Eliza Mae duPont
 Illustration by Shataivian | |
| No. 93 – Baltimore Spirits | |
|---|---|
| Position | Guard |
| Species | Yellow-Necked Mouse ( Muridae ) |
| Gender | Female |
| Nickname(s) | |
| Ellie | |
| Lab Mouse | |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
December 26, 1995 Bronx, NY |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Listed weight | 158 lb (72 kg) |
| Shoots | Right |
| Career information | |
| High school | Eagle Academy (2014) |
| College |
Sauropsida University (2018) UFLA (currently) |
| FBA draft | 2018 / Round: 1 / Pick: 12th overall |
| Selected by the Las Vegas Wildcards | |
| Pro playing career | 2018–present |
| Career history | |
| 2018-2020 | Las Vegas Wildcards |
| 2020-present | Baltimore Spirits |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Contract information | |
| Contract year | 2018 |
| 2024 Salary | $22 million |
| Player Contacts | |
| (IC) Agent | Jacob Smith |
| (OOC) Creator | Shataivian |
| (OOC) Actor | Shataivian |
| (OOC) Usage | Ask me before any use |
Biography
History as Lisa Belle DuPont
Lisa DuPont grew up an only child in Bronx, New York where basketball was a means for father-daughter bonding. While still only an infant her parents had divorced with her father taking full custody. Because of this DuPont grew up rather quickly, often taking time to take care of both herself and her father, anything to lighten the load for a man with a broken heart. However, not wanting DuPont to miss out on her childhood her father tried his best to engage and have fun with her, thus her love for basketball began to bud. Her father would meet DuPont at her junior high school’s courtyard most days after school and challenge her to a game of one on one, usually with the reward of Badger King or Steerbucks if she beat him. Unfortunately, Mr. DuPont had to learn the hard way what a mistake his little challenge would be on his wallet (and their stomachs) as his daughter picked up the sport in no time at all. By the time DuPont finished junior high school she had found a great love for the sport, often running circles around her old man.
Lisa DuPont had realized her skill, and with that, a fiery determination to take her love to new heights. She would eventually learn how literal her ambition was. Not shy to facing challenges head on she applied and was accepted to the illustrious Eagle Academy, a previously all-avian college preparatory high school in Manhattan, with aspirations of becoming a Golden Eagle. The school, however, new to accepting a broader demographic, was hesitant in accepting DuPont onto their basketball team due to her size and physical disadvantages when compared to the avian members of the team. DuPont had also decided to focus heavily on the sciences which Eagle Academy’s coach D’Souza warned would make keeping up with the rest of the team while maintaining a satisfactory grade point average extremely challenging for her. DuPont, however, was acutely aware that she did not hear the word “no” from D’Souza. Her entire freshman year was stubbornly spent focusing on her studies and practicing in the gym. Whenever she could DuPont would peak through the windows while the team was practicing and attended all their games all while taking notebooks worth of notes and ideas for her to use during her private practices. At the start of her sophomore year she went to coach D’Souza and her principal, Mr. Mason, and told them everything she had done the previous year. She implored them that they allow her on the team as she felt she not only could keep up with the team but also had ideas on how to help improve the team. Impressed, D’Souza and Mason agreed to let her participate in practice and discuss her ideas with the rest of the team, but it would not be until her junior year, after she had proven she indeed could handle keeping up with practice while maintain a grade point average above 3.5, that she would officially be considered a Golden Eagle. D’Souza was no doubt inspired by DuPont’s determination and ambition as she was pushed to keep up with the rest of the team. This included strict workout regiments strengthening her legs to help her to jump as high as the rest of the team who had the advantage of using the one-flap rule. He grew to become very proud of her and helped nurture this fire in DuPont but knew she had much to learn if she wanted to continue down this path.
In 2014, Lisa graduated valedictorian and received a glowing recommendation from her teachers and, of course, coach D’Souza to his alma mater, Sauropsida, a predominately avian and reptilian university. In familiar fashion DuPont majored in biochemistry despite her advisor’s warnings of the difficulties of balancing academics and athletics. Though her ambitious had stayed the same as she transition from high school to college, she would find that both college academics and athletics would be on a completely different level than what she was used to. DuPont had to remember her coach’s advice to her before she left Eagle Academy. “Girl, you’ve got the drive and you’re stubborn as all get out,” D’Souza told DuPont, “but let me tell you. You’re going to get 99.9% of your learning outside of those textbooks and classrooms. University will chew you up and spit you out and hold your weaknesses over your head, and there will always be someone fighting harder than you, fighting against you. You are more than what you are. Adapt, Lisa. Grow and give ‘em hell.” A hard lesson for an eighteen-year-old to learn, but one DuPont took to heart. DuPont joined the chess club, became the president of the Fur vs. Zombies activity group, and took classes like archery to strengthen her problem solving, leadership, and perceptive skills. These were all skills she needed to compete with some of her reptilian competitors on the basketball court.
Lisa DuPont grow immensely throughout her college career and her experiences have greatly influenced and improved her skills on the court. She has showed great leadership on and off the court and developed creative means of problem solving as one would during a chess match. Thanks to her experiences and training both at Sauropsida and Eagle Academy DuPont can also jump incredibly high, giving her avian cohorts a run for their money. Her time spent with some of Sauropsida’s reptilian athletes along with her extracurricular activities, too, have proven to expand her perceptive abilities on the court, allowing her to better calculate how to get the ball where it needs to be. DuPont has always been up to the challenge no matter what they may bring. Having just graduated in May of 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry and a grade point average 3.94, DuPont has proven she is willing and very much capable of achieving whatever goal she sets her sights for. Lisa DuPont has shown time and time again that no matter what obstacle may come her way she will adapt, she will grow, and she will absolutely give ‘em hell.
Scar and Tattoo
When Lisa was young her father was constantly upset, blaming himself for the reason Lisa didn’t have a mother. He had gotten a divorce when she was only 3 months old and felt responsible. He was inconsolable most of the time, leaving Lisa to be the adult and take care of him. She worked at a grocery store after school and would help pay some of the bills. Eventually, her father started dating around to remedy this and help get himself back onto his feet until, unfortunately, it became an addiction for him. Soon, he was bringing girls home most every night, forcing Lisa to wait outside her apartment building until he was done with them. This was especially worse around the time she started her junior year of high school when her father started bringing multiple girls home at a time.
At the same time, Lisa was going through a major breakup with her then boyfriend. She was dating the son of her father’s old love. Her father had suggested the two get together so that he himself could get closer to this woman. When Lisa and her boyfriend broke up, her father tried to get her into a relationship with the ex’s older brother. When her ex-boyfriend found out, there was a major fight between the brothers involving weapons and, ultimately, surgery. Lisa was caught in the middle of this, leaving the entire family to blame her for what had happened.
There were many other things causing stress for Lisa around this same time. She was being advised against going to college or even trying to enter the FBA. She developed appendicitis, which went undiagnosed for some time due to the location of the pain. It wasn’t until an MRI discovered that she has situs inversus totalis, a condition where the entire torso is mirrored. This unknown status left the doctors confused as to the description of Lisa’s pain since normally pain from appendicitis would be describe as coming from the right side rather than the left. Because of this Lisa was advised only to take pain killers for several days until this mistake was finally rectified and she underwent surgery.
Having no one to turn to in her most desperate time of need, at the age of 17, Lisa attempted to hang herself. She was found by her “uncle,” Eric, in her Livingroom closet with a rope tied around her neck and shelving, along with everything that was on the shelves on top of her, passed out. She awoke in her apartment on a stretcher, just before being wheeled into an ambulance and taken to the hospital. What’s worse, when her father came to visit her at the hospital, instead of consoling her, he went up to her and yelled at her, stating that she was no longer his daughter.
The attempt left a scar around her neck where fur no longer grows, a blemish she never wanted the world to see. But after it was accidentally exposed during the Las Vegas Wildcard’s home game with the Texas Lone Stars on February 15th, 2019, Lisa held a press conference to address her scar and stated that she will be donating 65% of her FBA earnings to suicide prevention. On September 28th, 2019, Lisa got a tattoo to cover the scar on her neck, something she’s wanted to do since the incident. The tattoo is of a phoenix bird, fitting to represent a sort of rebirth from the old Lisa to the new. Lisa now dawns her neck with pride, showing others that it’s not too late too start over and be stronger than ever before.
Characters
- Names in RED are current.
Illustration by Shataivian
| Date of Birth | November 3, 1966 |
| Birth Place | Mont de Marsan, France |
| Home Town | Bronx, New York |
| Species | Yellow-Necked Mouse |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 201 lbs (91 kg) |
David is Lisa's father. He lives in Bronx New York. He is the owner of many lounges throughout the country. He was born in Mont de Marsan France and immigrated to America with his parents when he was an infant. David grew up an only child.
Illustration by Shataivian
| Date of Birth | July 17, 1969 |
| Birth Place | La Rochelle, France |
| Home Town | Albany, New York |
| Species | Spotted Fancy Mouse |
| Gender | Female |
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.64 m) |
| Weight | 121 lbs (55 kg) |
Sandrine was suspected to be Lisa's mother. She is David's ex wife. They divorced right after Lisa was born. Her maiden name is Vaux, but she has since remarried and is now Sandrine Malone.
Illustration by Shataivian
| Date of Birth | June 6, 1966 |
| Birth Place | Brooklyn, New York |
| Home Town | Seattle, Washington |
| Species | Dear Mouse |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| Weight | 173 lbs (78 kg) |
Eric is David's best friend from childhood. The two became business partners where Eric would run a pub in Seattle and exclusively sell local drafts to David in New York. Eric is considered family for how long he's been in Lisa's and David's lives.
| Date of Birth | August 22, 1968 |
| Birth Place | Albany, New York |
| Home Town | Bronx, New York |
| Species | Lion |
| Gender | Female |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) |
| Weight | 12 lbs (59 kg) |
Melissa is David's old crush whom he never got to be with. Lisa is named after her. She has three children. This include Omar, the first born who convinced Sandrine to have a child, and a set of twins, one of which (Jake) David forced into a relationship with Lisa so that he could be closer to Melissa.
Illustration by Shataivian
| Date of Birth | June 26, 1983 |
| Birth Place | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Home Town | Seattle, Washington |
| Species | Cougar |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 229 lbs (104 kg) |
Jason is a friend of Lisa's from college whom she developed strong feelings for. He is doing his residency in Seattle to become a neurological surgeon. Jason had recently reconnected with his father after not hearing from him in over two decades.
| Date of Birth | April 4, 1985 |
| Birth Place | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Home Town | Seattle, Washington |
| Species | Cougar |
| Gender | Female |
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.64 m) |
| Weight | 133 lbs (60 kg) |
Sharice is Jason's now ex wife who had cheated on him and lied about it as she tried to pretend that her newborn child was his.
Illustration by Shataivian
| Date of Birth | May 8, 1984 |
| Birth Place | Fernley, Nevada |
| Home Town | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Species | Aegean Cat |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Weight | 320 lbs (145 kg) |
Damario is a psychiatrist based in Las Vegas. He is currently Lisa's ex boyfriend. He is interested in wrestling and body building.
Illustration by Shataivian
| Date of Birth | March 7, 1991 |
| Birth Place | Albany, New York |
| Home Town | Albany, New York |
| Species | Yellow-Necked Mouse/Spotted Fancy Mouse |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 164 lbs (75 kg) |
Emmett is Lisa's older brother on her father's side, born four years earlier. His mother is Sandrine Malone. He graduated from Florida Midwest University in 2017, earning is his DDS. He now practices in Albany, NY at his own practice, Albany Family Dental.
Illustration by Shataivian
| Date of Birth | May 11, 1990 |
| Birth Place | ??? |
| Home Town | ??? |
| Species | Golden Mouse |
| Gender | Female |
| Height | 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) |
| Weight | 115 lbs (55 kg) |
???
Story Summaries
Lisa DuPont entered the 2018 FBA draft. At the combined she got a surprise visit from her “Uncle” Eric who showed up to support her. Eric is a friend of Lisa’s father from childhood but has been part of her life for so long that she considers him her uncle. At this point in time, Lisa had not spoken to her father in four years. Due to this grudge, when she was asked, she claimed on Tweetter that Eric was instead her father.
After the combine Lisa found herself without a place to stay until draft night and was invited by Alexa Francesca, a fellow draft candidate, to stay with her. They got to know each other, and it was here that they started to become friends. At the same time, however, she received a message from Eric stating that he was aware that Lisa had called him her father and wanted to talk.
This talk eventually led to Eric begging Lisa to phone her father, whom she still had not spoken to, so that he would help with Eric’s business. Eric, who lives in Seattle, Washington, ran a pub and brewery called Devil’s Den. He had found out that his business had black mold (and later found out his employees were stealing money from him) and needed the money owed to him from Lisa’s father, who was working with him as a business partner in New York City.
Begrudgingly, Lisa called her father. The conversation started off light but then soon escalated when David (Lisa’s father) realized that she only called him to help Eric and not to fix four years of turmoil, further straining their relationship.
Prior to this phone call, Lisa decided to sign Jacob Smith on as her agent and asked him to help her keep her secret; the scar across her neck where fur no longer grows that was caused by self-harm. He agreed and helped her to hide her scar during her games. Soon after, Lisa was drafted 12th by the Las Vegas Wildcards.
During Oktoberfest, Eric and David met up in Seattle to go on a week-long drinking tour. It was at this time that Eric told David that Lisa had been drafted into the FBA, a fact that David had not known about. Eric gave David her address and David made the decision to go visit Lisa for the first time in a long while.
In Las Vegas, David tried to reconnect with his daughter but failed when he mistakenly called her “Lissa.” Lisa was named after a woman David fell in love with but never got to be with, a lion named Melissa. He spoke to Lisa very similarly to the way he would speak to Melissa, giving Lisa the impression that he only seemed to care about her when he’s thinking about his past love. Lisa told him to leave, but before he did, he gave Lisa a photo of him and his ex-wife, Sandrine, when they were still together.
After a disappointing away game with Seattle, Lisa found her friend, Jason, waiting for her in the crowd. Jason and Lisa met in college and graduated together with Jason now doing his residency to become a neurological surgeon. She and Jason decided to go to Devil’s Den to meet with her “Uncle.” When they got there, they found the place was completely empty and learned that if things hadn’t change for Eric’s pub soon, Lisa’s father would buy it off of him. Eric then tried to offer Lisa and Jason a drink but they both refused, stating they no longer drink. This is due to a past incident involving getting drunk and the two sleeping together. Next, Eric tried to find a way to hook the two up together but learned that Jason had gotten married to a cougar named Sharice that previous June. However, Jason and Eric were both aware that Lisa was in love with Jason even though she knew she couldn’t be with him. After Jason left the pub, Eric pointed out the similarities between Lisa’s feelings for Jason and the relationship between David and Melissa. Immediately after that, Lisa received a message stating that she was no longer a bench player but would be starter.
Being the starting point guard took its toll on Lisa as the Las Vegas Wildcards continued to lose game after game. Lisa grew frustrated to the point of wanting to “prove” herself and shaved her head. Her claim was that her hair was getting in her eyes, but the truth was that she was acting out.
Soon the western and eastern conferences would start to play together. The irony: The Wildcard’s last game before Christmas break would be against the Queens Pride in New York City, AKA home. Lisa’s father attended this game and met up with her, taking time to wave at the cameras and soak up the attention. He then begged Lisa to come home for Christmas and that he’d do anything to have her home. Lisa agreed to this with the sole purpose of finally expressing to her father why she was so mad at him.
When Lisa was young her father was constantly upset, blaming himself for the reason Lisa didn’t have a mother. He had gotten a divorce when she was only 3 months old and felt responsible. He was inconsolable most of the time, leaving Lisa to be the adult and take care of him. He eventually started dating around to remedy this until it became an addiction for him. Soon, he was bringing girls home most every night, forcing Lisa to wait outside her apartment building until he was done with them. At the age of 17, Lisa attempted to hang herself due to the stress she was under while having to take care of her father, herself, and many other various negative things that seemed to surround her at the time. But the main thing that upset Lisa was that after her attempt, when she was sent to the hospital, instead of consoling her, her father came up to her and yelled at her, stating that she was no longer his daughter. After hearing this story, David tried to apologize. Lisa asked him why he disowned her but the only answer he could give stemmed around the DuPont name. All of Lisa’s life, David would parade their name around, acting as though they were related to the famous rich DuPonts. Her suicide attempt, he said, would make them look bad to that family.
The following day Lisa asked David where her birth certificate was and tried to look for it. There had been times where she needed it in the past but couldn’t find it. And every time she tried to order a new one, an error would occur, preventing her from receiving one. David quickly volunteered to help search for it, then found it and hid it within the fabric of the couch. He then told her he’ll continue to search for it for her. Lisa then turned her attention to her mother. She asked David where she can find her. David tried to convince Lisa not to look for her and that she should leave her out of her life. But Lisa stated that a lot of things didn’t add up. She had been told her whole life that Sandrine didn’t want kids. But after babysitting Melissa’s first-born child, she changed her mind four years later. This time gap didn’t make sense to Lisa. Why would she be convinced four years later instead of immediately after? Lisa also had an issue with the story she was told, that sometime while Sandrine was pregnant with her, she decided that she changed her mind about wanting kids. By the time Lisa was born, Sandrine and David had been fighting. Ultimately Sandrine told David that either she goes, or Lisa goes, and that that was the reason why the two got a divorce. Lisa didn’t understand why Sandrine would change her mind mid-pregnancy and what Lisa had done to her to make her so unhappy. David explained that Sandrine was toxic and made Lisa promise him that she would not let that back into her life.
After another away game with Seattle, Lisa met up with Jason again and they both decided to visit Eric since they hadn’t heard word from him after finding out that his pub had closed down. It’s at that time that Lisa learned that Jason’s wife was pregnant, however, Jason did not seem happy about the news.
Eventually, Eric mentioned that after changing his last name to Johnson over some family feud, he had recently changed it back to Janovski. He also stated that it was common for people to change their name and that it wasn’t hard to do. Later that evening Lisa mentioned wanting to find her mother to Eric and asked him if she was as toxic as her father made her out to be. Eric told Lisa that it would be her choice whether or not she goes to meet her, but that she should prepare her heart for that visit. When Lisa was ready to leave to go home with her team, Jason convinced Lisa to stay a little while longer. With Lisa still having feelings for him, she agreed to stay.
On February 13th after her game in Alaska, Lisa received an emergency call from Jason, asking her to come see him. She rushed to the airport, accidently leaving behind her compression turtleneck that she wore during games to hide the scar on her neck. When she got there, she found that Jason was drunk, and took him to his home to take care of him.
The following day, valentine’s day, the two spent the day together, eventually getting to the point of why Jason called her over in the first place. He told Lisa that his wife had been cheating on him and that the child she was pregnant with wasn’t his. He told Lisa that he confronted Sharice about this and the two fought, ultimately causing Sharice to leave town to stay with the guy she was supposedly cheating with. Having his own feelings towards Lisa, Jason tried to convince her to stay a bit longer and throw caution to the wind when he began to flirt with her. Lisa refused his advances and told him that she was there for him because that’s what friends do.
The next day, Lisa flew back to Las Vegas just in time for her next game but found that she had no compression shirt to hide her neck. She began to panic, finally calling her agent minutes before the game. She begged him for help, but there was nothing he could do. Lisa played that night, showing the world her scar for the first time.
The following day, Lisa was too terrified to leave her apartment, even to throw out her trash, and began to compulsively clean. She was then visited by David and her friend Jason, both there independently to help her through this time. Jason, however, knowing what David had done to Lisa in the past, was terse with him. The two got into a verbal fight. Jason claimed that he thought he had figured out David’s secret. He had known that David didn’t want Lisa to go looking for her mother and had heard Eric warn Lisa about going to find her. With this information he suspected that her mother couldn’t be who she thought it was, but instead was Melissa. But David proved him wrong, telling Jason that Melissa was a lion just like him, showing that a lion and mouse could not mate and have a child together. David then discuss the similarities between Jason and himself. Jason started to see eye to eye with David and started to understand a bit more where David was coming from. That night David and Jason talked some more. David surmised that Jason was in love with Lisa and told Jason that he needed to make up his mind and choose between his wife, Sharice, and Lisa. Jason, seemingly making up his mind, got up and went into Lisa’s room, where he told her that he chose her and that he was leaving his wife. The two then slept together.
The following day Jason woke up meeting David in the kitchen. The two talked and found out that Jason didn’t know for a fact that his wife was cheating on him and was only going off a gut feeling, avoiding confrontation. Lisa overheard this conversation. She told Jason that she was in a previous relationship where her boyfriend was so sure that she was cheating on him that he cheated on her back. She told him that he was doing the same exact thing to his wife. David then told Jason that he needed to be a better husband and Lisa realized at that moment that the two would never be together.
David had told Lisa that the way to get out of trouble with the public regarding her scar was to act like she had shown it on purpose. With this idea, at the dunk contest during All Star Week, Lisa performed a dunk using a basketball with the words “Self Hate” written on it to further the illusion of making this a stunt.
After a home game with the Mayors, Lisa met up with Emina to talk with her about hiding her scars. Emina, having many scars of her own, told Lisa her story on how she handled the public. Through their conversation, Emina also learned that Lisa was never told that things would be alright. She then surprised Lisa with a hug, the hug she should have gotten all those years ago. It was then that Lisa decided that she would hold a press conference.
At the press conference, Lisa addressed the public about her scar and told them that, yes it happened, and to deal with it, because she wasn’t going to hide it anymore. She also decided to donate 65% of her earnings to suicide prevention.
A few days later, Lisa felt off, wondering whether or not the conference was a good idea. She went over to her balcony where she began to toy with the idea of ending things but decided last minute not to. She was caught by her father, who had been staying with her since the incident. He yanked her off the railing and held her tight, telling her that everything would be alright. After some time, he told her that she should meet Damario, a young psychiatrist he had met, to try and help her through this. He also secretly hoped the two would develop a relationship to help Lisa get Jason off her mind, since he knew Damario was Lisa’s type. But for Lisa, the hug she received from her father during her time of need showed her that things were different between the two. It is at that point that Lisa started calling her father “Daddy,” a term that signified that she had forgiven him.
Another away game with Seattle, Lisa and David (still staying at Lisa’s place) went to meet Eric at the new lounge that David had erected from the old Pub, called Devil’s Lounge. Beforehand, though, Lisa scanned the stadium to see if her friend Jason had come but did not find him. At the lounge David and Eric spoke privately. David joked about Eric changing his last name back to his family’s name, and Eric asked David if he was going to do the same and change his name back to the way it was, stating that “DuPont” was still too hard for him to remember. Later the two talked about Lisa’s persistent wanting to meet her mother. Eric warned David to tell her the “truth.”
Yet another away game with Seattle, Lisa, who at that time was no longer having her father stay with her, was elated to find Eric in the crowd this time. She ran over to hug him but soon found that Jason was sitting behind him. Eric told Lisa that Jason asked him to come along since Jason figured that if he had shown up alone, she wouldn’t come over to speak to him. Jason took that time to apologize to Lisa and wanted to entertain the idea of training with her over the summer, a subject they had talked about in the past. Lisa, still mad yet still in love with him, said she’d consider it.
Agreeing to Jason’s proposal, Lisa visited Jason at an empty gym to learn boxing. The idea was that it would help with footwork during her games. However, the true hope was to be with Jason again. Jason and Lisa got into a verbal fight about “doing the right thing.” But through this fight Lisa was convinced that things could actually work out between the two, and that Jason was absolutely going to be with Lisa now. It was at that time that the two made love yet again. However, immediately afterwards, Lisa found that Jason was still wavering between her and his wife and that he couldn’t even admit out loud that he wanted to get a divorce. Lisa got up and made a stand and told him that she couldn’t have him in her life and left.
Mother’s Day came and went, and Lisa, bored, got the idea to do a quick SnoutBook search for her mother and found her immediately. She was now aware of exactly where her mother was and had the ability to see her at any time. But she was conflicted. She had been told many times not to go find her, that her mother wanted nothing to do with her, and to prepare her heart if she ever did decide to go meet her. Not to mention the promise she had made her father. She held a poll on Tweeter asking what she should do. Eric saw this and told her father the news. Lisa later got a phone call from her father addressing this. He reminded her of the promise she made him and eventually told her that Sandrine tried to and succeeded at harming Lisa when she was a baby. With this new news Lisa, again, promised not to go searching for her mother. Lisa then ended the phone call saying “I love you, Daddy” for the first time in years, leaving David breathless.
Around that time Lisa had been going on dates with Damario but felt off about the whole thing. She wanted to get over Jason but found it difficult to do so. Any time Damario made an advance towards Lisa, she’d find a way to avoid him. At Alexa’s wedding, the two spent time separated. Eventually Damario sat Lisa down to figure out what was going on. He told her that he knew she was avoiding him and that he wanted to be in a more serious relationship with her. He surmised that she was still not over Jason and that she was still holding out for him. She told Damario that she was over him and had more self-respect than that. This eventually led to Damario realizing that she was only afraid of getting hurt again. He told her the differences between himself and Jason and told her to give the two a chance with baby steps. Lisa agreed to this and the two started a more serious relationship together.
By mid-September of 2019 Lisa had started to settle into her new relationship with Damario. She would talk with her best friend Alexa Francesca about their relationship. However, one day Lisa thought she sent a private message to Alexa with an explicit image of her and Damario together. This message was instead sent publicly through tweetter for the world to see. This included Lisa’s friend and previous love interest Jason. A few days after this mistake Jason showed up to Lisa’s apartment with the plan to fight for her. Lisa’s previous reason for choosing Damario over Jason was due to the fact that Jason was unsure about his want to leave his wife and that he was unsure of whether his wife was pregnant with his child or someone else’s. Having finally given birth a few days prior, Jason informed Lisa that due to a specific shot his wife needed after the birth there was enough to prove genetically that this child was not his. Now torn between Damario and Jason, Lisa told both of them to leave, stating “I can’t see a single way where this works out and I have zero regrets. I’ll always wonder if I did the right thing. ‘Should I have given Jason a second chance?’ ‘Should I have left Damario even though he did nothing wrong?’ I can’t… The only fair thing I can do right now is to ask both of you to leave.” The two agreed to this and gave Lisa the space to think things through.
A month later Jason called Lisa to a coffee shop to try once again to convince her to leave Damario for him. This backed Lisa into a corner forcing her to think about whom she would choose, and through their talk Lisa made up her mind and turned Jason down.
One day during practice a sheriff showed up giving Lisa a Summons from Jason’s now ex-wife. The Summons stated that she was suing Lisa for interfering with and damaging her marriage. Unsure of what to do, she spoke to her father about it. This helped him plan to intervene during the trial.
Only five days later Sharice (Jason’s now ex-wife), her lawyer, Jason, and Lisa’s scrounged up lawyer met with her in private to discuss settlement privately. Sharice and her lawyer presented footage of Jason and Lisa being intimate in a boxing ring when Lisa came to train with Jason a few months prior. This footage was being used as blackmail. However, just before Lisa could cede to Sharice’s demands, Lisa’s father and two large men burst into the room taking charge of the situation. Using the DuPont name in his favor, David (Lisa’s father) scared Sharice and her lawyer to back off completely and to retract their lawsuit against Lisa.
Reminded about her name and the fact that she had located where her mother was, Lisa broached the subject of finding her mother again with her father. He, again, warned her not to do this and begged her not to go. But Lisa had made up her mind. She was going to speak with her mother in person the next time Las Vegas would play Albany.
This meeting wouldn’t happen until December 12th, so she had time to plan things out and speak with Damario about it. However, Damario had other things on his mind. Damario invited Lisa to join him and his family for thanksgiving, using the invite to try and finally confess to Lisa that he had fallen in love with her. Nervous at first, Lisa does not return the gesture. But she realizes that she is treating Damario the way Jason treated her, and she finally admits to him that she loves him too.
On December 12th, before her game against the Alphas, Lisa goes to meet with her mother. She stops off at her place of work and tries to get Sandrine (her mother) to talk to her as she introduces herself as her daughter. Sandrine denies it and leaves Lisa without any answers. However, the dentist who owns the practice overhears this conversation and offers to speak with Lisa, stating that Sandrine was in fact his mother. Using the photo of both Sandrine and David that Lisa had brought with her, the dentist (Emmett) proves to her that Sandrine is not her mother due to her eye color. He then reveals that he is indeed her half brother but on their father’s side, stating that Sandrine left David because he had an affair which led to the birth of Lisa.
Christmas time comes and Lisa confronts David about the meeting she had with Emmett. David tried to tell her that Sandrine was lying about him having a son, but when Lisa mentions that this information came from his son and not from Sandrine, David was backed into a corner having to face the fact that Lisa caught him in his lie. She forced David to tell her the truth about her mother. He told her that her mother’s real name was Bellamy DuPont and died giving birth to Lisa. He also explained that he changed his last name to DuPont because Bellamy’s husband tried to attack him and Lisa, and he thought that if they shared his last name, it would be the last name he would think to search for. Lisa told David that she was going to look for her family on her mother’s side and David warned that he would cause her hell if she did. Lisa pushed back causing David to strike her.
Lisa started becoming close friends with her teammate Crosby, going to an old diner to have peach pie anytime they lost a home game. She opened up to him explaining the situation she was in with her family. It was during one of these meetings that she started to realize the seriousness of the fact that David had struck her.
Later, Lisa walks in on a conversation between David and Damario, hearing David fire Damario for “not doing what he was paid to do.” This sowed the seeds of doubt for Lisa, wondering if her relationship with Damario was real or not. Because of this Lisa broke up with Damario and tried to go back to Jason. Though Jason wanted for this exact scenario to happen, he felt that Lisa was making a mistake and told her to talk to Damario. He realized that David was probably using Damario as much as he was using Lisa, pointing out that Damario was a doctor and there would be no amount of money that David could offer him that Damario would have risked it. He also helped Lisa to realize that David may not have as much money as he pretends he does, realizing that the apartment he lives in is the same rundown apartment she grew up in.
Soon after his meeting with Jason Lisa tried to text Damario. But he never replied back to her. So she took a page from Jason’s book and just showed up at his door one day. Forced to address her, Damario let Lisa into his home. She tried to apologize and tell him that she wanted to be with him again. And though Damario had been fighting to get her back, by this point Damario rejected her. He told her she was being a child and was not mature enough to be in a relationship. He tested her and made her realize that she wasn’t hoping for much out of their relationship while Damario was looking towards the future. Lisa was forced to go home without Damario. However, due to his softer side, Damario showed up at Lisa’s door a few days later, caving in and reestablishing their relationship together.
All-Star week approached, and Lisa was voted in to play in the All-Star game. Taking her new-found brother Emmett with her to enjoy the week, the two run into David right after the All-Star game. David is left speechless having met Emmett, his son, for the first time in over two decades. The tears and compassion he showed for Emmett angered Lisa since she never received that kind of love and attention from David. So, when she tried to walk away from him, David tried to stop her, yanking her back. Reminded of her conversation with Crosby and also Damario and Jason regarding David’s violence towards her over Christmas break, Lisa snapped and landed a devastating left hook across his face, all caught on camera.
Reports stated that David had plans to sue his daughter and make her pay for what she had done. During a press conference regarding the attack, Lisa gave a formal, albeit lackluster apology. However, everyone was surprised when the FBA commissioner came up to speak. Her actions were clear, and it seemed that so were the punishments that were to come her way. Everyone including Lisa was expecting her to be fined and suspended right there on the spot. But when the commissioner stated that there needed to be further review, everyone was left confused as to why.
Months had gone by and Lisa had heard nothing from her father, and in the end due to her violent actions after the All-Star game, Lisa was only slapped with $50k fine and forced to take anger management lessons. But no word from her father, no lawsuit, nothing. Before her game against the Kahunas, Lisa took a stroll around the island and ran into someone who recognized her. Lisa tried to get away from this person, but she caught her and brought her to an alley to speak in private. This woman introduced herself as Valencia Day, a woman who Lisa would later find out used to be a big name in fashion before she was caught in a scandal and disappeared from the public’s conscious. Valencia told Lisa that she just wanted to be friends but did so in a threatening manner. She told Lisa that she was the one to convince David not to sue her and also informed her that the punch she landed caused fractures in his jaw, forcing him to get surgery to correct it. She left Lisa telling her that they’d meet again someday, and that there was something she wanted from her.
Las Vegas had flown out to Seattle the day before their game with them. Excited, Lisa waisted no time and called up Jason so that she could spend time with him. She left the hotel in a hurry and went to visit him. There, she explained what had happened since the All-Star game and hung out with Jason the way they used to. After some joking and fooling around, both Jason and Lisa gave in to their urges and threw caution to the wind. Lisa made a huge mistake that night and slept with her friend while in a relationship with Damario.
The following game ended in a lost, with Lisa feeling guilty it was her fault. Crosby noticed this and though this wasn’t a home game loss, Crosby offered to take Lisa out for some pie. He broached the subject of the previous night having noticed that Lisa had left the hotel in a hurry and never showed back up. Feeling caught, Lisa confessed to her mistake, but felt defensive. She asked Crosby what he thought Damario would do and he told her that he thought he would break up with her. Because of this Lisa decided to keep the incident a secret.
However, Lisa showed her nervousness and guilt which worried Damario. He was the one to approach her about it stating that he had an idea of why she was acting in such a way. He knew when things changed and traced it back to when she was in Seattle last. Finally, he laid is assumptions on the table and told her he thinks she went behind his back and kissed Jason. Terrified that a simple kiss was enough to hurt Damario, Lisa said nothing further about that night. Damario tried to apologize for assuming and explained that he thought it was all in his head since he felt like it was him who was feeling guilty and nervous. Confused by this statement, Lisa forced Damario to explain what he meant. Now backed into a corner Damario had no choice but to show her why he was so nervous. He showed her an engagement right he’s been holding on to, which terrified Lisa. Seeing this, Damario told her he wasn’t asking her now but would leave it hanging on the wall for when she was ready to say Yes. He explained that this was the future he saw for him and her and begged her to stop seeing Jason since he was ruining their relationship.
Unwilling to do so since he was her best friend, Lisa went straight to Jason’s, lying to Damario and telling him that she was instead going to LA to speak with her professors. She explained to Jason the situation she was in and tried to blame him for putting her in this situation. Jason called her out and stated that she wanted this exact thing to happen. He explained to her that he knew what she was going through and that he had gone through the same thing with her. He told her that Damario was a savior that came to her rescue around a time she felt she had no one else to turn to. But now that she was in a relationship with him, he was never anything more to her than that. Lisa took this as a signed that Jason would say “I told you so,” and tell her to break up with Damario and go out with him instead. However, that is not what he did, instead revealing that he himself has moved on and is in a new relationship with a person he truly cares for.
Lisa was forced to talk to Damario but felt incapable of doing so. So instead, she asked to see her counselor, Dr. Panagakos. This way she would still be talking to Damario but in a more official way. She even asked to make an appointment instead of just doing it at his house. There she told him everything, how she slept with Jason, how she tried to get with him right after she and Damario broke up for the first time, how she lied to him about going to LA and instead with to Seattle to see Jason right after Damario begged her not to. She told him everything while he sat quietly and listened. Furious Damario told Lisa to leave his office and to get her things out of his house. When he came home, Lisa was still there, holding the engagement ring. She begged for him to give her another chance, but Damario declined and told her that he had no time for her lies and deceit and kicked her out of his home and his life.
Stories
2018-2019
The 2018 FBA draft combine was ending and with no housing yet secured and Lisa's surprise guest, Eric, leaving for Seattle, Lisa found herself in desperate need for a place to stay before the draft. Luckily for her a fellow draft candidate had a warm heart and her fabled southern cooking to come to her aid. Her name was Alexa Franchesca, a black panther swingfur from New Orleans. But before they would head back to Alexa's home, they would need to stay a bit longer to compete in the Combine Games. After the skills tests were done Alexa decided the two should celebrate making the top 24 with her grandma's famous gumbo. The day after the rest of the combine tests were completed the two met up at a nearby grocery store to shop for ingredients.
"Hey. I wanna thank you again for letting me stay with you," Lisa told Alexa. "You have no idea what a lifesaver you are."
"Hey, it's no problem. The combine can really bring in a good appetite," Alexa replied.
"So... Um... What is gumbo?” Lisa asked.
"Well, gumbo is..." Alexa searched for the words. "Like soup... with rice... and seafood..." Alexa paused realizing she may have forgotten to make sure Lisa was okay with seafood. "You like seafood?" she nervously chuckled.
"I do," Lisa confirmed. "Although it's been a while. I sorta didn't have the greatest diet in college."
"Heh, Ramen noodles and cereal all day, every day, huh?"
"Yeah," Lisa admitted. "My freshman year was like that. But then I got a job so I could buy more stuff." Lisa started twirling her hair between her fingers. "But I ended up living on a diet of plain burgers and salads pretty much from then on."
"Yeah, I created my own diet to better prepare for basketball, but every Saturday, when my grandma cooks, ooooooooooo, girl! Talk about a cheat day."
Their shopping cart started to fill up with a mishmash of ingredients. There was flour and parsley and onions and canola oil. There was celery and green peppers and butter and more onions. But there was yet to be any protein. The two pushed their cart in the direction of the meat section.
"What seafood you like?" Alexa asked.
"Hmm." Lisa took a moment to think. "Shrimp is always good, but I'm a sucker for crab."
"Got it. Shrimp, crab, any meats or spices?" Lisa began to laugh at Alexa's question.
"Girl, I don't know! I know what salt is and that's about it." Lisa started to fiddle with the tied end of the pink polka dotted silk scarf that was tied around her neck. "I feel kinda bad. I mean, I have family in France, and I don't know anything about food or flavor! Just shoot me now!" Lisa joked.
"Pfft relax!" Alexa tilted her head and poised her hand under her chin. "Alexa's gonna make sure your taste buds sing, baby." She said with a southern belle accent. "Make it so good you slap yo mama!" Alexa laughed and paused. "At least, that's what my grandma says."
They continued up and down the aisles with Alexa quickly grabbing ingredients and putting it in the cart. There was okra and paprika and Cajun seasoning and oregano. There was chicken broth and Worcestershire sauce, and sausage, and, of course, salt.
"So, all that's left now is the draft," Alexa pointed out.
"Mmmhmm," Lisa responded. "I know we don't have a say, and to be honest beggars can't be choosers, but" Lisa started. "I definitely have my 'likes' and 'dislikes,' you know? Like, I don't think I want to end up somewhere with extreme weather!" Lisa forced a chuckle.
"Well, if Alaska gets you... bring lots of coats!" Alexa laughed.
"Yeah... I, of course, will be thankful for wherever I get in... If I get in. But it's out of our hands now. I just can't believe we've come this far. Like, even after all those tests it feels... I don't know. It's like it's just another day, you know? Like, now I'm gonna head back to Utah and start school like nothing happened."
"Yeah... Judging by my research, we should be in good standings... It's been a wild ride for me, too... my parents just call it luck... It's nice seeing your dad support you so much. He's pretty cool." Lisa remained quiet before finally speaking.
"I don't want to believe in luck, or, at the very least, I don't want to trust it." Lisa's face was serious. "We worked our asses off, right? We're here for a reason and luck ain't got nothing to do with it."
"Right!" Alexa perked up. "I devoted so much of my life to this and... ugh, parents!" Alexa paused. "Sorry. It's just I've always been a math geek and my parents saw me as a teacher or a mathematician... But basketball is where I can really be... me." Lisa smiled at Alexa. There was a sense of understanding between the two.
As they shopped, the two did their best to keep away from thoughts that would upset them. They weren’t major statements, but every so often one of them would say just enough to trigger a sour thought in the other. But this was supposed to be a good day, even if it hadn’t fully set in yet.
"Ugh, girl I remember I had the worst glasses that I had to wear," Alexa reminisced.
"Oh Yeah?" Lisa continued to smile softly. "Were they the Harry Potter ones or the grandpa ones?"
"Oh, grandpa. Definitely grandpa. I could see into the future with those big things! See, I always asked for cute glasses like yours, but they said I couldn't get them." Alexa reached for the shrimp and began to place three bags worth into the shopping cart. "Wait," Alexa stopped herself. "How much money we got?"
"Oh. I um... Just got some money, so I can definitely help out," Lisa offered. "If you want, since you're being so nice, I can pay for all of it… If you want."
"Aww, thanks." Alexa continued putting shrimp into the cart. "'cause we're gonna need a lot of shrimp." Alexa then let out her best evil laugh to be funny before noticing everyone starring at her. Embarrassed, Alexa quickly stopped. "Anyway, sorry about that." But it was too late. Lisa guffawed and spoke in an Igor-esque voice.
"Yyyyyyeeeeesssss! Our brew shall be ready soon, and we shall unleash the undeeeaaaaaaaad." Lisa then proceeded to hold up a package of crab and made zombie noises. Alexa laughed and then joined in with her own zombie noises.
"Braaaaaaaainssssss!... With a pinch of hot sauce!"
"Oh my wow-I'm so dumb," Lisa laughed at herself. "Anywho, what else do we need?" Lisa's walk now had a bit more spring to it.
"Ah man! Okay... Pepper, spice, broil, shrimp, crab, rice... Alright, that's it! You ready to take your taste buds for a ride?!"
"Please, rescue them from myself. I've mishandled them, and they deserve so much better." The two share one more laugh and head to the cashier.
Before long, it was sunset. The orange glow lit the room around them. Alexa stayed busy in the kitchen, asking Lisa to provide a helping hand when she needed it.
"Hey, you ever peeled shrimp?" Alexa asked Lisa.
"Yeah. Like, the shell, right? I mean I think so. I pinch the bottom of the tail and the shrimp just pops out, right?" Lisa was beginning to think she in fact did not know how to peel a shrimp.
"Hehe, nah girl, but that's a great way to eat crawfish," Alexa pointed out. She then picked up some raw shrimp and handed one to Lisa. "With shrimp, you gotta rip the head off first, then the legs, then the... I realize now how messed up that sounds," Alexa interrupted herself. "But I swear it's gonna taste good." Lisa just laughed and tried to copy what Alexa had showed her. Ripping the legs off was fine, but something just didn't sit right with Lisa when it came to ripping the head off.
"I usually see the frozen kind that are already cut and peeled." Lisa then remembered something about shrimp she had heard once. "Sooo... Does that mean the veins are still in these?" Her shoulder raised, and her face scrunched in disgust.
"Yeah. And... other things... don't want to eat those," Alexa laughed.
"Oh. I see. We really are mad scientists, huh?"
"Yup. Actually,” Alexa was reminded, “I'm like a big sci fi fan so superheroes, evil villains, yeah that was basically my whole college experience."
"Oh yeah? Were you in any clubs for sci fi or comics or something?"
"Yeah. I went to comic con when I had the money, and I was in a comic book club. What about you? Whatcha in to? Any clubs or hobbies?"
"I... was in the chess club? I loved it but if I'm honest I don't think I would have joined if I didn't think I could use it for basketball," Lisa confessed.
"Oh, that's clever! You go girl!" Alexa raised her hand for a high five and stopped. "Oh wait. Shrimp gut hands." Lisa offered the back of her wrist instead and the two bumped wrists. The shrimp and crab all enter the pot along with the spices, flour, broth, and vegetables.
"Can I ask you something?" Lisa began. "I don't mean to sound rude whatsoever, but why basketball. What was your reason for submitting for the draft?"
"Well, it may seem obvious, but when I was young, I was bullied, and the kids wouldn't let me play at the park. It was first just about beating them, but then it became like a fun science project to explore it more. Math is easy to me, but it didn't really make me happy. Basketball did." Lisa put both hands on the counter and paused for a moment.
"I one hundred percent get that. I just knew that one day I'd become a neuroscientist. Just thought it would be something I'd love doing. Science for me is fun and I love it, but not enough for me to do it as a career. I was good at it, you know? People praised me and then questioned why I chose basketball over science... But you get it. I'm glad I asked. I've been feeling kinda down lately. Watching everyone at the combine and seeing their results, I sorta started questioning my career choices. I think it was the shooting test that really made me feel it. I mean I chose basketball, and I can't shoot? Cmon."
"Wow... Yeah, I completely get it! You know what? We're excellent floor generals. The plays don't happen without us! We can be nerds and be FBA legends! Look out world!" Alex spoke triumphantly.
"Yeah. You're right. I know you are." Lisa took a big breath in to calm herself and to shout, "You hear us world?! Watch out, 'cause these girls are gonna rock!"
"You know Lisa, I honestly never expected to make any friends in the draft, but you are honestly the nicest, funniest, coolest friend I've met so far. Thanks for being... I guess, for being cool, you know?... Not many people hang out with me."
"Are you kidding me?! I'm the dork!" Lisa laughed. "But I feel the same way."
Suddenly, Lisa's phone chimed in her back pocket. She walked over to the sink and began washing her hands. "It's been a really long time since I've gotten the chance to relax. Like, I've always done things for the purpose of benefiting my career. It's nice to sorta dork out." Lisa dried her hands and reached into her back pocket for her phone. Unlocking it she saw a text from Eric that said "Lisa, I saw your Tweetter post about me..." Lisa's smile dropped. She then locked her phone and set it faced down on the counter.
"Hey... everything okay?... What's wrong?" Alexa Asked.
"N-nothing. I mean... It's something, but... I'm your guest! I don't need to be bringing the mood down with my problems!" Lisa faked a smile. "I'm sorry. I don't want this to be all about me, you know? I wanted to hang and get to know you and stuff... It's nothing. It's..."
"Hey, Lisa. Come on girl, we're friends. I'm here for ya. You can talk to me." Lisa stayed quiet for a few moments, tugging on her decorative silk scarf. Lisa then spoke with a hushed voice.
"Eric's not my dad."
"Oh... Um... Then, um. If you don't mind me asking... Who is he?" Lisa let out a frustrated sigh.
"He's my dad's best friend. They grew up together and he's always been in my life. He's more like an adopted uncle to me. In fact, I usually introduce him as my uncle."
"Oh, well... That's still good to have someone like that to support you... And... Your father is okay?"
"Oh, I'm sure he's just fine," Lisa scoffed. "I just... I feel bad for Eric. I had a feeling people would end up confusing him for my dad... and to be honest I don't think I was ever going to correct them if that happened. But that would have been it, you know? People would have confused him for my father, and I just would have stayed quiet about it. I would have been able to enjoy the idea of him being seen as my father. But then Miss Walstein... She asked who was in that picture I posted on Tweetter. I told her that it was someone who has been there my whole life. It wasn't a lie, and I didn't have to admit anything. But then she asked, 'bro or pop?' and... I donno... I just caved. I lied and told her he was my father. And if that wasn't bad enough... After I made 1st day one of the combine, Eric was so proud, he told me I should post something about it on Tweetter. I told him no, I didn't want to brag, so he decided he was going to do it himself. He took my phone without me knowing and made a tweet under my account, you know, just to be silly. But I've been worried that he might have seen my tweet to Walstein. He seemed upset with me the rest of the weekend," Lisa sighed. "Turns out he did see it. I think he's mad at me."
"Lisa... I'm sure it will all get worked out soon. We can just chill tonight... for now, you're with a good friend and she's cooking the best gumbo ever, so you can pick what to watch and I'll get my phone to record your reaction," Alexa grinned.
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right..." Lisa picked up her phone and shut it off. "Hey, Sorry for being such a dork. All this stuff... it's stupid really."
"No Problem. Your friend here will always be the bigger dork." Lisa shook her head.
"Bah! Okay. Food! Yes! I really want to try this." After a few minutes, the dish was done and set up at the table. Lisa sat with a bowl of gumbo in front of her and Alex patiently waited for her critique as the phone recorded.
"Weeeelllllllll?" Alexa waited. Lisa laughed.
"Are you seriously going to record me?" She picked up her spoon and very slowly moved it to her mouth. Finally, it entered her moth and Lisa slowly pulled the empty spoon back out. Her face scrunched, she grabbed her throat, and she began to pretend the dish had killed her. But she quickly stopped once the rustic flavors hit the back of her throat and she succumbed to laughter. "Okay, I can't wie," Lisa spoke with a mouth full of gumbo. "Howy fweaking wow dis ees soooo goooood. Wha da heck you put een eet to geeve eet dat kick?!"
"Girl! Come on now! You so silly! You almost scared me!" Alexa laughed. "I told you you'd like it. whoa, thank you grandma." Alexa put down her phone and started eating as well. "You know... If by some crazy circumstance we get on the same team, we doing gumbo Saturdays."
"I seriously have to come to that! Thank you, Alexa's grandma! Did she teach you this recipe herself or is this past down from Grandma, to parents, to you?" Alexa laughed and then took another spoonful.
"She has a secret ingredient that she made herself, only she knows it and then she taught me how to make it..." Alexa pretended to be in a kung fu movie. "Only the worthy shall know the secret of the Franchesca gumbo!" Lisa held up her hands and started chopping the air.
"Then I shall take the recipe by force! Aaaafter another bite." Lisa stuffed her face with a huge spoonful. "Or... Of course, I could actually become worthy like you said. Or come to Gumbo Saturdays. Yes. This sounds much easier. You'll have to sneak some to the draft for me. And I guess some for our guests, too."
"Yeah... I know I've said this like a hundred times, but thanks for being cool... This was fun... I know you're gonna kick some tail when you get in the league." Alexa held up wine glass filled with soda. "A toast, to... Uh... To...?"
"To the two dorks who are totally going to rock this league!"
"Couldn't say it better myself." The two clicked their glasses and shared another laugh together.
Lisa DuPont had tweeted at Jacob Smith, a fennec fox sports agent, informing him that she wanted to speak with him. After seeing Terry O'Toole's (another fellow draft candidate) photo shoot, Jacob sat at his laptop and set up a video chat to speak with Lisa. Her computer chimed, she took deep breaths, and answered the call.
"Hello. Thank you for making the time to talk with me," Lisa greeted.
"Hello there," Jacob replied. "How're you doing today? How was the combine for you?"
"It's been tough, but I guess I expected this," Lisa sighed. "Making the Top 24, though? I mean what a trip."
"Yeah. It's not easy making it to the Top 24 for sure, but hey, you worked your butt off to make it this far, so congratulations on that," Jacob cheered. "On another note, about the more important reason behind this call, what brings you to tweet at me on Tweeter?"
"Welp, I've been thinking about your offer. Are you still offering to work with me?"
"Well, I am but I don't know what you want in return. I mean, if you want to be known amongst the famous women in sports, I can do that. Or be in the FurSports Illustrated Swimsuit magazine (just as an example!)" Jacob smiled. Lisa linked her fingers together.
"Well to put it sorta bluntly, I want to be big. I want to be noticed. Not for any sort of narcissistic reason but in a... I donno... I just." Lisa stopped to gather her thoughts. "Listen, I'm new to all this." She spoke in a softer voice. "I'm coming from a place where I had to do everything on my own. And the older I get the more difficult it becomes to fly solo. There's things I want to do but in order to do them I need a name and a face. I guess long story short, magazines and photo shoots are fine..." The air was still. Jacob sighed, taking a few deep breaths before responding.
"I think," Jacob began. "For now, you need definite exposure to the media and all that. Let me see here." Jacob pulled up the rankings of the Top 24 and scanned through it. "You're #13. We need you to push yourself past Desdemona who stands at #9." Lisa nodded slowly. "So, here's what I think: we get your face out there starting with magazine articles and covers about you, get you the sweetest deals with the companies. I know all the companies are trying to contact me to get Terry sponsored, but I need to pay attention to my other clients as well," Jacob assured her. "So, magazines and photo shoots are fine then?" Lisa rubbed her temples and loudly sighed.
"Yeah, that sounds good," Lisa quickly responded. "Hey, listen... I've been having some personal issues at home so please forgive me if I've come off as demanding or immature. That's not my intention..."
"Oh, is that so?" Jacob leaned in. "Do you mind if I ask you what those personal issues are? Is it pertaining to you and the draft?"
"Nooo, not really. I mean, I'm definitely disappointed in some of my performance, but I know what I need to do to get better." Jacob placed his hand on his chin.
"Hmm, you want to train yourself? I know Nigel's been working hard lately and spends less time on Tweeter just to prove himself. Is there anything you want me to do?"
"Well, that depends. I know I want to get stronger and better at shooting." Lisa paused. "Weird thought: Can I get a nutritionist? My diet's been sorta crap." Lisa blushed.
"A nutritionist, huh? How about I hook you up with that AND a personal trainer?" Jacob offered with a smile on his face. This perked Lisa up a bit.
"You know what, that sounds awesome. I would love that," Lisa laughed in relief.
"Got it. I'll work on getting someone for you, preferably female, and give me until tomorrow to find one."
"Yeah, ok I can do that..." Lisa's perkiness seemed to slowly melt away as she began to think to herself for a moment.
"Anything else you need?" Lisa looked away from the camera and remained quiet while fidgeting in her seat. "You doing okay? You seem nervous."
"I'm really contemplating what I want to ask you for and what I should tell you." The two sat in silence for a few moments. Lisa needed to make absolutely sure that she could trust him. "Okay... So, are you and I seriously going to be working together?" Her face was serious.
"Consider yourself signed with me!" He spoke with a wide smile on his face. "Yeah, I'll do what I can to help you out!" Lisa then took a slow breath in and long breath out.
"Okay. Then it seems to me that it would benefit me to show you this now rather than later. You see, I need your help." Lisa reached up and untied the silk striped scarf that was tied around her neck revealing a long scar wrapped around her throat where the fur no longer grows. Lisa's eyes started to well up a bit. "I... I can't let people see this..." Jacob observed the screen and let out a gasp.
"What the hell? What happened? Your secret is safe with me, but mind if I ask how you got it?" Lisa looked away from the camera.
"I... I did this... right around the time I was applying for college. I... was under a lot of stress-I-It was a stupid decision and now I've got the scar to remind me for the rest of my life. And my dad." Lisa paused. "You know what, never mind about my dad..." Jacob tilted his head.
"I won't ask but your father did that to you?"
"No, no, no!!! I mean... Not directly... He just... He wasn't there for me. He was so focused on finding me a mom...' until it turned into one-night-stands... on a school night... kicking me out of the house so he could... I-I'm sorry," Lisa caught herself. "This is so unprofessional... I'm really sorry. Basically, I did this to myself. I was a kid. I buckled under all the pressure. I was handling being on the high school team while maintaining my position as valedictorian, applying to college, and taking care of myself AND my dad, all while that was going on at home (among other things). I broke, and I... I... well, anyway, I failed. And now I know better. This scar doesn't define me. I'm more than who I used to be. I just don't want this to haunt me. Especially not right now." Jacob sighed and looked directly into the camera, facing Lisa.
"Look, you have to focus here. If you lose focus now, the GM's are gonna be looking for other draftees and we can't let that happen. Also, you got somewhat of an uncle of sorts, right? He seems very supportive of you, but when he first talked to me I was taken back by his impulsive behavior. However, I did see his good nature."
"Yeah. He's the one good thing that came of my father..." Lisa said, rubbing her eyes. "But you're right. You're absolutely right. You know, my coach back in high school always said grow, adapt, and give 'em hell. I've taken that to heart. I want to keep moving forward. That's why I came to you. I believe you can help me do that."
"And I will do what I can to help you. And you've known quite a few female draftees here, right? You have them too to help you through," He smiled into the camera. "We'll give them hell." He winked.
"Yeah," Lisa spoke in a soft and cheerier voice. "You know, you're exactly what I needed right now. I'm glad you called me when you did."
"I'm glad you came up to me. I have a better understanding of where you're coming from now. Thank you for telling me."
"So... Now what...? I actually kinda like the magazine idea," Lisa chuckled.
"I do, too. I'll contact the magazine companies and see if I can score you a shoot."
"Just... make sure it doesn't show off too much fur." Lisa pointed to her neck before putting scarf back on.
"That's gonna be a tough one, but I'll see what I can do."
"I always wear these scarves my grandma sends me. It's sorta become my look. Maybe if other companies knew that scarves are my thing, they'd let me wear one during the shoot if whatever outfit they're having me wear isn't covering up enough?" Lisa suggested.
"I'm sure people will see that. Maybe some clothes magazine will work for you."
"Well, I suppose I can leave that to you. Anything I can do in the meantime? Or should I just wait?"
"Just focus on your game and your life before the draft. I'll take care of everything."
"Jake... Seriously, thank you. Thank you for understanding. I mean it, I'm glad we talked. I'm trusting you."
"For sure. We'll keep in touch on Tweeter, yeah?"
"Yeah. Sounds good."
"Good talking to you. Have a good night."
"You, too. G'night."
PHONE CALL TRANSCRIPTION
From: Compton, California
To: Bronx, New York
Date: 09/14/2018
Time: 0823 PST
DAVID: Hello?
LISA: Hey, Dad.
D: Lisa? How are you?
L: I'm good... How are you?
D: Good, good... How's school?
L: I'm out...
D: Ah.
L: Yeah.
D: Cool... Still playing basketball?
L: Yup.
D: That's cool... What have you been up to?
L: Just... waiting around. Waiting to get pick for basketball.
D: Oh, you gonna be playing a game or something?
L: Yeah... something. I. I uh... spoke to Eric recently.
D: Oh yeah?! How is the fucker?! Haven't seen him in years!
L: He's not doing too good?
D: What? What happened?
L: He had to close down the pub.
D: Oh no! Why?
L: He's got black mold.
D: You're kidding me.
L: One of his shelves fell off the wall and broke part of the wall off. When he looked inside it, the whole inside of the wall was covered.
D: Oh my god...
L: So, he had someone come and look at it yesterday and it's even worse than he thought. They think there was a broken pipe in the upstairs apartment that's been feeding the mold. He has to shut the whole thing down until they can abate it.
D: Wow... Wow... Well, that's really too bad.
L: Yeah. He's been trying to call you. He's in a lot of debt and the insurance only covers so much-
D: "He's been trying to call you?"
L: Yeah... He needs you to pay him what you owe so that he-
D: Is this the only reason you called?
[SILENCE]
D: Are you fucking kidding me right now, Lisa?
L: Dad, he needs your help.
D: Lisa, I don't give a shit. You don't call me in like three years and the first time you do it's to get me to pay Eric? Are you serious? Did he make you do this? Did he twist your leg or give you some sob story?
[SILENCE]
D: Eric can call me himself instead of sending my daughter after me.
L: He's been calling you, Dad. You won't pick up.
D: Clearly, I've been busy, then.
L: I'm sure you were.
D: What's that supposed to mean?
[SILENCE]
D: What is that supposed to mean?
[SILENCE]
D: Okay. You listen to me. You want to come back and talk to me, you're welcome to. But if you're just gonna play messenger boy for Eric then you can go back to whatever it is you've been doing. Is that clear?
L: Four years...
D: Excuse me?
L: It's been four years, Dad. I've graduated. And I'm "welcome to call?" Really? You should be the one calling me after all these years! After everything! You're the one who left! You're the one who disappeared and said that I wasn't your daughter anymore! I can't freaking believe you right now! [SOBBING]
D: Yeah! You know what, that's right! You were being a goddamn coward, remember? You wanted to handle everything on your own instead of coming to me for help and when things got too tough, you try to take the easy way out.
[SILENCE]
D: And now you think you can just puff out your chest and talk big, like that's going to fix things? Like anything is different? Like you're different? You haven't changed at all, have you?
[SILENCE]
D: You're still exactly the same, aren't you?
[SILENCE]
D: Hmm?!
L: I... I suggest if... if you're going to work with a business partner, you should pay your fair share...
D: [LAUGHTER] Did Eric tell you to say that? God, I miss that man! Well you can tell him he can come to me and talk it out like a goddamn man. Jesus Christ. What a yutz. [SILENCE] Are we done here?
[SILENCE]
D: Then... [SIGH] Then, I donno... Have a good day, or something... Lisa?
[SILENCE]
D: [SIGH] Lisa?
L: What?
D: I love you.
[SILENCE]
D: Do you hear me, hunny? I lov-
[END PHONE CALL]
Jacob sighed as he calmed himself down, collecting and gathered his thoughts together. ‘All right, keep it cool... this is just a phone call. Don't mention anything weird like what I did on Tweeter.' The fennec dialed the number and pressed the earpiece to his ear, hearing it ring and hoping she would accept the call.
Since signing on with Jacob, Lisa had been feeling unsure about her decision. At this point she had yet to meet him in person, and his attention seemed to be on personal luxury. While meekly trying to convey this to him over Tweeter, Jacobs only responses were unprofessional and a bit too personal.
Lisa sat already with her phone in her hand when it started to chime. She let it ring for a while before finally picking up. “Hello?”
“Good evening, Lisa. This is Jacob Smith, your agent. How're you fairing tonight?”
“Fine.”
“Kinda hoping for more than a one-word answer,” Jacob laughs “Listen, about the things I've said, Yeah. I took some time to go to the beach and collect my thoughts. My mind wasn't in the right place. I was too distracted with personal issues that I've had for a while.”
“I see. And how was the beach?”
“Pretty relaxing. Got some gazers (not including Nigel),” Jacob laughed. “I guess I do attract some of the locals here. So,” Jacob paused a bit and cleared his throat. “How did that photo shoot go? You enjoyed it?”
“Um,” She sighed. “Yeah, it was fun. Glad I got to do it…”
“Is something the matter? Any pressing matters? Any questions you wish to ask me?”
“Me? But you're the one who called…”
“True...” Jacob sighed “I wish to apologize to you for any misconduct that I have approached you with. Whatever I said on Tweeter must've made you uncomfortable. I dunno why I talked to you like I did with my former wife... She was perhaps everything to me, but I didn't do much to protect her and provide her the best options of living. I was selfish and all I wanted was to get myself on top with nobody behind me. However, that decision cost her life. Later, I regretted that decision and promised her that I'd stop thinking of myself and think of others' needs before mine. I wish for my clients to succeed. That's why I only seek out Top 24s. They're precious gems except maybe a few diamonds in the rough like Nigel. That’s why I wanted to treat you like how I want to treat my wife.” The silence lingered about for a minute or so before sniffling was heard.
“Mr. Smith, I... Wow ok I... I really don't know what to say... I'm sorry? Geez... That sounded insincere... What I mean is... I... Don't know what I mean…”
“No worries at all, Lisa. I just want you to know where I'm coming from. I know this is sudden news, but I feel that since I'm apologizing to you about my conduct, I feel I should tell you about my motivation. I know it's a lot to take in. It's rather sudden and all.”
Lisa took a long breath in and slow breathed out. “The thing that upset me was... Just that you kinda didn't say anything. Like everyone was watching online and then you were called out. I even stood up for you saying ‘Give him a chance. He'll apologize.' and then you didn't... God, now I sound like a selfish little brat, don't I? Look... I'm sorry to hear about your wife and I'm sorry you're having a rough go at things, but you're not the only one. You're right. These past few days have been really upsetting for me, but you were a small part of it. Honestly the thing you said was more awkward than anything. I got upset but I can get over it, if we take care of it... Like we're doing right now…”
“I know but I just didn't want to be calling out people for I don't want to be seen as weak. I feel that what you said is right. I do need to apologize and work this out. I'm sorry for not letting this out sooner. I should've been aware of this.”
“Oh my wow... I totally get that. I'm so sorry I'm being a major baby about this. I'm so worried about my online appearance that I've ignored the important things…” Lisa's voice wavered. “Jake, I'm scared... This is so new to me. All of this! The attention, the photo shoots, YOU! I've never had an agent before! Like... Like... I don't know how I'm supposed to act and I'm counting on you to help guide me through this…”
“You're doing fine, Lisa. Don't make it a big deal. Just continue being you while I work out the magic. You know the photo shoot? That was my doing. I'm pushing you to be the best you can be. I know you're better than that Desdemona Iverson gal. You need to be prouder of yourself that you, Lisa Belle DuPont, have made it on the Top 24 list. I'll help you as we go along. It's basically me being your tour guide of sorts through this journey called your career.”
“I'm sorry. I should be tougher than this. I'm the one who hired you after all... You know, had you called me a few days earlier, I probably would have chewed you out and scold you.” Lisa lightly chuckled.
“It's totally fine. You know, I'm happy to know you and keep you informed. I think I owe your uncle too. If he hadn't mentioned you, I would've passed you by and looked somewhere else.”
Lisa stayed silent for a long time and then whispered, “Is that right?”
“Yeah. He really cared for you but is a bit intrusive, haha.”
“HA! Ain't that the truth...!” Lisa took a deep breath. “Mr. Smith?”
“Yeah?”
“Don't ever do that again, alright?”
“I won't. I promise.”
“And Jake?”
“Yeah?”
She started crying softly. “Thank you for calling me…”
“Of course. It was the right thing to do on my end. Is there anything I can do for you? I do care for you.”
She sniffled. “I wouldn't know what to ask for... And actually... I think I just realized I should probably call my Uncle... He... Nevermind... Just thanks.”
“Of course. And I promise to be more honest with you and I'll watch my words.”
“You're fine... I'm trusting you.”
“Of course. Thank you for your trust.”
Jacob felt relieved to have the conversation with her after what happened. The fennec put the phone down on his desk and retreated to his room, pulling off his tank top and laid on the bed, pulling the blanket over his body. He laid there quietly and for once, he didn’t have to feel guilty about his past. He certainly was a fennec of many mysteries.
And like that, the draft came and went.
Excitement filled the air as everyone prepared to ship off to their new hometowns. Some moved to New York, others to Texas. One even made plans to move to Alabama before being told that their new home would instead be in Tennessee. Thus, the nature of The Game. But still in Las Vegas, her now new home, Lisa watched through the eyes of tweeter as her agent played hopscotch with the map, moving from Las Vegas, to Tennessee, to making plans for Texas next.
The Game had just started and already it would seem Lisa’s agent, her guide, her professed sense of sanctuary, was being spread thin. To Lisa, this meant so was she. She hired him, right? She should put her foot down. Message him. Say something. Anything. Just start the conversation. “I'd like to talk with you at some point. Just need to check in with you.” she tweeted at Jacob just two days after the draft.
Lisa picked up her phone and paced the floor for a bit “Should I? I donno. Just call him already, damnit.” She entered her call log and finally called Jacob.
And the phone began to ring.
One ring. “Maybe he won’t pick up.” A second ring. “Why wouldn’t he?” A third ring. “This is stupid. You’re fine.” The phone rang on.
Jacob reached for his phone and answered. “Hello, Jacob Smith speaking?” he said in his professional voice.
“Hello, Mr. Smith. How are you?” Lisa responded in a tone matching Jacob’s.
“Ah Lisa.” He recognized. “I’m doing well, for the most part.” He laughed “Yourself?”
“Good, good. I'm doing good. Things have been good...” Lisa laughed at herself. “Sorry.”
“No need to be sorry. I’m glad you’re able to call me today and ask me how I was doing.”
“Ha ha. Yeah cuz that's why I called...” Tell him how you feel, Lisa. “I... Actually I...” Lisa started to rub her left temple. “Physical trainer.” That’s not why you called him, Lisa. “I was actually interested in getting a physical trainer soon. I wanna get better. I want to be a name everyone fights for in the future.” Her voice was less bouncy. It was almost like she was sighing internally while she spoke.
“Oh yeah? Seeing all the FA players getting signed made you think, ‘I wanna be like them when my rookie contract is over’?”
“Y-yeah. That's it. I'm not gonna be a rookie forever, right? And I can't get comfortable while others are improving themselves. I am going to be the best. Period. I'd like to say I'm sweet and easy to speak to, but I want people to fear me on the court.” That much was at least true.
“Well just note that if you go through with this, your whole lifestyle will change. Plus, your diet will be adjusted. Took me about 5 years with proper nutrition and exercise to get to where I’m at.”
“I'm ready for that. My body belongs to the league after all, right? I have zero problem with that. I wanna get stronger. Gain some muscle mass, you know? Like maybe not to the extent of, say, Emina, but you know? I gotta get good. Really good.”
“All right then. I’ll look up something around your area and for a reasonable price, too.”
“That would be great. Especially if I can meet with them every day and if they can also have a flexible schedule.”
“That can be done. I’ll let you know if I have found someone. Now do you prefer a male or female trainer?”
“I have no preference... Well...” Are you changing your mind? “I guess a guy would be nice.” Since when did gender matter? “If I'm being allowed to choose, that is.”
“Okay. I think you will do much better with a male trainer anyway. Plus, a little eye candy won’t hurt, no?”
“Um... I suppose. That's not necessarily the reason, but sure.” What is your reason? “Why not.”
“Good. I’ll look for someone in your area.” Jacob paused. “How do you think I’m doing as an agent?”Lisa froze at the question. Well isn’t that the reason you called? How perfect. No need for an awkward segue. He asked, so he must want to know. Lisa took a second to answer.
“Well you certainly seem busy!” No, Lisa.
“Last minute signings screwed me over!” Jacob laughed.
“I heard! Congrats on signing Alexa on.” You’ve missed your chance.
“She has a bright future ahead, and this will also diversify my clientele. She’ll do well, too, with the right guidance.”
“No doubt. She has the potential to be a real beast. I can't wait to see how she grows.” Steer the conversation back, Lisa.
“Same. For now, though, I’ll give you a good trainer within the hour. Sounds good?”
“Yeah, yeah! That sounds really good. Just keep me posted and stuff.” He’s going to hang up, Lisa.
“Sure thing! Anything else Ms. DuPont?”
“Um...” Yes. “Uh...” Yes! “Um, no. No that's pretty much it. Just, yeah, a trainer. Yup. Um so yeah let me know what's going on. And...” God dammit, tell him! “Yeah. Ok!”
“Okay. Feel free to talk to me whenever you need something!”
“Yeah! Totally! I-fuck... Actually. Wait.” Fuck…
“Yes, Ms. DuPont?”
“Um...” No turning back now. “Ok...” Come on! It’s not even that bad. “Like, I.” Lisa sighed. “Is everything okay?” Good start. “Like... I noticed you've got a lot on your plate. Like you went from helping Nigel and me and then you actually flew all the way out to Tennessee yourself to help Alexa buy Mrs. Walstein’s house. Like... I know it's your job and all. I guess I'm worried you're gonna be spread thin with four clients.” Good. Keep going. “You don't have any assistants or anything?” Careful. Don’t cross the line. “I donno. I guess it's none of my business and all, so long as you're doing what I'm paying you for... I just... I donno. I just wanna make sure we're all getting the same amount of attention, you know? Especially since we're all over.” Same amount of attention? That sounds… familiar.
“Good point. I'll see about getting an assistant soon once the season's started. This is why I don't want to take on too many clients, especially since it's only me right now.” Jacob laughed. “In any case, I'll look for an assistant who can do secretary and bookkeeping stuff.”
“Yeah...” Great. Problem solved, right? “I'm... I'm really sorry. Like I'm trying to be professional and all and tell you my concerns, but I don't want to come off as telling you how to do your job, you know? Especially since I know nothing about your job.”
“I get what you're saying and this job can be a pain. You get really nervous about me, don't you?”
“Um!...” Nervous? “I!...” The hell does he mean by nervous? “I just... I guess I didn't realize how difficult your job could be. You always seem so laxed online, but I guess most people do. Are... Are YOU doing ok?” Why did you ask that? He is your agent. That is none of your business.
“Well,” Jacob sighed. “Not really. I really want to start my life over if I could. Date a fine woman and spend the time with them.”
“I totally getcha...” Lisa, what are you doing? “It must be tough being so busy, especially with you jet setting all over.” Lisa chuckled. “I mean, I'm gonna be in the same boat. I donno how some of these other furs do it with the league's schedule and all.”
“Yep, it's tough. I'm wanting to date once everybody's settled in the league and starts playing. I do have a lucky candidate I want to try and date.”
“Oh? Who is she?” Lisa teased
“Nigel's mom.” Jacob laughed
“Stoooop!” Are you kidding me…? “Are you kidding me?! Oh man! I'm so telliiiiing!”
“You're gonna tell Nigel?”
“I donno.” Lisa teased some more. “Wow. Wouldn't she be older than you? Not that that's a problem. Just didn't peg you as someone who'd like someone older.” This is none of your business.
“Yeah, I do like my women older.”
“Ha. How you think Nigel'll take it.” Lisa exaggerated a gasp. “You'd be like his daaaaad.” His dad, huh…?
“His dad was a P.O.S., though.” Jacob chuckled. “I can be better than him. That'll be weird though, won't it?”
“I...” No. “I mean...” You don’t think it’s weird at all, do you? “Um no, not at all. It's totally fine. I mean as long as he's ok with it. You'd sorta be dating the two of them... WAIT! That came out wrong! I mean like... It wouldn't just be her you'd be trying to impress, so to speak.”
“Haha, Take it easy. Well, Nigel's been through rough times.”
“Join the club... Well, just consider him, too. Speaking from experience, it really sucks when a parent starts dating and they completely ignore the kid's worries and feelings. Especially when the two gang up on the kid.”
“Indeed. I don’t want Nigel to feel that I’m ignoring him.”
“Wow...” Lucky Nigel… “Welp... Good luck with that...”
“Thanks. Oh and B.T.W. I found someone for you. His rates aren’t bad and includes a nutrition meal for you.”
“Oh, wow already?! You're good. I imagine this will be in affect once the season has started?”
“Either that or before. It’s up to you.”
“Hmm. I might start in October. After I get all settled in that is.”
“Great. I’ll let him know.”
“Thank you! This is... This is awesome.”
“Of course! Now I must be going. Gonna spend the last night here before heading back to California.”
“Oh! Yeah totally. Say hi to Alexa for me!”
“Sure! Will do!”
“Cool. Thank you very much Mr. Smith. I'll talk to you later.”
“Talk to you soon. Bye bye now.”
Lisa ended the call and placed the phone in her lap. “What the hell…?”
Lisa’s phone sat between her computer desk and the wall, way out of reach as the ringtone chimed. The vibration sounded worse once the phone shifted to the metal leg of the desk. Lisa grunted and smooshed her face against the wall. Her arm stretched as far as it could, allowing her finger tips to just swipe at her phone. It would have been simpler just to pull the desk out, but she was almost there. Wouldn’t make sense to pull it out now that she could feel her phone. Her favorite song, a theme song from a forgotten cartoon of the late 90’s suddenly became the most annoying melody in the world, sounding off from just out of reach. Just a little further.
Got it.
Her screen had a brand-new crack going down the middle and headed off towards the lower left corner. The corner itself was freshly chipped matching the slight dent in the wall just above her computer monitor. She answered the call.
“What?!”
“Finally.” It was her father, but Lisa already knew that. “Hey Lisa, I wanted to-“
“Alright, you can’t keep calling me like that!” Lisa justifiably interrupted. “I’ve got things to do and I can’t have my phone going off constantly!”
“I was worried you wouldn’t pick up…”
“What do you want?”
“I want to actually talk to you. Like, really talk to you.” David’s voice was soft and somber. He waited for Lisa’s response but what could she say to him at this point. The line stayed quiet until David broke the silence. “I know things have been tense with us, but I want to try and fix things.” There was still no response from Lisa. “I was talking with Eric recently and he made some good points. Listen, I just want to talk to you before you start going all over the place for your games.” Lisa figured Eric had told her father that she was in the FBA when the two of them went on their tasting tour during the last week of Oktoberfest. Now she had proof.
“I’m listening…” Lisa finally answered.
“Not like this. I. I want to see you.”
“Well, preseason starts tomorrow, and I’ll be very busy from then on. This is your one chance.”
“I know… I’m in your lobby.” David was in Las Vegas, at her home, waiting for her. She couldn’t just hang up this time. He was physically there. What could she say? What could she do? Was this a violation? It had to be, right? Lisa couldn’t bring herself to respond. “Will you let me up so we can speak?” Lisa said nothing. “Lisa, please. I want to talk with you.”
