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Yes, my contract is up this year. I wouldn’t turn down the chance to play another season in Seattle.
Better safe than sorry. I’d rather leave the game under my own power than with an elbow or shoulder injury. I’ll go for further testing when I get home.
This satisfies the beat writers and the television team. As soon as they move on from me and I get the okay from Roger, I’m not waiting for the bus back to the hotel, I’ve already pulled up my rideshare app and gotten a car back to the hotel. My arm and shoulder are still wrapped and iced, which makesbuckling my seatbelt a bit cumbersome, but we’re on our way soon enough. Which means I’m that much closer to Sutton.
She’s sound asleep.
Sprawled out and snoring on my bed. I try to be as quiet as possible as I walk around the room and drop my bag, kick off my shoes, and grab clothes to change into, but once I’m in the bathroom trying to change clothes one handed, I run into some problems. It’s not that I can’t use my right hand, but it’s still wrapped and laden with ice packs so everything I do is just a little bit awkward, and my balance is just a little bit off. I try to shrug out of my jacket but it gets caught on the right arm, so after all my not-so-graceful getting around, Sutton wakes up and finds me coming out of the bathroom in sweatpants with a team windbreaker hanging from my arm.
“Max?” It takes her a minute as she sits up and adjusts to the light, squeezing her eyes shut before blinking them open again. “Are you okay?”
She scrambles to the end of the bed and grabs my left hand, tugging me gently down beside her, eyebrows furrowing as her fingers gently traverse the elastic bandages holding all my ice in place.
“I’m fine.” I lean down and softly kiss her forehead, hoping to assuage her worry. “I have a little tightness in my elbow, that’s all. This is just a precaution. But Sutton, I’m a little more worried about you right now.”
“I’ll be okay,” she smiles but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “I don’t have a multi-million dollar arm wrapped in ice and bandages.”
“I really am okay,” I try to reassure her. “I’m just old, Sutton.”
She sighs, deeply unhappy with my answer.
“Sutton,” rip the bandage off, Max. You can do this. “I think this is going to be my last year to play.”
“Are you sure?” Her eyes finally meet mine and that furrow in her brow slowly goes away. I wasn’t sure until tonight. I wasn’t sure until I was walking off the field with Allison. Until I walked into this room and saw Sutton. Until this moment right here, Sutton’s hand in mine. I raise her hand to my lips and kiss her wrist. Her palm. She leans against my chest and I bundle her against me. “I’m sure, Sutton.”
“At the risk of sounding selfish, what does that mean for us?”
“It’s not selfish. I hope it means that we can do a lot more of this when you come home from home games and road trips. I hope it means that we can spend a lot more time together.”
“How much more time?”
“Forever. If you’ll have me.”
“Is that a promise?” She asks, her lips quirking up in a lopsided smile. I start to answer and before I can get the words out, Sutton leans in and claims my mouth in a soft kiss and all the question marks floating around in my head turn to exclamation points. My uncertain future feels a little more certain knowing that I’ll have Sutton by my side.
“Will you still have me when I fade from baseball’s memory?”
“Of course. We’ll fade away into obscurity together.”
“You’ll never be obscure, Sutton. There’s a little girl out there who is going to follow in your footsteps and keep your legacy alive.”
Roger insists on Sutton taking the rest of the road trip off, and the fact that she doesn’t argue with him is a sure sign to me that this migraine knocked her off her feet worse than sheoriginally let on. When I first met Sutton, she was in the throes of a migraine and I wanted, that very day, to make sure she was taken care of, so I hate that I have to go to work, leaving her in the hotel each day, rather than being with her and knowing that she’s okay.
“Max,” she settles a hand on my arm as I fuss over the lineup of water, sports drink, and frozen washcloths in the room’s small freezer, “I’ve been dealing with migraines all of my adult life. I can handle a few hours without you.”
“I know,” I sigh. “But you don’t normally take days off, and I’m worried about you.”
“You know why I don’t take days off?” She asks with a laugh.
“Why?”
“Because there’s a deep dark place in my brain that says if I do I’m showing weakness, and by showing weakness I’m proving my critics right.”
“Sutton, no…”
“Max,” she stops me again, this time with a kiss before resting her forehead against mine. “I know now that it’s not a weakness. But that’s still a really hard habit to break. I’m glad to have Roger in my corner. He also threatened me with a Kangaroo Court fine when we get back home if I show my face today or tomorrow.”
“You know he’d only fine you a dollar per day.”
