my dad. “Hey. Where’s Noles?”

My dad just shrugged me off as I
walked up. “She’s fine, she’s fine. It’s probably just that thing they get…what
is it?” my dad was typing on his phone while he was talking to me, driving me
nuts. “Morning sickness. Probably just morning sick…”

He looked up, realizing his
mistake, his face breaking out into an unmistakable smile. My breath stopped,
and I started scanning the field, looking for my girl. I finally saw her
walking back onto the grass from one of the tunnels, and I took off into a
sprint. She just dropped her purse and sank her head down, shaking it.

“Oh no! Was she crying? Not
again. Please God, not again!” I prayed.

As I got closer to her, I
realized she was laughing. And when I reached for her hands, she just looked at
me and smiled. “I knew your dad would blow it,” she said, her lips forming a tight,
confident smile. I looked down at her belly and then back up at her.

“Are you…are you sure?” I asked.
She just nodded big.

“Oh, I’m sure. It’s about six
weeks according to the doctor,” she said, laughing a little at my stunned face.

“We’re…pregnant?” I said,
placing my hands on her stomach now and staring at it again. I’d never felt
something so important before. So fragile. Nolan was giggling, and I looked up
at her, my mouth unable to do anything but smile.

“Uh, I’m pretty sure I’m the one
that’s pregnant. You get to be a dad, yeah. But I don’t see you throwing up
your damn breakfast in a stadium bathroom,” she said, her hands on her hips. I
laughed out loud, half because she was right, and it was funny, and half
because I’d never been happier than I was in this exact moment.

I got down on my knees and
hugged her waist, just listening to her like I could hear something. I knew it
was ridiculous, but suddenly I couldn’t wait to get her home to touch her belly
and talk about names and Google whatever the hell it was we were supposed to
do.

“Hey, I’m having a baby!” I
shouted to the reporters standing and staring now. They started to walk over,
taking pictures of us together. Suddenly, my interviews got a whole lot more
interesting, and Nolan fielded a few questions, too. When she started to look
tired, I held up a hand and apologized to the few reporters left. My girl was
running out of steam, and I had to get her home.

“Sorry guys. Just give me a call
and we’ll talk. I gotta get my family home,” I smiled. Family. I was going to
have a family.

I took Nolan’s purse from her
and tucked it under my arm. “I can hold my purse. You look silly,” she sassed.
I refused to give it back, though. If I had my way, she wouldn’t carry anything
for the next nine months. “Fine, if you insist. I’m going to start bringing the
heavier one, though, just to torture you,” she said, crinkling her nose at me.
I just crinkled mine back and leaned in to kiss her quickly.

I held her hand as we walked
through the family area and down to the garage. Suddenly, I felt guilty making
her climb up into a lifted Jeep. I was going to get a new car tomorrow. Hell, I
might just go get one tonight.

We drove home through the hills
and pulled onto our private street. I was waiting for the gates to swing open
when Nolan broke the silence.

“Peyton,” she said.

“I’m sorry?” I asked, a little
confused.

“Our baby. I’d like to name him
Peyton,” she smiled, looking straight ahead as I drove through the gates to our
house.

“Him, huh? You feeling a boy?” I
said, my male instincts kicking in with pride at the thought of having a son.

“Either way,” she shrugged.

“Either way what?” I asked, then
realized. “Oh, yeah. Either way. I’m happy whatever we have.”

Nolan just laughed to herself,
rubbing her hands over her sleepy eyes. “No, silly. Either way. We’re naming
our baby Peyton either way.”

Peyton, just like Nolan. I loved
it with all my heart, instantly. Just like my girl.

“Yeah, Peyton. I like it,” I
said, falling in love with her all over again.