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“Yes, sir?”
“You feeling all right? Your movements are a little sluggish.”
“Sorry.” I scratched the back of my neck, embarrassed by my performance, even if it was just drills. “Didn’t get much rest this weekend is all.”
“Ah.” He nodded. “Baby shower?”
“Yeah and … some time with …” I paused, not sure what to call Leah now that we were in a "liminal relationship." But the idea of calling her my co-parent again made acid bubble up in the back of my throat. “With Leah.”
“Mmm. She’s in her second trimester now, right? That’s the best time to get your high-energy tasks done, but don’t burn yourself out. I know you’re the kind of man who wants to get all the prep work done as soon as possible, but you’ve still got plenty of time. Don’t run yourself ragged trying to get it all done at once, especially with the championship coming up.” He clapped me on the back with a good natured smile. “If there’s anything we can do to help y’all, just say the word. I think some of the admin side feel a little awkward saying anything when you and the others are so close, but we’re happy for you. I might not’ve known you for long, but you’re a good man, Christenson. You’ll be a good father.”
“Thank you, sir. I appreciate that. And … well, I couldn’t do it without you. You’ve taken a helluva a lot of responsibility off my shoulders.” I laughed, the sound coming out dry. “I never would’ve thought I’d have the time for all this at the beginning of the season.”
“As much as I’d like to take credit for that, you just had a shit coach back then.” Beside him, one of the assistant coaches, Nina, choked down a laugh and Sharma nudged her. “All right, go on back to drills. I just wanted to check in on ya.”
“Thanks, Coach.” I gave him and the other coaches a nod before rejoining the others in the loop of exercises, restarting on dribbling through cones. Before I got halfway through, Ricci and Taylor were on either side of me, matching my pace with a light jog.
“I think,” Ricci started, before Taylor interrupted with, “It’s not their style, dude.”
“Romance is everyone’s style,” he shot back. “Anyway, you’re doing the tournament in Milan, yes? It’s just a few friendly games across a couple weeks, it aligns with her winter break, and this will be the best time for her to travel during her pregnancy, so take her with. Give her a big, romantic vacation in Italy. She’s guaranteed to fall madly in love with you.”
“You can’t expect someone to drop their holiday plans on, like, a week’s notice,” Taylor argued. “She could be leaving town to visit family.”
“I don’t think so. She hasn’t brought up any family since we’ve all met her.”
“We’ve only known her for a few months.”
“You talked about your sisters the first day I met you!”
“We were talking about volleyball!”
“Yes, yes, circumstantial. But we’ve been talking about her having a baby, that’s a circumstance that would bring up family for everyone.”
“Okay, sure, but maybe she’s not close with them.”
“Then why would you expect her to visit them for Christmas?”
“Do I get any input in this?” I asked, laughing as I finished one round without getting a word in.
“I suppose, but if you’re planning a romantic trip through Italy, I’d highly recommend taking my itinerary.”
“That I won’t argue with,” Taylor said.
“I mentioned my Italy games to Leah the other day and she didn’t seem particularly interested in tagging along. Plus a big trip during the holidays seems … more than we’re ready for. That kind of trip is a honeymoon for most people.”
“Did she know tagging along with you is an option?” Taylor asked, brow furrowed.
“You’re on his side now?”
“Oh, absolutely not. You’re right, that’s a honeymoon trip, especially for folks who don’t travel for work like we do. But does she know how easy it is for you to add her to the travel itinerary and shit? Like, traveling on her own means paying for everything, making decisions and booking stuff. But with you, that’ll all be covered.”
“I didn’t mention it for Italy, but she is coming to the championship game.”
“Oh, shit, that’s cool.” Taylor held out a fist and we bumped. “I’ll look out for when to pass to you so you can show off a little.”
“We should just play a good game,” I said, though I wasn’t able to keep a straight face like usual. If this was Leah’s first game, I wanted her to enjoy it, enjoy watching me play, enjoy the sport. And I couldn’t deny the buzz I got at the thought of giving her a good show.
“Yeah, all right,” Taylor said with a chuckle, patting my shoulder before running off to another portion of the training field.
