Big Shot | ✓

23 | tradition

I was neck deep in archival footage from the 2020 season in the media room when Amy called me.

"How far are you from Hilton Head?" was how she opened the call when I answered. No hello, no how's school, all business as usual for my eldest sister.

"Um, it's on the other side of the state," I told her as I moved more game footage onto my hard drive. My laptop's angry fan was already on full blast, and I'd been copying and pasting chunks of footage into my own files for over an hour now, praying she held out so I could finish the video I'd been working on all week. "Four and a half hour drive, less maybe if I book it. Why?"

"Jared and I picked a date and a venue. January 25th at Palmetto Dunes, and we got a good deal there because Jared's grandparents are members of that country club." Amy kept her tone composed, as if she was reading me instructions on building Ikea furniture, not the details of her god damn wedding. 

Sometimes I genuinely forgot that Amy was engaged, mostly because she treated the prospect of having a wedding like it was an inconvenience, but also because it was easy to detach myself while I was here - a place where I was valued and in charge and not just somebody's little kid sister who didn't know any better.

"Also it goes without saying that you're one of my bridesmaids," she added, sensing the unease in my silence. "And at least you don't have to get on a plane."

My aversion to flying never made sense to Amy, who was far too poised and logical to have those kinds of fears.

"And I genuinely appreciate that," I chuckled. There was a knock at the glass door of my office, and I looked up to see JJ waving his hands at me. "Look, I really gotta go, I'm finishing something up for the game tomorrow."

"Alright, alright," Amy sighed. "Love you, text me later."

She hung up before I could tell her I loved her back, and I waved JJ inside.

"You summoned me?" he asked as he leaned over my desk.

"Wait wait, back it up." I shooed him away and tilted my laptop screen down. "No players are allowed to see it, especially you."

JJ scoffed and clapped his hand to his chest. "Me? What did I do?"

I shot him a deadpanned look over the top of my laptop. "Because you're terrible at keeping secrets."

"I..." JJ paused and furrowed his brows. "Did Reid tell you that?"

"Yes, and I have no reason to think he's lying."

"Well if you're not going to show me the video, then what?"

I folded my hands in front of my chin. "I just need you to make sure that Reid is the first person that gets off the bus tomorrow. I don't care how you do it, just make sure he's the first one to walk through the gate and touch the rock. I've already talked to the cannon guys and the guys that do the lighting for the stadium, so everything's gonna be synced up and ready to go."

A faint smirk tugged at JJ's lips. "You really care about him, huh?"

"Reid is my friend," I told JJ flatly. "I want his first home game back to be special, and I also think you and I can both agree he needs a little bit of a confidence boost after last week."

None of that was an outright lie, but somehow I'd become skilled at the art of lying by omission, and I didn't have time to mull over JJ's level of perception.

"Okay, okay," JJ held his hands up, backing himself towards the office door. "I will manhandle him if necessary."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, you're the best."