“Close the door on your way out, please.”
She did, with just enough force to make it rattle against the frame.
I dragged a hand over my face and shot Becca an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that.”
She was grinning. “I didn’t realize that receiving fan mail was such a sensitive subject for you.”
“It’s not about the mail,” I said flatly. “It’s about boundaries. If you knew what half the crap was in those boxes, you would probably go put on a hazmat suit.”
She arched her brow, looking way too interested for my liking. “Now I’m curious.”
“Don’t be.”
She clicked her pen. “What’s the weirdest thing anyone’s ever sent you?”
I threw my head back and groaned. I should have known she wouldn’t let it go. “Is this your first question?”
Her smile was triumphant. “You know what I think it is?”
“I already regret doing this interview.”
She leaned in, letting me know I wasn’t getting off the hook so easily.
My mind shifted through all the bizarre gifts I’d received over the years. I was aware this would be on the record, so I kept it as PG as I could. “Someone sent me a lock of hair once.”
She scrunched her nose up. “That’s odd.”
“It was pubic hair.”
Her nose scrunched up. “That is completely vile.”
I smirked. “You asked.”
She scribbled something down. “Okay, what else?”
I tapped my chin. “I once got a box of someone’s ashes, asking me to scatter them on the field.”
“Did you?”
“No. Those requests get denied all the time. They could potentially damage the turf.”
She flipped open her notepad. “Maybe you could convince the athletic department to build a memory garden somewhere on the property.”
She was still smiling as she booted up her laptop. I could see her shift into all business mode. She straightened in her chair, flipping over a fresh page that was full of notes. I could tell by the way her pen hovered over the paper that the next few questions weren’t going to be as light.
“Okay,” she said quietly. “Let’s talk about this season. You’ve got a lot of eyes on you. How does this compare to other years?”
I sat back in my chair and crossed my arms. “You always ease into interviews like this?”
“Consider this your warm-up question,” she said through a smile. “If you’d like, we could talk about your hatred of fan mail instead?”
“I’m not sure which topic is more painful.” I chuckled and took a sip of my water. “I suppose this season is different because I’m more aware of it. That championship loss was a massive disappointment, not just for the team, but for the fans too. I can’t change how it ended, but I can learn from it and build on it. “
She nodded and went straight to the next question. “Your name has been trending on social media. Not all of it’s been positive. What do you say to the people who doubt you? You mentioned before that you don’t let it bother you, but how can you just ignore it?”
I hated these questions but understood why she was asking them. “People are wild. When you win, you’re the hero. When you lose, you’re washed up. I don’t waste time on trending hashtags and funny memes.”
She tilted her head to the side. “The backlash really doesn’t bother you?”