“I don’t want to see you right now,” her voice finally cracked.
“Please. I know you’re home. Just let me up and we can talk.” Silence. “Please, Lisa. I want to fix things. Please, hunny? Please…”
Lisa opened her door and let David into her apartment. “This is a really nice place,” he complemented.
“Yeah…” Lisa spoke without looking her father in the eye.
“So, the Wildcards, huh? It’s too bad I didn’t get to see you get drafted. I’m so proud of you!”
“Whatever.”
“Eric showed me some of the pictures from that night. You looked beautiful.”
“Thanks.” The awkward air would not lift despite David’s best efforts.
“Yeah… So… Sit down.” David sat in Lisa’s rolling computer chair and Lisa plopped onto her mattress. The very mattress that told Lisa that her father knew exactly where she lived when he shipped it to her apartment. “Lisa, look at me. We can get passed this. You… are my little girl. You are everything to me. I can’t lose you. Not you, too.” David leaned forward and tried to force eye contact with Lisa, but she didn’t reciprocate. “You’ve done a lot of growing and, I mean, look at you! You’re in the FBA! I’m so proud of you! You’re in the big leagues, you’ve got this beautiful home! It’s already better than anything we had in New York.”
“Stop…”
“Lisa, I’m-”
“Just stop.” David stopped. “I don’t know what you’re after, but this needs to stop.”
“’What I’m after?’ I want us to get better,” her father insisted.
“Why now?”
“Well, when do you think we should work on things? Should I wait longer?”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying-”
“Then why does it matter if it’s now?” he interrupted. “Hunny, stop looking for problems and let’s fix this one, okay?”
“Dad, I’m-”
“Okay?” he persisted.
“Dad! I don’t like-”
“Oh!” David reached into the large duffle bag he had brought with him and rummaged around for a second. “I’ve got something for you!”
“Dad, you’re not listening-”
“You left this behind when you left for college.” It was a white stuffed rabbit. The fur was matted from age and the glass eyes were scratched making them look a little foggy. Some of the seams were torn and thread hung from various places. “I know you may have outgrown it, but you always loved it and you took it everywhere with you.”
“I… Wow, I can’t believe you actually kept this old thing,” Lisa conceded. “I haven’t seen this in so long.”
“It was stuffed in the back of the one closet with all your old skating gear. Remember that?”
“I haven’t tried to rollerblade in forever.”
“You were pretty good. You should do it again.”
“I don’t exactly have the time right now.”
“Oh, nonsense, you can go right now, you know, if you had the gear. You can do whatever you want.”
“I suppose.”
“Remember when you and Andrea would go skating around the building? And there was that one boy you two would talk about.”
“Gregory? Yeah, he’s a dad now.”
“You’re kidding me?”
“Yeah, remember Stephany? He got her pregnant during junior year I think. I heard she missed her graduation because of it and had to drop out.”
“What’s he doing now?”
“I think he joined the army or something. That’s what I heard anyway.”
“Wow.” Maybe this was working. A whole conversation and no one yelled at anyone.
“Dad…”
“Oh! I saw Timothy not too long ago.” David tried to keep this momentum.
“Timothy?”
“Remember the bear back at your elementary school?”
“No?” Lisa tried to remember. “Oh, you mean the grizzly back in Ms. O’Hare’s third grade class? Yeah, I never really knew him. He was in a different class than me.”
“Oh? Well, he started a bakery.”
“Ah. Good for him.”
“Yeah. Everybody’s all grown now,” David started to really realize.
“Yup.”
“Lisa?”
“Yeah?” Lisa finally made eye contact with her father.
“I really love you, hunny. I really do. I missed you so much. I miss having you around, hearing about your day, listening to you and Andy talk about boys. You grew up so fast.”
“Dad…”
“I wanna take you out to dinner, maybe get a drink together, now that you’re all legal and stuff. I can actually let you try the stuff I make at the lounge now!”
“Dad…” Lisa did not seem as excited as her father.
“I miss all the old stuff we did, but at least we’ll have new things to try. Do you still like your Steerbucks?”
“Yeah…?”
“I’ve got a bunch of coffee drinks I’ve made for the lounge. I know you’ll love some of the ones I came up with.”
“I don’t drink,” Lisa revealed.
“What? What do you mean you don’t drink?”
“I don’t drink.”
“You know there’s nothing wrong with it, right? And you know that alcohol has practically saved our family for generations?” Her family has made a living off of selling, making, and even shipping alcohol. To David, to dismiss alcohol is to dismiss the family.
“I just don’t drink is all, ok?”
“Do you have something against it?”
“N-no. I just don’t… Why are you pushing so hard about this?”
“I wanted to take you out tonight. Maybe have a few drinks with my daughter. Catch up, you know?”
“We can still-”
“Come on! Just try a drink. I guarantee you’ll have some fun once you give it a try,” David determined.
The bar had a purplish reddish hue to it from the ambient lighting. It was full of customers drinking and having a good time. Some smooth jazz could barely be heard under the chattering. Lisa and David sat at a small two-person table situated somewhere in the center of the bar but still against the wall.
“I’ll have a B 52 Bomber shot, and she’ll have a Vietnamese Coffee jelly shot,” David told the tall wolf who was taking their order.
“Dad, no. Excuse me, sir! Nothing for me, thank you,” Lisa called back to the wolf.
“Get it for her anyway,” David countered.
“Dad, I thought we were going to a restaurant, not a bar.” Lisa hunched over in her chair. Nothing about this was what she wanted.
“Oh, come on. Have some fun, why don’t you.” They didn’t have to wait very long before the wolf returned with their drinks. David downed his B 52 Bomber, and Lisa took a tiny nibble of her jelly shot. “Have you gotten to truly celebrate being drafted?”
“I… well, not really. I-” David stood up and cupped his hands around his mouth.
“HEY EVERYBODY! THIS IS MY DAUGHTER, LISA DUPONT! AND SHE’S A LAS VEGAS WILDCARD! LET’S HEAR IT FOR LISA!”
“Dad!” Suddenly the entire bar began to cheer, chanting her name over and over.
“LI-SA! LI-SA! LI-SA!” Her father joined in as well.
“Dad, stop!” Lisa tried to cover her face.
“Hey, do you mind if I buy you a drink?” a male fox offered Lisa.
“What?!”
“Yeah! You’re a Vegas Wildcard, and in a bar full of fans,” The fox’s raven friend added.
“Get her something good!” David instructed. The fox whistled and called the waiter over.
“Hey, waiter! I’d like to buy Ms. DuPont a drink!”
“Yeah, me, too!” said the raven.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about! Let’s celebrate!” David took one of Lisa’s jelly shots and ate it.
“You’re her dad?” a busty lemur spoke from behind David. She wore a green evening dress that showed off a bit too much.
“That’s right, ma’am,” David politely responded.
“You must be really proud of her.” The lemur started to advance.
“You know, the apple don’t fall too far from the tree.”
“Is that right? Can I get you a drink? It’d be a shame if Daddy didn’t get to celebrate as hard as his daughter.”
“Oh, I appreciate that, ma’am, but today is for my little girl.”
“I want to leave,” Lisa whispered to her father.
“What?” he replied.
“I said, I want to leave! Now!”
“Come on, Lissa. I’m doing this for you.” Lisa’s eyes widened, and her face grew hot.
“God dammit. I’m leaving.” Lisa slammed on the table as she stood up and stormed off towards the exit. David frantically pulled out some money and placed it on the table. He pulled out more than what was owed but didn’t have time to count out the exact amount.
“Lissa! Lissa-I… I mean Lisa,” David called as he chased after Lisa.
Lisa was standing at the gates to her apartment complex by the time David caught up with her. “Lisa. Lisa wait up,” David huffed.
“Why are you really here?!” Lisa’s back was to David.
“For you, I really am here for you,” he spoke, out of breath.
“Why now?!”
“‘Cause I’ve waited long enough.”
“No! No… Why now? Why are you here now?!” She finally turned around and faced her father, eyes full of tears. “You didn’t come four years ago. You didn’t come to my graduation. You didn’t come to the combine. You didn’t come to the draft. Why now?”
“Lisa, I didn’t know about the other things.” David placed his hands on her shoulders.
“I am your only child!” she shouted as she shoved her father’s hands off of her. “You didn’t know about these things?! You knew how much school meant to me! You knew how much basketball meant to me! But none of this matters. When I was a student busting my butt, it didn’t matter to you. When I was broken down with nothing…” her voice cracked.
“Nothing… it didn’t matter to you…”
“Lisa…”
“And now… now you’re here, after I get drafted into the FBA. What do you really want from me?” she asked as if she was begging.
“Lisa… I just want you.” David’s voice was soft again. He slowly moved closer to her.
“No… No you don’t… I’d be a complete idiot if I were to believe that.” Lisa backed away.
“Lisa, it’s the truth. What else could I want? Do you think I’m after your money? You know I have my own money.”
“You want the attention, like you always do. Like how you flaunt our name like we’re actually related to those famous rich DuPonts.” Lisa’s face became more serious.
“Is that what you think I’ve been doing? Flaunting our name?”
“That IS what you’ve been doing. How you get women to talk to you. How you get women to come home with you.”
“Ha! You really know nothing about me. I don’t need the DuPont name to entice women,” David boasted.
“Then why don’t you tell people that we’re not related to the famous DuPont family… Like I did?” Lisa taunted.
“You did what?”
“That’s right. I publicly announced that neither I, nor anyone in my immediate family is related to the famous DuPont family!” David shook his head and paced a bit in frustration as she spoke, and Lisa ate it up. She knew this would hurt her father.
“Why did you do that?”
“Because it’s true! We’re just normal Americans with shitty lives!”
“Lisa… You don’t know that…” David spoke while shaking his hands in frustration.
“I do know that! And I’m tired of you pretending you’re something you’re not. And now you’re here, trying to make amends, when really you just want the spotlight. You don’t give a damn about me!”
“Lisa, if I didn’t give a damn about you, I wouldn’t be here trying to fix things.”
“Ohhohhoho, and you do that.” Lisa wagged her finger.
“What?”
“That! Talk in circles! Make me feel like the bad guy because you happen to sound all noble! ‘You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t care?’ No! It’s like I said! The whole reason you’re here is because of the FBA! Because of the cameras! Because of the fame!”
“Lisa, it’s not like that. You need to believe me.”
“No! I’m tired of being put down and used by you!”
“Put down by me? Lisa, I’m here for you!”
“’You’re not my daughter anymore!’ Remember that?!” Her fur was sopping wet from her tears.
“I do… and you know what? I wasn’t going to say anything about it, but I see you’re wearing that scarf around your neck. And all those pictures of you have your neck covered in some way. There’s a scar there now, isn’t there?” David accused her.
“That’s not… You are changing the subject!”
“How long do you really think you can keep that hidden from the cameras? Your life is no longer private, you know.”
“I will keep this hidden for as long as I can. It’s none of your god damn business,” Lisa spoke through her teeth.
“Oh yeah? ‘Cause the longer you try to hide it, the harder you’re going to be beat down once it’s revealed. And it will be revealed. It’s better to wear it as a badge than to hide it, hunny. They can’t hurt you with it if you’re using it as a shield.”
“That’s bullshit! That might work in movies or on TV but it don’t work like that in real life. I tried to wear it as a badge. In college. And I got beat down by it. No one is kind to you. They talk shit about you. Kick you out of thing you care about. Talk down at you. Even those who say they’re there for you, talk to you like I could go and jump off a cliff at any moment. People take your weaknesses and hang you with them all over again…” Lisa sobbed. She took a few breaths to gain her composure. “I’m going to hide this scar for as long as I possibly can. Because I couldn’t handle the way they treated me in college. I am not ready to take on the world. The same goes for you. I don’t need you.”
“Lisa.”
“I want you out of my life. I… I never want to see you again,” Lisa declared. She stood straight up and had her hands clenched in fists.
“You are being ridiculously childish right now.”
“Take it as you will. I will not have you interfere with my happiness anymore.”
“Lisa. Alright, that is enough!” David snapped. “What horrible thing have I done to you tonight? Huh?! I fly all the way out here to see my baby girl because I want us to get past this, but I can’t work towards a future if you’re holding on to the past.”
“There you go again,” Lisa whispered. “Saying things that sound nice but is completely missing the point.”
“Yeah? And there you go again finding a reason to blame me instead of taking responsibility to change things!”
“I am changing things. I want you gone.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
“Give me a grownup reason why and I’ll listen to you.”
“Because I hate the way you make me feel… I feel like a tool… like a steppingstone to get to where you want to be. You don’t actually care about me. And no one matters more to you than you do.”
“Baby girl… I love you. I love you to pieces. You are my princess. Everything I do I’ve done for you.” Lisa just sniffed and rubbed her nose with her entire arm. “You’re a big girl now. You grew up way too fast and you’re right. You don’t need me. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love you and that we can’t be together.”
“I just wanted to feel like your daughter…”
“I know, baby girl.”
“Why did you say I wasn’t?” David slowly wrapped his arms around Lisa. She then rested her head against his chest as he embraced her and whispered to her.
“I’m sorry, hunny. Listen to me. You’re my world, okay?” He pulled her out of the hug and hunched over to look her directly in the eyes. “Listen to me. Baby, baby. It’s okay.” Lisa continued to sob. “I’m here now.” He embraced her again.
“I’m so mad at you…”
“I know… It’s okay. I’m gonna fix things, okay?”
“I’m so alone…”
“Not anymore, baby. I’ve gotchyou, okay? I’ve gotchyou, I love you so much, Lissa. We’re going to be-“ Lisa took both hands and shoved David off of her.
“Get out,” she spoke sternly.
“Lissa?” David was confused. He was making progress.
“Get out!”
“Lissa-Lisa!... Lisa… I’m sorry…”
“I take it back. The only one who matters more than you… is her.”
“Baby…”
“Stop calling me baby! Stop calling me Lissa!” Lisa paced back and forth with her hands hovering by her head. Her hands shook, and she let out a screeching shout. “The only way you can love me is when you’re thinking about her!”
“Melissa is in the past! Way, way in the past!”
“No. She’s been here the whole time!” gesturing to herself.
“I’m sorry!... I’m sorry. I’m working on that…”
“Is she the reason mom left?”
“What on earth gave you that idea?”
“‘Cause if you talked to mom the way you talk to me, I get it.”
“No. Melissa was not the issue. You were… and you know that.”
“Sure…” Lisa wiped her face again. “But I have no doubt that there is more to the story than that.”
“You’re right. Our divorce was bound to happen, but that is in the past.” The two stayed quiet for a few moments. The street was oddly quiet as well for the time of evening. “We’re really getting off topic. I just want my daughter back. That’s it. No plot. No hidden meaning. Just you and me.”
“I’m not ready for that.”
“And you know what, that’s fair… Can I still come to your games?”
“I guess I can’t stop you from coming.”
“It’s gonna take time. But the important part is that we’ve started the process of making things better. It’s okay to be angry.”
“Good, ‘cause I am.”
“I understand. Let’s get you home. It’s getting late.”
David stood outside Lisa’s door with his duffle bag over his shoulders. “I love you, sweetie. Things are gonna get better. I promise.”
“We’ll see.” Lisa stood in the doorway, eager to end the night.
“Hey, I wanted to give you a picture of her I found.” David reached into the side pocket of his bag and pulled out a small manila envelope.
“Of mom?” Lisa took the envelope.
“It’s from not long after we got married. I thought you’d might like it.”
“Oh, the woman who abandoned her family because she didn’t want me? I’ll treasure it always.”
“I know… I know I suck sometimes, but I never abandoned you like she did…” David pointed out.
“Congratulations, you’re slightly less shitty than the shittiest parent.”
“Haha, I’ll take it. I love you sweetie.”
“Yeah.” David started to lean in to kiss Lisa on the forehead but stopped himself.
“Good night, sweetie.”
Lisa closed the door after him and walked toward her bed with the envelope. She opened it slowly and pulled out the photo from inside. It was of her father and her mother. It must have been summertime when the picture was taken. They looked so… Happy. Was she really the reason they got a divorce? Maybe after all this time her mother would like to see her. Who knew? Now really wasn’t the time to be thinking about that. Preseason would start tomorrow after all. Lisa placed the photo on her computer desk and curled up in her bed. Hopefully the morning would be better than that night had been.
Tuesday, November 6th. Seattle, Washington. Las Vegas vs. Seattle. The score at the end of the night: Las Vegas Wildcards 105, Seattle Summit 115.
The mouse was showing her frustration on her sleeve, though she tried to keep a huge smile on her face all in the name of good sportsmanship. Her steps were heavy, and her hair was sopping with sweat. Despite the fact that every field goal she attempted swished through the net, it wasn’t good enough, especially in her eyes. She needed to try for 3’s. She needed to get more through the net. She needed to assist more. To steal more. Anything. Everything. Three consecutive losses eroded at her moral rather quickly. All Lisa wanted to do now was shower off and prepare for the trip back home.
As she headed off towards her locker room, her ear twitched and pointed behind her. It was strange, almost as if her body knew the reason why before she did. She turned around in the direction her ear was facing and scanned the stadium. Her eyes lit up and went blurry with involuntary tears. Lisa made her way towards the audience. Sitting a few rows back sat a cougar with light auburn hair that was parted down the middle letting the tips of it just kiss his chin. He wore a light trench coat, perfect for Seattle’s infamous rainy weather, and underneath he was wearing dark green scrubs. He stood up and waved at Lisa as she approached. “Hey, Lis!” He called out to her.
“I can’t fucking believe this. Jason?! The hell are you doing here?!” Lisa ran up and embraced the cougar. Her arms wrapped tightly around his torso and her face nestled into his chest. His arms, seemingly automatically, wrapped around Lisa and his chin rested comfortably on her head. “I’ve missed you so damn much.” Lisa spoke into his chest.
“I missed you, too.” The cougar finally pulled out of the hug and held Lisa by the shoulders. “Whoa,” he said gripping her shoulders tighter. “Have you been working out?”
“No.” She mocked with a deep and exaggerated voice.
“Uh huh. Well you look great anyway, ya dork.” He laughed. His smile was bright, and his eyes were surely full of love having not seen Lisa in what felt like an eternity.
“But look at you! Still in your damn scrubs. Is that even sanitary?” Lisa teased.
“Yeah, well, I just finished a 36-hour shift. Had to run straight over here to make it in time.”
“I’m so fucking happy to see you, you don’t even know.” Lisa hugged him once more and then offered to head out for food. Finally. Some sort of a break. Lisa needed this. “I was hoping to stop by my uncle’s pub after the game. We can eat there.” The cougar agreed and the two set off into the night.
Lisa and Jason walked together under his umbrella and approached the big sign with a devil on it. “’Devil’s Den.’ I’ve heard of this place. Supposed to have good seafood.” The cougar said.
“Yeah, my uncle owns the place.” Jason entered the pub first, holding the door open for Lisa. The pub was dimly lit with an empty window stage and a few crates strewn across the floor. Music was softly playing over the speakers hidden within the walls of the pub. Behind the bar a giant three-dimensional devil’s head jutted out from the wall with a gaping mouth housing all the alcohol. Devils and demons enjoying beer and music were painted on the walls and the bar itself had LED flames that flickered like the real thing. The pub, though full of character, was itself completely empty. “Eric?” Lisa called out. Surely the sign on the door said open. Lisa called out for her uncle once more. A door from behind the bar opened and a short 5’5” deer mouse emerged. “Eric?”
“Lisa? What are you doing here?!” Eric exclaimed.
“I came to see your ass, ya ass!” Lisa bent over and hugged her uncle.
“How you doing, sweetheart?” Eric Hugged back, almost taking Lisa off balance.
“I’m doing pretty good.”
“Oh! And who is this strapping young man? Lisa, you brought a date?” Eric jabbed. Lisa jumped and blushed under her fur.
“No, ya dumbass!” She said through laughter. “This is Jason. The one from college? He’s basically my best friend.”
“Before me?” Eric complained.
“It’s nice to meet you, sir.” Jason bent over to shake Eric’s hand.
“Oh ho-ho-ho. I’ve heard of you. So, you’re the boy Lisa’s been telling me about, eh? I can see why. The ladies must love ya!” Eric nudged Jason. Jason nervously laughed in response.
“Well, actually I’m married so I don’t really pay attention to other women.”
“Married?! Lisa! You didn’t say he was married! Here I am tryna figure out how to hook you two up!” Lisa and Jason both nervously laughed and looked off in opposite directions.
“Yeah. He just got married in June, right after we graduated.” Lisa informed Eric.
“Mazel tov!” Eric shouted with his arms raised in the air.
“Yeah, thank you. Married the love of my life…” Jason said. Then no one spoke for a few moments leaving the air feeling cold and dry.
“Well!” Eric shouted to break the silence. “Why don’t I get you guys a drink?” Eric started for the bar.
“Eric. No. That’s fine.” Lisa said.
“What? Ya don’t drink or something?” Eric asked, and Lisa shook her head in response. “Ah nonsense. Come on, have a drink.” Eric insisted, and Lisa continue to refuse. “What about you, big guy?” Eric instead asked Jason. “You drink?”
“Nah. Sorry, man.” Jason apologized.
“What? Neither of you drink? What, didya get fucked up one night and wake up naked in someone’s bed or something?” Jason’s face went blank and his breathing stopped, and Lisa looked away and hugged her arms in close.
“H-How about some food instead?” Lisa suggested.
“Ahh, can’t. My cook ain’t in yet so alls I got is booze and coffee. Yous guys drink coffee don’t you?”
“Yes!” Lisa jumped up.
“Sorry, can’t have that either.” Jason apologized again.
“What? Why not? Coffee can’t hurt ya?!” Eric said frustratedly, but somewhat jokingly. He fixed Lisa some coffee from the pot.
“He’s a surgeon, Eric. He needs steady hands, so no coffee.” Lisa held the coffee to her nose and took a whiff.
“What? Like ever?” Jason just shrugged at Eric’s question and Eric just shook his head.
“Well, this is nice. I get to see you two. We can just hang out here if that’s ok.” Lisa seemed to be full of cheer as she spoke.
The three of them took a seat at one of the many open tables of the pub. They had their pick of all the tables in there but chose the table in the center.
“Is… it always this slow?” Jason asked. Eric let out a slow sigh.
“Yeah, as of late it has been. We just ain’t pulling in the customers no more. Plus, it’s getting expensive to pay everyone to work all the time.”
“Eric, what do you mean? Are you in trouble?” Lisa leaned in with a worried look on her brow.
“Unfortunately, yeah, I am. Had to fire a coupla no good brats about a month back. They was stealing just a bunch of money from right under my nose, ya know. And then that fiasco with the black mold. It’s just been a disaster.”
“Are you gonna be alright?” Lisa asked.
“I donno, kid. The way it’s looking, The Devil’s Den’s days are numbered. But ya dad. He said he’d buy it from me if it came to that. Said he’d take it off my hands and hire me as staff if I couldn’t get this place back in the black by the end of the year.”
“Well, that’s good ain’t it?” Jason asked.
“Yeah. I guess it is… It just won’t be The Devil’s Den anymore. It’ll turn into one of his lounges.”
“Eric…” Lisa’s voice apologized.
“Ah I’m getting too old for this anyway. Can’t keep up with some of these kids. But your dad can. Oh man, and if you hadn’t of called him back when there was the black mold, I would have lost the pub right then and there.”
“Wait. You called your dad?” Jason interrupted.
“Yeah… Eric needed my dad to pay him what he owed him. I really didn’t want to call, though.” Lisa’s voice dropped.
“What… so he made you?” Jason snapped his gaze at Eric, shaming him with his eyes.
“Don’t worry about it, Jason. It’s done. It’s fine.” Lisa said while starting to rub her temples.
“How did your dad react when you called him.” Jason asked without breaking eye contact with Eric.
“No different…” She replied.
“Lisa…” Jason finally broke his gaze to tend to Lisa.
“Listen. I’m real sorry, hun.” Eric said softly. “But hey, I heard he stopped by your place in Vegas to try and fix things!”
“Yeah and that was a disaster, by the way. Thanks for giving him my address. Really appreciated that.” Lisa snarked.
“You did, what?!” Jason stood to his feet, pushing the chair he was sitting in back and almost over.
“Jason, don’t. It’s fine. I really don’t feel like getting riled up tonight. Not tonight.” She pleaded.
“Yeah. Sure.” Jason sat back down in his seat and the three sat in silence. Lisa continued to massage her temples while her leg restlessly bounced. “So…” Jason tried to get the conversation back to a pleasant place. “How are you doing otherwise?”
“Good... Oh! Guess who got accepted into UFLA’s graduate program!” Lisa remembered. Jason and Eric glanced at each other and then back to Lisa.
“You’re going back to school?” asked Jason.
“Yup.” Lisa said, proudly.
“When?!” Eric asked wanting to know when she’d ever have time to go.
“Next semester.”
“While you’re in the FBA?” Jason tried to confirm.
“Guys! It’s fine. I don’t need to be taking classes during the spring or fall semesters. Those will be done in the summer during the off season. The other times will be devoted to research and working towards my dissertation. It’s fine.”
“Wait. Did you say dissertation? You’re going for a PhD?” Jason shouted.
“Lisa, ain’t that a bit much?” Eric tried to warn Lisa.
“Guys. Seriously it’s fine. I’m used to maintaining academics and basketball. I’m being smart about it. I’m training and going to practice and playing games at very specific times each day. The rest of the time I can spend reading and doing research. My off season will be devoted to classes and teaching and whatever else I need to put 100% of my attention towards. It’s fine.”
“I donno, Lisa.” Jason shook his head.
“Well, what else am I gonna do with my time?” Lisa shrugged in frustration.
“Literally anything else.” Jason declared.
“What’s wrong with basketball? You lookin for a backup plan or something?” Eric tried his best to understand Lisa’s plan.
“No. I’m more than just basketball, guys! I have more than one love. I want to do this. I’ve wanted to do this since I was a kid. And I’ll manage. Plus, I’m taking the maximum amount of time to do this. It’s not like I’m gonna be overwhelming myself with a ton of work all at once. Trust me, ok?”
“Lisa. Still…” Eric started to say.
“Let her do it. When she says trust her, trust her. Lisa’s tough. I’ve seen her come out on top again and again. She’ll be fine. I trust her. She’s the ‘Lab Mouse’ after all?” Jason smirked.
“’Lab Mouse?’” Eric repeated. Lisa and Jason just laughed.
“Knock ‘em dead, Lis.” Jason cheered her on. Lisa thanked him for trusting her, stood to her feet, and looked around the room.
“Eric. Where’s the bathroom?” She asked.
“It’s over there.” Eric pointed beyond the Devil’s head. With that, Lisa walked off to the bathroom and the two men sat in silence without making eye contact. Some popular song by whoever was softly playing on the speakers, and the rain pitter pattered against the window where the small stage that would normally house an equally small band was. They fiddled about in their seats. Jason’s gaze was at nothing in particular on the table and his tongue pressed hard against his right cheek.
“So, you forced her to talk to her dad, huh?” Jason brought up again.
“Look, that’s between the three of us, between family. I know she’s your friend, but she’s family to me.”
“In the same way that she’s family to me. You have any idea what he did to her?” Jason’s voice was sharp though in a whisper, and with a blink his eyes transitioned from gazing at the table to deathly glaring at Eric.
“Of course, I do. I was there. Don’t get me wrong, I feel bad about it, but I needed her help. It was a last-ditch effort to save the pub.” Eric moved his seat closer to Jason. “You really care about her, huh?”
“More than you can know.”
“So, was there a thing between you two or something?”
“Why do you say that.”
“Just a hunch.”
“Lisa is my dearest friend, but that’s it.”
“’That’s it,’ huh?” Eric repeated. Jason closed his eyes and his chest slowly rose and fell.
“She… on the other hand…”
“So, you know, huh?” Jason nodded in response. “Yeah,” Eric continued. “She won’t shut up about ya. I figured there were some feelings or something…”
“Yeah… I feel… I feel awful, you know? If things were different… I love her. I love her to pieces. It’s just, you know, she came into my life a bit too late.”
“Poor thing. You know she’s probably eatin up about it. You could see it in the way she looks at you.”
“Yeah… I’ve been afraid of that. We actually spoke once. She came to me, told me everything, and she says to me, she says ‘I just needed to get it off my chest’ and that she wasn’t looking to get between me and my fiancé.”
“Classic ‘the one that got away’ scenario.” Eric said.
“She’s a tough girl, but sometimes…” Jason rubbed his face and shook his head. “She needs a good pair of shoulders to lean on and I can’t be there for her the way I’ve been. She can’t rely on me the same way she has either. I’m just not gonna cut it for her anymore. I just don’t want to hurt her.”
“Maybe all she need is a good night, ya know? Just something quick? Go to the bar, talk to a nice guy-“
“Eric. If that’s what you really think, you don’t know your niece at all.” The bathroom door in the back of the pub swung open and Lisa came out fixing her hair.
“Eric, why did your toilet just laugh at me?” She asked.
“The Devil that lives in the toilet is happy you’ve sent another damned soul to him.” Eric said with a stereotypical scary voice any uncle would be proud to imitate.
“The hell is wrong with you, man?” Lisa laughed.
“Well.” Jason said as he stood to his feet. “Guys. This has been nice, but I really need to get home and sleep. I’m on call tomorrow which means another 36-hour shift.”
“Oh... Okay then. I can walk you to the commuter rail.” Lisa offered.
“No, it’s alright. I’ll be fine. Besides I don’t want you walking back alone in the dark.”
“Okay then.” Jason moved in to hug Lisa, and Lisa wrapped her arms tightly around Jason. She took a breath, trying to savor every moment with Jason for as long as she could without it coming off as clingy. “It was really good to see you, Jason.”
“It was great to see you, too, Lis. And it was nice to meet you, Eric.”
“Likewise. I hope to see you again sometime.” Eric said while shaking Jason’s hand.
“Sounds good. I’ll see you guys.” The cougar stepped outside of the pub, pushed open his umbrella, and disappeared from view, but Lisa continued to stare in his direction anyway.
“The one that got away, huh?” Eric asked. Lisa seemed shocked at first but figured he knew how she felt for her friend.
“Unfortunately…” She responded.
“I know it sucks. But you know who’d understand what you’re going through? Your father.” Lisa rolled her eyes.
“I pray to god I don’t get that bad.”
“What? You wouldn’t name your first-born son Jason or some variation of that?” Eric joked.
“Dad is obsessed with Melissa.”
“And you’re not obsessed with Jason?”
“I’ll be fine eventually.” Lisa laughed.
“Sure. Alls I’m saying is maybe you can sympathize with your father a little since you’re basically going through the same thing he is.”
“Whatever…” Lisa looked down at her phone which had just vibrated in her pocket. She unlocked it and opened the notification she had received from Tweeter. “It just would be nice to have something reliable, you know? For something to go right.”
“It will. Just have to have a bit a faith, sweetheart. Take it day by day.” Lisa didn’t say anything back to Eric. “Come on, hun. Seriously, it’ll be fine. You’ve got a bunch of people who care about you. Plus, you’ve got me! What more could you need, right?” Eric grew concerned when Lisa didn’t even wince at his joke. Lisa’s eyes just stared at her screen. “Lisa?” Eric finally looked down at her screen as well. “What is it?”
“I’m starting…” She whispered.
“What?”
“I’m starting our next game…”
“What?!” Eric jumped up.
“I’m starting our next game… I’m starting our next game. I’m starting our next game!”
“Lisa! This is great!” Eric, despite his small stature, grabbed Lisa and lifted her up off the ground. “What’d I just fucking say?! Booya, baby! That’s my girl!” Eric finally put Lisa down and she excitedly showed Eric the tweet.
“Look, look, look! ‘@LisaBelleDuPont get ready to start our next game!’ Holy shit…! Holy shit…” Lisa dropped all her weight into the nearest chair and stared off into the distance.
“You ok?” Eric laughed.
“Yeah…” her voice drifted off. “You know, on second thought, maybe I will have just one drink.”
“Heh heh! Coming right up.” Eric laughed and jetted over to the bar. He picked out his favorite, a chocolate coffee stout, and poured her a glass. “What are you thinking right now?”
“That… maybe… for just right now… I don’t worry so much about school?”
“Oh?” Eric said, thinking the exact same thing the whole time.
“I mean, I meant it when I said I would be fine… But I don’t want to worry my team… my coach… the GM…”
“You said you got time during the summer, right?” Lisa sipped at the stout. “Then do it then. You’ll be fine. I’m so proud of you, hunny!”
“Yeah. Yeah. I’m.”
“Lisa?” Eric moved in front of her and grabbed her by the shoulders. “’Give ‘em hell.’” Lisa seemed to snap out of it when he said that. “Am I right?!”
“Yeah.”
“What? What was that?”
“Fucking. Yes! I’ve got this! I’ma show them. I’ma show them all! I deserve this. I deserve to be here with my team, my family. I’m so excited!”
“That’s my girl!” Eric pushed the stout closer to her to try and get her to continue to drink.
“Thank you, Eric.”
“For what? I didn’t do anything!” Lisa laughed at Eric.
“Yes, you did.” She said softly and kissed her uncle’s cheek. “I gotta get going, myself.”
“Wait, you’re not gonna finish your stout?! You barely drank any.” Eric complained.
“Sorry. I’m meeting Mrs. Walstein for dinner. Save it for the next time I’m in Seattle, kay?” Lisa joked.
“Getchyour butt over here.” Eric wrapped his arms behind Lisa’s head to hug her, forcing Lisa to bend over to hug him back. “You’ve got this, hun.” His voice was muffled by the hug. “You’ve got this. I’m so very proud of you, okay? Never forget that. Go give ‘em hell, okay?” They pulled out of the hug and Lisa’s eyes were welled up with tears. “Okay?” Lisa nodded with a big smile on her face. “Good… Now get the hell outa here! You’re Vegas-ing up my Den!”
“I love you, Eric.” Lisa laughed.
“Love you, too, sweetheart.” Lisa turned around and calmly walked out of The Devil’s Den. From inside, Eric could hear Lisa screaming with joy as her voice faded into the distance. “That’s my girl.”
Friday, December 14th. Las Vegas, Nevada. Las Vegas vs. Pittsburgh. The score at the end of the night: Las Vegas Wildcards 116, Pittsburgh Keystones 109.
The game was over, and everyone was leaving the stadium. The Wildcards all began going in their own directions towards the showers. Theo held his head low, shaking it while he laughed to himself. “What a shit show,” he whispered to himself. He had scored six less points than his teammate Moby, even though he spent more time on the court than him. Behind Theo, Lisa tried to catch up with him.
“Theo, wait,” Lisa called after him. “Wait. I wanna talk. Please?” Theo laughed as she caught up to him.
“Well, we won,” he sarcastically shouted.
“Theo, please?” Previous to that night, Dimi Kabat had gathered the Wildcards together on the court for a team meeting. He called forward Lisa, Misha, Fenruss, Wayne, and Theo, all the starters at the time, and had them stand on one side of a line.
“You see these five guys,” he had asked the rest of the team that night. “These players have performed fantastically, consistently.” He then turned to the starters and thanked them as the five awkwardly shuffled, unable to really take the compliment. The squirrel had then raised his voice enough to feel alien to everyone. “I wouldn’t trade them for almost anyone in the league! I’m done pretending they are part of the problem. The problem is all of you,” he declared to the remaining members of the Wildcards. “You fail to bring your ‘A’ game. You ignore my instructions.” He had continued to call out players saying things like, “You are letting these guys down,” and “[The five starters] deserve to be great.” And by the end of the night he had placed Keo and Moby on the bench, both previous reserve players. However, the game immediately after the meeting, one of Dimi’s pets, Theo, pulled 0-7 earning him a spot on the bench, with Moby now replacing him as a starter. But this was short-lived as tonight’s game against Pittsburgh, Moby was benched with Fenruss replacing him, and Lucian playing the now open Center spot.
Lisa placed her hand on Theo to try and get him to stop. “I’m showering off. I’ll see you later,” Theo said, ignoring her advance.
“We haven’t talked in a while, Theo… I know you’re still upset about what happened, and that you’re not happy with tonight,” Lisa revealed.
“Oh Yeah,” Theo finally stopped to face Lisa. “Are you at all surprised? Dimi goes and calls us out, you, me, Mish, like we’re the ‘stars.’ Then I get benched ‘cause of one bad game. I was player of the game before that for God’s sake.” Theo continued walking towards the locker rooms.
“Listen, I’m scared too. I only got us six points tonight... I keep…” Theo stopped again to face Lisa.
“You really think you’re in trouble,” he asked her.
“With how things are going… I just… I need to get more points for us…”
“Yeah, but you’re Point. Assists are important, too.”
“I just… I can’t tell with this team.” Lisa was hugging her arms in close. “Is… Is it like this on other teams?”
“Oh sure…” Theo then stopped to rethink his answer when he noticed Lisa was collapsing over herself. “But Dimi. He’s got some issues going on.”
“I’m sure he’s just got some bigwig breathing down his neck,” she tried to defend.
“Yeah well, he better start working with us instead of pitting us against each other.”
“I know! I’m having a hard time getting on everyone’s good side.”
“Word of advice, lis: don’t. You can’t get on everyone’s good side. It’s best to make sure that you’re doing your best and stop worrying about being buddy-buddy with everyone.”
“But… we’re a team.”
“In the FBA that’s only a small part. Here, we’re numbers. Just make sure your numbers are high.” Theo opened the door to the locker room looking to end their conversation.
“Theo. You know why I chose basketball over, say, something like fencing? It was the team aspect. I loved being able to add my talents to other’s. There are things you’re good at and things Mish is good at, and so on. And there are things I’m good at. When that all gets thrown in together, I donno… It makes for a very interesting, exciting, and creative game of chess.”
“You’re such a rookie, Lisa,” he said with his back towards Lisa.
“Is that wrong?”
“No.” Theo turned around once again. “At least it shouldn’t be. But tell me something. Do you ever notice anyone talking about the ‘team?’ Like on tweeter or after games? Is it ever ‘we’ did great? Or is it ‘I’ did great, or ‘I’ did awful? Basketball is a single’s sport where everyone is looking after their selves.”
“I don’t want to believe that, though.”
“Listen, the sooner you learn the Game within the game, the better. The FBA is a franchise, a business. It exists to make money. And if you’re not getting the results you’ll be replaced. I just didn’t think it would be so cut and dry with Dimi,” Theo whispered that last part to himself.
“But… how am I supposed to lead a team if everyone is doing their own thing?”
“That’s the question, isn’t it,” Theo laughed. “I mean didn’t Dimi prove this to you? He separated us. Told us who his favorites were and who he was placing blame on. And after the first sign of a problem he goes and changes his mind. The ‘team’ doesn’t matter.”
“That’s ridiculous. I mean that’s why I tried to meet with everyone at the beginning of the season. I wanted to get to know people so that we can work better on the court as a freakin’ team! I refuse to believe that it was a waste.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say it was a waste, just that, for the Las Vegas Wildcards, your strategy isn’t going to work out the way that you hoped.”
“So… what do I do?”
“Hell, if I know. Just keep your numbers up. Right now, we aren’t the bottom, right?”
“Right now, Pittsburgh, Arizona, and Texas are… We just edged out with tonight’s win.”
“Then that will help.”
“Theo… I… I need help…”
“With what?”
“The points! I want to get us more points. Like… I see other Point Guards with like 20, 30 points and I… I mean, Like I said, I got six tonight.”
“Lis. Okay. You listen here. You’re small.”
“Thanks…”
“No, listen. You need to play your height and speed.”
“I know,” Lisa scoffed.
“No, you don’t. You asked me for help, right?”
“Yeah, ok sorry.” Theo went across the arena over to the rack and grabbed a ball.
“Come here,” he said holding the ball with both paws. “Try to get the ball from me.” Lisa looked Theo up and down.
“Legally?”
“Just any way you can.” Theo stood straight on in front of Lisa.
“Ok.” Lisa swatted at the ball and Theo used his height to keep the ball just out of reach. Frustrated and determined to win this little game as quickly as she could, Lisa jumped up to swat the ball, surprising Theo in the process. She would have reached it had he not pivoted to get the ball out of her trajectory.
“Come on,” Theo taunted. Lisa grunted. Theo then hunched low with the ball held back behind him. Lisa pressed against his shoulder with hers, trying to use her weight to push past his defense. Unfazed, Theo shifted his hip against Lisa’s, knocking her to the ground. “You’re not doing very good.”
“You’re tall and big,” Lisa huffed.
“So, what?! So is everyone else you are up against!” Lisa pushed herself up off the ground. “Get the damn ball, lis.” Lisa got light on her feet and stayed low. Theo mirrored her as best he could with his bulk and height. When Lisa reached her right hand out towards the ball, Theo crossed it over from behind to get it out of her way with his left paw. But Lisa did not follow through with her reach, and instead swept her hand down low to meet the ball from between Theo’s legs, catching it before Theo’s right paw could. “There you go!”
“I didn’t learn anything! I just got frustrated.” Lisa tossed the ball back to Theo.
“Good. Now do it again.”
“Theo, I feel like this is just-“
“Do it again.” Theo dribbled the ball, keeping Lisa away with his off-paw. He faked a jab and Lisa reacted by trying to catch the ball. With Lisa caught off guard Theo pushed to get the ball in the net. He moved passed her, stepping his right foot in front of Lisa to keep himself in front of her. However, instead of letting this movement manipulate her own, she stepped opposite of him, moving to his left side where he was dribbling the ball. Once the ball hit the floor, Lisa reach lower than Theo could and got the ball in her possession.
“Ah! See,” Theo praised Lisa. “You’ve got your height and speed to do the things I know how to do but can’t do since I’m bigger. Now. Watch my cross over.” He crossed the ball over from back to front. “You see that? Watch again.” He crossed the ball over again allowing Lisa to catch the pattern. “You see?”
“Yeah... yeah! Ok I see.” Lisa got ready.
“Good! Now let’s go.” Theo quickly moved passed Lisa in the same way he did before, but when Lisa tried to step left, Theo spun around her and shot the ball into the net. “What happened?! Get the ball, lis. That’s your job!” Lisa growled in frustration. With the ball back in Theo’s paws, Theo went to shoot the ball but missed with Lisa blocking his way. He grabbed the ball to rebound but Lisa swatted the ball from his paws. “Good!”
“I can’t do that,” Lisa shouted through huffs.
“The hell you can’t! It’s totally legal after a rebound,” Theo informed her.
“It is?” Lisa chucked the ball back at Theo.
“Come on, lis. Now rush me.” Theo dribbled the ball again, and Lisa immediately rushed after the ball. Theo dodged. “Nope. Try again.” Lisa jabbed forward then rushed after the ball, this time getting it in her possession. “Good,” Theo laughed. “Hey. Nice fake. You’ve got such a genuine face,” He continued to laugh.
“What?”
“I mean you’re too… ‘nice,’” Theo teased.
“No, I’m not.”
“Come on. I’m gonna dribble the ball and try to guess what your thinking.” Theo stood in front of Lisa dribbling the ball and watching her face. Her eyes shifted to the left. “Flank left,” he called out.
“Dammit…” Lisa’s eyes moved from the ball to his right shoulder.
“Fake right,” Theo recognized.
“Stop it!”
“Stop thinking so much.”
“I’m not!”
“Come on. Why’d you choose basketball if all you want to do is ‘think’ things through? Why not just go play chess?”
“Stop it!” Lisa rushed the ball and Theo moved passed her.
“Where’s your passion?”
“I have passion!”
“Then show me. Where’s your drive, where’s your joy?” Theo ran for the net and Lisa jumped up, not after the ball, but directly at Theo, colliding with him in the air. They both fell to the ground and sat there for a moment. “That’s it,” Theo cackled. “Great. Again!” Lisa just laughed instead.
“Okay… okay… I see what you’re saying. I really am over thinking things.” Lisa stood up and helped Theo up.
“It’s obviously gonna take time and practice. But it’s like you said, you’ve got your own talents that are going to help the team. Stop trying to play like every other Point Guard. Play the way only you can.”
“Yeah… yeah. You’re right.” Lisa was smiling now, and so was Theo.
“Cuz you’ve got skill. Stop forgetting that.”
“What about you?”
“Me? Ha… Yeah. Well, now it’s up to Dimi to see that. He can only shuffle us around so many times before he runs out of player combinations.”
“Yeah… just don’t go and get yourself traded.”
“Yeah… Fine. I’d hate for you to use what I taught you against me,” Theo joked. “We should shower off. I’m sure we smell amazing right now.”
“Yeah. I wreak,” Lisa chuckled.
“You… wanna come over and play some music?” The two had learned earlier in the season that they were both interested in music and have been practicing together every so often, with Lisa learning to sing, and Theo practicing with his cello.
“Yeah I’d love that,” Lisa responded.
“I’ve got a new song we can try. Might as well give it a try while we still can…”
“Sounds fun. I’ll meet you in a bit, then.”
“See you.”
“Hey, Theo? Thanks.”
“You know… Yeah. You, too.” Theo smiled and the two went in opposite directions into their respective showers.
Sunday, December 23th. Queens, New York. Las Vegas vs. Queens. The score at the end of the night: Las Vegas Wildcards 96, Queens Pride 100.
With the loss so fresh on her mind Lisa found it hard to find anything to keep her relaxed. Once the game was over Lisa made her way towards the rest of her team were her eye’s instantly lock on to one of the patrons. She couldn’t ignore the sight of her father. He was sitting right in the middle just a few rows up from Las Vegas’s bench.
David waved her over with excitement, kissed her forehead and congratulated her for a job well done while Lisa tried to take it all with a grain of salt. The cameras were still rolling, and David ate it up, waving back at them while hugging his daughter close to his side. Lisa smiled back at the cameras though her body was stiff. Once the cameras moved to someone else, Lisa gently but purposefully pushed David from her. Without a beat he moved to playing and picking at her now short hair.
“You’ve cut your hair again,” he acknowledged. Lisa just nodded with a forced smile. “It looks nice,” he continued. Lisa looked at him briefly from the corner of her eyes. “But is everything okay?” Lisa did not answer and focused her attention elsewhere. The two mingled individually for a bit with fans and other members of the team while Lisa did her best to try and ignore the fact that her father was right there. Here he was again. She knew he would be. Nothing she can do but to accept it.
Once the crowd dissipated a bit David placed his full attention on his daughter. “Hey, sweetie,” he started. Lisa acknowledged him with a slow glance from the corner of her eye. It was enough for David. “I was thinking you should stay for Christmas. It’s been a while and I just think it would be nice to be together this year.” Lisa shifted her gaze elsewhere. “What do you say?” Lisa started to walk away towards the locker room.
“I gotta go shower,” was Lisa’s only response.
“Oh, okay,” David nodded, and Lisa left for the locker room.
The stadium started to empty out fast. It was like Time Square on New Year’s Eve right after the ball drops; within a matter of minutes, the entire place went empty once people decided it was time to leave. David sat with his head down and his fingers clasped together, listening as the chatter and bustle of the patrons dulled to a low hum. Soon, the smallest movements of the remaining people were the loudest noises to be heard as they echoed throughout the arena. A sneeze. A dropped coin. A whisper. The slow echoes seem to replace the rhythmic ticking of a clock as the seconds passed by. David was the only one still seated, and others started to take notice. Stadium staff members, some volunteers from a nearby high school, and a janitor one by one took turns asking David if he was alright. He’d explain he was waiting for his daughter and continue to sit in silence until someone else would come along and ask him the same question.
His thoughts began to leap from one idea to the next. He was going to convince Lisa to stay no matter what. At least, that was his intentions at the start of the evening. But as the minutes ticked by and the sounds of the stadium grew quiet, his confidence wavered. “She didn’t say yes,” he would say to himself. “But she also didn’t say no.” He questioned his approach, his tone, even his motivation. What would convince her? Could he convince her? Nonetheless, David would wait for his daughter.
After about forty-five or so minutes, Lisa emerged from the locker room fully dressed. She wore a classic long white double-breasted winter coat that stretched to just above her knees, and a grey thick-yarn scarf that was tucked into the top of her coat. Her thigh-high boots clacked loudly against the stadium floor in a confident rhythm that perfectly matched David’s heartbeat. The force of his pulse seemed to be strong enough to shoot David out of his seat to greet her with an overly cheery smile. “You’re still here,” Lisa sternly asked. Her sudden voice shook David that he stammered and failed to find any coherent words to respond with. “Why don’t you go home,” she interrupted. David’s body was frozen, but his throat quickly burned as if he’d downed a shot of whiskey the wrong way.
“I just, I wanted you to come home for Christmas,” he reminded her.
“I’m not coming home.”
“I’d really like it if you did.” David’s posture stood a bit firmer.
“No.” Lisa just barely shook her head as she spoke, her eyes stayed locked to his, and her arms were folded. David threw his head back.
“Oh, come on, Lisa! Are we going to do this every time we see each other? Just come home.” David moved to grab Lisa by the wrist in frustration.
“Abso-fucking-lutely not!” Lisa snatched her hand away. “I’m not interested in coming home. Not now. Not ever. So, go home.”
“I thought we fixed things already,” David grumbled.
“In what way did things get fixed? Alright. I’m going back to-“
“Cette fille va être la mort de moi,” he said out loud to himself over Lisa.
“What was that?”
“Come on! Are we seriously going to do this?”
“You know what-?”
“And what’s with the short hair,” He interrupted. “Are we acting ‘tough’ again? Is this some kind of stance against me?” He then suddenly stopped to quickly grab his composure. Arguing like this was pushing them further apart. This wasn’t the way to convince her to stay. “Okay. Okay… What will it take to convince you to come home?” David gently grabbed her wrist to try and be a little sincerer and to get her to turn and face him more. Lisa guffawed.
“I’ve never heard you ask me what I wanted.” She snatched her wrist back again.
“I’m serious. Whatever you need, I’ll do it. I promise.” Lisa scoffed but her eyes became unfocused. They shifted between different seats in the stadium, the individual floor boards, the bench, and her chest filled to capacity and emptied every time they fell on her father. After a few unintentional cycles of this her eyes remained locked on David. “Give me this chance,” David pleaded. She let out an audible sigh and started walking back towards the locker room. “Lisa. Please? I just want you home for Christmas.”
“I know my way home,” she called back. David could feel his heart drop into his stomach, but all he could do in response was nod and turned around for the door.
“You… you sure you don’t want a ride home,” he turned back to ask. “Would be a helluva lot safer than the MTA.”
“I know my way home,” Lisa reiterated. David nodded in response again and left the arena towards the parking garage. That was that.
The garage was, in no surprise, not completely empty. There were cars that seemed to have been there for years: decrepit, rusted, missing hubcaps, the normal fare for New York City. However, there were no other vehicles that seemed to belong to any of the attendees of that night’s game. Because of this the garage felt utterly empty.
David slowly pulled out his keys and got in his car. Once his steering wheel was unlocked and he was strapped in, he took in a deep breath and let out a slow, shaky sigh. He took his time starting the car, hoping that Lisa would change her mind and ride home with him. But as he slowly pulled out of the parking garage, it was clear to him that Lisa was not going to reconsider his offer.
The drive home was tense and quiet; the radio was turned off, his grip was tight on the wheel, and miles went by without him noticing. The old mouse ran different scenarios in his head, hoping to find the best way to talk to his daughter. “I want to make things better,” he practiced to himself. “I want to fix things.” “I missed you.” “I’m proud of you.” “I’m… I’m sorry.”
The drive back to the Bronx seemed to be the perfect time to get it right, but it wasn’t long before David was pulling up to his neighborhood. His street ran perpendicular to the road he was entering from, with a cul-de-sac on either end. To the left of the entrance road was where he lived. There sat three tall apartment buildings with his being the first one on that cul-de-sac. It was late, which meant that there weren’t many parking spaces available, but after an hour of circling and praying he eventually found a spot. David locked his car up for the night, locking his steering wheel, hiding any visible valuables, and tucking his side mirrors in so that a shady parts-dealer wouldn’t steal them and try to sell it back to him later.
With how long the drive was plus the time spent looking for a parking spot, Lisa couldn’t be far from home. David wanted a little more time to practice what he was going to say to her. Once in his building he unlocked the door to the lobby and waited inside for the elevator. “Welcome home,” he continued to practice as the elevator doors opened. “How are things?” “Are you hungry?”
The elevator slowed to a stop and a voice called out “28th floor” just before the doors opened. At this time of night, the bare white hallways that branched out towards each apartment felt especially empty. Though there were enough people in each building to fill a small town, the night made it feel like he was completely alone. Maybe it was the florescent lighting hitting off the bland white floors, walls, and ceiling that made it feel eerily like a dream. David stepped out of the elevator, and the elevator repeated itself, “28th floor, going down,” before the doors closed behind him. His steps echoed loudly through the halls as he finally made it to his front door. He unlocked it, entered, re-locked the door behind him, and sat neatly on his couch, waiting, hoping for Lisa to ring the intercom buzzer.
This time there was an actual loud ticking coming from the clock hanging in the kitchen that counted the slow seconds that passed by. David was no longer practicing what to say. Instead, he did his best to keep his heart from sinking any lower into his stomach. David normally found Lisa easy to talk to, even during arguments. It didn’t matter the mood, David never found it difficult to speak his mind. But the bond between the two had been mangled in the past few years, and deep down he knew that it was his fault. Why couldn’t he just shut up and listen to what she had to say? Why did he always have to speak up and diminish the value of what happened to her? Maybe that was it. Maybe this time, David would say nothing. Maybe this time, he’d let her speak.
The buzzer rang.
David quickly ran to the kitchen where the intercom was, tripping over one of the kitchen chairs to reach it. “Hello,” David spoke into the intercom as he held down the “speak” button. He let go and pressed the “Listen” button to hear the response.
“It’s me,” Lisa’s voice sounded through the shoddy speaker. David held down the “speak” button.
“Ok. Come on up.” David pressed the third button labeled “open” that electronically unlocked the lobby door to let her in, and then pressed the “listen” button again to make sure the crappy old thing worked this time. Once he could hear the beeping from the lobby door, he left the kitchen to wait for Lisa by the front door.
It was quiet enough to barely hear “28th floor, going down,” from the hallway, but it didn’t need to be quiet at all to hear Lisa’s boots clacking towards David’s door. The rhythm of her steps reaching closer to his door filled his stomach and throat with a pressure that no matter what he did, would not go away. Lisa was almost home. For the first time in over four years, Lisa was almost home. Just take a breath. You can do this.
The doorbell rang.
David waited a second to unlock the door so that it wouldn’t seem like he had been standing right there the whole time. “Lisa, hey,” he greeted. Lisa pushed passed him and dropped her baggage on the tiny golden shin-high table sitting against the wall next to the front door that, for some reason, only had two legs. The back of the table was supported by two nails jutting out from the wall it was leaning on. Maybe it was a hand-me-down or something left over from when they moved to the city. Neither of them knew its origin, but it was an iconic piece of furniture. It was the same table Lisa would drop her bookbag on when she came home from school. That memory alone was reason enough to keep it.
“Hey,” Lisa softly responded. She was home. But something about it felt off. Everything was as she remembered. The TV sat awkwardly in front of the large window, blocking its gorgeous views of the bay below. The pleather couch was still cracked and deflated. The “Look! Do you have everything” posted note taped to the front door with the meticulously drawn pair of glasses on it was still there. The parquet flooring smelled of the same pine cleaner they’d use to mop the floors while dancing to classical rock. Everything looked the same, but the air around it was different. This air was heavy. Thick. It was like a primordial soup of what once was, and they both could sense they were drowning in it.
Lisa removed her coat and hung it on one of the hooks on the wall opposite the front door. “Welcome home,” David awkwardly said. He stood close to Lisa waiting to help in some way, but what could she possibly have him do?
“Yeah,” Lisa tiredly sighed.
“You hungry?”
“No. I had some pizza on the way here.”
“Ah. Good ol’ New York Pizza. Ya can’t beat it,” David lightly chuckled. Lisa took off her scarf and hung it over her coat. She was wearing a gray knit turtleneck that, of course, was covering her neck. David stared at her collar and sighed. “Lisa. We do need to talk.” Lisa didn’t look up at her father and continued to settle in. “I… I want to clear the air between us. But… I realize that I’ve never given you the floor to speak, to tell me what you went through, or what you’re currently going through.” Lisa stopped moving. “I’ll listen.” David let out another shaky sigh, waiting for Lisa’s response. At first, she did nothing. She didn’t move. She didn’t say anything. But before David could open his mouth to try and break the silence Lisa snapped to face her father.
“You want to talk,” Lisa asked.
“I want you to talk,” he clarified. “It’s only-“
“Then shut. Up.” Lisa interrupted. “That is the only reason I agreed to come home. You asked me what you can do to get me to stay for Christmas? You can keep your mouth shut. ‘Cause you’re right.” She stood nearly chest to chest with David. “All you ever do is talk over me and give me excuses why I’m overreacting or holding a grudge or something,” she spoke calmly. “We are going to sit down, and you are not going to say a word while I speak.” All David could do was nod.
Lisa kept eye contact with her father. “It’s warm.” She then took off her turtleneck sweater and dropped it on the floor. Under her sweater she was wearing a pink tank top, and there was now nothing to hide the scar on her neck. The scar started from one side of her throat and swept across to the other side. David fought not to look at the scar. He chose to instead continue looking his daughter in the eyes, a much easier task than to face the truth of what happened. “Go on. Look at it,” Lisa challenged. He would not. “Look at it.” His eyes shook but eventually made its way to her neck. It was the first time he had seen her neck since it had healed. He figured there was a scar there. He had made the connection once before but talking about it was nothing compared to seeing it. His eyes went watery as he tried to keep his composure. “Why don’t we sit down at the table,” she gestured with her chin.
The kitchen table was small and placed against the wall. There were only two seats. Afterall, it was only ever the two of them living there. Lisa sat down first, taking the seat facing out towards the living room, and David soon followed, sitting opposite of her. “You have no idea what I went through…” David’s breathing continued to shake. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you shaking? ‘None of this was your fault,’ so why are you shaking?” David struggled to keep his composure as a tear flowed down his cheek. “Dad. This is so unlike you,” she taunted. “Normally you’d have something to say.” David remained quiet. Lisa nodded in approval. “Good. ‘Cause I want to tell you exactly why what you did was the shittiest thing you could have done to me…”
Lisa had rehearsed her speech so many times before, but never thought she’d get the chance to say it all at once. She wanted so badly to ring him out. She wanted him to suffer. She also wanted to understand why things happened the way it did, but her own eyes started to well up. She tried to look at her father but couldn’t, and every time she did, she’d start to break down. With all her anger, with all her rage, she couldn’t stop crying. She decided to turn sideways in her chair and lean against the wall. This way, she’d be able to speak without looking at him.
“I feel like sometimes it is all my fault,” Lisa began. “Like when I think back to how everything got to where it is, it’s my fault. I wanted you to be happy. But I never thought that my wanting to help would end up hurting me in the end.”
“What are you talking about,” David spoke up, but then quickly stopped himself and gestured for her to continue. Lisa waited for the silence to settle in before continuing.
“Remember when we found out mom got married again, how you were so depressed that you stopped going to work? It started then. I said, ‘hey dad, you should start dating again.’”
“Lisa, please,” David tried to defend himself.
“And you did,” Lisa shouted over him with a sarcastic smirk on her face. “You brought them home with you almost every night! Really you just stopped dating altogether and just had the girls from the lounge spend the night here. I’d come home from school and there’d still be a girl here from the night before, eating from the fridge, showering, or just watching TV like it was fucking normal. Or! I’d come home, and you’d be busy with a girl in my room!”
“Now you listen here. I was-”
“What? ‘doing this for me?’ Or how about ‘I’m trying to find you a mom,’ or ‘you should be grateful.’” Lisa turned her head slightly towards her father. “Do you know I spent nights waiting on a bench downstairs, just waiting for you to be done so that I could come back and get some sleep and get ready for school the next day?” Lisa sat back in her seat and rested her head against the wall.
“Lisa, I was young! And these girls, you know… I got carried away!”
“Ne parlez pas quand je parle,” Lisa finally snapped while trying her best to hold a confident posture. David clasped his hands together and held them in front of his mouth. “I will leave. I will absolutely leave.” David stayed silent.
“It’s funny! ‘cause no matter how bad you were, there was always something else adding to my stress,” she laughed. “School was kicking my ass. Coach D’Souza hated me because I was a rodent.” Lisa started counting on her fingers. “I was trying to graduate valedictorian so that I could get into a good college. I was working at Family Foods ‘cause you weren’t working as much. I got my appendix removed. I broke up with Jake and you tried to hook me up with his brother just so that I’d be dating one of Melissa’s kids. I was burnt out, dad! I had to take care of me, I had to worry about my future, I had to take care of you when you were too depressed to get out of bed. And all of this while my teachers and coach were telling me that I wasn’t going to make it through college.”
Lisa wrapped her arms around herself and hugged them close. “Then one night I was just at the end of my rope…,” she accidently said. “I needed you and you were, of course, out with a group of girls. I broke… I felt like ‘why am I fighting this hard if no one cares?’” David tried to compose himself again. “’Dad doesn’t care, my coach doesn’t care, my boyfriend doesn’t care. Now the rest of the world wasn’t going to care? Why the hell should I?’ So, I said, ‘fuck it,’” her voice went breathy. “And I bought a rope… And I hung myself in that closet. Right there. Right in the living room with all your stupid shit from the lounge!” Lisa pointed passed her father and out of the kitchen at the closet in the living room. The closet was wide enough for two doors, however, they were both missing as well as the shelving and hanging rod.
David couldn’t hold it back anymore. Tears streamed down his face and his shoulders began to heave as he silently sobbed. “It was a really… really low moment for me,” Lisa continued. “I just needed an escape… And then everything in the closet breaks and comes crashing down on me and I black out. And when I woke up, I was on a gurney in the living room. There were cops all over this place, and Eric was talking with one of the cops right here in the kitchen.” Lisa pointed towards the opposite wall from where they were sitting. “One of the EMTs saw me wake up. I tried to sit up and he shoved me back down on the gurney. He yelled at me not to move. Yelled. And I knew why they were there. I mean, how could I not? I was completely embarrassed… I knew what I had tried to do and now here I was, already beaten down, with cops and EMTs looking down on me. I remember being wheeled out through the door, passing Eric. He didn’t say a word to me.”
Lisa’s face was flat, but tears continued to flow down her cheek. “At the hospital everyone treated me like shit. I got yelled at, the nurses patted me down like I was a prisoner, I had all my stuff taken from me… All I could do was cry… just cry… I was being treated like the lowest of beings because I had a hard night. I needed someone to tell me it was ok. I needed a hug. Anything! I just wanted to feel like things could get better.”
“Then you show up.” Her voice got sharp. “And what do you do? You yell at me. ‘What have you done?’ ‘After everything I’ve done for you this is what you do?’ ‘If you what to kill yourself so bad, then go ahead and do it.’ ‘No daughter of mine would be so willing to give up so easily.’ ‘If that’s what you want, and this is who you are, a coward, then you’re not my daughter.’”
“I… am so… so very sorry, Lisa.” David’s words were barely audible. “I was an idiot… I’m sorry.”
“I never forgot those words. I think about it all the time. My dad telling me I wasn’t worth it. That I wasn’t his daughter. I just needed my fucking daddy to tell me it was gonna be okay.” Lisa wiped her eyes with her forearm.
“After that they took me to the Urgent Psychiatric Center, and every kind of person was there: drunks, crackheads, people high off their asses. And I… I got to share a room with one of the crackheads. Me. The hardworking, valedictorian who was getting ready for college, being treated like a goddamn crackhead. And you remember? Two nights. Had to stay there two nights. People were tackled and tranquilized right next to me. And the only person to treat me with any kind of respect was the counselor I was forced to see. But even then, she made me feel like a damn baby. Like ‘poor little girl, that’s too bad you felt upset.”
“Lisa, please forgive me,” he pleaded.
“But after all of that, the thing I want to know most of all is why? Why weren’t you there for me?”
“I was an idiot.”
“No. I don’t want your apologetic excuse. I want to know what was going through your head. I want to know the exact reason behind what you said. I want to know what made it okay to disown me.” For the first time, Lisa turned in her chair to completely face her father. “Tell me why I stopped being your daughter that night.” David closed his eyes so that he could speak.
“I… I was worried that if…” David choked on his words. “If people knew what you did… You… you wouldn’t look like a DuPont. That ‘The Family’ would see you as a blemish or a problem.” Lisa’s eyes grew wide. Though she tried, she couldn’t seem to open her mouth to say anything. “I thought it would make us look bad to them. But it was an in-the-moment thought! I don’t really think that anymore.”
“I,” She finally squeaked out. “That is… What?” David expected his answer wouldn’t be satisfactory in her eyes, but this was more than she could bare.
“I know… It’s not a good enough reason. I was just so upset that I didn’t think…”
“What... the hell…. is so important about our name? Like…” At this point Lisa was hysterical. “Like, like, like… Are we actually related to ‘The DuPont Family?’ Like, tell me we’re actually related so that any of this can make sense!”
“It’s complicated…”
“’It’s complicated.’” Lisa covered her eyes with the bridge between her thumb and index finger and shook her head a couple of times. She then silently and slowly got up and walked out of the kitchen. David, however, did not move as she walked passed him. He could hear her steps down the hallway, and then the very distinct sound of their bathroom door close. And for a moment as she was passing by, David could swear he felt her intent to punch him. He wouldn’t have stopped her if she had.
“God, I’m an idiot,” David whispered to himself. “I have to say something to her. I have to.” He stood up quickly and waited outside the bathroom for Lisa. When the door opened, he quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close for a hug. Shocked, Lisa did not move. “Look. I was an idiot. You went through so much. I’m so sorry, baby girl. I really am.” He pulled her out of the hug to look her in the eyes. “I’m gonna make things better, I promise. Baby, I promise.” Lisa’s body felt limp in his hands.
“It’s fine,” she said softly. Her head fell to one side and her gaze was off in the distance.
“No, it’s not. Listen to me. I’m done, you hear me? I’m done. I’m done with the DuPont name, I’m done with the girls, I’m done with Melissa, I’m done, I’m done, I’m done! I’ve lost so many important things in my life, but I can’t lose you. I fucked up. You hear me? I admit it! I fucked up! This is all my fault. I just had to be there for you and I wasn’t. I was an awful father. But I can learn.” Lisa tried to push past her father, but he blocked her. “Baby, please. Please, baby listen to me, listen to me, I’ve changed. I’m different now. I promise you. I’m gonna be there for you all the time now. I’ll go to all your games, I’ll buy you whatever you need, I’ll be there when you need me. Whatever! Baby, please. Give me this chance.”
When Lisa couldn’t get passed her father in the narrow hallway, she turned around and headed for her room. It hadn’t changed at all since the last time she was there. The bed was still made up with her light purple comforter and the porcelain teddy bear-shaped lamp sitting on the nightstand still looked funny with its chipped-off nose. Not able to stop her from going into her room David hastily ran into his bedroom and ran back out with a small wrapped gift.
“Look, look, look,” he stammered. “I was gonna tell you to wait to open this on your birthday, but I want you to open it now. I’ve been thinking about you all the time. I’ve even… I’ve opened two new lounges. I named them ‘The Pink Rose’ and ‘The Daffodil.’” Lisa took the gift from her father. “Open it.” Lisa instead shifted her gaze from the box to her father.
“You know, I’ve been debating for weeks about whether or not I should speak to you. Whether it was worth it to get all of this off my chest. But I think… I think what I really needed was to grow up and stop seeing myself as a little kid. I’ve been so afraid to stand up against you, my dad, the ‘authority figure.’” Lisa chuckled. “Guess I learned something out of all this.”
“Just… open the gift,” David begged.
“Goodnight, David. I guess… I’ll see you in the morning.” Lisa then closed the door in front of David, and the light the shined from under her door went dark.
David rested his forehead against her door and didn’t stop himself from silently sobbing. “I’ll change, I promise,” he whispered to himself. “I promise, sweetie. I can’t lose you, too. Not you, too. You’re the only one left. I promise you I’ll be better. I promise this time. I promise.”
The alarm clock went off for what had to of been a half second before David shut it off. He got up and stretched and made his way to the bathroom to start his normal daily routine, wasting no time. Afterwards, he tiptoed down the hall towards the kitchen, trying to remember where all the creaky parquet tiles were so that he could avoid them. Today he was going to do everything right. He had his phone ready on the countertop with the website for “The absolute best salmon eggs benedict you have ever had” pulled up and scrolled passed the “how life-changing this meal was for me” section to get to the actual damn recipe. He had all the ingredients pulled out of the fridge and started to measure and count everything out. She deserved to wake up to her favorite meal made by her loving father.
The night before was rough on David. For the first time Lisa had called her father by his first name. She had lost respect for him. An angry child, David was used to. Words like “I hate you” was normal for a parent to hear. But disappointment was something else, especially when it was the child who was disappointed in the parent.
David’s plan to make this breakfast for his daughter was with the hope that the day could start off somewhat normal. But as he began to read through the instructions for the first time, he realized that everything only took minutes to cook and should be made minutes before serving, and Lisa was still sleeping. Should he wake her up? No. Let her sleep. Then what to do with the ingredients? David put everything back into the fridge and sat down at the kitchen table. He contemplated whether he should say anything to her, or act as if nothing had happened. How do you move on from last night?
Much like the night before, the minutes ticked by with David trying his best to figure out the best course of action to take with his daughter. His fingers tapped on the table. His eyes wandered. A quick thought of the conversation before would flash through his mind and he'd scrunch his face and shake his head as if to shake the whole feeling from his brain. He sat quietly but restlessly. Then he heard a creak. Was it from her room or was it him nervously shaking his leg? He sat still and subconsciously held his breath to hear better. Another creaking sound from her room. She was up! Then he heard her door open and the bathroom door close. Why do bathroom doors always seem to have a very distinct sound? Nonetheless, David took this time to get everything back out of the refrigerator so that he was already making her breakfast by the time she made her way to the kitchen.
The very recognizable sound of the bathroom door opened again, and the creaking of the parquet flooring made its way towards the kitchen. Lisa walked in still wearing her pink tank top and a pair of baggy dark green sweatpants. She was rubbing her puffy and overly swollen eyes. David turned to greet his daughter, but before he could say “good morning,” his heart skipped. Around her neck was a necklace. This was the gift he had given her the night before that he thought she had refused to open. The pendant on the necklace was a pink rose and a yellow daffodil incrusted with pink and white diamonds respectively.
“G-good morning, sweetheart,” David barely got out. “How do you feel?”
“Like shit,” Lisa groggily responded. “You making breakfast?”
“Y-yeah. How does salmon eggs benedict sound?”
“You can make hollandaise sauce,” she snorted.
“How hard can it be?”
“Yeah. Okay,” Lisa laughed, her eyes still barely open. She waved him off and made her way into the living room to watch whatever was on TV. David cracked his knuckles and began making her breakfast. He poached the eggs, toasted the English muffins, and miraculously made the hollandaise sauce on his first try. It wasn't hard for him at all! He was on a roll. It all only took a few minutes to make. When he was done, he brought out a plate for Lisa to enjoy on the couch. Lisa inspected her meal then took a bite.
“Good,” David asked. Unceremoniously, Lisa nodded with her mouth full. He had done it. He had perfectly made Lisa’s favorite breakfast.
David took a seat next to Lisa to enjoy his own plate. The TV was on so the two didn’t need to make small talk. Some morning talk show was on, nothing either of them were interested in or even paying attention to, but the distraction was appreciated.
Once their breakfast was finished Lisa got up to take their dishes into the kitchen. David tried to insist that he’d take them, but Lisa left with them without listening to what he was saying. He could hear the water rushing in the kitchen sink, and the clanking of dishes. When Lisa returned, she reached for the remote and turned off the TV.
“Is everything ok,” he asked.
“I… I want to ask you something.” Lisa’s head hung, and her body was slightly slumped over.
“Yeah…? Yeah! Shoot!”
“Actually, it’s sorta a couple of things.”
“What is it?”
“You know where I can find mom?” Lisa looked up enough to look at her father.
“What?”
“Do you know where she is?” David patted the seat next to him to get Lisa to sit down.
“Talk to me, what is this all about?”
“I want to find her.” She continued to stand.
“Lisa.” David sighed. “Hunny, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I don’t really care what you think.”
“Right.” Of course... “But, listen. She’s gone. She left. I get you want to find her and stuff, but Lisa… I promise you, if you go looking for her, you’re going to get hurt.”
“See. I’ve been thinking that, too. But she can’t be as bad as you.” David took a breath.
“Okay. I know you’re mad at me, but I’m being serious. You were the reason she left. If she wanted to see you again, she would have come looking for you.”
“And what if she’s saying the same thing about me,” Lisa piped up.
“What?”
“What if she’s saying, ‘if she wanted to see me, she would have found me by now?’ Wouldn’t it make more sense for me to be the one to look for her and forgive her for leaving?”
“Lisa, what is this really about?” David finally stood up to talk with Lisa face to face.
“I’m tired of being angry, with you, with mom… I just want to get passed all this and see everyone for who they really are… Like I did with you last night.” Lisa’s words jabbed at David.
“And then what, Lisa? Do you really think she would want to see you? After all these years, do you think it’s gonna be a pleasant visit?”
“Then she turns out to be as awful as you make her out to be! I mean, what do I have to lose?! If she’s awful, great! I already knew that! And if she’s not, then I get to have a mom.” Lisa’s voice started to crack.
“What can I say to convince you not to do this, Lisa?” By now, David had his hands on Lisa’s shoulders.
“Malone?”
“What?”
“She’s Sandrine Malone now, right?”
“Lisa!”
“She still lives upstate?”
“That is enough!” David’s voice rung for a moment and neither of them spoke. Lisa’s shoulders rose and fell. Her eyes shot daggers at her father.
“Fine.” She turned around and made her way back towards her room. “I can find her myself.”
“No! You will not.” David grabbed his daughter’s arm and yanked her close to him, stopping her from walking away any farther. Lisa shouted for him to get off as she tried to push him off. “No!” He grabbed her other arm and held both of them tight as he shook her. “You listen to me. Right now! You want to know what she said when she left? Huh?!” Lisa struggled some more to get free. “’I can’t even look at her! Every time I see her face I want to scream. I wish I could get rid of her and everything could go back to the way it was before she got here!’” Lisa finally broke free and fell to the floor. “She told me that either she goes, or you go! I chose you over her. I was not going to give you up! You hear me?” Lisa failed to hold back any of her tears. “So, you can be mad at me all you want, but I am serious when I say that finding her will only break your heart. She gave you up. She gave us up. Do not bring her back into your life!”
“But… she could have changed.”
“She hasn’t! There is no way she will ever see you as her daughter!”
“Oh yeah?! Well, it wouldn't be the first time one of my goddamn parents disowned me!”
“Lisa, I'm being serious here! She doesn't want you!”
“Then why did she have me in the first place?! It doesn’t make sense!”
“You know the answer to that already. We babysat Omar while Melissa went on her honeymoon. It was the absolute only thing that convinced her to have kids. But then she changed her mind!”
“Yeah, and you know what, I keep doing the math. It doesn’t add up. Omar is five years older than me! Why the hell did babysitting him take like four years to convince her to have me?!”
“Enough!” David’s posture slowly started to soften. He was not the one in trouble and right now she needed him. He knelt down behind her and held her tight. “Hunny… Some people are toxic. You have to let people like that go. She was my wife. It was the hardest decision for me to let her go, but I had to. I was not going to lose you.” Lisa turned towards her father and buried her muzzle in his chest.
“This sucks…”
“I know, Hunny. I know.” David used his fingers to lift her chin. “Hey? I see you’ve opened your gift.” Lisa held the pendant in her hand. “Do you like it?”
