Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 125866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Other than our parents and the North Boston University crew, we had only a few other guests. There were some women Madelyn met through mommy groups there with their husbands and kids, Madelyn’s brother, of course, and his wife. I’d invited a few close friends from the team, who were having a hard time keeping their rowdiness in check before the reception.
All in all, we had less than fifty guests in attendance.
When I turned to face them once I was at the altar, I was thankful for the small gathering. Something about me had turned inward when I became a father. I’d become more private, barely posting on social media once a week, if at all, and never with my kids in the photos. They couldn’t escape the media — not with my career, and especially since Sebastian wanted to be at every game — but I could at least let them be the ones to decide on their social media presence once they were old enough.
We’d kept the date quiet, somehow able to skirt the media frenzy — likely thanks to Giana throwing reporters off any time they sniffed around asking.
And it just felt right, being surrounded by our close friends and family on our big day.
My throat felt tight as I folded my hands in front of my waist and waited for the ceremony to start. I couldn’t keep the emotion at bay, no matter how I tried. It was creeping up more and more with every passing moment.
Never in a million years did I think I’d be in this position.
It was unreal, honestly, to think back on who I was two years ago. That version of me was a shell of a man, a shadow of what I was to become. He wandered around aimlessly. He imagined a career in the NFL where the only thing that mattered to him was having the best stats, winning every game, and fucking the hottest women he could find along the way. That man’s biggest concerns were what car he drove, and how many likes his most recent post had on Instagram.
I didn’t know that man now.
Because now, my entire world revolved around Madelyn, Sebastian, and Raven.
I still loved football. Hell, it was my career, my passion, my driving force to do better and be better. It was still as engrained in my heart as ever.
It just had to share, now.
Every night, I went home to Madelyn. Every day, I spent every second I could with my kids. And every morning, I woke with my mind spinning with gratitude. I couldn’t believe this was my life, couldn’t understand how I’d been so lucky.
How had the universe delivered Madelyn back to me?
How had I managed to get it right, to not fuck up my second chance with her?
How did we manage to overcome the tragedy we’d lived through as teenagers, to somehow find love and understanding and forgiveness on the other side?
It felt like a miracle, and maybe it was. Maybe she was my little miracle.
Those thoughts were still swirling in my mind when the violin player at the back of the last row began to play a new song, and everyone turned in their chairs to watch the show.
The show being my son carrying my daughter in his arms, doing his best to entertain her and keep her from crying as he did some sort of weird dance-jog down from the lodge and down the aisle.
We all chuckled as he dug into the basket Raven held in her hands, tossing white rose petals left and right. He’d do a few and then wait for her to follow suit, showing her how to grab a handful and let it go. When Raven did it the first time, she giggled with glee, looking up at Sebastian for approval and smiling even bigger when he bounced her in his arms and encouraged her to go again.
My heart tripped inside my chest at the sight.
Sebastian was growing more and more into a young man every day. I couldn’t believe he was eight now.
I also couldn’t believe he was officially my son.
He would have been even without the paperwork, but there was something about having it made legal, about him taking my last name that cemented a sense of security. And although I knew it killed him a little that his own father never fought for him, that he was so content to let Sebastian go… I also knew he was happier without being forced to spend time with a man who scared him.
As he got older, I would explain everything. I would be there for every question he had. And I’d share my own struggles I’d had with my father to make sure he knew he wasn’t alone.
Sebastian would start third grade in just a few months, and in the last year, I’d witnessed him being the best big brother any little girl could ever wish for. He’d taken the role seriously from the beginning, helping us with diaper changes and feedings and bath time just because he wanted to. Now, his favorite pastime was making his sister laugh. He played with her more than he did his rocks and Titan combined.