“He wears a Pythons hat,” Josh murmurs to himself like it’s the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard of.
“It works!Every time someone seems like they might recognize me, they notice the hat and figure there’s no way I’d be wearing a hat with a hockey team on it if I play baseball.I’ve even had guys make comments about how they thought I was Schmidt until they noticed the logo on my hat.I laugh with them and tell them they must be crazy to think I'm Schmidt.”
“And what are you going to do when your daughter starts school?I'm assuming she shares your last name?”
“Of course.And I don’t know, Josh!I'm telling you now because I'm taking her to the team picnic at Owen Powell’s house on Saturday.I'm hoping none of the media shows up, but it might happen.I want to be ready if it does.”
“Ready how?”
“I don’t know!That’s part of your job.I want to ask that people respect our privacy and let Tali be a child out of the spotlight.I'm hoping people will respect that.”
“You can hope all you want, but it isn't going to happen.I want you to start at the beginning and tell me everything.I knew you were married, but you never mentioned a pregnancy or anything.I thought you and your wife split.Now you’re single with a kid.I need to know how we got from point A to point B.”
For the next two hours I tell Josh about how Ellie died and I was able to keep it under wraps because we were in the off season and I was in the middle of being traded to a different team.Our conversation moves to how we’re going to handle this and how we need to have a conversation with Macy next week.
Macy’s amazing at her job and I know she’ll handle this with care.And if she can't, that’s where Liliana comes in.I'm sure if I can't convince her to bring me on her podcast, Winnie will be able to.Either way, I can get my story out there and make sure people respect my wishes of letting Tali grow up with a normal life.
By the time I'm done with my call to Josh, it’s well after eight o’clock at night and I'm sure Tali’s already asleep.I tiptoe out of my office and glance in her room, but she isn't there.I frown as I move through the house and check the living room.It’s empty too.
My heart beats a little faster as I start to panic.I always know where Tali is and now I'm starting to freak out.I check Winnie’s room without knocking and find it empty.My last hope is checking my room.
What if she decided to tell the entire world about my daughter?What if she wanted a child of her own so she disappeared with Tali the first chance she got?
I race down the hallway and push open the door, not really caring if I wake anyone up at this point.I just need to know Tali’s alright.
“Hey, are you ok?”Winnie sits up from my bed, her voice sounding sleepy.
Tali’s curled up on my pillow next to her and I squeeze my eyes shut, sucking in a deep breath.
“Jamie, what’s wrong?”Winnie’s hand is on my chest and when I open my eyes she’s standing right in front of me.
Without thinking, I wrap my arms around her and bury my face in the crook of her neck.For a moment I doubted her.I worried something happened to my little girl and it was all her fault.
“I couldn’t find Tali and I started to panic.So many scenarios were flying through my head,” I murmur, my heart still racing.
“She’s ok.She refused to rock with me or lay in her crib.She kept crying for Da-Da and pointing to your room.I didn’t know what else to do so I came in here and she curled up on your pillow and told me to lay down too.I'm sorry for scaring you and for invading your privacy.”
She runs her fingers through my hair, making me relax a little.I love having her this close, but I hate how I doubted her even for a few seconds.
“You can invade my privacy any time you want.I forgot to tell you she likes to sleep in my bed when I'm not home.I have a feeling most nights you’ll end up sleeping in here when I'm gone.”
“I'm ok with that.She likes it because the sheets smell like you.”
I pull back and stare down at Winnie.I watch as her cheeks turn a few shades of red before she rolls her eyes and tries to walk away.
“Winnie, were you smelling my sheets?”I tease her.
“Stop it.”She giggles.
“I’m just wondering what you’re going to do when I'm away.Are you going to steal a few of my shirts?”
“Oh my gosh!Stop.”She swats at my chest, but I grab her arm and tug her against my chest.
“Sleep in my bed while I'm gone.Every time I'm gone.”
“Why?”
“Not only will Tali be happier, but when I get home, maybe my sheets will smell like you.”I press a soft kiss against her neck.“Are you staying up longer or going to bed?”
