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“Oh, I brought all my own groceries. We are so particular about what we eat these days. It’s impossible to even take them to the restaurants anymore. But thank you.”
She exited to the kitchen and began preparing some sandwiches and soup. Brady was grateful to finally be left alone to get ready for some action.
Finally!
Riley gave Brady a scowl. “I’m kinda hungry, Boss. You don’t think we could just have her make us a sandwich or something?”
“Go ahead knock yourself out. But we got to be out of here like yesterday. You know how flights are. And if we miss this one, we’ll have to drive all the way to Sacramento or Oakland or San Jose. I’m not going to take that chance.”
“Okay, have it your way. I’ll be right back.”
While Brady finished up his packing, he asked Cassie if she’d heard from Zak. All the girls were sitting at the dining room table together. Cassie was rocking the baby.
“No, I thought you did. Why, what’s up?”
“I don’t want to leave my truck at the airport. But you can’t very well take us, can you?”
“No can do. I’m afraid you guys are on your own. But if you have an extra set of keys, while you’re gone, maybe Zak and I could go pick it up for you. Is it the cost of the parking that’s a problem for you?”
“Absolutely not. I’ve got a compartment bolted into the floorboards, and it has some stuff in there I like to keep private, if you know what I mean. If I was driving down there, it’d be no problem. But I’m not.”
“Well, I think you better hightail it out of here and leave your extra set of keys somewhere for me if you have one.”
“You take these. I’ve got another set on the key chain I’m bringing. Thanks, Cassie,” Brady said. He turned to Riley. “I think we better get busting. You ready?”
“I came ready, Brady. You’re the one who wasn’t packed yet.”
The last thing Brady did was slip his computer into his padded bag and sling it over his shoulder. Then the two former teammates loaded all the bags into the second seat of the truck. They each said goodbye to the girls. Brady hugged and kissed Emma and promised he’d give her a call when he got there, gave Cassie a peck on the cheek, and asked the girls if they’d take special care to be nice to Emma.
As he was headed out the door, Emma came running toward him in a full-on meltdown.
“I don’t want you to go. I want you to stay, Daddy.”
Brady knelt so that he was eye level with Emma. “Sweetheart, Mom’s in an unfamiliar place. She’s probably scared, and she’s all alone. You wouldn’t want me to leave her that way, would you?”
Emma shook her head and then meekly said, “No.”
“You see, I know you’re old enough and big enough to handle this. I don’t ask this of you very much, but we have to protect Mommy, right?”
“You’re right. But I’m scared by myself.”
“Aw, sweetheart,” said Cassie. “Come here, honey. We’ll wave to Daddy together, okay? We’re going to have a good time here, and I want you to show me all the things that you’re doing. And I promise I’ll take you and the girls to the farmers market, and you can show me all the people you sell your eggs to, okay?”
Emma’s lower lip still quivered, but she nodded her head in agreement as she wiped her runny nose with her sleeve. Brady had to turn and go, because it was breaking his heart to see her in this state. He knew she’d be okay. It was the in-between part he didn’t like to see. But Emma was strong, and he knew Maggie needed him. It was no longer an option.
He climbed in the truck, fired up the engine, pulled out into the driveway, and headed toward the automatic gate, which opened for him. At the top of the hill before they disappeared over the ledge, he honked several times, and both he and Riley got out of the truck and jumped up and down like they were doing jumping jacks, waving and shouting, “Miss you!”
Twenty minutes later,they headed toward the Sonoma County Airport. Luckily, traffic wasn’t very heavy on the freeway, so they made it in record time.
“That was tough, Riley, saying goodbye to the girls. I sure as hell hope I don’t have to do that again.”
“Yeah, I get it now. Some of the married guys on the teams don’t think it ever gets easy. I’m sure glad I got out before we had kids. It would have driven me crazy. You’re a good man, Brady. Both Emma and Maggie are lucky to have you.”
As they pulled into the airport long-term parking, Brady quickly grabbed his ticket and then jumped out of the cab. They retrieved the bags, fortunately finding a luggage cart in the middle of the parking lot, piled it high, locked the truck, and double-checked to make sure the lights were turned off, and both men pushed the cart with all their might, running to the gate.
When they arrived at the terminal and stood in line to get their boarding passes, Riley turned to Brady.
“I’m getting too old for this shit. Look at us, Brady. We’re huffing and puffing. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