“It’s… It’s really nice… This must have cost you a fortune.”
“I got it custom made. You deserved something nice. Actually, I’m surprised you’re even wearing it,” David awkwardly chuckled.
“Yeah…”
“Well, I’m glad you like it. At least I got that one right!” David stood to his feet and held out his hand. “Come on. It’s almost Christmas. What do you say we actually enjoy it?” Lisa grabbed onto her father’s hand and pulled herself up.
“I… I was…”
“You were what?”
“I was also hoping to find out what was up with her name.”
“What do you mean?”
“Her maiden name. It’s Vaux isn’t it?”
“Y-yeah… Why?”
“Any time I try to use it, the system kicks it back. I have a hard time with bank accounts and with trying to order a new birth certificate.”
“’New birth certificate?’”
“I don’t have mine.”
“Oh… Well, finding Sandrine won’t fix that, Hunny. Let me see what I can do about that, okay?” David hugged his daughter, and at first, she tried to resist it but eventually fell into his embrace.
“You… You think it’s still here?”
“What is?”
“My birth certificate! Maybe it’s still here.” Lisa pulled out of his arms. “Maybe in one of the file boxes?” She turned back around and quickly made her way to her bedroom with David following close behind her. She slid open the accordion doors to her closet and dropped to her knees. Way in the back was a grey file box. She slid it close to her and pulled it out of the closet. “I’m pretty sure if it’s anywhere, it’s in here.”
“Let me see that.” David grabbed the box from her.
“I can look.”
“I’ll help. Why don’t you check that one?” He pointed to the black file box that was sitting behind the grey one.
“But I’m pretty sure it’s in that one.”
“Yeah, and if it is, I’ll find it. Look in that one. I’ll bring this to the kitchen so I can look through it.”
“Okay…?” David quickly carried the box into the kitchen and sat it on the table. He unlocked it and opened the lid. Inside were many different papers, folders, and envelopes. He reached down for a blue folder and pulled it out. Inside the folder were more documents, but in the front of them was a business envelope with Lisa’s name written on it. He opened it and pulled the contents from it. Once he confirmed that it was indeed Lisa’s birth certificate, he placed it back into the envelope.
“I’m pretty sure it’s in like, a blue or green folder,” Lisa called from her room.
“I’m looking,” David yelled back. He took the envelope into the living room with him. On the back of the couch there were a few staples that held the pleather material to the frame missing, exposing the interior of the couch. David slid the envelope into the hole of the couch and pushed it as far back as he could. Then he pushed the pleather closed as best he could and made his way back to the kitchen. Just as David stepped into the kitchen, Lisa rounded the corner, startling David.
“Anything?”
“No. I don’t see anything. What do you need your birth certificate for anyway?”
“You know, just to have it. I might need it in the future.”
“Well I’ll keep looking for it. In the meantime, if you end up needing it for any reason, just give me a call. I’ll work things out.”
“Fine... You sure it’s not in here?”
“You can look if you want, but I didn’t see it.” She began going through the box, pulling out the blue folder. She opened it and sorted through the documents but did not find what she was looking for. “Sorry, Hunny.”
“It’s fine…”
“Hey. How ‘bout we go to the skating rink later this afternoon? You can make fun of me when I slip on the ice,” he said to try and entice her.
“I haven’t gone ice skating in years,” Lisa chuckled.
“Great! Then I can make fun of you when you slip on the ice!”
“Fat chance…”
“Lisa… I love you so much. Please, never forget that. Your dad is an idiot… a lot of the time, but I really do love you. I’m proud of you… I’m proud you’re my daughter.” Lisa just stared at him with a conflicted look on her face. “I brag about you, you know? Remember when you won first prize at the science fair for your nuked bean seeds?”
“’The effects of microwaves on the growth of Phaseolus Iunatus?’ That was in the third grade.”
“And you were so proud of yourself for it. You were like a little mad scientist.”
“Not sure if that’s a compliment.” Lisa chuckled again.
“I love you sweetie.” Lisa said nothing. “You don’t have to say it back or even respect me… I know I have to earn that back. But I promise you, I will. I’m not gonna give up on you… I never really did…” Lisa wrapped her fingers around the pendant on her necklace. “I’m glad you’re wearing it,” he pointed out. He pulled Lisa once again into a hug, wrapping his arms around her and resting his hand on the back of her head. He laid his cheek on top of her head and began to whisper in her ear.
“Pray do not pick the daffodils Their life has just begun, Oh let them live as nature meant, Stood dancing ‘neath the sun
Nor pluck the roses from their stems For they will wilt and die Oh leave them ling’ring in the earth To grow wherein they lie
Each leaf, each bloom, each blade of grass Belongs to mother earth Pray do not take them from the soil Do not destroy their birth.”
Lisa finally wrapped her arms around her father and held him tight. “Promise me you won’t go find her,” David pleaded. “Please?” Lisa nodded into his shoulder. “Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you…”
((Poem written by Valerie dohren))
Monday, January 21st. Seattle, Washington. Las Vegas vs. Seattle. The score at the end of the night: Las Vegas Wildcards 100, Seattle Summit 109.
Lisa scanned the stadium in search of her friend, Jason. He was at her last Seattle game, after all. This had to mean that he would be there this time. Sure enough, Lisa found him standing by the steps towards the back of the stadium. She frantically waved her arms and made a beeline for him, skipping a step or two at a time. With her excitement she rushed him and embraced him with such force it nearly knocked him over. At that point, it didn’t matter how the game went. Win or lose, the only thing that mattered was that Jason was there.
“Gross. You’re all sweaty,” Jason finally said. Lisa scoffed and punched his arm. “You keep abusing me like that, I’ll have to sue you for all you’re worth.” The two hugged each other again with Lisa desperately clinging on to every second. When they both decided that they had gotten their fill, Lisa softly informed her friend that she would go shower and meet up with him afterwards.
The cougar stood attached to his phone, scrolling through old messages. His face was emotionless. Unlike the blank face one would have standing alone with their phone out in public, his expression had been drained from him. He opened his voicemail app and pressed play on one of the messages stored there. With the phone pressed to his ear, any passer-by would only be able to make out from the tone of the voice that it was a professional speaking, and not, say, a friend or family member on the line.
Lisa rounded a corner towards the lobby where Jason was waiting, waving and shaking hands with some of the stragglers from the game. She approached him with her hands behind her back.
“Ready?” Lisa’s smile reached from ear to ear.
“Where’re we going,” Jason asked as he tucked his phone into his back pocket.
“Actually… You don’t mind if we stop by my uncle’s again? I’m sorry to keep dragging you along and not spending time with you.”
“What are you talking about? I’m spending time with you, aren’t I?”
“Yeah but…” Jason interrupted her with only a slight smirk and a tilt of his head. “Okay, okay,” she laughed.
“He doing okay? I saw his place was closed down.”
“That’s actually why I wanted to see him. I’m kinda worried about him.”
The cat and mouse approached a small home towards the outskirts of Seattle. It was a thin light blue, two-story house with the neighbors no more than two feet away. Lisa nocked on the dark red door and called out for her uncle. When no one answered, Lisa went for the doorknob. The door opened and the two cautiously entered. The home was updated and brightly lit. From the front door you could see all the way to the back of the home to the sliding door that opened to the small “yard.” To the right of the entrance was a small living room with a gas-lit marble fireplace that reached all the way to the ceiling. The dining room was, too, a small, but well decorated designated area to the left of the glass spiral stair case. Beyond that was the kitchen with probably the only large thing in the house. It was the island with a marble countertop that matched the fireplace.
“Eric,” Lisa called out.
“Anyone home,” Jason followed up with. They made their way up the stairs to three closed doors. “Lisa, you think this is a good idea,” Jason whispered.
“Why?”
“I mean, we don’t know what we could be walking in on.” Lisa smirked and shook her head. She started knocking on doors and opening them; one to the bathroom, another to a home office. She finally opened the last door and found her uncle a mound on his bed. She moved in close and slowly shook him.
“Eric,” she whispered. “Eric, it’s me. Wake up.” Eric’s eyes slowly blinked into focus.
“The fuck you doing in my house?!” Eric swung his body from laying on his stomach to laying on his back, bringing his left fist with him straight towards Lisa’s jaw. With his right-hand Jason stepped in to counter, pushing the trajectory of Eric’s fist away from Lisa. In that motion Jason grabbed Eric’s wrist and used his left hand to put pressure on Eric’s elbow, pinning him. “The fuck yous want?!”
“Calm down! It’s Lisa,” Jason firmly spoke.
“What?!”
“It’s your niece.” Eric pathetically looked over his shoulder to confirm what Jason had said.
“Lis?” Lisa stood silent with a frozen gaze. “Jesus fucking Christ! Why didn’t you say somethin’?” Jason slowly let Eric go. “Fuckin’ A, man! You’ve got a grip on ya,” Eric grumbled, rubbing his wrist. Lisa’s eyes darted back and forth between the men. “You okay?” She finally snapped out of her trance and nodded vigorously.
“Yeah… yeah,” she whispered.
“How the fuck yous guys got in here?”
“Your door was unlocked,” Jason answered.
“Fucking…” Eric readjusted himself to sit upright on his bed. “No, it was definitely locked. The stupid bolt sometimes stays in the door.”
“Kind of a useless lock then,” Jason teased.
“Yeah, just another thing I gotta get fixed.” Eric rubbed the corners of his eyes. “Sorry about that, guys.” He stood up, stretched and hugged his niece. “Sorry I swung at ya. It’s always good to see you, sweetheart.” He pulled away and shook Jason’s hand next. “You, too, man. It’s good to see you again. And thanks for not breaking my arm.”
“Any time,” Jason laughed. “Lisa?”
“Shit…” she whispered. “Jason, you think you could teach me moves like that?”
“Yeah! Sure,” he laughed. “I’d love to wrestle you.” Jason smirked and Lisa lightly pushed him.
“Alright, you two. Why don’t we head downstairs? Kinda awkward with yous guys hoverin’ around me in my bedroom.”
The three of them made their way down the stairs to the living room. Lisa and Jason sat on the couch together, and Eric plopped down in the armchair, grunting the whole way down.
“So! How you doing,” Eric asked Lisa.
“Good, good.” Lisa fidgeted in her seat.
“What about you, big guy? How’re you and the missus?”
“Good… uh… Sharice is pregnant?”
“What?” Lisa perked up in her seat.
“Yup. She’s pregnant…”
“Jason?!” She leaned over and hugged Jason.
“Well, mazel tov,” Eric applauded.
“Congratulations!” At this point Lisa was bouncing in her seat with excitement.
“Thanks.”
“I know how much you wanted to be a dad. Oh, this is so great,” Lisa continued.
“Yeah. She hasn’t told me yet, though.” Jason was staring down at the floor with a smile and his hands clasped together.
“Alright… How do you know, then,” asked Eric.
“Her doctor. He left me a voicemail.” Jason’s smile started to drop. “Her phone broke a little while ago and we haven’t gotten her a new one yet, so she gave everyone my number. Apparently, she’s got her first ultrasound next week.”
“Ah.” Eric leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. “There’s nothing quiet as amazing as bringing a baby into the world, I tell you what.” He opened his eyes and snickered to himself. “So, when are you having a baby,” he teased Lisa.
“Don’t even joke! I’ve got plenty of time to worry about that later. Besides, I gotta find a mouse worth being with first.”
“You know you can always go to a sperm bank,” Jason said.
“Yeah… but I sorta kind of always wanted to have a baby WITH the guy I’m with, you know?” It was Important to Lisa to have a child where both parents were related to the child, rather than only one.
“Then you’re limiting yourself to only falling in love with mice, you who only seems to date felines,” Jason said with his arms crossed.
“No, that’s not true,” Lisa defended
“No?”
“Okay, Steven was a panther, sure…” she began. “And Malcom was a tiger… and Jake… was… a lion.” Her voice started to go quiet.
“And don’t forget Jake’s brother,” Jason added.
“Okay! Once and for all! I never dated Omar! It never happened! I don’t even think Melissa would have let me date him after what happened anyway.”
“So, you really think you can fall for anyone who isn’t a cat,” Jason challenged.
“Well…”
“Oh lord.”
“You’ve got a boyfriend,” Eric chimed in.
“No… it’s a girl…” Lisa giggled, confusing Eric. “I have a kitten.”
“Wow, you really do only fall for cats,” Jason said throwing his head back and clapping.
“Shut up. She found me in San Jose. She’s a cute little chimera kitten. Half her face is black.” Jason just laughed and shook his head. Right about then a chime came from Eric’s back pocket. He leaned to one side to pull it out and stared at it for a moment.
“Oh. Look who it is,” he grumbled. “Excuse me.” Eric stood up and made his way to the kitchen on the other side of the house.
Lisa adjusted in her seat to turn slightly towards her friend. She had a huge smile on her face again. “So, you excited to be a dad?”
“Yeah…” Jason spoke softly.
“You sound nervous. You worried?”
“Something like that…”
“Do you really think you won’t be a good father,” Lisa assumed.
“What…? Well, actually…”
“You know you’re going to be a great dad, right?”
“Oh? And how do you know that?”
“The same way I know I’m gonna be a great mom someday. I know what I wish I had in a mom, and you know what you wish you had in a dad.”
“Huh…”
“Plus, now you’ve got the added bonus of reuniting with your dad. I know things are still kinda tense between you two, but you can always ask him for help.” Lisa put her hand on Jason’s knee. “I’m sure he’ll be excited to hear that he’s gonna be a grandpa.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Eric’s voice could be heard from the living room. “Okay… okay… yeah.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Jason said to Lisa. Eric slowly walked towards the living room as he wrapped up his phone call.
“Yup. Bye.”
“Everything alright,” Lisa asked.
“Guess who that was.” Eric’s voice was sharp and irritated.
“Who?”
“That was your dad.”
“Oh.” Lisa’s smile vanished.
“What did he want,” Jason asked Eric. Eric began to pace a bit and rub his hair.
“Things have just really hit the fan over at the pub.”
“Devil’s Den?”
“Oh no no no! It’s not the ‘Devil’s Den’ anymore,” Eric said through angry laughter. “Now it’s the ‘Devil’s Lounge,’” he mocked. “Like that wouldn’t rub any salt in the wound…”
“Eric,” Lisa apologized.
“That black mold fiasco really made a bad situation worse. Turns out nothing was worth salvaging. The entire brewery was too contaminated, so they had to get rid of it. The pub had to be stripped down to the studs. He even bought out the upstairs apartment that started the whole thing, so now he’s got a two-story lounge!”
“You think it be too much to ask to work there?” Jason tried to make the situation better for Eric. “I mean-“
“Ha!” Eric interrupted. “Yeah! He wants me to be ‘assistant’ manager! He’s sending one of his people to be the manager. Guess it serves me right. Couldn’t manage my own business…”
“Eric… I’m so sorry,” Lisa apologized again.
“Ahh, it’s whatever. Now I’ve got so much time on my hands, I spend the day cleaning and recleaning. Isn’t that pathetic…?” Eric plopped back down in the armchair. “I’m sorry. You were talking about your wife. So! You think she’s gonna try and surprise you with the news?!” Jason laughed, taken aback by the sudden switch back to his wife.
“Oh, it’ll be a surprise alright.”
“Have you actually told your dad,” Lisa asked.
“No.”
“You should. It’s such a good thing you two got back in contact with one another.”
“Yeah,” Jason laughed again. “’cause it totally was on purpose that that happened.”
“Okay, but still.” Lisa tried to convince her friend that having his father back in his life was a good thing.
“Yeah…” Jason’s voice wavered.
“Come on! He seems so nice. Oh, and you know what? You should change your name back to Braxton.” Jason guffawed. “Oh! And speaking of which. ‘Janovski?’” Lisa shifted her attention towards her uncle.
“Yeah.” Eric had changed his name on Tweeter, adding “Janovski” to his user name.
“So, what? Is that your real name? What’s the story?”
“Janovski is the name I was born with.”
“Where did Johnson come from?”
“It’s actually an alternate version of Janovski.”
“Was Janovski too hard to say,” Jason joked.
“No… I just got into a big fight with my family. So, I stupidly had it legally changed.”
“Whoa, isn’t that hard to do?” Lisa leaned in. “Like, isn’t it expensive and a huge hassle to change it?”
“Mmmm-no,” Jason shook his head.
“No. Actually it’s a whole lot easier to legally change your name than you would think,” Eric began. “And nowadays it’s very common for people to change their name.”
“Mmm hmm,” Jason confirmed. “It wasn’t hard to change my name to Michaels. But,” he started to laugh. “I had lots of things anagrammed as a kid so that’d be a hassle.” Lisa slapped her friend’s arm. “At least your initials stayed the same.”
“That’s true. If you’re not careful you could end up with Lisa’s initials.”
“Don’t start,” Lisa shouted.
“What,” Jason eagerly asked. Eric leaned in close to Jason.
“You’ve heard of an SBD? Well Lisa’s are LBD.”
“Eric!” Lisa attempted to swat at her uncle, but he was just out of reach.
“Oh my god! I never thought of that!” Jason was rolling in his seat.
“Stop it! I hate that joke!”
“I mean, it’s not wrong,” Jason taunted.
“Oh, don’t test me, you ass.”
“Not mine,” Jason quickly countered.
“I’m gonna kick your-“
“My what?!” Jason and Eric were both enjoying Lisa’s torment.
“Shut up! Hey! You know whose initials are actually kind of funny,” Lisa shouted, desperately trying to change the subject. “Dad’s!”
“Oh, that’s right,” Eric realized. “You know what would have been perfect, though? If his first name was actually Dan.”
“Wait. What? Why?”
“’cause then his name and his initials would be the same. He’d be Dan Avellino Na… DuPont! DuPont.” Lisa looked at her friend and back to Eric.
“What the hell are you on? Where did you get DAN from?”
“No. No, I was thinking of someone else… His initials would be D.A… D! Ha! His initials are DAD! Look at that! He was destined to be one!”
“You’ve known him your whole life and you’ve never thought to make fun of him for that?! And yet you can remember LBD. Thanks a lot,” Lisa pouted.
“Yeah… Well, anyways, I’m thinking about changing my name back to Janovski. I’ve gotten back in touch with my parents and I feel like maybe it’s time to grow up, you know?”
“Yeah, I hear you…” Jason nodded in reluctant agreement. Lisa looked down towards her lap. The laughter in the air started to naturally die down a bit.
“I’ve been thinking about mom, too…” she admitted. “Like, I know she lives somewhere in upstate New York, but… I don’t know…” Her tail started to swish back and forth at the tip. “Dad said I shouldn’t find her. He made me promise.”
“You know you’re an adult, right?” Jason’s words weren’t so much an insult as they were a reminder.
“Yeah, but he sorta scared me out of it. He said that I would be heart broken if I found her.” Jason leaned back in his seat.
“Well, no, it wouldn’t be easy, but if it’s something you want to do…”
“Was she really that bad,” she softly asked Eric. “You knew her, right?”
“Sandrine? Yeah…” Eric answered.
“What do you think? Should I bother going to see her?” Eric’s chest slowly rose and fell.
“Well, like Jason said, it’s really up to you sweetheart.” He bent forward to lean on his knees with his forearms. “But I’ll be honest with you.” He made direct eye contact with Lisa. “Sometimes ignorance is bliss. If you’re content with the way things are now, then I’d say leave it be. But. If you absolutely need to find her, if it’s something you need to do, then do it.”
“What happened between her and dad?” Eric shook his head.
“That isn’t my place. I love you, Lisa, but that’s between family, between blood.” Jason slowly crossed his arms. His head faced forward, but his chin was slightly tilted towards Eric. His eyes were narrow and focused on Eric as he continued to speak. “Like I said. If things are fine the way they are, then drop it and let it go. But, if you decide to go, then steel your heart, because your dad is right, you will absolutely get hurt.” Eric's eyes connected with Jason’s. They stared each other down for about a half second before shifting their gaze.
“Lisa, If I were you, I would really, really think hard about it,” Jason added. “But you shouldn’t worry about it right now.”
“Yeah… Don’t worry about it. Instead, yous guys want something to eat? I ain’t got much but I can order some pizza or whatever.”
“Actually, I’m gonna have to go pretty soon. And I’m sure Jason’s gotta get home to his wife.” Lisa started to gather her things.
“Well, hold on. We can stay for a bit, can’t we? We don’t have to leave just yet, right?” Jason had his hand on Lisa’s wrist, gently trying to convince her to sit back down.
“Yeah…” Lisa smiled. “Yeah, I guess I can stay for a little while longer.”
“Great!” Eric held up his phone. “You like pepperoni?” The two smiled and nodded.
Wednesday, February 13th. Anchorage, Alaska. Las Vegas vs. Alaska. The score at the end of the night: Las Vegas Wildcards 122, Alaska Arctics 131.
After a tough game, Lisa shuffles into the locker room. Making her way to her designated locker she picks up her duffle bag and enters a private shower stall. In the stall there’s a tiny bench and some hooks far enough away from the showerhead to comfortably place her things without the fear of it getting wet. She begins to undress and sloppily tosses her jersey top, bottom, socks and shoes, and, of course, her compression turtleneck onto the bench. Her head is lifted high as the hot water rains over her face and down her neck. All she wants to do now is get some rest.
After cleaning, she begins to dress herself, putting on a dark read turtleneck and some light blue jeans. As Lisa continues to dress herself in the shower stall, she can hear her phone ring and vibrate from deep within her duffle bag. For a moment she considers letting it ring. “I’m too tired.” It rings and rings playing a new ringtone from a song she has been learning to sing. But for some reason she feels the urge to at least check the phone. “Might as well see who’s calling me.” The tune is starting to reach the point where the call will be missed. She pulls out her phone. “Jason?” She frantically tries to answer.
“Hello?! Hello?! Jason?” The cougar’s voice comes through the line. “Sorry about that. I was in the shower. What’s up?”
Lisa takes her wet towel, duffle bag, jersey top, bottom, socks and shoes, and, of course, her compression turtleneck with her out of the stall and to a bench to finish dressing. “Is everything okay?” The phone is pinched between her cheek and shoulder as she slips her foot into her boot. “Okay, slow down. Are you alone right now?” She stops moving. “Listen.” She leans forward. “Okay, listen. Do you want me to come over?” A pause. “Hold on. Let me see something.” She pulls the phone away from her ear and opens a browser. A few moments pass and she puts the phone back to her ear. “Okay, Jason. If I leave, like, right now, I think I can catch a flight to Seattle before the end of the night. But I gotta go, like, now.” Lisa stands up and quickly stuffs her jersey top, bottom, and, of course, her socks and shoes into her duffle bag and grabs her coat and scarf. “Okay, I’ll keep you posted.” In a hurry, Lisa walks out the door.
At the baggage claim, Lisa spots her friend. She runs over and greets him with a hug. Her nose twitches and she’s immediately repulsed. Inquisitively, though, she leans in and sniffs a second time. Her nose traces the sent from Jason’s body up to his mouth. “Is that alcohol?” She looks up at him. “Have you been drinking?” Jason illustrates the amount he had drank with a finger and thumb. “You’re drunk!” She then leans in and whispers emphatically through her teeth. “Did you drive here?!” Jason nods. She snarls at him, takes his keys, and starts to search for his red Camaro in the parking lot.
They find his car, thankfully, parked away from any other cars, but still taking up two spots. Jason is giggling and crying softly, trying to apologize for why it’s not a big deal. Lisa helps him into his own car and takes her seat at the wheel. His address is something she has stored on her phone which is helpful since Jason is trying to tell her where he lives but can’t finish his sentences. And so, Lisa pulls up his address and throws it into the GPS.
She pulls up to and through the gates of his condominium and parks his car in the garage. Lisa is quickly reminded that Jason is bigger and taller than her, but so is her father. She’s no stranger to helping a large drunk man into his home. Her arm is around his back, and his around her shoulder as she carries him along towards the lobby of his building and into the elevator. When the elevator arrives, she lets him fall against one of the corners.
“I’m sorry, Lisa,” Jason whispers.
The door opens to his floor and Lisa finds his apartment with Jason in tow.
“Okay, you need to get some sleep,” Lisa says as they enter his home. “Where’s your bedroom?” Jason points passed the living room to a hallway. They shuffle along to find his room and she plops him down on his king-sized mattress.
“I’m so sorry, Lisa,” Jason repeats.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m gonna get you a glass of water and then you’re going to sleep this off.”
“Sharice…”
“We can talk in the morning. Right now, sleep.” She takes off Jason’s shoes and gets him tucked in his bed with a glass of water. Once he finishes, she takes his glass and leaves him to sleep.
Now alone, Lisa takes a few minutes to explore. The condo is extraordinary. Two stories, floor-to-ceiling windows, modern furnishings, the works. And that view. The city lights glisten against the deep blue sky, perfectly framing Mount Rainier. This is what she loves about the city. Except for one thing; as she gets herself ready to sleep on his couch for the night, she finds that some modern couches are more for show than comfort. But if it means making sure her friend is alright, it’s worth the discomfort.
Lisa and Jason were walking in and out of stores, shops, and malls, snickering and making fun of the people celebrating Valentine’s Day with their loved ones.
“Like, why the hell would I want flowers that big,” Lisa snorted.
“To shave them down and stab your enemies. Come on, we’ve talked about this,” Jason nudged.
“And you notice how many engagement ring commercials there are?!”
“I’ve noticed those, but have you seen the wedding planning commercials? Like they’re preying after the young idiots ‘in love.’”
The two had decided that morning to get out of the house and cool off from the night before as well as find a way to help Jason feel better about the day. Jason didn’t seem ready to talk about why he had called Lisa over, so she figured she wouldn’t push the issue so early in the morning. But the sun had long set and Lisa was trying to find an opening.
“You’ve never done any of this for Sharice?” Lisa’s question fell flat, and Jason kept staring forward.
“You gotta admit, though. The discounted candy the day after is worth all of this,” Jason deflected. Lisa stopped in front of him and stood firm. It had been snowing all day muffling every sound the city made including her steps, making it hard for her to emphasize her seriousness.
“Alright. I know you didn’t call me over and also DRIVE DRUNK just to make fun of people.” Jason embarrassedly laughed. “Oh, and if you ever do that again I’ma put my foot so far up your ass you’ll think I’m the one who does brain surgery.” Jason laughed again.
“Not sure that threat sounded as good in your head,” he teased.
“Still mean it.” Jason apologized to Lisa and the two laughed it off until the air was quiet again. “So, where is she?” Jason scoffed at Lisa’s question.
“I donno. Somewhere in California, I think. She got mad when I brought it up. Said she couldn’t handle the ‘atmosphere of negativity,’” Jason mocked.
“And… It’s not yours?” Jason shook his head. “Are you sure?”
“Kinda have to be having sex in order for that to happen.”
“I’m sorry, Jason,” Lisa sighed. “What are you going to do?”
“I donno. But I feel like my answer is pretty obvious.” Jason gestured for them to keep walking. They headed in the direction of a nearby park.
“I know it’s not easy. You’ve been together for years.” Lisa kept her gaze on the ground.
“Yeah but… I donno. For some people, that’s an automatic deal-breaker.” Lisa nodded in response. “I just keep hearing everyone back in college yelling at me about how we shouldn’t get married, and how there’s someone better for me, and yadda yadda…”
“Why did you marry her?” Jason sighed at Lisa’s question, again.
“Like you said, we had been together for years… I figured relationships take work. I couldn’t just leave when things got tough. Besides I’ve been through shit before. This is nothing.”
“Yeah… But just because it’s one pile of shit instead of two doesn’t make it okay.” Jason laughed at Lisa’s remark and Lisa apologized, trying to reword her statement. “You know what I mean, though.”
“Yeah… It’s been like this for a while. She’d say she’s close to her friend the way you and I are close, like that’s some sort of justification. But I can’t really argue against it otherwise I’d be ‘assuming’ things,” he said with air quotes. “I Just want to be happy, you know?” Lisa nodded vigorously. “Be with someone I can be myself. Do stupid stuff like make fun of people ‘in love,’” Jason mocked again with air quotes and Lisa giggled. “Someone who’s actually proud of the things I do, and not just the added paycheck I bring home.”
“You need to talk to her,” Lisa insisted.
“I’ve tried. That’s why she’s at the guy’s house now.”
“Wait, what?!”
“That’s where she’s spending the weekend.”
“You’re kidding me. I thought she just left to get away.” Lisa once again stopped in from of Jason. “You need a support group.”
“What,” he questioned with a laugh.
“Friends, Jason. People you can talk to.”
“That’s kinda why you’re here,” he reminded her.
“Yeah, but I can’t come over all the time. You need someone to rely on to help you through this. It’s going to be really difficult trying to work this out, but if you do it alone it’s gonna be so much worse. Trust me.”
“I’ve always been able to rely on you, though. That’s why I called you.”
“I know… And you can rely on me… I just want to make sure you’re taken care of when I can’t be there.”
“When are you not there, though?”
“Jason,” Lisa sighed.
“You’re always there for me.” Jason paused then repeated himself, this time focusing on each word. He looked down at Lisa. He looked away. He shook his head.
“Jason?” Lisa’s voice was full of caution and concern.
“I’d hate to ask, but could you stay the night?” Lisa took a moment to think.
“I have a game tomorrow. But… If I leave super early, I think it’ll be okay.”
“I have work tomorrow, too. So, that’ll work out.”
“That couch…” Lisa mumble with a smirk.
“Yeah. It’s not exactly a comfortable couch,” he admitted.
“Couldn’t really sleep last night.”
“Well… I’m sure I can figure something out.” Jason’s eyes were locked onto Lisa’s. For a brief moment Lisa was paralyzed.
“Yeah!” She nervously started to laugh. “We’ll figure something out!” He started to move closer to her.
“You ever…” The cougar fought to get the words out. “You ever wonder ‘what if?’” Lisa’s breath got caught in her throat.
“Jason.”
“I’m serious. The only issue was that I was already with someone.” The mouse started to run her fingers through her hair and stopped to rest the side of her forehead in her palm.
“Is that question really helpful right now?” Lisa sighed. “You already know the answer to that.”
“You ever feel like just saying ‘fuck it?’”
“Jason.”
“At this point… why worry?”
“Listen, Jason. I’m here for you. I’m always going to be here for you. That’s what friends do.” Jason scoffed. “But don’t do this.”
“And why not?” His voice started to sharpen. “She’s out there doing God-know’s-what and I’m here with someone I actually really care about. What’s one night?”
“You don’t think that maybe she said the same thing about us,” she retorted.
“What are you talking about?”
“When you and I…”
“Lisa! That is completely different!”
“How?”
“We were drunk! We don’t even remember what happened! It was an accident. But she’s out there, deliberately doing this!” Jason’s voice started to catch the attention of the people walking by. “Yes! Technically we both did the same thing, but the intentions were different.”
“And now you want to give yourself a pass?” Lisa’s voice was hushed.
“Lisa, no... Maybe? Why not?!”
“I’m not gonna let you take ‘vengeance’ like that. You’re better than that. You wouldn’t do that to her, you wouldn’t do that to yourself… You wouldn’t do that to me.” Jason buried his face with both hands. “It would be so easy to just throw caution away. I know. Trust me, I know.” She started choking on her words. “But we owe it to ourselves to be strong.” He started to uncover his face and took notice of Lisa’s posture. Her fists were clenched, and her head hung low.
“You’re having a hard time right now, aren’t you,” he spoke softly. She looked up at him and responded with a breathy voice.
“I refuse to answer that.” Jason laughed and held both of her hands between his, forcing her to move closer to him. One hand then left hers to trace the side of her face.
“You care that much about me,” he whispered. Lisa took a deep breath and responded back sternly.
“I’m here for you… buddy…” she said, her eyes pleading with him. Jason chuckled to himself, then finally let her hands go.
“Then you were exactly the person I needed to call… But we still gotta find you a better place to sleep.”
“Please? I really hate your couch.” They shared a laugh and started back for his condo.
Lisa had her duffle bag over her shoulder and her ticket and ID out, ready to go through TSA. Before she did, she ran over to Jason and held him tight. “You’re gonna be okay,” She spoke into his shoulder. “If you need anything, call me, okay?” Jason nodded with his chin on top of her head.
“Thank you for coming. Really. It means a lot,” he spoke softly.
“Of course.” They pulled out of the hug and stood awkwardly in front of each other, neither really wanting to say goodbye. “So…”
“Yeah. I guess you should get going.”
“Yeah… Okay…” She stood for a second longer, then slowly turned around to head for the gate. However, before she could take a single step, Jason grabbed her arm.
“Hey…”
“What’s-“ Before she could finish Jason pulled her close and landed a soft but intense kiss on her lips. Lisa didn’t resist and the two linger for quite a while. When they finally pulled away Jason thanked her with a whisper and Lisa’s eyes darted back and forth between his.
“You… cheated,” she could barely get out. Jason chuckled.
“Guess I did.”
“I’ll have to punish you later.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it.” Lisa’s urge to hit him for his response dissolved into merely a light nudge. “You better get going.” Lisa nodded. “Kick their ass today.” Lisa nodded, again. He smiled and waited for Lisa to leave, but she stood frozen. “I’ll see you later?” Lisa nodded.
“Yeah! Yeah… I’ll… I’ll see you later.”
“You gonna be alright?”
“Yup!” The two laughed. “Okay. Bye.” She waved him off and headed for TSA.
- ---*
Lisa tossed her duffle bag on her couch once she entered through her apartment. In almost no time at all her kitten came around the corner and rubbed against her leg. “Hey, Bella.” She picked her up and rubbed her face against the kitten’s. “You been good?” Lisa set the cat down and it began to explore the scent of her duffle bag.
As Lisa made her way down the hall to her bedroom her own nose caught of whiff of something. She sniffed the air and followed the scent. “Bella,” she scolded. Right on her mattress was a pile of clothes she had washed before flying out to Alaska. All of her jersey tops. All of her jersey bottoms. All of her compression turtlenecks. Bella was still figuring out the litter box but had a tendency to opt for warm clothing from time to time. Lisa sighed and brought all the soiled clothes to the bathtub. She dumped a gallon of vinegar and a box of baking soda on top to let it soak. “You’re lucky I still have my stuff from Alaska,” she shouted back to her cat.
By the time she had finished cleaning up and leaving everything to soak it was time to head to the stadium. She grabbed her duffle bag and made her way over. When she got there, she followed her typical routine. She entered a private shower stall with her duffle bag and began to get ready. Luckily her things didn’t have much of an odor. She pulled out her jersey top, bottom, socks and shoes, and…
“Where’s my turtleneck?” She reached around the duffle bag. “Where’s my turtleneck?!” She opened every zipper, every compartment. No matter how many times she checked the same areas, the turtleneck would not magically appear. She put her street clothes back on and left the stall for her locker. There wasn’t really anything in there, but that didn’t stop her from checking underneath impossibly small things anyway.
When she couldn’t find what she was looking for, she made her way back into the stall to looked through her duffle bag once more. She spent way too much time searching. By this point she was the only one still in the locker room and the game would start in a few minutes. In a sudden hit of hope she remembered that she had an agent. She frantically pulled out her phone, nearly dropping it in the process, and called Jacob Smith.
“Hello, Mr. Smith speaking?”
“JAKE! I NEED YOUR HELP!”
“Whoa, okay. Calm down. What's got you this time?”
“My, my...” Lisa stuttered. “The game starts in a few minutes and.... I don't have my compression shirt!”
“Do you remember where you put it last time?” Jacob spoke calmly.
“No, listen! I don't have it! I don't have the one from Alaska, my cat ruined ALL the other ones, I didn't think to check to see if I had at least one, and, of course, I leave everything out on the bed for it to get ruined, and, and,” Lisa rambled on. “I have nothing!”
“Okay, what do you want me to do? A girl can't go out there without a compression shirt or sports bra!”
“Jake... My neck! I have nothing to cover my neck! Everyone's gonna see!”
“Oh that...” Jacob finally realized. “Shit... perhaps you could borrow a teammate's?”
“I...” She considered it. “No, I'm the smallest one here... And no one wears one! Can't you like work some magic and get me a new one or something?”
“But your game starts in a few minutes, no?”
“Yeah, but... Like, maybe some assistant or some rando or...”
“Hmm... I'll have my assistant buy a compression shirt for you. He's currently in Vegas right now in my stead to see the game. I'll send him a text and have him get your shirt ASAP.”
“Thank you!” Lisa sighed in relief, but the feeling was brief. “Can he get it and be back in the next five minutes?”
“Well, he said he'll try to be there. He's currently at the mall right now and getting a shirt for you. I told him that a player's reputation is at stake as well as his job. So, he'll pull through. Just don't get too angsty when he doesn't show up within the five minutes.”
“Jake, I'm starting! If I go out there now without it, it won't matter if I get it later. Everyone will see! Jake, what do I do?!”
“Ugh... I don't know! Wait, hold on.” Jacob goes quiet on the line. Lisa was pacing back and forth waiting desperately for some good news. “He says he's making his way towards you now.” As Jacob was saying this, a voice could be heard from outside the locker room.
“Shit! They're yelling at me to come out. Jake...” Lisa pleaded.
“Do you want me to stall for time until you get the shirt from my assistant?” Lisa tried to yell back through the stall that she’ll be out in a second but to no avail. Jacob could hear the shouting over the line.
“I... I can't...” she responded back to him. Her voice started to shake. “I... Thank you... I just... I'm gonna have to go out there...”
“I'm sorry Lisa... I'll handle the media if they ask you about what happened,” he said trying to comfort her.
“No... It’s…” Her voice continued to shake. “It's my fault for not calling sooner... You've been amazing... I just... I'm scared...”
“Hey, Lisa. I know you are, but I think the earlier you get this over with, the better. It's better to face your problems head on. You've been amazing in Las Vegas. I'm sure your teammates and fans will see past your neck.”
“I know,” Lisa sighed. She took a slow deep breath. “Guess I better go out there...”
“You can do it Lisa!”
“Yeah... Oh and... Don't fire the guy... You can tell him to relax.” She tried to chuckle.
“All right. I won't fire him,” he laughed. Keep me posted, though, after the game.”
“Uh huh... I... I will... Thank you... Really... Okay. I guess I'll see you on the other side.”
“Mmmhmm.” Lisa held on the line trying to buy some time, but the yelling continued to come from outside the locker room.
“Okay.... Bye…” she finally said.
“See you.”
Lisa hung up, put on her jersey, and stepped out of the stall. “Here we go…”
Keep moving. Got to keep moving. Keep busy. Got to keep busy. Clean this. That needs to be dusted. Missed a spot. Clean that again. Start over. Do it right. No mistakes. Keep moving. Keep moving. Keep moving…
The day had barely begun but Lisa was already up rearranging, cleaning, and re-rearranging. The more she did, the less she would be thinking about what happened the night before. She even hand-washed each of her jerseys and turtlenecks and hung them to dry over her bathtub. There was no way she was going to the laundry facility and showing her face out there. The garbage bags started to pile up by the door as she continued to clean and purge, but eventually she would have to make the excruciatingly long journey from her apartment to the garbage shoot out in the hallway by the elevator, but not now. There was time to worry about that later.
Keep moving. Keep cleaning. What a stupid mistake. Keep busy. How could something like this happen? Clean that again. What an idiot.
The doorbell rang and Lisa froze. True to her species she stayed as quiet as possible, pretending she wasn’t home. A knock. Maybe they’ll go away. “Lisa, it’s me.” A voice? Her father’s. She took slow steps towards the door and opened it slowly, cowering behind it.
“Dad?”
David entered her apartment, dropped his things, and hugged his daughter. “I’m so sorry, baby girl.” Lisa fell into his shoulder. “I’m here now.” He tightened his grip and kissed the top of her head. When he went to rest his cheek on her head, he took notice of the “mess.” He knew what this obsessive cleaning meant. He had made the right choice in flying out to be with his daughter.
When the two settled a bit, David took a seat on her couch in the living room, but Lisa remained standing.
“You know what you need to do,” David started. “You need to spin this in your favor.” Lisa just shook her head. “I mean it. This was an accident, but they don’t have to know that. If you spin this the right way, you can turn this into a major positive.” Lisa started pacing.
“I-I-I can’t. What am I supposed to do, pretend like this,” she pointed to her neck, “is a good thing?”
“Yes. Exactly that. I know it’s hard, baby, but that’s the way the game is played. You need to turn this into a stunt.”
“Dad, I can’t.”
“Then let your agent do it. Just get ahead of this now before it gets out of control. I can help, too. I can spin this along with you to give you a fighting chance. I’ll go on record saying how difficult things were back then and how you persevered. Hell, you can do a charity stunt to really make this look good.”
“This feels like lying… Dad… I just don’t want to deal with this.” Suddenly, the doorbell rang again.
“You expecting anybody,” David whispered. Lisa shook her head.
“Lisa, It’s me.” A voice? Her friend’s. Jason. She took slow steps towards the door and opened it slowly, cowering behind it.
“Jason?”
Jason entered her apartment, dropped his things, and hugged his friend. “I’m so sorry, Lisa.” Lisa fell into his shoulder. “I’ve gotchya.” He tightened his grip and kissed the top of her head. When he went to rest his cheek on her head, he took notice of David. Their eyes locked and Jason stood stiff. Lisa could feel this rigidity and pulled out of his hug to see what was going on.
“And who is this,” David asked.
“Oh. This is my best friend, Jason. Jason… this is my dad,” Lisa introduced.
“Really? Nice to meet you, son,” David greeted with a cheery voice.
“Right.” Jason’s voice, however, was stern. Quickly moving his attention back to Lisa, he asked if she was okay after noticing all the signs of her nervous cleaning. Lisa shook her head in response. “This is my fault, isn’t it?”
“No,” Lisa insisted. “No, no! This was totally my fault. I’m the one who left my turtleneck in Alaska and left the rest of my stuff out for my cat to get at. It was a mistake.”
“What makes you think this was your fault, son,” David asked Jason. Jason cut his eyes to David but did not respond. This caused David to flinch in a confused but defensive manner.
“He asked me to come to Seattle after my game in Alaska,” Lisa began, “but it’s not his fault! It’s nobody’s fault but mine, okay? No one needs to take blame for my mistake.”
“So, you flew all the way here from Seattle to check on Lisa,” David asked, impressed. “What exactly are you two? I mean the guy is wearing a wedding band.” Lisa tried to beg her father to stop. “Fine, fine. But we still need to figure out what to do next.”
“What are you planning to do,” Jason asked Lisa.
“I don’t know, I don’t know!”
“Calm down, baby girl. You’re not alone, okay,” David reminded her.
“Well, you’re not now that I’m here,” Jason clarified. David scoffed with an amused smirk on his face.
“Jason,” Lisa whispered to her friend. “Don’t.”
“Why don’t you and I get out of here,” Jason suggested. “You don’t need to be cooped up in here all day.”
“Actually,” David stood up. “I’ll take care of it from here.”
“Wow.” Jason sarcastically said. “Must be new for you.” David cocked his head to the side and the two locked eyes.
“No, I’m her father, or did you forget?”
“My apologies. I guess I couldn’t see passed the crap.” David shifted his jaw to crack it.
“No,” Lisa shouted. “I will not be dealing with this! I don’t know where you two are planning to spend the night, but if it’s going to be like this, you’re on your own!”
“That’s up to buddy boy over here,” David gestured to Jason.
“Right. Well, you won’t have to worry about me. I’m not exactly the shittiest person in the room,” Jason jabbed.
“Out,” Lisa demanded. “Both of you, out! Now! I don’t need this!” She grabbed her father’s wrist and shoved both him and Jason towards the door. “Maybe later you can come back, but right now, go! I can’t! I just can’t!” She screamed in frustration then slammed the door on them leaving the two alone in the hall.
Jason took a few steps away from David and stopped to lean against the wall.
“Do we have a problem,” David asked. Jason chuckled.
“You know, I’m no stranger to shitty fathers.”
“Excuse me?”
“My father was never there, too, said some things he shouldn’t have, did some things he shouldn’t have.” He looked at David from the corner of his eye. “You’ve done some pretty fucked up things to her. Hurt her in ways that made her half a person. Some fathers are just shitty like that.”
“Oh really,” David said, folding his arms.
“But I also know those shitty fathers have the ability to turn things around once they come clean,” Jason continued. David dropped his head and laughed to himself.
“Alright. I’ll play. What shitty thing have I done that I need to ‘come clean’ with?” Jason scoffed and came off the wall.
“I’ve known Lisa for a long time now. Gotten to know her pretty damn well. She’s a fierce and wonderful person once she comes out of her shell. I’ve also gotten to know her uncle, your friend, Eric? Nice guy, really funny, almost broke his arm once.” David held a smirk as Jason continued. “And in that time, you hear things, learn things, start to piece things together.”
“So, we’re a detective now.”
“Oh, it’s my job to problem solve.” He stepped closer to David. “For example, you know she wants to find her mother, right?” David knowingly nodded.
“Yes, I am aware.”
“Good! A father should know his daughter’s wants,” Jason mocked. “She’s going to find her, and she’s going to learn the truth.”
“Which is,” David egged.
“I have a question,” Jason continued without answering. “I mean, I’m sure there’s a simple explanation like adoption or something but humor me. How does a mouse end up with lions for children?”
“Am I supposed to understand your little riddle?”
“Lisa. That’s actually a really beautiful name. She’s named after someone, isn’t she? A so-called ‘friend?’ Melissa, if I’m not mistaking. Must be someone real special to give your daughter her name.” David dropped his head and started to laugh to himself again. “And Lisa dated one of her sons. But he’s a lion,” he said in a voice mimicking someone who had just came to this realization. “So, I ask you, how does a MOUSE end up with lions for children?”
“Okay,” David continued to chuckle to himself. “Let’s just cut to the chase, shall we? So that we’re on the same page, are you insinuating that, first, this woman with lions for children is actually a mouse and that, second, Lisa, my daughter, is a bastard child, born out of wedlock, between me and this woman?” David laughed. “Okay. You care about her, right?”
“More than you can know,” Jason spoke quickly through his teeth.
“No, no, no, no, no. The way you talk about her, the fact that you’re here. You could have just called her, but you flew all the way out here to help her. You love her, don’t you?” Jason didn’t answer and David’s smile grew more insidious. “But, wait! You’re wearing a wedding band. That’s odd. Must be hard to be in love with someone while you’re married to someone else. I wouldn’t know anything about that.” Jason remained quiet. “Now, you listen here. If you want to help her, then help her with this problem. She’s already dealing with the weight of the world on her shoulders. She does not need your half-baked assumptions adding to the pile. Don’t come here acting like the ‘hero.’ This is not about you. You are not here to ‘come to her rescue.’ This is about her. I suggest you focus on her.” The two could hear Lisa approaching her door from the other side. “You can hate me and think whatever you want, kid, but I am her father. It’s my job to make sure nothing,” he glared at Jason, “tries to harm her. And for the record,” he continued, “Melissa IS a lion. Like you.”
The two men held eye contact as Lisa opened her door hiding her face behind all the garbage. “Are you two still here, fighting?!” Jason was the one to break eye contact and respond back to Lisa.
“No. No, we’re not fighting. We’re… actually on the same page.” Jason looked back at David. The two could feel a sort of weird tense understanding between them.
“We just want to make sure you’re okay, sweetie,” said David. Lisa scanned the two of them and determined they were telling the truth. After stealthily taking out her trash, she allowed them to reenter her apartment. The three of them spent the day brainstorming, trying to figure out the best course of action.
“Stay public with this. Smile. Be positive. Have people been messaging you online,” David asked, and Lisa nodded. “Then respond with confidence. Own this. But you’ll need a bigger stunt to pull this all together. Something to really get their attention.”
“Talk to your agent, too,” Jason added. “You’re not alone. You’ve got a pretty good support group,” Jason smiled, and Lisa smiled back.
As the day came to an end, Lisa set up a blowup mattress and some blankets for her guests to sleep with. She informed them that one of them would have to take the couch, then wished them both goodnight. As the two men gathered their things and got ready, Jason made his way over to a shelf that had the picture David had given Lisa of him and his ex-wife.
“So, that’s her mother,” Jason said, holding the picture. David stopped what he was doing to look over at the picture. “She doesn’t look anything like her.”
“She’s definitely my child,” David chuckled. “She got all my DNA. It’s always amazing trying to guess what a child is going to look like before they’re born only to find out you were completely wrong. What about you? You have any kids, or any on the way?”
“My wife is pregnant…”
“Oh, congratulations!”
“Yeah, well, you should congratulate the father.”
“Aaaah! I see! My condolences. So, that’s why you’re here?”
“No... But it is why she came to Seattle.” David started to lay down on the couch, and Jason on the air mattress.
“So, what’s your plan with your wife,” David pushed.
“That really isn’t any of your business.”
“Lisa’s involved. It’s my business.”
“I don’t know,” Jason relented. “I guess I’ll talk to her about it.”
“Is this child the problem?”
“Well, no. It’s not exactly about the child.”
“No,” David challenged. “So, if she decides to keep it, can you work things out between you two if she’s willing to try.”
“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” Jason defended. “She cheated on me.”
“And if she terminates the pregnancy?”
“I don’t know. I guess it would be difficult, but sure, we could probably work something out.”
“Uh huh. And if it’s yours?”
“It’s not.”
“But if it is?”
“Then, I don’t know! I guess I’ll be the one in the wrong and have to apologize for assuming. Is that what you want me to say?”
“So, it is the child,” David concluded.
“No! She went behind my back.”
“In each of these scenarios she went behind your back, but you gave me three different answers depending on this child.”
“It’s not. That. Simple,” Jason pushed.
“It is. You have these rules on how you can love this child.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You have all this animosity towards a child who doesn’t even have a personality or a voice.” Jason stayed quiet for a moment.
“You’re talking about Lisa.”
“She wasn’t even born yet, and she was already damned before she could defend herself. Don’t use this child as your scapegoat. Lisa neither. She’s not your consolation prize for if things just don’t work out between you and your wife. If things end between you two, make sure it’s because of you two and no one else.” Jason finally agreed with him. “And I suggest you make your decision pretty soon. If you drag this out, you’ll end up hurting all three of you, and losing both of them.”
“Is… Is that what happened to you?”
“Think about it, son.” David rolled over facing the back of the couch and Jason took this time to roll in the opposite direction.
“Was it hard… to go through all of that and make a decision?”
“Kid, this shit ain’t easy. Just do all the right things. And don’t worry about hurting anyone. Someone, no matter what, is going to paint you the villain. You’re just going to have to deal with it. Hell, you and I just met, and you already saw me as some sort of ‘bad guy.’ You think that phases me?” Jason lightly chuckled. “But if you make yourself the villain of your own story, your own antagonist, you’re gonna have a rough life, son. Don’t worry about being the hero of other people’s stories. Be your own hero, the rest will follow suit.” Jason chuckled.
“Can’t believe I’m saying this, but you actually make sense.”
“S’what happens when you’ve been around as long as I have.”
“You never think about your ex-wife, or Melissa? You don’t have any regrets?” David laughed.
“Kid, come back to me when you’re my age and see if you can answer that question for yourself.” The two shared a laugh.
“Fair enough. Thanks…”
“Don’t thank me, kid. Just get it right. And do it soon.”
Jason rolled over to his back and stared through the darkness up at the ceiling. His fingers were laced, and his thumbs tapped against each other. After some time, he shot up and marched towards Lisa’s bedroom. He knocked and opened her door, entering and closing it again behind him. David rolled over, now with his back against the back of the couch.
“Don’t you fuck this up, kid,” David whispered.
Jason came meandering down the hall from Lisa’s bedroom into the kitchen. There he was greeted by Lisa’s father who was already up drinking a hot cup of coffee. David asked him if Lisa was still sleeping and Jason informed David that he let her sleep in. It seemed like she needed it after everything that had been happening to her. The two men made small talk. Jason spoke about his residency at the hospital in Seattle, and his plans to be a neurological surgeon. David spoke of his lounges and his plans for expansion. Eventually David brought the conversation to what happened the night before. It was what he was more interested in hearing about.
“So. Are you two together now,” David asked Jason referencing the fact the Jason rushed into Lisa’s room the previous night. Jason slowly nodded.
“I’ve got some stuff I gotta take care of first but, basically, the answer will be yes.”
“So, I should get used to your face then, huh?” The two laughed. “So, you’re going to divorce your wife, eh? And what is your reason for that?” David was testing him. He had told him the night before that if Jason was planning to divorce his wife, it would have to be because of his wife and no one else.
“She cheated on me,” Jason simply said. “That’s that.”
“And cheating’s an automatic no-no, huh?” Jason nodded. “Are you sure? There is no way you two can fixed things? It’s just one and done?” Jason nodded again. David sighed. “I was afraid of that.” Jason’s ears twitched. “I’ve learned a lot about you yesterday, Jason.” David made his way towards the coffee pot to pour himself a second cup. “Let me ask you something. Is there a chance, even if is miniscule, that child can be yours?”
“It’s not my child,” Jason insisted.
“No, no, no. Forget who I am for a second. Drop your ego, and really, seriously consider it. Because if it ends up being true, it would be wise to have a game plan.” Jason relented with a sigh and took his time to think.
“There… maaaaay be a small chance. The dates sorta line up but it’s nothing I’d place my bets on.”
“That doesn’t make it impossible. Let me ask you something else. Have you ever caught her cheating on you?” Jason’s ears turned back, and his breath got caught in his throat.
“She is cheating on me.”
“Have. You. Seen. Her,” David persisted. Jason would not answer. “So that’s a no. So! There is a small chance this baby is yours and you’ve never actually witnessed your wife cheating on you. Do you have any proof?” Jason did not answer. “So, no.” David made his way towards the fridge and leaned against it. “Like I said, I learned a lot about you yesterday. You’re spontaneous. You believe the lies that come to you so much that they become ‘truth.’ You’re easy to anger. And you like to find the easy way out. I was able to see all this just from our little chat yesterday. I am not surprised that it’s the case here.”
“No. Stop it right now. I love Lisa, and-“
“Oh, I have no doubt of that,” David interrupted. “But tell me, what reason would your wife have to cheat on you? Were you two fighting?”
“She’s… just been promiscuous like that. That’s it!” Jason sounded as though he was trying to find the answer himself.
“’Promiscuous?!’ Jason, my boy, if that’s the only reason you can come up with then I know for a fact that she’s not cheating on you,” David laugh. “No one cheats on their husband after only a few months of being married just to be ‘promiscuous.’ Besides,” David’s face went smug. “Judging by the skill you had with my daughter last night, she would have no reason to cheat on you.” Jason’s face was in shock at first, but then grew to anger as he locked eyes with David’s. David’s face, however, stayed smug. His eyes stayed on Jason’s as he spoke again. “Good morning, Lisa.” Lisa shuffled into the kitchen joining the men. She did not respond back. “So, do you have a better answer,” David continued.
“I’m done talking about this,” Jason angrily responded.
“Actually… I’d like to know the answer.” Lisa’s voice was soft. Her eyes were unfocused, but her face seemed stern. Jason just stammered in response. “I dated a guy like this. Melissa’s son. You know what he did? He was so sure that I was cheating on him that there was no way I could convince him otherwise.”
“Lisa, no. I’m not like Jake,” Jason defended.
“But you are. You don’t have any proof that she’s cheating on you but won’t believe her when she says she isn’t. And you know what Jake did after I pleaded with him, after I begged him to believe me?” Jason’s breathing started to grow heavy. He already knew the answer. “He fucked another girl. Right now the only difference between me and Sharice is that she didn’t get to watch.” Jason tried to pipe up to defend himself, but he was interrupted by David.
“Just admit it, son. The more you fight this the worse this becomes for you.”
“No! Enough! I know this all seems like I’m just pulling this out of thin air, but I’m not! She-“
“So, let’s say she IS cheating on you. Is it really the end of the world,” David asked.
“It is unforgivable,” Jason spoke through his teeth.
“Oh? So not even if she were to, say, believe in her heart that you were the one who cheated on her first,” David posed.
“I never cheated on her. I never would.”
“Yeaaah, but she thinks you are, so that means you are. And now she’s mad, flies all the way to, let’s say Las Vegas, and sleeps with her best friend. Still unforgivable?” Jason didn’t respond. “The only one we know for a fact who has cheated on someone… is you. Now… you think it would be fair if she just said, ‘one and done’ and didn’t hear what you had to say?” Everyone stayed quiet for a while. Jason was starting to realize how narrow his vision had been. He had done the very thing he accused his wife of doing. Even worse, he had no proof she even did what he was accusing her of. And Lisa. She had been caught in the crossfire because of him.
“I know you love my daughter,” David began again. “She knows it, too. But you can’t expect this to be easy. Life is fucking complicated. Divorcing my wife… was the hardest decision I had ever made, but I didn’t do it for another woman. I didn’t even do it for Lisa. You need to find out your reason. You need to KNOW your reason… or… you need to be a goddamn husband and be there for your fucking wife.” And as soon as David said that, Lisa looked into Jason’s eyes. It was spelled out for them right there. Even though Jason had promised her the previous night that they’d be together, that he’d leave his wife for her, that everything will be better from now on, she was able to see with clarity that her relationship with Jason would never happen. How could it now?
Lisa walks onto the court wearing her Las Vegas jersey and nothing covering the scar on her neck leaving it exposed for all to see. She is holding a basketball and a permanent marker. With a focused face she aimlessly walks around and bounces the ball with her right hand a couple of times. She then uncaps the marker held in her left hand with her teeth and begins writing on the ball. She caps the pen and gives it to someone to take it off the court and starts to shake the ball to dry the ink. Once dry she lowers her head, closes her eyes, and holds the ball over her head revealing the words "SELF HATE" in huge letters to the audience and cameras. Once everyone has seen the words, she opens her eyes, and takes her place at the three-point line. She holds the ball out to her right/front and looks down at the words. She quickly and firmly bounces the ball once and stops. Twice and stops. Three times and stops. Each bounce grows with emotional intensity. She looks up at the net and back at the ball. Holding the ball with both hands she starts to run from the three-point line towards the hoop. Just as she reaches halfway into the free-throw line she jumps up and yells with the ball in her left hand, switches it from between her legs (right leg out front) to her right hand, and windmills the right hand from back and over into the hoop shouting again as she dunks the ball. Once she lands, she walks around and points out into the audience in a few different directions and then flexes her arms to show strength.
| Cedric O'Toole | Tashira Rucson | Scott Masterson | Matt Lewis | Marcus Baylor | Average Score | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 8.6 | 43 |
| "Good Lord... what a display of athleticism and strength! And an emotionally powerful presentation to go with it! We have seen grace in the air, and now we have seen true power!" -- Cedric O'Toole | ||||||
| "" | ||||||
| "The flexing at the end took a point off my final score, but this dunk was still very well done!" -- Scott Masterson | ||||||
| "Yeah, I'm sold. The most emotionally-laden dunk of the evening thus far. Certainly not a puritan performance, but the needed strength and agility I'd expect from a professional were shown off, and I'm ... I'm sold. Fantastic!" -- Matt Lewis | ||||||
| "Now THAT is a dunk. If there's a definition of a dunk that you don't need some flash prop for, this would be it for this year! " -- Marcus Baylor | ||||||
Wednesday, March 6th. Las Vegas, Nevada. Huntsville vs. Las Vegas. The score at the end of the night: Huntsville Mayors120, Las Vegas Wildcards 135.
Lisa ran up to Emina, heading toward the locker rooms, after their game against Huntsville. "Hey. Ms. Emina?"
The confident squeak caught the cross fox's ears. She turned and looked down. "Yes?" Her teammates walked farther into the tunnel.
"Oh. Uh, good game." Lisa held out her hand to shake Emina's.
She looked reticent at the sudden gesture, but she relented. She held her hand out and took Lisa's. "You as well." She turned to leave.
As Emina turned to walk away, Lisa debated whether or not to stop her. It took her a moment, but before Emina could get too far Lisa called out to her. "Hey! Actually, I was kinda hoping I could talk to you about something."
That explained it. Emina paused and made a half-turn. "Oh? About what?"
Lisa said nothing and averted her eyes. All she did was pull the collar of her compression top down far enough to show Emina the scar on her neck.
Emina glanced quickly. She nodded before making sure that no one was around. "In private would be best. Maybe over dinner or at your apartment."
"I wouldn't mind going back to my place, actually. My Dad is there, but I don't think he'll butt in." She stood subconsciously waiting for Emina's approval.
Emina, not much for expressions, still looked concerned. "No, I think dinner would be best," without explaining her reasoning. She nodded to the locker rooms. "I'll get changed. Meet in the parking lot?"
"Um, sure. That works, too." Lisa turned and started to hop and jog down the hall towards her locker room in a jolt of nervous energy. "Oh," she said turning back around. "Thank you. You know, for doing this."
The fox didn't respond, not quite yet knowing what was to come of the conversation. She headed back for the locker room. She messaged her partner for a quick pick me up.
After a while, Emina stood in the nearly empty lot. She stood with her hands in her pockets. She wore a workout shirt, dark, not having expected to entertain company after the game.
Lisa came jogging in her long, double-breasted white winter coat. "Hey! So, there's a great barbeque place nearby I tend to take people. If you're vegetarian or vegan I know this great little Indian place that can work."
Emina chuckled at Lisa getting down to business. "You think I'm vegetarian?" She held up an arm and flexed a little.
"Well, it's not that unheard of," Lisa pouted. "So, barbeque it is."
Emina smiled. "Whatever you prefer, little one. I'm not picky when it comes to restaurants." She bent down and picked up her bag, shouldering it.
"It's not far." Lisa pointed off in a specific direction, and the two set forth. "So," she continued. "I can't believe how huge you are! Like, I mean, you really put some hard work in."
The cross fox huffed at the compliment, albeit with a smile. "It's what I do, outside of basketball, that is." She looked down at the mouse. "Though it seems you take your training seriously as well."
"Yeah. Well, I'm trying to. There are enough distractions going on that are really making it hard." She put her phone back into her coat pocket and kept her hand there. "I like school. That's kinda my go-to after basketball, but yeah." Lisa was struggling to keep the conversation going.
The fox put her large hand on Lisa's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm not much for small talk either." She patted and resumed walking. There weren't many people around as they headed for the restaurant. "So, you wanted to talk."
Lisa nodded. "Yeah. I did. I can't imagine people don't mention your... your scars. My Dad wants me to act like I showed the world my scar on purpose, like it was all some big stunt. That's why I performed that dunk in Winnipeg. But I never wanted anyone to see it."
Emina nodded. "Some have the luxury of hiding their scars." She looked down at the mouse. "I'm guessing your scars are from a past you would rather forget."
Lisa stayed quiet.
Emina wouldn't press. "Mine, too." For a few moments, there was only the sound of their footsteps. "But trust me, we don't forget. We're not geared for it." She adjusted her bag. "So the only other option is to live with the scars. They aren't going away. Neither do the questions."
Lisa kept her gaze at the ground. "But...I've tried that. I tried wearing it like a shield. If I own up to it, it can't hurt me. That's how it was supposed to be." She looked up. "But all I ended up doing was handing everyone my kryptonite. How are you supposed to stand in front of everyone like that? How do you stand up to it all?"
Emina raised an eyebrow. It was becoming clearer to her what was happening. "Ah, I see." She stopped. Holding out her arm, she gestured to her scars with her opposite hand. "You see these as swords or shields, yes?"
"That's what everyone says they should be."
"Everyone will always have opinions on the scars they see in other people." Emina turned her arm; in the sodium lights of the street, they had little shadows, showed their ridges and texture. "But scars are a part of us. Inherently, they're neither good nor evil." She looked at Lisa. "They're memories."
Lisa's eyes started to well up. "But I don't want those memories. I don't want the reminders. Besides, no one knows what those memories are. They just have their assumptions and judgments to go off of." She fought to hold back any other tears.
"Then how could they possibly use those memories to hurt you?" Emina sighed. Using her index finger, she traced along one of the scars on her forearm. "Her name was Alja. We had the same handler, when Bosnia was Bosnia. Three bodies. That was our quota." She paused, taking a long breath. "I met mine that month. She did not. I got this one for not keeping her in line. He used a pocketknife. He did it until the lesson took." She closed her eyes and did not speak for a while. After another sharp breath, she looked back at Lisa. "So, you may use this against me, or pity me, or judge me, or make assumptions. It does not change that this memory is mine."
Lisa stood dumbfounded. "I... Holy shit. You're absolutely right. I would have apologized and felt bad and compared myself to you and... That's never not going to be a thing, is it?"
The fox shook her head. She lowered her arm. "You have to carry that weight. It won't feel fair, but it's what you do." She took a few more deep breaths to calm herself. "For me, I want to be physically strong. At times, it's all I can do to keep the memories at bay."
"Does it ever bother you? The questions?"
"Sometimes." Emina shrugged. "But they'll happen."
They approached a restaurant called 'The Alligator.' Before entering, Lisa stopped in front of Emina. "Sometimes I feel like I'm being such a child about these things. Like the answer should be obvious, but... Ah! I know my story doesn't compare to yours, and I know I shouldn't compare and--you see where I'm going with this?" She sighed. "I feel like such a mess. Like I'm too scared to let it go or something."
Emina nodded. "But you're young. What should you expect?" She smiled. "I was a teenager by the time you were born. You'll figure it out. But whoever you do this for, you have to do it for you."
"Yeah." Lisa opened the door to the restaurant. "I know."
"But really, you're young. I've had more than a decade longer to find a balance."
"My Dad is the one trying to get me to 'seize the moment' to sorta get ahead of all this," Lisa chuckled softly.
"In all fairness, this will never, should never be his moment." They stepped into the restaurant. The server greeted them, letting them know it would be a few minutes. Emina looked back down to Lisa. "It took me until only recently to find that kind of strength. My parents never pushed me, not before I was ready."
"Do you wish they did?" Lisa shook her head. She started to fiddle with the silk scarf around her neck. "I'm thankful my Dad is here, but I'm worried I'm gonna make a mistake. I just don't know if the mistake would be from listening to him or not listening to him."
"Well, does listening to him involve obeying him?" Soon, they were led to a table. Emina asked for water as they sat. "My parents had suggestions, but ultimately, I needed to do what I needed to do. That involved living with them for many years after I graduated. That also involved leaving and putting myself in the draft in my early thirties."
Lisa asked for a glass of water as well. "Well, I don't have to 'obey' him. I think he means well. He sorta gets how the limelight works. Sorta. I think it would at least be good to consider his help." She started to rub her face with both hands. "I wish I could just take it all back. Just say, 'Hey! Don't do this or it'll be much worse for you later!'" She forced a chuckle. She stopped, realizing she never explained what the scar was from.
Emina simply nodded. "We all have that thought. But you have nowhere to go but forward."
When the waiter came back with their waters, Lisa asked for a cup of coleslaw and told Emina to get whatever she wanted.
Emina ordered some chicken, plain. She folded her arms on the table to better fit in the small seats. "Focusing on making something of what you aren't proud of is more useful than wishing for a time machine."
Lisa laughed. "I guess I can't argue with that." She leaned in. "So, tell me. How do you manage? What's your strategy to cope with the staring and the questions? How do you cope with the assumptions?"
"Working out, playing basketball, and not answering any questions I don't feel capable of answering in the moment," she said plainly.
"Yeah, but, I mean..." She stopped. "Okay." She rested her elbows on the table and ran her fingers through her short hair.
Emina tried to smile. "I don't think you're asking the question you need to ask."
"The question I want to ask, I can't ask. You can't tell me what I should..." Lisa started to shake her leg. "It's like I want to just explode. Like one moment, I feel like I've got this, and the next, I just want to scream and say, 'Fuck everything.' Like, why the hell did I choose the FBA if I didn't want the attention?" She finally looked up at Emina. "What was it like? In the beginning? What was it like before you learned how to manage?"
Emina held out her right arm. There was another scar along her wrist that she didn't have to explain to others. "Difficult. It still is. But once I discovered bodybuilding and basketball, I coped with those. They were how I survived until I got a better handle on myself."
Lisa kept her eyes locked on her wrist. "Were you alone?"
"Yes and no. I never left home much as a teenager, so my parents were downstairs. My mom is a worrier, so she checked on me."
"What did she say?"
Emina smiled. "She just hugged me. Yelled to my dad to call an ambulance."
Lisa swallowed her breath and held it under her rib cage. Her jaw started to tremble, and her neck stiffened. "I'm glad you got to walk away from it and come out on top." She took a breath to try and compose herself. "I can't imagine what that would have been like for you if your mom hadn't of hugged you. Sometimes it's the little gestures that help us move forward, huh?"
Emina saw something. Their food came, but neither of them touched it. They sipped their waters as they struggled to find more to say. She didn't want to say anything. She held her finger up. "Would you excuse me for a moment?" She moved to stand, seemingly heading for the bathroom.
"Yeah. Sure." She let out a sigh.
The cross fox was gone for several moments. In truth, she was mentally preparing herself; this wasn't normally a thing she did. She didn't need to ask what had happened in Lisa's aftermath. She knew somehow.
After a few minutes, Emina returned. She approached Lisa from behind. Her massive arms gently wrapped around the mouse's shoulders. She squeezed. "I'm sorry no one did this when it mattered."
At first, Lisa jumped at the surprise hug from behind, but she settled into the idea of it once she realized what was happening. Her brow furrowed. Her eyes began to dart around at nothing in particular. She became acutely aware of her breathing. Something in her head told her she needed to cry, but she couldn't. Instead she felt rage bubbling inside of her. Not at Emina. Emina was the only one to see what Lisa needed. Her body started to shake and her breathing quickened. She tried to thank Emina, but by the time Lisa opened her mouth, all the sound in her was gone.
Emina just held her position for a while. She didn't dare move, for fear of recognizing those around them that were likely casting glances. But someone needed this. She remembered how much she had needed it.
Lisa brought her hands up and placed them on her forearms, hugging her back. It was all she could muster at the moment. Tears finally started to flow. "Emina," she squeaked out.
Emina patted the mouse. She was never much for affection, much less physical, but this felt important. She let Lisa get in a good cry; it brought her back to those feelings back then, not of desperation, but calm.
"Damnit," Lisa laughed. "God damnit." She just continued to laugh.
Emina just kept on hugging. She glanced over to see the waiter approaching. She shook her head, and they were left alone. She wanted to say something profound, yet this was enough. She drew back just a little to get a read on Lisa. "You okay?"
Lisa nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay."
The fox gave a final reassuring squeeze. She unwrapped herself from the embrace and sat back down.
Lisa looked off towards the wall and wiped her nose. "It should have been him," she muttered. "I should have gotten this from him. But," she lifter her head to face Emina. "I'm glad it came from you. I don't know anyone who would get it quite as intimately."
Emina chuckled at the choice in words. "I don't know much about intimacy, but I just remembered what my mom did, somewhat."
"Damnit," she laughed. "I came into this ready to take notes and stuff. Wasn't expecting this."
Emina shrugged. "It's a personal journey. You aren't going to workout until four in the morning because you don't have the same baggage."
Lisa rubbed her face. "Maybe I should," she joked. "Get huge? Actually, I have been enjoying the gym lately."
"I wouldn't recommend it if you like anything else." She smiled. "It's a lifestyle. And if you like eating what you want, also not recommended."
"I had to give up coffee. Does that count?" Lisa laughed. "Actually, I haven't completely quit. Don't tell my trainer, but I still get my frappes from Steerbucks."
"I can't remember the last time I had something like that."
"That's probably a good thing." Lisa sat stirring the ice in her water for a few moments. "Why does it feel like it's not enough? Why do I still feel..."
"Empty?" Emina shook her head. "Because you haven't done what you need to do." She pointed to her wrist scar. "You're still whenever gave you," to Lisa's neck, "that."
Lisa nodded. "Yeah." She took a deep breath. "I need to get out of the past." She thought for a second. "And look towards the future. I think I know what I gotta do. Might upset my Dad. Or make him happy. We'll see."
"Doesn't really matter what it does to him." Emina was plain-faced. No words of wisdom beyond that.
"Yeah." Lisa started to perk up. "Yeah! You're right. You're so right! Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Okay." She continued like this for a bit before realizing she wasn’t really saying anything. She was formulating. Plotting. She figured there had to be one good way to get both her and the public past what had happened to her.
Emina looked at the table. She didn't quite feel hungry. It seemed they were not necessarily there for dinner. "Just do what you have to. Survive."
Lisa looked down at her coleslaw. "Maybe coleslaw isn't the answer for survival? Actually, to be honest, I'm not sure why I ordered this. Isn't that funny? I'll take care of the bill. It's the absolute least I can do."
That made the fox laugh. "We're both millionaires, but I appreciate the gesture. Maybe we make the waiter's night and get out of here."
Lisa rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah. God, that's just so odd to say. Maybe we can leave them a crazy tip or something."
"That's the plan." Emina reached into her bag and pulled out a wallet. She slipped a hundred underneath her plate. She got up without much ceremony and looked for Lisa to do the same.
Lisa slid out of her seat and followed behind the giant fox. Once outside Lisa lifted her head to the sky. "I think I'm gonna." She stopped and started again with more confidence. "I'm gonna hold a press conference. I think that's exactly what I need."
Emina looked up along with the mouse. It was a clear night. She huffed a sigh of approval. "Then do it for you."
Lisa nodded. "Hey. Thank you." She wrapped her arms around Emina as best as she could and squeezed tight. "I'm glad we did this."
Emina returned the gesture with a one-arm hug. "Glad I could help."
"Okay," Lisa said pulling out of the hug. “I think I'm gonna head home and work some things out. Besides, I don't want to keep you out all night."
The cross fox smiled, choosing not to reference a late night workout to come. "That's okay. I hope your conference goes well."
"Yeah. And, seriously, if there is ever anything I can do to help you, please let me know. Really. I owe you."
"Just work on you. That's all anyone can ask."
March 24th was a particularly sunny day in Vegas. It sat at a comfortable 72 degrees for most of the day, but that didn’t seem to help the yellow-necked mouse perk up from her sour mood. Lisa unlocked the door to her apartment and shuffled in. She tossed the sweatshirt she had draped over her arm onto the couch. There wasn’t much use for it that day. She pulled off her sweaty T-shirt and it too went flying onto the couch. Her sneakers scuffed one another as she used her foot to free herself from them. Finally, her sweatpants joined the rest of her clothing on the couch. Fanning the sweat from under her arms she made her way towards the sink in the kitchen to try and cool herself off. A few cold splashes to the face topped off with a tall glass of ice water did the trick. She certainly overdid it at the gym.
With water dripping from the fur on her chin, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She was wearing nothing but a sports bra and underwear and her hair was matted to her scalp. She chuckled at the sight of herself. “Why not take a shower?” “Don’t feel like it.” She plopped herself onto the couch and stared at the blank TV screen. “I wonder what’s on.” “I really don’t care.” She sprawled herself across the couch and stared up at the ceiling. The outside light from the sliding doors to the balcony flickered and danced about the walls and ceiling as the cars down below came and went. She could faintly hear them, too. In fact, it was the only sound that could be heard in her apartment at that moment.
Her father had been staying with her since he flew out to Vegas in February, but during the day he liked to go out and about to explore the area. Since Lisa couldn’t hear him rustling around from anywhere in the apartment, she knew she was alone and therefore free to let herself look as ragged as she did.
“Why did you do that stupid press conference?” “Dammit, you’re such an idiot.” “How is any of this supposed to fix things?” Lisa turned over on the couch. She turned back over. She got up and took her clothes over to the hamper in one of the bathrooms. She sat back down on the couch and dropped her head back to stare up at the ceiling.
“I should eat something.” “Why bother?”
Lisa then shouted as loud as she could.
