'Mom? You ready to go?'
Mia's voice rings out across the entrance hall as she walks down the stairs of their rented villa, the house strangely quiet and still, given the day that it was.
The whole family was gathered together once again: Annabelle from New York, Noah from Cincinnati and Archer from North Carolina. The Kansas City contingent had flown into Las Vegas together: Mia, Taylor, Lucy; along with Brittany, Patrick, Sterling and Goldie. The house had been a crazy mix of family and friends all week, someone always coming and going, food being made, music on, laughter and fun and a certain Kelce magic that always surrounded this second Sunday in February.
For they were all gathered in Las Vegas for yet another Super Bowl: Bronze's first as a starter, and Travis' third as Head Coach. Hopes were high, but the Chiefs were definitely the underdogs on this occasion. Somehow, everyone forgot how much Travis loves being the underdog - so Mia wasn't worried. She felt confident, even.
She wasn't feeling so confident, though, about her ability to not go into labour as the game played out. She and Bronze had discovered they were expecting their first baby sometime before their first anniversary, and while the timing wasn't great (her due date being a measly 3 weeks away), nothing could have held her back from being here, surrounded by family, to support her husband.
She'd never really - or fully - understood her mom on big game days before, not until last season's playoffs, when she was holding her breath watching Bronze lead the Chiefs out against the Bills, Brittany on one side and Taylor on the other. The tension seemed to be higher, every hit he took harder, and when they lost - well, it was just devastating. Her mom had hugged her after that one, a knowing smile passing between them, and suddenly it had all made sense.
Their bond had only grown closer since then, and with her first pregnancy, she had come to the realisation that her mom really was her best friend. She'd leaned on her for support, asking every question under the sun, and even stayed back at home when Bronze was travelling for away games, Taylor making every occasion like one big slumber party, her and Mia and Lucy cuddled up in the one bed. Last month, her and Brittany had thrown an extravagant baby shower - football themed - and Taylor had cried, seeing Mia surrounded by family, opening gifts for her first grandchild.
Not that she thought the baby would be the only grandchild for long. Annabelle had brought home her boyfriend, Marc, from New York last Christmas, and he had immediately hit it off with the twins, a major basketball fanatic. Travis had been harder to win over, Annie still 5 years old in his mind, but when she'd been hospitalised in the spring, requiring emergency surgery to remove her appendix, Marc's support had won him over. He'd even converted to the Chiefs for good measure - Travis definitely couldn't have a Jets fan in the family long term.
They had arrived to Christmas just past giggling and smiling at each other when Mia had opened the door, before Annie had pulled her left hand out from her pocket, flashing her ring at her big sister. Mia's squeal had Taylor running from the kitchen, Lucy in hot pursuit, and the Kelce girls had all squealed together, hugging the newest bride-to-be. Travis had cried, of course, but he'd already known - Marc had asked for his permission at thanksgiving. He'd gotten a smack around the head for not telling his wife that one, but she'd forgiven him when he reminded her of her inability to keep a secret from their daughters. The wedding was planned for the summer, a much smaller, more intimate affair than Mia's, in the Kansas countryside.
The twins, for their part, were typical college boys: they didn't really tell Taylor or Travis much about their love life until they felt they had to, which is how they knew it was serious when Archie had requested an extra ticket for this year's Super Bowl for his girlfriend, Hayley. She'd flown in with him from Duke - marketing major, a year younger, and, funnily enough, not interested in football at all. Taylor had laughed, welcoming her in to stay (in her own bedroom, she'd warned Archer), and promising to convert her quickly enough.
