Page 37 of Rumor Has It

“Yeah?” Rebecca called back, looking up from the sign she was writing on.

Wren pointed at the poster. “We have a ship name.”

“What’s a ship name?” Rebecca asked, though her tone suggested she really wanted to ask “What are you on about?”

“Can I have this for a second?” Wren asked the fan who had made the sign.

The girl’s eyes widened. “Yeah, of—of course.”

Wren took the sign and held it up for Rebecca to see. She watched as Rebecca’s gaze sharpened on the words. Fortunately, Rebecca seemed to find it as funny as Wren did. “Give me a minute,” Rebecca called out as she quickly scribbled on a few more posters and jerseys near where she was standing.

When she wrapped up that section of fans, Rebecca jogged over to where Wren was waiting. “Okay. Explain this to me.”

“Oh, because of the rumors about us,” Wren said, pointing. “Like Bennifer or Brangelina. We have a couple name. The fans ‘ship’ us.”

“Wrecky, though?” Rebecca asked. She looked up at the fan who had brought the sign. “Do people really use this?”

The girl nodded, clearly floored that she had gotten this much attention. “Y’all are trending on most social media platforms.”

Wren bit back another laugh. It was too funny not to. But Rebecca looked shell-shocked, and Wren didn’t want to make it worse. She nudged Rebecca’s arm. “Well, let’s give the fans what they want.” She signed over her name and held the poster steady for Rebecca to do the same. “Come on, Becky. Positive media,” Wren said quietly enough that the fans wouldn’t have heard her.

Rebecca handed the sign back to the young fan.

“Um,” the fan started. “You helped me come out.”

Wren and Rebecca both froze. Wren recovered faster. “What was that?” She asked, wanting to make sure she’d heard the girl properly.

The young girl nodded and pointed to the rainbow flag that was round her neck. She was one of the many using the flag as a cape. She then turned back and looked at an older adult, someone who she bore resemblance to, probably her mom, if Wren had to guess. “My mom went to LAU,” the girl said to Wren. “We watched your games a lot. When you did that ad for queer athletes, I showed my mom. It um, it helped me come out.”

Wren’s eyes watered. She looked to Rebecca for support, finding her equally as emotional. All of the shit she had been through over the past few weeks was suddenly ripped into perspective. Did she like getting called a cheater? No. But was her being a public figure and true to herself helping people? Apparently, yes. Suddenly, the good vastly outweighed the bad. Just by being herself, she’d actually helped someone.

Rebecca cleared her throat. “Do you want to get a picture with us? Maybe with your mom, too?”

The girl’s eyes widened. “Yeah.” She turned. “Hey, Mom,” she called, waving her mom down. Her mom came down the steps of the arena quickly. “Can we get a group photo with them?”

The mom nodded. She looked genuinely excited for her daughter, and it warmed Wren’s heart in a way she couldn’t explain.

“Can I hold your flag for it?” Rebecca asked the fan.

And Wren’s heart rate soared. The fan rushed to give Rebecca the flag that was tied around her neck. Rebecca had been outed just a few weeks ago and here she was, holding a pride flag—in a photo with Wren, no less.

“Alright,” Rebecca said, fully in charge of the exchange now. “You hold your sign. We’ll hold the flag. We just need…”

But Wren was already on it. She had already motioned Morgan over. “Can you take our picture?”

Morgan was more than happy to oblige. She took the fan’s phone and backed up enough to get them all in the frame. Wren made sure to center the fan and her mom. This was their moment.

“I took several,” Morgan said as she handed the phone back to the fan.

“Tag us in that, yeah?” Wren asked as Rebecca handed the flag back.

Rebecca nodded in agreement. “Yeah, please? I’m proud of that.”

As they gathered up their things after signing more autographs, Rebecca leaned over, speaking quietly enough that none of their teammates could hear her. “You really don’t think we’ll get in trouble for that photo, do you?”

Wren thought about it for a second before shaking her head. “No, the coaches don’t want bad press. They didn’t say anything to me about Andy’s post. I don’t think they would say anything about this, either. And if they do, we can just tell them the truth, being out and proud helped a fan come out. That’s bigger than soccer. And at least to me, moments like that make everything else worth it.”

Wren was still floating on a high when she opened her apartment door the next day. The United States Women’s National Team had voted her match MVP. The reward of which had been a team-signed soccer ball with the game’s date on it. The photo of her and Rebecca taking that photo with the young fan and her mom had gone viral, but it had been a cute photo and Rebecca looked so damn happy in it. For the first time since Wren’s rapid rise to fame, her photo being everywhere hadn’t made her uncomfortable. Sure, there was nothing actually going on between her and Rebecca, but at least there was a happy memory surrounding their image this time. They had made a difference. Wren had made a difference—a positive one at that. She’d helped someone come out. And that, that alone, made the past few weeks a little more okay.