Hail Mary Baby: A Secret Baby Sports Romance (9 page)

“
W
ell
,” She said, as we got dressed again, “I guess you have to go and be with the team, huh?”

I shrugged and gave her a small nod. “Yeah, I guess so. I have some time to kill though. Can I take you home?”

She smiled and replied, “I would love that, Liam.”

I had my driver pick us up. Nothing too fancy, just a rental SUV. Still, it felt good to sit next to her for the ride. There was so much I wanted to do with her now. I wanted to prove to her that I wasn’t some stupid jock. I needed her to know that I was different from the rest of them. I wasn’t like Charlie. If only she knew that I had been thinking about her all this time. She knew to some extent, but not the whole thing. From here on out, I was going to show her I was better than the rest.

We pulled into her driveway and parked. “Thanks Simon. It was a wonderful drive.” I said to my driver. He opened the doors for us and gave a half-bow. It was a joke he liked to make with me, as if I were royalty or some shit. I laughed and said, “Okay, Okay. I’ll be out in a bit.” I said.

We walked up to the steps of her porch. She stopped me and asked, “Sure you can’t stay for a while?” She looked down, seemingly embarrassed by the question. “It’s just that we haven’t gotten much time together. I’d like to get to know you better.”

It wasn’t a tough sell. Not one bit. “I’ll stay as long as you want me to.” I said. I turned to Simon, my driver, and said, “Hey, Simon! Might be a little longer than I let on.”

“As long as you tip me big, I don’t care.” He said, with a comic smile on his face.

I shook my head. “Always emptying my pocket.”

She unlocked the door, but hesitated on opening it. Inside was the sound of crying. “Sorry! I, uh. I think my, uh, sister is still here.”

“You have a sister?” I asked her. “I’d love to meet her.”

She began stuttering. It was actually pretty damn weird. “No, well, yes! But she’s not well. She’s, uh, a little sick in the head.”

“Oh. Well, still. She’s your sister. Anyone related to you is worth meeting.” I said. “But what was that crying? Sounded like a baby or something.”

“Ugh, she’s always blasting that TV. Is it okay if I just go inside and check on her real quick? It’ll only be one second.” She said. She actually looked really worried at this point. I wondered just how bad this sister was.

She quickly opened the door and ran inside, slamming it behind her. “Damn.” I whispered, feeling pretty damn confused about everything. I paced around the porch until finally Laura and her sister came outside. When they did, however, they were both looking kind of crazy.

“Took you gals long enough.” I said, half-joking.

Her sister got up in face and pointed at me. I jumped back. “You treat her with respect, God dammit!” She said loudly. “If you don’t, I swear I’ll find you and it won’t be pretty!”

“Okay…” I muttered. “You don’t need to worry, trust me.”

“Ha!” She cackled. Then she turned to Laura and whispered sweetly, “Goodnight, darling.”

She walked away with a dignified smile. “What was that about?” I asked her.

“Told you she was crazy.” She said. “Come in. Let’s relax.”

We walked inside. She sat down, but I walked in the hallway, looking at her home. It was nice. Like, really fucking nice. “Hey, come and sit down with me.” She said.

“You have two bedrooms? Is the second one a study or something?” I asked her. I always wanted a second room to put a small gym in it or something. Seemed nice.

“Yes!” She said, jumping up from the couch. She ran toward me and grabbed my arm. “Come on,” she pleaded, “Sit and talk with me. Do you want a beer? I’ll get you a beer.”

“What’s wrong? Why do you want me to sit down so bad? What’s going on with you?” I asked her. Something felt off, like she was hiding something from me. I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was.

“Wrong? Nothing’s wrong. I just like your company. I guess that’s wrong of me.” She was starting to get defensive. She was even a little red in the face.

I sighed. “Fine. Whatever. I’ll sit down.”

I sat down on the couch and faced her. “Alright, what do you want to know?” I asked her.

“Everything.” She smiled. “Tell me everything.”

“It’s a typical American story. Father meets mother. Mother has a baby. Father leaves family because he can’t handle the responsibility.”

“Oh.” Her eyes dropped. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get so personal so fast. I’m really sorry Liam.”

I put my hand on her thigh. “Don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t have told you if I didn’t trust you. It’s something that happened a long time ago. It’s over and done with, you know?”

“I know.” She said. “Did you ever try and find him? Your dad, I mean.”

“Of course I did. But my mom refused for so long. All of my wins, all of those games, I pictured his face on the other players I plowed through. I wanted to find him and kill him. I’m not ashamed to say it. He left my mother high and dry. And believe me, my mom’s a fucking saint. I’d do anything for her.”

I laughed suddenly and said, “I guess that’s why I was always such a bastard to people in the industry. It was like everything that annoyed me was his fault somehow. Of course, that’s not true at all. Eventually, you grow older and you just have to move past it.”

She laughed too. “Is that a new mantra for you? I remember meeting a certain someone two years ago and them not being too nice to me.”

