“Do they know you’d heard about them from me?” she asked. “Before you even knew them?”
“No,” I admitted. “I’m not really all that sure how to bring it up, to be honest. It makes me feel weird to tell them that you’ve followed their whole careers.”
“You what?”
We both looked guiltily at the entrance to my bedroom where Eddy was now standing looking at us.
“Uhhh,” Boston drawled.
“You like soccer?” Eddy asked.
“I love soccer,” Boston admitted. “I actually used to follow y’all’s careers. You both came to a tournament that I was at when I was six. My grandmother had taken me since my dad wasn’t able to, and I fell in love with you both.”
“Really?” she asked. “What are the odds?”
“One in a million,” I admitted. “I hate to admit this, but I didn’t even realize who y’all were until I called Boston to tell her about you.”
“That might’ve also been a reason that I hopped on a Greyhound bus and made my way here…”
“You’re joking.” Eddy walked toward us, stiff and hesitant.
“Want some Oreos?” I asked.
Eddy reached us and took a seat between the both of us.
She didn’t dunk an entire Oreo, though. She twisted the two sides apart and ate all the cream before dunking the plain cookies into my milk.
“Blasphemy,” I teased.
She grinned and followed the same steps with her second one.
“We should try those double-stuffed ones next time, Dad,” Boston said. “We like them just as much, but if she likes the filling, she’d probably prefer those.”
“Oh, you don’t have to…” Eddy started, but Boston waved her off.
“Dad likes to buy these because he feels like they’re healthier…” She laughed. “When in actuality, neither cookie is really all that great for you.”
“You have a point.” She looked over at me. “What…”
There was a banging at the door, and we all froze.
“Who…”
“Open this door, right now!”
I froze, right along with my daughter.
“What on earth?” Eddy asked.
“What do we do, Dad?” my little girl gasped, fear evident in her eyes. “Oh, my god. Did she follow me?”
“She might have,” I replied, dread lacing my tone.
“Who is it?” Eddy asked.
“My aunt.”
Boston sounded so forlorn that I couldn’t stop myself from hauling her into my arms.
