A Penny For Your Thoughts

Chapter Thirty

Michelle slowly rotated the candle around on the table finding the perfect spot for it.

Her fiance watched her with a smile creeping up on his lips, "What are you doing Love?" His arms snaked around her waist and he welcomed his presence. She turned her heads up towards him saying, "I can't seem to find the right spot for this candle." He chuckled a little bit saying, "How about the middle of the table?" She shook her head, "No the turkey is going in the center." "Why?" He asked. "Because it's Thanksgiving. The turkey has to be in the center," she explained in a matter of fact tone. "You're right," he nodded in defeat. "You know what? I'm tired for the night," she said sliding her hands down his arms and onto his fingers tips. "You wanna watch football?" Liam asked. She sighed.

When she first started dating Liam at the beginning of college he was majoring as a sports announcer. He loved football. Two years later he graduated and proposed to Michelle, she was currently in her third year of college. They lived in house over in Southern Maryland near St. Mary's College. The house was an inheritance from his late grandma.

"Fine," she smiled moving upstairs to go brush her teeth and get ready for bed. In their room, Liam had turned the TV on. From the bathroom she could hear the noise going on in the background.

"Hurry up Love! You don't wanna miss this! The Baltimore Ravens are winning twenty points up on this game and it's only the second quarter. Liam had a love for the Baltimore Ravens. Currently he was leaning against the dresser watching the game intently in his Baltimore flannel PJ pants. She smiled to herself admiring him.

Liam had become all sorts of perfect to her over the past three years. He was relevantly tall, he had wavy brown hair that currently looked messy, his eyes were blue and the way his lips curled into a smile whenever he was excited intrigued her.

After she was done brushing her teeth, she sat down on her bed watching the beginning of half time. The reporters were recently interviewing the players and Liam turned the volume up. He sat down next her, placed a pillow in her lap and laid his head there. One by one they watched the players get interviewed and they basically all said the same things. That's when a familiar face showed up on screen that stole Michelle's breath.

Liam sat up quickly saying, "That's Luke LaVale, the new player on the team! So far he's doing really good! His interceptions of the other team's passes are amazing. He's probably gonna be my favorite soon."

Michelle felt her heart beat faster. She watched with great intent as he stepped up onto the platform and stood in front of the microphone. He changed. He appeared slightly taller, his baby cheeks slimmer, his shoulders broader and arms bigger. His hair was shiny from sweat when he took his helmet off. Nonetheless, his eyes were still the same kind of green.

A reporter asked him about his new life being on the team, where'd he come from and another asked about his family. When he opened his mouth, his voice was no longer smooth like it used to be. There was a rough tone in his voice and the innocence in his eyes had disappeared.

Reporter: So tell us, where did you graduate high school? And what motivated you to play football as a profession?

LaVale: Well I graduated from Kennedy High School just here in Baltimore. I played on the varsity team all throughout my high school career. I played quarterback in my senior year.

Reporter: How has life been different since join the Ravens?

LaVale: Uh well its definitely been hard work... Y'know with practicing and all. I'm usually busy most of the time but it's great. I love it! I really do.

Reporter: Why the Baltimore Ravens?

LaVale: Y'know I admired the Ravens since I was a little kid. It was the team I wanted to be on if I ever played football as a profession. But most importantly, it's close to home. I love Maryland and I love my city. It's home.

Reporter: You have a family. Would you like to tell us about them?

LaVale: Oh man! I could go on for hours bragging about my daughter.

*crowd chuckles*

LaVale: But really. She's great. Y'know she's five years old now, it's crazy how smart she is. When my girlfriend and I first found out she was pregnant, the doctors told us it was gonna be a boy. But nine months later, out came a beautiful little girl. She looks just like her mom.

Reporter: Does she like football like you?

LaVale: She does actually! I'll come home from work tired of football and she'll say 'Daddy catch!' Her passes are gonna be better than mine one day.

Reporter: Does being on the team keep you away from your family?

LaVale: Uh sometimes. But I try to come home as much as possible. Sydney, my daughter understands I think. Abby is really great. Every time I come home, she's always there to welcome me.

Reporter: Do you plan on getting married soon?

LaVale: *chuckles* That's a bit of a personal question. But maybe. We're both pretty young and we're figuring out things as we go along.

Reporter: Is there any note of advice you'd like to share to the public?

LaVale: Umm... sure. Uh... in life you're gonna make a ton of mistakes. You know you screw up and you'll let people down. But always find a way to keep going and move on from that. In my late teenage years I had made a bunch of stupid mistakes. But I don't regret any of it because I'm where I need to be today.

Reporter: Okay thanks. That's all for tonight.

A commercial came on shortly after."See? He seems so in touch with his family. That's another reason why this guy might be my favorite," said Liam. She nodded and mumbled, "He's my favorite player too." Liam got up and said, "I'm gonna find a bag of chips to eat for the rest of the game." So Michelle sat alone on her bed in awe of what she just saw and heard. She was happy that life was treating him good. At least now she didn't have to wonder about what had happened to him after she said goodbye that day. A sense of ease came to rest in her heart. The last chapter of that book had long been closed, but now she was ready to put it on a shelf.

The only strain she felt now was to see him in person and ask him how he was doing. She wanted to hear it for herself, in his voice, right in front of her. But she knew that opportunity was lost long ago. They were both adults now with their own lives. Michelle also wanted to tell him how she was doing. She wanted to tell him that her dreams had come true and wanted to ask him if his dreams were becoming of age.

Liam walked back into the room with a slice of chocolate cake and a cup of coffee to go along with it. "I figured that you probably wouldn't want chips," he said. "That's very thoughtful of you," She said kissing him on the cheek. He put his arm around her should and leaned back to watch the start of the third quarter.
For the rest of the time, Michelle could only think of how Luke was right. She wouldn't have changed any of her mistakes in the past to trade in for the life she had now. Sure, sometimes she wondered how life would've been if things has never changed. But if is a dangerous word. Lost in thought she wondered

What I would give if only he knew what I thought about him now.