Through Thick and Thin (Anthony Rizzo)

Something Special

Anthony

The team ends up doing really well to start this season which is good when you only get 60 games to make the post season, even with the expanded post season. Our starters are looking un-hittable and the offense wasn't all that overwhelming but were getting the job done. I felt like all that wait just might be worth it.

And while I was stuck in my hotel with nowhere to go and no one to see I decided I wanted to do something special for Jazmyn. She struggles a lot with moving on from her fighting days. Granted she was dismissed a little less than five months ago and was doing pretty great for someone of her stature, she still struggled. When she was fighting she felt like she had worth and without it she wasn't sure who she was. But I had an idea to give her some kind of closure and for her to know her worth.

I wanted to reach out to all her buddies she served with and let them tell the stories of what made her so incredible and what she means to them. The people who saw her at her best and her worst would know better than anyone what made her so special. I wanted to hear in their words what kind of person Jazzie was and how she made this world a better place by doing the things she did.

So I contact her family and ask where she served and if they had some names of people she served with. They help me out as much as they can giving me emails and numbers and what battalion she was in. I thank them a million times before just sending out a mass email to everyone I had. I ask that if they're comfortable they would act like they're writing to me about Jazmyn and what she's like as if I hadn't met her before. What they would tell their friends about their time with her.

There was one number her mom insisted was most important to call. Said that this man was the closest thing she had to a sixth brother out there. He was actually about to become her brother, because he was already Mathews brother and was going to be his best man at their wedding.

His name was Terry and he was a few years older than his brother. But he was the reason Mathew went and fought in the first place. They were close and wherever Terry went Mathew went too. Even after his brother passed he still kept in contact with Jazz. He still talks to her every week, I've heard her mention him a few times before and she always had the best things to say about him. And they served together for three years so he knows first hand what Jazz is like and why doing this would mean a lot to her.

I decide to call him since this was a little bit more important. I can get some quotes from him later but I wanted to reach out to him personally and make sure this is something he is down to do.

The first time I call he doesn't answer but he calls back a few minutes later. "Who is this" he wonders.

"I'm Anthony Rizzo-" I start.

"Holy shit" he gasps. "Jazzy has told me all about you. I can't believe I'm actually talking to you" he claims making me laugh.

"I'm not half as cool as she makes me seem" I defend.

"She thinks the world of you. I haven't heard her talk with such passion since..." he trails off.

The line falls silent and I could just feel his pain. I know Mathew was an amazing person and that he was close with him. Mathew joined the army to be with his brother, they had a deep connection that is stronger than any war we find ourselves in. Losing someone like that, it hurts. And it never stops hurting.

"I know" I assure him. "Your brother was a great man, Jazzy is hard to please and he made her the happiest girl in the war."

"He was so in love with her. He was ready to give his life for hers because he knew she was special. He knew people needed her and that she had to stay" he explains.

"That's actually why I called. I wanted to do something for Jazz, get a bunch of quotes from people who knew her best and show her how loved she is. All the lives she changed for the better. I know it would mean a lot coming from the only man she would want as a sixth brother" I say as he chuckles.

"I would love to say some words. Though I don't know if she'll listen to me. I've been telling her for five years now that people like her are the only reason I still fight. She just can't see it" he insists.

"So she was always this humble" I notice.

"For as long as I've known her" he assures me.

"Well it's good to know she's always had a heart of gold" I admit.

"She was like that little sister everyone dreams of. She wants to do the fun stuff with you but she knows how to get things done. And she's a leader, stronger than anyone should ever be.

Even when my brother passed she ran right back into the fire. I wanted her to stay for a while, let herself heal. Her family and I begged her to go home and grieve. Let it hurt so she can heal. But she was heart broken, she was traumatized and the only thing she knew how to do was fight. It was the only way she could get her mind off the loss.

So she ran right back and went silent for a while. I was on leave because my wife was pregnant and was about to have her baby. I was still broken up about losing my brother but I was worried about her most. She loved him a lot and watching him blow up in front of her eyes, it was awful.

But I always knew she would love again. Her heart is too big not to find someone who treated her like a queen" he admits.

"How do you know I treat her like a queen" I question.

"She tells me. She was nervous to tell me about you. You're the first guy she dated after Mathew passed and she felt like she was cheating on him.

But I knew Mathew would want her to love again. He always wanted what was best for her. And I have every reason to believe you're just that" he claims.

"I'm trying" I admit.

"Well you're doing great. She loves you just as much as she loved Mathew. Not in the same way but the same amount, with all her heart and all her soul" he insists.

"I'm one lucky guy" I smile.

He gives me a bunch of things I know I can use for the scrap book. I thank him for his service, for watching our over Jazz and for keeping in touch with her so she can have someone she trusts by her side.

Once I was done with him I send a few texts and try to figure out how to give all of this to her.