Today was one of those chill days, just me and Haddie hanging out at home, no practice, nothing going on. She was stretched out on the couch, scrolling on her phone, laughing at random memes. Every few minutes, she’d go, “pops, look at this!” like it was the funniest thing ever. Half the time I didn’t even get it, but I laughed anyway because, well, seeing her happy makes me happy.
Then, we heard a knock at the door. I figured it was maybe the mail or something, but nope—when I opened the door, there was Coach, grinning like he had a secret.
“Hey, Pacheco!” he greeted me, all loud and happy as he stepped inside. Then he spotted Haddie, and his face lit up even more. “And there’s my favorite player!”
“granpa!” Haddie shouted, jumping up to hug him. Yeah, she calls him Granpa now, and he’s totally cool with it. Every time she says it, he just grins like she made his day.
Coach chuckled and reached into his pocket, pulling out this big bag of candy. “Brought you a little something, kiddo,” he said, handing it to her.
Haddie’s face lit up like Hanukkah night. “No way, grandpa!! Thanks!” she said, already digging in and munching on a candy bar.
We all sat down, talking about random stuff, with Haddie cracking jokes and Coach telling old stories that sounded like something out of a movie. Haddie laughed so hard she almost choked on her candy at one point, which made Coach laugh even more.
It was just a regular day, but somehow, it felt like the best one in a long time. I guess that’s what family is, just being there and making each other laugh – candy included.
