Claudia cheers, clutching Savannah, laughter breaking through her shock.
And then, as the noise starts to swell again, Koa grabs a mic. Paul goes still beside me. “Oh, hell. Here we go.”
Down below, Nalani’s pressed against the glass, tears streaking, unaware until he turns, until he starts talking. You can feel twenty thousand people hold their breath.
He drops to one knee.
The crowd loses it.
Claudia’s still standing, one hand over her heart, whispering something I can’t hear. Savannah babbles up at her.
Paul exhales through his nose. “Good night for the Bears.”
“Great one for him,” I say. “Maybe for all of us.”
When the crowd finally starts to thin, Paul turns to me. “You driving?”
“Yeah.” I glance at Claudia. “You wanna go out with your girls? I can handle all but the feeding part.”
Claudia smiles and arches a brow. “You change diapers?”
“We could figure it out,” Paul offers.
She smiles, “Savannah’s out cold. And I’ve got packing to do.”
“Then you’re with us,” I tell her. “No sense hanging around.”
Paul grumbles, “Good. I’m too old to drink with idiots anyway.”
As we start for the elevator, Claudia shifts the baby higher on her shoulder. “You sure you’re okay to drive? With the concussion?”
“I’m—”
She cuts me off, half warning, half care. “I am licensed. I think?—”
“You ever drive in the City, kid?” Paul chuckles.
“Not yet, but I refuse not to master it.”
“Good girl,” I whisper.
We walk out into the night, city lights flashing off the river to the waiting SUV, and open the door. “I don’t mess with keeping people important to me safe.”
Claudia looks at me for a long moment, something unreadable in her eyes, then nods. “Good.”
The ride is quiet, the city lights streaking across the windows in gold and silver. Paul dozes off in the passenger seat, head tilted back, muttering every now and then about bad goaltending and Koa’s miracle finish. Savannah sleeps in her carrier between Claudia and me. Her tiny hand curled around Claudia’s finger. It’s beautiful.
I carry the car seat in as Claudia stands beside and slightly behind Paul, who is ahead of us.
Inside, she pauses, “I’ve got her.”
She opens her mouth to protest, then stops. I don’t know if it’s exhaustion, trust, or something else, but she lets me pick her up. Savannah fits against my chest like she belongs there, warm and weightless, her head tucking under my chin.
Inside, the house is quiet. The kind of quiet that feels earned. Claudia disappears down the hall, making sure Paul gets in without a spill; it’s his last night here for a while, and theirs too. I head upstairs.
When I get to the top of the fourth floor, Claudia’s standing there. Thankfully, I don’t startle easily.
“How did you?—”