“I need some air,” she said out loud to herself. She shot up out of her seat and made her way over to the sliding doors. As soon as she slid the doors open, fresh air came rushing in. Spring had truly begun. She took slow steps out onto the balcony and leaned against the railing. She took a deep breath and sighed a long sigh.
“What am I doing here,” Lisa asked herself softly. “Why can’t I just get over this and move on?” With both hands on the railing, Lisa bent over so that her head, arms, and back were level with it. She stayed in this pose for a few moments, using this time to stretch her arms and back, all while taking notice of the scenery below. She could see the people coming and going, the cars speeding by, and yet all of it was quiet. And despite all the people she saw, it still felt as though she was the only one on the planet.
She slowly stood up straight, keeping her hands on the railing. She then lifted her right leg onto the railing
and bent her left leg to stretch.
She carefully bounced to help stretch a bit further, then switched to the other leg. Once she was done with her left leg, she lifted her right leg again,
this time placing the sole of her foot onto the railing. She held there for a moment.
She held for a little bit longer.
She shifter her weight forward.
And with a quick push from her left foot her weight was completely on the railing.
She lingered there for a second, like the way one would linger as they try to push themselves into a handstand but don’t quite make it.
Her left foot fell back to the ground and she began to slowly slide her right foot off the railing. Before it completely left though she was yanked to the ground. She gasped as she landed on top of her father who was holding her wrist.
“Dad?! Dad!” Lisa shouted in shock. “Dad, no! I was just stretching! I wasn’t! I promise!” Her voice quivered with fear. Her father said nothing to her. He just pulled her close and hugged her as tight as he could. This shut Lisa up. He was hugging her? He was hugging her. He was actually hugging her. Wasn’t he mad at her? Wasn’t he going to yell? Was he going to disown her again?
“It’s gonna be okay, baby girl. I’ve gotchya.” Lisa couldn’t control the tears forming in her eyes as she nestled her nose into his shoulder. “I’ve gotchya, baby girl. It’s okay.”
David held her long enough for her to grab her composure and sit up on her own. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay.” David wiped the tears from her eye with his thumb. “You’ve been isolating again.” Lisa nodded. “You know that’s why I came out here, right?” Lisa nodded again. “Talk to me.” Lisa didn’t move. “Baby, please?”
“I don’t even know what to say… I’m frustrated? I’m mad? I’m lonely? I donno.” She avoided eye contact with her father.
“Sounds like you’re overwhelmed.” Lisa just slowly nodded in response. “I think… I think talking to a counselor would be a great thing for you.”
“I don’t want to!” Lisa spoke up. “I hate them! They never make me feel better, and it’s so impersonal. Like, I know it’s a job to them and that they see a lot of people, but it always hurts when they act like they know exactly what’s wrong but can’t remember basic details about me.”
“You mean like your last counselor? I remember her. Honestly, I didn’t like her, either.” This shocked Lisa. “I think you should see someone else, someone you can relate to. I met a guy recently. Got to talk to him a lot lately. Actually, it’s how I’ve been spending most of my time. His name is Damario Panagakos. He’s a young psychiatrist. I think you’d like him.” Lisa gave an indignant shrug “Seriously. Will you at least talk to him?” Lisa shrugged again. “Okay. I see your game,” David smirked. “You knooooow, we haven’t played a game of one-on-one since before you started high school.” Out of nowhere, Lisa burst out in laughter.
“What?! You wanna play a game against me?”
“Yup!” David stood to his feet and held out his hand to help Lisa up as well. “Right now. Go get dress and let’s head over to the arena.” When Lisa came to her feet she doubled over with laughter. “I’m serious.”
“Okay. Okay. So, what’s you’re wager?”
“Hmmm. If you win, you have to talk to Damario.”
“Wait! How on earth does that make sense? You can’t make that the prize for if I win. What do you get if YOU win?!”
“That Porsche you haven’t been driving,” David said with his signature smug look.
“Uh uh. No, no-no-no. You ain’t getting my baby.”
“Afraid you’ll lose,” David taunted.
“As freaking if!”
“Then let’s go.” And without a second thought, Lisa put on her sneakers and some clean gym clothes, and the two were ready to head for the arena.
“Lisa,” David said before they left her apartment. He turned around and hugged his daughter once more. He held her for a while before whispering into her ear.
“Pray do not pick the daffodils Their life has just begun, Oh let them live as nature meant, Stood dancing ‘neath the sun.” Lisa wrapped her arms around her father and squeezed him as tight as she could. David continued.
“Nor pluck the roses from their stems For they will wilt and die Oh leave them ling’ring in the earth To grow wherein they lie.” Lisa took a deep breath and the two recited the rest of the poem in unison.
“Each leaf, each bloom, each blade of grass Belongs to mother earth Pray do not take them from the soil Do not destroy their birth.”
“Dad...”
“I love you so much, Lisa. I love you, I love you, I love you, I. Love. You.”
“I…” Lisa shifted her weight so that the crown of her head pressed against her father’s chest. “I…” Those next two words stayed stuck in her throat, fighting to finally come out and end the father-daughter feud that has been going on for so long now. “I…”
“It’s okay, Lisa.” David used the knuckle of his pointer finger to lift his daughters chin. “Do you see this?” He ran another finger across the scar on her neck. “This... is NOT a symbol of weakness. This is a battle scar. It was a fight, and you won, ‘cause here you are, still standing. You are my daughter, and you are far stronger than I am. I am so, so proud of you.” Lisa hugged her father again and spoke over his shoulder.
“Daddy…” That was it. That was all she needed to say. She couldn’t say those three words, but that one word was enough. It wasn’t “David” or “Dad” or any harsh word. “Daddy” said everything she needed to say in that moment. David put his hand on the back of Lisa’s head and lifted his own with the hopes that his tears would not surface. He then pulled away and placed both hands on his daughter’s cheeks.
“Look at me,” he began. “I’m gonna kick your ass now and get your Porsche, okay?” His words were said with the same passionate tone that it took Lisa a moment to realize what he had said.
“Not a chance. I’m going to embarrass you,” Lisa said back with the same soft tone. They held for a moment before inevitably laughing at themselves. David let Lisa go and opened the door.
“Shall we?” Lisa laughed again and the two left for the arena.
((Poem written by Valerie Dohren))
Tuesday, April 2nd. Seattle, Washington. Las Vegas vs. Seattle. The score at the end of the night: Las Vegas Wildcards 103, Seattle Summit 106.
Another loss in Seattle. At this point Lisa was used to it. Once the game was over Lisa scanned the stadium out of habit. After the last time she saw Jason, she was hoping that he wouldn’t be there. He was going to focus on his wife, after all. Coming here as if nothing changed would make things difficult.
She searched and searched but finally concluded that he was not there. She was relieved but at the same time a bit disappointed. Why? She made her way over to her father who was still staying with Lisa since her neck incident. He hugged and told her how proud he was of her before she ran off towards the locker room to get ready to meet up with Eric at the lounge.
There was a line around the corner of the new Devil’s Lounge of eager people wanting to get in. The Lounge had just had its grand opening the day before after its previous version as a pub had closed at the beginning of the year. No longer the Devil’s Den, the Devil’s Lounge was officially a laid-back place to chill and drink. Eric met Lisa and David at the door and ushered them both in, but not before the two men gave each other a welcoming hug.
“Dave! What do ya think,” Eric asked, gesturing to the sign above the door.
“I like the evil olives,” David laughed, pointing out the martini glass that had olives with devil horns.
Once inside, Eric asked if either wanted a drink. Lisa, as usual, said no, and David had a glass of a local stout. The place was dimly lit with red lighting everywhere. The walls were decorated with velvet drapes. There was a second floor with more seating and a balcony overlooking the bar. Once the three of them were situated, Eric miraculously got himself up on top of the bar and held a microphone to his mouth.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” Eric shouted. “I’m so glad you are all here! Now, I know our grand opening was yesterday and all the great fun was supposed to be had then, but we’re devils! When do we ever follow the rules?!” The crowd cheered. “Tonight, I’ve got a real treat for you. My dearest friend from freaking childhood is here with us tonight. He also happens to be the owner of the joint! He’s here visiting with his daughter, who just so happens to play in the FBA, FYI,” he said from the side of his mouth. “But he’s a great man, a devoted entrepreneur and father, a great pain in my ass, and yes ladies, he’s single! I’d like you all to welcome my friend and yours, DAVID DUPONT!” The crowd applauded as David somewhat bashfully made his way on top of the bar beside Eric.
“You have any idea how unsanitary this is,” David teased. “But anyway, thank you. I’m so glad to see this place up and running, and with a vibe I’m totally digging. Now, I’m not one for speeches, and I know you all came here to drink, so I’ll make this quick. Since I’m in town I’d like to treat you all. I don’t mean to brag, but I’m damn good at mixing drinks. So, if everyone would please line up at the bar, I will make everyone here a personalized drink based off my interactions with you. And, of course, It’s on the house!” The crowd roared as David made his way off the bar and gestured for someone to wipe it down.
As the crowd lined up for their free drinks, Eric jogged over to Lisa who was sitting alone in a booth.
“Hey, hunny,” Eric called. Lisa waved back. “So, no Jason, huh?” Lisa kept her gaze forward. This prompted Eric to join Lisa in the booth. “What happened?”
“A whole lot of nothing,” Lisa finally spoke.
“Yeah? Well, I like him. I see him every so often. I know he cares about you.”
“Eric. Please, stop.”
“Uh-oh. That’s the problem, isn’t it?”
“Shouldn’t you be helping my dad,” Lisa redirected. David, however, was holding his own against the crowd, quickly turning out unique drinks and entertaining the guests at the same time.
“I think your dad’s got it,” Eric chuckled. “Okay. I won’t talk about it. Can I get you anything?” Lisa shook her head. “You wanna just sit here for a bit?” She nodded. With that, Eric gave her a hug and made his way behind the bar with David.
“Look at you go, man.” Eric was impressed with David’s skills and determined that he was the owner of so many lounges for a reason. It wasn’t long before everyone had a drink. “Once again, ladies and gentlemen, give it up for David DuPont!” The crowd roared again. “You know, I still have a hard time with that,” Eric spoke softly to David.
“With what,” David asked back as he cleaned some glasses.
“’DuPont.’”
“Really,” David sarcastically laughed. “Even though I’ve been a DuPont longer than anything?”
“Yeah, but it’s still weird to me,” Eric joked.
“Oh, you’re one to talk, ‘Johnson.’”
“Nope! I actually changed my name back to Janovski,” Eric said proudly.
“Oh? Patched things up with your parents, did you?” Eric nodded and laughed in response.
“What about you? You ever planning to change your name back,” Eric asked with his hands on his hips, mocking David.
“Well, unlike you, I didn’t change my name because I was mad and had a temper tantrum,” David jabbed back.
“Oh, but didn’t you?”
“I most certainly didn’t!” The two laughed at each other.
“What about her,” Eric gestured at Lisa, still sitting alone in the booth with the occasional fan asking for an autograph. “I keep almost slipping, plus she really wants to find Sandrine.”
“Yeah, but she always wants to find her. She goes through cycles. One moment it’s all she talks about, the next she’s on to something else. She’ll forget and move on.” Eric reached up to David’s shoulders and forced him to stand face to face with him.
“That can’t be good enough, Dave. She’s an adult now. An adult who knows how to travel, at that. And now-a-days people are so easy to find. One SnoutBook search and that could be it.”
“Listen,” David sighed. “I just started patching things up with her. One thing at a time.”
“Well, you better make it quick. ‘cause if she finds her before you tell her, I don’t know if I can save you from that.”
“I’ll be fine.” David quickly shifted his shoulder, forcing Eric’s hands off him. “Just let me handle it, okay? You just worry about not ‘slipping.’” Eric gave David a slow look of confirmation that also said, ‘don’t say I didn’t warn you.’ “It’s fine,” David continued. “Honestly, it’s not even that big a deal.”
“No? Then why haven’t you told her?” David stayed quiet.
Monday, April 22nd. Seattle, Washington. Las Vegas vs. Seattle. The score at the end of the night: Las Vegas Wildcards 133, Seattle Summit 127.
A win! An away game with Seattle came up a win! Lisa ran and hugged her team and coach. She’d been keeping track of every Seattle away game and felt proud to finally win a game on their turf. But none of that excitement compared to seeing that her uncle had finally attended one of her games. She shouted his name with the same intensity she had throughout the game.
“Congrats, baby girl,” Eric cheered with his arms wide open, waiting to embrace Lisa. She nearly leapt into his arms and held him tight.
“I’m glad you came,” She said into his shoulder, barely able to keep her balance due to his short stature. “And we won!”
“That’s right! A little bitter-sweet, but I’ll gladly take a loss for you,” Eric chuckled. Lisa stood up straight, a huge grin still on her face.
“So, what do you have-” Lisa’s smile dropped. Behind Eric was Jason, still sitting in his seat, head lowered.
“I have some things I gotta take care of tonight,” Eric continued without missing a beat. “But, um.” Her uncle sighed. “Listen, Jason asked me to come with him. Said he figured you wouldn’t come over here if it was only him.”
“This was the only reason you came to my game,” she asked, annoyedly.
“C’mon. He just wanted to talk to you.” Jason slowly stood to his feet, then just as slowly raised his head to look Lisa in the eyes.
“Listen. I just. I wanted to make sure things were okay between us.” Jason’s voice was hushed.
“There is no ‘us,’” Lisa snapped back.
“You’re still my friend. And as your friend, I’m supposed to be there for you. Even when I fuck up.” Jason made his way closer to Lisa and took her hands. “I am very sorry about everything. This all sucks, and I hate what it’s done to you.”
“I’ll live.” Lisa stood stiff.
“I, uh, sorta got the gist of what happened,” Eric chimed in. “Look, none of us are perfect, but this guy.” He grabbed Jason’s arm and lightly shook it. “This guy right here is a good guy. I know how tough things are on ya, Lis. I don’t want you to lose something that’s actually worth wild,” he incorrectly said. “I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought this guy was a scumbag.”
“No one’s saying that.” Lisa sucked her teeth. “Listen, I gotta go shower off.”
“I wasn’t going to stay long,” Jason spoke up quickly. “I wanted to say it to your face. I wanted to tell you I’m still here for you no matter what.” Jason slowly started to break down. “I know you’re heart is broken, and-“
“Broken!” Lisa laughed. “Dude, I’m SO over you! I just don’t like being made a fool is all.” This caused Jason to take a literal step back. “Besides, I’ve got someone else I’ve got my eye on, so don’t you try and flatter yourself. You wanna make things better, then BE better.” Jason had nothing to say in return. His mouth just hung open as he gazed over at Eric who only shrugged back. “Got it?!” Jason nodded. “Good. I gotta get outa here. Don’t need people listening in on this.”
“There,“ Jason spoke up again. “There was something else. We kinda touched on it before. I was hoping to see you this summer. For training, I mean! I, uh, thought it, you know, would be helpful if you, like, you know.” Eric nudged Jason to get on with it. “Boxing! I thought. You know how I always said I would teach you? I figured this would be great since it can help with your footwork and timing and all that stuff for basketball.” Lisa just looked him up and down. “Will you consider it?” Lisa thought for a moment.
Without saying anything more to Jason, she turned to her uncle and hugged him. “I gotta get going,” she whispered into his ear.
“Come on. Give him a chance,” Eric whispered back. Lisa looked up over Eric’s shoulder at Jason, who was still hoping for an answer. “And you should talk to your dad,” Eric continued. “He may be the one guy who’d understand.” Lisa slowly nodded then pulled out of the hug. She stood tall and with purpose.
“I’ll. I’ll consider it,” Lisa finally answered Jason. That was that. She didn’t need to say anything more. She turned around and started for the locker room. She jogged as quickly as she could, careful not to jog too fast, but not too slow either. It had to look perfect. She was in control. This wouldn’t faze her. It had to look absolutely perfect. She finally made it to the door. Her breathing was heavy yet raspy, and her vision was blurred. She’d consider it.
Lisa made her way into a gym that seemed closed. The lights were off, save from a few from the front desk and some in an open storage room. The lights bounced off the mirrors on the walls of the gym giving her a bit of vision. As she traveled deeper inside, she called out for her friend. Not long after Jason emerged from the storage closet, wrapping his hands.
“Lisa! Hey, you made it!” Jason greeted Lisa with a hug and Lisa gave a slow pat in return. “Here. Let me get some lights on.”
“Where is everybody,” Lisa asked wandering about the room, taking everything in.
“I, uh.” Jason grunted as he reached over the front counter towards the light switches. “I get this place to myself every so often. A friend of mine owns the place.” Soon the lights in the back corner were on, illuminating the boxing ring and the area to the side of it. “So, we’ve got the place to ourselves.” Lisa nodded back in response. “Well, here she is,” Jason said as he made his way next to Lisa, gesturing to the ring.
“We just gonna jump in?”
“If you want,” Jason laughed. “Figured we do some drills and then see where we are from there.”
Lisa nodded back to Jason and dropped her duffel bag on the floor against the wall of mirrors. She took her t-shirt off and tied what little hair she had back. Jason did the same, taking off his shirt and tying his hair back. He then tossed Lisa some hand wraps and showed her how to put them on. After that, they waisted no time and got to training. Jason held up two hand pads and taught her how to protect herself. He showed her how to move, how to place her feet. He should her how to dodge and eventually how to punch. She started to pick it up quick, so Jason kept going, challenging her and correcting her when needed. However, there wasn’t much small talk. Lisa avoided eye contact as much as she could, but every now-and-then their eyes would catch before she’d quickly look away. The tension was obvious to them both. Jason needed to do something.
“So, how are things with you and this new guy,” Jason slipped in. Lisa’s ear twitched but she kept her focus on the pads.
“What? Oh, that.” She thought for a moment. When she looked up at Jason, he had a soft smile on his face. This dropped her guard for a moment. “I. I only said that to upset you.”
“Really?” Jason slowly nodded, taking in what this meant. “Well, I won’t lie, it worked.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, I get it.” They continued with the training and things went quiet between them for a bit. “I’m glad you decided to spend your summer here.”
“Yup.” Lisa spoke sharply. “Gotta get ready for next season.”
“Good footwork,” he complimented not saying much more afterwards.
Eventually, Jason felt it was time to try a bit of real boxing. He went into the back-storage closet and came back with the smallest gloves he could find as well as a pair for himself. Once situated, the two climbed into the ring and started with footwork. They moved slow, giving Lisa the chance to get used to things. When she did, he warned her that he’d eventually stop holding his punches and she agreed to this. Once in a while Jason would get a few good hits in. At first, he felt bad and wanted to hold back, but the more he landed punches, the more he started to laugh. Soon the two were snickering and Jason was teasing her.
“C’mon, you wimp,” Jason laughed. Lisa bit her lower lip and blitzed towards him making him have to catch himself on the ropes.
“There,” she shouted. “That wimp enough for you?” Jason just laughed. He held on to the ropes unable to contain himself. Then Lisa joined him.
“I’ve missed this,” Jason continued as he stood to his feet.
“Yeah, me too,” Lisa admitted. He walked up to her and their eyes locked. This time they didn’t dart away. The laughter started to die down and Jason dropped his head slightly.
“Listen,” he started. “I’ve been.” He thought for a moment. “I’ve been trying to really sit down and think about what I want. I just want to make sure I’m doing the right thing.” Lisa took a slow breath in and out.
“What are you thinking?”
“That I want you.” His face went serious and his eyes remained locked on hers.
“But your wife,” Lisa’s voice was raspy. “And child.”
“I’m still not even sure it’s my child. And if it is, I don’t know if it’ll matter.” Lisa’s shoulders dropped and her head soon followed.
“Was it a mistake to come here?”
“No! No, of course not. I’ve just missed you. I’ve missed this. I.” Jason paused. He cursed under his breath and continued with more confidence. “I’m not gonna sit here and pretend like I don’t love you.” Lisa froze, rooted to her spot. “I’ve never felt like this before.”
“But you should be focusing on your family.” She resumed eye contact with him, keeping a strict face.
“What if I want you to be my family?”
“I’m not.”
“But I can change that.”
“Jason, please don’t do this again.”
“But it’s what I’ve been wracking my brain over!” He moved closer to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I want to do what’s right, but I don’t know what that is.”
“Right now, it’s your family,” Lisa said, snatching her shoulders back. Jason stood straight and his demeanor shifted.
“Right.”
The two went back to their stances and began the training again. Their faces were tense, and any words spoken were short and to the point and only had to do with boxing. Eventually Lisa was the one who felt compelled to break this silence.
“Have you told her,” she asked softly.
“Told her what?” Jason’s voice was annoyed but reluctant. Lisa stood up from her stance to respond back.
“About us?” With her guard now down, Jason gave a slow but purposeful hook to her face.
“Hands up.” Lisa just shook it off and continued.
“Well,” she reiterated.
“What’s there to tell?”
“She doesn’t know?!”
“She knows.”
“Does she really?!”
“Yes,” Jason snapped. “She knows we’ve slept together, alright?” Lisa shook her head. This was a cop out.
“I’m not talking about the first time when we were drunk. I’m talking about-“ Jason swung at her side that was now open.
“Hands up!”
“Jason,” Lisa shouted dropping her hands. Jason swung at her face again, this time a little bit harder.
“Hands! Up!”
“I’m talking about Vegas,” she finally got out. They both stopped moving. “Why haven’t you told her?”
“Lisa. Don’t worry about it, okay? This has nothing to do with you.” This caused Lisa tohold her breath. “You know what I mean!”
“When are you planning to tell her?” Jason didn’t answer. “You weren’t,” she said in realization.
“Lisa, can we not?” Jason’s voice was now soft. “I just want to spend time with you and not talk about it, okay?”
“And why not talk about it!” Lisa’s boisterous voice riled Jason back up.
“It’s my business!”
“It’s my business, too!” They glared at each other for a moment, both taking the opportunity to wind down a bit. “You need to tell her. She’s part of your life.”
“Lisa, please.” Jason put up his guard, ready to start again.
“You can’t keep something like this from her.” Jason yet again landed a punch. He hit her in the stomach, this time knocking the wind out of her, causing her to double over. “Fine,” she said through her teeth, still bent over. “If you won’t tell her, then I will.” Her voice was hushed but sharp.
“What? Why would you do that?” Lisa stood tall and tossed her gloves on the ground.
“’cause I’ve been on the other side, Jason! I know what it’s like. Whether she deserves to lose you or not, she at least deserves to know the truth.” She turned around and started for the other side of the ring. Jason tossed his own gloves on the ground and took a step towards Lisa.
“What if you’re all I want?!” Lisa froze. “What if you’re all I care about? What if I don’t care about what happens to her.” Lisa turned around, stopping about halfway. “What if you’re all I think about,” he continued softly. “What if I can’t picture a life without you?” He made his way to her and turned her to face him completely. “What if I love you more than I’ll ever love her?”
“Jason,” was all Lisa could mutter.
“Lisa, I need you. I hate feeling like this. And I know you feel the same way. You’re here.” Lisa looked away. “You could have had anyone train you. Hell, you didn’t even need to leave Vegas, but you’re here, with me. You were hoping for this exact thing.” Lisa’s shoulders slumped, but Jason caught them, hunching over to her eye level. “Then what the hell are we waiting for?” Lisa looked back at him.
“You. That’s all I’ve ever been waiting for. It’s all I can do.”
Jason took a deep breath, his eyes darted back and forth between hers, his jaw shifted, and in an instant, his lips were pressed against hers. He pulled her in closed and wrapped his arms tightly around her. Lisa wanted to want to push him away, but he was right. This was what she wanted. Before long Jason was undressing her and joining her as he laid her right there on the boxing ring floor. She didn’t stop him. She wanted to say something to save face, but he was right. This was what she wanted. He made love to her. She let him. She fell in love again. Afterall, he was right. This. All of this was what she wanted.
With all the other lights in the gym off, the overhead lighting made the act feel like a spectacle. Lisa lost herself in Jason, and Jason lost himself in her. This wasn’t like any other time. This was important. This felt real. Didn’t it? Once they finished Lisa sat up, clutching her clothes to her chest. Jason sat behind her with his hands back on her shoulders. She just stared forward.
“Why do we keep ending up here,” she finally asked.
“You know why,” Jason whispered. He then gave her a soft kiss and stood to his feet, looking to redress himself. Lisa continued to stare forward for a moment before she, too, stood to her feet. “I gotta talk to her,” Jason spoke up again as he put on his gym shorts. “I gotta figure this out.” Something inside of Lisa dropped as she heard this.
“‘Figure this out,’” she restated.
“This whole ‘us’ situation,” he clarified, now putting his t-shirt on. Lisa laughed.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Jason turned around to face Lisa who was still clutching her clothes. It slowly hit him why she would react this way.
“Lisa, let me talk to her, let me sort this out, okay?”
“You’re still wavering! Ugh!” She threw her head back and turned the other way as she forcefully put her clothes back on.
“No! I’m serious about you!”
“AND her,” she added. “I can’t believe I let you-“ Lisa was shaking, putting her shoes on the wrong feet, trying to quickly get dressed.
“Lisa, calm down. It’s not like that. Just be patient, okay? I promise-“
“All I’ve been is patient,” she shouted as she stood to her feet and turned to face him. “I’ve been sitting on pins and needles wondering what will happen. ‘Will he leave her?’ ‘Will I get him?’ ‘Will this time be it?’ Do you have any idea what it’s like to be so in love with someone who actually loves you back but still can’t do anything about it?!”
“You think this isn’t hard for me, too?! I’m going through as much torture as you!” Jason stood his ground.
“No! No, you’re not! As things are right now, you’ve got it made. You’ve got your lovely wife, and when things get strained between you two, you’ve got me to turn to!” Lisa put on a fake smile. “And when that’s done, all you have to do is say ‘I’ll figure this out,’ and you’re right back with Sharice again. Me, I have to sit here, waiting. Waiting to see if this time will be the time I get my ‘happily ever after,’ or if I’m gonna get my heart ripped out again.” Her voice echoed throughout the dark gym. “You know,” she laughed. “I wish you’d hit me, abuse me, call me names, something.” Jason moved in towards her to try and comfort her. “It’s easy to see someone as bad for you when they do the obvious bad things to you.”
“Lisa.” His voice was somber.
“But you.” She looked at him with soft eyes and a soft smile. “Out of everything, you’re the absolute worst thing to happen to me.”
“What,” he whispered in shock.
“Because I keep coming back. I keep trusting you. But you don’t change. You’re a great guy. And you genuinely want to do the right thing. But all you do is hurt me again and again and again.”
“Listen, I’ll talk to Sharice and-“ he started to say.
“And what? Tell her what? That that’s it? That you’re absolutely getting a divorce?” Jason tried to answer but was shocked to find that he could not. Lisa scoffed and continued. “Or to ‘figure it out?’” Jason could no longer look her in the eye. Lisa nodded. “This was a bad idea,” she declared. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m sure I can find a trainer closer to home.” She grabbed her duffel bag and started for the front door.
“Lisa, please,” Jason begged. “I promise you I’ll talk to her. I’ll.” He stopped. “I’ll end it.” Lisa stopped as well. “I’ll end things with her. I’ll talk to her and tell her that’s it. We’re done.” Lisa kept her back to him. “I just need you to be patient, okay? I’ll talk to her. I’ll give her a chance to talk back. But this all has to happen before anything with us.” Lisa finally turned around.
“Then say the words,” she demanded. “Say ‘I’m getting a divorce with Sharice.’”
“Is that what you need?” Lisa didn’t answer. “Fine. I’m getting a divorce with Sharice.” He held his hands out to either side as if presenting those words to her. Lisa stared back at him and the two stood quietly. Jason kept his gaze on Lisa, but eventually his gaze slowly fell to stare off into the distance. He closed his eyes and dropped his head back slightly.
“No, you’re not,” Lisa whispered to him, turning back towards the door.
“Lisa,” Jason softly called back to her. “Please.”
“No.” She turned back again to face him. “If there’s one thing you’ve taught me, it’s how to be strong against people who want to hurt me. I’m drawing the line here.” Jason shook his head in response. “I hope you get through this; I really do. But I can’t be your punching bag anymore while you ‘figure this out.’ And you know I’m right.”
“I don’t want to be that guy.”
“Good. It’s a start. But the fact of the matter is, you ARE that guy. And I can’t have someone like that in my life. I just can’t.” Jason started to rush towards her to plead with her.
“I love you.” His eyes started to well up. Lisa’s welled up as well.
“And that’s the worst part of all,” she whispered. “Is this what you want for someone you love?” Jason had nothing to say. “I wouldn’t want this for you. Just let me walk away. Please?” She waited a moment then turned back for the door. As she opened it Jason took another step closer to her.
“Lisa, I-“ She stopped. He stopped. She was right. And he knew it. He said nothing more. Lisa gave it a second, then without looking back, walked through the door. The cool air rushed in for the moment while the door was open, and soon she was completely out of view. The door itself took its time to close, slowly but eventually leaving Jason to stand alone in the darkest part of the gym.
PHONE CALL TRANSCRIPTION
From: Bronx, New York
To: Las Vegas, Nevada
Date: 06/05/2019
Time: 1541 EST
Lisa: Hello?
David: Hey, sweetie.
L: What's up?
D: [SIGH]
L: So... Eric told you?
D: Yeah... What happened?
L: I just... I found her online.
D: And now you're holding polls on whether or not you should meet her?
L: I wanted to get some input.
D: I thought you made a promise.
L: Yeah, but that's was before I knew where my mother was!
D: Lisa. No. You promised me.
L: Daddy.
D: You promised me!
L: I know! I know. But I keep thinking; you already told me everything. You told me she disowned me, you told me she didn't want me, you two divorced because of it. What could she possibly do with that information?
D: Lisa!
L: No! There was a point where you disowned me, too, you know. And that didn't change until I came back, until I did something. D: This isn't the same thing. We're not talking about a fight you two had that you both have to get over. We're talking about a monster, here.
L: Daddy, a monster? Really? What else is there that you haven't already told me?
[SILENCE]
L: What are you hiding?
[SILENCE]
L: Daddy, please. If there's a reason why I shouldn't, just tell me.
D: I can't.
L: What are you afraid of?
[SILENCE]
L: Is there actually more you haven't told me?
D: [SIGH] Of course there is. That's why I want you to keep away from her. Sandrine is capable of some really awful things. I don't want you bringing that back into your life. She's done things that I don't want to talk about. She's attempted things that [SILENCE]
L: Like terminate the pregnancy?
[SILENCE]
D: Yes. Many times. In many ways, officially and unofficially... and even after...
L: She's... tried to hurt me?
D: She did.
[SILENCE]
D: You were only three months old when our divorce was finalized. You don't know her like I do. I fell in love with her, married her, was intimate with her.
L: Then what changed? She couldn't have always been a monster if you married her. What happened?
D: I ignored what she really was for a long time, and almost paid the price for it. Sandrine has taken so, so much from me. You meet her, sure, things may be okay for a bit, but she will break you from the inside out. She'll try to use you to break me. She'll try to break US. I need you to trust me on this one. There are some things you don't need to learn for yourself. I'm trying to protect you, sweetheart.
L: If she's really done all this stuff, I mean if she's hurt me, why couldn't you have said this before?
[SILENCE]
L: Daddy. Why?
[SILENCE]
L: Dad?!
D: [SOBBING]
L: Daddy?
D: [SOBBING]
L: Okay. Okay. I... I get it.
D: I've almost lost you. More than once. Please, baby girl. Please. Don't go. Your Mother died the day you were born. Let's just leave it at that, okay.
L: Okay. She died the day I was born.
D: Get her out of your head. You've got so many people here in your life now who care about you and want you to succeed. Focus on them. Focus on school, and your career, and your life. Because if Sandrine had it her way... you wouldn't have it. L: Yeah... Okay... I'm sorry, Daddy.
D: Just, please don't break your promise? Please?
L: Okay. I won't. I promise.
D: [SIGH] That's my girl. I love you sweetie. So, so very much. L: I love you, too, Daddy.
D: [SHAKY LAUGHTER][SIGH] Feels good to hear... Alright. I'll let you go. I'm sure you're busy.
L: Yeah.
D: Bye, sweetie.
L: Bye, Daddy.
[END PHONE CALL]
Lisa sat with her hands clasped together in her lap. Her toe tapped a nervous rhythm and her eyes darted back and forth to its unintentional beat. Across from her sat Damario, his hands, too, clasped together as he leaned on his knees with his elbows. With his eyes closed he gathered every memory, every bit of evidence he could sift through to prepare himself for his speech; gathering, collecting, but not saying anything. Lisa’s toe seemed to resemble the sounds of a ticking bomb with no certainty of when time would be up, but it was coming. He sat back, took a breath, and opened his eyes.
“So,” Damario started. “You seem nervous.”
Small talk would ensue with frequent long, uncomfortable pauses in between. Comments like “I like your place,” and “did you cut your hair” continued to draw out the reason for this meeting. Lisa wasn’t going to say anything. It had to be Damario.
“I’m confused,” Damario started. “About us. You know, I thought I’d sit you down today, we’d talk about how much we’ve enjoyed each other’s company, I’d tell you how much I care about you, and ask that we become a more serious couple. It was supposed to be that simple.” Lisa kept a soft gaze on the ground. “I’ve been trying to figure you out. Trying to find what you need, give you want you want, make you happy. And at first, I thought I was just failing over and over, but I think I was doomed from the start. It doesn’t seem like anything I do is right. I feel like… like I’m a nuisance to you. I don’t want to be this guy, but I want to ask what you think of me.” When Lisa didn’t answer, Damario sighed. “I know things are still… raw. I really do want to take things more seriously with you. You’re an amazing, wonderful, beautiful woman and I really want to go far with you. So, please, I have to ask you; How do you feel about me? Do you feel anything at all?”
“Rio, yes, of course I do,” Lisa finally defended.
“But you don’t act like it. I can’t read you. I can’t talk to you. When I try to kiss you, you pull away. When people ask if we’re together, I’m the only one who answers. The wedding…!” Lisa heavily sighed. “You wouldn’t dance with me. You barely said anything to me at all. We don’t even have a single picture of us together. It’s like you wanted nothing to do with me.”
“I was a bride’s maid! I had things to take care of.”
“And when you didn’t, you were on your phone.” Damario let those words ring throughout Lisa’s apartment for a moment. “I feel like we have two very different viewpoints of what you and I are. And I think… I think I know why.” Lisa fought not to make eye contact with Damario. “It’s because of Jason, isn’t it?”
“Rio, don’t do that,” Lisa pleaded.
“I’m not him.”
“No, it’s not like that.”
“Are you hoping that he comes back with a brand-new promise he’ll break?”
“Damario!”
“I’m sorry, my love, but people aren’t just all good or all evil. I know he is a man who means well, but he has to learn that his indecisiveness has been hurting you.”
“He knows!” Lisa finally unclasped her hands, slamming them on the coffee table. Her eyes locked with his. “He knows. And he’s trying to be better.” Damario nodded.
“So, you are waiting for him,” Damario said with a dejected voice. “Are you still talking with him?”
“No. I haven’t heard from him since the boxing thing. And, no, I’m not waiting for him. Is that what you think I was doing at the wedding, texting him? I made a stand. I am tired of being pulled around and getting hurt. I have a little more self-respect than you give me credit for, you know.” Damario leaned his head back and sat straight in his seat.
“I see. You really trusted him, more than you’ve trusted anyone. And he broke that trust.”
“Thanks for the recap,” Lisa snarked.
“But he made you happy. He made you happier than you’ve ever been… I’m not him.”
“Rio.”
“I will never be him.”
“I know!” Damario leaned forward and grabbed Lisa’s hands.
“No. I’m not him. I’m not going to make promises I can’t keep. I’m not going to drag you along. I’m not married,” he chuckled. “So, I can’t try to ‘go back to my wife.’ You’ve been hurt. It’s going to be hard to trust again; I get that. And I’ll have to earn your trust. But this is up to you. I told you how I feel. I want more than just a few dates with you. I want to share my life with you. And if you want that too, if you’re willing to give us a try, then you need to give it a chance. It’ll feel like a complete leap of faith but it’s going to take that if you’re ever going to move forward. And I’m not asking much. Just a small window of chance.”
Lisa just shook her head the entire time Damario spoke, so he pulled her into his chest and wrapped his arms around her. But Lisa continued to shake her head, unwilling to accept any of his words. Words weren’t enough. Damario knew what he needed to do. He stood to his feet, lifting Lisa up off the ground and carried her to her bedroom. He laid her down and pinned her to the bed. She looked up at him in shock but prepared for whatever would happen next. Maybe this was what she needed. Maybe this was the drastic thing that would break her from her fear of him. He looked down at her.
“Do you want to give us a try,” Damario whispered. Lisa finally stopped shaking her head and nodded in response. “Will you give us a chance?” She nodded again. “I’m not asking for a big change. Baby steps.”
“What,” Lisa softly asked in shock.
“So, what do you think? Can I tell people we’re together?” Lisa nodded, confused. Damario smiled a soft smile and sat up straight on her bed. Lisa continued to lie there prone and unsure of what just happened. He held out his hand and eventually she took it and pulled herself up to a seated position beside him. Damario placed a finger under her chin and lifted it to meet her eye to eye. “Baby steps. I want this. I want us. I’m not going to do anything to hurt you. It’s about time you had someone in your life that you can trust… and that I can trust.” Lisa smiled and dove into his chest, hugging Damario as tight as she possibly could.
“You know, you were in the perfect position to ask for more.”
“That’s not what I want. Those things are extra. The most important thing to me is you. As long as I’ve got you and you trust me, I’ve got everything I need.” While hugging her, Damario looked over her shoulder at his watch knowing that he had appointments to keep.
“Stay,” Lisa asked, feeling him check the time. Damario froze.
“Sure… You know what? Yeah. I can stay. This is more important than anything else right now.”
“Thank you…”
“Of course. What would you like to do? We can watch a movie or something.”
“Sure.”
“What are you interested in: horror, romantic comedy, action?” Lisa pulled out of the hug and looked up at Damario.
“It won’t matter.” Damario’s heart skipped, but eventually a smile grew on his face.
2019-2020
Damario sat on Lisa’s couch with one hand on his chin. He looked deep in thought as Lisa watched him from across the room. It was an accident. The picture she sent Alexa was supposed to be a private message, and not something for the whole world to see. But nevertheless, Tweeter got to see the explicit image of what was supposed to be a loving and intimate moment between her and Damario. At this point everyone was talking about it. Her uncle called her, her father messaged her. People were even recognizing Damario on the street. It all seemed to happen so quickly. The two decided that Damario would spend some time at Lisa’s to stay out of the public’s eye for a bit.
The apartment was quiet for a while. Neither were really talking to each other. No one was mad, just the situation made things tense. But the universe never seems to care about moments like these. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Lisa figured she’d stay quiet and not answer. The hope was that they’d get bored and go away. But when the knocking persisted, Damario decided to answer it and ask the person to leave. He opened the door.
“Excuse me,” Damario started with a bit of an annoyed voice. “But I’m going to have to ask you to stop banging on our door and leave.”
The cougar standing on the other side of the door scoffed as he looked Damario up and down. Damario stood slightly taller than him, and certainly was much larger than him.
“’Our door,’” the cougar repeated. “I’m here to speak to Lisa.”
“Again, sir, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Damario stood firm and yet still had an air of politeness around him.
“No, I think not,” the cougar said sharply. This took Damario aback. He looked the cougar up and down. As he took him in, his own face went stern. It was clear who this cougar was.
“Look. You’re wasting your time. She is not speaking with you.”
“I’m not just some crazed fan, I’m actually a friend of hers,” the cougar informed. Damario responded first by folding his arms.
“Not from what I’ve heard.” At this point, it was obvious to them that both knew who the other person was. The cougar poked his tongue against the inside of his cheek and nodded. “Now,” Damario started again. “I’m going to ask you one more time to leave, or-“
“Or what? You don’t live here. You can’t do anything. Now, ‘Rio,’ will you kindly be a good ‘guest’ and tell Lisa that her friend is here?”
“Jason?” Lisa’s voice sounded from behind Damario. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Lisa,” Jason started as he pushed passed Damario with the intention to hug her, but Damario held out his arm and stopped Jason in his tracks. Jason snapped his head towards Damario, seemingly ready to fight.
“Why are you here,” Lisa asked. Jason slowly shifted his attention back to Lisa.
“I just wanted to talk. That’s it. So, can you tell goliath over here to step aside?” Lisa sighed.
“Damario, let him in.” Shocked, Damario looked back over his shoulder at Lisa. Jason took this opportunity to push passed Damario and enter the apartment. He rushed over to Lisa and held her tight. Lisa, however, did not reciprocate and stood stiff as Jason hugged her.
“I’ve missed you.” Jason finally pulled out of the hug. “I wanted to talk to you. In private. Can we,” Jason stopped as he used his head to gesture at Damario. “You know.” Lisa’s face hung low. The last time someone she wasn’t pleased to have unexpectedly show up at her door was when her father showed up the previous year. She never thought she’d have this same feeling for anyone else. Especially not towards Jason. She looked over at Damario who looked back at her as he closed the door behind him. After some thinking she looked back over to Jason.
“No.” She said. “If you want to talk then talk.”
“Well, I was kind of hoping that we-“
“I know what you were hoping. I said if you want to talk then talk. Or leave.” Jason, a bit shaken by Lisa’s tone with him, slowly nodded and accepted her terms.
Jason made his way over towards Lisa’s couch and sat down. Lisa and Damario both remained standing, waiting to hear whatever it was Jason had to say. Jason took a deep breath. “I wasn’t exactly expecting to just jump into things, but,” he started. “You were right. You were right about everything. I hated how I treated you. I hated what I did to you. I never wanted that for you. I’ve always wanted to give you the world, Lisa.” Neither Lisa nor Damario seemed to be moved by what Jason was saying. “Right after you left, I sat Sharice down and told her ‘that’s it. We’re done.’ We pretty much started the paperwork right then and there. It didn’t matter whether or not she cheated on me or whether or not this child was mine, I was done wavering. We separated. I’ve been living in my own place.”
“Congratulations,” Damario replied.
“What about the baby,” Lisa asked. “What if it’s yours?”
“It’s not.” Jason kept his head low and clasped his hands together. “She had the baby on Wednesday. They want to do an official blood test to check so that the terms could be laid out for our divorce.”
“Then how do you already know the child is not yours,” Damario asked.
“Because Sharice was required to take RhoGAM.” Lisa dropped her head back and started to walk off in no particular direction.
“So, what,” Damario asked.
“RhoGAM is required after delivery if the mother has a negative blood type and the baby has a positive one,” Lisa explained with a sigh.
“My blood type is A-,” Jason answered, still with his head hung low.
“So, the baby couldn’t have gotten a positive blood type if both parents had a negative blood type,” Lisa added.
“Simply put. Both me and Sharice are A-, but the baby is B+. She didn’t get that blood type from us. It had to be from someone else.”
“You sure you’re not just assuming things,” Damario questioned.
“No. That’s just basic genetics,” Lisa said pacing the floor. “So, you were right. She was cheating on you.”
“I wasn’t pulling that idea from nowhere,” Jason defended. “I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. I really did. I was hoping this baby would be mine. But I knew. I knew it wouldn’t be.” Everyone stayed quiet for a long time. Each taking in what Jason had just said. Damario started to shake his head.
“Okay. So, now what? Why tell us this? What were you planning,” Damario asked. Jason looked up at Damario. “Did you think you could just show up and say ‘hey, things are different now. I was right about my cheating wife,’ and everything would go your way? And why now? You just happened to show up now after this latest debacle on Tweeter?”
“I had planned this trip a month ago,” Jason shouted. “This had nothing to do with that stupid picture. I don’t care what’s going on between you two. Y’all want to fool around, great. She clearly needed the distraction.”
“’Distraction?’” Damario laughed.
“This,” Jason waved his finger back and forth between Lisa and himself. “Has nothing to do with you. This is between me and the woman I love.” Damario continued to laugh.
“I’m sorry, friend, but if you thought you could just show up and she’d drop everything to be yours, then you’re more selfish than I thought.”
“This coming from the man who thinks he can decide what Lisa wants and gets, huh” Jason snarked.
“No. This coming from the man who knows exactly what you’re thinking because he’s seen it a million times before, and fail.” Jason stood to his feet and quickly made his way over towards Damario.
“You don’t know a damn thing about me,” Jason said through his teeth. Lisa tried to intervene and get them to stop before a fight would break out, but neither one was paying attention to her. “You don’t know a damn thing about her. Sure, you two may have gotten physically close, but you will never know her the way I do.”
“I get it. You want to fight for her. But I’m sorry, you’ve lost. Now, whether or not she stays with me has nothing to do with the point. The point is, there are consequences for your actions. It sounds like you’ve learned a valuable lesson but learning a lesson doesn’t erase the mistake and the harm it’s caused.”
“But that don’t mean I’m not gonna fight for her, tooth and nail. I love her, and I promise you, you will never love her as much as I do right now.”
Lisa finally slipped herself between the men and pushed Jason back. “No more,” she shouted. “Just… stop!” Lisa was too flustered to really say much more. Both Jason and Damario saw this and decided to let the air around them cool off a bit before starting again.
“I’d like to talk to you alone,” Jason said to Lisa. “Not in this kind of heated environment. No one can think straight when you’re fighting.”
“Or, pull her away to manipulate her in private,” Damario added. Lisa lifted her arms to get ready to brace between the two, sure that they would start fighting again. But when she looked over at Jason, she was shocked to see a calm look on his face.
“Look, man, I get it. You’re just trying to protect her. And, you know, if I were in your shoes and if this were anyone else coming here for Lisa, I’d be doing the same thing. I’ve got nothing against you. You just got caught up in this mess. I made a mistake. A big one. But I’m not an asshole. You and I both want what’s best for her.” Damario said nothing back. “You ever make a mistake, Damario?”
“And paid the price for it,” Damario replied. “What price did you pay?” Jason said nothing. “We were fine until you showed up.”
“I didn’t say this would be easy.”
“But you’re still fighting?”
“As much as I understand you and have sympathy for you, yeah. I’m still fighting. It’s what you do for the person you love. I will never stop fighting for her,” Jason said gesturing to Lisa. But when he looked back, he saw that Lisa was no longer where she last was. Both Damario and Jason searched around the room for her before finding her standing by the front door. Her hand was on the doorknob.
“I… need you to leave,” Lisa said softly.
“Please,” Jason said softly back. “I just want a chance to talk alone.”
“I need you both to leave,” Lisa’s voice cracked.
“What,” Damario asked in shock. “Lisa.”
“You both know me. I can’t see a single way where this works out and I have zero regrets. I’ll always wonder if I did the right thing. ‘Should I have given Jason a second chance?’ ‘Should I have left Damario even though he did nothing wrong?’ I can’t… The only fair thing I can do right now is to ask both of you to leave.”
“When can we come back and talk,” Jason asked.
“Probably never.” Lisa’s voice was so low that neither could really hear what she had said, but they didn’t need to. They knew exactly where this was going. “So, please. Please leave.” Jason made his way over to Lisa to try and comfort her, but she stopped him when she held up her hand. She wouldn’t look at him as she opened the door. Damario came up behind Jason and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Give her some space,” he calmly said to Jason. Jason nodded, then, reluctantly, walked through the door. Damario stepped forward and stopped beside Lisa. She had tears flowing down her cheek. Damario bent over and kissed it. “It’s gonna be okay. I’m proud of you.” Lisa turned her head away from Damario, trying her best not to completely break down. Even though he knew he needed to leave, Damario knelt down and turned her shoulders so that she was facing him. “You’re doing the right thing, okay? I want you coming out of this stronger than when you entered it, yeah?” Lisa nodded. “This is about your happiness. Not anyone else’s.” Lisa nodded again, this time grabbing her composure. Damario smiled and stood to his feet. “See you around.” Damario went through the door and it slowly closed behind him. Jason was standing in the hall in a somber pose. Damario made his way over to him and stood tall as he looked down on him. “Don’t you mess this up for her. She’s made a lot of progress when it comes to standing up for herself. Let her do what’s best for her. And be happy with whatever decision she comes to.” Damario didn’t wait for Jason to reply. He turned and made his way towards the stairwell and left Jason there, alone. Jason leaned his weight against the wall behind him, then dropped his head back.
Lisa sat down at a tall table by the window. She kept her gaze down at her fingers, which she was picking at. Across from her sat Jason who also kept his gaze on nothing in particular. Within a few minutes a goat walked up to their table and handed Lisa a huge mug of caramel pumpkin latte and Jason a water bottle. The two thanked the goat softly and she walked away back to her counter to serve the next customer.
“I’m sorry about all of this,” Jason bravely began. “This isn’t fair to you.” Lisa lifter her mug to her nose and breathed in deep. “I want to make things right, make things better.” She blew on her latte and took a sip, still not making eye contact with Jason as he spoke. Jason finally reached across the table and held one of Lisa’s hands, tearing it away from her mug. “I don’t want to lose you.” Lisa looked up at him.
“You can’t lose what you don’t have,” she said back to him.
“You know what I mean. I messed up, but please give me a chance to fix things.”
“You know I’m in a relationship.”
“I know, but,” Jason began to say over her. But Lisa continued.
“And you come here, unannounced to tell me to just drop everything and be with you.”
“I’m not saying it’s that simple. I know this whole thing sucks and I’ve put you in a weird spot.” Jason took his hand back and placed it just under his nose to rest his head. “Sharice has been… the sole problem. And I’ve ended things with her. I’m sorry it took so long, but it’s over now. No ‘it’s going to be over,’ or ‘I’ll get to it.’ It’s over. She’s gone.”
“And what do you expect me to do now,” Lisa asked before going back to her latte. “Am I supposed to just go and say ‘hey! Sorry Damario! You were just along for the ride and now it’s over?’”
“Damario, as nice as the guy seems, he came after all of this. He walked into a difficult situation. But this, us, we were something before him.” Lisa snorted, nearly choking on her latte.
“’Before him?’ Jason, Damario came first. There was never once an ‘us.’ The only one I was officially in a relationship with between the two of you, was him. And then you come and say ‘even though I missed my opportunity, you should leave Damario and be with me?’” Jason sighed and tapped the table with his fingers.
“That would be a fair question to ask if the situation were between crushes. If he was a guy you were crushing on and I was a guy you were crushing on, then, yeah, that would be pretty messed up of me to try and break you two apart.”
“But this is different,” Lisa asked, incredulously.
“Do you love him?” Lisa sat quietly, being thrown off by the question. Jason repeated. “Do you love him?”
“We are still fairly new, but I do see a potential for this to blossom into love.”
“So, no,” Jason re-answered for her.
“No. Not at this exact moment,” Lisa said annoyedly. Jason leaned forward.
“Do you love me?” Lisa visibly took a deep breath at this question. Jason repeated. “Do. You. Love. Me?” Lisa’s lip started to quiver against her will. Jason leaned back in his seat. “That’s the difference.” Lisa shook her head.
“Yeah, well, Damario didn’t hurt me.”
“And I’m sorry. But I’ve learned, and I’m not going to hurt you again. I made a mistake, but I own up to that.”
“But there are consequences,” Lisa said with a slightly elevated voice. “You played me, used me. You wavered. Am I supposed to trust someone who can’t make up their mind?”
“Now, hold on,” Jason said sternly. “I own up to hurting you. But I will not apologize for wavering.” Lisa slowly sat back in her seat and crossed her arms. “You have no right to be mad at me for wavering about whether or not I should leave Sharice.”
“Really? I have no right?”
“She was my wife.” Jason’s voice wasn’t quite at shouting level, but enough for the people in the café to do a quick glance over at the two. “Of course, I wavered. What kind of husband would I be if I just went off my initial feelings and didn’t give her the benefit of the doubt? Would you even want to be with me if I could change my mind at the drop of a dime? Of course, I wavered. I’m sorry for how I handled the situation. I hurt you. I was unsure but treated you as if I were. But I’ve learned. And we can grow from this.”
“You used me,” Lisa clarified. “And you know what? You’re right. You were married. In fact, when we first met, you were already in a relationship with her. When I realized I had feelings for you, you were engaged to her. When we graduated, we went our separate ways and you got married. Sure, I held on for a little too long, but eventually a girl’s gotta move on. And now that I have, I’m supposed to still be waiting for you?”
“But we’re not talking about when you first found out I was in a relationship, or years and years ago. This just happened, and you fairly recently, if not right this second, were in love with me. I came a few days late, not years.” Lisa shook her head as Jason spoke.
“Damario has never hurt me.”
“Of course, not. You’re new. But the moment you two have a fight and the shine of a new relationship wears off, will he still be worth it?”
“We have fought. And as of right now, yeah. He hasn’t hunt me down and tried to get me to do what he wants. He just wants me to be happy no matter what my choice is.”
“So, then, it won’t be so bad for him if you leave him.”
“Really,” Lisa scoffed.
“No, that came out wrong.”
“You’re being selfish. You’re fighting for what you want, not for what I want.” Jason sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
“Yeah, I am being selfish. I’m fighting for something that means a lot to me. For something that has been the best part of me from day one. I am being selfish, and it’s about damn time I was. I’ve let so many things just dictate my life. I’ve been through so much shit. When Sharice first came to me, she was the best thing in a shitty situation. I was okay with dealing with her and how she treated me. How could I be picky when I’ve gone through things like watching my family die, or going to prison for something I didn’t do? She wanted to be with me. Beggars can’t be choosers, right? But you’ve taught me that just because it’s one pile of shit instead of two doesn’t mean I should be happy with eating it. And now I’m standing up. As selfish as it is, I deserve you. And likewise, you deserve me.” Jason started to speak softly. “I’m not losing you. I’d be an idiot to lose you.”
“That might not be good enough.”
“Oh, come on, Lisa,” Jason shouted as he slammed the table. “It was a simple mistake! I didn’t beat you up or do something unspeakable. This wouldn’t even be a problem if your father hadn’t of said anything.”
“Are you seriously going to blame this on my father?!”
“I’m saying that things would have been fine without the constant worry of me lying to you.”
“Was he wrong? He didn’t sow any seeds of doubt. He pointed out the truth, which, by the way, you were never going to tell me.”
“What?”
“You called me over in a panic and then tried to get me to throw caution to the wind and sleep with you behind your wife’s back. You come all the way here after I had that game without my compression turtleneck and tell me that you’re here for me and then sleep with me anyway. But you never once told me that you were going off of a hunch that your wife was cheating on you. That you were never even planning to tell me.”
“She was!”
“Great! You had a fifty-fifty chance of being right! But when it really comes down to it, I’ve already turned you down. When you wanted me to sleep with you on Valentine’s day, I said no. When I came to train with you at the beginning of the summer, I said no. I’ve already turned you down. You can’t just come every other month hoping that my answer will change. And it hurts. Trust me. I know what it’s like to love someone you can’t have. But I also know that you can get over it,” Lisa said through her teeth. “This feeling is new for you, but-“
“’New,’” Jason interrupted. “Do you have any idea what it’s been like for me? I’ve had to work on changing over thirty years of thinking that things were fine the way they were in the span of four years. I have been torn apart because of all of this! You think I was fine with the way things were while I was with her? I’ve been through hell!”
“But you still had me on the back burner. You wanted things to be easy for you so that you wouldn’t have to be the bad guy and break up with her just for falling out of love. It would be so much easier if she deserved to lose you, right? Like if she were cheating on you? And, if and when things didn’t work out with Sharice you always had me to fall back on, right? Jason, my answer is no. I’m sorry. I hope you’ve learned, and you can move on with your life, but my answer is no.” Jason shook his head with his eyes closed.
“No. You know what. We’re still worked up. Maybe we need some time to cool off and come back.”
“What? You mean like in a month or two? Hoping that I’ll change my mind?” Jason scoffed, though it was more towards himself. “And you want to know the real, honest to god reason I’m turning you down is? Yeah, you hurt me. Yeah, there are consequences for your actions. And, yeah, I still care about you. But the truth is I’m happy with Damario! He has been there for me in ways that neither you, nor anyone else has. I feel safe with him. I feel better than I’ve ever been when I’m with him. I’ve grown because of him. Yeah, we’re new, but I want to give him everything he has given me.” Lisa was no longer looking at Jason. Her gaze went off into the distance and a smile grew the more she spoke of Damario. “I may not be able to say I love him right now, but I’m damn close. I wish you luck, Jason, I really do, But I’m not giving up on Damario.”
Jason sat still the whole time Lisa spoke. He watched her as she went off in her own world while she spoke about Damario. “You’re… actually happy with him, huh…” Jason softly asked.
“Happier than I’ve ever been in a long while.”
“You want to know what he said to me right after you told us to leave your apartment?”
“Are you kidding me? Are you seriously going to try and go with a last-ditch effort and throw him under the bus?!” Jason shook his head in response.
“He said ‘don’t you mess this up for her. She’s made a lot of progress when it comes to standing up for herself. Let her do what’s best for her. And be happy with whatever decision she comes to.’ No defending, no claiming you as his, no threatening. Just honest to god care for you and your happiness. I don’t think I would have had the strength to say the same thing to him.” Jason started to fidget with his hands. “Damario’s a good man… If there was anyone that I’d feel comfortable with you being with, it would be him… I don’t think he’d ever hurt you.” Lisa Nodded.
“I don’t think so either.”
Lisa finished off the rest of her latte while Jason sat in silence. He would look off into the distance, taking in everything that was said. Every now and then he’d shake his head in silent disgust. When she finished Jason finally spoke up.
“I hate this. I hate this so much.”
“I know,” Lisa responded softly. She then pulled out her phone from her purse and started scrolling through it. “Damario’s been patient, though. And I haven’t spoken to him since you two left my apartment.” Lisa stood up and placed her purse over her shoulder. She made her way over to Jason. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out the way you wanted it to.” Jason nodded with a weak smile. Lisa then wrapped her arms around Jason, hugging him from his side. “I’ll see you?” Jason nodded in response. “Okay. I gotta go. I have a very important phone call to make.” She then slowly made her way out of the café, turning back to wave at Jason who barely lifted his hand to wave back. She put her phone to her ear as it began to ring. “Hey… Where are you right now…? We need to talk.”
PHONE CALL TRANSCRIPTION
From: Bronx, New York
To: Edmonton, Alberta
Date: 11/04/2019
Time: 1749 EST
Lisa: Hello?
David: Hey, sweetie!
L: Hey.
D: Hey, everything alright?
L: Yeah, why?
D: Uh, well, your voice, for one. And a dad can just tell. What’s going on?
[SILENCE]
L: A lot. I really don’t feel like going into it.
D: Is that why you didn’t call me?
L: Didn’t call you? For what?
[SILENCE]
L: Oh shit! What’s today?! Oh, Daddy. I’m so sorry.
D: [LAUGHING] It’s okay. I’m just teasing.
L: I meant to call you! Happy birthday!
D: Thank you, thank you.
L: So, what are you, like, 92 now?
D: 53, thank you, and still looking good.
[SILENCE]
D: Wow. Nothing? Okay. Talk to me. What’s going on?
[SILENCE]
D: Come on, sweetie. Don’t retreat. You can talk to me.
L: [SIGH]
D: Does it have something to do with Jason, or something?
L: [SCOFF]
D: Uh oh. What happened this time?
[SILENCE]
D: If you need me to, I can go kick his ass. He seems like a guy who can benefit from a kick or two. [CHUCKLE]
[SILENCE]
D: Sweetie, talk to me. What’s going on?
L: I’m being sued.
D: Whoa! Wait, what?! Who’s suing you?! For what?! Is it Jason?!
[SILENCE]
D: Are you kidding me? Where does he live?
L: Daddy.
D: No. Where does he live? This kid wants to cause trouble for my baby girl? Uh uh. I’mma kick his ass.
L: Daddy, it’s not him.
D: Then who’s suing you?
L: [SIGH] His wife. Or, ex-wife. I don’t even know anymore.
D: For what?
L: For “interfering with and damaging” her marriage.
D: In what way?!
L: Well… she says he and I were… She’s suing for “Criminal Conversation,” is what it’s called.
D: Uh uh. No. She would need proof. Have you spoken to Jason about this? Does he know?
L: No. I was told not to talk to him. I don’t know if he knows.
D: Good. And even still, she would need to present proof.
L: [SIGH] She might have it. She was… very explicit with her details in the complaint that came with the summons.
D: No, she could be trying to scare you. You don’t know for sure if she has actual proof. Like, actual physical proof.
L: Dad, I don’t know what to do.
D: Hunny, stay calm. She doesn’t really have a chance anyway with that kind of claim.
L: She doesn’t have a chance? I got the summons. Sounds like she has a chance to me.
D: Listen. She can’t sue for Criminal Conversation. Most states have abolished this.
L: Wait, really?
D: [SIGH] She’ll try to finagle it into an Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress claim, though.
L: A-a what?
D: What you need to do is get all your dates and facts straight. It’ll help being in the FBA since they have you on such a restrained schedule. [SIGH] You may have to bring Jason in if it comes down to it. Though, you’ll have to make sure he’s on your side and not hers…
L: Dad, wait. Slow down. Are you sure you know what you’re talking about? I need to take this very seriously.
D: Trust me. I’m sure... Just stay in contact with your attorney. Did she have the baby yet?
L: Y-yeah. Back in September.
D: So, she’s looking for cash and support. Did we ever find out if it was Jason’s baby or not?
L: Y-yeah. He said it wasn’t his.
D: That doesn’t make any sense. Why would she be suing for adultery if she’s the one who had a child with someone outside her marriage?
L: Could it be a bluff?
D: That’s a lot of work and a lot of money for a bluff. Either way, treat it like it’s real and get all your stuff straightened out.
L: [SIGH]
D: Listen to me, baby girl. It’s going to be okay. You’re smart, and you’re tough. She’s just mad and freaking out right now.
L: Just, like, why, you know? I was in the middle of practice when the sheriff busted in and gave me the summons. I was so embarrassed.
D: Hunny, chances are you’re not the only one in the FBA who’s been sued, okay. It’s time to toughen up. Let her know she can’t phase you.
L: Okay…
D: I’mma get a plane and come out to see you, okay? Would that make you feel better?
L: N-no. I’ve got Damario here with me.
D: Oh, good. You’re still talking with him? I’m glad.
L: [CHUCKLE] Yeah. Well, I’m more than talking with him.
D: Oh? Is that so? Having some “conversations” with him, are we?
L: [LAUGH] Dad! Stop!
D: [LAUGH] I’m glad. He’s a great guy. He’ll definitely take care of you.
L: Yeah. He’s been really great.
D: Since we’re on the topic, what do you think of him? He really impressed me.
L: Rio’s been… [SIGH] Let’s just say I’ve tripped and am about to hit the ground, hard.
D: Aww. You’re falling for him. That’s cute.
L: Okay, okay.
D: Good. I really trust that guy. Anyway.
L: Yeah.
D: Keep me posted, okay? You’ll get through this.
L: Yeah.
D: Get mad.
L: Oh, I’m mad.
D: Good. Now kick her ass.
L: [CUCKLE] Yeah. Yeah. You know what? Yeah.
D: That-a-girl. You’ve got this.
L: Yeah. Okay.
D: Alright. I’ll talk to you later, okay?
L: Okay. Love you, Daddy.
D: Love you too, sweetheart. Bye, sweetie.
L: Bye, Daddy.
[END PHONE CALL]
Lisa and Jason sat at a long table in a conference room, dressed up for business. With them was Lisa’s attorney, a skinny lynx in a blazer. Jason tapped the table in frustration while Lisa sat completely still. They were there early but not that early. What was taking Sharice and her lawyer so long?
Finally, the door swung open and a panther walked into the room, holding the door open. Following her was a blonde cougar carrying an infant car seat. Once she and the baby were in the room, the panther stepped out of the room and grabbed a highchair. She then set the chair at the table for the cougar to set the car seat on.
“Forgive our tardiness. Infants, and all,” the panther said as she settled into her own seat. Sharice then took a seat beside her. “My name is Ellan Adajombe and I will be representing Ms. Sharice Michaels/Warner.” The lynx then took his seat next to Jason.
“My name is Phillip Moore and I will be representing Ms. Lisa DuPont. Along with us will be Jason Michaels. Do you consent to having him in the room?”
“That’s fine,” Sharice answered.
“Let us begin. Lisa DuPont, you are aware that you are being sued for Criminal Conversation and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress?” Lisa nodded in response to the panther’s question. “Ms. Warner and I have been talking and she has decided that she would like to settle this quickly and quietly. If we can come to an agreement and settle this all today, we will not be taking this public in court.”
“So, do what we say now, or else? Sounds like a threat to me,” Jason said.
“Everything sounds like a threat to you,” Sharice responded. The panther then held up her hand and Sharice sat back in her seat.
“Before anyone agrees to anything, I would like to understand the claims made against my client. What proof do you have that Lisa DuPont has done anything you are accusing her of,” The lynx asked. Sharice then grinned.
“I’m so glad you asked, Mr. Moore,” Sharice answered. Ms. Adajombe then grabbed a DVD from her bag and made her way towards the television on the other side of the room.
“Ms. Warner had obtained this footage from a mutual friend of her’s and Mr. Michaels’,” The panther began. “I believe this will answer any of your questions.” Adajombe placed the DVD in the player and hit play on the remote. Immediately there was an image of a boxing ring from a high up angle. Jason’s breath was deep and shaky. Lisa sighed and hid her face under her hand. “I’m glad to see you both recognize this ring,” The panther taunted. “But I would like you all to draw your attention to specific points in this footage. She fast forwarded the footage and a sped of Lisa and Jason moved and danced about the screen. “This first part has audio I’d like you to pay attention to.” She hit play.
“Have you told her,” Lisa’s voice sounded from the television. “Told her what?” Jason’s voice answered back. “About us?” “Hands up.” “Well?” “What’s there to tell?” “She doesn’t know?!” “She knows.” “Does she really?!” “Yes, she knows we’ve slept together, alright?” “I’m not talking about the first time when we were drunk. I’m talking about,” “Hands up!” “Jason!” “Hands! Up!” “I’m talking about Vegas!”
The room fell silent the moment Adajombe hit pause. No one move. No one spoke. She waited a moment, then hit fast forward again. This time she stopped it just as Jason kissed Lisa. “This will be the second point.” She lingered on the paused scene for what felt like an unfairly long amount of time. She then fast forwarded the footage again and hit stop. “This point, I would like to play out in its entirety. Also, please remember, this footage has audio.” She then hit play. Against anything either Lisa or Jason had wanted, there on the screen was what was supposed to be an intimate act of love. Sharice kept her focus on Jason as he grinded his teeth and refused to look at the screen. Lisa sunk further into her seat and stared off in front of her.
The footage played on, and on, and on, and on, and on. Adajombe stood with her arms crossed, looking over at the screen the whole time. Then, finally, she hit pause. The room stayed silent. Adajombe waited a moment then pressed play again. The act had completed, but yet there was more she wanted to show them. “The final point I would like you all to draw your attention to is here.”
“Then say the words,” Lisa’s voice demanded. “Say ‘I’m getting a divorce with Sharice.’” “Is that what you need,” Jason’s voice responded. “Fine. I’m getting a divorce with Sharice.”
“No, no, no! That’s not fair,” Lisa shouted and stood from her seat. “If you continue the video, he clearly goes against this! He wavered!” Adajombe marched over to her seat and grabbed a file.
“Ms. DuPont, will you please tell me the date of which this footage was captured?” It was obvious. It was right there on the screen the whole time. Plus, she remembered the day, exactly. She didn’t have to hesitate to tell her the date.
“May eighth,” Lisa sighed. The panther then made her way towards the lynx and handed him the file.
“Mr. Moore, can you please tell us the date of when Mr. Michaels and Ms. Warner filed for divorce?” The lynx looked closely at the form.
“May ninth,” he reluctantly responded.
“Ms. Warner, has talk of divorce ever come up prier to this date,” the panther asked.
“No, it did not,” Sharice confidently answered.
“But we were obviously heading in that direction,” Jason shouted, slapping the table. This caused the baby to get startled and start crying.
“Now, look what you did,” Sharice scolded. She picked her up and started shushing her.
“Hey, what about her,” Jason asked, referencing the baby. “Sharice had this child with another man! She was unfaithful long before any of this.” Sharice grabbed a bottle from her baby bag and started to feed the baby.
“Remember in the hospital how we were told that we needed to do bloodwork to help finalize the terms of our divorce,” Sharice asked. Adajombe grabbed another form and handed it to Moore.
“Mr. Moore, can you please tell us the results of the blood test,” Sharice’s lawyer confidently asked. Lisa sat stiff in her seat and she waited patiently for the answer. Moore began to mutter to himself as he read through the form.
“’Jason S. Michaels is the paternal parent of Cynthia Clair Michaels.’” Lisa slowly looked over at Jason.
“What,” Lisa asked with a breathy voice. “You said she had a rhoGAM shot.”
“She did,” Jason defended. “This doesn’t make sense! I’m A-, right? Sharice is A-. How the hell does Cynthia have B+ if we’re both her parents?!”
“Jason, you idiot,” Sharice began. “I’M the one with the B+ blood type! She got her blood type from YOU.”
“Not exactly how that works, but still. You are the father of this child,” The panther added.
“No. Valentine’s day, you went to stay with that asshole from college,” Jason tried to defend.
“I stayed with my fucking sister, ‘cause I was tired of dealing with your accusations while being pregnant! I needed some fucking support!”
“I can’t believe you,” Lisa said. “How did I get stuck in the middle of this?” The panther then rewound the footage back to their intimate moment and hit play.
“This,” Adajombe gestured towards the television and then to Jason. “Is why we’d like to settle things here and now and quietly. Sharice has been left in a spot where her husband was made to believe that she was committing adultery and then was left at one of her biggest moments of need. There’s no need to go public with this. I think we can all be reasonable here.” But to Lisa, the video in the background seemed to be louder than anyone in the room. She held her head with her hands. Moore saw this and got up to turn off the video.
“I think your point has been made, Ms. Adajombe,” Moore said firmly.
“You’re quite right, Mr. Moore. We would like to specify our terms. In exchange for destroying this footage and keeping this all quiet, we would like…” Before Adajombe could finish the door burst open. Two polar bears in suits walked in, followed by Lisa’s father. “Excuse me, this is a private affair,” Adajombe shouted. David did not even look at the panther and took a seat at the head of the table, opposite everyone else. The two polar bears stood behind him. David pulled up a brief case and went through his stuff. “What is the meaning of this?!”
“I would like to ask you the same thing. I would have just sent these two, but since I was in town, I figured I’d handle this,” David said calmly.
“’Handle this?’ Who the hell are you,” Adajombe asked.
“My name is David DuPont, of DuPont Industries. I am Lisa DuPont’s father.”
“You brought your daddy,” Sharice incredulously asked.
“DuPont Industries,” Adajombe asked to herself. Moore began to grin to himself.
“Ahhh! Mr. DuPont! It’s a real honor to meet you,” Moore said making his way over to shake his hand.
“You’re representing my daughter, yes?” Moore nodded in response. “Then it is a pleasure.” David shook Moore’s hand.
“What’s going on here,” Sharice demanded.
“I’m going to tell you what’s going on. We’re going to drop this ridiculous case and pretend like this whole thing never happened. You’re going to destroy that footage, and you are not to come anywhere near nor bother my daughter again.” Sharice scoffed at David’s demands.
“Oh, really,” Sharice challenged. “Or else, what?”
“Sharice, I wouldn’t,” Adajombe started to whisper to Sharice.
“Or I will sue you.”
“For what,” Sharice chuckled.
“Defamation,” David said with a smirk on his face. Adajombe placed her hands on Sharice’s shoulders trying to get her to stop talking. “Lisa,” David started up again. “Were you aware that Mr. Michaels was wavering with the idea of divorce at the times of your intimate involvements with him?”
“Of course not! I wouldn’t have done it,” Lisa said with an angered voice.
“Mr. Michaels. Be honest. Did you inform Ms. DuPont that you had not made up your mind about divorcing your wife prior to any intimate involvements with her?” David lowered his head and stared intently at Jason. Jason sat for a moment.
“No,” Jason answered softly.
“And isn’t it true that you made Ms. DuPont believe that you had indeed made up your mind, and told her that you were getting a divorce?”
“Yes,” Jason answered softly, again.
“There you have it,” David said with both arms out. “How could she be guilty of criminal conversation if she was ignorant to the status of your relationship with Mr. Michaels?”
“No! She,” Sharice started to shout.
“Are you seriously about to fight me on this,” David interrupted. “I might as well take you to court here and now. In fact…”
“No!” Adajombe jumped up. “There’s no need for that.”
“Why not,” Sharice insisted. David leaned forward and clasped his hands together.
“Listen carefully. Our name means a helluva lot more than your silly little feud with my daughter, Ms. Warner.”
“H-how did you know my name?”
“And I promise you,” David continued. “I will do whatever it takes to protect it.” No one said anything back to him. “So, do we have an agreement to drop this case and move on with our lives?” Sharice looked to her lawyer who slightly nodded back at her.
“What, are you serious,” Sharice whispered back to Adajombe. “Why?” Adajombe then pulled up her phone showing her the search results for “DuPont” showing that the family was worth billions of dollars. Sharice then slowly looked up at David and then over to Lisa. “But, I thought Jason had said she wasn’t a real DuPont.” She looked back at David again who raised an eyebrow to reiterate his proposal. “Fine,” she shouted.
“Wonderful.” He handed the polar bears behind him some papers and the two made their way around the room. “I’m going to need you all to sign this.” One of the polar bears ejected the DVD and snapped it in half. “And I promise you, if I find out any footage has made it passed this room, I will personally come after you.” Sharice was the last one to sign the paperwork before one of the polar bears grabbed it and brought it back to David. “Wonderful. Then our business here is done.” He packed up the papers and put it in his briefcase. He stood up and started for the door. “Oh, and congratulations on the new baby. She’s adorable! She looks tired, though.” Sharice, confused, looked up at David. “Little tip: blow gently at her eyes. She’ll blink, but since she’s so tired she’ll start to keep them close and fall asleep. Worked for my little girl.” He smiled at Lisa then gestured with his head for her to follow. Then Lisa, Mr. Moore, and Jason stood to their feet, ready to leave the room.
“Oh, no, no, no, no. You and I are not done yet,” Sharice said to Jason. “Sit your ass back down.” Jason looked over to Lisa and then back to Sharice before finally taking his seat. Lisa and Mr. Moore, However, took this opportunity to leave the room.
“I wish you all the luck, Mr. Michaels,” David called back before the door finally shut. The five of them made their way down the hall, into the elevator, and then finally out of the building, the whole time in silence.
“Thank you, Mr. Moore,” David finally said. “You will be getting a check soon.” Mr. Moore thanked David and congratulated Lisa before finally leaving. Once the remaining four were out of view of the conference building David grabbed one of the polar bear’s hand, and patted him on the back. “Yo! Marty! Chris! That was great!” Daivd then did the same to the other polar bear.
“You kiddin’ me? Alls we gotta do is act tough and we’s get a free trip to Vegas? Let us know next time you in a bind, huh” the one polar bear said.
“Speakin’ of which. To the strip,” The second polar bear suggested.
“Which kind,” The first polar bear joked and the two just laughed.
“Yo, Dave. We’ll see you, aight?”
“Sure thing. Have fun, guys,” David called to them, and the two left for the strip.
Lisa stood in awe watching as the two polar bears left them. “Daddy?”
“Yeah, sweetie?”
“Everything I ever said about you flaunting our name and pretending to be related to the rich DuPonts… I take it back.” David laugh.
“You’re welcome, sweetie. Told you your dad knew how to kick some ass.”
“I think… I think I need a drink.” David through his head back and laughed.
“You know what, baby girl? That sounds wonderful to me.”
