Still, it’s not a breakthrough game for me. And in front of my dad, that would have been extra sweet.
He gets his Boston legend moment, of course. Sitting courtside with the rest of my family, the announcer acknowledges him early on, prompting him to stand as the crowd cheers on.
To his credit, when I’m giving my family hugs goodbye after the game, he doesn’t say anything about not starting again. If anything, it’s the opposite.
“Great job, Avery,” he says as he gives me a kiss on the cheek. “You were impressive. So surreal to see you out there on that court.”
Huh…
Maybe Mom gave him his marching orders on what to say?
While we’re on the bus to the airport though, Remy texts me more context.
REMY: You won’t believe this, but Dad had tears in his eyes when you first hit the court.
What? Could he be mellowing out in his old age?
I make a note to ask Mom if something is up the next time we speak.
After the game, we fly back to Orlando, and when I walk into the townhouse at two in the morning, it’s never been so appealing. Rented furniture and all.
The toll of my first six games has fully caught up to me. I fall asleep in about three seconds once I’m ready for bed.
When I wake up at nine, I don’t feel fully rested, not surprising since it isn’t enough hours really. But being in my own bed and not needing to rush anywhere is nice.
With the downtime, my mind meanders to the topic I avoided after the family dinner in Boston.
It’s now go time for this whole fake arrangement, with Rawley going to my next home game.
I wonder if he’s conscious of how big this situation has gotten?
Not that it matters. We’re all in, for better or worse.
Taylor’s set up a text chat with just the three of us to nail down the details of all our joint appearances.
And once I finally force myself out of bed, that same text chat fills with some logistical updates for Rawley’s attendance at my game, like she can read my mind.
“You guys got this,” she reassures us after she’s outlined everything.
RAWLEY: We do, it’ll be cool.
AVERY: I don’t know about cool, but we’ll get it done.
AVERY: Taylor, did you hear that we’ve been given a ‘ship’ name? Avley? Is that real?
RAWLEY: What? Not Rawlery?
AVERY: That sounds terrible, but not the point.
TAYLOR: I did hear. And that reminds me, if you two can brainstorm cute nicknames for each other, that’s an easy topic to draw buzz for days.
AVERY:
RAWLEY: Oooo, this is going to be fun.
15
RAWLEY
