“Hate to break it to you, kid, but there’s a very good chance you’ll still be in school at twenty-five, then,” Callum says.
She rolls her eyes at him, but it’s clear there is a mutual affection there. “What do you know? You never even went to college.”
“You didn’t?” I ask, looking at Cal. How have we never talked about this before?
He shakes his head. “I went straight from academies to the MLS. And after my injury, I became a Red Tail.”
“You could always go to college. It’s not too late,” I say, as if this is a private conversation and his entire family isn’t listening in.
“I could. But I like the minors. Baxter pays well enough,and I’m still playing. Yes, the major league was something. But I’m happy here too.”
“You’re the best player on the Red Tails,” Brady says. “And if you wanted to go back to the majors?—”
“I know, Dad.” Callum’s cheeks pinken.
I peer over at him, wondering what else I don’t know. “You don’t want to go back?”
He swallows, and while I’m the stranger at this table, I can see the pressure he feels with this question and under these eyes. “I don’t, actually. I like the minor league. There’s less pressure, and the truth is, I don’t play the same since I got hurt.”
“Son, you’re better than you—” Brady starts.
But Kristina interrupts. “He knows, honey.” She switches her attention back to me. “So, Fran, Callum said you have a theory?—”
“Mom,” Cal barks. “That was private. I?—”
“I don’t mind,” I say. I believe in love. I believe in creating memorable moments. I believe in the formula. And I don’t mind sharing that with others.
“Oh, boy,” Callum mutters beneath his breath.
“A theory?” Kailey says. “What kind of theory?”
“Well,” I say. Have I ever told my theory to this many people at once? They may not understand my reasoning behind the remake. Love between father and mother has been a normal condition in their home. Their family was born with a closeness and affection that many aren’t. They may not understand. Many don’t. And that’s okay. “I believe that fictional love stories are the key to happiness.”
Asher laughs, and Kailey elbows her brother this time.
“How’s that?” Kristina asks.
“I think it matters where you begin, and I think experienceslead and guide us. My parents didn’t love each other. They fought all the time. They also never went on a trip or had a picnic or took any kind of risk.”
“No risk, no reward,” Brady says.
“Exactly.”
“How is a romance movie a risk?” Asher says.
“They take risks all the time in love stories. They’re always putting themselves out there, being vulnerable, experiencing new things. Regardless of the chance for embarrassment or humiliation. Because love is worth the risk.”
“Love is worth the risk,” Tiffany says—for once, she isn’t baffled by my lack of experience. Her eyes are bright. I have her. She’s a believer.
“I’d rather take a risk—do something silly, something that might create a connection—than never try. Love is worth it.”
“I would agree with that,” Kristina says. She smiles at me, then at her husband. She knows. Because she’s a woman who took the risk, and it paid off.
“So, this theory…” Kailey says.
“I take scenes from movies and remake them when I go on dates.”
Cal coughs beside me.
