For Fake and For Real

22. Fixing Up Hearts and a House

Lucy felt like she needed a vacation after spending Christmas with her parents, and so she was grateful to return to Rome. When she arrived to her apartment, she was presented with a package, but she had no recollection of ordering anything right before leaving for L.A. She left the box on her kitchen counter and went to sleep, overcome with exhaustion from her flight and the jet lag. She had almost forgotten about the package until she saw it the next morning and opened it cluelessly.

Inside, there was an L.A. Rams jersey with a small piece of paper. Actually, it was a hand written piece of paper with messy handwriting she recognized immediately. Tim's handwriting. Eagerly, she read:

Two of my favorite teams are represented on this jersey.

Tim

P.S. Jackson had the right idea

Lucy reread the note, because it didn't make sense; jerseys are unique to an individual team. Inspecting further, she turned the shirt over and almost dropped it when she saw "CHENFORD" spelled out on the back. His favorite football team and his favorite team in life- them. It was beautiful and symbolic and not nearly as cheesy as when Jackson made the Dodgers jersey for her to wear to sing the National Anthem months ago. This seemed more sacred. More special. She gently ran her fingers along the raised letters sewn on the back and then held the shirt to her chest; it was the closest thing to receiving a hug from Tim that she could manage right now, and that realization is what triggered a few tears to fall. Still a bit choked up, she called Tim.

He didn't answer, so she left him a voicemail: "Hey, I just got back to Rome and found your Christmas present. I absolutely love it. Thank you so much for something so thoughtful, and by the way, not the biggest fan of the team on the front, but I LOVE the team on the back. You're so sweet! Talk later. Bye."

Instantly feeling lighter, she went to set with a smile. Even though she couldn't wear the jersey in public, she planned to put it on the second she returned to her apartment.

••••••••••

Grateful for the reprieve from work, Lucy was happy to be dismissed from set at 3PM. Just as she reached for her phone in her trailer, she felt it vibrate and grinned, expecting it to be Tim returning her call. To her surprise, the other Bradford was calling her- Genny.

"Hi, Genny," she answered.

"Lucy, oh, hi! I sorta took a chance that maybe you'd answer. Time zones confuse me. I hope you weren't sleeping."

"No, it's 3 in the afternoon here. I'm wide awake."

"Am I interrupting you at work?"

"Not at all! What's up?"

Genny started to ramble quickly, "I was...well, Tim listens to you, and he can't stay mad at you, so I figure if you're the messenger, he won't get upset and instead will listen to what's going on, and I hate even asking for his help with this, but I can't do it on my own..."

"Genny, why don't you take a deep breath and slow down a little. What's going on?"

"It's our dad. He's dying."

Lucy's eyes widened at the news and although she had never met the man, nor did she have a high opinion of him based on everything Tim had told her about Tom Bradford, she was still saddened to hear Genny's words. "I am so sorry. This must be really difficult for you."

"Yeah, I mean, I know he's not the best guy, but his liver's failing, and he needs to go to a hospice facility, and no matter what, he's still my dad."

"You don't have to explain yourself to me. Your relationship with Tom is complicated, and you're allowed to feel however you want towards him."