David was gathering his things after spending the last few days with Lisa and packing them for his trip back home to New York. Lisa helped him, and in no time, David was ready to go. Lisa hugged her father. “Thanks again, Daddy.”
“Of, course, baby girl. I’m your dad. I’m gonna be there for you.”
“I know, but still.” Lisa sat on the couch and stared off for a moment with a smile on her face. As the seconds passed the smile slowly faded. “I… I still feel kinda bad for Jason.”
“He made his bed,” David said, getting himself a glass of water to drink.
“Yeah, but this has been a weird year. We’ve never really fought before any of this. He’s always been a really good friend to me, and always been there when I needed him.” Lisa’s voice started to wander with her mind. “And his friends used to always come to me and say that he should be marrying you instead of her.”
“Lisa,” David’s voice softly warned.
“I know, I know,” she said, snapping out of her trance. “Still, though. To have a child with someone you fell out of love with. That’s gotta be rough.” David only chuckled in response. “Well, I mean, he wants kids. He’s not like mom where he’ll just disappear.”
“You sure about that?” Lisa nodded back.
“Positive. He won’t leave her. But that means he’ll have to constantly interact with Sharice.”
“Well, that’s his problem, not yours.” After finishing his glass of water, he checked his watch. It wasn’t quite time to leave yet, so he sat down next to his daughter. Lisa started to chuckle to herself.
“What,” David asked, inquisitively, catching her infectious laugh.
“I can’t believe how much you scared everyone with our name.”
“The DuPont name has power,” he laughed.
“Like, both lawyers knew exactly what that meant the moment you said DuPont Industries. Moore jumped right on the opportunity, too, and played you up.”
“He was smart.”
“You know, it’s got me kinda thinking.”
“Thinking? About what?” Lisa slowly dropped her head.
“About when we spoke last Christmas.” David’s smile started to fade.
“Yeah?”
“How… How when I asked if we were related to the family and you said it was complicated. I’d like to talk about it.”
“Hunny,” David sighed. He brushed his fingers through his hair. “Another time, okay?”
“Seriously,” Lisa said as if she didn’t hear him. “There’s a whole lot about our family that I don’t know. It’d be interesting to see if there actually was some kind of tie to them or, really, to anyone.”
“I understand.” David placed his hand on her shoulder.
“It got me thinking about… you know… Mom.”
“Lisa.” David’s voice was that of someone who’s been through this before, but this didn’t stop Lisa. She continued to talk on as though this wasn’t bothering her father: calm and unconfrontational. She might as well have been thinking out loud.
“People were telling me that it might be beneficial to reconnect with her.”
“Lisa!”
“Someone even mentioned that if mom isn’t interested in getting to know me, chances are someone in the family is. She could be the linchpin to a potential whole side of the family.” David stood up in front of her.
“We are not doing this again.”
“I know. It’s just a thought,” Lisa said, though her demeaner stayed the same. When David looked into her eyes to check and see if she was back on board with him, he found that she was not there in the room with him. Wherever she was, he was having a hard time reaching her. “I could have aunts, uncles, grandparents. What’s one rotten egg compared to a whole family?”
“You made a promise,” David reminded her.
“I know.”
“Stop saying I know and listen.” David knelt down and grabbed Lisa’s hands. “Just let it die. Please.” Lisa sighed.
“I know, I know. I mean. Okay. Sorry.”
“Please. Don’t break your promise.” Her father’s eyes darted back and forth between hers. “Please?”
“Yeah. Okay,” Lisa chose to say. David stood back to his feet and sighed a sigh of relief. But Lisa’s face did not change. She still was not there in the room with him. He needed to grab her, quick. Something in her apartment might snap her out of it. Anything. Mention something.
“H-hey! Where’s the big guy,” David asked with a laugh. Lisa looked up at him. “I hadn’t seen him the whole time I was here.”
“Damario? He’s been busy. His patients have been a little problematic lately.”
“Oh, wow. That’s too bad. I was hoping to see him again. He’s not the guy I introduced you to anymore. Now he’s my potential son-in-law.” Lisa’s eyes widened.
“What?! What do you mean?! Did he say something to you?!” David laughed.
“I can’t tell if you’re excited or terrified.”
“Are you serious?! Seriously, Dad! Did he say something?” Lisa was up on her feet now, pressed against her father’s chest as though she was trying to take something he held just out of reach. David slowly brushed her off.
“No. I was just saying that that was where you two were headed. I said I haven’t seen the guy in a while.” Lisa let her breath drop, but her voice was still elevated.
“That doesn’t mean you haven’t spoken!”
“Are you scared?” Lisa looked off in a different direction. “Really? I thought you two were doing great. You said you were in love with him.”
“No. No, I never said that. I said that maybe, just a little bit, I might be falling for him.”
“But you’re not in love?”
“He’s… too perfect.”
“What does too perfect mean,” David chuckled. “Is that a bad thing?”
“No, no. It’s just… Jason was perfect.” Lisa’s arms were hugged close to her.
“You’re still thinking about Jason?” David took her hand and led her back to the couch as they both sat together.
“No! Well. Maybe? I don’t know. That’s not what I mean, though! It’s just…”
“You’re wondering when he’s going to hurt you,” David finished for her. Lisa didn’t answer. With that, David turned as best he could to face her more. “Listen to me. Damario’s never going to be able to hurt you if all you do is wear armor. Sure, you’re protected, but he’ll never get to see the real you. And you’ll never get to be the really you.” Lisa kept her gaze off her father. “I’m a pretty good judge of character. I was able to see right through Jason and was right about every single thing. And do you know what I saw in Damario?” Lisa looked up and shook her head. “I saw a kind, gentle soul who has learned to mature and take life seriously. Did he ever tell you about the tattoo he has on his chest?” Lisa sighed. “I imagine he did since you pretty much got the same tattoo on your neck. You of all people know what that means.” Lisa looked back down to the ground. “He’s not going to take you for granted. I’d say the two of you both have a new look on life, wouldn’t you say?” Lisa slowly nodded. “And. IF he were to hurt you, you now know how well your dad can kick someone’s ass.” Lisa laughed. “There’s a reason you chose him over Jason. Trust that.” Lisa nodded. David then leaned over and hugged his daughter, telling her that everything would be alright. “He’s part of the family, now. I’m too old for that to change on me.”
“What,” Lisa chuckled.
“I like him. You do, too. I think you can trust him.”
“Are you seriously hoping he becomes your son-in-law?”
“Well, yeah! I’ve always wanted a son, you know,” David laughed. Lisa swatted at her father, joining him in laughter. In the moment he caught a glance of his watch. “I’ve gotta get going, sweetie. Got a special father-daughter event at The Daffodil tomorrow.”
“Aww, really?” Lisa hugged her father. “I love you.”
“Love you, too sweetie.” David grabbed his bag and made his way to her front door.
“Call me, when you get home?”
“Yes, ma’am,” David joked. “Make him part of the family?” Lisa laughed.
“We’ll see, we’ll see.”
The two hugged again ad David headed off to the airport. Lisa closed her door slowly and turned around to face her empty apartment. Her eyes glazed over for a moment. Then they started to slowly shift between different spots in the room. Finally, she took a step away from her door and walked across her apartment to a long wooden cabinet on the opposite end of the room. On it was the picture David gave to her last year of him and her mother. She held it up and held on her mother’s face. After some time, she took the photo into her room where her computer was. Carefully setting it down beside her, she opened up a browser and typed in “SnoutBook.” Her fingers continued to move across the keyboard before a list of search results filled the screen. Clicking on a particular name, she scrolled down the home page to the “About” section.
Went to.
Studied at.
Born in.
Is married to.
Lives in...
Works at…
She opened a new tab and pulled up the game schedule for Las Vegas. New York, New York, New York.
December 12th.
Lisa opened the door to her apartment and let Damario in. She jumped up to wrap her arms around him and kissed him, one of the only few times she initiated a kiss. “Hey, babe,” she greeted. “I finally get to see you.” Damario smiled at her but sighed at the same time.
“Yeah. Work’s just been… exhausting to say the least.” Damario tossed his light jacket onto Lisa’s couch and took a seat beside it.
“Is… Is everything okay?” Damario didn’t answer at first. Not for any reason that would suggest a positive response but was lost in thought all the same. When no one started talking again, Damario looked up at Lisa, only just realizing she was talking to him.
“Oh! Yeah! Yeah, everything’s fine. Just wish I didn’t have to work as much.” Lisa gingerly sat beside him.
“Well. You’re not working now.” Damario laughed and then went back to his thoughts. His elbows were resting on his knees and his fingers connected with their opposites. “Are you okay,” Lisa asked with concern in her voice.
“Um. Yeah. So, everything still good after meeting with Jason and his ex-wife?” Lisa nodded. “And your dad already went home?”
“Yeah. He was upset, though. He really wanted to see you again.”
“Aww. Yeah, I wanted to see him, too. That’s too bad. I don’t think I’ve seen him since he first introduced me to you.”
“Don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of chances to see him.” Lisa laid her head on Damario’s shoulder.
“So. You’re gonna go through with it,” Damario changed the subject.
“Go through with what?” She sat up to look at Damario who was giving her a look as if she knew exactly what he was talking about. “Oh. Yeah. I think I will.”
“You’re not gonna message her first?” Lisa placed her head back on Damario’s shoulder, this time wrapping her arm around his and hugging it close.
“No. I figured if I try to message her first, that’ll give her an easy chance to say no and turn me away. But if I just show up, she won’t have time to say no, you know? Like, maybe she’ll entertain the thought better than if she had all the time in the world to come up with a way to say, ‘I don’t want you in my life.’”
“So, what’s the plan?”
“I’m thinking show up at her job and talk to her during her lunch break? I donno. Is that too brash?” Damario chuckled.
“You know what I would do?” Lisa just laughed. “You know what I’m going to say, right?”
“Yeah. ‘the thing that’s right for me.’ I know, I know.”
“Last time she saw you, you were an infant. You’re a grown woman now. She may be your mother, but you’re strong enough to take care of yourself.”
Lisa nodded and nestled even more into Damario. The two sat quietly on the couch for a time: Lisa thinking about her mother, and Damario with other thoughts that seemed to be causing his body to go rigid. When Lisa went to hug his arm closer to her, he did not move.
“Damario,” she asked. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Um. I was just wondering.” Lisa sat up to look at Damario. “Are you going home for Thanksgiving?”
“No?” Lisa cocked her head to one side.
“You’re not spending it with your dad?”
“No? Did he say something to you?”
“No. I was just wondering… if you’d like to join me for Thanksgiving.” Damario looked at Lisa the way a child would with their mother, begging her for some sweets.
“Of course! It’s not like I’m doing anything anyway.” She popped up and started to pace as she put together a short grocery list in her head. “Sure. We can do something small for the two of us.”
“Oh.” Damario stayed seated and retreated into himself. “No. I meant, would you like to join me and my family for Thanksgiving?”
“Oh…” Lisa stopped pacing. “Your family? Would they even want me there?”
“Yeah. They would love to meet you. I talk about you all the time. Do… Do you not want to go?”
“No! No, it’s not that.” She sat back down next to him. “You just seem very nervous about it. Is there something I should know, something I should do, say?”
“No. No.” Damario took a deep breath. “I’ve just never brought a girl home with me for the holidays before.” Lisa stared at him, shocked, before starting to giggle.
“What? Really? Never?” Damario shook his head. “I don’t believe that,” Lisa said, crossing her arms. “You’ve been in other relationships before. A lot of them, longer than us, right?”
“Yeah, but I never brought them home with me. This is the first time I’m asking this.”
“How come?” Lisa leaned forward to get a better view of the shelled off Damario.
“Well, I never really felt close enough with any of them. I know it’s childish, but the holidays mean a lot to me and my family. I don’t want to bring just anyone over. It’s a time of being close with the people you love.” He didn’t move, but his eyes shifted over to look at Lisa.
“I understand that,” Lisa nodded. “You don’t have to be afraid of me. I’m not going to mess things up for you. Just tell me what I need to do, and I’ll make sure we have a great Thanksgiving together,” she said in a cheery voice. Damario sighed.
“No. It’s not like that. In fact, all you really need to do to get along with my family is to just be you. They already love you as much as I do.”
“Oh. Then what’s wrong?” Damario rustled his hair in light frustration. “Am I missing something?”
“It’s just… this means a lot to me. This is a big deal to me.” Lisa was trying her best to follow what Damario was saying, but the more he spoke, the more he seemed visibly stressed. “I’ve… just been thinking.”
“Thinking? About what?” Lisa’s voice was soft and full of patience.
“About you. Actually. I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately. I’ve really been happy with us.”
“Uh huh…?” Lisa’s voice sounded as patient as before, but inside, her body had seized up.
“I know this summer was crazy. And with that lawsuit and all… I’m just looking forward to more time with just the two of us.” Lisa nodded with a forced smile. “You know, I was honestly shocked when you chose me over him. Not that I don’t trust you or anything. It just would have made sense to me if you told me that you wanted to be with him over me.” Lisa’s body soften a little as he spoke about her choice. “It meant a lot to me. It’s just nice… you know… to be loved.” Lisa shot out of her seat, involuntarily.
“Oh! Yeah! Well, you deserve to be cared for, you know! And Jason wasn’t gonna get it!” Damario stood up and squeezed her hands between his.
“I want to be completely honest with you, Lisa. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. I feel like I’ve got something precious with you. When I’m with you I feel safe. I feel listened to. I feel… equal. You… Lisa. I’ve really fallen for you. I love you, Lisa.” Lisa snatched her hands back from him, the force causing her to step backwards.
“I’m. I’m sorry!” She couldn’t believe she reacted so harshly to those three little words, but it was too late. Damario already had his head down and was making his way back down onto the couch.
“You don’t have to be sorry. I thought that might be how you felt.”
“No!” She flopped down onto the couch beside him. “No… I’m just…” She sighed. “You know…”
“Do you really think I’d hurt you like Jason did?” Lisa said nothing. “I’m not him.”
“I know…!”
“But you treat me as if I am.”
“No…” Lisa buried her face in her hands. “You know, my dad was just joking about you being his soon-to-be son-in-law… and I panicked. He asked me what the problem was, and I said… I said that you were too perfect, and that Jason was also… perfect… Once…”
“What did Jason do to hurt you?” Damario had his fingers pressed against one another again.
“He… He used me when he was unsure. He lied to me, to himself, took advantage of how I felt for him. He strung me along, making me believe that we could be together.”
“How could I do any of those things?” Lisa sat up straight to listen to what he was saying. “I know exactly how I feel about you. I told you, even though I knew you wouldn’t feel the same for me. I know you care about me and I know you’re still aching. I’m wary of all that. And most importantly, Lisa, we’re together. I can’t ‘string you along as I try to figure out whether or not I want to be with you.’ I’m already with you. You’re afraid of me being Jason when you and I are further along than you and him ever were. I’m past the point where I can turn into him.” Lisa re-buried her face. “But. I get it.” He pulled Lisa in close to him and wrapped one arm around her. “I’m not expecting you to say it back. I’m not pressuring you to. I’m not sour about it. In fact, I’m glad you didn’t just say it back when I did. I know that when you do say it, you’ll mean it. But that’s not going to change how I feel about you now. I love you. I truly do. That’s why I want you to join me and my family this Thanksgiving. You’re the first person I’ve felt this open with. This comfortable with. This… safe.”
“How can you feel safe with someone who can’t even say those three words back to you,” Lisa asked with her voice muffled in his chest. Damario laughed.
“Because I know you’ll tell it like it is. You won’t sugar coat things. You won’t lie to make me feel better. And you don’t try to hurt me. So what, you can’t say those three words? You haven’t taken advantage of me. You haven’t tried to sue me… You haven’t told me that my transplant was a ‘waste of a perfectly good heart…’ You haven’t told me that ‘they should have never resuscitated me.’” Lisa nestled her face further into his chest.
“But… I could be so much better than just that.”
“And you’re the only one who’s ever said that to me!” At this point it was a wonder how Lisa could even breathe with her face that mashed into his chest.
“But…” She finally came up for air and looked him in the eyes. “You deserve so much more. You deserve to feel like a king. You deserve to not wonder whether or not someone is just gonna up and leave you. You deserve to be happy.” Damario smiled back at her.
“What do you think I’ve got with you?” Lisa swatted at him, embarrassed. “It’s fine. It really is. I just want you to know how I feel. That’s it.”
“Even if I’m not on the same page?” Damario nodded back at her. She then sat up and rubbed her face. “You’re too forgiving.”
“Put it this way. Would you be mad at me if you said it and I didn’t?” Lisa took a moment to put herself in his shoes, then shook her head. “There. You see? So, stop worrying about offending me. I wouldn’t still be here if I thought you were a horrible person.” Lisa laughed. She then twisted her body so that she could hug Damario from the side. He twisted back to hug her back.
“Ugh… I feel gross,” Lisa groaned. Damario laughed.
“You should see your hair right now.”
“I’m covered in ick,” she groaned on as she sat up straight.
“Oh, god. You’re right! Ew! Get away!” Lisa tried to rub her face on Damario as he squirmed around to get away from her. But, alas, she caught him, rubbing her face across his arm. “You are disgusting, you know that?”
“Sorry! No take-backs,” Lisa laughed.
Once the laughter died down Lisa got up, hugged, and thanked Damario. She could feel that her face was still a mess and decided to head to the bathroom to wash up. As she stood in front of the mirror, she felt disgusted by what was staring right back at her. She had the perfect man right there and she couldn’t even admit that she felt the same way for him. She was clearly comfortable with him. She clearly felt safe around him. She could open up about anything with him, but not this? She splashed some water on her face and sat down on the edge of the bathtub. With her phone out and opened, she scrolled through photos of the two of them. All the selfies. All the candid shots that friends had sent her. The two of them always looked so happy together. After a few minutes of scrolling, she stood back in front of the mirror and stared herself in the eyes.
“Just tell him the truth,” she whisper-shouted at herself. “Say it! Say the words. You know you feel the same! Don’t be Jason back to him…!” Her eyes widened. “No… No, I can’t do that to him. I won’t do that to him… I can’t… What am I doing?” She threw some more water on her face, fixed her hair, and left the bathroom. Slowly, she shuffled her way back into the living room, her eyes clearly not focused on anything.
“Hey,” Damario called out. “You okay over there?” Lisa looked over at Damario. His brows were furrowed with concern. His body in a position ready to get up and come to her aid. Her lips curled upward allowing her cheeks to catch the tears now streaming from her eyes. Damario stood to his feet, still worried about her. When he got to her, Lisa grabbed his hands.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. Damario quickly pulled her in to hug her. “I’m so worried about you becoming Jason, I didn’t realize that I was.”
“No. No, you’re not doing that,” Damario tried to console her.
“I can’t lose you the way he lost me. I know how I feel. I’ve known how I felt for a long time now.” Damario placed one hand on the back of her head to hold her tighter. “You were honest with me,” she continued. “I haven’t been.” Damario tried to keep her in his embrace as though if he’d let go, so would her feelings. But Lisa finally pushed out of the hug and began to caress his face. “Come,” she whispered. “I have three very important words to tell you.” Damario let out a noise that sounded like he nearly choked on his breath. All he could do was smile and nod at her with tears in his own eyes as she slowly pulled him into her bedroom.
Albany, New York
December 12th, 2019
Lisa sat in a waiting room full of people and watched as one by one each was called back. The room would start to get empty and then fill up again as time went on. Eventually, the first of the people who were called back started to leave. She spent the better part of the morning practicing in her head what she was going to say. However, no matter how much she went through the words, how emotional she thought her words sounded, how pleasant and unconfrontational she’d thought she would be, she knew it didn’t matter. She knew that nothing would come out the way it was planned. But she practiced on anyway.
After some time, people were showing up less and less often, and the waiting room started to grow sparse as noon rolled around. Once the waiting room was finally empty Lisa swallowed her breath and walked over to the front desk.
“Excuse me,” her mousey voice squeaked out. No one heard her. She cleared her throat and spoke again. “Excuse me?” Two out of the three women who were sitting there had already left. The final woman there was just on her way out the door of the front desk area when she finally caught Lisa’s voice the third time she spoke. “Excuse me!”
“Oh,” the doe spoke in shock. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you. How can I help you?” The doe walked over towards the desk to better address Lisa.
“Oh. Um. I’m here to see Ms. Malone.” Lisa started to twirl the scarf she had around her neck. She was back to wearing them.
“Do you have an appointment?” An appointment? Of course, she would be asked that.
“Oh. No. No. She’s, um, my mother.” Lisa kept her head low and shoulders up as though she were waiting for the doe to believe her.
“Daughter? Malone? I didn’t know she had a daughter. Are you sure?” Though the doe’s voice was sweet and affirming, Lisa felt attacked and was unsure what to say next. It must have been written all over her face, though, because the doe tilted her head, smiled, and said “let me see if I can go grab her for you, okay? Wait here.”
The doe went through the office door and stopped just behind it. Lisa could still see her through the window of the door. She was talking to someone just out of view. Lisa fidgeted even more with her scarf and found herself to be rocking impatiently. The doe looked at Lisa and pointed. Finally, the doe came back through the door. “She’ll be out in a sec.”
“Thank you,” Lisa’s voice barely got out. As the doe left, presumably for lunch, Lisa paced back and forth. This was it. For the first time in her memory, Lisa was about to meet her mother.
Lisa took a breath to prepare herself, but before she could exhale the anxiety away, the main door into the waiting room opened. A white blue-eyed mouse with a black patch of fur over her right eye entered the room. Her hair was blonde, but her eyebrows were brown like Lisa’s. This was her. This was the same woman from the photo she had in her pocket. This was the same woman who gave birth to her. This was the same woman who left her and her father. She was right there.
“Can I help you,” the blue-eyed mouse asked impatiently. Lisa had only then just realized that she was standing there, taking everything in, but had not said anything yet.
“Oh! Oh. Ms. Malone? I.” Her gaze went down to the floor, but this time she caught herself doing this. She took a breath, stood firm, and began again. “My name is Lisa Belle DuPont, and I’m your daughter.” Straight to the point. Lisa stood ready for anything. Would she be elated? Would she be angry? Was she going to fight? What was her response going to be?
“Daughter? I’m sorry. Did you say daughter? I don’t have a daughter.” Ignorance. Of course, she would play ignorant. She didn’t know who Lisa was? Well, Lisa was about to remind her. “Are you sure you have the right woman?”
“You are Sandrine Malone, but you used to be Sandrine DuPont. You were married to David DuPont, and the two of you had me.” Lisa reached into her pocket and pulled out the photo her father had given her. “This is you, right?” Sandrine took the photo from Lisa and stared down at it. After a moment, she looked back at Lisa.
“What’s the meaning of this? Where did you get this?”
“From my father. Your ex-husband. David DuPont.” Sandrine looked back at the photo and back to Lisa again. Then she did something Lisa wasn’t expecting to happen. Or, at the very least, something she hoped would not happen. Sandrine started to laugh.
“David ‘DuPont,’ huh? That’s great.” Sandrine handed the photo back to Lisa. “Look. That man was garbage, and I left him. Sorry, hunny, but I don’t have a daughter.”
“Please,” Lisa began as her body also pleaded with her. “I didn’t come here to fight. I’m not here to cause any trouble.” The blue-eyed mouse put her hand on her hip as Lisa spoke. “I know you two didn’t get along but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to. I don’t care what happened between you two. If you two want to continue hating each other, that’s fine. The reason I’m here today is because you’re my mother… I just want the chance to get to know you, for me.”
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” Sandrine quickly and firmly said.
“Why?! I’ve done nothing wrong to you! Please. All I am asking is for a chance. I’ve gone my whole life being told how my mom was ‘this’ and how she did ‘that.’ I don’t care what other people say. I just want a mom. My mom.”
“I left you, and your father years ago. It tore me apart what your birth had done to us. I had to make a stand and take care of myself. I searched and I found something better and I’m not about to let you two back into my life and change all that.”
“What did I do,” Lisa’s voice shook as she shouted. “Is it him? Did he hurt you? You can hate him! Hell, sometimes I hate him. I get it! But I’ve never done anything to harm you. How could I? Why can’t I just have a chance?” Sandrine’s face softened for just a moment. Her words were getting to her. But just as quickly, Sandrine started to shake her head as though she was shaming someone.
“I’m sorry, but I said no.” Sandrine stood with her arms crossed. “I was done with both of you the day you were born.”
“I just want my mom. Please.” Lisa was practically on her knees begging her. Why wasn’t this working?
“Kiddo,” Sandrine chuckled. “Your mom died the day you were born.” Lisa just shook her head in response. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get lunch before my shift starts back up again.” She started to make her way past her for the front exit.
“No! Please? I…” Lisa stopped. They weren’t alone in the waiting room anymore. Sandrine caught Lisa’s face as she stopped and turned around to see what Lisa was looking at. Standing in front of the door between the waiting room and the back area stood a tall, skinny mouse with brown fur and dark hair. His eyes were a crystalline blue, and his fur had patches of gray and black. Sandrine sighed as she looked at him. Their eyes seemed to be having a private conversation before it would seem Sandrine lost whatever fight they were having. Sandrine huffed and stormed passed Lisa through the front exit. Lisa wanted to stop her, but her body would not move. Her shoulders did, however, as they involuntarily jumped with her breath and tears.
“I’m so sorry about that,” the tall mouse said. “Did I hear you say she was your mother?”
“I’m sorry,” Lisa said back. “I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble.”
“Oh, not at all! Wait. No! I can’t believe this. You’re Lisa DuPont from the FBA!” Lisa lightly chuckled. As she stood up straight to meet this mouse face to face the tears in her eyes helped them to shimmer as the afternoon sun hit them. They sparkled, taking the tall mouse by surprise. “Wow, you have really beautiful green eyes.” Lisa chuckled again, wiping her eyes at the same time.
“Are… are you hitting on me?”
“Oh, no-no. I just was taken aback by the color is all. Not too often do I see green eyes,” he clarified.
“Ah. Well, I’ll get out of your hair.”
“Actually. I was hoping you would have lunch with me.”
“You ARE hitting on me.”
“No. I just overheard what you two were talking about and thought I could help.”
“No offense, but this isn’t any of your business.”
“Well, I beg to differ. See, Sandrine is MY mother.” Lisa’s eyes lit up. “So, yeah. If what you are saying is true, that would make you and I brother and sister.” The mouse stood waiting for a response, but Lisa didn’t even move. “’sure you don’t want to have lunch with me?”
Lisa sat down in front of a large L-shaped wooden desk in a large office. The walls were painted an easy-on-the-eyes red color, and the windows behind the desk were practically floor to ceiling, looking out on to a beautiful snowy arboretum. The mouse took his seat behind the desk and clasped his hands together.
“So. You claim Sandrine is your mother,” he began.
“She IS my mother.”
“How do you know for sure?” Lisa then took the photo she had back out and handed it to him. “Well. Look at that. I’ve seen this picture before. So, that’s your father?” Lisa nodded in response. “And there’s Mom. Wow. It would seem like you’re telling the truth.”
“So… That would make you and I…” Lisa started to say.
“Half brother and sister. That. Is. Wild. I’ve never had a sister.” Lisa laughed as though it was supposed to come out as crying. The mouse reached over and grabbed a box of tissues and offered one to her.
“I’ve never not been an only child,” she said back, taking a tissue and blowing her nose.
“Wow. It’s a shame Sandrine isn’t actually your mother, though.”
“What?”
“My mother doesn’t have any daughters.”
“Look,” Lisa said firmly. “I know that’s what she might say, but she’s absolutely my mother.” The mouse shook his head in response.
“No. I’m sorry. She’s not.”
“How would you know,” Lisa defensively asked.
“Because I was there.” Lisa sat back, confused. “Lisa Belle DuPont. You’ve been making the headlines quite a bit lately. It would be hard not to recognize you. If I’m not mistaken, you got your degree in biochemistry. You’re in school now, too, right?”
“Yeah? I’m… I’m getting my doctorate in neurological sciences. Wait, but did you say you were there?”
“Oh wow,” he continued without answering her. “So, you really know your stuff! Genetics was hard for me in undergrad. Took me way too long to get a handle on it. Bet you that stuff comes easy to you, don’t it?” This was odd, right? What was he up to?
“Yeah?”
“You know basic things like dominant and recessive traits, right?”
“Of course!”
“So, something like blue eyes would be dominant or recessive,” he stopped, waiting for her to answer.
“Blue eyes are a recessive trait.” Her answer was sure and precise but had a tinge of confusion in it due to the path this conversation was now taking.
“Right! So, let’s say someone with blue eyes mates with someone else with blue eyes, then,” he stopped again.
“Then they both have recessive traits and can only pass on recessive traits.”
“Which means?”
“Which means all their kids would have blue eyes."
“Right!” The mouse leaned forward. “And YOU have beautiful green eyes.” Lisa stared back at him, first confused, then terrified. She snatched back the photo from him and examined it. “Like I said, She’s not your mother.” Lisa’s green eyes darted back and forth between David and Sandrine in the photo. But no matter how many times she checked; both of their eyes would be a brilliant icy blue color.
“No. No-no-no-no-no. This can’t be.” Finally, she slumped back in her seat, letting the photo fall to the ground.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “But I’m 99% sure your mother has green eyes. 1% sure she’s got brown eyes if my statistical genetics knowledge serves me right.” Lisa leaned forward and rubbed her entire face with both hands. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now.” When she stopped rubbing her face, she held her head in her hands and looked down at the desk.
“So, I guess you and I aren’t brother and sister after all,” she said softly as a slight joke to try and lighten the mood if only a tiny bit.
“Well,” the mouse started to say. “I never said that.” Lisa looked up at him, waiting for him to explain. “I just said we don’t share a mom.” She slowly sat up in her seat.
“What are you saying?” Lisa’s words were slow, soft, and pointed. He sighed back at her.
“You’re not my sister on my mother’s side… You’re my sister on my father’s side.”
“Bullshit,” she blurted out. “You may know whether or not your mother had any daughters, but I know for a fact that my father only had one child. Me!” The mouse shook his head in response.
“I have that same exact photo back at home. It’s the only photo I have of both of my parents. That man in the photo is my father.”
“So, what, you mean to tell me that not only am I not Sandrine’s daughter, but my father had a second child?! And I’m supposed to believe that?!”
“It’s the truth,” he promised. Lisa hung her head in frustration until she noticed something on his desk and her face changed completely. Eerily, she started to laugh. The mouse looked at her with confusion as she sat straight in her seat and continued to laugh.
“You know, you almost got me,” she said through her laughter, wiping the tears from her eyes.
“I did,” he asked in genuine confusion.
“My dad DID warn me about this. Did Sandrine put you up to this?”
“W-what?”
“It was a very convincing story, I gotta tell you. But you let one thing slip. In fact, it’s all over the building.”
“Please,” he said leaning forward. “Do tell.” Lisa nodded and smirked.
“Sandrine. Her maiden name is Vaux, right?” The mouse started to stammer as though he didn’t want to give that information away. “Don’t worry. You don’t have to confirm it. I know it’s true. And she’s now remarried and has the name Malone. But she was married to my father whose name is DuPont.” Lisa then picked up the nametag that had been sitting directly in front of her on his desk and held it up to him. “So, where the hell does Nadeau come from, Doctor?!” He looked down at the nametag and then back to Lisa.
“It’s… my father’s name,” he answered.
“No! You said this man. This man right here,” she said picking up the photo and pointing to her father, “was your father!”
“He is.”
“His name is DuPont.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Yes! It is!” The mouse grabbed Lisa’s hands to try and calm her down.
“Look. You never once told me his full name, right,” he asked. “So, there should be no reason why I would know it unless he mattered to me, right? Well, his name is David Avellino Nadeau. I’m not sure where ‘DuPont’ came from or if or when it was changed, but I promise you that was his name. In fact, I was named after his father, Emmett. Have you never spoken to your grandparents? Don’t you know their last name? It should also be Nadeau.” Lisa sat shocked.
“My… My grandfather died when I was young and my grandmother remarried, changing her last name.”
“What about your government documents? Birth certificate? Dad’s full name would be on that.”
“I…” Lisa started to slow down and think. “It went missing…”
“Have you ever tried to order a new one? All you would really need is your mother’s maiden name. If Sandrine was really your mother, Vaux should work, right? You ever try ordering one?”
“It… always kicks back… I could never… get it to work…” Lisa’s voice started to go mousy.
“Look,” he sighed. “Sandrine and David had one child together, and it was me. And like I said before, I was there. I remember when Dad brought you home. I was four at the time, but I vividly remember all the fighting. The gist of the story is that he lied to her, went behind her back, and had an affair. Mom wanted to forgive him and work things out, but he wasn’t willing to work with her or leave you with your mother’s family. So, Mom took me and left saying that you were the reason why…”
“… why they got a divorce?” Lisa started to shake her head. “No. No. She… She changed her mind about wanting kids during the pregnancy. She didn’t want kids at first. She was scared.”
“Until she got to babysit a friend’s newborn, right? Yeah, that’s true. She thought she’d never have kids until then. I was born that next year.” Lisa was vigorously shaking her head. “It’s true. Take a look. Where do you think I got this yellow neck from?” He pulled down his scrub top and showed her the tuft of yellow fur on his chest where normally a grayer fur would grow on other mice. Lisa said nothing. “Listen, what would I have to gain from lying to you? I’m a dentist. I don’t need help financially.” Lisa was no longer focusing on what Emmett was saying. Her eyes glazed over. “Hey.” Emmett stood up, came around the desk, and forced Lisa up onto her feet. He stood just a bit taller than her. At the very least, he certainly had David’s height. “I know this wasn’t what you were hoping for but…” He grabbed her hands. “But I’m glad you came today. I’ve always known about you, but I was told how awful my father was and how I should leave him out of my life. When you started talking about your mother on Tweeter, it took me a while to realize you meant Sandrine. And when you and I spoke online I didn’t want to say anything because, A: you probably wouldn’t believe me, and B: I didn’t know if you wanted to get to know me. I didn’t know if you were like Dad, or what.” Lisa took her hands back and started to walk away from him. She stopped to look at the paintings of orchids on his wall. One of the paintings was of a daffodil. This made her scoffed while dawning an unamused smile on her face. “I-I know you came here looking for your mom, and I’m sorry you still haven’t found her,” he said trying to grab Lisa’s attention again. “But, at the very least, you found a brother who’s… Who’s been dying to meet you.” Emmett’s eyes started to well up.
“I… I need to… I need to go,” Lisa squeaked out, her back still towards him.
“Oh… Yeah… That’s right. You’re playing against Albany today, aren’t you?” He chuckled. “Well, sorry, but I’m loyal to the Alphas.”
“I’m. I’m sorry,” Lisa said softly.
“For what? In fact, I should be the one saying sorry. I already knew this, but this is all new to you.”
“I’m so sorry, Doctor,” she repeated.
“Come on. I know I’m your older brother, but you don’t have to be THAT formal with me,” he joked to try and cheer her up. “Please. Just call me Emmett.” Lisa forced a smile. “I’ve got a lot of making up to do.” He reached over his desk and wrote on a small business card. “But if you ever need anything, anything at all, call me.” He took Lisa by the shoulder, turning her around and handed her the card with his personal number written on the back. “I’m here for you. Whatever you need. So, please, let me be the big brother you’ve never had the chance to have… The big brother I never got to be for you.” Lisa involuntarily nodded, looking down at the card. She didn’t know what else to do. Here was this stranger who claimed to be her big brother. This man who completely turned everything she believed on its head. She’s even spoken to him before. He knew who she was the whole time they spoke. But yet, when she finally did look back up at him, that feeling of being a stranger seemed to automatically melt away. Her eyes filled with tears, but this time there was a slight optimistic smile on her face. And from that feeling she spontaneously jumped up and wrapped her arms around him, nestling her face into his neck. Why? Why was she doing this? She couldn’t possibly believe him… right?
“Thank you,” she whispered. “For telling me the truth.”
“Hey. I’m your big brother. I’m gonna be there for you.” He hugged her back and the two stayed embraced together, swaying side to side. She’s never known this man, but there was an instant trust with him. This wasn’t a stranger anymore. This was her brother. Her older brother. Her Big Brother.
When they finally pulled out of their embrace, Lisa stood embarrassed with her eyes down at the ground. She laughed at the awkward situation. “I… actually do really need to go.”
“Yeah. I’m glad you’re my sister and all, but can you please lose today?” Lisa burst out in laughter. It was something to finally laugh at, and she let it all go. And with that comment, she swatted at Emmett the way she would with someone she was comfortable with.
“Not a chance,” she giggled.
“Stay in touch?” Lisa nodded back. “Take it easy on Dad, okay,” he whispered to her.
“Oh. That ain’t happening.” Her voice was smooth and snarky.
“I’d definitely talk to him about all this, though. Maybe he can point you in the direction of your actual mother.” Hesitant at first, Lisa started to leave, stopped, then turned back for one last hug. Finally, she headed towards the door.
“You know,” she called back from over her shoulder. “From the looks of it, when it comes to which parent we could have possibly ended up living with, you ended up with the better deal.” She then made her way out his office and towards the exit. Emmett slowly left his room next, stopping just outside the door. To the left of his door was Sandrine, leaning against the wall. He looked over at her, but Sandrine said nothing to him.
“I want to meet him,” Emmett informed her. Sandrine scoffed as she stood up straight and started to walk away.
“Your next patient is ready for you, Dr. Nadeau,” Sandrine called back in a formal tone.
Emmett sighed. “Right.”
PHONE CALL TRANSCRIPTION
From: Seattle, Washington
To: Las Vegas, Nevada
Date: 12/13/2019
Time: 1732 PST
Lisa: Hey.
Eric: Hey…
L: So?
E: I don’t wanna fight. ‘specially not online. You just had me concerned is all.
L: You of all people should know I’m free to make my own decisions.
E: Yeah, but it sound like you don’t trust me.
L: Well, every time I do something, or say something online, Dad knows about it.
E: Nah, I get that… He’s just my friend, you know.
[SILENCE]
E: Listen, I won’t tell ‘em, okay?
L: Right.
E: You have my word.
[SILENCE]
E: So, uh, how’d it go?
L: Well, imagine my surprise when I find out that not only isn’t Sandrine my mother, but I have a brother, too. An OLDER brother.
[SILENCE]
L: And you knew the whole time?
[SILENCE]
E: There, uh, was a time you two was talking online and… I told you to call me…
L: You wanted me to get away and stop talking to him… Wow.
E: Listen, Lisa, sweetheart, this is complicated.
L: No, it ain’t! This is becoming less and less complicated by the minute. Dad fucked up and tried to hide it. The thing I don’t get is why? Why hide it from me? Other people? Okay, I get that. You wanna look good to other people. But to me? What harm would it have been for me to know the truth?
E: [SIGH] I donno…But like I said a whiles back: this is between family, between blood.
L: Well, the more time that goes by, the more “family” there might be… and the more blood there may be.
E: So… You gonna talk to him…? Your dad, I mean.
L: [CHUCKLE] [LAUGHTER] [CACKLING] I’m done! It’s that simple. Yeah. Yeah, we’re gonna talk.
E: Thought so…
L: Anything ELSE I should know?
[SILENCE]
L: [LAUGHTER] Of course.
E: I won’t say anything about this to him.
L: No, you’re not. Like you said, between blood.
E: [SIGH] I’m… I’m sorry I keep spreading your information to him.
L: No more. You hear me? I’m sick of it.
E: Yeah… I hear you. [SILENCE] How is he…? What’s he like?
L: Emmett? Well, he certainly looks like an amalgamation of Mom and Dad… Oops. [SNICKER] I mean, SANDRINE and Dad. Gotta get used to doing THAT now. But, he seems nice. When I think about it, he tended to stick his neck out for me online every now and then. Who knows, maybe being an asshole skips a generation.
[SILENCE]
E: I’m real sorry, hunny... Is that why you didn’t come visit me the last time you were in Seattle?
L: Ha! No. I didn’t come visit you because of the last time I saw you. Remember? You brought Jason with you. Didn’t know if you’d pull something like that again.
E: I… I wanted to help the kid out, you know. Give ‘em a chance.
L: Do me a favor? When it comes to giving people chances with me, let me be the judge.
E: Okay… Fair enough.
L: [SIGH] Listen, I’m gonna go.
E: Yeah. I gotta get to the Lounge, myself. Take it easy on your dad?
L: Why does everyone keep telling me that? No. I will absolutely not.
E: [CHUCKLE] You know, you’re kinda scary right now. When did you get so… “in charge?”
L: I have Damario to thank for that. That, and all the crap people keep putting me through… Alright, Eric. I’m gone.
E: Alright… Take care… I love ya.
[SILENCE]
L: [SIGH] Love you, too… ya bum.
E: [CHUCKLE] Bye.
L: Bye.
[END PHONE CALL]
Monday, December 23rd. Queens, New York. Las Vegas vs. Queens. The score at the end of the night: Las Vegas Wildcards 115, Queens Pride 127.
Just like last year, Lisa’s last game before the Christmas break was in Queens. And just like last year, her father was there to cheer her on from the crowd. Lisa’s face was aglow. It didn’t matter how the game turned out; Lisa’s face was bright. She smiled the entire time she was playing and that didn’t stop even after the game was over. Of course, it would have been better to win, and losing Misha in the first quarter certainly made things all the more difficult, but that was okay. When the game was over, she practically ran over her father and greeted him with an even bigger smile.
“You came,” she shouted.
“Of course, I did! Wasn’t gonna miss my baby’s game when it’s right here at home,” David said back giving her a hug.
“How sweet of you.”
“Well, what do you think? Wanna stay home for Christmas? I’ve got some great things planned for us.”
“Oh, yeah,” Lisa chuckled. “Sounds super-duper!” David laughed back.
“You alright?” Lisa responded back with a thumbs up. “Where’s the big guy?”
“Damario?”
“Yeah. Thought he’d be here for sure.”
“He’s staying with family for Christmas,” Lisa informed him.
“That’s a shame. I haven’t seen him since like March/April.”
The two continued on with idle chit chat, talking to each other, members of the team, and fans. After a brief time, Lisa went back to the locker room to change and came running back out to meet with her father. The two got into his car that was parked in the parking garage attached to the stadium. In the car Lisa dictated what was being played on the radio. She switched from station to station, eventually landing on a station playing solely Christmas music. Still aglow, she bopped and tapped her legs to the beat.
“You’re certainly cheery tonight,” David told her. “Tell me, what’s new?”
“Stuff,” Lisa said back in a playful tone. “Did I ever tell you how I got my cat, Bella?” David rose an eyebrow.
“What,” he laughed. “Where did that come from?”
“I told the story online once back in January when I got her, but I don’t think I ever told you.” David shook his head.
“No, I don’t think you told me her story. I’m assuming this is gonna go somewhere. But, go ahead. Tell me of your cat’s humble beginnings.”
“She was a stray. Sort of. Her mother was a house cat that got out one day and got lost. She went missing for weeks and weeks until a random person found her. But she wasn’t alone. She had a newly born kitten with her. So, the person who found them took them both to the nearby shelter. The shelter checked the mother for tags and chips and eventually found that she was registered to someone, so, they called them. When the owner came to pick up their cat, the shelter tried to also give them the kitten. But the owner said that they couldn’t have both the mother and the kitten. So, the kitten was left with the shelter.”
“Oh, that’s sad. She was abandoned.”
“Yup. But one day the kitten got out. She ran out the front door when a family came to visit the shelter and she was never found. I was walking around San Jose before one of our games and I happened to find her in an alley. I coincidently brought her back to that same shelter and they told me this story. What’s even more amazing is that I found her in the same place the last person found her and her mother. Poor little girl. She got separated from her mother and went back to look for her only to find nothing. Well, she did find someone she wasn’t expecting to find. Now she has someone who will love her and always be by her side no matter what. I think it’s such a cute story, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I guess that is kind of cute,” David smiled. “What made you think about it?”
“I don’t know. Just randomly crossed my mind, I guess.”
They continued their ride back to their apartment silently listening to the radio. The upbeat jolly music kept the car ride feeling calm and relaxed. Once they finally reached their neighborhood David did a couple of drive-arounds before finally stopping in front of their building.
“Go ahead, and head upstairs,” David instructed. “Might take some time before I find a parking spot.” Lisa nodded, took the house keys, and got out of the car. This place seemed to feel exactly the way it did when she came here as a small child for the very first time. It had that same unfamiliar smell to it, that somehow made her realize that that smell didn’t just “disappear” as she got older, she just got used to it and associated it to “home” rather than to “a foreign place” the way it used to be. The odd, short, round sidewalk lights helped aid in this place’s unique feeling. None of them were the same color. You could tell they were all supposed to be that street-light-yellow-orange color, but some were more yellow than others, other were darker orange. There were even some that were an odd bluish-green color for some reason. What an odd place. Not home. Not anymore. Just a memory and feelings.
When Lisa finally reached her front door on the 28th floor, Lisa entered and found a surprise waiting for her. Inside, there was a Christmas tree and lights and garlands everywhere, all of it from her childhood. The tree even had some of the old ornaments she made back in kindergarten. He kept it all this time? For a moment Lisa felt a warmth in her heart. He loved her. Her dad was really trying for her. What a great dad. So what, he kept secrets from her. So what, he lied about her mother. So what, he never told her about her brother. So what, there were probably more secrets being kept from her, that he played her for a fool, that he wasn’t intimidated by her and felt it okay to pull the wool over her eyes, that she still doesn’t know about her own family, that he keeps doing things like this, that she keeps trusting him only to be given reasons not to, that she can’t trust a word he says now. So what?
David came through the door about 15 minutes after she did. How lucky. It didn’t take an hour this time to find a spot.
“Hey, baby,” David called to Lisa. “What do you think?”
“It’s amazing,” Lisa softly said. “I can’t believe you kept all this stuff.”
“Of course, I did. I wasn’t gonna throw this stuff away. You crazy?” David laughed. But Lisa said nothing. She just grabbed two chairs from the kitchen and dragged them into the living room. She set them one in front of another, then took a seat in one of them. David gave a confused smile as she did this. “What’s this,” he asked. Lisa clasped her hands together and looked off into the distance. Her face and posture were neutral. “Hunny?”
“Who’s Emmett?” Her voice was soft and unaccusatory. David took a breath.
“Oh man. Well. Emmitt was my dad, your grandfather. I wish you were old enough to remember him. He loved you so much. But he died when you were-“
“No, not grandpa,” Lisa interrupted. “I’m talking about his grandson.” The only thing that moved was her eyes as they now focused on her father. David’s nose started to grow a bright pink color as the blood rushed to his face. Lisa could see a tendon in his neck move as he started to grind his teeth.
“Tell me you didn’t,” he whispered.
“So, you do know who I’m talking about.”
“Tell me you didn’t,” he shouted. Lisa said nothing. “You made a promise! How could you?! I told you not to go to her!” Lisa stayed quite and observed as her father went off. “What did she tell you, huh? What lie to she feed you?” Lisa continued to watch him. “I told you she would try to feed you some lie that would end up hurting us! I told you this! She wants to pit us against each other! She’s a manipulator!” Lisa readjusted in her seat. “In fact, I bet you I know exactly what she said to you-that conniving little- She threatened it before she left. She tell you he’s your brother or something? That’s it, right?” Lisa didn’t respond. “You want to know the truth, the truth she sure as hell wouldn’t tell you? Emmett is you! That’s right. We had two names picked out for you. ‘Lisa’ if you were a girl, and ‘Emmett’ if you were a boy. Bet you she didn’t tell you that, did she!”
“Actually,” Lisa finally spoke. “Sandrine didn’t tell me anything. The only things she said to me were that she wasn’t my mother, she left the day I was born, and she wasn’t going to let us back into her life. That’s all.”
“’That’s all,’ huh? Really? I know her better than you do, and I know you’re not telling me everything. If that’s all she said, then where did you get the name ‘Emmett’ from?”
“From Emmett.” You could almost see David’s soul stumble inside him. “It’s kinda amazing. If there was ever anyone who looked like both their mother and their father, it’s him. He looks exactly like you and Sandrine. Did you know he’s a dentist? He’s real nice. We’ve actually been talking for a while and I didn’t even know it. He did, though. He’s always known about me.” David was shaking on the inside. “Take a seat.”
“No. No, this is some kind of ploy to-“
“Shut up and sit down!” David froze. What was that? Lisa’s been angry with him before, but this was different. He obeyed and took a seat in the chair in front of her. “So, you have a son, huh? And that son is yours and Sandrine’s ONLY child? Sandrine isn’t MY mother?” David looked away. “And ‘DuPont.’ Not your real name, either, right? Your real name is David Nadeau?” All David could do was close his eyes and shake his head. “The lies just keep coming and coming, don’t they? Alright, who is she?”
“Lisa, this is-“
“No. We’re not gonna start explaining ourselves. I want to know who my real mother is.” David stayed quiet. “Who. Is. She?” Silence. “Give me a name, something! Who is she?!
“Bellamy,” he finally whispered. “Her name’s Bellamy.”
“Bella-Are you freaking serious?” Lisa threw her head back. “So, let me get this straight. I’m named after Melissa, the woman you wish Mom was, and Bellamy, the woman you cheated on Mom with?! Oh, wait! I’m sorry. My mistake. Sandrine isn’t my fucking mother!”
“Do NOT take that tone with me,” David finally shouted.
“Shut your goddamn mouth! You are in no position, whatsoEVER, to tell me what to do. After everything! Where is she?”
“Lisa…”
“Answer my goddamn questions!”
“She’s gone!” The room went quiet for a moment. “She’s gone,” he whispered.
“’Gone?’ What do you mean ‘gone?’”
“There… There were complications during the delivery. She started hemorrhaging and… She passed before she even had a chance to hold you.” David hung his head as he spoke, but Lisa gave a breathy, silent chuckle.
“That wasn’t a metaphor? ‘Your mother died the day you were born.’ You meant that literally? She’s actually dead?” Lisa laughed again. “You had an affair and that affair killed her?” David stood to his feet and back-handed Lisa in the face. It happened so quick that neither of them could really believe it. In the shock of it all there was a slight pause before David began to talk.
“You have NO idea what we’ve been through. What I’VE been through!” Lisa slowly turned her head back to face David. “I sacrificed EVERYTHING for you!” Lisa continued to stare him down. “The moment we found out she was pregnant; we did whatever we could to keep you alive! Do you know how many times her pregnancy was almost terminated? How many people had a paw in attempting to end your life before it even began?! I saved you! She gave her life for you! I loved her. And, yeah, I was an ass to Sandrine. You’re right. I cheated on her with Bellamy, but I was going to take responsibility for all of it. Sandrine wanted you gone. Bellamy’s husband wanted you gone-“
“’Husband?’ She was married, too? Cool.”
“He wanted you dead! When he found out you weren’t his child, he… He hunted us down. He was mad!”
“I’d be mad, too, if my wife went behind my back and fucked a married man! I would’ve hunted you down, too!”
“He would have killed us! That’s why I changed our name! That’s why we moved to the city!” Lisa just shook her head. “I wasn’t going to lose you…”
“You could have just as easily put me up for adoption. Get me out of your life. Go back to your wife. Why bother with all the risk?”
“I wasn’t going to lose my daughter! I fought for you!”
“Like you fought for your son? Like you fought for Emmett? What happened to him? He was your child, too.”
“He had Sandrine! If I had it my way, we would have all be together, but Sandrine wanted you gone in order for us to stay together. I couldn’t do that, so we went our separate ways. It was the hardest decision of my life, but I knew that this way both of you would at least be with one of your parents.”
“Thanks for that. Really worked wonders for me.” David snarled at Lisa.
“You ungrateful little-“
“Let me ask you something,” Lisa continued. “Did she have any other children? My mother? My real mother? Do I have any other siblings I don’t know about?” David didn’t answer. “Come on, don’t get all quiet now.”
“She… had two sons.”
“Awesome,” Lisa snickered. “So, like, in the matter of two weeks I went from being an only child to being the youngest of four! I don’t have any other siblings, do I? With all the girls you were screwing in my bedroom, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“Now, you listen to me! You can be mad all you want, but that doesn’t change all the things that were sacrificed for you.” David continued on, but Lisa froze in place. Her eyes darted back and forth as she scanned a random thought that had just entered her mind.
“Why ‘DuPont?’ Why was that the name you chose?”
“Lisa!” But when Lisa didn’t respond, David sighed. “Bellamy’s husband wouldn’t think to search his own last name to try and find us…”
“HIS name is DuPont? The man you said who was hunting you down? The man you said who wanted me dead? I’m named after that guy?”
“No! Of course, not! I would never! It’s not HIS name. It’s Bellamy’s… He was the one who changed his name when he and Bellamy got married. They wanted to keep the DuPont name front and center.”
“What is with this goddamn name?! Wait… Oh my God. SHE’s a DuPont, isn’t she? Like the real deal, part of the famous family?”
“Lisa…” Nothing was said for awhile after that. They sat quietly taking everything in. First this, then that. If she was going to have another bomb drop on her, she was going to lose it. Why was she just learning all this stuff now? So much of this would have been easier to take had she just known from the beginning. David’s posture softened. “I wanted you to have that name to help one day reunite you with that side of the family. They’re your family no matter what. But they won’t want you if you’re just some…”
“Some bastard child,” Lisa finished.
“I wanted to show them that you were just as much a DuPont as they were.”
“Why not tell me this from day one? What reason do I have to believe you even now?”
“The whole thing is very complicated,” David defended. He leaned forward and gently held her hands between his. “Hunny, I love you, but the DuPonts won’t understand that. They won’t see what an amazing girl you’ve become if you weren’t brought into the family in the official way. I want to make them see. Make them love you as much as I do or try to come close. There’s a reason for all of this. Everything. I just…”
“You know,” Lisa said as she pulled her hands out of his grasp. “You called Sandrine a manipulator. Maybe she is, maybe she isn’t. But I know for a fact, she ain’t got shit on you.” She pushed herself up out of her seat. “I’m gonna let you know that I’m gonna go after them, my real family.”
“Lisa, no! You can’t just-“
“I’m not asking your permission.” She started to head for the front door. David stumbled out of his chair to chase and stop her. He grabbed her shirt and violently spun her around to face him.
“You can’t go after them now. You just can’t. Not now. I will not let you,” he said through his teeth. What happened to the soft and loving David?
“Yeah,” Lisa asked calmly. She was being nearly lifted off the ground by him. “What’s gonna stop me?” David thought for a moment then grunted.
“I will, if I have to.” Lisa smirked. She then grabbed his wrist and used the palm of her other hand to press against his thumb, forcing him to lose his grip with her.
“No, you won’t. You can’t manipulate me anymore.” She stepped backwards and grabbed the doorknob.
“I worked my ass off for you! I’m not gonna have you ruin everything, you ungrateful little brat! I lost my wife! I lost my son! I lost everything because of YOU!” David bit his lip after saying that.
“Really,” Lisa whispered. “So, it’s all my fault? You lost everything because you fucked some girl and got her pregnant? It’s my fault? It’s nice to see the real you, again.” David couldn’t take back what he said, but he was too angry to try and back down now.
“If you go after them… I will make your life a living hell,” David threatened.
“Ha. Spoken like a loving father.” She opened the door and walked through. “You do anything, anything at all to try and stop me, I don’t care who you are, I. will. Take. You. Down.” She then left the apartment and slammed the door behind her. David could not move. He was seething. His shoulder rose and fell with each breath and his claws nearly punctured holes in his palms. Finally, he let out a shout and thrashed about the apartment. His movements seemed to have purpose, though, as though he was looking for something.
“FUCK,” he screamed. “FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!” He found his phone under some papers and picked it up. “God FUCKING dammit! The FUCK am I paying you for, Damario!”
December 23, 2019 Queens Pride: 127. Las Vegas Wildcards: 115.
The score remained etched upon the minds of the entire team as they endured a long, boring flight back home to Las Vegas. It was everyone’s fault, and it was no-ones. Losing their captain only minutes into the first quarter had been an unexpected shock, and despite the best efforts of the whole team, it hadn’t been enough, and they went home with a loss for Christmas.
Even Coach Soros knew the team had played their hearts out, so there was no hard talk, no ultimatums. Simple review of game footage, and then the screens were turned over to the players to watch what they wanted, resulting in a melancholy Christmas party in the sky. Sports drinks replaced champagne, and classic movies replaced a dance floor and DJ. It was strange, yet felt right on such an evening, with a quiet passing over the team by the end of It’s a Wonderful Life.
Some on the team had been quieter than others, however. It could be explained by the loss, or concern for Misha, but to one who had endured losing streaks, and team dysfunction before, Crosby eyed Lisa DuPont with care. Something was wrong. Something other than the game was bothering her, but the plane was not the place to discuss it. There could be no escape from their teammates, no privacy in which to draw out what was bothering her, if she was even willing to tell. Despite his short time with the team, Crosby liked to imagine he had struck a good rapport with his teammates, but sometimes he could never be sure.
The airport was dead slow as they landed shortly before midnight. After a loss, there was some comfort in that, as it meant no press to run through the same questions for the umpteenth time. No, there was just the walk through the concourse to the team bus, followed by a ride back to their practice facility, where everyone was parked.
Crosby lingered on the bus, staging his exit to be shortly after Lisa’s, near the end of the group.
“Hey, Lisa,” he spoke in a quiet, almost unsure voice, as he nodded to her after stepping onto the unloading platform. “I, um…” he stumbled for words, a trait not like him in typical conversation. “Could you come with me for a bit?”
The genet’s smile was nervous, tail ticking and lashing with what could be best described as social anxiety, if appearances could be believed.
“Look, I know it’s late, but there’s, um. There’s something I want to show you,” he added, biting his lower lip. “I can drive us. I’ve got the Rolls. Well, one of the Rollses, I mean.”
Lisa turned around when she heard Crosby’s voice and thought for a moment. After a loss, for her in more than one way, Lisa certainly had a ragged look on her face. “Actually, I’m gonna,” she started to say. She wanted desperately to go home and bury her face in a pillow. After having just come from a fight with her father, interacting with other people was the last thing on her mind. She still felt on guard, despite the long plane ride back to Las Vegas. But as she took the time to think she realized that letting that anger continue beyond New York would oppose the stand she had made against her father. She was going to start living for herself, no longer letting her father dictate her joy. This was a test. A hard one. But if she could do something for herself immediately after speaking with her father, she’d at least be on the right track to taking charge. She started again. “You know what, sure. Sorry. Where did you want to go?”
Visible relief washed over Crosby, and his smile lost some of its nervousness. “It’s, um, it’s a surprise. But I think you’ll like it. C’mon.” Ticking his head toward the team parking area.
A deep blue Wraith sat parked there, its lights slowly warming to life as Crosby drew close. Like a proper gentleman, the genet opened Lisa’s door for her, helping her in, before stowing her bag and his own in the trunk. If the car moved at all when he dropped his large frame into the driver’s seat, there was little way to tell.
Despite its turbocharged V16 engine, the Wraith was virtually silent as it drove out onto the quiet street, Crosby navigating by memory instead of any kind of GPS until they hit the strip. There, the lights of Las Vegas washed over them as if transporting the pair to some other world. A world of fantasy, a world of unbridled ambition, a world of hope and dreams. But inside the car, insulated from it all, the reality of the world remained.
“Tough game,” Crosby finally said, breaking the silence. “I’ve had worse, but… they’re never fun. It doesn’t get easier with experience.” He was stalling, yet at the same time there was an honesty to him which was revealed behind his typical mask of chipper optimism.
Blinker set, he turned off the strip, and started away from the city center, out into older Vegas, where there were even fewer cars on the road. “Team took it hard, that was easy enough to see, but you took it harder. Maybe the others didn’t notice, but I know the brave face. I know it… I know it well.”
A few turns, and lights of some old establishment appeared on a corner. “Here we are,” Crosby announced. It was an all-night diner. Old, simple, anything but fancy. A remnant from Vegas’s past which had somehow clung to life, with its tarnished chrome, plate glass windows, and flickering neon. Pulling into a parking spot, he got out and opened Lisa’s door. “Trust me,” he said. That smile was back, but there, bathed in the cheap fluorescent light streaming through the diner’s window, was illuminated pain behind it, and an understanding. “You looked like you could use some pie.”
Lisa stepped out of the car and took in the site of the diner. She’s been in Vegas for over a year but she didn’t know about this place. It seemed like a place her boyfriend, Damario, would know about, though. She’d have to remember this the next time the two went out together. She gave a soft chuckle. “Pie?”
“Yeah, pie,” the genet smiled a bit wider. “Sometimes it’s what you need. C’mon, they know me, here. We’ll get the good table.”
The “good table” was simply a regular booth meant for four, identical to most of the rest. The standard sort, formica tabletop trimmed in chrome, low-back seats made of that special super-squeaky vinyl, with one end of each bench seat butting up against the wall, with a window to look out at the lights from.
“Thanks, Flo,” Crosby said to their waitress as she set down a cup of coffee for him right away.
“And you, dear?” Flo asked. Her voice spoke to a life as a former chainsmoker, and she might have been the waitress there for decades. “Coffee? Tea? Somethin’ else? I already know what this one’s orderin’.” She pointed at Crosby with the butt of her pencil.
“Coffee’s fine, thank you,” Lisa said in a polite yet hushed voice.
“Cuppa joe, comin’ up,” Flo nodded, ticking a box on her order pad. Looking back at Crosby, she asked, “One piece? Two?”
“Two,” Crosby nodded. “The usual.”
“You got it, boss. Pity about that game, tonight. Ah well, can’t win ‘em all,” Flo gave the pair a conciliatory smile, then headed back to fetch Lisa’s coffee.
Crosby blushed lightly, smiling. “So, yeah, I might come here… every time we lose,” he admitted.
“Actually,” Lisa said nodding with approval. “That’s not a bad idea. Would certainly make the sting of losing feel way better.” Lisa, too, was doing her best to keep up a joyful appearance, but it was a pitiful attempt.
Flo returned with Lisa’s coffee, then vanished back into the kitchen again. Crosby took a sip from his mug, having added no cream nor sugar, then sighed as he set it back down.
“A long time ago, someone took me to a place like this after a bad game,” he began to explain. “I didn’t understand it at the time. You might not either, but that’s okay, I’m not expecting you to. But it’s more than just the loss, Lisa. Something’s wrong.”
He immediately held up a paw, defensively, and continued before he could be interrupted. “Not everyone can see it,” he assured her. “Most can’t. The fans? None of them. But I can. I’ve been there. I’ve been on that side of the table before, with a veteran teammate talking to me about things I didn’t want to have to explain. I’m not asking you to explain, Lisa, trust me I’m not. I just want to let you know that I see it. I get it. And I’m here for you because I care about you. You’re more than a teammate, you’re a friend. Friends are things we have precious few of in this kind of life.”
Flo had been hanging back, a plate held in each paw, and only approached once Crosby had finished speaking. “Two usuals,” she said, nodding. Before each player was placed a generous slice of homemade peach pie, on a clean, simple white plate. “Enjoy.” With that, she was gone.
Lisa picked at the pie with her fork, not really taking any amount of it to eat. Not that it didn’t look delicious. She kept her gaze low. “I appreciate this, really. It’s nice, you know, to have something feel stress-free for once.”
Crosby took the tip off of his slice of pie with the edge of his fork, then speared it to pop it into his mouth. A very satisfied rumble followed a bit of chewing, and he reached for his coffee to wash it down.
“We’ve got enough stress in our lives as it is,” he chuckled. “The game, trainers, Coach, the media, the fans, FMZ, family stuff, agents, you name it. Finding a way to keep yourself is vital, I’ve found.”
Another section of pie was eased off with the side of his fork, and he chuckled, “Though, I do admire how you’ve kept yourself, Lisa. I saw your press conference, I saw the change in your attitude once you got the tattoo. You’re strong. Stronger than you know, stronger than anyone will ever understand. Except those of us who have been there.”
The genet looked into her eyes as he said those last words, forcing a swallow afterward. It took her a moment, but Lisa looked back into his eyes. When it finally registered what he had said, her own face went serious. She didn’t know whether she should ask about it or not, but she gave him a nod of acknowledgement before looking away again.
Though her eyes were averted, she was now fully present. “People keep calling me that: strong. I wish I didn’t have to be. Sometimes I wish I were boring.” She chuckled a little saying that and finally began to eat her slice.
“It would be nice, sometimes, wouldn’t it?” Crosby chuckled. “But it wouldn’t be us. Besides, we like to imagine our boring lives as an extension of those we know, and what we’ve done. I could dream all day long about just being in Luukas’s arms in bed or going on drives with him. But I’d never have met him if it wasn’t for the game. If it wasn’t for having to push myself every day, and push my team, while they push me in return. I miss him, Lisa. I miss him so much that it hurts. But I lost him because I wasn’t strong. I blamed myself for my hearing loss, I let it get between us. Self-pity turned to self-loathing, and I ran. I left him.”
The genet’s voice began to quiver a bit, and he stared down at his pie. “I left a good, wonderful man. A man I loved, and who loved me, because I wasn’t strong enough to know when I needed to ask for help. I blamed myself for things which were out of my control, and I ran away.”
A sigh, another poke at his pie, followed by carving off his next bite. “You can’t do that, Lisa. You can’t blame yourself for things that aren’t your fault. It can cost you everything, if you let it. I don’t know what it is that’s haunting you, but it’s outside the game, and I can’t let it destroy you as it nearly destroyed me.” Crosby looked back up, his eyes wet. “This game saved my life, and it saved it for a reason. I don’t know if that reason is you, but damn it, I have to try and help when I can see someone hurting like I did. Especially when it’s someone I know has been as close as I was to the edge.”
“I know! I,” Lisa started saying. Her voice was slightly elevated. Was she defending, was she angry? Neither, really. The slew of emotions she saw in him, how she related to every word he said, all of it was overwhelming at first. She was reminded of her talk with Emina back just before she held her press conference. She remembered how she felt when she thought no one understood what she was going through. She thought about how she felt when Emina told her that she had love and support after her attempt. She thought about how when Emina noticed that Lisa had never had that support, she hugged her. She thought about how that hug felt and what it meant to her. Was this what Crosby needed? Should she do the same? How would she know if it was the right thing to do? Was she overthinking it?
Lisa brushed her fingers through her hair and held her head. “I know,” She began again in a calmer tone. “Logically, I know. You’re right. It’s when you feel like you’re alone that all of that logic seems to disappear. But I’m not alone.” She sat straight in her seat and took a slow, calming breath. “I’m not alone,” she repeated, this time listening to what she was saying. “And neither are you.” She wanted to say more, but she couldn’t think of much more to say. Maybe that was all she needed to say. Either way, she sat with her head slightly tilted back, not touching her pie.
Crosby gave Lisa all the time she needed, not pushing, not demanding. Just being there. What he didn’t expect was for her to be there for him in return. It caught him off guard, managing to bring an honest smile to his face.
“Thanks,” he nodded, then chuckled. “You’re the… fourth person I’ve ever told, by the way. About, y’know… that.”
Busying himself with cutting away another piece from his pie, Crosby decided to simply say it. “It was draft night. 2010. My family wanted to watch some movie on HBO, so I had to go down to the basement and watch the draft on our old TV. I waited all night, crossing my fingers that with each pick, my name would be called. And each time I told myself, ‘there’s more picks coming, you’ll still get selected!’
“But I wasn’t. It was well after midnight, kind of like now, and there I sat, on our old couch, watching our old TV, and I realized I didn’t have a new life, and I couldn’t stay in my old one. Basketball was supposed to be it. I was captain of my team, and we went to the finals! I didn’t understand it. And my family? They didn’t understand me at all. Never did, and I knew that once they found out I was gay, I was going to be out on my tail. It felt like my world had ended. That everything I’d ever done wasn’t good enough.
“I should have just gone to bed. But I didn’t. If I went to bed, I’d just wake up in the same misery I felt. Confusion led to anger, and that to despair. Before I knew it, I’d driven my car out to the riverside, and I had my dad’s .38 in my paw. They sound just like they do in the movies when you cock the hammer back. That was a bit of a surprise, honestly. The barrel was in my mouth when my cell phone rang. I had already started to pull the trigger; I don’t know how the surprise didn’t finish the job.
“I set the gun down and answered the phone. It was Jackson Price, new GM of the Santa Ana Spectrums. He wanted me. He personally called me. It should have been some assistant, or some secretary or admin to do it, and probably in the morning, but Jackson Price called me at that very moment and said he was interested in me as a walk-on.”
Running a paw through his own always-messy headfur, the genet found himself able to smile. “Since then, I knew I couldn’t back down. I always had to keep pushing, keep trying, and keep pushing others who didn’t fully understand the opportunity they had been given. I can still taste the steel from time to time, and I fight depression every day. Every day, Lisa. On the night Omar Pink found me crying in my car after a game, he took me to a diner a lot like this one. Ordered us some peach pie, and we just talked. Talked about the hard stuff, about life, and he told me he wasn’t going to give up on me.
“And I’m not going to give up on you. Whatever it is you’re dealing with, you’re not alone. I know I have no right to pry into your personal life, so I won’t. But I will say that if you ever want to talk, I’m here. And I know a place with great peach pie.” He winked.
Lisa smirked back at him. “Yeah.” She took another breath. She was there in the car with him the whole time he spoke. She could taste the steel, she could feel what he was feeling, or, rather, the lack of feeling that might have overwhelmed him at the time. It was the same as when she tied the rope around her neck. At that time, she was, indeed, alone. She’s been so used to taking care of things by herself out of necessity. But like she said, she wasn’t alone anymore. Maybe this was a good opportunity to open up if only a little.
“Tonight’s been rough,” she sighed. “I think, I think I lost my father tonight. He’s kept some serious secrets from me my whole life and now that I’ve learned some of those secrets, he’s completely transformed. He threatened me, hit me.” Something she knew would cause her anger when she said it instead caused her eyes to start flowing. “I found out that my mom isn’t really my mom, that I’m not an only child but instead have THREE older brothers.” She stopped to wipe her eyes. “But the funny thing is, that’s not what’s bothering me. It’s that in these last few months I’ve really reconnected with my father but now, he’s not just a stranger, I’m afraid of him.”
“He hit you?” Crosby blurted. His face was surprised at first, but that quickly warped into anger, the muscles in his forearms standing out as he balled his paws into fists. Those fists flexed as he fought back the urge to focus on that, but with some rational thinking, he slowly relaxed. “If he’s hid all that from you, do you really think he was trying to reconnect?” he then asked.
“I mean, I know I don’t know all the facts, but from just this I’m reminded of what happened to Scott Paulichek. His dad got close with him after he became a player but turned out it was just to steal all of Scott’s money. Money does stupid things to people, even family. If you don’t know your dad’s true intentions, I’d say you’re better off keeping away from him for now. But you can’t shut the door entirely, as maybe there’s a reason for - No.
“No, not if he hit you, too. I mean, my dad is a total jerk, yeah, but he never crossed that line with me. I’d say you’re right to shut your dad out for the time being. But… three older brothers? Heh, and here I thought two older brothers was bad! You, um, gonna get to know them?”
“I met one back in Albany. He’s a dentist. He actually already knew about me. But the other two? I don’t even know that side of the family. I just found out I was related to these people today. Like, I just learned the name of my real mother and everything. I have no idea what they’re like. And her husband was apparently trying to kill me.” Lisa started to trail off. “I don’t even know. This whole thing just sounds crazy to me.” She finally took a sip of her coffee. Normally she’d add a bunch of cream and sugar, but like Crosby she drank it black without giving it a second thought. “I told my dad I was gonna go looking for that side of the family, but I don’t know if I will. Maybe. I don’t know. I did say I wish I were boring sometimes. Maybe I should stop seeking out trouble?”
It was more complex than Crosby had been expecting, with as many twists and turns as some of his favorite crime novels. The sort of thing which would almost be funny, if it weren’t real. But it was real, and he could see how it was affecting his teammate, his friend.
“Well, first off, I’d say don’t go seeking out your mom’s husband, if he’s been trying to kill you. Second, I’d tell the police about that one, get a restraining order or something. And third… look at it this way: You’ve gone from having a dad you’re clearly not on good terms with, to now having siblings that you might find are good family. I mean, maybe, I hope. It’s worth a try, I think, but after you’ve had some time to step back and process it all.”
He started into the crust end of his pie slice, his coffee nearly empty. “My parents basically disowned me when I got outed. My brothers closed the door, too, though one of them has sort of started to come around lately. Sometimes the best thing you can do for family issues is to just not talk to them. It sucks. I miss having a family, but I have to be who I am; I can’t change that for them. And you shouldn’t have to change you for your family.”
Spearing that next bit on the tines of his fork, he chuckled, “Besides, you’re a starting player on a pro basketball team, what kind of brother wouldn’t want to get to know you? There are definite perks to fame, you’ll find. Getting to meet people is one of the best ones, heh.”
“Heh, true. I just don’t know what to believe anymore. That whole crazy husband story might just be another way to keep me from seeking them out. My dad always knew how to play with my doubt,” Lisa scoffed. “And as far as giving him another chance, I don’t think I will. I mean, these last few months were his second chance. I’m not doing this again.” She took what seemed to be a more “confident” bite of her pie. “What’s in this pie,” she laughed when she took notice of her new demeanor.
“Peaches, sugar…and, uh,” Crosby answered, poking at his last remaining bite with his fork. “You know, I really don’t know how pie is made, I’m just content to eat it. Especially when I can share.” With that, he popped the last bite into his mouth, grinning as he chewed. He was back. The happy, cheerful Crosby that the Wildcards had known all season had returned, and this time it wasn’t a mask or affectation, it was the true Crosby coming through.
“Don’t ask me,” Lisa laughed. “I sure as hell have no idea.” She carved into her slice and stared down at it as she thought to herself. “You know what? Fuck it!” She raised her fork as though she were going to make a toast. “Fuck all the things that want to bring us down. Fuck shitty fathers. Fuck depression. I’m not gonna let these things take me down. I fought too hard just to be here. You, too. All of us.” The more she spoke the more impassioned she sounded though she felt like her words were starting to go all over the place. Maybe it was all the stress of the day, or the fact that it was late, or the sugar crash she would certainly feel at some point. She was full of a determination that at least stemmed from a place of wanting to be happy.
“Frick all the things,” Crosby laughed, raising his coffee mug in a toast, then tipped back the last of its contents. “And let’s start winning some freaking games, while we’re at it. We deserve it. Besides, Christmas is coming, maybe Santa will bring us some W’s.”
The time for serious talk had run its course, with the next half hour consumed by funny stories about seasons past, be they pro or college ball, or pranks they’d pulled on friends or teammates. The coffee flowed freely from Flo’s thermal carafe into their mugs, and by the time Crosby dropped Lisa back off at the team parking area, both exchanged exhausted smiles.
“Drive safe, okay?” Crosby called out, watching Lisa get into her Porsche. “Enjoy Christmas break! G’night! Merry Christmas!”
And with that, the two headed off their separate ways, having grown closer as friends.
Seated comfortably and patiently in a waiting room that would easily make the cover of a home design magazine, David sat quietly as one by one, each patient was called back. The room would fill just before the hour, then stayed empty for the remainder of the time. He was in Vegas to host the grand opening of a brand-new lounge: Lucy’s Lounge, a sister location of Devil’s Lounge in Seattle. This was a perfect time to visit Damario at work. When the waiting room door opened, it was anyone’s guess which provider would pop their head in and when. But every hour all the providers would come through the door, including Damario.
Damario would glance over at David as he called people back to start their private sessions. David would smile sometimes, wave with one finger others, small gestures of politeness as he waited. But no words were ever exchanged. No “hello,” no “I’ll be with you in a second,” nothing. Just silent glances. And no matter how many times Damario came to call a patient back, David was still there, despite what Damario hoped.