“I’m trying to be a different man.” I admitted. “Someone different than my dad.”

Her eyes sparkled against the low lighting of the room. “I like that.” She smiled.

“Me too.” I said.

Suddenly, my phone started ringing. I looked down. It was my manager. I stared at the screen, debating whether or not I should answer. “It’s one of the suits. I’ll ignore him.” I said. But as soon as I hit “decline” on my phone, the sound of crying came from that other room.

I turned to Laura trying to figure out what the crying was coming from. “That doesn’t sound like the TV…” I mumbled.

“I…” She stuttered.

“It sounds like a child…” I said, standing up suddenly. Tears were streaming down her eyes.

I walked toward the room. I opened the door. “I’m sorry.” She said, falling to her knees in tears. “I didn’t want you to know.”

Now I know…

“
W
hat's his name
?” He said, standing over the crib. A dark shadow was cast over his face. I couldn't tell if he was angry, sad, or just confused. It didn't look or feel good. In that moment, I wished that he never even came over. It wasn't even my fault that any of this happened. It was him. It was Liam fucking Conway who neglected me and the baby.

“His name is Alex.” I said, wiping the tears from my eyes. Alex looked at his father and smiled. There were no more cries coming from that crib.

“Why didn't you tell me?” He asked, leaning over the railing of the crib.

“How the
fuck
was I supposed to tell you when you ran off without any word or justification?” I was trying my damn hardest not to scream. Every organ in my body was on fire. But mainly, I just wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear forever.

He turned around with a stressed look in his eyes and said, “Me? You're blaming me for this? Look, honey, I'm not some deadbeat. I don't know what you think of me, but this here is both our mistake.”

My jaw dropped. I was astonished. “Mistake?! Don't you ever call him a mistake. He is the best thing that has ever happened. God, I knew I shouldn't have seen you again! You're not trustworthy. You're just Liam Conway, the best football player in the world, mommy’s golden little boy. Well, let me break something to you. You're not all that special. That baby over there is one million times more special than you. He’ll probably get ten Super Bowl trophies
and
the Noble Peace Prize. That's how fucking special he is!”

Alex started to cry again. I walked up to the crib and picked him up, cradling him as gently as I could in the moment. I turned and walked out of the room. “Wait!” Liam yelled, running after me. He touched my arm and I hit his hand away.

“Just go home.” I whispered. “I don't want to be near you right now.”

“Just hold on for a minute. Please? Please just hear me out? Look, I know I'm an asshole. I know! But just give me a chance to explain.” He said.

I set Alex down on the couch and crossed my arms, waiting for an explanation. “Go ahead.” I said. “I'm waiting.”

“Look, I didn't know I got you pregnant. If I did, things would be very different.”

I burst out laughing, angered by his lack of foresight. “Things would be very different, huh. You mean, Alex wouldn't be here.”

He shook his head with haste, “What? No. That’s not what I mean at all. I mean, we could have figured this all out together.” He turned and looked at Alex. Tears were now forming in his eyes as well, but he was more expert at concealing them than I was. “Look at him. He's my boy. He's my baby boy.”

“He's
not
your baby boy. He's mine.
You
weren't here for the year I've been raising him.
You
didn’t change his diapers at four in the morning.
You
didn't have to deal with all the bad babysitters.
You
had no worries. You were just the big bad football star. Meanwhile, I'm a fucking cliché. I'm a single mother, struggling to keep this household normal. And I'm just fucking it all up. Everything.”

He placed his hands on my shoulders and began massaging them gently. “Hey, none of this is your fault. You know that? You're an amazing mother. I already know that much. I can see it in you. You're strong, beautiful, and caring. You're crying because you've given this your all. Alex will know that. He’ll understand. Trust me. Remember, I had a deadbeat dad too.”

I looked at him in his destructive eyes but quickly looked away. It was all too hard to bear. “I'm sorry. But I don't think we should see each other. It's not good for Alex.”

“I want to be in his life, Laura. If I can't have you, at least let me see my son. I'll give him everything I can. I promise. He's our boy.”

“Look, can you just leave? I can't even think about any of this now. I have a flight in the morning. Fuck, I have a flight!” I just remembered I would be going to New York tomorrow. I checked my phone email and saw the ticket and a note from my manager saying: “Safe travels. Make us proud.” None of that seemed important now. It all just seemed plastic and fake. What the hell was I doing? What was I
ever
doing?

“Sure. I'll leave. Whatever you want, brown eyed girl.” He got up from the couch and closed his fist tightly. “I'll be in Boston tomorrow. We have a hometown game. New York is only a few hours trip. Can I at least see you for dinner or something? We
need
to talk more about this.”

“Why Liam? What else do we really need to discuss? You got me pregnant, left me to fend for myself, and now my life is a constant struggle. I'd quit my job and move back to the country if I thought that would help both me and Alex. God, this is all so fucked up. What have I done? Look, why don't you just get back together with that bitch again?”

