“Eggo?” I lift his hands away. “Why did you drop out of the captaincy? Don’t you want to do it with me?”
“Oh my god, I didn’t drop out. Coach made me choose between you and me. He said there could only be one skip, and the other guy had to be vice. And . . . well, it’s no contest. You deserve it. I couldn’t do it without you, but you were born for this.”
I shake my head.
“I didn’t get any time to tell you, and then when I had the chance, I panicked. Please come to Cornwall with me. Please. I’m sorry. Maybe I should have said no to Eksteen. Maybe I should have told him we’d do it together or not at all, but I didn’t want you to lose out on this opportunity. It’s a once in a lifetime chance and I’m not about to sack that off for you. Nobody isgoing to force you to be captain if you really don’t want to do it, though. You could drop out now, tell him you’ve changed your mind.”
“He’s already announced it. It’ll be in the local papers tomorrow. I . . .” I puff out a breath. There’s not enough room to pace in here, but I need to pace. “I just need some time to think. Is that okay?”
He swallows, then nods. “Pi, for what it’s worth, I reckon—”
I cut him off. I can barely organise my own thoughts, I don’t need his added into the mix as well. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Eggo steps forward, and I think he’s about to kiss me, but he stops himself and pulls back. He goes to shove his hands in his pockets, but realises there aren’t any within the strings of beads on his hips. “Okay,” he says.
I leave the building. Eyes follow me from every corner of the room, but I don’t stop to speak to anyone else. Even Abs or Eksteen. It’s only when I’m in the taxi home that I realise how shit I’ve been at articulating my thoughts, and how these moments of confusion and crossed wires always seem to be my fault.
A captain should be a good communicator. I already suck at it.
I get out my phone and stare at the thumbnail of Eggo. It’s still the same pic that I took on the beach in Newquay at Christmas that year. He’s holding up a Cornish pasty the size of his head and pulling a very OTT, very exuberant, very “Eggo” grin.
The taxi pulls up outside my house. I say hello to Trekkie, let him out to pee, strip off my suit, run a bath, and stare at my phone for another thirty minutes.
Three little dots appear at the bottom of Eggo’s WhatsApp thread, and my heart jumps into my mouth. They disappear twenty seconds later.
I type out a message, hit send, and sink into the tub before I can think myself out of it.
I can’t do this without you. I need you.
An hour later, once the water has greyed and gone cold, and my fingertips have shrivelled, I traipse back into my bedroom.
There are six messages on my phone from Eggo, but he’s deleted them all except for the last one.
I’ve sent you an email.
From: Finn Eggington
To: Me
Date: 11 Jun 2027 22:44
Subject: Reasons you’ve got this
I can’t say everything I need to say in a text message, so I’m sending you an email instead.
You said you can’t do this without me, but here’s a bunch of reasons, in no particular order, why I know you can.
Reason 1: You are the smartest player I know. Nobody is cleverer than you on or off the pitch. Nobody. Not even Gadget. Gadget possesses a mere wisp of your intelligence. He actually wishes he were as smart as you. He’d probably sell Owen’s pub if he could have even an ounce of your cleverness.
Reason 2: You won two awards tonight. That’s two more than me, and also one more than everybody else who won an award, including Gadget. Sucks to be him.
Reason 3: If anybody has to argue our case to the refs, it should be you. You are basically a rugby encyclopaedia. A rugby lawyer. A rugby . . . person who is good at knowing things and arguing them. Can you imagine Abs approaching the ref and keeping his cool and not getting yellow carded that very second for being a mouthy little baby?
Reason 4: You’re the best looking player the Cents have ever had. And therefore you owe it to Bath, and to visiting fans from across the country, to have enormous posters of you all over the stadium. Nobody needs to be looking at twenty-foot versions of me. We’re trying to show them a good time, not scar them for life.
Reason 5: You won’t be doing it on your own. I will be your vice. I will always be there with you.
Reason 6: Which semi relates to reason 5. I know you. I know when you get too much in your head, and if I see that happening, I will simply smack it out of you. You’re welcome.