The day was winding down, and the wait grew shorter. The wombat at the receptionist’s desk watched in confusion as David smiled with both his arms and his legs crossed the whole time he was there. He never said a word. He didn’t pick up a magazine to read. He didn’t even watch what was on the television that hung in the corner of the room. Finally, as the day ended the receptionist left for home, practically sidestepping passed David as though he was retreating from an impending shootout. Lights were being turned off, and patients stopped showing up, and Damario opened the door to the waiting room just as he did for every patient and called David back.
David smiled and nodded. To anyone watching from the outside David would seem like just another patient being called back. They went down the narrow hall and entered a large room. Damario gestured at one of the cushy seats in the room and then took his own seat behind the desk. David had his pick between a whole couch or one of three armchairs. He decided to take one of the armchairs and obnoxiously slide it across the room in front of Damario’s desk. The wooden legs screeched as it scratched and skipped about the floor. When it finally reached the front of the desk David sat down and clasped his hands together as though he were the one holding the meeting. Damario sat patiently and waited for David to speak.
“Nice room,” David politely said. “I like the colors and the view. Nice and relaxing.” Damario thanked him, not saying anything more after that. “Work treating you well?” Again, Damario simply answered his question and said nothing more. “Okay. I know you’re a psychologist, psychiatrist, whatever you want to call it. You know how to read people. So, you know why I’m here.” Damario closed his eyes and took a slow breath.
“No, actually. I don’t.” When Damario opened his eyes, David gave him a condescending smirk. “What do you want?”
“I want to know what happened,” David plainly asked.
“With what?” They glared at one another. David wasn’t going to answer, and Damario didn’t need him to. “What did you expect,” Damario started.
“I expected you to do your job I’ve been paying you for.”
“Let’s get this straight once and for all. I didn’t agree to take on any job from you.”
“I sent you money,” David said as he slammed his hands on the desk.
“And I’ve sent it back.”
“Until you didn’t.” David adjusted himself and regained his composure to match Damario’s calm demeanor. “You stopped sending it back. You kept that money.”
“Well, frankly, I was tired of you sending it over and over. And the things you wanted me to do? Yeah, I figured, if you were going to keep sending it even after I repeatedly said no, I might as well keep it.”
“Legally signifying that you have taken the job.” Damario sat back when David said this. He didn’t intend for that to be the message he conveyed. Was this an actual agreement? “You took my money knowing what it was for. I contracted you.”
“David, in case you didn’t know, your daughter is actually a wonderful person that I really care about. I am not going to keep Lisa under my thumb for you.”
“Then why did you agree to meet her?” Before Damario could answer him, David spoke on, continuing his barrage. “You agreed to be introduced knowing what I wanted from you. You agreed to get to know her knowing what I wanted. You agreed to work with her knowing what I wanted. You agreed to be in a relationship with her knowing what I wanted. And then you took my money. You did everything I asked and took my money. And, you know, you were doing just fine. In fact, Lisa seemed to calm down a bit, she pointed her attention elsewhere, she was more manageable. But then you slacked off and failed to do the one thing that mattered, the one thing I explicitly told you not to fail at. And now you want to claim you didn’t take on the job?”
“Then fire me. What do you want me to say,” Damario said with a calm voice, which seemed to amuse David. He laughed and shook his head.
“Oh-no-no-no, Damario. You don’t understand. You’ve crossed a line. And people don’t get away with crossing me.” From his pocket David pulled out his phone and tapped at it for a moment before setting it down in his lap.
“You can’t hurt me. Or her. Maybe I shouldn’t have kept the money, but I promise you everything I did regarding Lisa had nothing to do with you. I’ll pay you back, if you really want, with interest. But after that we’re done with this.” David laughed at Damario again. It was clear that paying him back wouldn’t matter. Damario didn’t think there was anything he could say to get David to back off. Reasoning with him would be pointless. “Were you really that desperate to keep Lisa under your control? Were you that afraid of what she might do on her own? What she’d figure out? Who she’d trust? Did you really need her to be surveillanced 24/7?” David watched Damario in amusement and didn’t answer. “Why me?”
“Oh, don’t you go flattering yourself. You were just the first person to agree. It didn’t need to be you. Any breathing idiot could have done the job. You were just a cat which ticked one of her boxes. I didn’t need YOU. Hell, it would have been that Jason kid if he wasn’t so damn stubborn and nosy. Kid was too smart for his own good. Shame, too. I like him more than you. But he had to go.”
“What? What do you mean ‘he had to go?’”
“I told you. There’s a price to pay for crossing me.”
“What did you do,” Damario said with a growing rage in his voice.
“Oh, pulled a string here, altered some results there, hired a fake lawyer or two. You know, did what I needed to. And I’ll let you in on a little secret. None of it would be as easy if not for one thing. You may know Lisa, but you don’t know her as well as I do. I know that no matter what,” David felt his phone vibrate and paused to looked at it. He tapped it only once then put it away, giving Damario his signature smirk as he continued. “Lisa’s got one trait I can always rely on.”
“And that is?”
David remained quiet. He took the time to adjust his hair and clothes all while smiling the whole time. He cleared his throat, opened his eyes and slammed the desk. “You couldn’t handle this simple little job,” David suddenly shouted. “I don’t care about all the other things you did for me; this was the one thing that mattered! Did you think you could just slack off and I wouldn’t notice?! If you can’t keep control over her and do something as simple as keeping her from her mother, then I have no use for you! You hear me?! You’re fired! I’m not paying you another cent!” Damario gave a breathy chuckle at David’s sudden behavioral change.
“Find by me.”
“We’re done.”
“That’s it,” Damario asked, continuing to laugh. Without answering David then stormed off to the door and placed his hand on the doorknob. Before leaving he turned his body back towards Damario to address him one last time as he opened the door.
“Oh, and when you go break up with her, mind your manners and do it gently. She is my daughter after all, and she’s been through enough as it is.” Damario froze. David, on the other hand, gave Damario a piercing grin that shook him straight down to his core. His heart sank and his limbs went numb, rooting him to his spot. And as the feeling started to come back, Damario was visibly shaking with rage. Finished with their conversation, David turned to walk out the door, but was stopped by Lisa standing directly on the other side. “Lisa,” David said in “shock.” He looked over his shoulder back at Damario for one last jab and said, “well. I’ll leave you to it.” Lisa glared at David as he moved passed her towards the exit. He wanted desperately to talk to her after the last time they spoke, but this wasn’t the time. He silently made his way down the hall and out of site. This left Lisa to place her full angered attention on Damario across the room.
“I underestimated him,” Damario laughed under his breath. Knowing this wasn’t going to be easy, Damario just gestured for Lisa to take the seat her father just left from.
The break started early for Las Vegas. After their win in Montana everyone was joyfully ready to go their separate ways to enjoy the five days off. Some went home, others stayed to practice. Lisa, on the other hand, had nothing planned. It would have been spent lovingly with Damario, but after she overheard him talking with her father there was nothing in her mind to keep her from feeling unsure about him. Despite Damario’s explanations, despite his pleas, Lisa ended things with him that night, and Damario, unwilling to start a fight, respected her wish and the two had not spoken since then.
Lisa took an extra precaution after the breakup and moved in with her teammate, Crosby Sutters. The last time she told someone to stay out of her life, they continued to show up at her door. And that was with someone who lived over a thousand miles away. With Damario living right there in town, Lisa was not willing to take any chances. She grabbed some basic belongings, some books for school, and her cat, Bella, and left home if only for a while.
Crosby had proven to be a good trustworthy friend, but she knew she was infringing on his space. Eventually she would have to move out and find a more permanent place to stay, be it her old apartment or someplace new. But for now, it was time to kick back and catch a breath. She would need her strength in the coming days.
Crosby had left to work out and Lisa continued to laze about in her bed for a bit longer. It was still early in the day but later than what Lisa was used to while still being in bed. She laid face-first, melted into her mattress while Bella curled into a ball on her back. Her left arm dangled off the edge of the bed, holding her phone. She scrolled through different social media sites to see what was new within the last ten minutes from when she last checked. Nothing registered. The same videos, the same pictures, the same tweets would scroll by each time, but none of it stayed in her mind. It was the motion of scrolling, or really, doing anything, that kept her checking her phone. She wasn’t expecting anything. She wasn’t talking to anyone. The minutes ticked by with nothing to fill them with.
And then a chime.
A notification? A text? From whom? Damario.
“I need to speak to you. Please meet me at Ancient Grounds.”
No “hi?” No “I’m sorry?” No “I miss you?” A request. More than that, a demand. Damario knew what he was doing. He didn’t ask. He didn’t give her a chance to answer no. It was up to her to listen or not. It was good to see a text from him, but she expected something more loving, more heartfelt. Something warmer than this. Was this important? It had to be. Why else would he message her like that? Was it a trap? A trick? Was he still working for her father? What could he possibly want? Lisa continued to go through every possibility, none of them positive. Too many questions to find an answer for. There was one way she could figure out what he wanted.
Hair softly curled, slightly baggy grey shirt, freshly pressed holy jeans, large oat-colored scarf with fringes, and a brown beaded bracelet completed her meticulously coiffed look. So much effort for a meet up she didn’t know the purpose of. She added some finishing touches with a pair of sunglasses and a handbag perfectly hanging off her forearm.
Getting ready came easy. Leaving took some effort. But she finally got herself out and headed towards the coffee shop. The shop had large windows, so circling the building would be pointless. She had to walk straight in. Damario wasn’t hard to spot. He sat in the back on the couch against the far-right wall, sipping his drink. When he looked up to check for her, he nodded at her, signaling for her to come over. But Damario wasn’t the first person she saw. Who she wasn’t expecting to see sitting in the armchair situated perpendicular to the couch was Jason. Her father, she would have believed that. But Jason? Why was he here?
Jason was the one to get up and greet Lisa with a hug. The clamoring and chatter made it easy to “forget” to hug Damario. Damario let it go. He wasn’t expecting any kind of warmth from her. Once the two settled and Lisa took her seat, the meeting would start.
“I got in contact with Jason a couple of weeks ago,” Damario began. “It was about something David said to me. I thought he might have been lying about manipulating things between you and Jason, but it actually wouldn’t make sense if he hadn’t. Jason’s a doctor, right? So, how could he make such a simple mistake as confusing blood types and who’d be related to who?”
“Basically, after Damario called me I did some research,” Jason continued. “And he was right. All of it: the test results, the lawsuit. It was all faked. I’m not Cynthia’s father, Sharice’s lawyer was an actor, and yours was some hack who hasn’t even been successful in a single case.” Lisa shrugged. Why would any of this matter to her? “Your dad was behind it all.”
“I’m sorry?” This was certainly some information Lisa hadn’t known before, but what was she going to do with it? Why did the three of them need to meet up?
“Your dad wanted to get me out of the picture because I was on to him. Remember when I came here last year after that whole thing with your neck? You kicked us out because we were bickering. That’s when I told him I knew he was hiding things from you and claimed that he had cheated on his wife with that woman you were named after, and that she was your actual mother. He never actually said I was right or wrong. He just reiterated my question and threw it back at me. And then the next day, right after I decided to be with you, right after I told him that he’d be seeing more of me, things went downhill.”
“Yeah, ‘cause he called you out on things that were true,” Lisa reminded Jason. He shook his head.
“No. He made me doubt. He made you doubt. I was going through a rough time. I wanted to give my wife the benefit of the doubt and he played off of that.”
“And what, now you think you two can come tell me it’s all my dad’s fault and I’d feel better about being with one of you,” Lisa supposed.
“I want you to trust me again,” Damario spoke up. “I don’t want to fight. I just want things to go back to the way they were.”
“Listen,” Jason butted in. “You remember that day, right? Do you remember what changed your mind? How you came to change it?” Was this a trick question? This whole fight between Jason and Lisa was because of how unsure he was. Of course, she knew. But she stayed quiet and let him answer. “You ‘overheard’ us talking,” Jason said with air quotes. “And how did you learn that David was paying Damario? Again, you ‘overheard’ them talking.” Lisa soften her posture. “And the last person you dated. Jake? The son of the woman David was so in love with? Who suggested you two get together?” Lisa shifted her gaze and started adding everything up. “And when you broke up with him, how quick did David try to get you involved with his brother?”
“I didn’t realize just how bad it was until I spoke with Jason about this,” Damario said softly. “It’s more than just keeping secrets from you; David’s got a huge hold on you.”
“And I spoke to Eric. He told me he opened up a new lounge here in Vegas.”
“Well, not him. My dad owns the lounge,” Lisa clarified.
“Exactly! Your dad opened a lounge right here in Vegas. Where you live. Lisa, it’s a power move,” Jason said in a soft but concerned voice. “And the next guy you end up with will either get screwed or be cherry-picked for you.” Lisa twirled her hair in thought. “Lisa, I’m worried about you.”
“Thanks, but I can take care of myself.”
“But you don’t have to,” Damario said, finally making physical contact with Lisa by taking a hold of her hands. “I’m on your side. I’ve always been on your side. You can trust me.”
“And what if that’s what my dad told you to say,” Lisa asked, pulling her hands back. “How do I trust the guy my manipulative father trusted?”
“He fired me! I didn’t live up to his manipulative expectations and then he screwed me over. He knows how to play off your doubt and he pitted it against us. Love, I wanted nothing to do with his plans.”
“You took money from him,” Lisa said with a shaky voice.
“Out of spite. I kept turning him down but when he persisted, I figured he didn’t deserve to get his money back. Love. Please?” All the while Damario pleaded with Lisa, Jason was rolling his eyes. He held his arm out to separate the two and stop the conversation.
“We’re not here for ourselves,” Jason reminded Damario. “This is about Lisa. David screwed all three of us, but Lisa’s the most in danger here. He’s up to something and I don’t want him hurting her anymore. Isn’t that your goal, too?” Damario sat back in affirmation.
“I don’t know how I can trust either of you.”
“Okay. I don’t know about ‘Goliath,’ but you know me. Out of everyone, I’m one of the only people you chose to get to know on your own. Your dad didn’t choose me or anything like that. And we’ve known each other for over five years now. This past year has been rough, and you’ve really gotten see me at my worst, but you know me. I’m not here to fight for you. I’m here to fight with you.” Jason knew he got through to her when she wrapped her arms around his torso. “We need to figure out what he’s up to. We need to be the one in control this time. And I think I have a way to get the upper hand. But it’s going to have to involve you getting back on good terms with him, Lisa.”
“No,” Lisa shouted almost immediately. “I don’t… I can’t… I won’t.”
“Lisa, you can do this. Right now, the only thing he thinks he’s done wrong is keep secrets from you. It might actually be easier than you think to get him to believe you’ve forgiven him.” But when Lisa appeared to collapse into herself and shook her head, Damario and Jason both leaned in to try and understand Lisa’s apprehension. “Lisa?”
After Lisa’s talk with Crosby the night she fought with her father, her view on the situation has been shifting. She’s gone from being completely angry with him to being afraid of him. She hadn’t realized how much things had changed for her, but the mere thought of interacting with her father terrified her.
“I can’t. I can’t be near him. I can’t get hurt again.”
“I know David’s a dick, but you know what they say, keep your enemies close and all,” Jason tried to joke.
“No… I can’t let him put his hands on me again. I can’t…” Her breath trailed off.
The boys shouted “what” in unison and both rose to their feet.
“Put his hands on you,” Jason repeated.
“Lisa, did he hit you,” Damario asked. Lisa slowly nodded. “What?! I had no idea! Why didn’t you tell me?” Jason held his arm out again to stop Damario from making this about him. They remained quiet to give Lisa the chance to speak when she was ready.
“My… My dad’s been rough with me before. Like, when he’s mad, he’ll force me to look at him, or grab my arm to stop me from walking away. Sometimes he’ll throw me to the ground to get me to listen. But I’m used to it. I… made fun of him about cheating on his wife and he backhanded me… I honestly thought nothing of it. Even when he… Even when he…” As Lisa tried to form the next sentence, the words in her head sounded so absurd to her that she had to fight with everything she had to keep from crying. “Even when he grabbed me by my collar and lifted me up and threatened me… I don’t know. It was just another fight with him. But after talking with one of my teammates… And now saying that all out loud… I just can’t. I can’t go near him.”
As Lisa collapsed further into herself, Jason and Damario stood straight and exchanged angered glances. The anger wasn’t towards each other, but for a mutual fiery desire to put David in his place. Jason sat down beside Lisa and tried to softly comfort her.
“Listen,” Jason began. “We need to figure out his weakness. Gain the upper hand. Get your agent to get whatever information they can get on him and then… Get him to Seattle.”
“Planning to keep him for yourself,” Damario snarked.
“Hardly,” Jason said with a smirk. “But if anyone needs to get a good hit or two in, It’s Lisa. But first thing’s first. We need some information on him. Something he doesn’t want us or anyone else to know. Something that’ll hurt him.” When Jason looked back down at Lisa, she was sitting firmly in her seat.
“Lisa is there any chance he can move out here,” Damario asked.
“No. I don’t think so. It’s really expensive to live here and there’s no way he can afford it,” Lisa answered quietly, trying to regain her composure. “Plus, he still needs to get a bunch of repairs done on our apartment in New York. He can’t afford the fines if he doesn’t.”
“Doesn’t he own a chain of lounges? And he can’t afford to fix up an apartment to avoid the fines,” Jason asked. The thought had never crossed Lisa’s mind. She thought of her apartment back home. She thought of the rickety floors, and the closet that had never been fixed. She thought of the shoddy intercom that would sometimes stop working for no reason. She thought of the oven that had to be manually lit with a burning paper towel and constantly checked to make sure it was still on. She thought of the cabinets that were missing doors and the faucet that would leak from the base of it if you just looked at it funny. She thought of the mismatch furniture and the one table that only had two out of the four legs and two nails sticking out of the wall to help keep it from falling. This was her childhood home, and it has always been this way. How does a man wealthy enough to start and own multiple lounges live this way? Even Eric has a decent house in Seattle and he’s only the assistant manager of one lounge. It never crossed her mind, but none of this added up. Maybe this would be a great place to start. Either way, it was time for Lisa to hold all the cards.
Tuesday, January 21st. Seattle, Washington. Las Vegas vs. Seattle. The score at the end of the night: Las Vegas Wildcards 111, Seattle Summit 126.
“It’s technically a double-double...”
12 assists, but only 15 points. She tried to set everyone up for the best plays but the chemistry just wasn’t there. That, and they were up against Seattle: a team Lisa knew that Vegas hardly ever beats on their home court.
She’d been doing a lot of thinking. A lot of rethinking. A lot of panicking. A lot of worst-case-scenario-believing. Having just spoken to Jason and Damario only two days prior, the idea of “getting the upper hand” seemed a bit farfetched. Besides, if she just ignores it, it all goes away.
All of this thinking may had played a role in her only scoring 15 points. At least, that’s what Lisa was telling herself. Maybe the lack of chemistry between her teammates has something to do with her lack of chemistry with others off the court. It’s a stretch, but it makes sense, right?
It has been a while, but after the game, Lisa could see a familiar face in the crowd. Despite everything, it was a good feeling to see Jason there, waiting for her. She washed up and waited until the crowd had all left before meeting with Jason.
“You’re here,” Lisa said through a soft smile. Jason returned the smile and nodded. “Then why did you fly out to Vegas the other day? If you were just gonna meet me here, why didn’t you wait until today to talk?”
“Damario couldn’t make it,” Jason said, the smile dropping from his face. “Besides, I was kinda hoping to have you to myself tonight.” After everything the two had been through? Jason still wanted to spend time with her, alone? Doesn’t he know that would anger her? Doesn’t he know that Lisa would yell at him for that? A statement like that would surely push them away further.
“That was sweet of you.”
They strolled around for a while and found themselves in a familiar park. It was snowing the last time they were there. Almost a year ago when the dominoes started to fall. Lisa was even wearing the same white winter coat from last year.
“It’s weird being here and not seeing it covered in snow,” Lisa said with another soft smile.
“Oh. That’s right. Took a second,” Jason chuckled, though, he vividly remembered last Valentine’s Day. The walk had been mostly silent. Lisa barely looked up past the ground. Jason wanted so many times to break the silence, but never had anything to say. Lisa was so closed off, her arms were wrapped around herself. “Are… you cold,” Jason asked.
“No, I’m…” She stopped. She looked up at Jason, and the two finally made eye contact. “Yeah! Vegas is so much warmer than here,” despite the weather being much warmer than last year, a cool 49°.
“Really? Well, um, do you want to go inside somewhere?” She started to fidget with her hands.
“Actually, I kinda don’t want to be out in public right now. Would it be okay if we go back to your place?”
Now what? What was Jason supposed to do with this? Were they really that much back on good terms with each other that she’d want to come over? Stammering the whole time, Jason gave his approval.
His new place was much smaller than his condo. The divorce left him with just enough to still continue to live in Seattle. Lisa, like she had been there before, plopped herself onto his couch. She landed with a thud and cried out.
“Oh yeah. I remember this couch,” she grumbled. Jason laughed.
“Yeah, unfortunately I got stuck with this thing.” This was the same couch Lisa had slept on the year before. It was all fashion with none of the comfort. Even the color didn’t seem to work: an odd sea green color that stood out as much as it’s chaise-like shape and tufted cushions.
“You don’t have anything more comfortable than this?”
“Sorry. Not unless you’re planning to go to sleep.” Jason laughed, Lisa did not. Jason slowly stopped laughing and composed himself.
“Can I ask you something,” Lisa squeaked out.
“Sure.”
“Would it be okay if I stayed the night?”
“And sleep on this,” Jason gestured to the couch. Lisa didn’t answer. “Whoa, you’re serious.”
“I moved out. Back home. I moved in with a teammate. It’s only temporary but… I feel more alone than usual.” Jason nodded, knowing full well that she meant that. He sat down beside her and placed his hand on her leg.
“Lis. Listen, I know it’s been a rough year, but you know I’ve got your back, right?” Lisa nodded.
“That’s why I’m here.” Her hand slid over to his and grabbed it. Lisa kept her gaze down on the floor, but her hand had his full attention. “It’s been so emotionally stressful. It would be so nice for something to feel good, even for just a moment.” She squeezed a bit harder, her body going rigid. “I want to be back around people I can feel safe around.” She rotated and buried her face into Jason’s chest, practically forcing him to hug her back. He rested his jaw on her head and squeezed her back. With his free hand, he ran his fingers through her hair. He hadn’t seen it this long since back when the two first met. He massaged her ears and rubbed her back, Lisa keeping her face buried. Every so often he could hear a muffled sniff or two. When she finally unburied her face, she looked up at him, eyes glistening from the tears that had yet to fall. “Jason. Would it be okay… if just for one night…?” She squeezed even harder.
Jason pulled away and sat straight. “we throw caution to the wind,” Jason asked, finishing her sentence.
“It doesn’t have to mean anything, but… But I think we both could use, you know, some comfort.” Jason snickered to himself. “It would just be nice,” Lisa continued. “To be with someone I actually care about and who cares about me.”
“Now, where have I heard that before,” he said to her. Lisa dropped her head. “Lisa, what happened between you and Damario?”
“You already know,” she said in an almost huff as she sat properly in her seat.
“No. Like, what happened-happened? The guy doesn’t seem like the type to do something like that to you.”
“So, what? You’re taking his side now? I thought you of all people would be happy we broke up.”
“Admittedly,” Jason heavily sighed. “As much as I’d like for him to disappear, I don’t think you’re doing the right thing.”
“He was being paid.”
“Okay. Let’s back up for a second.” Jason grabbed Lisa’s knees and swiveled her around so that they were facing each other. “Do you really think that Damario, DAMARIO, is a hired goon?” Lisa let a snicker slip. “Come on. Why do you think your dad introduced you to him?”
“’caused he’s soft enough to be manipulated,” Lisa said without hesitation. Jason nodded and shrugged.
“True. But you met him last year, right after the incident with your neck. I came over, your dad and I had a fight, then doubt was planted in our minds. How soon after did you meet Damario.” Lisa thought for a moment.
“Maybe a month later?”
“Right! And you were still thinking about me?” This caused Lisa to scoff but eventually admit to it. “So, if David really wanted to get rid of me, he’d have to get you to stop thinking about me. In comes Damario: a feline, a doctor who specializes on the brain and mind, and is about my age. David knew I was your type and went with the closest person he could find to fit the description.”
“Okay, but he still took money from him.”
“Yeah? And didn’t you say just the other day that your dad couldn’t even handle the expenses of fixing up your old apartment? Damario is a practicing doctor. How much could your father possibly offer him that would convince him to take such a risk? And, you know what, it wouldn’t even matter. All he needed to do was offer any amount of money to have some insurance against Damario. He could have offered him a single dollar and he’d be ‘paying him.’”
“Fine,” Lisa shouted. “But he knew what he was getting himself into. He knew that’s what my dad wanted from him.” Jason shook his head.
“No, I don’t think so. He’s a psychiatrist, right? And you were having a really hard time then. I’m willing to bet the original intention was to help you. At least, maybe part of the intention was. He probably asked him to help you out, saw how you two got along, and suggested you two get close. Didn’t other people suggest the same thing when they found out you two were spending time together?” Lisa slowly nodded. Her friends had egged her on when she mentioned she was working out with him way back in April. Even her agent was suggesting the idea. It made sense that her dad would, too. “I’d believe that over your dad being some crime boss going ‘I’ve got this job, see.’” Lisa laughed at the voice Jason used to say that. “He probably asked him to ‘do this’ and ‘not to do that,’ as, like suggestions. ‘Hey, can you do me a favor and keep her from her mother? I don’t want her getting hurt.’ Sound reasonable?” Lisa sighed. “When I spoke to him, Damario told me how your dad kept pushing, and the more he said no, the more ridiculous the pleas became, until David was finally sending him money. In fact, let me ask you this. What if Damario didn’t take the money? Would that have changed anything?”
Lisa took a long time to contemplate this new scenario. If Damario hadn’t take the money, wouldn’t that make him more trustworthy? But then there’s the possibility that he considered the job in the first place, which means that the relationship would be built off of a lie, which means he has the ability to lie to her about something just as serious as this, which means how could she trust a man who only met her because money was involved, which means…
“I don’t think it would have changed anything,” Jason said, knowing exactly the path her mind was taking. “All he had to do was offer and he had Damario right under his thumb. With me, it was my doubt and wanting to do the right thing that kept me under his thumb. But you. You overthink everything. The worst-case scenario becomes the absolute truth for you. That’s how he keeps you under his thumb.”
“Why are you helping him!” Jason furrowed his brow at the sudden interruption. “You were fighting with him! You two were fighting over me! Don’t you want him to lose?!” With a nod, Jason began to speak softly.
“When you and I spoke, you told me how happy he made you. And despite the fact that the two of us have known each other for over five years now, and you only knew him for a few months, you still chose him over me. This person is special to you. I wouldn’t be a good friend if I let you run away from something like that over all this nonsense.”
“But now there’s a potential for you and I to be something. Isn’t that worth pursuing?”
“To be honest, now I know what you were going through. ‘When things go wrong with your wife you can always come back to me. You’ve got me on the back burner like some sort of consolation prize.’”
A powerful quote that had once come from her. Lisa shot out of her seat and retreated to the other side of the room. She was saying and doing all the things that she’d deemed worthy of rejection. She kept her back to him as he approached her and placed his hands on her shoulders.
“Lisa? Would I be correct in saying that you were hoping for things to go south with him?”
“Of course, not!” She spun around, swatting his hands off her shoulders, but stopped the moment she was fully facing him. “He’s… sweet… and kind… and…” She chuckled. “Even this. This is the most vulnerable I’ve felt in a while. I’ve never felt like this with him. It always felt like an act, like it was something I was supposed to do.”
“I think… you two should talk.”
“Then I need to figure out exactly what to say to him.”
So much to think about. After a pause Lisa looked up at Jason with him looking down at her. The two were practically standing chest to chest.
“Would it still be okay… if I stayed the night,” Lisa asked. With a reluctant sigh, Jason nodded. It’d been such a long time since the two had spent any time together without stress or fighting. Some peaceful time with a good friend could be therapeutic, for Jason as well. Though, his place wasn’t set up for more than one person. Cramped and uninviting, Jason needed to come up with an actual place for Lisa to sleep for the night, and he couldn’t have her sleeping on that couch again. It was uncomfortable, after all.
Thursday, February 7, 2020
Treasure State Arena - Billings, Montana
Las Vegas Wildcards @ Montana Howlers. Final score: Las Vegas Wildcards 114, Montana Howlers 122
Players quietly mumbled to themselves or to each other as Coach Gorski gave a speech. They were all bummed after a loss against the Montana Howlers: A game they could’ve won if they hadn’t given up 37 and 36 in the second and third quarters. Or maybe if they could’ve held the Howlers to 21 points in the fourth and win the game by one point. Maybe.
The coach had just finished giving his speech. The last of it was an attempt to cheer the players up. They responded with some ‘yeahs’ and pumped their fists unenthusiastically in the air, turned their heads towards their lockers and got undressed.
“I want you guys on the bus in an hour,” he said and made his way to the guest's office.
Across the room Tyler was at his locker, stuffing his arm sleeves inside of his NIKE duffel bag and his Wildcards uniform, too. The husky hunched over on his chair and stared blankly at the ground shaking his head and sighing. The upset of the loss got to him and he was feeling like he could’ve done a bit more. Have some crunch time in the fourth to give the team some needed stops so they can finish the game victors. Take the win for their eager fans.
Lisa had just finished stuffing her bag when she took notice of Tyler. Being in this spot many times before, she was used to the somber poses the team would take on. But Tyler was one of Las Vegas' newest members, and like Crosby only weeks ago, Lisa can spot the kind of hurt Tyler was feeling a mile away.
She took her time walking up to him, trying her best not to overblow the situation. "Hey, Tyler," she softly sighed out.
His ears flicked towards her direction and he lifted his head up to look over at Lisa standing beside him with her tail swaying slowly. If there was anyone he’d want to talk to at this moment it was her. The same mouse he met in the 2018-2019 FBA Draft Class. They had that in common.
“Hey, Lisa,” he said lightly with a smile. “What’s up?”
“Was just about to ask you that,” she chuckled back. “But seriously, how are you doing?”
He shrugged his shoulders and looked over to the side. A lot of the other Wildcards were dressed now and in their street attire, getting ready to leave the Howler’s guest locker room. The mood was still a bit quiet with only a few conversations going on.
“Alright. I just hate losing these games,” he groaned, sounding disappointed. “We’ll be so close, but then the other team pulls away.”
"Yeah," Lisa sighed. "I get ya."
She gave Tyler a good pat on the shoulders, offering him a chance to end the conversation there if he wanted, but lingered for a bit in case not. "Don't let it get to you. We'll get 'em next time."
“Hopefully.”
He got up and tossed a T-Shirt and black hoodie over his head. He straightened it out and brushed himself off before picking up his duffel bag and hanging it on his right shoulder. He looked at her with a soft smile, wondering, ‘How does she deal with losses like these?’ Losing wasn’t an easy thing for him. Of course, losing sucks, so he knows that it bothered Lisa at least a bit, but not as much as it does him.
He kept his eyes on Lisa who was still standing beside him.
“Lisa, how do you deal with these games?” He asked.
"Well. Gee. I wish I had a good enough answer." She scratched the back of her head to search for something to say, but the truth was she never really ‘deals’ with all the losses. "You know what, why don't we head back to the hotel. I think it would be good to talk a little more privately."
He nodded at her in agreement. Since the team still had about fifty minutes before they left the Howler’s arena and got on the team bus, Tyler took the time to listen to a few voice mails on his cell phone and looked through text messages. Most of them were from days and weeks before, small sponsors and promotions for his All-Star Week Dunk Contest that he hadn’t bothered to answer. He would have his agent, Vincent, take care of them.
The locker room started to clear out. Players exited the room silently and walked through the private tunnel that led to the underground parking lot. There their bus was waiting, the engine whirring and it echoing in the large space. One by one the Wildcards entered the bus and took a seat. Once everyone was inside the bus the doors closed and it began the incline up the ramp that led outside where fans would be at the sidewalk waving at them with signs they had made.
Tyler was seated towards the front with his earbuds on as they made their trip to the hotel. He’d usually talk to the other players and crack a few jokes but it didn’t seem like anyone was in that kind of mood. They’re all tired and focused on the next game on Sunday at home. In the morning they’d travel back to Vegas and practice in the afternoon.
The bus comes to a stop in front of a nice hotel that had a fountain and a Greek carved statue. The name of the hotel was hard to read for Tyler because it was in Greek Miniscule. Something “I Gi” from what he heard earlier before they'd arrived. He got out after Coach Gorski did and waited for Lisa to get out, too.
Once off the bus, Lisa led Tyler into the hotel. Some of the other team members had made plans before heading to their rooms. For some it was dinner with one of the Howlers, others spent some time alone. Lisa knew she had her room to herself for a bit before she would have to share it with another teammate.
They got signed in and received their room keys, then headed up the elevator to their stay for the night. The room was spacious, even with it's two queen-size beds. But Lisa still found a way to plop her belongings on the floor, quickly starting to clutter up the room. She gestured for Tyler to do the same and to take some time to settle in.
‘How do you deal with these games?’ This question rang in Lisa's head the whole way there. Sitting on the edge of one of the mattresses, Lisa sighed and attempted to finally answer that question.
"So... Yeah... Do you remember last year around this time when I had short hair?” She said, grabbing one of the pillows to place on her lap.
”Yeah, I remember that,” he answered, his back facing hers. He placed his bag on top of the other bed and began taking out his phone charger looking for an outlet. He found it across the room where he goes to plug it in.
”I got so frustrated that I was looking for any excuse to blame something else for how I was performing. I told people that my long hair was getting in my eyes while I played, so I chopped it off." Lisa gave a weak chuckle. "I was just angry. It had nothing to do with my hair or anything else other than how I was feeling. Even…" She snorted. "Even recently with the stupid fight, I had with Lauren.”
Tyler coughs. “What even happened?”
“Well, I worked my ass off that game and was so frustrated with the loss that I started lashing out at everyone else. She just took it the hardest and lashed back."
She continued on explaining the different times she got overly frustrated with a loss: some from long ago, some more recently. But she hadn't quite answered his question the way she wanted to. "To be honest, I don't know if I ever do 'deal' with it. I wish I could say something inspirational like 'taking these losses hard just means you're passionate about the game,' or 'think of it this way! You're showing off your skill to the teams who'll want to sign you on to have a better chance at winning more often.' I wanted to say those things to you more genuinely when I thought of them on the bus, but, I don't know." She kept her head low and her hands clasped. This wasn't the same kind of comfort she had received from Crosby when she was having a hard time.
This needed a more personal understanding.
Lisa looked back up at Tyler to check in with him. "Where are you at? I mean, how do you deal with these games?"
“Well,” he began after clearing his throat. “Just like any other game, I guess. I’m a quiet person so I’m not very vocal and I don’t point fingers.” He raised a hand at her, “not talking about you.” He settled himself on a chair in the corner of the room by Lisa’s bed. He was seated on it, leaning forward and he brought his arms up to rest on his legs.
The room was silent for a moment before he broke it saying, “When a loss happens I get this anger and store it inside of me and keep it prisoner. At some point, it has to come out but I don’t let it. I think that’s how I deal with it.” He looked down at the cream-colored carpet. “It’s not healthy. I know.”
"And, technically, that's not dealing with it," Lisa said bluntly. "No! I mean… That came out wrong, sorry.”
“Eh… it’s okay.” He nodded to let her know that it’s okay. “I get ya.”
“Honestly, everyone has heard the jokes and Las Vegas kinda has it's history. 'What were we expecting?'" she asked, putting on a voice. "Still doesn't make it hurt any less."
She ran her fingers through her hair and let out an audible breath. "You'll go through cycles. First, it's super annoying, then it's just like 'whatever,' then you really go numb, and then you start to win a little, bringing your pride back up, and then lose, starting the whole cycle again. I hate it. But, I'm still playing.” She paused for a moment.
Tyler looked up at her and stayed quiet. She was looking past him prompting him to turn his head to see what she was looking at. A wall. She continued. “Sometimes I get a little frustrated on the floor, but a lot of the time I'm not thinking about how losing will make me feel. I'm thinking of the game and how best to play it. That's what drew me to basketball in the first place. The thousands of eyes on you can sometimes make you forget."
Tyler scratched underneath his chin with a finger and chuckled softly. She was right about the cycle part, how you get this numbness and again some pride after a few wins and then watching it all topple over to where you have to build that structure again. From the beginning of his rookie year and to the end of it he was building up a crumbled building in Tallahassee. But it was more toppling than actually building something. The pieces would keep coming apart and he was placing the same pieces in each place.
Maybe that’s what made it so different here on the Wildcards. He was finally getting used to the building part and was so annoyed by the toppling pieces. He didn’t want this to go to the ground back when he was playing on the Typhoons. That was the whole point of his trade request: to build something and finally be in a place where he can compete in the league. Show his hard work and effort on the floor.
“You make a good point,” he said, finally.
"I did?" With her tendency to ramble, this came as a surprise to her.
“Yeah. Really, you did.” He sighed a relieved sigh and brought his legs out further because they’re starting to ache a bit. He watched the mouse play with her hair, twisting it and undoing it by dragging a finger through. “So…” he said with some excitement. “All-Star Weekend is coming around the corner. Excited?”
Lisa laughed. "I'm kinda shocked I got in, really. Not that I'm not grateful or excited. It's just after last year's event, I guess I was planning to stay quiet and not promote myself so loudly. But, holy crap!" She started to laugh that soon turned into crackling. "And what about you?! Ya gotta tell me what you've got planned for the dunk contest." Her silly grin had finally found its way back onto her face after the long night.
“I can’t tell you specifically what dunks I’ll be doing — don’t look at me like that!” She glared at him with an attempt to keep a serious face but couldn't help to keep a smile on her. “I want the dunks to be a surprise until the event. I’ll say this much, they’re pretty flashy.”
Still, she pouted, but Lisa eventually gave him a nod of approval. She thought back to her dunks last year. She got the opportunity to do two out of her three she had planned, but the more she tried to think of it, she couldn't remember what her second dunk even was. It was her first dunk that stuck in her mind. Flashy, but probably not in the way Tyler meant. "I remembered watching ASW as a kid. It's so much more of a rush actually being on the floor. You're gonna love it...!"
His voice boomed in the room and it echoes through the vents. “I’ll enjoy it for sure! I mean… last year when I played against you in the Rookie All-Star game I already got a taste of that rush so I sort of know what to expect.”
Thinking about it, he realized that he and Lisa were back in the All-Star Weekend together. Again. Not playing against each other this time but still in the event that millions of viewers will be watching on their TV screens at home. Rooting for their favorite sniper behind the arc, rim slammers, the rookies, and finally the well deserved All-Stars.
"I'm going to be playing for a completely different team then. Maybe I'll have an actual decent chance at winning." She paused, her face completely serious until she cracked and started laughing again. "It's gonna be fun. At the very least, it'll be a nice change of pace."
Tyler smiled at Lisa and gave her a thumbs up. “I’ll be rooting for ya.”
”Thanks.”
He yawned and covered his mouth. It had gotten pretty late, but that didn’t stop Tyler from talking to Lisa a bit longer about nonsense and their favorite moment when they first joined the league. Once he could tell Lisa was getting tired he got up and walked over to the second bed. ”Don’t mind if I change in the restroom before I go?” He asked her.
”Go ahead, ” she said to him.
He grabbed his night clothing, toothpaste, and brush and brought them into the restroom. He changed and scrubbed his teeth. He waited in there for a moment before opening the door and entering the room again.
Tyler grabbed his bag off of the bed and made his way over to the chair at the corner of the room. He unplugged his charger and phone, and looked over back at Lisa and smiled at her. Nodding at her before exiting the room.
“Thanks for the talk,” he said, the door halfway closed.
"Of course," she cooed. "I'm always here if you need to vent, or whatever." She gave a final smile and waved him goodnight, hoping that he'd at least be leaving the room better than when he entered it.
The apartment was dark. Jason had fallen asleep long ago as Lisa lay awake with her phone hovering over her face. She would pull up the messenger, type something out, then deleted all. Jason was right, she needed to talk to Damario. Eventually, the best text she could think to finally send was a single word: “Hey.” Maybe he’d still be up to see the message and send something back. It didn’t matter though. Once she had finally chosen to send the message, her body was done for the night. She drifted off with the hopes that a sort of answer would be waiting for her in the morning.
She had unceremoniously left Jason’s the following morning, leaving him with a simple peck on the cheek. Other than practice, once she got home, she spent the rest of her day flickering her phone on and off. No messages yet. He must have been still upset or busy.
This routine continued for several days.
On.
Check Messages.
No New Messages.
Off.
He’s busy. Or maybe he’s just unsure what to say back. He wouldn’t want to make the situation worse, after all. But after three weeks even Lisa couldn’t come up with a good enough excuse for why he hadn’t messaged her back besides the thought of him ignoring her. She could have sent another message. Maybe a longer one or a more heartfelt one, but that was beyond her capabilities at that time. No, she was going to have to see him face to face.
The first thing Lisa did once she came back from the Howlers game the following day was head to Damario’s. It was Saturday which was usually his day off. He was going to be home, and he would have to talk to her. She snickered to herself at this thought. Didn’t Jason do the exact same thing to her? Well, it worked. She ended up not having much of a choice but to talk to him once he just showed up at her door.
Lisa knocked on the door, hoping and praying that Damario would open it with a smile on his face. The cool gray door swung open with a heavy-breathing Damario on the other side. He was wearing a sweatshirt and had a towel draped around his neck. That’s right, it was cardio day. Lisa could see the treadmill that was facing out towards the back yard behind him. He was shocked to see her, but only for a moment before he ushered her into his home. Her head hung slightly as she made her way through the foyer into the living room. Everything was clean-cut with straight lines, from the square tables and lamp fixtures, to the rectangular glass sliding doors that led out to a highly manicured square lawn and concrete patio housing a rectangular firepit and furniture.
Lisa didn’t take the seat on the couch Damario was offering her. She knew he wasn’t going to take a seat right away and she wanted to meet him eye to eye.
“I texted you,” Lisa hesitated to say.
“One word,” Damario huffed, reaching the bottle of water in the holder of his treadmill.
“I didn’t know what else to say.” It seemed Damario was upset with her. There was no hug or excitement. He was even critiquing her about the one-word-text she sent him. “Were… you still working out?”
“No. No, I was just finishing up.”
Damario toweled himself off, squirted some water into his mouth, and finally caught his breath. Lisa started off with a light apology, saying that she may have overreacted and that she wanted things to go back to normal. “I’m not mad at you anymore,” is what she told him. But there was no elation or even a smile that came from Damario. Instead, he helped Lisa down to her seat and took his own seat in the armchair beside the couch.
“I don’t know if it’s going to work.” This was coming from the man who was begging her to forgive him and give him a second chance. What did he mean, he wasn’t sure if things were going to work? He should be sweeping her off her feet and trying to come up with a way for the two to celebrate. “I’ve spent some time thinking,” he continued. “I think you were right to end things.”
“No, I was overreacting just a teeny bit,” Lisa nervously laughed. “You know me. But you didn’t do anything wrong. Not really, anyway.” Damario sighed in disapproval. “But, seriously, I’m sorry. My dad’s a real ass, you know. I hate that he did this to us. But I think I want to make things work. I really think I do.”
“I don’t.” Lisa had never really seen him this blunt before. He was sure of what he wanted, but why was it about this? “Lisa, I love you, but I can’t make you love me.”
“But I do love you.”
“You told me that you were tired of being used and lied to. You hated how people treated you. And because of this, you wanted to be in a relationship where you can trust the person you’re with, and work together with.” Lisa nodded at everything Damario was saying. “A relationship takes trust and, above all, a lot of work. No relationship is perfect, But I think you expected ours to be.”
“No, of course not. I know it takes work,” Lisa defended.
“Then how were we supposed to work things out if you gave up on me the moment you saw a problem? You can’t face issues with someone if the simple fact of having an issue ends everything.”
“But we’re not talking a small little issue. I was led to believe that you were faking everything! Yeah, I overreacted, but if that were a true issue then my reaction makes sense.” Lisa leaned forward as she got riled up. But Damario stayed firm and upright in his seat, almost mirroring the straight edges of the rest of his home.
“That’s not a viable excuse. Any reaction would be justified if it matched the issue. If you acted like I killed your cat, it would make sense if that were the actual issue. But it wasn’t. And it also doesn’t make sense when you’re in a relationship, Lisa. What if we were married? I know it’s an extreme example, but what if we were married? You didn’t talk to me, you didn’t listen to me, you didn’t give me the benefit of the doubt.”
“It was something I overheard you two talking about. My dad was the one who revealed a potentially serious problem.”
“Your dad? You mean the guy you just found out has been lying to you about major details your whole life, and, let’s not forget, struck you? You chose to believe him over me? And it’s not even that. You didn’t give me a sliver of a chance.”
Lisa started to cede to Damario’s accusations and stayed quiet as he spoke. “You’re right,” her voice cracked. “No, you’re absolutely right. I’m just so used to dealing with jerks and people who want to hurt me. I closed off and guarded myself against everyone, including you. That was pretty fucked up of me, huh?”
Seeing her demeanor shrink down a bit Damario sighed and massaged his brow. “Listen,” he started again, in a more soothing tone. “I would give you this chance to learn your mistake and try not to run at the first real mess-up like you did with me, but, like I said, I’ve been doing some thinking. You and I want two different things.”
“No, we don’t. We want to be trusted and loved, and I need to give that trust if I’m going to expect to receive it.”
Damario’s chest froze in place as though he were immovable at this point. “I’m looking for my last partner.” Lisa told him she was, too. “And I want kids.” Lisa nodded back and told him that she knew that. “I want to have kids.”
“So do I. One day.”
“Your kids,” Damario quizzed. “Or mine?” Neither was a viable option for her. “What about a sperm donor?” He might as well have been asking her to sleep with another man. “Adoption?” Lisa was so set in her heart on having kids where she and her partner were biological to them, and you can’t exactly get that with one parent being a cat and the other a mouse.
“But… That’s a ways off from now. I have time to think about that. I know it’s a stupid want, but that can change over time, you know. We can talk, okay?” Damario nodded, but something still wasn’t getting through. He was nodding, but in a way someone would if they were only doing it to be patient until they can speak.
Things were a mess. Lisa had been all over the place, not knowing who to trust or what to believe. But she knew what she wanted, and Damario, despite her past accusations, was everything she wanted. Jason helped her to see that. It was hard for her to believe that someone could actually come along and be everything she was hoping for. But she hurt him by not trusting him and running away at the first sign of danger. She needed to own up to it. She curled her feet up onto the couch and wrapped her arms around her knees. With her face buried she apologized again.
“I need you. I know I’m a mess, but I’m growing. I’m changing. I’m getting better. And it’s all thanks to you.” She lifted her head and gave him a teary smile. “I’m better because of you and getting better because of you.”
“But I’m not.” This juxtaposition halted Lisa’s apology. “I realized that all this time I’ve been trying to make you something you’re not, all while trying to prove to you that I’ve got your back. You’ve been through a lot and you needed someone to open their arms and make you feel safe, but what about me? Do you think I’m just this tough guy who can be enough support for both you and myself?”
“No,” her voice softly shook.
“But that’s what you expect me to be. You wanted me to coddle you and tell you that everything was going to be okay, but did you ever once do that for me? COULD you do that for me? You think you’re the only person in the world whose had it rough.”
“No, I don’t!”
“Yes, you do!”
“No!” Lisa stood to her feet as she slammed the table. “I know that everyone has their issues. All I ever wanted was the deviation from the norm. I just wanted to feel safe and loved.”
“Me, too! I wasn’t even supposed to be here today! I was expected to be in the ground by the time I was fifteen, and I lived my entire childhood going back and forth between feeling hopeful, to counting down the days! I was written off as dead before I even hit double digits! Even after I miraculously found a donor and I had that surgery, I was told that it could backfire. And what did I have for a partner then? Someone who told me all the time that I was a waste of a good heart, that I should have died on that operating table! I dealt with that anytime she didn’t get her way. It was a fucking card she could pull out at any second and put me down for her own gain!”
Damario’s presence was becoming more than intimidating. He was normally a very passive person, but to even hear him shout, let alone curse, was more than anything Lisa had witnessed him do before.
“But I’m not her,” Lisa finally pushed back. “I’ve never done anything remotely like that to you!”
“No. You didn’t. I’m not accusing you of that. What I’m trying to say is, you’re not the only one coming from a rough background when it comes to trusting and leaning on people, especially romantically. But I don’t think I can lean on you, Lisa.”
“Of course, you can!” Her voice, though still loud, was becoming less angry and more shaky.
“Are you strong enough to support me? Am I in a place where I can confidently and safely lean on your shoulders and hear you say ‘I’ve got you,’ ‘I will never hurt you,’ let me hold you,’ any of that?”
“Yeah…! Maybe not all right now, but eventually. I’m getting there.”
“And what if I said that to you? That I can’t be a good pair of shoulders for you right now, but maybe one day?”
The answer immediately jumped into her mind and she didn’t like it, because she knew that would mean he’d be justified to feel the same way. She wasn’t looking for someone to waiver about their relationship with her. She’s already been through enough of that in the past year. But he hadn’t been in the kind of trouble she’s been in for a while now. Everything that has been happening to her has happened much more recently than all the things that had previously hurt him. She needed help now. It was reasonable for Damario to want the same things as her, but right now she needed it more.
“You’re so closed off, Lisa. I try and I try, and, yes, times have been great, but I want so much more than a person to wake up in bed with. I want to share my life with someone. I don’t think you want to share anything.”
“That’s not true! Of course, I want to share my life with you! We wouldn’t even be together if I didn’t! I went through trying to find out what my heart really wanted when it came to whether I’d be with you or Jason. I’ve known him for five years and I still chose you! You’re special to me, Damario. I know that now more than ever. I spoke to Jason alone after I saw you last. He was the one to show me what a mistake I was making.”
“But not you. You didn’t come to this realization yourself?”
“Damario!”
“Let me pose this to you again,” Damario continued over her. “Can you see us ever getting married? Could you see yourself becoming my wife one day? Like, just picture it. I’m not saying I’m in a rush to get married, but I’m trying to prove something. Can you picture being my wife?”
“Yes,” Lisa answered plainly.
“Can you picture being MY wife?”
“Yes! Of course! You’ve done so much for me. I can easily picture being married to you.”
“Sure. But, now, can you picture being my WIFE: being there for me, putting in the work?”
As Lisa stopped to really contemplate this question, she could feel a squeezing in her chest growing with immense pressure. She was finally seeing what Damario was getting at. As much as she loved the way she was being taken care of by Damario, she couldn’t see herself putting in the work back. No, it was more like she was fighting not to put in the work at all. She loved the idea of one day having a husband, but being a wife, or the implications and responsibilities behind it was nothing she was interested in.
“Let me be clear with you, Lisa. I love you, but I think you need to hear it bluntly. You are selfish. You are paranoid, childish, self-absorbed and greedy. You have the mentality of a young girl dating a young boy, which is fine, you’re only 24. But I’ve grown passed that a long time ago. I don’t want to play house with you. You’re on the right track, but I can’t sit here and wait for you to grow up.”
She was selfish. She was childish. She was greedy. He was right.
“I didn’t want the age gap to be an issue, and it shouldn’t be, but in this case it is. I had fun with you, Lisa. I really did. And I thought if I was completely open with you, you’d see that you could open up to me. I thought if I took you to meet my family, you’d see I wanted you to be a part of it. And I know you were having a hard time and all, but that doesn’t change the fact that you weren’t willing to give anything. I really was hoping that I could be getting as much as I was giving. But the truth is I wasn’t, and I won’t be if I sit here and keep lying to both myself and you.”
The room stayed quiet for the next ten or so minutes. Lisa had nothing to fight back with, she knew he was right. Playing the victim all the time had left her blind to her own faults. She thought she was doing everything right. She thought she could do no wrong. Everything she did was to try and make herself happy. But it stopped at her. Sure, she could put on a face and show empathy, but she wasn’t willing to truly feel empathy with anyone. And that’s not fair to Damario.
“I’m sorry,” Lisa finally said. “I want to change.”
“I know,” Damario sighed. “And I know you can do it.”
“I’m not ready. It’s so pathetic. I think I liked having people fight over me, but I can’t seem to bring myself to do it. I can’t fight. I want to want to fight. I know it’s what I should be doing.”
“Could you see us being together a year from now?” Lisa shook her head. Even the thought of another year with him was terrifying. “What about 6 months?” Again, Lisa shook her head. “Have you ever been in a long-term relationship?” Once, a long time ago. And that was a hard break up for her. Damario was asking her these questions but he knew the answers to all of them. And know Lisa did, too. They were on two different levels. Both meant well, but in different ways that didn’t mix well together.
“Guess I’ve got some growing up to do, huh?” She stood to her feet and slowly made her way to the door. “You deserve the best.”
Damario didn’t stop Lisa as she exited his house. He wanted so badly to. He was used to coddling her and sacrificing for her, and she was so good at playing the victim that Damario had to fight against himself just to stay in his seat. This was silly, right? Maybe she could change. Maybe she’d let him in. But she wouldn’t. She admitted that she wouldn’t. That was just the fact of the matter.
Witnesses say they heard bickering between All-Star player, Lisa DuPont, and her father, David DuPont. David was first seen with the All-Star during a press conference held last year regarding Lisa’s scar on her neck, now covered with a tattoo. Though the two have hardly ever been seen together, it was confirmed that the fur who took the blow was her father.
David DuPont came to Williamsburg, VA to cheer on his daughter in the All-Star game, this being only Lisa’s second year in the league. To be a sophomore in the All-Star lineup is a rare feat, a moment being shared only with Lisa’s fellow draftmate, Terry O’Toole. The loving visit turned sour when Lisa came off the court after the game had ended and was greeted by her father, witnesses say. Mr. DuPont could not have predicted what would come next.
Prior to the All-Star game, Lisa was seen being accompanied by another mouse throughout the week. This fur, an Albany dentist named Dr. Emmett Nadeau, was later confirmed by a tweet to be her brother. The two had spent the week in relative silence compared to the other participants of the event. She was only seen during interviews and photos, sporting the new Padz-brand clothing line. Emmett was with her during most of these events and was also seen with Lisa during the fateful attack.
“There was shouting, and then she decked him,” one witness told a reporter. “[David] came over to say hi to her, and she just knocked him cold for no reason,” another witness said. Emmett was seen attempting to hold Lisa back before she ruthlessly attacked her father. It has been speculated that Emmett knew about the premeditated attack and attempted to stop her from going through with it.
No witnesses have confirmed what the initial shouting was about, and neither Lisa DuPont nor Nadeau are willing to speak with the press. Mr. DuPont, however, has stated the possibility of a lawsuit. “This type of behavior is unbecoming of both a young woman and an athlete, one who is to be a role model to many aspiring furs and children,” said Mr. DuPont in his statement.
Eyes have all fallen on the league to see what will happen next. It is now a question for the FBA as to what actions they will take against Ms. DuPont, and for whether or not David DuPont will press charges against this young and relatively new player, his own daughter.
- [Jill Broder], Reporter
Silence. Something Lisa hadn’t had in a long while. No issues. No fights. No backstabbing. Nothing. And that was the problem. It was no secret that after the All-Star game in February 2020, Lisa punched her father in front of the entire stadium. It was caught on camera and was reported everywhere. These same reports that stated that her father had plans to sue her. “Bring it on,” she nervously thought to herself. She was ready for more trouble.
Days turned to weeks turned to months. Nothing but silence. No added threats. No sign of her father anywhere. Nothing. Lisa figured she’d keep her head down and let the whole thing blow over. Maybe ‘nothing’ meant that nothing would come of this.
On April 20th Las Vegas was in Hawaii to play the Kahunas. They had gotten there the night before which gave the team some time to practice and explore if they wanted to. One of Lisa’s favorite things to do while in Honolulu was to shop, whether it be for fashion or edible indulgences. Before the game Lisa had stopped at the coffee shop she frequented when in town to pick up some coffee beans and other coffee delights. She had been getting used to going out in public and not being immediately recognized by dressing up like the tourists, wearing a big hat and glasses, and keeping her tattoo covered. This was usually a good enough tactic for her, but not on this day.
While checking out with the plucky young antelope at the front counter, Lisa felt a firm tap on her shoulder. Instead of turning to face this person she looked down on the ground as though she had dropped something, this way she could keep her identity concealed for long enough to get out of the situation. “Oh, no! Did I drop something,” she asked. “Thank you!” She knelt down and pretended to pick something up and promptly left the shop.
A few zips around the blocks to try and lose this person and she was on her way back to her hotel. As she stood at the corner of the street waiting for the road to clear, she felt another firm tap on her shoulder. “Hello, Lisa,” a female voice sounded. “Can you and I talk?” Busted. But by whom? She turned around to face this person and began to apologize for the misunderstanding. The woman was shorter than her. Despite Lisa being tall for a girl, she was still rather short to most of the people she knew, so, it took a good moment before she looked down to meet eye to eye with this woman. In front of her was a beautifully dressed mouse, wearing a blue one-shoulder sun dress, and a sunhat and glasses much like Lisa’s. Her fur was golden, and her ears were much larger and rounder than Lisa’s. “Not a bad look,” the woman complemented Lisa on her public disguise. “Next time try a flat brim and messy hair.”
“Um. Excuse me?” Lisa cocked her head but was hushed by the golden mouse. She gestured with her head to go somewhere more private. Before Lisa had a chance to agree or decline, the golden mouse started walking, and Lisa followed. They found themselves behind the hotel Lisa was staying at near some dumpsters. There was no one around except for the occasional worker who’d come to throw out the trash.
“I finally get to meet you,” the woman said. What did Lisa get herself into? Why did she follow this woman? She was nothing but a fan, and now they were alone in a back alley. Lisa looked around to find a quick route out of there. “So, things have been pretty quiet for you lately,” the woman continued. Lisa started to shift her weight to leave. “Ever wonder why?” Lisa didn’t want to say anything that would confirm her identity, but that last statement caught her attention.
“Who are you,” Lisa finally asked.
“Well, I do know who you are. I suppose it’s only fair I return the favor.” Her voice was silky and confident, her face smug yet at the same time soft and welcoming. “My name is Valencia, but you may call me Val. It is so wonderful to finally get to meet you.” Val leaned in and cheek-kissed the dazed and confused Lisa on both of her cheeks.
“You keep saying that, but who are you? Like, WHO are you?” Val answered back with a laugh as she held up a poised hand to her chin.
“More importantly, HOW are YOU,” Val asked back. “So much as been happening in the FBA as of late, and shockingly none of it has to do with you. Especially after your little show back in February.” Lisa grunted in response as Val continued. “David was on everywhere saying how he was going to teach you a lesson and take you to court, but I’ve heard nothing since. Strange, especially since he had to undergo surgery.”
“Surgery?!” Lisa’s posture stood straight and then soften as she tried to dissect this person’s words and motives.
“Yes. It was quite a punch you threw. He was swollen for days before he finally went to the doctor. Turns out you broke his jaw. Needed titanium plates and screws.” Lisa’s eyes narrowed. Alright, who was this woman? How did she know all of this, and what was she after? In fact, the more Lisa thought about it, this meeting felt oddly reminiscent to the private meeting with Jason’s ex-wife and her lawyer. Was this David’s lawyer? Was she here to try and settle things quietly?
“Oh, sure,” Lisa finally taunted. “That’s what everyone wanted to hear. Everyone wanted to hear how Lisa DuPont’s ‘uncalled for’ punch broke her dear father’s jaw. What do you really want?”
“No sorrow for David’s injury? Interesting. And my dear, it’s as I said. I just want to get to know you. I want to see if you’re the woman I think you are.” Lisa scoffed back at Val. “Don’t believe me? Do you think I’m some sort of spy or something of the like?” Lisa crossed her arms. “Come now. I could never stoop to such a level. You know, David talks about you all the time.”
“So, you’re in contact with him? Did he say I’m a horrible daughter and that you need to investigate me?”
“No-no-no-no,” Val chuckled. “He says what any doting father would say about his daughter: how proud of you he is, how disappointed in you he sometimes is, how big you’ve grown, how much you’ve changed. I just wanted to see it for myself.”
“Alright, enough. I donno who you are or what you really want, but you’re gonna answer me this: who are you to my father? You’re not his lawyer or some spy. Are you one of his hired goons?”
“Oh, heavens, no! Imagine me, a hired goon,’ Val nearly snorted. “Oh, come on, dear Lisa. It must be clear to you who I am to David… And who he is to me.” As Lisa looked Val up and down, she slowly winced, instinctively curling her shoulders away from her.
“Are you… Dating my dad?”
“Bravo! Bellissimo,” Val applauded.
“But! You can’t be more than a decade older than me!”
“Did you mean ‘an adult?’ Like David as well? Was a real shame what you did to him, and to such a handsome face, too.” Lisa dropped her head and laughed.
“Oh. I see what’s going on here. Look let me save you some trouble. My dad may own a chain of lounges, but he’s actually flat broke. He’s not gonna be your little sugar-daddy, kay. So, why don’t you scurry along to someone else you can leech off of.” Val threw her head back, bringing her hand up to her mouth to laugh.
“Of course, you’re father’s broke. You should see the trouble he’s having to settle some of his ‘debts.’ But, then again.” She started to calm down. “You’re not.”
“Excuse me,” Lisa voice boomed.
“I asked you before, but you never answered. Do you know why you haven’t heard a word from David regarding a lawsuit? It’s because ‘no daughter hates their father THAT much.’ ‘She deserves a chance to apologize and for things to get better.’ ‘Oh please, oh please, don’t sue your daughter.’ ‘She’s not THAT bad.’ ‘Let ME talk to her.’ The way I see it, you and I either get along… or we don’t.”
“You’re blackmailing me,” Lisa whispered, exasperated. “Well, you can just piss off. I can handle myself. He wants to go through with it and sue me, then bring it.”
“Right. If David, the man who’s been able to keep so many secrets from you, steal custody over you, and orchestrate a fake lawsuit with hired lawyers from across the country, decides to sue you, you can handle yourself? Do you actually know what he was planning? He was going to end your career. Permanently. You understand? No more basketball. No more school. Nothing. It was me who calmed him down long enough to get him to reconsider. If you ask me, you owe me.” Lisa was ready to lash back but couldn’t. This had honestly been a concern of hers this whole time. What if she lost her career? Could he do that? Would he do that? Of course, he would. He’d absolutely go that far. “The way I see it,” Val continued. “Either I leave here today and you play your last professional game, or you and I learn to ‘get along’ as it were.”
“What do you want from me,” Lisa asked through her teeth.
“Oh, we’ll stay in touch. For now, just keep your head in the game, alright?” Val moved in close to Lisa and grabbed her hand with both of hers. “I am so glad we got to meet,” she said with an overly cheery voice. Lisa snatched her hand back and Val chuckled. “Who knows, maybe you and I can become best of friends. You know, before we become family. Tah-tah, love.”
As Lisa stood watching Valencia sashay her way out of view, she felt a tightness in her chest; a tightness she had finally gotten used to not feeling. But here she was yet again. Who was this Valencia? She thinks she can simply blackmail Lisa without so much as a pushback? What’s more, what was this other feeling of doubt brewing in the back of her mind? Something she said didn’t sit right with Lisa (though, nothing she said really sat right with Lisa). Nevertheless, Lisa was ready to do some research on this newcomer. She had found a bit of peace and was not about to let someone come and take that away from her. Not this time. Not again.
Landing in Seattle a day early had its perks: time to relax, time to get ready, but most importantly, some time to spend with an old friend. After settling in her hotel, Lisa wasted no time calling up Jason. She informed him that she was in town for the last time that season and that she wanted to meet up with him. It was an easy decision for him. He invited her over to his place to spend some time out of the public’s eye. There were a few things he wanted to ask her about and he knew the subject would not be a good one to talk about in front of others.
Lisa rushed over to his apartment. They hugged and got through their typical pleasantries. Before long the two got down to really talking.
“So,” Jason softly began. “I could never really get it out of your uncle but I gotta know: what happened between you and your dad at the All-Star game?” Lisa had made herself as comfortable as she could on Jason’s couch, throwing her feet up and dropping her head back onto the armrest. Jason slid her feet aside to join her.
“Ugh. That stupid All-Star game,” Lisa grunted. Jason lifted her feet and placed them on his lap so that he could take off her shoes and massage her feet. “I was never expecting him to be there. After the thing with Emmett, and my dad hitting me over Christmas break I just…”
“Emmett? Who’s Emmett,” Jason asked as he squeezed her feet.
“Oh, Geez. I never told you. Yeah, I have an older brother named Emmett. Can you imagine that? And Sandrine? She’s not my mom, she’s Emmett’s mom.”
“Um… Yikes. So, this guy existed this whole time and you never knew.”
“Yeah, but it’s cool,” Lisa continued with her arm covering her eyes. “He’s really awesome. We’ve been talking and stuff. Actually, this whole thing with my dad and me kinda stemmed around Emmett. He met up with me during All-Star week. Things were totally fine. We hung out, he came with me during a photo shoot, he even got to meet some of the other players. We had fun, that is, until right after the All-Star game. I came off the court expecting to see Emmett, and the first person I saw was my dad.”
“Ha. He came to his daughter’s big game. What a guy. Did he try to make up with you?”
“In his infamous David-y way. Told me it’s time to make up and let the past stay in the past.”
“So, no apology,” Jason scoffed.
“Nope. But I wasn’t really expecting one. What got me is that he froze when he saw Emmett standing behind me. Jason, I’ve never once seen that man cry, but he was bawling when he saw Emmett. He ran right over to him and hugged him and everything. And get this, he APOLOGIZED to him! Said things like ‘my boy’ and ‘my only son.’ He begged for his forgiveness. Begged! I would have loved to see him beg me for forgiveness for once, but nope! But I was like whatever. And I would have just been annoyed at the whole thing and shrugged it off, but you and Damario both got me really thinking about how my dad treated me over Christmas break. I was just done with him.”
“So, that’s when you decked him,” Jason asked.
“No! I yelled at him and he went back to being the David I know. Told me to get over it. I was so done with him. I just wanted to get out of there. That’s when he grabbed my arm and yanked me back, telling me I wasn’t allowed to leave. He yanked me hard. Like, that was the kind of pain I would have been pulled out of a game for. And since I had the whole ‘my father has been abusive to me’ thought in my head, I lost it. Told him to never fucking touch me again. THAT’S when I decked him.” Jason laughed, applauding her for her actions.
As the evening went along Lisa told Jason about the silence after the punch, how her dad was going to sue her but never did, and about the strange woman she met in Hawaii. She told him how she found out that her father had to get surgery for his injury and Jason responded with a cheer. But with the stress the two decided to spend the rest of the evening in a cheerier atmosphere. Lisa would check her phone every so often for the time, but never made an effort to try and end things and leave. They joked, teased each other, and played games. And eventually the conversation landed on her and Damario. The last time they spoke, Lisa had a choice to make.
“So, you two got back together,” Jason asked.
“Yeah,” Lisa said with a smile, almost apologetically.
“Alright. I gotta ask. And you can’t not answer. Who was better, me or him?”
“What,” Lisa laughed. “Better at what?”
“Better in bed, you doof.” Lisa vigorously shook her head. “No-no-no. You have to answer,” he insisted
“No way! I’m not saying anything,” Lisa protested.
“Come on. What do you have to lose? You won’t be offending anyone. If you say me, he’ll never know. And if you say him, I can’t be mad ‘cause you’re with him. So, which is it?!” Lisa continued to laugh through her embarrassment before going quiet as if she were thinking.
“If I’m honest… I’d kinda… have to… say… you.”
“Ha! I knew it!” Jason fell back in his seat, clapping his hands in approval.
“It’s not that he’s bad! He’s just… sweet.”
“What, Goliath ain’t a monster in bed?” Lisa swatted at Jason. “Ah, I see, you wanted a beast and you’ve got yourself a pup.”
“Shut up! No! Sweet is nice, but… sometimes… yeah, I want something else. Like, every time has to be like our first time or something.” When Lisa looked up to gauge Jason’s reaction, Jason had a very smug look on his face.
“Oh well. You could have had all this, but ya chose him,” he teased. “You know, I actually thought you were breaking up with him after the last time you were here.”
“Yeah… What about you? Ever start dating again?” Jason shook his head.
“Well, kinda. It just didn’t work out, though. God, being with you has really spoiled me,” he chuckled.
“Yeah, I get that,” Lisa said with a somber smile.
“Hey. You don’t have to feel sorry for me. I’ll be alright.” He lifted her chin and smiled to try and cheer her up. They hadn’t been that close to one another in a while, but the intense feeling it brought was just as strong as ever, but Lisa was able to pull herself away. She thanked him and sat quietly with her thoughts for a moment. When she looked back up at Jason, she felt she needed to say something to lighten the mood.
“I’ll give you a free one if you want,” Lisa offered.
“Free one? A free what?”
“Comparison. Between you and Damario, I think you’re the better kisser.” Jason said nothing. But the room filled with pressure as the seconds ticked by. Jason’s foot tapped faster and faster, and Lisa fidgeted with her fingers. But this pressure could only build for so long before it came bursting out from every seam.
“Fuck it,” Jason said, slapping his knees before using them to push himself out of his seat. He grabbed Lisa’s hand and pulled her to her feet, then led her down the hall to his bedroom. There was no pushback from Lisa. No opposition, no struggle. She followed him undaunted by the inevitable consequences of her actions. It didn’t matter. Tonight, she was going to let Jason make her feel happy.
No matter how comfortable, well-equipped, and luxurious a team jet could be, after flying to Hawaii, then Seattle, and back home to Las Vegas, the Wildcards had clearly received their fill of being cooped up in an airplane. It was with much relief, and stretching, that they disembarked, each player ready to head to their own homes, eat food from their own kitchens, and sleep in their own beds - especially after back-to-back losses on the road.
Sure, they were against the Kahunas and the Summit, both formidable teams in their own right, on their own turf, but after the Wildcards’ longest winning streak of the season, it was a damper on everyone’s spirits. And, as Crosby had observed both in person and on Tweeter, they had taken a special toll on Lisa DuPont.
The normal teammate pep talks were said on the plane, and they received their coaching staff’s usual attempts at going over what went well, and what needed improvement, but this… this was different, and Crosby bit his lip at his most recent Tweeter exchange with Lisa, as he sat at home. Something was wrong, something which could truly hurt someone, or multiple someones, and the genet felt ill-equipped to help. But he would at least try, so the arrangements were made.
Pie.
What had started as a one-time outing had become something of a tradition after home losses, yet he’d never offered after an away game loss. It didn’t feel right, typically, but now, well, it was at least an opening; a way to try and see if he could figure out what was eating at his teammate, and friend. Not to mention an excuse to show off his new car a little, but that was beside the point. So, he pulled up outside Lisa’s place in Jackson Price’s old Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead coupe, and together they headed across town to an unassuming old diner and headed inside. Peach pie, and some coffee. It would at least get the conversation started, though after the awkward silence for most of the drive, Crosby took it on himself to open the dialogue.
His fork tapped at the tip of his slice of pie, the crust flaking lightly. Running a paw through his long, wild headfur, the genet finally came out with what he’d been wanting to ask ever since the night before.
“Lisa… are you okay?” he asked. His tone was quiet, caring, yet nervous, all at once. “The game, it wasn’t your fault.”
Lisa kept her gaze on her own plate. She knew he was probably right about that, but that didn’t stop her from feeling like she had a hand in this loss. “I could have been better,” she softly answered back.
“Heh, we all could have been better,” Crosby tried to chuckle. “I mean. I wasn’t exactly burning up the scoreboard, and my rebounds have been down. Misha… barely showed up. But still, as a team we did well. We were facing a tough team who got to blow their budget on superstars, on their turf. I don’t expect to win those games, but I still try my best.”
He lifted his coffee cup and took a sip. “And I know you did, too. But that’s… that’s not what’s really bothering you, is it?”
“What? No-no-no. I’m… I’m just off my game is all. I wasn’t really feeling up to it.” Lisa looked off towards the floor knowing that she wasn’t fooling the genet. She wanted to get this off her chest but with how things were going recently in the FBA, not to mention her little stunt over All-Star week, she figured she had been in enough trouble.
Crosby sighed. The sort of sigh that comes out through your nostrils, down over pursed lips, because it’s not a sigh for yourself, but for someone else. “You’ve been feeling up to a lot of tweeting, though,” he said, and his fork pierced down through the tip of his pie, carving off a bite, but he didn’t lift it to his lips just yet. “The kind of tweeting that will get the attention of FMZ if you’re not careful. And you’re not being careful.”
“Dammit,” she said under her breath. “I don’t know how I keep forgetting about them.” She finally picked up a piece of her pie and nibbled at it. “You… you ever make a mistake knowing it’s a mistake while you’re doing it?”
“Oh yeah,” Crosby nodded. Pie was needed to fill his mouth in order to give himself time to think over just how much he should say. When at least it cleared, he actually blushed. “When I was in my rookie year, I was teammates with Justin Destrier, and I thought he was a super hunk, and… I crushed on him. Hard. I knew it was wrong. I knew he was straight, and I was some nobody rookie, while he was a star. Backfired on me hard, because, well, he was more observant than I thought, and I wasn’t as subtle as I thought. Poisoned our working relationship with each other for a few seasons and destroyed any communication with him off the court. I was a stupid, horny kid, and it hurt me both professionally and personally. So, yeah, I know all about making a mistake when you know better, and how much it can cost.”
Another sip of coffee. “It’s a lesson I’m afraid you’re about to learn, too, but yours may very well be worse.”
“W-what?” Lisa’s voice was wispy. “I…” She was busted. Maybe, just as the genet was, she wasn’t as subtle as she thought. “So, do you know?”
“I might,” Crosby said. His voice was that of a disappointed father. “I hope I’m wrong. I hope I’ve somehow come to the wrong conclusion, but… your face is telling me I’m on the right track. I heard the call, last night, and I saw you leave. Misha said you didn’t come back to the hotel, and I’m pretty sure Damario didn’t come up to Seattle just to see you. So, was it Jason?”
Lisa took a sharp breath in and grabbed her hair just above her forehead. “Dammit! Dammit dammit dammit!” She felt a quick sharp pain in her chest. He had indeed caught her.
Just because you suspect something does not always mean you want it to be true. In fact, there are times in life where it is preferable to be wrong, completely wrong. Crosby found himself in that very situation, shoulders slumping and head hanging in the confirmation of his suspicion.
“Lisa,” he began, then closed his eyes for a moment. “I… I just… Do you know what it feels like to be cheated on? What it feels like when you really love that person?” His voice was starting to break, his left paw trembling on his fork as old heartache was pulled back to the surface.
“Of course, I do,” she said into her forearm as she continued to hold her head in her palm. “I know how much it sucks. I’ve been there… more than once… I’m.” She sighed. As she ran her fingers through her hair, she took the time to think. Letting out a few more sighs, she eventually found herself chuckling to herself. “What do you think he’ll do? Damario, I mean.”
Crosby’s fork poked at his pie again, and the genet could only stare at it as he tried to process everything and tried to help. Sometimes helping hurt, though, for both parties. Yet pain preceded healing, in most things in life, he had learned.
“I’m not sure,” he replied. “He might break up with you. And, I’m going to be blunt and say this as a friend, that may be what’s best. For both of you.”
The genet’s eyes lifted, looking at Lisa again as she cradled her head. “I’m no newcomer to this game. I’ve been through more than I often let on, and if there’s one thing we ballers aren’t good at, it’s getting our ego bruised. But I have to, Lisa. For your sake, I have to, so please don’t hate me for this.
