“A guy came in and said there was a delivery for someone here.Your name is on the letter.”
“Letter?”Callie finds it sandwiched between the baby’s arm and the side of the carrier.
Sure enough, my name is on the envelope.And so there could be no mistaking that it’s meant for me, my jersey number is scribbled right next to my name.My stomach plummets into the bowels of the earth, and my lungs seize.
“Holy shit,” Decker mumbles.
I turn and place the baby carrier on the table, and everyone surrounds the little one.
“Can I hold it?”Monroe asks.
“Not now, sweetie,” Leighton says.
“What is this?A joke?”I look around, hoping someone else is connecting the dots differently than I am.
“I don’t think it’s a joke, Kodiak.I think you’re a dad.”Hayes reaches the same conclusion I have.
“Hey,” Callie says quickly, grabbing my arm.“Breathe.”
I try.
My ears start ringing.
The edges of my vision go fuzzy.
I’m vaguely aware of the sound of more chairs skidding along the floor right before everything goes black.
ChapterTwo
Hadley
Some people would argue that I’m never on time.By some people, I mean my family.The ones I’m sure are already snug in their conference room seats right now, wondering if I’ll show up at all.
Meanwhile, my Uber sits two blocks away from them—stalled by a delivery truck that has decided this is the perfect Monday morning to unload an entire restaurant’s worth of produce directly into the only available lane of traffic.
My phone vibrates.
Honor: Thinking of you.Good luck.Crossing fingers for you.
I smile, wishing she were with me right now.
How did you know I needed emergency rainbow power?
You’re going to see your mom.I packed extra.
I’ll call you after.Let’s do dinner or something.I’ll come to you.
(rainbow emoji followed with a high voltage emoji)
In the short text exchange, my Uber hasn’t moved an inch.
“I’ll just get out here.”
The driver twists in his seat.“Are you sure, lady?It’ll only be a minute.”
“I’m sure.”
He can’t imagine the way my mother’s nostrils are flaring right this second.According to her, I’ve been running late since the day I was born because I clearly inherited more of my father’s genes than hers.
