Waverly: That’s really sweet. All of it. And way more than the world gives you credit for.
Cooper: Not kidding about that unicorn festival thing. It needs to stay a total secret. While it would score me points with my sister-in-law, the rest of my family would disown me.
Waverly: Your secret is safe with me.
Cooper: Appreciate it.
Waverly: Oh, other question—anyone you want me to hold backstage passes for on Friday night? Any other Little Sluggers’ teams you’ve adopted that I don’t know about? Or maybe you know this secret author of the Fireballs’ fanfic and they want a meet-and-greet?
Cooper: Can I get back to you?
Waverly: Always.
Waverly: What would you do if you didn’t have your family?
Waverly: Sorry. Left field. Never mind.
Cooper: That’s sexy as hell that you use baseball analogies. And I hope I never have to find out.
Waverly: They ground you.
Cooper: Shh. Don’t tell them that either. They think I’m an egotistical hornball, and I like it that way. Means they don’t expect as much from me.
Waverly: Why don’t you let them expect things from you?
Cooper: Better to under-promise and over-deliver than over-promise and under-deliver. And I’m gone so much…
Waverly: You think you’d let them down.
Cooper: I mean… yeah. They’re awesome. They do the work to keep the community running. I just drop in now and then and throw cash around. It’s not the same.
Waverly: And you’re out in the world representing your hometown with everything you do. When you talk about where you’re from, it’s like you have this bigger purpose beyond baseball that you never let anyone see.
Cooper: They made me. They supported me in following my dreams. And now—shit. Now, I’m part of a team that’s going to do what everyone thought was impossible, and this wouldn’t be happening if all of us weren’t there fighting for it together. You know how many times my agent tried to get me traded away in the dark years and I wouldn’t let him? I know I’m only one guy, but I BELIEVE. I’m a fucking leader on the team. And I wouldn’t be that guy if my family hadn’t believed in me and taught me how. So the Fireballs being on fire the past two years? That has roots in my family. In my community. Giving back is the least I can do.
Waverly: My aunt made me.
Waverly: It’s okay. You don’t have to reply to that. I know it’s awkward and weird. And since I’m being awkward and weird, I want you to know that how much you love your family is one of the most attractive things about you. To me. And also probably the thing I’m most jealous of. I don’t have paternal relatives. Clearly. Sperm bank kid here. Aunt Zinnia never had kids of her own. It’s just her and me. And I have friends, but I don’t have FAMILY. Not the way you do. Anytime I wonder if my life would’ve been different if my mom hadn’t died, if she’d lived and met a wonderful man who deserved her and if she fell in love and had more kids, if I’d had siblings, if Aunt Zinnia could’ve lived her life without having eight-year-old me dumped on her, I feel like a spoiled brat, because I have fame and fortune and everything we’re supposed to want, and I still just sometimes feel… empty.
Waverly: Right. Shutting up now. It’s late. You need your sleep. I need my sleep. Key to happiness, right? If I never know the other half of where I came from, my life won’t change a whole lot, and I really am grateful for what I do have. I’m glad you had a good game today. I think I can watch at least half the game tomorrow. Night, Cooper. Thanks for chatting.
Cooper: Money and fame aren’t a substitute for love and family, and anyone who’ll judge you for wanting both is a dick. Especially when you’d be the first person to give up the fame and money to have family.
p.s. Remind me tomorrow to tell you the sound Robinson makes when he finds someone hiding in his closet. Hope you’re sleeping well. *heart emoji*
25
Waverly
There comesa point in every woman’s life when she realizes she’s tired of waiting for what she wants and needs to go grab all of her desires by the balls and hold on for the ride, and for me, that moment is exactly right now.
“This is a terrible idea,” Kiva mutters to me as Scott Two steers my SUV into the parking lot of a local Little Sluggers baseball diamond.
“Only maybe a little.” I’m supposed to be downtown in the middle of a meeting about…actually, I forget what.
The point is, I blew it off.
It’s an endorsement or product line or costume blah blah blah something, and I have somewhere I’d rather be.