“You’re not ready,” he said. “You don’t know what you want, yet. And there’s nothing wrong with that. You’ve been thrust into a position in the spotlight, given money and fame, and everything you may have ever wanted, but that doesn’t mean you know what you’re doing, off the court. Very few of us did, that early in our career. I know I was an idiot, myself. But you’re dealing with more than that. You’ve got something else going on with your dad, and you’re letting that affect your relationships.
“I know you want love. We all do. Trust me, I had something beautiful, and I wrecked it, and I kick myself every single day for that. But I can’t let that hurt define me. I can’t let it get in the way of figuring out what I really want. You need to figure out what it is you want, Lisa. What you really want. Is it love? Is it lust? Is it something else? Whatever it is, it needs to be the thing which can satisfy you, not simply sate you.”
With her eyes closed, tears ran down her cheeks in contrast to the huge smile on her face. With her hand still on her head, Crosby would only be able to see the tears streaming down her face. “‘One and done,’” she recalled. “That’s what my dad had asked Jason when he first thought about ending things with his wife. One mistake and everything was over for them. She slept with some friend of hers and the two got a divorce. You think this was a scheme he cooked up to get me and Damario to break up,” she rhetorically asked. “Damario’s been so good to me. He’s never done anything wrong, so why…? What’s wrong with me?”
It was a lot to take in, and a lot to unpack. Answering would not be simple, Crosby knew that much. So, he started by not answering, but instead taking his napkin and reaching across the table to gently wipe the tears from Lisa’s cheeks, drying them with a soft smile.
“The same thing that’s wrong with all of us,” he said. “We run on emotion when we see danger signs, because we don’t have enough experience to know what those signs mean yet. That experience only comes with time, and pain, unfortunately.” His paw then very softly placed the side of a half-curled finger beneath her chin to lift her head up.
“You’re a kid,” he smiled. “I know you feel like you should be an adult by now, and the world sees you as one, but you and me, in this game? We’re so focused on the game, we don’t get the same kinds of experiences others do. A normal life isn’t a luxury many of us get, is the sad truth. It took me a while to figure out how to grow up, and I made mistakes along the way. Thankfully I was just a bench player, so the world didn’t notice me much.
“But as far as you, Jason, and Damario go, is there one of them you could truly see yourself with forever? Or are both just ‘for now’ kind of guys? I think that’s the question you need to answer for yourself, first, and once you know that, you’ll know what choices you’ll need to make.”
“But,” she thought for a moment. “I can’t choose Jason. He should have known better. I can’t be with someone who keeps making the same mistake. And Damario…” She caught herself rambling on and took a breath to start over, not to mention how hypocritical she was starting to sound. “It’s so hard. I feel so comfortable around Jason. I can joke and sorta be myself around him. And Damario. I guess… With Jason I feel comfortable, and with Damario I feel comforted, you know what I mean?”
She laughed to herself again, finally pulling her head out of her palm. “You know, I think you’re right. I have no idea what I want.” Her face went blank as she continued to eat. “You know what I do want? I just want this whole thing to disappear. I just want everything to be like it never happened. I think it’d be better that way.”
Crosby’s paw pulled back to his own side of the table as Lisa emerged once more, and he cut off another bite of pie. “That’s not how it works, though,” he sighed. “And you know it. You can’t fool yourself into thinking that it could. But what I do think is that you need to tell Damario, and then maybe take a break from both him and Jason while you decide which one, or if either of them, is right for you.”
A light chuckle then made his shoulders bounce, and he pulled stray headfur out of his face again. “Though, it does mean less ‘fun,’ I know. Been over two years since I’ve had any of that, myself, because I’ve been trying to figure out what I wanted, and now that I have, it’s difficult to find. But it’s worth it, Lisa. Real love, that’s worth it.”
“But I have real love,” Lisa shouted as she slammed the table. “I can’t tell him! I already messed things up big time with him and almost lost him when I trusted my dad over him. I tried to fix things and he turned me down, saying that I was acting like a kid. It was only by sheer luck that he changed his mind and showed up at my door. What do you think’ll happen if I prove him right? I can’t. I’m not like those other jerks who’ve cheated on me. This was a mistake. A stupid mistake that I can learn from. Why can’t I just learn my lesson and leave it at that?”
The outburst caught Crosby off guard, and he sat like a deer in headlights for a moment until things began to make sense. “Lisa, I… I don’t have all the answers. And I don’t know everything involved, and I’m not going to pretend to. But, here’s what I do know: It’s better to learn the truth from someone directly, rather than through someone else. And, you need to take the time to figure out why you went with Jason, last night. If it was just a fling, tell Damario that. If it was because you still have feelings for Jason, then you’ve got a bigger problem. But if it was to give yourself an excuse to avoid commitment, then you’re giving yourself all the signals of success, right now.”
One of his ears twitched, and he reached up to adjust one of the microphone units pierced into it for his cochlear implants. “Ow,” he grumbled, fussing with it until his ear stopped twitching.
Lisa scoffed. “Look, I get what you’re saying. And if I were in your shoes, I’d be telling a friend exactly the same thing. But this is completely different. I’m not like the others who’d just do it for a fling or whatever. I’m not a jerk or an asshole. I… I can’t do it. Not now anyway. Things have just started to feel good between us. Like, really good. It will hurt him much more if I just throw this at him now. I can’t right now. I just can’t.”
“And that’s your choice to make, and no one’s but yours,” Crosby nodded. Another sip of coffee, and he sat back in his booth seat. “What I’ve said? That’s just between you and me. No one else knows, as far as I know, and I’m not the type to go blabbing. I hope I’ve earned at least that much trust, by now. But we live in a world with FMZ, and scummy reporters, and shady, selfish buttholes, so while I won’t say anything to anyone… I may not be the only one who knows. So, take the time you need with Damario. I’d personally suggest not seeing Jason again. It sounds like you really do love Damario, so work on that love, and you’ll know when the time is right. Just bear in mind that you don’t always get to choose the timing, when you live in a high-profile world like we do.”
Lisa nodded back at Crosby as she kept her focus on her plate. “This is stupid,” she mumbled. She then stuffed the last bit of pie in her mouth despite its size. “Thank you,” she said with her mouth full. “Thank you for everything.” She swallowed hard and drank the rest of her coffee to wash it down. Clearing her throat, she thanked him again. “And thank you for not saying anything. You… You didn’t tell Misha or the others what you were suspecting?”
“No, of course not,” Crosby replied, his brow pinching in concern, and no small amount of self-defense. “Misha thinks you went out to a party, or something, so I just let her keep thinking that.”
“And you? Are you okay…?”
At that, Crosby smiled, honestly chuckling. “It’s been a long time since I was okay. But I’ve learned to accept that, and just keep moving ahead. Don’t you worry about me. Now, looks to me like you’re ready to head out, so why don’t I get the tab, here, and drive you back home.”
Lisa let out a sharp sigh through her nose and nodded. Not sure how Crosby would take it, she got up from her seat and gave him a light hug. “Sorry, I’m a butt sometimes.”
One of Crosby’s long arms reached around her shoulders to return the hug, then he stood as well and flicked some bills from his wallet onto the table. “Nothing wrong with that. I happen to like butts,” he laughed, sticking his tongue out playfully. “C’mon, let’s get you home.”
“Can I talk to you for a second?”
Lisa sat on Damario’s couch with her hands clasped between her knees and her head down. Damario then circled around the couch with a chair from his dining room and sat across from her on the other side of his glass coffee table. His fingers fidgeted about, nervously picking at his cuticles and his body swayed unconsciously.
“There’s been something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”
Lisa’s right leg bounced. It was more than her usual nervous bounce. It shook her entire body. Damario, too, took on his own nervous traits as he started to scratch at the back of his neck.
“But I’m afraid you’ll get mad.”
Lisa’s off-season officially began with the loss in Hawaii during the playoffs on May 12th. Las Vegas had lost 4 to 1, with their one win having Lisa their Player of the Game. At the very least, it was more than what Lisa had experienced in her previous year, and if they were going to lose, losing in Hawaii wasn’t a half bad place to do it in. But that was that. Lisa was no longer on her rookie contract. She was a free agent. And with the end of her rookie contract came the end of her complimentary stay at Panorama Heights, where she has lived for these past two years.
In only two days Lisa packed everything she had and put most of it away in storage. The rest she took with her to Damario’s, where she would be staying until she figured out her new living situation along with her new contract. It was important to her that Damario saw this not as her moving in with him, but as her becoming his tenant, making him construct a contract for her to sign. This was eventually (about a week later) destroyed when Damario ripped the contract and had Lisa move her stuff from his in-law suite to his room and the rest of the house. Whether Lisa liked it or not, she was living with Damario. At least for the time being.
While at his house she took this time to hit her books hard. She spent every day studying and researching, spending little time doing anything else, including spending any time with Damario. The summer was her only true free time she had to catch up in her studies and she wanted to make the most of it, with little to no distractions. That’s what she told Damario. But things haven’t been the same. Not since her night in Seattle.
Lisa has had that night play on loop in her mind, enjoying it sometimes, regretting it others. But she never spoke of it, not since her talk with Crosby the night after it happened. She had learned her lesson, and she was never going to let something like that happen again. Besides, she’s been on the receiving end before, and with it being the subject of Jason’s divorce, she knew the ramifications of cheating on someone. So, she kept quiet, keeping it tucked away to haunt her in silence; a reminder, a scar for what she had done.
Until…
“Can I talk to you for a second? It’s really important.”
Lisa finally caught her leg wildly shaking and tried to compose herself. She took a breath and looked up at Damario, puzzled.
“What’s up?” Lisa asked.
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about, but I’ve been worried you’d get mad,” Damario said running his fingers through his hair. “I want us to be open and honest with each other. There’s something that’s been on my mind for a while now, and it’s led me to make all kinds of assumptions. I hate assuming things, so I thought I’d just let it go. But I haven’t been able to. It’s really been bothering me, and it’s finally hit me that I should just come to you about this exact thing. I don’t want to assume things, but I can’t stop doing it. So, I’m coming to you for help.”
Assume things? Damario has been assuming what?
“Yeah!” Lisa nervously shouted. “Of course! I won’t get mad. What’s… What’s been on your mind?” She had to ask him. She didn’t have much of a choice.
“Well,” Damario began. “Okay… It’s how you’ve been acting. I know this year has been rough on you with all that’s been going on and all, but you’ve… You’ve been acting really different.”
“Well, I’ve been studying and stuff. I guess I kinda get lost in my books sometimes.” Lisa smiled.
“No. This started before you finished your season. Before the playoffs.”
“Oh. Yeah, I’ve been really nervous about going to the playoffs, and my contract ending, and free agency, and this whole mess with my dad,” Lisa listed off. Damario just shook his head.
“No, it’s not that.” Damario lifted his head, searching the ceiling for the right words. “Okay. This is where the assumption comes in. You came home after an away game, and you were off. Like, completely off. You wouldn’t look at me, you barely ate anything. This was a Lisa I hadn’t seen before. And since then, it’s kind of been like that.”
“Must have been a rough game,” Lisa replied, softly.
“You were in Seattle that night…” Lisa sat stiff, and Damario adjusted himself to sit up straight in his seat. “I’m gonna get it all out. Like I said, I hate assuming things, but if I don’t just get it all out, I’ll be apologizing every two seconds. So, forgive me in advance.” Damario took a breath. “I know you saw Jason that night.”
“Hold on! I-“ Lisa started to say but Damario held up his hand, stopping her from continuing.
“Please, let me get it all out before you start defending. Like I said, this is all an assumption, and I’m sure you’ll have plenty to say against it.” Another breath. “I know you saw Jason that night. At first, I assumed you did, but then I saw the call and text log from that night on your phone.”
“You went… through my phone?”
“Not to snoop. I was looking for the number to your anger management counselor. I wanted to touch base with him since I’m technically your primary counselor. I… I happened to see that you called and messaged him on the day before I noticed you acting off.”
“You could have just asked me for the number instead of just taking my phone.”
“It wasn’t a big deal at the time.”
“First, you’re assuming things, and then you start going through my phone, and you expect me to be okay with that?!”
“Lisa,” Damario spoke firmly. “You’re deflecting. I’ve been through your phone before. You KNOW I’ve been through your phone before, and it’s never been an issue. I wasn’t snooping.” Damario sat back. “I’m trying not to be your counselor right now, but you’re not giving me much to doubt here. You’re acting guilty. You saw him that night. Right?” Damario’s firm voice, the voice he tends to use when he’s counseling her, forced Lisa to respond with a slow nod. “And knowing how pushy Jason is, he tried to convince you to break up with me and be with him again, right?” Again, Lisa nodded. “Something happened that night… Right?” This time, Lisa couldn’t even move to respond one way or the other. She couldn’t even hide the tears that started to collect around her eyes. “Lisa… I wish you came to me right away about this.”
“You wouldn’t forgive me if I told you,” Lisa squeaked out.
“Lisa. I’m not mad.”
“I would be.”
“I know,” Damario chuckled. “I think you’ve been mad at yourself this whole time. I know how… ‘persuasive’ Jason can be, especially since you had such strong feelings for him in the past. I’m more than sure he’s the one who came on to you. Right?” Lisa said nothing and just rubbed her eye starting with the palm of her hand and continuing down the length of her forearm, a motion that seem to be enough of an affirmation for Damario. “And then it happened? You two kissed…?”
Lisa’s body went rigid, and her heart sunk into her stomach causing it to turn. And suddenly the air around her seemed to heighten her senses, causing her to be aware of everything around her: the coffee table, the gym towel draped over the back of the couch, the sounds of the neighbor mowing the lawn, the cars passing by in the street. They were all real, everything, but the feeling she had at that moment that didn’t seem to make any sense. That’s what he was assuming?
“I thought so,” Damario continued. “You’ve been avoiding me ever since. And, although I’m not happy about the fact that you two kissed, I’m not all that mad. I know how Jason is. I know you. And I know something like this won’t happen again. But, babe. I think I need to be firm about this: Jason has to go.”
“What!” Lisa perked up.
“I’m not mad, but this is what I’ve been talking about. You’ve spent these last few months with the weight of this on your shoulders, and in return have been causing this rift between us. Jason’s not even here and his actions continue to get in our way. I don’t think he’s a bad guy. He’s persistent, but not a terrible person. But that said, Jason is coming between you and me and is hurting our relationship. And that’s something you can’t deny. I know you two have been friends for awhile now, but I think after what’s happened, I’m within my right to say he needs to go.”
“Jason is my best friend.”
“And I’m your boyfriend…! More than that…! I’m sorry, but Jason can’t come before me. Your friendship with him can’t mean more to you then our relationship.”
“No,” Lisa answered quickly and firmly. “I can’t. I can’t just cut him out of my life like that. He means so much to me.”
“Lisa,” Damario sighed. “You know how Jason is. He’s not gonna stop at just a kiss. He’ll push for more. And with the way you act around him, he WILL end up convincing you. I don’t want that to happen. I mean, what if the reverse happened? What if an old crush of mine showed up and we did the exact same thing you and Jason did? Would you still want her around?”
“If that happens, I’d end up breaking up with you!” Lisa informed him.
“So, I should break up with you?” Damario calmly asked.
“No…!”
“Or… Should I wait until you sleep with him…?” Damario continued with a calm voice. Lisa looked shocked at first before her face went stern.
“Is that another assumption?”
Damario didn’t answer her question. They locked eyes for only a moment, and the two lingered in silence for some time before Damario eventually collected enough of his thoughts to continue.
“Look… I want to know if you’re serious about us. Because I am. You’re more than just a girlfriend to me. You’re my partner, and I want the absolute best for us… That’s why I came to you. I hated feeling like this in silence and wanted to open up and be honest with you about what I was going through… You know what I mean…? This whole time I wasn’t sure if what I was assuming was right, or if I was just projecting my own nervousness onto you. I don’t want to hide things. I don’t want that for either of us.”
Lisa slowly rose her head and stared Damario straight into his eyes. “’Projecting?’ What do you mean ‘projecting?’” This time it was Lisa whose voice went firm, forcing Damario into the spotlight.
“Oh… No… It’s… nothing. Never mind.”
“No. You just said how we should be honest and stop hiding things from each other. What do you mean by ‘projecting?’”
“Lisa,” Damario begged.
“What are you hiding?!”
Damario’s shoulders slumped as he thought to himself for a bit, the whole while his eyes darted back and forth between Lisa and the wall behind her. Her arms were crossed with her finger tapping impatiently on her bicep, waiting for his answer. He knew there was no way out of telling her after having a conversation like the one they just had. If this was going to help open up the channels of trust, Damario had no choice. He got up from his chair and made his way across the room to the wall that had his sweater hanging from a hook. He reached into the pocket and grabbed something from it, then return to his seat.
“I’ve been nervous and jumpy these past few months, myself. I wasn’t sure if you were, too, or if it was just me being overly paranoid.”
Lisa looked down at Damario’s hands which were cupping some object that she couldn’t see. And though she couldn’t see it, there was only one thing in her mind she thought it could possibly be. Despite the rush of fear that washed over her she could not pry her eyes away from his hands. Damario took a breath and uncupped his hands. A little, red, velvet box, opened wide was perched in the middle of his palm. And there it was. A rose gold engagement ring with a large pear-shaped white diamond and a V-shaped band of small round diamonds cradling the point of the pear. Lisa brought the thumb-side of her fist to her mouth and stopped breathing. The rest of her face, however, still looked stern and almost unimpressed.
“I wasn’t planning to show this to you yet, but I don’t want you to think I was keeping something serious from you.” Lisa didn’t move. “But now you understand, don’t you? This. This is what I want for us.” Lisa remained frozen. “Look… I’m not asking you right here and now. I can see how shaken up you are right now,” Damario chuckled, snapping Lisa out of her trance, and finally meeting Damario eye to eye. “But… I DO mean this. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. That’s why I’m begging you, please, Jason has to go. He will hurt us. And… as for this,” he gestured to the ring. “This is yours… when you’re ready.” He reached around his neck and unclasped the chain necklace he was wearing and threaded the engagement ring onto it. “I won’t pester you about it. I know it’s a lot to take in, and I know how you get when something major like this comes up. I want us to both be ready for the rest of our lives. So, when you’re ready to give me your answer,” Damario got up and made his way back over to the hooks on the wall behind Lisa. “The ring will be here and yours to wear. If you’re answer is ‘yes,’ all you have to do is put it on…” He then hung the chain with the ring onto the hook, and let it gently fall as it started to sway back and forth. After that, Damario took Lisa by the hands and pulled her out of her seat and embraced her. “I love you, Lisa. We’re going to be okay.”
One o’clock in the morning, rounding the corner from the elevator to the front door, Jason was greeted by Lisa sitting slumped over, hugging her knees to her chest.
“Lisa?!” Jason dropped his backpack and knelt down on one knee with plans to help her up to her feet. “H-how long have you been here?” Lisa gave an indignant shrug. “Man, if I knew you were coming… I’m sorry. Today was a late day… Are you alright?” She gave another indignant shrug.
Jason took Lisa’s hand, pulled her to her feet, and helped her into his apartment. She kept her head down and shuffled her way to his couch while Jason scrambled around, picking up clothes and looking through his fridge for some food.
“Did you eat?” he asked. “I haven’t done any shopping yet, so I don’t have too much. I donno, you want a slice of pepperoni?” When he looked up from the fridge to address Lisa, he dropped what he was doing and came to her side. Lisa was hunched over with her face in her hands. He sat beside her and rubbed her shoulders.
“Okay,” he said softly. “What happened?” Lisa did not answer. “Does… does he know?” Lisa nodded. “So… did… did you two break up?” Lisa then laughed with a snort.
“No,” she finally answered.
“So… what happened?”
“He thinks we kissed,” Lisa said with a smirk on her face. “And that’s it. Said he wasn’t mad but wants you out of our lives.”
“Aaand I’m guessing you don’t want that since you came all this way to tell me that in person. Does he know you’re here?” Lisa shook her head.
“I told him I was going to California to talk with my professors.”
“I see. So now what?” Lisa snorted again.
“’Now what?’ Jason, he wants to marry me!” Jason didn’t respond back, he only nodded in affirmation. “He came to me saying I was acting weird and assumed that something happened between me and you. And then he said he thought he was just projecting his own nervousness. So, I made him talk. I thought he was hiding something from me. Whoops!”
“Do you not want to marry him?” Jason asked softly.
“I don’t fucking know! He didn’t even ask. He said he knew how much this would frighten me and decided to hang in on the wall by the front door until I’m ready to say yes.”
“Jesus…”
“So, it’s just sitting there, taunting me until I say yes.”
“That’s kinda fucked up.” Jason sat back. “See, I had a feeling things would get rough for you. I’ve been trying to message you, call you. You left that night in such a hurry, I never got the chance to help you.”
“Oh yeah, you’re gonna have to stop calling me. He checks my phone now,” Lisa said with a voice.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Well, he has access to my phone, so he sees everything.”
Lisa pulled her feet up onto his couch and once again wrapped her arms around her legs, hugging them close. Jason sat quietly and waited for her to say something.
“This is such a mess. I keep thinking ‘how could this happen?’ Things were great. Like, why did this happen? Why did you even come on to me like that? Like, you knew this would be a huge mess for me. It’s like, is this what you wanted to happen? Did you WANT to sabotage my relationship with Damario?!” When Lisa turned to look Jason in the eyes, she received a stern but calm look from him.
“Did YOU?” Lisa said nothing. “You know,” Jason sighed. “I think I know exactly what you’re going through.” He leaned his head back to gather his thoughts. “So, ever sense you started talking to Damario I started thinking maybe I should get myself a therapist. So, I did. Turns out,” Jason snickered. “I’ve had somewhat of a traumatic childhood.” Lisa laughed back. “Shocking, I know. But she and I talked a lot about my life. We talked about my dad not being in the picture, we talked about my mom and her abusive boyfriends, we talked about what happened to my siblings, we talked about my going to prison, we talked about Sharice… and we talked about you. Turns out all those things are linked.
“My dad left when I was really young, and my mom’s boyfriends were awful. That left me as the man of the house to rely on as far as my siblings saw it. They counted on me, needed me. But that was a lot for a young kid to take on.”
“Jason,” Lisa said softly. “You don’t have to relive your trauma. I already know what happened.”
“No, there’s a reason I’m bringing it up. Anyway,” he continued. “After a while I got so overwhelmed by the responsibility that was thrown onto me that I started dissociating. I disappeared and did my own thing. That’s when I met Sharice and we started dating. And then, I lost my brother and sister. They were counting on me and I failed them.”
“Jason, no. You tried to go to the police-“ Lisa started to say.
“But I waited too long. I knew what my mom’s boyfriend was capable of. And then having to fight for my life against my mom… I lost my whole family that day because I couldn’t take the pressure of being needed. So, when it came time for me to lean on someone: the justice system, I was left in the dust. I get falsely accused of everything and thrown into prison. And, apparently, there is honor amongst thieves. Turns out even the seediest of people look down on convicted child murderers and rapists. So, I had no one.
“But when I was finally let go due to new evidence, guess who was there waiting for me? Sharice was the one who was there from the beginning. She knew everything I went through and was still there waiting for me in the end. After everything I went through, I knew I didn’t deserve her. I knew that no matter what, I had no reason to complain about anything she did. ‘cause for the first time, I had someone to lean on. And I leaned hard. I relied on her for everything, which is probably why she ended up cheating on me. I wasn’t supportive and was a burden. But that was okay. My life was a huge pile of shit before this, so I damn well better be happy with what I got now, right? It sucked, but I was complacent and content with how it was.
“And then I met you. You turned everything upside-down. You’ve had your own traumatic childhood and gone through your own share of shit. You needed a shoulder just as much as I did. And in a weird kind of way, we bonded over that. But more importantly, we supported each other. I was there for you and you were there for me. It was the first time that I’ve ever had a give and take relationship. It felt good. It felt really good. And once we were able to grow past our childhood, our relationship only grew stronger. We were still supporting one another and making each other better. It was everything I’ve always wanted.
“But you were still new in my life. I was so conflicted by how happy you made me and with my own complacency for what I called ‘good enough,’ I didn’t know what to do. That’s when this whole mess between you and me happened. Luckily for me, I was finally able to get out of it and try to better myself. But you. You ended up in the same cycle I was in. You had just heard back from your father, the father who hasn’t spoken to you in four years since he disowned you, and was still debating on whether or not to let him back into your life. You were starting a new career in view of everyone. You had just had your scar revealed to the world against your wanting to, pulled that ‘self hate’ stunt at the dunk contest, and then held a press conference. At the same time, the one guy you thought you could rely on was at his most unreliable. You were alone when you needed not to be.
“That’s when Damario showed up. Damario came into your life at one of your lowest moments and extended a hand. He was kind to you, he helped you back onto your feet, and to top it off, he ended up having feelings for you. Damario to you is Sharice to me: your savior. He’s your hero. He came swooping in just in the nick of time and swept you off your feet. And for the first time in a long time you felt like you had someone to rely on again. But now you don’t need saving, and Damario’s cape has fallen off. Now all your left with is the man he is and you’re not sure whether the man you fell for is Damario or the superhero who rescued you.
“I honestly don’t think you love him, just the idea of having someone to lean on.”
“Wow…” Lisa laughed. “So… So, what does that make you…?”
“Me?” Jason repeated.
“Yeah… If Damario’s my superhero, what are you…?”
“I’m…” Jason sighed. “I’m your friend. The guy who’ll tell it like it is and not just smile and nod at everything you say.”
“That’s it…?” Lisa let out a faint laugh. “You’re just my ‘friend?’”
“It’s all I ever been…”
“And what about now, huh? Aren’t you gonna tell me how you’re not just some superhero and I should be with you…?”
“Are you expecting that…?”
“At this point it’d be odd if you didn’t,” Lisa nervously giggled.
“Well… um… Actually… no. I’m not gonna say that. Not this time.”
“What?” Lisa turned more in her seat to face Jason. “You’re… not…?”
“Actually… yeah… I, um… Well… The reason I came home so late is… is because I was on a date with my girlfriend… I-I’m seeing someone now. We’ve… been together for about two months now…”
Lisa let out a few short breaths of laughter, first starting off as if she didn’t believe him, then turning into a self-pitying laugh. “You love her?” she asked without looking at him. No ‘congratulations,’ no excitement, just straight to the only point that mattered. Jason said nothing and only nodded, and though Lisa couldn’t see it, the silence was enough of an answer for her.
“Talk to Damario… Like, really, seriously talk to him. You’re not ready to get married, but I think it would be a good idea to start over and get to know each other again.”
Lisa kept her eyes forward with a huge smile on her face and said nothing. She just rocked her body with her head, nodding to nothing in particular anymore. But he was right. Things needed to be different, and maybe starting over was the best case of action.
“Damario… Do you have time for me? I need to talk to you…”
“Wassup?”
“No… I mean… I need my counselor. I need Dr. Panagakos.”
“Ah. Okay. Let me set up the table and we can talk.”
“No… I want to schedule an appointment… make it official and all.”
“Oh… Are you sure?”
“Yeah… I’m having a hard time and I think this will help…”
Paperwork completed, fees and expenses paid, checked in and waiting for her appointment, Lisa was finally called back to Damario’s office around noon. Damario stood in the doorway with a smile ready to usher Lisa back.
“Come on in, babe,” He greeted. Lisa slowly stood to her feet and adjusted her clothing.
“Thank you for taking the time to see me, Dr. Panagakos,” she said holding her hand out to shake his. Damario looked back and forth between her and her hand and smirked as he extended his own hand.
“Oh, right. You want this done officially. Well then, come on in and take a seat Ms. DuPont.” Lisa gingerly sat in the seat sitting across from Damario’s and waited for him to join her. Her head was down, and her fingers fidgeted. After all the formalities of entering new patient data into his computer, Damario swiveled to face Lisa and clasped his hands together on his desk. “So, tell me, what’s on your mind?”
“A lot…” she laughed. As the laughter died down and the room went quiet, Lisa took a breath and began. “I’m having a hard time… with my relationship.”
“I see… Tell me about that.”
“My… My boyfriend… just told me he wants to marry me… And I don’t know how I feel about that.” Damario kept his gaze on Lisa as she spoke, making sure to give her the space to speak. He stayed completely still and quiet but still felt soft and approachable. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes and I’m worried I might mess things up. We just had a talk about something I did in Seattle behind his back… He told me he’s not mad at me, but wants me to stop talking to my friend so that we can focus on us… I… I don’t think I can do that…
“I feel stuck. I feel like I don’t have anyone to talk to… EXCEPT for my friend.” As Lisa spoke on, her gaze fell lower and lower, never once making contact with Damario’s. “He’s the one I’ve always been able to open up to. I needed to talk to someone. So… I talked to my friend… even after my boyfriend told me I need to stop seeing him.”
“I see…” Damario nodded. “I’m sure you brought all of this up to your friend…”
“Yes… but. I had. I had… I had to lie to my boyfriend and tell him that I was flying out to California to talk to my professors, when instead I flew out to Seattle to see my friend…”
“Oh… I… See…” At this point Damario found himself reaching for a pen and began to slowly twirl it between his fingers, stopping every so often to tap the top end against the table.
“My friend told me that he thinks. That I don’t… That. He thinks I’m not in love with my boyfriend and am more in love with the idea of having someone to lean on. And I kinda get that… My boyfriend did come into my life in a time of need. But now that things have slightly died down a bit, I’m finding myself getting more and more nervous when it comes to getting closer to him.”
Though it wasn’t often, when the pen would click against the table, Lisa would pause in her speech. It was just a nervous habit of Damario’s, but to Lisa it reminded her of an angry nun tapping a ruler in her paw. And it felt as though the clicking sound was growing louder.
“My boyfriend is really loving, and understanding, and sweet, and…” Lisa started to list off. “I don’t want to hurt him. He forgave me for kissing my friend behind his back. He could have easily yelled at me for that, but he didn’t. He told me he wants us to be more open and honest. And… as much as I wanted to… I. I couldn’t bring myself to be honest with him then… My. My boyfriend thinks all I did was kiss my friend. I couldn’t tell him… that… I… slept with my friend that night…. It happened so fast and I thought that if I just promised myself that I’ll never let something like that happen again, I can let it stay in the past…. But it’s been tearing me apart! All I think is how I cheated on my boyfriend! But… I know if I just talked to him, he’d be understanding…. I just… feel really bad and am scared of him being mad at me.”
Lisa continued on, telling Damario everything she had been feeling, everything she had done, everything she wished she had done. She told him how right after they broke up back in January, she immediately tried to be with Jason. She told him how if she had never called Damario back when she first was deciding on who she’d be with, she would have probably been okay with not being with him. She went on the entire time, and never once did Damario stop her to say anything. He only continued to twirl and click his pen as he stared directly at her as she spoke. But eventually time was up. A gentle meditation bell sounded from the clock on the wall, marking the end of the hour and the end of their official session.
“Oh, wow… an hour went by quick,” Lisa nervously laughed. Damario looked up at the clock and nodded. He then turned back to his computer and started tapping at it.
“Give me a second. I need to clock out,” he said to her. Lisa nodded and stretched in her seat as Damario did this. “I’ve been getting myself into trouble with skipping my lunch break, and I can’t keep doing that.”
“You’re such a work-a-holic,” Lisa teased, sounding much more comfortable around him. A few more taps on the computer and a note or two jotted down on a nearby pad and Damario was done.
“Alrighty. All clocked out,” he said.
“Awesome. You want to go grab some-“
“Get out.”
“W-What?”
“Get. Out.”
“Damario… Listen… okay, I understand you’re mad at me, but-“
“Go home. Get your things. And get out.”
“Damario… wait…!”
“I will also advise you to seek out a new provider as I believe there is a conflict of interest that will inhibit you from getting the help you so clearly need.”
“Please, Damario…” Lisa leaned over Damario’s desk and tried to grab his hand. Damario sat back in his chair, becoming just out of reach of Lisa, and slowly took off his glasses.
“Ms. DuPont, I will ask you one last time to leave or I will have you escorted off the premises.” Damario’s daggered eyes pierced Lisa’s pleading eyes. They sat in this silent battle for a few moments before Damario picked up his phone and dialed an extension number. “Ms. Callaway, please escort Ms. DuPont off the premises.”
In just a moment, a large bovine entered the room and called for Lisa to follow her. With one more rejected silent plea from Lisa, she slowly followed the bovine out of Damario’s office and out the building. When the bovine came back, she found Damario with his head in one hand.
“Doctor?” she called to Damario.
“Ms. Callaway? Please cancel the rest of my afternoon. I… don’t believe I’m fit to counsel anyone else today.” The bovine nodded and slowly left the room.
After eventually caving and seeing a few of the patients who really couldn’t afford to miss their appointments, Damario was finally home. He unlocked his door with a sigh and tossed his tie on the rack by the door. When he did, he noticed two things: one, the ring that was hanging there was gone, and two, Lisa was sitting on his couch.
“Why are you still here?” he asked, gruffly.
“Please.” Lisa stood to her feet and approached Damario. “This is not how I wanted things to go. If you’d just let me talk-“
“Oh, you’ve done plenty of talking” Damario interrupted. This tripped Lisa up enough to get her to stop talking. “I can’t begin to express just how angry with you I am.” He began to take slow, calculated steps towards her. “I came to you in a desperate need to be more honest with you. I wanted us to be more honest with each other. And you didn’t think that maybe then might have been your best chance to tell me everything you told me today? Never mind that you’ve hid this from me for over two months, but on the very day I say we need to be honest, you choose not to?” Lisa’s gaze fell to the floor and she began to instinctually step back as Damario moved closer. “And, when I even bring up the idea that you two could end up sleeping together, you get mad at me for ‘assuming?’ Are you serious?” Lisa stuttered, trying to find something to say back, but Damario continued. “Then! Then you tell me that you can’t cut this guy out of your life to focus on us! That kicking the guy you fucked behind my back out of our lives was just too much to ask! And then you lie to me, again, and go to Seattle to see him anyway!” Damario stopped and rubbed his face as he tried to compose himself a bit. “But the thing that gets me, the thing that really fucking gets me is that you couldn’t even say it to my face. You had to speak to ‘Dr. Panagakos’ and tell HIM how you cheated on your boyfriend. And in doing so, you backed me into a fucking corner. You forced me to listen to you, at work, where I have to stay completely professional while I take your barrage and can’t say a damn thing back in retaliation.”
“I,” Lisa finally began to speak up. “I was trying to be honest! I wanted to tell you the truth…”
“Well, then, thank you. You honestly told me how much I can’t trust you. I can’t believe you fought to keep the guy you fucked behind my back around and now still expect me to keep you in my life. Are you serious?” Lisa fought to find the willpower to move. And with everything she had, she grabbed Damario’s wrist and turned him to face her better.
“I want to be better! I want to be better for us! I want us to be better!”
“No, you don’t!” Damario shouted, snatching his wrist back. “You know what you want? You just want to clear your conscience. You think all you have to do is come clean and I’ll forgive you Just like that. Everything just goes back to normal. What did you expect to happen next, huh? We just go out to dinner and whisper sweet nothings to each other? Do you even care about how this hurts me? How this will forever change the way I see you, or us? Do you think I’m just some pushover who was only put on this earth for you? Do you even see me as my own man?” Lisa, again, struggled to find something to say. “Hell let’s do a test! What are my hopes and dreams? Hmm? What are my hobbies? What are my fears? What hurts me? What makes me cry? What breaks me down? What makes me happy? Who the hell am I, Lisa? Because I don’t think you can honestly answer a single one of those questions. I honestly believe that as long as I can make you happy, it doesn’t matter who I am or what I need or want. Well, guess what, I’ve got needs. I’ve got wants. I’ve got hopes and dreams, wishes, and fears. And I’ve got standards. What I don’t have is time for people like you,” He said, jabbing his finger into her shoulder. “And I really hope the next thing I say hits you as hard as it possibly can and does something to change you, ‘cause you need to hear it. I don’t care how sweet you think you are, how much others praise you or say they like you; you are a fucking bitch. You are a selfish, childish, conceited little bitch, and I don’t need you in my life.”
Shocked at first, Lisa couldn’t move as he spoke. But eventually, she grew determined and reached into her pocket. Pulling out a chain with Damario’s engagement ring on it, she held it up to his face.
“Look,” she said as it swung right before his eyes. “Please… Look. You see this? I want this, too. I want to wear this ring.”
“Then keep it,” he abruptly said back. “It’s yours. It no longer has any meaning to me. I hope you enjoy it. Costed me a pretty penny.” Damario calmly ran his fingers through his hair and looked over at the clock on the microwave oven in the kitchen. “Now, it’s late, and despite what others might do at this point…, I still consider myself a gentleman. I’m not gonna get rid of your things… tonight. So, the stuff you can’t carry now can stay the night. But by noon tomorrow, anything of yours still here is getting tossed out. As for you…. Well, in a different situation I’d probably let you sleep on the couch instead of sending you out into the night…, but you’re rich and famous. I’m sure you can figure out what to do from here. Hell, I’m sure you’ll just rush over to Seattle, right?”
With tears in her eyes, Lisa clamped onto Damario, holding him as tight as she could. “I’m sorry…” she said into his chest. “I do love you…. You’ve done so much for me…. I… I don’t want to lose you. Jason, please, if there is something, anything I can do to make it up to you, I’ll do it! You deserve that! You deserve better from me! I want to fight for you! Baby, please!”
“Wow…” Damario peeled Lisa off of him as though he was about to toss a used napkin. “You know what? Maybe you’re not as selfish as I previously thought. In fact, the only one who may matter to you other than yourself is Jason.”
“No…! I’m trying to fight for you, not him! Look, I’ll talk to him… I’ll…. I’ll tell him that… that’s it. He needs to go. Just please, Jason, give me this chance to show you I’m serious about you. I mean this. You wanted to see me fight for you and care for you more than him, then let me do that now.”
“Unbelievable,” Damario snarked. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You are your father’s daughter…”
“What…? What are you talking about? I’m not him. Jason, pl-“ Lisa stopped.
“Yeah. That’s the third time you called me Jason… Lissa.” Lisa covered her mouth with both hands in complete disbelief. “I’m done. Get out.”
“I’m sorry… I don’t know why I said that…”
“You don’t?! That’s funny.” Damario then promptly opened his door and held one hand out ready to escort her out. “Goodbye Lisa.”
“I really am sorry… I really am…” she continued to plea with him.
“And for your sake I hope you are, but just like your precious Jason, you have to learn your actions have consequences no matter how sorry you are. And, hey, I’m sure he’ll be happy to know I’m finally out of the picture. The fucking bastard got what he wanted.”
“No…” Lisa whispered.
“No?”
“He… has a girlfriend now….” Damario stared back for a moment and then threw his head back as he began to laugh.
“Wow! No doubt you considered it, though, right!? Was it worth it?” he taunted with a condescending voice. “Was it at least a good night? Good enough to lose both of us?” All Lisa could do was look away as a tear flowed down her cheek. “Yeah… wow. Good luck to you, Lisa. After tomorrow, I never want to see your face again.” And without giving her another second to speak, Damario pushed Lisa out and slammed the door.
2020-2021
After Damario’s door slammed in her face, Lisa was left with nowhere to go. She had moved out of Panorama Heights, Jason has a girlfriend so his place was out, she was definitely not going home to her father’s, and her uncle Eric lived in Seattle which, because of Jason, was out of the question. She could have stayed with Crosby, but she was afraid of confirming his prediction that because Lisa cheated on Damario, Damario would end up breaking up with her. She was truly on her own for the first time in a long while. After mulling through her options, Lisa eventually decided to purchase a temporary tiny home. It would be moved to The-Middle-Of-Nowhere, Vegas, where she could spend the rest of her off season.
And then the contract offers started coming in. Before even looking at them Lisa knew there were some places she wasn’t going to choose. First, Vegas. Though she spent her rookie years there, the thought of staying there became an adverse one when every now and then Lisa would run into Damario on the street. Albany and Queens were next, and though her brother lived in Albany, New York was completely out of the question because of her father. Seattle? Maybe. Maybe she could convince Jason to change his mind and be with her. But what would the Summit need Lisa for when they had Leon Delmont?
A quick look at the offers shocked her. There were offers from Albany, Baltimore, Vegas, offers going into the tens of millions. They were in a bid war for her. This felt unexpected to her since her attention had been on other matters. But the longer the bid wars continued and scared off other buyers, the more it narrowed down which were the two teams she had to choose between: Las Vegas and Baltimore. And when Vegas came to terms with the fact that Lisa could not stay with them a sign-and-trade between Vegas and Baltimore was conducted.
And that was that. Starting the 2020/2021 season, Lisa was a Baltimore Spirit. She sold her tiny home and moved out east. It was a new start for her. Alone. There was one gleam of hope, however; Crosby was traded to Baltimore almost immediately after her sign-and-trade. At least she had him to give her some sense of normalcy. But as she waited for the season to start, the loneliness grew inside her, despite her meeting with her new teammates during practice. All she could think about was what she had lost. Eventually an impulse to make things “normal” again grew strong enough where just days before preseason was to start, she flew out to Seattle. She needed to see Jason.
A knock on the door and Lisa could here his voice on the other side telling her to wait one moment. Jason opened the door and without warning Lisa jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him close.
“L-Lisa?” Jason asked in shock. Lisa said nothing, only burying her face into his neck.
“Who is it?” a voice sounded from inside his apartment. The voice shocked Lisa enough to loosen her grip.
“Hang on,” Jason said to Lisa and leaned back into his apartment to call back. “It’s my friend, the one I told you about. Give me a bit, I’ll be right back.”
“Oh. Okay,” the voice called back. Jason closed the door to his apartment to stand alone with Lisa in the hallway.
“Hey,” Lisa whispered.
“Hey,” he said back, confused as to why she was there.
“W-who was that?”
Jason sighed, “That’s June.”
“Is she your…?”
“My girlfriend, yes,” Jason confirmed. “What are you doing here?”
“The hell do you mean what am I doing here? I’m here for you!”
Jason ran his fingers through his now short hair and paced away from Lisa. “I did tell you I was in a relationship. What happened to Damario?”
“I’m done with him! Listen, you were right. You were right from the beginning. I should have listened to you and went with you from the start. Damario was just my savior during a rough time. He wasn’t anything more to me compared to you!” Lisa stopped to grab her composure. It was a fact to everyone that Lisa tended to get riled up and shout out the first things that came to mind. It was a fact that even Lisa could not ignore. She took her breath and began to talk calmer. “I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry for the shitshow.”
“Y-yeah,” Jason rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah. I’m sorry, too. It’s really been a shitshow, hasn’t it?”
Lisa made her way to the wall opposite his apartment and dropped her head back, allowing it to knock against the wall. “Sorry to show up out of the blue, too. But that seems to work best.”
Jason chuckled. “Yeah. I guess I taught you that.”
The roles had been reversed and they both knew it. There Lisa was, right at his door despite knowing that he was already in a relationship, there with the intent to get Jason to leave his girlfriend and be with Lisa. No one needed to say it. They both laughed to themselves at the irony of the situation. But now the question was will things turn out exactly as it had before, or will a different result end up happening?
“I’m going to be blunt,” Lisa began. “I want you to break up with her and be with me.”
“No.” A quick and direct answer.
Lisa pulled her head off the wall. “I know what you’re going through. Don’t make my mistake. Let’s just skip the fights, let’s skip the regrets and confusion and sadness. You’ve wanted to be with me all year, and honestly, so did I. But I was afraid of hurting someone even though no matter what someone was going to get hurt. Let’s not drag this out for her and let’s let her go before you end up hurting her the way I hurt Damario.”
“No.” Another quick and direct answer. “I don’t want to be with you.”
“I’m sorry, but weren’t you the one to take me back to your room and throw caution to the wind? You said ‘fuck it’ that night, not caring about anyone other than the two of us. Or am I misremembering this? We wanted each other and we both said yes. But then right after that, right after finally caving in and taking what you wanted you started a new relationship? Everyone was going through some tough emotions then, but I don’t think this June girl is the result of a honest decision, if I’m honest.”
“It was.”
“Are you mad at me?”
“No, not at all.”
“Oh. So, you’re just a hypocrite.”
Jason let out a slow audible sigh. “Lisa, we’re both hypocrites. We’re both doing the complete opposite of what we were so adamant about in the past. We’ve grown and gone through new experiences and now we’re here on the opposite side. But I’m not leaving June. And it’s not out of some sort of vengeance or anger towards you.” He made his way towards Lisa and joined her against the wall, both of them staring at the door to his apartment. Their shoulders touched which meant the world to Lisa at that moment.
“It sure feels like you’re doing it out of spite,” she said softly.
“I know. But I promise it’s not.”
“Then why? Why is this different than when you did this to me? Why did you think it was okay for me to leave Damario, but it’s not okay for you to leave your new girlfriend?”
Another sigh. “Because. Because I’m not torn between the two of you. I want to be with June. I only want to be with June.”
Lisa laughed, looking up at Jason. “Oh. I see. So, when we slept together, that meant nothing to you?”
“Lisa,” Jason sighed out. “Of course, it meant something to me. It meant a lot. But… It did teach me something. And talking with my own therapist we both agreed with what it taught me. I wanted something I didn’t have. Yes, you were always good to me. Yes, you’re my best friend and someone worth being with… then.”
“So, are you saying I’ve changed and now you don’t want me?”
“Well, no. I mean, yeah, you’ve changed, but so have I.” Jason took a breath. “It took a lot, Lisa, for me to come to terms with it. And to be honest with you (and I really don’t think I should be saying this), I’m still fighting with coming to terms with it.”
“With what?” Lisa huffed.
“You’re not what I need. You’re what I want. Sure, there are a lot of great qualities with our relationship, and us being together wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing per se, but I’d be stuck in a state where I wouldn’t grow beyond the me I am at the moment.”
“Like hell you wouldn’t,” Lisa shoved Jason with her elbow. “You’re the one always saying how you’ve done so much growing and changing because of me!”
Another sigh. “And that’s true. I have done a lot of growing, but that was just the beginning of my growth. Trust me, I still believe meeting you was the best thing to ever happen to me. I’ve changed a lot of who I am because of you.” Jason stood straighter, allowing his weight to slightly come off the wall. “I’ve done so much introspection and learning that I honestly am shocked with how much I’ve changed in these past five years when compared to the rest of my life. I am so grateful for you. But now I need to move on to the next stage of my growth. And the fact of the matter is you were becoming my new Sharice, a type of normal I was going to rely on.”
“Yeah? And what the hell’s wrong with relying on normal? You gonna tell me that once you get used to your new girlfriend, you’re gonna break up with her so that you can have something new?” Lisa snarked.
“No, Lisa. Of course, that’s not what I’m saying. Let me put it this way: I have a way with turning ‘Jason’ off. Where I just stop looking at me in general and asking what I really want. My emotions dictate what I want or say or do. I end up clinging on to what feels good in that moment. With Sharice, it was comfort in having a shoulder to constantly lean on. With you, it was a combination of things; being attached to the first signs of a good thing just because they happened, and wanting something I couldn’t have.” At this point Jason was no longer leaning against the wall with Lisa. “But the biggest thing I had to come to terms with was that neither you or Sharice was a choice. It was me grabbing on to the first good thing and desperately wanting it to never leave. But I want to be in a good and happy relationship, not a desperate one, and my therapist agrees.”
“What’s wrong with being desperately in love?” Lisa asked coming off the wall to finally face Jason. “Desperation happens for good reasons, too. You telling me that this would have been a bad thing?” Lisa gestured between the two of them. Jason was unable to look at her. He stood quiet with his gaze on the ground. Lisa placed both hands on his cheeks and hunched over to look up at him and catch his gaze. “You love me, and I love you. It’s the honest truth,” she whispered to him. Her eyes glistened in the florescent light and a warm smile grew on her face. “It’s okay to be desperate for that feeling. Especially when the feeling is reciprocated.” Jason’s gaze slowly fell off of her and to the floor once again. Lisa decided that she was going to take this opportunity to show him what she meant. She wrapped one hand behind his head and gently caressed his face with the other as she leaned in and kissed him, pinning him back against the wall. It was a soft but passionate kiss. She held there giving him everything she had: the genuine her, the caring her, the her that said that this was going to be a good thing. But when she pulled away from his lips, she saw that his somber gaze remained on the floor. She could see a bit of blush coming through his fur, though. Maybe another kiss? But she was stopped when she noticed that something had caught Jason’s attention.
When Lisa turned to face what was behind her, she saw a short margay with a bob cut. Her eyes were large but soft, not the gaze Lisa was expecting to see. Jason stood up straight and wiped his lips. “Lisa, this is June, my girlfriend,” he said.
“Oh! Uh,” Lisa stammered.
“June, this is Lisa… the girl I was telling you about.”
“I can see that.” June’s voice was as soft as her gaze and had not even a tinge of anger to it. “You are exactly as he says you are,” she smiled. Remembering how Jason’s ex-wife was towards her, Lisa was rooted to her spot waiting for the eventual eruption that would ensue from kissing this woman’s boyfriend. But it never happened. June was as calm as one could be.
Jason then finally came off of the wall he shared with Lisa and moved towards June on the opposite side of the hall, wrapping one arm around her shoulders. Lisa looked the two up and down. They looked like a proper couple standing together like that. Did she ever look like that with Jason or Damario? “I’m sorry, Lisa. But my answer is no. I hope you can understand,” Jason said calmly to her.
Lisa let her weight slump back against the wall. “Really? So, that’s it, huh?” Lisa muttered with her chin pressed against her chest. Jason nodded back. “Heh. Wow. Well, you’re lucky, June.” June’s smile grew larger as she hugged Jason closer to her side. June agreed.
Not having anything else left to say to her, Jason turned around, guided June back into his apartment and entered in after her. “Goodbye Lisa. I wish you all the best. You really do deserve it.” And as the door shut, catching the last glimpses of what was going to be her partner, Lisa was forced to take in that she was, in fact, alone. Jason had chosen where he now stood, and it was no longer alongside her.
This was a familiar feeling.
Lisa’s phone rang.
They’ve played this game before.
She answered it.
How was this happening again?
She huffed into the phone.
This was out of her control just like last time.
She relented.
Something needed to change.
She hung up.
She needed to take charge this time.
Get ahead of the curve.
Gain the upper hand.
When Lisa opened the door to her condo David entered without any fanfare. In fact, they both remained silent. Only the sounds of footsteps, ruffling clothing, and eventually the door closing were heard. David dropped his bags in front of Lisa’s couch and took a seat, stretching and settling in while Lisa went straight to her kitchen and turned on the faucet. It ran for some time as she placed her weight on her hands, hunched over the sink. The water rushed and rushed louder than anything else in the condo.
Take a breath.
Catch it.
Got it.
Lisa stood up straight and took out the filter to her coffee maker. Her movements were slick and purposeful. As the water ran Lisa reached up into her cabinet and pulled out a glass. With it under the faucet she filled the glass and then emptied it into her coffee maker. Still, her movements were exact. This was the task and nothing else. She took out her favorite brand of coffee grounds, a brand she had picked up from Seattle, and placed two scoops into the built-in filter.
Place the filter into the maker.
Close the lid to the coffee grounds.
Put the coffee grounds away.
Close the cabinet.
Turn on the maker.
Methodical.
Done.
David sat patiently staring off into the distance until Lisa would address him. With nothing else to do but wait for her coffee to brew, Lisa rounded the island that separated the two and leaned back against it. Her arms were cross as she looked down at her seated father. But not a word was spoken. She waited patiently, staring down at her father until he would address her.
Stalemate.
There were so many questions Lisa wanted to just blurt out. Why was he here? Never mind that. HOW was he here? How did he find her? She told no one her new address, not even Eric, so how? Did it even matter? At this point, no. But he was here, and he was here for a reason. What was it? She remembered her conversation with that strange woman she met in Hawaii. She had told her that David’s jaw was broken and needed surgery. Was this true? Could Lisa tell? Was there a scar she could find? It didn’t seem so. Lisa grew impatient with each passing thought and tapped a single finger against her bicep.
A crack.
David did not move, though he could see the tapping from the corner of his eye. He’d smirk if he wasn’t so determined to win this game. But he sat still with his eyes forward, blinking slowly and adjusting his head, almost signaling to Lisa what his calm demeanor was intended for. And she received his message.
This was dumb.
This needed to end.
“What?” A single word. It was a loss, but this needed to move on. Why was he here? What did he want?
“What do you mean, what?” David calmly asked.
“Why are you here?”
“You are my daughter.”
“I recall you telling the reporters that, yes.”
David let out a quick, breathy chuckle. “So, you’re a Baltimore Spirit now. That’s great. By the way, how IS your career going? I heard you were almost suspended but never was.” David’s eyes narrowed as he glanced over at her.
Lisa tilted her head back. A new game. “How’s your jaw? I heard it was broken and needed surgery to fix it.”
A sign of weakness. It was quick, but David seemed surprised until a smile grew on his own face. It seemed he was approving of her response. His turn. “How’s your relationship? I haven’t seen Damario in a while.”
There it was. The line. And it was cross. Another defeat. Lisa scoffed, turning her head away. David stood to his feet, taking his wins with pride, and pulled up a dining chair to sit a bit closer to her. “You’ve been noisy online again. What did happen between you two?”
“You’re little hired goon? The hell do you care?” Lisa asked, still with her head turned away from him.
“Like I said, you’re my daughter. I’d like to know if I need to go ‘take care of him.’”
Lisa’s ear twitched as she turned a little to face David. “What?” David just tilted his head to reiterate his question. “No. You want to know what happened between us? We broke up,” she relented again. “And it’s your fault.”
The water was now boiling in the coffee maker. It bubbled and clicked in the silence between the two speaking. It was a get-out-of-the-conversation-quick ticket in the making. But it was taking too long.
“You two broke up,” David laughed, “and it’s my fault? Right. How is it my fault you two broke up?" he inquired.
“Are you serious? You hired him to keep me under your thumb! How am I supposed to be with a guy like that?”
David shook his head. “No, no. There’s no way that little talk I had with him was the reason you two broke up. Come on, why’d you two really break up?”
Lisa tilted her head downward and spoke through her teeth. “I broke up with him because he couldn’t be trusted.”
“Right, right. But after that. What happened after you two got back together?”
At this point fresh brewed coffee was trickling into the pot. It was a slow trickle, not fast enough for Lisa to excuse herself from the conversation. But she got up off the island and made her way back to the coffee maker, anyway, staring down at it as it slowly began to fill the pot.
“And your tattoo,” David continued. “It’s faded.”
Lisa fought the urge to reach up to her neck. It was a sore subject and he brought it up like it was nothing. Just a few weeks prior she had started the long process of having it removed since the tattoo matched the one on Damario’s chest. She no longer could stand the constant reminder. And now her resolve was withering. If she wanted to keep any amount of control, she’d have to do something now. But what could she do?
“What happened?”
“He,” Lisa began, “rejected me the first time. I. I broke up with him and then tried to apologize. He. Called me a child and turned me down.”
“That softy? He turned you down?”
Lisa moved to the fridge and opened it. She was stuck. Everything that had happened started flooding back. She didn’t want to answer his questions, but it was a losing battle. She pulled out a mocha coffee creamer and placed it on the counter.
“Well,” she continued. “He did end up caving in. He came to me a few days later and apologized.”
“So, you two made it past our little private conversation. Then what ended things for good between you?”
Finally, the coffee was done. The get-out-of-the-conversation-quick ticket was ready. It was too late, though. She was fully in the conversation. She took the glass she used to fill the coffee maker with and dropped some ice cubes into it from the ice dispenser on her fridge, then poured her coffee over top the ice. She let a splash of creamer go in next. After that, she pulled out some peppermint extract from the cabinet and opened it. This caused David to immediately wince and cover his nose. The strong smell was too much for the mouse, but it didn’t seem to bother Lisa as she placed several drops into her cup and then took a whiff of the extract itself before putting it away. It’s a smell that used to overwhelm her, but she’s since gotten used to it and has grown to enjoy the pungent smell.
She paused, thinking about that last question. She broke. “I happened,” she whispered. “I broke his trust.”
“What do you mean?” David leaned it, slightly concerned at this point.
“I.” She tried to explain, but every time she did, she’d get choked up, unable to finish her sentence. But then one word said enough. “Jason.”
David lifted his head, understanding full well what she meant. Examining his daughter as she stared down into her cup, David’s heart softened. The game was over.
“I hid it from him for months, but he caught on, thinking I was acting strange,” she said into her cup. “We talked, but it turned out he thought all we did was kiss. So, I ran with it.” Lisa sighed. “Like an idiot. He told me I needed to get rid of Jason, but of course I couldn’t do that. And on top of that? He thought he was projecting his own nervousness onto me when he said he thought I was acting strange.”
“Nervous? Nervous about what?” David quietly asked.
“Ha. I asked him the same thing, and.” At this point tears were flowing down her cheeks. “He showed me the engagement ring he had gotten for me.”
David covered his mouth with his fist. The war between the two was on pause. David was her fulltime father now.
“So, I freaked out and got scared. I knew I had to tell him the truth, but I couldn’t do it. Not to his face. So, I asked to speak to ‘Dr. Panagakos’ instead. I scheduled an appointment and everything. And then I unleashed everything on him, while he was at work unable to say anything back to me. And then he clocked out.” Lisa tried to compose herself by lifting the cup to her lips, but she spoke again before she took a sip. “Have you ever seen Damario angry? I mean, curse-you-out angry?”
David shook his head in shock. “No.”
“He called me a bitch, and then slammed the door in my face.”
“Lisa.”
“It’s okay, ‘cause maybe I wanted this? I donno. I tried to go back to Jason after that, but he’s in a serious relationship now, so that’s out. I guess I deserved this.”
David sighed and sat back in his seat while Lisa was finally able to take her first sips of her iced peppermint mocha. He rubbed his eyes and nodded to himself. “I never told you how I ended up marrying your mother. Well, marrying Sandrine,” he corrected. “I know I haven’t been honest with you in the past, but I want you to know that this is not your fault.” Lisa only scoffed in response. How wasn’t this her fault? “You were taking care of you and your needs, and that’s okay.”
David tilted his head back and began his story.
“I fell in love with Melissa. She was everything to me. I knew she was the one and I wanted no one else but her. Melissa to me was Jason to you: perfect, everything I could ask for. But like you and Jason, Melissa and I had our backs and forths of ‘will they, won’t they.’ Things just kept coming up and we just never got together. She would supposedly move on. I would move on. Eventually she got married and started a family. And that was that. I lost her for good. I was distraught. I thought I’d never find another girl like her.
“Then I met Sandrine. Sandrine was good to me, never did anything wrong to me. A perfectly fine woman. And as I see it, Sandrine to me was Damario to you. He did all the right things, said all the right stuff, but no matter what he was never going to be Jason. No matter what Sandrine was never going to be Melissa. But I was ‘happy.’ We got married and had a son. Nothing wrong had happened. I had to live with the fact that I missed out on a great thing and ended up with second best. But second best is not that bad, right?
“And then a crazy thing happened. I was still working for my father at the bar when I met Bellamy. Since I was married, I thought nothing of her. But we’d talk and joke and whatnot. Eventually we found out we had a lot in common. She, too, was in a relationship that felt ‘good enough.’ I thought I made a friend; someone who’d understand what I was going through, and someone I can vent to. But, I ended up falling for her. It was the strangest feeling. I felt for her the same way I felt for Melissa. I thought I’d never feel that way again. How could anyone match Melissa? But Bellamy was her own thing, her own perfection. Here was this girl who replaced Melissa for number one. But I was married. And on top of that, I had a child.
“It tore me up. I didn’t know what to do. Bellamy was apparently going through the same thing except she was married with two boys. But we were both happy together. And then it happened, we slipped. And it felt amazing. After years and years of feeling stuck in a punishment, I finally got to feel something wonderful again. I imagine that’s how you felt with Jason that night. Screw the ‘right’ thing and do something for you for once. Am I right?”
Lisa kept her nose over her coffee and eventually gave a small nod.
“And that’s okay,” he told her. “I knew there’d be consequences, but at that point, they would be completely worth it.
“We found out a few weeks later that she ended up getting pregnant. That. Split me in half. I was married. I had a three-year-old son, Bellamy was married with two sons. It was supposed to only be one night together. We thought the consequences were going to be worth it, but we weren’t expecting that. So, we needed to decide what was best; do we go back to our families and face the aftermath of our mistake, or… do we take that good feeling and learn from it? Do we drop our pasts and go with what actually made us happy?
“It was a hard decision. I didn’t want to lose my son, and I didn’t want to hurt Sandrine. They were innocent in all this. But I knew that if me and Bellamy left together, all the children would be with at least one of there parents, and none of them would have to deal with a parent who didn’t want to be there. At least, that was the plan.
“We wavered back and forth about it. We were scared to hurt the other person. But then she went into labor and time was up. It was decided then and there: Bellamy and I were going to start a new life together with our child. I finally was going to have my happy ending.” David clasped his hands together and stared down at the floor. “But she started hemorrhaging. It happened so fast. Doctors and nurses were everywhere. I was shoved out of the room. I didn’t know what was happening. But it didn’t matter. In the end, Bellamy ended up passing away before they could ever put you in her arms. For the second time I lost a perfect woman, but this time permanently.
“After Sandrine and I had fought about what I’d done, I knew I couldn’t come back to her, but I tried to. She turned me away and left with Emmett. And it was my fault. I missed out on Melissa, I chose Sandrine even though she wasn’t exactly what I wanted, I wavered, I slept with Bellamy causing Sandrine and I to get a divorce, and my choice was why Bellamy passed away. There I was, thinking I had a second chance at happiness, but all I had was a daughter born from my indecision and a son I would never get to see again.
“Imagine. Imagine if you and Damario had a child and then all this happened to you. That’s essentially what I went through. So, I get it. You wanted to do something that felt good to you after so many misfortunate things. But that happiness came at a cost.
“And you know what happened after that. You watched it all unfold. I was distraught. I couldn’t even get out of bed most days. I never wanted to be in a relationship again. And when I finally did start dating again, it was because of the realization I had when I was with Bellamy. There’s no one in this world who should matter more to you than you. You’re the one who has to live with you. So, why not do the things that make you happy. And at that time, I wasn’t ready to deal with long term relationships, and that was fine. I was happy with the flings and the one-night-stands. That’s what mattered.
“You’ve done a lot of growing up quick, but you were still a child when it came to making yourself happy. That is, until this last game you had with Vegas.”
“What do you mean?” Lisa quietly asked.
“You’ve gotten a ‘fuck the world’ attitude,” he smiled. “Tell me, why do you want Vegas to lose so bad?”
Lisa looked back down at her coffee. “It’s not that I hate the team or anything like that. It’s just… I lost a lot in Vegas: games, relationships, dignity, happiness. I wanted it all to die. That’s why I left. And it felt so damn good to beat them over preseason. It was like taking these last two years out back and putting it down,” Lisa said with a disturbing grin on her face. “But it was just preseason. This last game was the real deal. And, dammit, I pushed. It was a close game the entire time. I outplayed everyone on that court, but still, the past won. And on top of that, Damario was in the crowd watching.”
“He came?”
Lisa nodded. “He had never gone to any of my games before but now he decided to show up.”
“Why?” David asked in confusion.
“Because,” she started to say. “Because Damario’s Damario. He was doing the same thing he did last time.”
“Last time? You mean come back and try to be together with you again?” Lisa nodded back.
“I know that’s why he was there. I couldn’t. I couldn’t handle that. Plus, I think we need to stay broken up.” Lisa admitting this out loud hit her down in the pit of her stomach. In the end, it was for the best that she didn’t let that happen.
“So, yeah. He was there watching me lose to my past self. It didn’t matter if I played my heart out that night. We could never pull ahead far enough to secure a win. And then we lose in overtime by one lousy point. So, yeah, by then I kinda lost it.”
“No one else was fighting for what you were fighting for. You were taking on an entire team essentially by yourself, and in front of the last thing to cause you pain,” David summarized.
“Right! And all I said on Tweeter was that it wasn’t supposed to happen that way. Then Tyler, Lindsey, that rodent girl Maya, and even the Las Vegas Tweeter all butted in just rubbing it in my face. So, I said fuck them, and fuck the world.”
David smiled and leaned in. “Right, but I said fuck the world once, while I was sulking in bed. You can say fuck the world all you want and still end up being the one to get fucked. I don’t want you going down that path. I want you to learn from my mistakes.”
“Uh huh. And that’s the whole reason you showed up?” Lisa snarked.
“Yes. It is. Like I said, you’ve done a lot of growing up in the traditional sense. You know how to be an adult in this world. But you didn’t really know how the world was going to chew you up and spit you out. You’re starting to get a taste of it, and now I’m seeing the Lisa I’ve been waiting for.”
“Is that right?” Lisa took another small sip of her coffee.
“But talk is cheap. That is, unless you know how to play the market. Right now, you still sound like a little girl backed into a corner and acting tough.”
“But you say stuff like that all the time.”
“Yeah, but do you think that people see me as weak?” Lisa said nothing. “Or do my words have some bite to them?” Again, Lisa said nothing, only bringing her glass once again up to her lips. “I’m going to teach you how to make them afraid to back you into a corner. I’m going to teach you how to say these things and give them power. Let’s put your money where your mouth is. You say fuck the world? Let me teach you how to do that.”
Lisa, shocked at first, replayed David’s words in her head. What was the reason for this? Was he up to something? Or was this something she could use? Good or bad, learning how to stand up against the world sounded promising.
Since speaking with her father Lisa had taken some time to slow down and observe her surroundings. And though she had not forgiven him for his hand in causing her grief, she had started getting comfortable around him again. It may not have been the kind of comfort she had with him before, but it was the kind of comfort that allowed him to stay close to her and speak with her as though things were fine between the two.
Now that David was teaching her how to stand up against the world the way he does, this meant Lisa had to keep him close by. It wasn’t ideal, but David’s knowledge soon proved useful, even against him. She would use what she had learned to keep ahead of him. She did this by calling home every now and then to talk about nothing in particular, allowing her to set the pace of their becoming closer; a comforting, normal feeling that felt more controllable to her than in the past. And with this new sense of control came the side effect of confidence. It helped her earn two back-to-back Player of the Game awards immediately after their talk. From there her confidence quickly swelled, spilling into social media as well, taking pride of where she sat on the team and even toying with other players on Tweeter. But something needed to keep her confidence in check.
It was an off day on the schedule and on top of that it was the first snowfall of the season. Feeling particularly merry, Lisa decided she’d go out on the town, do some light shopping here and there, maybe even get a gift for her father for Christmas since she was planning to stay with him again this year. And as the day wound down, that warm fuzzy feeling still hugging her, Lisa decided to close it off with her favorite blend of peppermint mocha from the Steerbucks near the stadium. It was about closing time, so she felt she could slip in relatively unnoticed and grab a quick cup. But it seemed she was not the only one with this plan.
Standing at a bar table to situate herself after picking up her order, Lisa received an abrupt surprise as the table violently tipped, sending her cup flying to the ground.
“Lisa, darling,” a voice shouted. All Lisa could do was flinch as she tried to take in what was going on. “It’s been a while!” When Lisa finally focused on who was speaking, she was shocked to see the small mouse, Valencia, whom she had met in Hawaii last season.
“Y-you?!” Lisa stuttered. By now her latte had crashed, spilling its contents over the freshly mopped floor.
“Oh, I’m sorry about that, love. Here, let me get you another drink.”
“No,” Lisa tried to say, but Valencia was at the counter in a second, ordering two of “whatever she was having.” The cashier, ready to end her shift and close up, informed her that she would have to wait for the machines to finish their cleaning cycle and that it might be better to go elsewhere. But when Valencia held up a five-hundred-dollar bill, the young girl smiled and said, “coming right up!”
“Thank you, dear. And do take your time. We don’t mind the wait.”
Lisa was on the floor, trying to use the napkins she had with her cup to clean up the mess.
“Oh, Darling. People are paid to clean that,” Valencia told Lisa as she helped her back to her feet.
“What are you doing here?” Lisa finally asked with an unamused sigh.
Valencia laughed. “What am I doing here at a Steerbucks? Well, certainly not shopping for shoes if that was what you were wondering.” This wasn’t a coincidence. Lisa met this woman in Hawaii and now she was here in Baltimore. Sure, it COULD be a coincidence, but this didn’t seem like the woman to randomly show up without a plan. What did she want? As Lisa pondered the different possibilities for this woman being here, Valencia took two stools and brought them over to the bar table. “Sit, dear.”
In the past, Lisa would have asked more questions before finally succumbing to her request. It was easy for her to get flustered over such a bizarre moment. But instead, Lisa took her seat immediately and sat poised, ready for whatever would come next.
“I’m assuming you want something from me,” Lisa began.
“Straight to the point. I like that,” Valencia smiled. “I heard Davey spoke with you not too long ago. I’m glad.” Who was she? How did she know this? Was she really seeing her father?
“And?”
“’And?’ That would explain this ‘I don’t trust you’ tone you’re giving me.” Valencia reached over the tabled and grabbed both of Lisa’s hands. “Relax, darling. It’s just us girls. No need to keep your guard up with me.”
Lisa slowly snatched her hands back and calmly placed them in her lap. “You clearly want me for something so, forgive me for being suspicious.”
Valencia poised her hand under her chin and gave a smirk that rivaled David’s. Maybe they WERE seeing each other. “Suspicious, huh? Well, why don’t I ease your mind a bit and get rid of the suspicion?” Lisa crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair waiting for whatever nonsense Valencia might present to her. “Don’t believe me? Do you think I’m trying to use you? Get close so I can take your money?" She held up both her arms, presenting herself to Lisa. "You’ve caught me!” Was this a confession? “That’s right. It’s that simple. I want those millions you’ve got. Well, at least a sum of it. Can’t be too greedy, right?”
Valencia spoke with warmth in her voice and a gentle smile the entire time. There Lisa was trying to read this woman for her true intentions, and she just blurts out the obvious right then and there? As prepared for anything Lisa was, this was nowhere on her list. “Am I supposed to take that as a joke?”
“A joke? Heavens, no. I’m sure you know I’ve lost my company, Viva Valencia, a few years back due to some ‘unfortunate’ scandals.” It wasn’t something Lisa had entirely looked into, but she did recall her brother mentioning that name to her a few months ago. “And you know David isn’t exactly the richest man in the world,” Valencia continued. “He’s a good man, but his money isn’t exactly his, which means it isn’t exactly mine either.”
Lisa covered her mouth with her fingertips and laughed to herself. “This is sounding more and more like a joke. This is a joke.”
“No,” Valencia shook her head. “It’s as I said –“
“Then you can leave,” Lisa interrupted. “Why would I continue talking to you after you straight up told me you want to use me to get my money? Get outta here.” Sliding out of her chair, Lisa knelt down and picked up her bags, ready to leave the shop.
“Forgive me. It does sound dubious when you look at it like that, but aren’t you the slightest bit interested?”
“In being used?” Lisa asked over her shoulder, continuing her way towards the exit.
“In my confidence.” Lisa stopped, but her back stayed facing Valencia. “Think about it. Why do you think that even after telling you to your face I’m using you for your money, that I’m still absolutely sure you’ll let me?” Finally, Lisa turned to face her. “Aren’t you interested in what I could possibly have, what I could possibly know? Why do I know for sure that you would willingly let me use you, in fact, that you’ll beg me to?”
There was some truth to her words. Valencia had sparked some amount of curiosity in Lisa. What could this woman have? Should she ask her? Should she entertain her? She had a point. Whatever she has, whatever she knows, it must be big enough to allow this to happen, right?
No.
“Nice try,” Lisa smirked. “But I’m not interested. Keep all your tricks, your secrets, and whatever leverage you think you have on me. There’s nothing you'd have that I’d allow myself to be used over.”
“Even if it’s a small ask?” Valencia smiled, still sitting poised at the tall table.
“A small ask?” Lisa chuckled.
“Mmmhmm. I just want fifty from you, that’s all.”
Lisa’s smile dropped. Now she was annoyed. “Fifty? Fifty million?” Valencia let her smug smile answer for her. “You’re insane. I’ve got money, but I ain’t even got that kind of money. I don’t make fifty million first of all, and there are my agent fees, my mortgage, not to mention taxes,” she rattled off. “Even your ridiculous ask is ridiculous.”
“Oh, I assure you, you’re good for it. And I’d hate to bring it up, but you do owe me. It wasn’t exactly cheap to keep you from being suspended, or worse.”
“Did you,” Lisa stammered, “pay someone off?”
“Well, not me. But it did add some pressure to David’s declining funds.”
Was she implying her father paid someone off to allow Lisa to keep her career? Why would he do that? Was this what she meant back in Hawaii when she said she “convinced” David not to sue her? It didn’t matter. Whatever happened, happened. It’s done and dealt with, and Lisa owed nothing to anyone.
“Huh. Guess that sucks for you two,” Lisa snarked. She then reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. It was time to leave and Lisa felt bad for the server who was still waiting for the cleaning cycle to finish on the coffee machines. She deserved that five-hundred-dollar bill, but Lisa didn’t trust that Valencia would let her keep it if she ended up not serving them. So, Lisa pulled out another five-hundred-dollar bill from her wallet and flicked it over to Valencia. “Get out,” she told Valencia. “Keep your cash and let this girl go home. We’re done here.” Lisa then informed the server to cancel their order and go home.
“How ‘bout a free taste?” Valencia asked, unphased.
“No thanks,” Lisa returned, equally unphased.
“David lies to you a lot, doesn’t he?”
“Not a secret,” Lisa called back, her hand on the door handle. “Besides, I think I’ve finally got everything out of him at this point.”
“Oh, really? He told you about Sandrine?” Lisa pushed the door open. “His son?” Lisa walked through the door. “And about your real parents?” Lisa stopped, stopping the door from closing back all the way. “Well, then. I guess you’re right. What was I thinking?” Valencia finally stood to her feet and bundled herself up, ready to leave the shop. “I guess it was a silly plan, but if David has already told you about all of them, then you don’t need me.”
Lisa was still standing in the doorway not moving when Valencia slid passed her out of the shop. She stood much shorter than Lisa causing Lisa to almost miss Valencia raising a hand up to pass her a card.
“But, if you do ever want to talk, feel free to call me any time!” she said with a sing-songy voice. “I’m sure we’ll still have plenty to talk about. Who knows, we may still end up being the best of friends. Ciao tesoro!” As Valencia walked off into the snow the last thing Lisa could see before she turned the corner and disappeared from view was Valencia winking and blowing a kiss. And when she finally looked down at the card she had been given, she could see that a phone number was written on it and the words "let's talk" written neatly in script. Valencia called it a taste. It was just a few little words, but unfortunately some things can't be unheard.
December 26th. It was the first year in Lisa’s career where she didn’t have a game to play on her birthday. And since she was now on an east coast team, staying home for her birthday was an actually feasible task. David, having not had a chance to be with Lisa for her birthday in six years, wanted to give her a treat this year. Things may not have been perfect between them, but this could be the chance for David to turn things around in his favor.
The day started with Lisa’s favorite breakfast at the restaurant she and David used to go to every year for her birthday, followed by an all-day experience at the racetrack. Her contract with the FBA did not allow for her to take part in such a dangerous activity, but David made sure she would get the chance to test out the exotic cars offered at this track while incognito by buying out the whole day so that they would have the track to themselves.
Lisa started off taking it easy, not wanting to overdo things and potentially get herself into physical trouble, but as the day progressed and her father proved unyielding in his attempts to outdo his daughter, Lisa’s competitive side slowly but surely reared its ugly head. They took turns racing on the track, trying to best each other’s times. Each time Lisa was up, she’d take the turns a bit riskier to eke out a better time by just seconds. And it was through this fun birthday event that the day was transformed from a birthday celebration to a competition of control.