“Cindy? Jesus Christ. You really don't know me, do you? You think I'm some monster? Some monster who wants to be with some witch? Fuck, Laura. I just want you. That’s what I've been trying to tell you this whole damn time!”

“Just. Leave.” I said. I was too depressed to think, too confused to even utter more than a few words.

“Fine. But I’m calling you tomorrow before practice. And if you don't answer, I won't be on that field. I'll be on a train to New York City.”

I put my hands on my temples and sighed. “Goodbye.” I said. That's when he walked out. There was no turning around this time.

W
ell
, that was the fucking worst night of my life. How could she not tell me I had a son? A son! It was hard to tell whether or not if I was mad or proud. He was a cute little thing, that was for sure. He had her eyes and my nose. He probably had our knack for being a total champion.

Alright, I was pretty damn proud, despite what his mom wanted from me. She claimed she wanted me to get out of her life for good. But I knew that I couldn't just give up. I had to keep trying on this. It was far too important. I was willing to go all of the way too. If she wanted me to quit football for him, I would. I was prepared to do anything to be that kid’s father.

I flew back to Massachusetts and immediately started to prepare for the next game. I met with all my trainers, agents, managers, and coaches – all within a day too. I had a lot on my plate and the sadistic thing was, I actually kind of liked it. My phone rang.
Laura!
I thought.

I grabbed it and checked the screen. The name CINDY flashed bright as sin on the screen.
Fuck me.
I mumbled. I hit the green call button and answered it. “What now?” I asked.

“Seriously?” She replied. “You're really going to keep treating me this way? I've called you over 50 times, Liam. 50! You'd think you'd give me a call back by now.”

“After the fifth call you should have realized I don’t want anything to do with you. Come to think of it, after I told you I didn't is when you should have realized that. Now what the hell do you want?”

She gave a cold cackle into the phone. “I just wanted to talk to you, sweetie. How have you been? I'm in Los Angeles and it is beautiful. Wish you could come to the beach and fuck me in the water like you used to.” She said, moaning.

“We never used to do that, Cindy. Come on. Why are you in LA anyway? What business do you have there?” It was weird for her. She never left Dallas.

“I came there for you, sweetie.” She laughed. “I wanted to see your big game. I knew you'd make a comeback. You always do.”

That took me off guard a bit. “You flew to Los Angeles to see me play? Are you crazy?”

“Shut up, Liam. Your cruel jokes are never funny to me.”

“I'm not joking. I'm serious, I want to know. Are you crazy?” I asked her. I didn't have time for this. I needed to call Laura or she might actually believe that I'm a dead beat father.

“No, I am not crazy. I think you might be. How could you fuck that girl?” She asked me. I nearly dropped the phone, smashing it to bits.

“What are you talking about?” I said through my clenched jaw.

“Don't play coy with me, Liam. I saw her watching you up in the box. I saw you point to her on the field.” She said.

“You're fucking insane.” I wasn't holding back anymore. This time she had gone too far.

“You want to know what I think? I think she's a dumb whore who plays hard to get to keep you around.”

“Great. I don't give a shit about what you think. Leave me the fuck alone.” I spit angrily into the receiver.

“You'll be sorry.” She simply said. “If you ignore me. You'll be sorry.”

I turned red and nearly blacked out. Me, sorry? Fuck her. Fuck that audacity. “Don't call me ever again.” I said. I hung up the phone and nearly punched the wall in front of me.

I took a few deep breaths, counted to ten, and finally cooled myself off.
Just think of Laura,
I thought to myself. She was the answer to everything.

So I called her. I just hoped I wasn't to her what Cindy was to me. I hoped her hatred was temporary, even if I understood her extreme resentment. I would prove to her that I was the one, and I'd be the best damn father in the world to him.

She answered the phone and whispered, “Hi.”

“Did you get them?” I asked her.

“Yeah I got them. Very beautiful. Did your assistant send them over? She must have spent some money to get them shipped by morning.” She said sarcastically.

“No.” I laughed. “I got them hand picked, just for you. My driver dropped them off at your door early in the morning. Anyway, how was your flight? You made it in okay?”

“Well, thanks I guess. They don't make up for everything that's happened, but it is a sweet gesture. Flight was fine. I'm missing Alex. Where are you right now? Aren’t you supposed to be preparing for the game tomorrow morning?” I could hear the sounds of the city blasting into the phone. I wished I was with her, walking through Central Park, eating dinner with Alex and her in Little Italy. Those were the real things that mattered in life. Family and happiness. Not football games and partying. No, suddenly those things didn't seem all that fulfilling anymore.

“I practiced all day today. I'll be fine. I just needed to hear that sweet voice of yours, baby.” I said. It was the damn truth too.

“Don't call me baby. I have to go. The producer’s here, Call me tomorrow or something. After your game.”

“Okay, baby. I'll be seeing you soon.” I hung up the phone and made my way to the locker room. Practice was starting and, whether I liked it or not, I had to keep that winning streak going.