He frowned as he considered it. “I’m going to be honest; the trailer sucks. It starts with the Switzerland falling footage, and you crying. There’s a cut to your mom and Carol looking very unhappy.”
I could picture the moment he meant. My entire body started trembling. “Fuck.”
“And then there’s the ominous voice-over they used.”
“Are youserious?”
“Yeah, it’s not great. But don’t worry too much, because the show itself isn’t as shit as it could be given the way they positioned it in the trailer. They wanted me to do voice-over to include more 2022 backstory and I refused, so they cut it in anyway with captions.”
I started spiraling, trying to sift through the competing emotions inside me. Anger at myself for believing that the show wouldn’t retrigger me, fear about how it would make me look as I headed into the most critical weeks of my career, and worry about what Ben had put on the line to keep his promise to me.
“Are they upset at you?”
He gazed off-screen. “I’m not sure. Communication has been limited. But we signed a contract so I’m still going to Italy.” He paused to give me a half smile. “Wahoo.”
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.
He jerked backward. “Forwhat? I owe you an apology for letting it get out of my hands.”
“But you broke rules for me. And you’re putting your future with the show on the line...”
“Listen, I was very clear about my angle for the story, and they agreed to it. I used my own experiences as an example of how challenging this type of coverage can be, especially so close to the games. They had no problem with how I pitched it. So it all comes down to the fact that I was honest and they weren’t.”
We both fell silent, staring at each other through the screen.
“Should I skip it?” I finally asked him. “Mel and I were planning to have a little watch party with Zoey.”
His jaw flexed. “Hard to say because there’s stillsomuch good in it. I’m really fucking proud of what we made. It’s a strong show. But...” He swallowed hard.
“Say it,” I demanded.
“Quinn, what happened in Switzerland was awful, but itispart of your story. And while I wouldn’t have presented it the way they did, it’s still something that had to be acknowledged. Like it or not, you’re living a comeback story.”
He paused to check in with me and I managed a nod.
“If you can tolerate four minutes of bullshit out of sixty minutes of brilliance, then I think you should watch,” he continued. “Because every other part of the show is beautiful and inspiring. And so is your story.”
My eyes welled up. “Thank you.”
His face went soft with concern for me. “Remember, the trailers are sensationalized to get people to tune in.”
I sniffled and nodded.
“You okay?” Ben asked.
“I don’t have a choice. I have to be,” I answered. “It’s the athlete’s way, right?”
“The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory,” Ben agreed.
There he was, coming in with the coach-y dad-isms again. Shockingly, I didn’t hate it.
“I miss you,” I blurted out. “I keep thinking I’m going to come out of a spin and spot you in the players’ box sitting by Mel.”
“Wow.” He exhaled hard. “I never thought I’d hear you say that.”
“You made it fun. So did Neil and Hailey. You guys work well together.”
He let out a rueful snort. “Yeah, we’ll see for how long.”