The day was finished off with an elegant dinner at Crystique in downtown Manhattan. The restaurant’s dress code helped to solidify the prestige of the day. And with egos high and Valencia’s words still rattling around in her brain, then was the perfect time to test out everything Lisa had been learning from David.
The two had just finished their meals and were taking time to enjoy the last of the evening with some dessert wine.
“This was really great,” Lisa smiled.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” David said back.
“I can’t believe you were able to get a table here.”
“Of course. You deserve the best. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you,” David smiled. Lisa smirked back. So, this was another game. Lisa was ready to play.
“I’m glad I get to see this side of you every once in a while.” Noticing that Lisa had caught on to the game they were now playing, David tried to smirk, but winced as he cracked his jaw. “Jaw’s acting up?” Lisa asked in a concerned tone.
“Yeah. It’s gonna take a bit to really heal up.”
“Well, it probably would have taken less time to heal if you had gone straight to the doctor’s instead of leaving it swollen for several days,” Lisa playfully scolded.
“How did?” David started to ask but stopped himself. It seemed Valencia’s information was accurate. A point for Lisa. David’s face revealed that he did not approve of this loss. He started again. “Well, I don’t think I really would have had a problem if you didn’t throw that hook at me in the first place.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Lisa laughed.
“I didn’t even know you had moves like that,” David chuckled.
“Yeah. Jason did teach me how to box even if it was for one day. I’m pretty sure he’d have been upset with my form though.”
“Is that so? I’ll have to thank him personally the next time I see him.”
“I’m sure he’d love that. I don’t think he’s seen you since that private meeting with his ex-wife and her fake lawyer you hired.” David’s confident smile dropped again. “I don’t think he’s mad at you, though. He eventually found the real DNA test results for her child that proved that he wasn’t the father, so you dodged a bullet there.” Lisa took a sip of her wine. That had to be worth three points in Lisa’s favor.
“Well, you can’t argue with results. You were just so attached to him. If anything, I’m glad if bought you enough time to convince him to move on and get you out of his system. He was a smart cookie. Too smart. Well,” David snickered. “I guess not smart enough.” Damn. A point to David.
“You really don’t like it when people have information on you, do you?”
“Not necessarily,” David clarified.
“Oh? Is that why you’re okay with dating Valencia?” David adjusted in his seat, laying both arms down on the table. “I gotta admit,” she began. “At first I didn’t know what to make of her, but I think she’s starting to grow on me.”
“She’ll do that,” David laughed. Finally. A confirmation. They were seeing each other. “I didn’t know you two knew each other.”
“Is that why you never told me about her? I thought all this time it was because of her age.”
“Why would that be the reason?”
“Dad. She’s five years older than me.”
“So?”
“Jason and Damario are both older than her by nearly a decade.”
“She’s an adult. I don’t see the issue. Besides, I thought you said you liked her.”
“Well. I’m not totally sure how I feel about her. But I can see why you like her.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. She reminds me of you. In fact, she’s a lot like you.”
“In that she’s charming,” David joked.
“She’s deviously clever. I actually think you can learn a thing or two from her.”
“Is that right?” David asked as his smile slowly began to fade.
“I’m actually shocked how much you trust in her. She knows so many things that took me years to find out. I can’t believe you just straight up told her some of these things.”
David kept his gaze on Lisa with a smirk creeping up his left cheek. It was a different look than Lisa was used to. To anyone else there wouldn’t seem to be a difference, but Lisa could tell this wasn’t a look of control. David was at a disadvantage and was in information-grabbing mode.
“You are my daughter, and she is my girlfriend,” he reminded her. “There would be things I’d tell her before I’d tell you. But you two should be on equal ground by now.”
“Mmmm,” Lisa’s face contradicted. “Maybe. It’s just weird seeing you so trusting in someone. I can’t imagine the things she must have shared with you. I’m gonna guess it’s a lot since you two are on equal ground.”
“You think so?”
“Well, yeah! And so quick, too. I can’t believe two people could be that open with one another that fast. One person being gullible enough to share too much, sure, but both partners being that open, especially when both partners are as devious as the two of you? That’s nuts.”
“Well, of course. If we’re going to be in a relationship, we need to be honest and open with each other. It’s good for us to share the same goals. I’ll have to tell her that you were able to see this in us.”
“Oh, I’m sure it’ll make her day.” Lisa started to laugh to herself as a thought cropped up in her mind. “I bet you you’re a big softy with her.”
“What makes you say that?” David asked, catching Lisa’s contagious laugh.
“She told me how all she had to do was bat her eyelashes at you to get you to rethink ASW last year. I bet you like making her happy. That’s super sweet.”
David nodded slowly. “She does have that affect on me, doesn’t she?”
“I bet you she feels like the luckiest girl in the world.”
“That’s my goal,” David declared.
“So, does that mean you think she’s the one?”
“Would you like that?”
“I don’t know.” Lisa took a moment to consider the idea. “She does constantly remind me of family.”
“Family?”
“Yeah. Like, real family? And if she were always around, I think I could learn more about it… You know, since I grew up an only child with a ‘single father,’ never considering the possibilities of something beyond that. And if you two end up getting married? Gosh think of all the new things I could learn about my parents. Yeah. I think she’s a great person to keep close. You chose right.”
David tilted his head back slowly, cracking his jaw again. But before he could say anything the waiter appeared asking if they’d like him to refresh their drinks. David stared at Lisa, lost in thought as the waiter poured her a new glass. Lisa thanked him with a huge smile, and he moved on to David’s glass, David now smiling from ear to ear as he, too, thanked the waiter. The waiter soon left, and Lisa let out a loud, pleased sigh.
“This has been great. Thank you for a great birthday, dad. I’m ready for my quarter-life crisis now,” Lisa laughed.
“Oh, it’s coming. I don’t care how successful you are, it comes for us all,” David joked. “But I think a toast is in order.”
“Yes.” Lisa and David held up their glasses.
“To Lisa. May this year be better than the last.”
“And to the future,” Lisa added. “And whatever new obstacles it may bring.”
“Cheers.”
“I have a feeling it’s going to be a hell of a year,” Lisa declared.
“It all depends on who’s bringing the hell,” David said with a devilish smirk.
“Cheers to that. Bring it on.”
Seattle, Washington, February 25th. Lisa was voted into the All-Star game despite her expectations after last year’s stunt against her father. However, she had been pushing herself since moving to Baltimore, so maybe that hadn’t gone unnoticed. It was the day before All-Star week and all it’s associated activities would begin, and with there being no scheduled games for the east coast Lisa decided to surprise her uncle with a visit. She hadn’t seen Eric in a long while, and the two weren’t on the best of terms after she had found out he knew about her brother and never told her. But it was a minor issue especially when compared to everything her father had done. A day alone for a niece and her uncle would do the trick to patch things up.
But, of course…
“Wait, I don’t understand.” Eric scratched his head. He was leaning against one of his dining room chairs looking into the living room. “Is that really necessary?”
“I mean, yeah. What am I supposed to do, just let this shit go?” Lisa asked. She was leaning against the wall next to Eric’s couch.
“It’d be the mature thing to do, yeah.”
“Yes, yes. Be the bigger fur and all that,” Valencia waved off. “That’s all fine and dandy for grade school, but one must draw a line.” Even in casual clothing Valencia’s posture as she sat with one leg crossed over the other in Eric’s loveseat suggested business.
“Over this, though?” Eric asked, confused. “This is the line?”
“Yes!” Lisa started to say with confidence, but her demeanor changed when she began to think about it. “I mean, right?”
“Disrespect should always be the line, darling,” Valencia smiled.
“It’s more than that,” David said, leaning his elbows on his knees. He was sitting on the couch next to Lisa. “You need to command respect.”
“Guys, guys. Ain’t this overreacting just a bit?” Eric asked.
“I guess.” Lisa rubbed her arm and stared down at the floor. “It kinda is.”
“Overreacting or not, it sets a precedent,” David’s voice boomed.
“A precedent for what?” Eric shouted back. “That the slightest thing will set you off?” Eric lingered with his arms held out on either side. However, no one spoke. Not immediately. Both David and Valencia were staring at Lisa. It didn’t matter what they said. What mattered was what Lisa would say. Taking a moment to take the hint, Lisa stood straight and answered back.
“No. To not fuck with me,” she began. “You can’t just push me over and I ignore it. Next time they’ll try to push the line further. And what am I gonna do? Just roll over and take it?”
“Lisa, this is serious.” Eric’s voice was softer with Lisa. There was no convincing David or Valencia, but maybe he could get through to Lisa. But what Eric saw next convinced him otherwise. Lisa stood firm and her eyes narrowed. Those weren’t Lisa’s eyes anymore. Those were the eyes of her father, and Eric has seen them time and time again from David, knowing full well that there was nothing he could say to change her mind.
“You’re right, Eric. This IS serious. I’m not letting her get away with talking to me like that.” Lisa’s voice was lower and almost in an eerie whisper. Both David and Valencia sat back in their seats, pleased with Lisa’s response. Eric was now fighting three on one. He conceded.
“Besides,” Valencia’s voice cooed. “This IS only minor information. This won’t end the poor girl’s career or nothing.”
“You say that like that makes it any better!” David went to speak up against Eric’s disapproval when Valencia held up her hand to stop them both.
“Here.” She held up an envelope that was sitting next to her on the loveseat. “Take a look for yourself.” Coming off the dining room chair, Eric took the envelope and read through its contents. He muttered softly as he read. “Do you see?”
“I mean. I guess. It ain’t the best news, but it ain’t like it really matters now. People may lose respect for the girl over this and it ain’t even that big a deal.”
“You disrespect, you lose respect.” David spoke flatly as he gestured with his head for Lisa to take the envelope from Eric. Obedient, Lisa took the papers and placed them back into the envelope. “The ball’s now in your court,” David said to his daughter. “You ready?”
Was she ready? This is what she had been learning from her father: how to stand up for herself and really show the world she’s not one to be messed with. But was Eric right? Was this too far? Lisa didn’t want what she had learned from David to go to waist. She believed in a lot of what he had been teaching her. And Valencia. She had gone through all the trouble of gathering this information for her. They both have been working so hard to do this for Lisa. To help her to stay on top. Of course, this wasn’t anything Lisa would do on her own, but maybe that was the problem. This one action, small enough to cause minimal damage but big enough to matter, would be the catalyst to an everlasting demand for respect. Was she ready? She looked up at her father and gave a slow, confident nod.
“When will you do it?” Valencia inquired.
“Tomorrow,” Lisa answered in a hush. “Tomorrow night’s that cocktail hour thing. I’ll do it then. I’ll leave it at their table.”
“Discretion is key,” Valencia sang out.
“I know. I’ll be careful.” Lisa’s eyes then slowly rose to meet Eric’s. He was shaking his head at her, not in any shameful way, but in a pleading way. There was still some semblance of the more forgiving side of Lisa in her that he was desperately trying to coax out. But with a blink, and her shoulders rolled back, that Lisa had been snuffed out. Tomorrow. It would begin tomorrow.
All-Star Week has always been a time for fun and games, a chance to let go some of the tension of the season. There were some who worried about their performance at the dunk contest, others who worried about the three-point contest, but for the most part All-Star Week was a nice break from stress. Not for Lisa, however.
After the dunk contest, the Summit hosted a “Taste of Seattle” event at the Hilltop Seattle Hotel International Ballroom where FBA players, staff, and significant others were welcomed to enjoy a coffee and paired liquor tasting. This was an event Lisa was the most excited for since it was first announced. It was going to be an event she and her uncle would have gotten to experience together. Eric would have enjoyed the liquor portion of the tasting, and Lisa, the coffee portion. It was perfect for the two of them. But Eric wasn’t there with her. Not after he heard what she had planned to do from last night’s “debate.”
Lisa entered the ballroom wearing a short red evening dress with a high neck to cover hers and a slit over the breasts. Being February, it was still cold out, but all Lisa had for cover was a silk shawl. She needed to look the part, and weather had no sway on the matter. With her was a small purse: the most important item on her. In it held the envelope Valencia gave her that she was to leave behind. All she needed to do was wait for an opening to leave it on a table, unnoticed.
The ballroom filled up quickly after the dunk contest had concluded. There were cameras and GMs and coaches, all manner of staff. There were FBA players, some who were involved with All-Star Week, some who were not. There were some people Lisa didn’t recognize but assumed they were guests of the others. Lisa was one of the few who had shown up alone. This meant no help, no distractions, nothing. If this was going to happen, Lisa would be solely responsible.
She tried some of the coffee, she mingled with the guests, she posed for pictures, she wandered and surveyed the area. She paired the coffee with some liquor, she caught up with some of the members of her draft class, she joked and laughed, she kept eyes on the furs with the cameras. She ducked in and out of conversations, she went to the bathroom and psyched herself up in the mirror, she fixed her hair, she had second thoughts. She remembered her father’s words, she remembered why she was doing this, she made up her mind to go through with this, she saw an opening. Ready to set the envelope on the table while no one was looking, a new unforeseen obstacle caught her eye.
Across the way was Damario. What the hell was he doing here? How did he get in? Upon a second reflection it wouldn’t be hard for him to claim he was Lisa’s guests since by this point, he had been known to be in a relationship with her. Lisa froze, envelope still in her hand. Her window was quickly closing, but this wasn’t the right time. She decided to retreat and placed the envelope back in her purse. Just as she did, their eyes caught each other’s, causing the two to sigh and acknowledge one another.
Damario sat down at a wall-mounted seat against the tilted windows overlooking Elliot Bay, and Lisa made her way over to join him. She sat with one leg crossed over the other while hugging herself, and Damario kept his gaze off of her. This complicated things in more ways than one. The two hadn’t spoken to each other since he cursed her out and kicked her out of his home back in August. He did attend the game Baltimore played in Las Vegas, however, but Lisa ignored him and left before he could have a chance to speak with her. That was probably why he showed up here tonight. There had been enough time for things to calm down a bit and give each other a chance to reflect on what happened. Maybe things could start to heal. That’s what Lisa felt Damario was thinking anyway.
“I miss you,” Damario finally voiced, barely being heard over the light chatter of the ballroom. Lisa said nothing and kept her own gaze forward. Damario left time for her to respond but sighed when he realized she wouldn’t. “Listen. I’m sorry about everything. I keep thinking about that night and I feel like such an ass.” Lisa continued to stay quiet but wrapped her tail around her leg. “I understand you don’t have anything to say to me. Or maybe you do. I donno. But after everything, I realized what a hypocrite I was being.” Lisa’s ears twitched towards Damario. “When we first broke up, I told you how you were running away from the first sign of danger instead of talking it out. But you learned. You did come to me to talk out what you were going through, and I blew up and ran away exactly like what I accused you of doing the first time. You were coming to talk to me and…” Damario’s voice trailed off as he heard his own words.
Lisa was half there, though. She could hear what Damario was saying, though none of his words came as a surprise to her. He had done a similar thing when the two had broken up the first time. He turned her away, but after time came back to try and start over. She knew that over time Damario would cool off and play the guilty one. She knew this was his plan when he came to her game against Las Vegas. She just wasn’t expecting to see him here today. But this was a distraction. She was on a mission and her eyes darted back and forth, watching everyone in the room.
Except for…
The mouse would soon come face to face with the one person she absolutely did not want to see, or at least not without Valencia or David to back her up. The tall lanky figure glanced over and spoked. "Yoo, Damario.” It was Ivie Robins, the Dane from the Texas Lone Stars, Lisa’s previous teammate, and most recently the cause of Lisa’s troubles. With all her scanning and checking, Ivie was the last person Lisa was keeping an eye out for. Ivie wasn’t participating in any of the All-Star events, so Lisa had no reason to think she’d be here. Even Damario being here did little to cause Lisa any anxiety. But Ivie's voice shock her to her core. Lisa stayed stiff, looking straight on.
"Oh. Um. Hi," Damario answered. "Ivie, right? How are you?" Damario gave a polite smile.
Ivie was gently swirling liquor in her glass as she smiled at the cat. "Hey, no complaining, here to see batty and spooder. We did talk a couple of times back in Vegas," Ivie told him. She hadn’t addressed Lisa yet. No “hey,” or “how are you?” Why? Maybe Ivie could see right through her. Maybe she already knew what Lisa was planning. Either way Lisa was absolutely stiff and Ivie probably knew she was still living in the mouse’s head rent free. That had to be it, right?
"That's cool,” Damario continued, unaware of Lisa’s internal battle. “I wanted to see the All-Star game, cuz, well," Damario gestured to Lisa with the top of his head and smiled. Ivie being here complicated things even further. Of all the moments, why was she here now? Maybe Lisa should bail on this whole thing and duck out of the hotel altogether. Would it even be worth it if out of everyone, she was caught by the very person fueling this stunt?
Ivie nodded back at Damario. "Yeah, it's coo' it's coo'." This was the absolute worse. The last time Lisa and Ivie had spoken was over Tweetter; more importantly, after Baltimore had lost to Las Vegas. Lisa had made her distain for the loss known on Tweeter, and it was then Ivie had accused Lisa of being just like her father, manipulating people to get what she wants, and sited her breakup with Damario as proof. Lisa was frustrated, and Ivie had the nerve to cross a line comparing her to her father? She had the gall to use her ex to say that she manipulated him the way David would have? At the time Lisa left things open ended when Ivie called her out publicly. Lisa was so shaken she could not bring herself to formulate a comeback. But this meant Lisa was leaving Ivie to feel like the victor. And it was precisely this public fight that brought David back into Lisa’s life. It was this fight that told David that Lisa needed to learn how to take on the world. And it was this fight that brought Lisa to that ballroom tonight.
Normally, Ivie would had been pleased to continue where she had left off on Tweetter when she shook Lisa, but right now, seeing Lisa in such a state was good enough for her. Lisa had burned a lot of bridges when she went after her friends and pass teammates, and Ivie wasn’t about to let her off the hook... at least not yet. Sometimes the best response was not responding at all, and Ivie knew that that was probably driving Lisa nuts. "I'm happy that you seem to be doing alright big guy,” Ivie continued. “I'm about to head out. Not much of a liquor gal anyway. We be out for Ice cream,” the Dane spoke.
Damario nodded. "I hear that. I don't really drink the stuff too much myself." He glanced over at Lisa and saw the displeased look on her face. This caused him to sigh to himself and eventually stand to his feet. "I don't mean to be rude, but I need to use the little boys room.” Finally, Lisa looked at Damario in shock. “Besides, I should give you two some time to catch up. Lisa doesn't need me hovering around and taking up your time." Lisa wanted to say something but what? She needed to get back to what she came here to do, but Ivie being here meant she’d need an excuse to step away. Besides, Lisa was in no mood to deal with Ivie right now. "Three's a crowd, right?" Damario asked, somberly.
Ivie chuckled. "Hey, go right ahead bud." She gave her empty drink to a passing waiter, as she stood tall, face to face with Lisa, an interesting contrast on the situation.
"Damario, you idiot," Lisa muttered under her breath as Damario walked off. As she had the whole time she was sitting there, Lisa kept her arms crossed and stared straight ahead. Now more than ever was a time to test out what her father had been teaching her. She took a deep breath. "So," she said in a sing-songy voice rivaling Valencia's. "What did you think of the dunk contest?"
Ivie paused. "It was great as usual. Glad to see Spotty from Santa Ana winning the thing," she said. "Ya hype for ya All-Star game? Ya weren’t looking so hot for a bit there." And a jab. A familiar one at that. Lisa took another breath. This was a new game. She was used to playing this game with her father. But then again, he was family. This didn’t feel the same. Everything Lisa had learned scattered about in her brain. What was she doing? This was not who she was. Lisa was a gentle person, a kind and caring friend. She didn’t need to do this. Just make up with her and drop this whole stupid plan. David taught Lisa how to get back at the world, and that meant getting back at Ivie for a stupid little tweet she made months ago that at this point no one even remembered?
But Ivie remembered.
Why else would she be talking to Lisa like this? Maybe David was right. Ivie pushed the line and now here she was, trying to push it even further. One more breath.
"Did I look off? It's been a long day. I can see that. But yeah! For sure, I'm excited for the All-Star game. It's nice to have your skills recognized. I worked hard to be here after all." Lisa gave Ivie a huge grin. Game on.
Ivie continued. "Among other things, true." Another jab. Ivie wasn’t impressed with Lisa’s posturing, yet still kept her veil on. "Glad to see the big cat alright. Clearly things changed but I guess some are able to keep true to themselves. And it shows during All-Star Week, too: recognition of your talent... but your character also..."
It was a good thing the lights were turned down low, otherwise Lisa would have had no way of hiding her nose turning bright red as the blood rushed to her face. What would Ivie know about character? Was she still judging Lisa’s? That settled it. There was no way Ivie could know what Lisa was up to, but her know-it-all attitude pushed Lisa away from any thoughts of mercy even if Ivie had been trying to convince her not to go through with her plan. Lisa nodded back at Ivie.
"Yes. So true. That's why I love All-Star Week. You can't hide behind recommendations or bribes or anything like that. Only the people who truly deserve to be here are here. I suppose that's where true talent and character really shine."
Ivie glanced at her, as for a moment her insinuations didn't ring a bell for her. But she still remained as composed and collected. "Well, I need to get going, need to see batty. And by the way Lisa, be careful with that tail of yours. She looks so tight around your ankle it’ll cut the circulation in your leg," she finished as the Great Dane went on her way.
Lisa instinctually looked down at her leg and frantically unwrapped her tail. When she looked back up Ivie was gone. She was nowhere in the room. Lisa was sure of it this time. And as though timed, Damario rounded a table and rejoined Lisa.
“Did Ivie leave?” he asked. “Sorry about that. I wanted to-“
“You idiot!” Lisa shouted. “Why the hell did you leave me alone with her?!”
“I. She was your old teammate,” Damario said, shocked. “I thought-“
“She humiliated me! In public! You think we’d be talking after that?”
“Lisa. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Damario turned to her but sat in defense.
“She told me that me being upset about how the game went, that me standing up against everyone who was laughing at me and talking down to me online, was me acting like my damn father! She knew how I felt about him! She said it to hurt me!”
“Okay. Okay,” Damario said as to try to get her to calm down. She wasn’t loud enough for other’s to really hear, but she was certainly riled up as she turned to face Damario, almost directing all of her anger towards him.
“And then,” Lisa continued, still just as riled up. “I go to defend myself and she goes, ‘oh that’s why you lost your ex-boyfriend,’” she mocked. “I was kicked out! Cursed at! Called a bitch, and she thinks…” Lisa stopped, forgetting she was talking to that very ex-boyfriend.
“Lisa… I’m. I’m sorry…”
Lisa placed her head in her hand. There she was again. Letting things get to her to the point of exploding. She took more deep breaths and prepared to apologize to Damario. This was her fault. She acted up. She got upset. She let all this dictate her actions. She needed to own up to her feelings. Because she wasn’t allowed to feel them. She wasn’t allowed to be angry. She wasn’t allowed to be confused, or hurt, or, hell, ever make a mistake. Apologize?
“You know, you were right,” Lisa said softly. “I came to you to try a come clean. I came to you because I was afraid of keeping my mistake hidden from you. I trusted that I could be vulnerable with you and work things out. And you spat in my face. You miss me? Well, that sucks for you. Because the old me is gone.” As Lisa spoke it felt as she was growing taller and taller, while Damario shrank in comparison. “You told me that you never wanted to see my face again. Then get the hell out of here. ASW is my thing, and I’m not bending for you. Don’t come slithering back to me every time you throw me to the curb. We’re done. And if I ever see your face again, maybe I’ll do something to prove Ivie right.”
The chatter in the room grew louder as people were suddenly moving in a single direction. A cheetah with a camera was shouting and calling for all guest to gather in a group for a photo. Without missing a beat, Lisa stood to her feet and joined the crowd.
“Go home, Damario,” Lisa said over her shoulder. “I’m not looking back anymore.” As she spoke, she slipped her hand into her purse, took the envelope out, and placed it gently on a specifically chosen table in one smooth motion. The time for second guessing was over. If Lisa was going to move forward, she couldn’t afford to second guess anymore. When she turned back to give Damario one last quib, she had found he, too, was already gone. It worked? He left? Everything that needed to be said was said. And everything that needed to be done was done as well. That was it.
Lisa stumbled down the glass spiral staircase, rubbing her tired eyes. The sun was still low enough to come through the window, not yet late enough for the sun to be overhead. On her way to her uncle’s kitchen she ran into Valencia, already up and drinking a cup of coffee. Lisa moved passed her to Eric’s cabinets to find something to eat.
“Morning, love,” Valencia cooed. Lisa grumbled back with what could have been the same thing. “Rough night?” Again, Lisa grumbled back at her, pulling some cereal from the cabinets. Valencia kept her focus on her coffee and smiled the whole while Lisa shambled about the kitchen. When Lisa had finally gotten herself a bowl and sat down at the dining table, Valencia joined her, bringing along a second cup of coffee to give to Lisa. “So, how did it go?”
“I left it at their table, if that’s what you’re asking,” Lisa said, stuffing her face.
“So, why the long face?”
“What, this?” Lisa mocked. “It might be because she was there. Or because my ex was there. It’s one of the two, I’m sure of it.” Lisa continued to grumble while she ate.
“Ooh. And yet you still pulled it off? Bravo.” Valencia pushed the second cup towards Lisa. Almost instinctually, Lisa picked up the cup and sipped at it.
“You know. This whole thing started because Ivie said I was like my father.”
“You mean, David? What’s wrong with that?” Valencia asked, scooting her seat next to Lisa’s.
“I don’t want to be anything like him.” Lisa let her spoon fall back into her cereal.
“And yet, you’re taking his advice?” Lisa said nothing. “Manipulating your situation?” Valencia leaned in closer to Lisa’s ear. “Using it against him?” Valencia smiled.
“I’m not-“
“Oh, please,” Valencia interrupted. “After our chat in that Steerbucks, I’m sure that’s all you’ve been focused on.” Lisa’s eyes narrowed. “I’m sure you’re hoping to keep him under your thumb the way he does with you. So, when you think about it, you’re exactly like him.”
“That’s enough!” Lisa shouted, standing to her feet.
“Relax, darling. It’s a good thing,” Valencia laughed. “You’re wanting to stay one step ahead of him. For that reason, it’s good you’re taking his advice. He’s beginning to trust you. He’s getting comfortable. And that means, more pliable.”
“Isn’t he your boyfriend?” Lisa asked, cautiously.
“Don’t worry. I won’t let you do anything to hurt my Davey.”
“Right. Don’t kid yourself. You’ve already once told me you’re more interested in me.”
“You gonna narc on me?”
“Not so long as you have information,” Lisa said, sitting back down to continue to eat her breakfast.
“Spoken like a true disciple of David.” Valencia went back to her coffee with a smirk on her face.
As the morning trudged along and Eric and David both joined the waking world, Lisa stayed in her own world. She barely responded to anyone speaking to her, her body stayed curled up on Eric’s couch. It was a mistake leaving that envelope. A stupid, petty mistake.
“When is it,” David asked looking at Lisa. Her eyes were glazed over.
“I think it’s some time after the three-point contest?” Valencia assumed. “Do you have an outfit?” Her eyes were still glazed over.
“Will y’all leave the poor kid alone,” Eric chimed in. “She’s been through enough with you two pulling the strings. Give the girl some space!” Eric waved his arms, trying to shoo the other mice away from Lisa. “You alright, kiddo?” Lisa’s eyes remained glazed over.
“Lisa, hunny.” David pushed passed Eric and knelt down next to Lisa. “It’s rough the first time, I know. But it gets easier. Just remember why you’re doing this.” Lisa’s eyes cut to David, but then took notice of Valencia standing behind him.
“Yes, darling. Remember why you’re doing this.” Hearing Valencia say this, Lisa’s eyes cut back to David as he smiled at her. She nodded. “Alright! Everyone move,” Valencia shouted as she made her way past Eric and David. She grabbed Lisa’s hand and yanked her out of her seat. “We’re going on a date! Just us girls. We’ve got some catching up to do.” Lisa looked Valencia up and down, then to her father, and then back to Valencia before finally agreeing with her.
“Just… the two of you? She’s my baby girl,” David said. “I’d like to spend time with her...” The girls first looked at each other and then to David. Both of them had a smirk on their face. For a moment, the two could have been twins.
“Actually, dad. Some girl time is exactly what I need. Too much testosterone can be nauseating.”
“Don’t worry, dear. I’ll take good care of her.” Valencia gave David a large but soft smile, while Lisa cut David with hers.
“You two good with being alone,” David asked.
“Of course, Davey,” Valencia sang.
“Are YOU good with us being alone?” Lisa asked. David’s eyes narrowed as he took a step back. His head was held high, and his chest puffed out.
“Of course, I am,” he answered. “I’m pleased that my girls get to spend quality time together.”
The two ladies had spent their day shopping around in places that looked as though they couldn’t possibly sell anything. The perks of shopping with a former owner of a fashion line. Lisa picked out some new closed and the two had time to get a makeover. Lisa had spent so much time around men for the most part, she had forgotten the joys of doing the more stereotypically girly things. As the two enjoyed a nice seaside lunch at a private table off the beaten path, the two got to talking.
“It’s nice seeing you smile. I mean, with an actual smile,” Valencia told Lisa.
“Likewise,” Lisa said back, checking her phone. She had been pulling it out and checking it nonstop throughout the day. Valencia placed her hand on Lisa’s, gently forcing her to put her phone down on the table.
“It’ll happen when it happens,” Valencia whispered.
“Were did you find that info anyway?” Lisa asked. “Is it even accurate?”
“You’re doubting my detective work,” Valencia chuckled.
“I just don’t see how an ordinary person like you can gather private information like that. It could all just be an act. You could just be lying and trying to convince me that you’re some great sleuth who has all the information on everyone.”
“Lisa. You cut me. I thought that envelope was enough to prove to you that I’m very much capable of gathering precious information. That’s why I did this for you. Don’t tell me you still don’t trust me.” Lisa leaned forward, now with a more serious look on her face.
“You implied that David was not my father the last time we spoke,” Lisa said. No more games. Time to get to the meat of the matter.
“Did I say that?” Valencia sang.
“Stop screwing around. You told me you wanted $50 million from me for whatever information you claim to have to prove who my ‘real parents’ are. That implies both parents, does it not?” Valencia just smiled back. “And whenever he comes up in conversation, you always, always call him David. You never say, ‘your father,’ or ‘your dad.’ Is that on purpose?” Valencia was grinning. “And now, you’re helping me with this whole Ivie mess, and you just said how you got all this info on her to show me you were capable of getting precious information.” Valencia laughed. “So, what?! What is this precious info you have on me?!”
Valencia sat back in her seat and continued eating her lunch. She took a napkin and dabbed her lips a few times, all while Lisa sat and heaved, waiting for a response. “You know the price of that information.”
“I don’t fucking have $50 million! Besides! How can I trust you?! I have no proof that you even have information like that on me. For all I know, you can just be selling me information I already have! What proof is there you have information on me?!” Lisa heaved as she spoke, and Valencia cackled in return.
“Bravo! Bellissimo! I knew you and I would become the best of friends!”
“Cut the shit, Val!” Suddenly, Valencia leaned in with a devilish grin on her face. Her sudden change caused Lisa to flinch backwards.
“So, you want proof?” Valencia’s voice was dark and shook Lisa. Seemingly from nowhere, Valencia pulled up an envelope and placed it face down on the table. “Consider this a curtesy. Like window shopping, if you will.” Lisa looked Valencia up and down and then down at the envelope. “It was hidden away. I found it stuffed inside the back of your old sofa in New York.” Lisa slid the envelope closer to her and then finally picked it up. Her eyes moved slowly back and forth across the front of the envelope. It was a simple windowed envelope. It had Lisa’s name written in pen on it. It was old and tattered. And it was entirely recognizable to Lisa. Without a doubt, what Lisa had in her hands was the envelope that housed her birth certificate. It had been missing for years now and every time she went to order a new one, the request was denied. But here it was, right here in her hands at last. She frantically opened the envelope to take out her long-lost birth certificate. “You didn’t expect me to just hand you your birth certificate, did you?” Valencia asked.
“Where is it?!” Lisa’s voice roared as she slapped the table. “You have it!”
“Of course, I do. But do calm down. Like I said, I want us to be the best of friends. And now you know you can trust that I in fact have legitimate information that you so desperately want.”
“You better give me my birth certificate, or,” Lisa said through her teeth as she reached over the table and grabbed Valencia’s collar.
“Temper, temper, my dear. Threatening me won’t bring you any closer to what you want.” Lisa took a breath before finally loosening her grip and sitting back down in her seat. “And besides. If you want further proof of the value of my information gathering skills…” Valencia tapped at Lisa’s phone, encouraging her to open it. She pulled up Tweeter. And there it was. A tweet from FMZ.
“We got our insider sources saying that @IvieLimestone got into her college team, and therefore started her FBA career due to her own family ties with Notre Dane's recruiter! More details to follow soon...” More importantly was Ivie’s response to the tweet. It told Lisa all she needed to know about the validity of the info Valencia presented.
“You see, love? You can trust me. I’m someone you want to keep close.” Lisa looked down at her phone and then back to the envelope. Valencia had information. Important information. Was Lisa really going to have to pay this woman $50 million for it? Would it be worth it? No. Not yet. There was still some things Lisa could do on her own with out Valencia pulling the strings. But what?
Lisa had spent the entirety of the third day of All-Star week in her uncle’s house, stewing over what Valencia said. It was a familiar feeling. No matter how much she tried to gain any sort of upper hand, someone else had her under their thumb. All she wanted was the truth, but it was constantly out of reach. Maybe she was getting help from the wrong people. But after burning so many bridges, who could she possibly go to? Damario’s gone. Eric was disappointed in her. Jason? Maybe he could help. If he would be okay with seeing her again, that is. What choice did she have?
Lisa stood in front of Jason’s door, hand up ready to knock. She held there for a moment, psyching herself up to move forward. The more she thought about it, the more she felt helpless. She needed his help.
A knock.
Jason’s voice called from the other side, asking who it was, but Lisa was unable to answer. She knocked again, softly. Finally, the door began to open.
“Lisa,” Jason groaned. “You need to get out of here.” He tried to close the door without so much as to hear what she had to say.
“Jason, please,” Lisa begged, catching the door before it closed all the way.
“No. I’m not-“
“It’s not about us. It’s about me… and my family.” Lisa was on the verge of tears. “Jason, I need your help.”
Jason looked her up and down, sighed, and then let her into his apartment. He was alone. He was wearing his green scrubs and socks. There was an open backpack on the couch with some close sticking out from the top.
“You… going to work,” Lisa asked. Jason was moving back and forth through his apartment, missing Lisa’s question. “Jason.” Finally, Jason sat down and began putting on his shoes.
“Make it quick,” he hurried. Lisa sat down on the couch beside him and placed her hand on his knee. Her head hung low. This slowed Jason down a bit. “That serious?” Lisa nodded back. He took a breath and nodded, his heart softening a bit. He asked if she wanted a drink, but Lisa declined stating she had the All-Star game to go to later that day. So, instead he filled two glasses with water and handed her one. He joined her on the couch again and the two stared off in front of them, neither looking at the other.
“What’s up?”
Lisa explained to Jason everything that had happened in the last few months: her father being back in her life, Valencia showing up again, what she had done to Ivie, and the biggest thing, Valencia revealing she had Lisa’s birth certificate. She explained what she would have to do to get it and then sat in silence. Jason had his hand on his chin the whole while she spoke.
“And you’re absolutely sure she has your birth certificate?” Lisa nodded back at Jason’s question. “You’re not going to give her $50 million for it?”
“I don’t even have that kind of money! I barely even have over $5 million after all my fees, not to mention the 65% I promised to always give to charity!”
“Don’t even consider paying her,” Jason shouted. “Come on. We can be smart about this.” Lisa nodded again. “Okay. So, clearly, having your birth certificate would answer a lot of questions. If she’s telling the truth and she has information about your ‘real parents,’ it would make sense if she got that information from your birth certificate.”
“I was thinking that, too.”
“That would mean,” Jason said turning to face Lisa with a smile. “We would have that same information if WE had your birth certificate.”
“God! This stupid birth certificate!” Lisa collapsed into her hands. “It’s been a pain in my ass ever since I started trying to order one.”
“I mean, there has to be a way to just order a new one. What we need to do is find out your mother’s maiden name, right?” Jason placed one hand under his chin as Lisa slowly emerged from her hands.
“I…” Lisa started. “I have it…”
“I thought it always failed whenever you tried to order one.”
“That was because I was using Sandrine’s name. Dad said my real mother’s name was Bellamy.” Jason turned his whole body towards Lisa.
“What about her maiden name?” he asked in cautious anticipation.
“When I asked my dad about why he changed his name to DuPont he told me he changed it to hide from her husband who had that last name. I was so confused at first, but he told me he chose it because it was Bellamy’s name.”
“Well. I mean if she got married, that makes sense, but-“
“No. Dad said her husband was the one to change his last name when they got married to keep the DuPont name front and center.”
“So, your mother’s maiden name IS DuPont?” Lisa nodded. “Then that’s it! This is perfect!” Jason jumped up and grabbed both of Lisa’s hands. “You have everything you need to order a new one!”
“I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before… but…” Lisa started to curl back into herself, letting her hands slip out of Jason’s. “What if… what if she’s another lie? What if Valencia knows that this Bellamy lady isn’t my mother either? I mean, it’s possible I still don’t know who either of my real parents are, right? What if Bellamy’s another lie?” Jason nodded, placing one hand back onto his chin.
“Yeah. I was kinda thinking the same thing. Actually, what I was originally going to suggest was to look up your mother’s obituary.” Lisa cocked her head to one side. “If she died giving birth to you, there would be an obituary, especially if she really was a DuPont.”
“I could probably find something like that online, right?” Lisa asked.
“Maybe not. She would have died in, what, ’95? I doubt there would be an online obituary. But maybe the library’s newspaper archive in the town where she died? I think it’s a good plan B, but I would first try to order a new birth certificate using DuPont as the maiden name.” Lisa nodded.
“Yeah. At least if this doesn’t work, I can go to Albany and try to get info from there. Jason…” Lisa sniffed and rubbed her eyes. “Thanks. You’re smart,” She chuckled.
“Well, it ain’t brain surgery,” the brain surgeon laughed. “You… okay otherwise? It must have been rough seeing Damario.”
But Lisa was in her head, planning out her next steps. She got up and thanked Jason, not hearing what he said, and exited the apartment without so much of the back and forth dance the two were used to. It was time to get some answers.
Two and a half weeks had passed since the All-Star game. Two and a half weeks had passed since she finally let Damario go. Two and a half weeks since she helped expose Ivie Robins’ past to the world. Two and a half weeks since she was shown the empty envelope that was supposed to have her birth certificate in it. Two and a half weeks since she spoke to Jason about re-ordering a new one. Two and a half weeks. And nothing.
Baltimore had just finished their game against the Queens Pride on their court. Being in New York meant her father could easily attend the game. After speaking with both Valencia and Jason, seeing him brought up enough complicated feelings that made Lisa question all of ASW. Lisa was acutely aware that Texas was on a five-game losing streak directly afterwards. It was Lisa’s fault, wasn’t it?
Lisa left with her father, fresh after her win, and went out to dinner. Lisa picked at her food and barely even looked up at her father, let alone speak with him. David did not push, though, and only brought her back home with him. He set up two chairs facing one another in the living room, exactly like the last time the two spoke when Lisa brought up Emmett. He sat and invited Lisa to join him. Without questioning, Lisa sat and kept her head lowered.
“Talk to me,” David finally pressed. Lisa turned her head away. “Is it the Ivie thing?” Lisa’s shoulders rose to shield her. “Lisa…”
“I wish I didn’t do it,” she finally squeaked.
“You stood your ground.” David leaned forward and gripped Lisa’s hands gently. “It’s not going to end her career or anything like that.”
“Which makes it even more shitty!” Lisa pulled her hands back and turned sideways in her seat. “How fucking petty am I to tell everyone something so unimportant only to hurt her?”
“It’s not petty. It’s a warning.” David sat straight in his seat.
“Who got that information?” Lisa peaked through her eyelids at her father.
“Honestly? It was all Valencia. She was on board the moment I told her and did some digging.” So, Valencia truly was the sleuth behind it all.
“Was doing this her idea?”
“Come to think of it, yeah. She was the one to bring up this particular method, but we both agreed something needed to be done.”
Lisa sat up sniffing and wiping her face. As she tried to compose herself, she put all the knowledge she had in a neat pile in her head. This wasn’t over. There was still too much she needed to get out of David even if some of it wasn’t anything she wanted to hear. She took a deep breath.
“What happened at ASW last year?” she calmly asked. David crossed his arms and sat back in his seat.
“You tell me. One moment we’re bickering, the next, I’m on the floor with a broken jaw.”
“Remember the last time we sat like this? We were talking about Sandrine and Emmett and Bellamy… You backhanded me.” David instinctually placed his hand on his forehead and brushed it back over his greying hair. “You’ve always been rough with me whenever you wanted things to go your way. I was used to it. But after talking with my teammates, Jason, and even Damario… I… I donno.” David terrified her. How can a man, a father, put his hands on her? How could she trust someone like that? “You grabbed me at ASW and… I just reacted. Plus… Seeing you so overwhelmed with joy when you saw Emmett? It hurt. I was… mad? Jealous? I donno.”
That’s what happened at ASW the year before? David burst out of his seat and fell to his knees before Lisa, wrapping his arms around her. “I should have never… EVER put my hands on you like that. I regretted it the moment I did. I’ve wanted to tell you that from the beginning.” The moment felt emotional but neither one of them were able to shed a tear. Maybe they were tired. Tired of this ridiculous back and forth the two had gotten themselves into for the last six years. Lisa reciprocated David’s hug and patted him on his back. “All this time I thought you were just angry. I thought you were just lashing out for the cameras,” David said as he sat back in his seat. “That’s why I… well… why I told that journalist I was going to…”
“To sue me? That makes sense. So, why didn’t you?”
“Valencia. She was the one to talk me out of it. She told me I was overreacting and that deep down I didn’t really want to sue my daughter. She was right,” David faintly chuckled.
“Valencia’s full of great ideas, isn’t she,” Lisa chortled.
“Yeah… She sure seems to have taken a liking to you.” He rose his head slightly. “She… tell you you owe her?” Lisa looked up at her father, debating on whether or not to answer him. But it didn’t matter. Lisa’s lack of an immediate response seemed to say enough as David nodded to himself. Nothing Lisa could do about it now except to lean into it.
“You know I still can’t seem to order a new birth certificate?” David slowly leaned his head back. “Bellamy is my real mom. That’s true, right?” David nodded. “And DuPont is actually her maiden name and not just her married name?” Again, David gave her a slow affirming nod. “For some reason that still doesn’t work for me. I just tried to order a new birth certificate a few weeks back and I was still denied.”
“Why does that matter?” David’s voice wasn’t harsh, nor did it feel to have any malice behind it. However, his deep voice boomed.
“My passport needs updating.”
“All you need is your old passport,” David answered quickly.
“Not if I’ve lost it.”
“How could you be so irresponsible?”
“Shit happens.”
“I can just order you a new one.”
“Whatever method you use, I can use, too.”
“So, just let me do it.”
“It’s my documents. I should have a copy of them.”
“Just let me order you a new one.”
“With what? My birth certificate? Why are you able to order a new passport but I can’t?”
“Lisa, I said let me handle it.”
“Okay.”
Lisa’s abrupt compliance stalled David. He shook his head in shock a few times and then nodded. “Okay. Good,” he said, still in shock. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Just have it sent straight to me,” Lisa requested, and David grunted under his breath. Ordering a passport had a particular process. If he were to do it by mail, he would be required to mail her birth certificate in as proof of U.S. citizenship. Lisa wanting to have her new passport sent straight to her meant her birth certificate would also be returned to her in that same delivery.
“I’ll have to go in person to handle it since we don’t know where your birth certificate is,” David informed her.
“I can’t begin to guess how you’ll do it without my old passport or birth certificate. Your only other option would be a naturalization certificate, but I was born here in the U.S.”
“I’ll work it out.”
“Maybe,” Lisa began with one finger on her bottom lip and her gaze looking up to the right. “Maybe Valencia might be able to help. She is pretty good at gathering information. I’ll ask.” With that, Lisa slapped her knees and stood to her feet. “You’re right. It’ll all get worked out.” She pulled out her phone and just stared down at it with her back to David. She just needed to check the time, but that’s not the only reason she held there in place.
“She say anything?” David hastily asked, trying to peer over her shoulder.
“Hmm? Oh, I’ll let you know,” Lisa smirked. “Anyway, I better get back to the team so we can head back to Baltimore.” She turned around and hugged her father. “Thanks for talking with me. I feel a lot better about a bunch of this stuff. I want things to get better from here out.” Gently hugging her back, David nodded.
“I do, too.” She squeezed him tight and then said something David hadn’t truly heard his daughter say in over six years.
“I love you.”
She didn’t laugh or add some joke to it. She didn’t even say anything afterwards. She let those three words linger until David could say it back. He told her he loved her, too, kissed the top of her head, and sent her on her way. Get better from here on out? Not with Valencia in the way. If things were going to get better, action needed to be taken to get ahead. It was official. Time for plan B.
March 24th. Baltimore was scheduled to play in Albany, but the game was not the important part. It would be the first time being in Albany since All-Star Week. Lisa left before her team to arrive in New York early in the day. If Valencia wasn’t going to give Lisa her birth certificate, and if her father was going to continue to hide things from her, she was going to take matters into her own hands.
Jason had suggested finding information at the library in the town she was born in. With her schedule, getting to Albany couldn’t happen any time she wanted to. She was at the mercy of the FBA. So, she waited. March 24th couldn’t come fast enough. At least, that’s how Lisa felt right up until that day. Her plane touched down around 8am local time, where she planned to take a taxi straight to Albany Public Library. From there, she would have all morning to suss out any information on her mother, and hopefully close the door on all this mystery.
With the library not opening until 10, Lisa had time to grab some breakfast. On her way she caught the attention of members of the morning rush, smiled for pictures, and signed autographs. Once at the restaurant Lisa picked at her food as she thought through what she was about to do. What would she find? What if she find’s Bellamy’s obituary and it gives her no new information? What was she even looking for? What was she expecting to find? What information could she gain from finding her obituary?
Lisa took her time knowing she had about 2 hours to spare. She thought about her last conversation with her father. Was he her father? Valencia’s riddles made it seem like he wasn’t. If only she had her birth certificate. But she needed her mother’s maiden name. That’s right. That would be one piece of information she could get by finding her mother’s obituary. But what if it actually was ‘DuPont?’ Then what? She’d be right back where she started. Maybe it wasn’t ‘DuPont.’ But that would mean David lied to her. Again. Why? What was he still hiding? Maybe Valencia was right. Maybe Lisa knew nothing about her real parents. What if Bellamy wasn’t even the name of her mother? Well, her obituary would help to figure that out.
10 am. Lisa was down the block from the library and ready to start her search. She strolled down the street, still catching the attention of fans, and signing autographs. She smiled and laughed, but her body felt hollow. Turn the corner. There. Lisa stood in front of the doors and took a breath. It was time to get some answers, no matter how big or small they would be. She pushed the doors open and made her way to the front desk. A mallard greeted her with the typical pleasantries before recognizing her and upping her excitement. Lisa smiled and laughed it off, then asked where she could find the newspaper archives. The mallard leaned over the desk and pointed off to Lisa’s left. She asked if Lisa needed help finding anything, but Lisa did not move. There, in that corner of the room, would be answers to questions she’s been asking for most of her life. Was she ready?
No.
In a sudden, Lisa smiled, thanked the mallard, and rushed out of the library. No. This was too much. There was no way Lisa was ready to face this. There were too many what-ifs that would be hard to swallow if true. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t bring herself to do it. She wouldn’t get the chance to be in Albany for a long while, so this would be her one chance to get information before either Valencia or David did something to change that. But still, she couldn’t do it. If only Damario was there. No. No, that wouldn’t help. He was gone. Gone for good. If only Jason was there. But he wasn’t. He wasn’t ever going to be. Jason’s shoulders belong to someone else. Alone. How was she supposed to handle this alone?
Emmett! Of course! How could she have forgotten about her brother? This wasn’t over. She headed downtown to visit Emmett at Albany Family Dental. Lisa recognized the doe at the front desk from the time Lisa came to see Sandrine. She waved to her, and the doe smiled back, coming around the desk to the door that led patients back to Emmitt’s rooms. She opened the door and guided Lisa to the back where Emmett’s office was, not even needing Lisa to ask her to do so. Emmett was typing at his computer before looking up and greeting Lisa with a hug. Thank goodness for Emmett. With him by her side, she wouldn’t have to face the truth alone.
Noon. Lunch time. Emmett and Lisa walked to the library in silence, both thinking about the implications of the information she might find. What would this mean for the siblings? Were the even siblings? Did it matter? This was for Lisa. It was important for her to find the truth. They walked back to the newspaper archives, took deep breaths, and started.
Here we go.
Emmett suggested that Lisa find the newspapers with the dates that included her birthday to a few days afterwards just in case an obituary wasn’t written the exact day of her death. They gathered a collection of newspapers from different companies in the area. Time to search. First up, December 26th, 1995, the day Lisa was born. If Bellamy passed giving birth to her, there probably wasn’t much of a chance to find an obituary on the same day, but Lisa wanted to be sure. They checked several newspapers, and nothing. That’s okay. That’s no surprise. Next, December 27th, 1995. The two found a single obituary on that day, and it was for a steer in his late 80’s. Not her. December 28th. No obituaries. December 29th. Two obituaries for people in their late 60’s and 70’s. Not her. December 30th. No obituaries. December 31st. A tragic accident involving a teen in a car accident. Not her. January 1st. Nothing of importance. January 2nd… 3rd… 10th… 21st… February 12th… March… Why? Why?! Why, why, why?!
As the hours ticked by Lisa was left with absolutely nothing. She asked the giraffe at the front desk who had replaced the mallard from earlier in the day if there were any other newspaper archives from Albany and the surrounding areas they could have missed, but of course, there wasn’t. Time was up, and Lisa needed to meet with her team to play against the Alphas. She did it, right? She went to the library to find answers. But what did she find? Only that things didn’t add up. Now what?
No information. Right back where we started. Nothing added up. This was ridiculous. How hard could it be for a mouse to find a simple name? Just a name! No ID’s. No court dates. No legal actions. No hoops. Just a goddamn name! Why did it matter so damn much for Lisa to be in the dark? At this point, how could Lisa being in the dark benefit the ones keeping her there? She knew something was up. It’s not like she could continue living in ignorance. She knew she was being lied to. Why not just give up the ghost and let this stupid charade end already? But that’s how things were, with Lisa no closer to any kind of truth. Nothing. Not a goddamn thing. Forever stuck under the thumbs of others. But like a twisted fairy godmother, Valencia heard her queue.
Lisa was in Queens again for her game against the Pride, and this time she was determined to ignore her father if he was in the audience. It was too much. All Lisa needed to focus on was the game. As her team arrived and started entering the arena, Lisa caught a glimpse of Valencia out in the crowd using her finger to summon Lisa over to her. She excused herself from the rest of the team and gestured for Valencia to join her in the hall, away from the crowd.
“Darling, how are you?” Valencia greeted, cheek-kissing both of Lisa’s cheeks. Lisa sighed. “Ooh. That bad? Tell me, love, what’s bothering you.” Lisa didn’t answer. She only looked down at Valencia through narrowed eyelids. Valencia laughed. “Davey tells me he likes that you and I are so close.”
“Did he?” Lisa chuckled. “Has he been acting pushy?” Valencia gave Lisa a pleased smirk.
“So, you’re the reason for all the trouble. I must say, well played trying to pit us against one another. I would have done the same.”
“So, what do you want?” Lisa asked knowing that Valencia only showed up whenever it benefited her.
“I wanted to know how you were doing. Any closer to finding your real parents?” Valencia teased. This was a joke. She knew Lisa wouldn’t find anything. The only reason she was there now was to remind her what it would cost to get some information.
“You know I don’t have $50 million,” Lisa said, jumping to the point.
“It must be so frustrating,” Valencia cooed. She stroked the hair out of Lisa’s face to try and console her, causing Lisa to swat her hand away.
“I have a game to get ready for. Goodbye, Val.”
“I feel for your financial woes,” Valencia called as Lisa began to walk away. “Truly, I do. That’s why…” She paused. Lisa did as well. She turned around to face Valencia and watched as she went through her purse. She pulled out a small sliver of paper and held it at one end, letting it flop about.
“What is that?” Lisa softly asked.
“This, my dear, is your birth certificate.” Instinctually, Lisa took a single step towards Valencia and stopped herself. “Well, not in it’s entirety, of course. But it does contain a certain name.” Lisa was taking slow steps closer to Valencia as she waved the strip of paper in the air.
“Give. Me. That. Paper.” When Lisa was just out of arms reach, Valencia turned her shoulders away and revealed a lighter. She lit it and held it under the strip of paper.
“Uh, uh, uh. Not so hasty, love. We still have business to conduct.” Lisa froze, fixed on the flame just under the biggest piece of information to surface.
“What do you want?” Lisa let her shoulders fall, knowing that one mistake could ruin everything for her. She was deep in Valencia’s web now. “I can’t pay you $50 million.”
“What about five?” Lisa’s breath got caught in her throat. “I understand finances are tight, so I offer you a small piece of what I promise for an equally small fee. It's the least I could do after seeing you suffer like this.” Lisa thought for a moment. She’s asking $5 Million for a sliver of her birth certificate that she claimed contained a name. All Lisa needed was a name. This could be it. She wouldn’t have to pay $50 million, and she’d get everything she needed from this single name.
“How do I know you’re not lying to me?”
“Lisa! You wound me! Darling, I’m trying to conduct business with you. I’m offering this in the hopes to wet your appetite. How can I get you to come back and pay the remaining $45 million if I lose your trust now? You have my word. Everything you purchase from me will be 100% accurate and relevant to you.” She had a point. There would be no point in continuing to give her money if Lisa didn’t trust she’d be getting anything out of it. And Valencia didn’t seem like the woman to only take $5 million and run. “Trust me,” Valencia continued. “This won’t be the last you see of me. Not by a long shot.”
$5 million. $5 million. All she wanted was $5 million. Could Lisa afford that? Barely. There wasn’t much of her income left to spare, and if she did give this money to Valencia, that would be it. Lisa would be broke. Not enough to cause her too much trouble, but that would essentially be all her money. It would be a step forward. More than that, it would be a step beyond anything she could do on her own. Would it be enough, though? What choice did she have?
“$5 million?” Lisa asked.
“$5 million.”
“Done.”
“Excellent,” Valencia shouted. “Now, of course, you do understand I would need the money first?” Valencia pulled her phone from out of her purse. “Everything’s done on an app these days,” she laughed. As she tapped at her phone Lisa paced back and forth. Was this the right thing to do? Yes. Yes, it had to be. As Valencia showed Lisa the app and gave her instructions, Lisa contemplated what having this strip of paper would mean. Would the name match the one her father had given her? Probably not, right? This was the right choice. It had to be. It just had to be.
They sat silently in that hall, waiting for the transaction to go through. Lisa received calls from her bank, and confirmation emails due to the large amount. It was only a matter of time. And then…
“Ah! And there it is,” Valencia cheered. Lisa rushed over to Valencia, waiting to receive what she had paid for. “As promised.” Valencia bowed, holding the strip of paper out for Lisa to take. She snatched it and held it tight in her hands. She was shaking. “Go on. Read it.” Lisa wanted to, but her hands would not stop shaking. “Don’t you want to see what it says?” Didn’t she? Of course, she did. So, open it. You paid $5 million for this. Open it and get your answers. Valencia gave Lisa a warm smile and walked over to her. She stood behind her, putting each hand on Lisa’s. “Here. I’ll help you.” Lisa wanted to fight her. She wanted to stop her from unfolding the piece of paper in front of her, revealing the truth. But as Valencia pulled at Lisa’s wrists, the paper unfolded. And a name was revealed.
About a half hour later, Lisa was on the court, playing against the Queens Pride. But her hands were still shaking. Eleven attempts to get the ball through the net, and only four made it in. Three personal fouls, two turnovers, not a single steal, and only four assists. The Spirits won that day, but it was Lisa’s worse performance of the season. All she could think about was the name on that strip of paper. It was a name. An actual name. Finally, something to work with. The transaction between the mice would stay a secret, especially from David. Lisa finally had an upper hand. Now we’re getting somewhere, and ‘Eliza Mae duPont’ held the answers.
The Baltimore Spirits were going to the playoffs. Having clenched a spot on April 1st, and then the division title on the 25th, Lisa had plenty of time to play without the stress of making it weighing on her. Although, she had plenty on her shoulders. Eliza Mae. Why was this woman’s name on her birth certificate? It had to be her real mother. Of course, it was. Why would her father tell her the truth? He’s never done it before. And yet, Lisa was still no closer to finding any answers.
The Playoffs would begin tomorrow with Baltimore playing against the Minutemen at home. So, of course her father and his girlfriend had to come to cheer her on. They had arrived at Lisa’s condo early in the day while she was practicing with her team. Once back home, Lisa was greeted by the two, with both of them trying to dig their claws into her before the other.
“Come, love. Let’s go grab a coffee. I’ve got so much to catch you up on,” Valencia said to Lisa with a smile. But this time David stepped in.
“No,” he said firmly. “I want to take my daughter out tonight.”
“Oh, darling,” Valencia pouted. “You always get to spend time with her. Let me have a chance with her.”
“You took her out last time. Now it’s my turn,” he said through a smile.
It was a breath of fresh air watching the two desperately try to get to her before the other. Lisa’s double speak with David has proven useful for keeping him on his toes. With him so worried about what Valencia was doing, any subtlety with his daughter was neglected, and Lisa ate it up.
“Hey. Hey,” Lisa interrupted. “Why don’t we all go out? I’d like to spend time with both of you, actually.” With a little more pushback from the two, eventually they had no choice but to agree to go out together.
After ordering and receiving their drinks the three took a seat at one of the tables in front of the window. David slowly sipped at his coffee looking clearly uncomfortable with the situation. Valencia looked as smug as ever. But Lisa. She was the one hardest to read. She kept her back to the window to try and avoid being recognized right away, though with the playoffs being tomorrow and the city filling up with fans, it was a fleeting battle. That and they were in a Steerbucks. But there was enough time in between meeting fans for the three to spend together. And in those times, Lisa would propel the conversation.
“I haven’t heard anything from Ivie,” Lisa said into her cup.
“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Valencia asked.
“I suppose. I still can’t believe you found all that stuff on her.”
“What can I say? You want answers, I’ve got them,” Valencia said as she gave Lisa a side smirk.
“It’s all in the process,” David added.
The three mostly sat in silence, trying every now and then to break down the building tension with simple questions and pointless everyday information. A fan would then walk up, ask for a photograph, a crowd would notice and form around their table, and then things would get quiet, building the tension right back up again. But for once, Lisa wasn’t feeling the tension. Not personally. No, it was the other two clearly trying to figure out who was playing who, watching what they said and how they said it. Perfect. Time to make a move.
“Maybe you can help us out with something,” Lisa said to Valencia.
“I’d love to.”
“So, here’s the story. I’ve lost my passport and need to order a new one.”
“Lisa,” David sighed.
“No, no. I’ve mentioned she might be able to help.” Lisa’s voice was chipper, and her face was bright the entire time she spoke. “Anyway, So, yeah, I lost it and, of course, I need it to travel to, like, Canada and other places. And to order a new one I need to send in some identification. The big thing they need is my birth certificate. But here’s the thing. I’ve lost my birth certificate as well! Isn’t that wild?” Lisa exaggerated a laugh. “So, here’s what I’m wondering, since you’re this excellent sleuth, you think you can help me?”
“Get you a new passport or new birth certificate?” Valencia asked, matching Lisa’s cheery tone.
“Listen,” David hastily jumped in, though was still able to keep his composure. “It’s just a convoluted mess. I can get you a new passport. It’s just a mess because of how things were handled at birth, with Bella’s death, and her husband... It’s a process, so it takes a while.”
“But if Valencia knows how to get that info faster, what’s the harm?” Lisa sang. “You think you can help me?”
“Why can’t you just order a new birth certificate and then a new passport?” Valencia sang back.
“Ah, see, well, I can’t seem to do that either.”
“Really?! Well, what do you need in order to get one?”
“Oh, some basic information: My name, my mother’s maiden name, the city I was born in, and also, though not necessary, my father’s name.”
“Is that all? Well, what could possibly be the issue then?” Valencia’s voice was so forcibly charming, David couldn’t help to squirm about in his seat.
“Well, at first, I was using the wrong name. I thought my mom was one woman when she turned out to be another. But then I tried that name and for some reason that didn’t work.” Lisa’s cheery voice caused David to adjust in his seat.
“Hmm. Did you try without your father’s name? You know, just in case?”
“I did!” Lisa clapped her hands together. “And still, nothing. It’s been quite the dilemma, let me tell you! So, what do you think? Even with all that, can you help me?”
“Hmm.” Valencia placed one finger on the side of her chin as she looked up towards the ceiling for her answer. “Sure. I think I can. Shouldn’t be too difficult of a job. I’d have to gather some funds first.” Valencia’s eyes slowly, but sharply fell on Lisa. “Think you could help with that?”
“Oh, can’t,” Lisa sighed. “See, my last expense tapped me out.” And finally, David found his opening.
“’Last expense?’ What expense?” he asked. It was just enough to steer the conversation a bit. He figured it couldn’t be all that expensive to do whatever Valencia was planning to do, especially with Lisa being a millionaire. But he couldn’t just let them know that. If it was an affordable fix all this time, then Lisa would be sure to raise some questions. No, he needed to be in control. And to do that, he needed to be delicate.
“Oh, you know,” Lisa began to answer. “Got a little something for myself. I’m a little embarrassed to say,” she laughed.
“But still…” David pause. A millionaire unable to afford something he considered to be affordable didn’t add up. And so, he discovered another opportunity to gain control. “Lisa, are you… broke?”
“‘fraid so. I’m hoping it was a good investment, though.”
“I’m sure it was,” Valencia jumped in. “But that really is too bad about your funds. Not sure what I can do for you on my own,” Valencia said as though waving a closing opportunity in her face. And just like that, it was Valencia’s turn to take control.
“Aww. Really? That stinks,” Lisa pouted.
“But hey, Davey said he’ll get it, so why not just trust him?”
“Don’t worry about it, sweetie,” David said calmly. “It’s a bunch of dumb hoops I gotta jump through, but I’ll get that passport for you before you need it. How have you been getting to Canada without it anyway?”
“Haven’t been there since February. I’m on an east coast team now.”
“Right. Well, we’ll still need to have a little talk about how you’re spending your money, missy. There’s no reason you should be broke.”
“Don’t worry. It was an investment. But… It seems it’ll only get me so far.” It seemed obvious to Lisa that Valencia was still looking to get money out of her for more information. But as she said, she no longer had the money to pay her with. And David already proved to be unreliable. Valencia and David had been fighting all afternoon for control over the other, but it was time for Lisa to show them both who was really in charge of this meeting. “Man,” she scoffed. “If only I had my dumb birth certificate.”
“Yeah. I wish I knew where it was,” David said before sipping his coffee and adjusting himself as though he was ready to leave.
“Oh. Valencia knows.”
“What…?” Both David and Valencia froze as they stared at Lisa in shock.
“Yeah. She has my birth certificate.” Valencia’s eyes went wide as the other two locked their gaze on her. Her lips parted just a bit, and then curled upward in amazed confusion.
“W-why would she have your birth certificate? Even I don’t know where it is,” David asked, never once taking his eyes off his partner.
“Oh, ‘cause she found it.” Lisa’s voice was so matter of fact, David finally broke his own gaze and turned his attention to his daughter.
“Lisa,” he laughed. “I don’t know what this is, but you and I have already searched everywhere for it. Where could she possibly have found it?”
“Hidden inside the couch. Like inside the back of it.” Again, there was no hitch in her speech.
“W-what?”
“Mmmhmm. And like really in there. Like in a way that couldn’t have happened by accident. It was purposely hidden there… By you.” Suddenly, Lisa’s chipper gaze turned daggers.
“Lisa,” he laughed. “I didn’t hide your birth certificate. Val, do you know what she’s talking about?”
“Oh, she does,” Lisa jumped in. “She even showed me the envelope it came in. And there’s no way she could have faked that.”
“Oh really?” No more playing. David put his attention back on his partner. “I’d like to see it.”
“You and me both! But unless you have $45 million you won’t be able to get the rest of it,” Lisa sang.
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, see it WAS $50 million, but I already paid $5 million for a tiny strip of it. Actually, that’s what that big expense was for.” Lisa laughed as she spoke. “It only had a name. But, wouldn’t you know it, it’s a name I don’t recognize!”
“You gave her $5 million?” David’s voice was slow and hushed.
“Who’s Eliza Mae?” Lisa quickly redirected, and David visibly flinched. She didn’t push. She didn’t keep talking. She just remained silent, leaving him enough time to answer. But David was frozen. “Hmm. Thought so,” Lisa continued. She interlaced her fingers together and rested her nose on them. “So, first it’s Sandrine, then Bellamy, now it’s some woman name Eliza.” Again, Lisa left time for David to say something, and again, David remained frozen. Lisa laughed. “You know, at first, I wasn’t sure about trusting ‘Val’ when she came to me about this. Actually, it happened right here. We ran into each other here in, like, November, and she said the darndest thing. She asked if I truly knew everything: about Sandrine, about Emmett, and… about my real parents. It’s funny,” she laughed again. “‘cause it seemed like she was implying that you weren’t one of them.”
“What?!”
“Wow,” Valencia said as she applauded Lisa with the palm of one hand and the fingertips of the other. “I’m impressed. You’ve learned quite a bit.”
“Only from the best,” Lisa sang out with pride. But there was a dark cloud brewing at the other end of the table. Though his body seemed calm, David was giving off an aura of rage, and the girls could feel it.
“Wait, wait, wait, wait. So, was this what you were after from the beginning?” David’s hushed voice accused Valencia. She in return cocked her head back as David spoke, unfazed by his threatening tone of voice.
“‘fraid so, dad… (I think),” Lisa answer for her.
“No. No. I have worked my tail off to fix my relationship with my daughter. And I admit, I’ve fucked up a lot, did a lot of things I regret. But I’ll be damned if I let anyone come into this family only to start shit and spread lies all in the name of, what? Chaos? A paycheck?” Valencia’s smile slowly began to fade. “I can handle being used… But you prayed on my daughter, played to her fears, and used her to get her money. Sorry ‘babe,’ but you messed with the wrong dad.” And it was at this point David finally broke through Valencia’s confident demeanor. Her eyes widen, and she instinctually sat further and further back as David leaned further and further forward in his seat. “Now, you listen to me. You are going to pay back every. Last. Cent. My daughter gave you. And then… You are going to answer to me.”
“Oooh. Scary, dad… (I think),” Lisa laughed as she clapped. “But. You act like she came up with this all on her own. You never answered me. Who is Eliza Mae?” David didn’t move, but his eyes fell to the table. “Mmmhmm. So, here’s where we are. I can’t pay you another $5 million for a tiny strip of information,” she told Valencia. “Buuut... I eventually will. So, don’t go too far, my informative friend. But. If you’ve been lying to me like dad (I think), said. Well. You heard the man. And as far as your relationship? Well, I can’t imagine what it feels like to be in a manipulated relationship fueled by lies and money, but I’m sure you two can heal from this.” Lisa continued to laugh and then noticed the clock on one of the walls of the Steerbucks. “It’s getting late. I better get some rest before the playoffs tomorrow. Super excited!” She then got up, giving the others no time to retort, and swiftly left the shop. In less time than she expected, David followed behind her and stopped her at the corner of the street.
“Lisa,” he softly said to her.
“I’m going to get the truth with or without your help,” Lisa said back, keeping her eyes on the crosswalk signal.
“You know you’re my daughter, right?”
“Nope.”
“C’mon, Lisa.” David held Lisa’s shoulders and spun her around to face him. “I mean, look at our necks. You think it’s a coincidence we’re both yellow-necked mice?”
“You could be dying it.”
“Lisa…” People started to move past them as the signal changed, allowing them to cross. “Emmett. He’s a yellow-neck. He’s got his mother’s spots, but he has my neck. I’m not dying it. If anything, I should be dying my hair,” he tried to joke.
“My mother a yellow-neck? You know what, don’t answer that. I’ll figure it out for myself.” At this point the crosswalk signal began to blink. “You’ve lied to me again and again. When you claim you’re coming clean, you lie to my face again. You’ve lied when I secretly already knew the truth, and I’m sure you’ve continued to lie about other things.”
“I know… I know… And an absurd explanation like this would make things feel… better. I get it. If this WAS what the truth was, all the loose ends would be tied. But the real truth is boring. Like I said before, things got messy because of how last minute everything was…” But as David continued to explain himself, Lisa’s attention drifted. Afterall, it’s as she said. David lied to her again and again. Anything he’d say now would just be a distraction. She said she’ll figure it out for herself. Although she prayed that the truth would actually be something boring, but she doubted it. And as the crosswalk signal finally stopped blinking, Lisa made her way into the street, leaving David mid-sentence. She was no longer going to listen to what he had to say. And now he knew it, too.
It was strange sitting in the home of the woman she thought was her mother for so many years. But there she was, sitting at a round dining room table with Emmett to her right and Sandrine to her left. There was an open box on the table with its contents strewn about: sterile packets, test tubes, cotton swabs, and several instructional booklets. This all would have taken some pre-planning to have this sitting on the table then and there, and it was clear from Sandrine’s voice on the phone the day before that this was something she too wanted; the official results of a paternity test between Emmett and Lisa.
Sandrine sat straight in her seat, her leg bouncing with furious anticipation. Lisa had her head in both hands, her elbows propped up on the table. Emmett had his fist pressed against his lips. This kit would bring answers for all of them. It wouldn’t be instant, of course. They would have to wait at least two days for the results to come in from a phone call and email. All they needed to do was get the ball rolling.
But no one moved. Not for a while. Each of them ran the possible implications of the results in their minds. Then Sandrine pounced, snatching the kit and preparing to pass it along. Just as instantly, Emmett spoke up.
“Mom, no,” he jumped up to try and get her to stop.
“We’ve already decided on this, Emmett,” Sandrine snarled as she began separating the different packages.
“Lisa. You can’t want this,” Emmett pleaded. She did not respond back. “Okay. Guys. Stop for a minute. Let’s really think about this.” Despite Sandrine’s eagerness, she stopped what she was doing to listen to her son. Lisa did not move. “What would knowing the results mean? Like, really?”
“Emmett. I’m not sure why you’re so hesitant on this, but this isn’t exactly about you. Not really. Lisa and I both want this. Need this.” Emmett sighed at his mother.
“I get Lisa… Kinda. But not you?”
“I left David because he cheated on me. He neglected us and screwed some other woman and got her pregnant. And now Lisa is saying that that might not even be true?! What did we get a divorce over?!”
“He was bad for you,” Emmett answered. “Do you really need an explanation more than that? David was a bad husband for you, so you left. Who cares about the nitty gritty?”
“I do,” Sandrine answered back. “And Lisa does. Don’t she deserve to know the truth?”
“And what would that mean? Okay. Let’s say the results come back negative. Lisa and I don’t share any DNA meaning David couldn’t possibly be her biological father. Who cares, right? He’s still family to you,” Emmett said, turning to Lisa. “He’s still your dad. He still raised you.”
“No. He didn’t,” Lisa said softly into her palms. “I raised myself. I got a job when he wouldn’t. I maintained things while he was out partying. The one real chance he had to be a father, he disowns me instead. If I find out there was some truth to him saying I wasn’t his daughter…” Lisa stops.
“Okay. I get that. But like. Would him not being your father really change anything? Whether he’s your biological father or adopted father, what difference would that make?”
“Emmett. The difference would be the lies he fed everyone,” Sandrine said. “If he is her father, nothing really changes. But if he’s not, then he lied to you. He lied to me. And he lied to Lisa. Then the question would be why? Why hide it? There’s something important being kept from us. Besides, it’s peace of mind. The question’s already out there. We need to know.”
Lisa slowly leaned forward and took one of the packages and motioned to rip it open. She paused knowing that once she opened it, she’d have to follow through. Emmett placed his hand on Lisa’s shoulder. “Please? Don’t do this? It doesn’t matter what the results are. Just let it die and move on. Please.” Lisa stopped moving and slowly turned to Emmett.
“Are… you afraid of the results?” she asked. Emmett sat back and sighed. Sandrine then, too, stopped what she was doing to focus on her son. He ran his hand through his hair and stared off blankly.
“I remember when it all happened. I remember the fights. I remember leaving. I was four and all I could think was that I didn’t want our family to split. Dad used to talk to me about Lisa, asking ‘how I’d like to be a big brother.’ I was excited. And when we left… I wanted desperately for everything to go back to normal. I wanted Dad. I wanted my sister. And, I mean, eventually I understood why it was best for you to leave him, mom, but my sister was still out there. And then I finally found her. I got to talk to her. I got to be there for her. I was finally her big brother. And if we take this test… And it says we’re not related…”
“Emmett,” Lisa spoke softly.
“You see?” Sandrine said with her fingers clasped together. “Your father has hurt all of us with his lies. If the results come back negative, it’s going to hurt all of us.”
“Then why go through with it?!” Emmett shouted. “Why not just say this is our life and be happy with it?!”
“Because we deserve the truth,” Lisa said quietly. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt. But I’m also tired of living on the lies Dad cooks up from me. It might suck but pretending that these lies are true will suck worse for me. If you want, Sandrine and I can get the results and keep them from you… But I doubt you wouldn’t figure it out eventually.”
The three of them sat in silence. Which would really be better? Eric once told Lisa that if she was happy with the way things were, then leave well enough alone. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss. But what has ignorance really brought anyone thus far? No one was happy. Things never added up. And really, they all knew enough that ignorance was impossible now. Emmett rubbed his eyes, took a deep breath, and took a packet, immediately opening it.
“Let’s just do this…” he sighed out. Lisa took a packet, followed by Sandrine. Each of them would swab the inside of their cheek for a full ten seconds. This was what made things difficult for Lisa to do this on her own. There was no way she could convince her father to swab his cheek without him being suspicious. She had to go the roundabout way by comparing her DNA with Emmett’s. Emmett was for sure David’s son. There would be no reason for Sandrine to lie about this after what she and David went through. And on top of that, Lisa was shown Emmett’s birth certificate. So, that was that. If they had the same father, they should share DNA. Sandrine’s DNA would also be sent in to help identify any superfluous information. Basically, the more info they had, the easier it would be to reach an accurate result.
Ten seconds passed and the three placed their swabs into a sterile tube, covered them, and placed them all into a box to be shipped out. Sandrine would mail it in the morning, and the results wouldn’t come for at least another few days after that. But the hard part was over, right?
Lisa started laughing. She thanked the person on the phone, hung up and stroked her hair with a sigh. A positive test result meant good news. It meant David was her father all along. It meant he was at least telling her the truth about that. A positive test result puts a bunch of mystery to rest. But a positive test result meant going back to square one. It meant more questions which meant less answers. A positive test result was not what she wanted to hear. It’s enough to want to scream and cry. It’s enough to wreck her condo with frustration.
Lisa sat on her couch, staring at her ceiling. The Spirits had just finished the quarter finals as the victors, winning four to one against the Minutemen. With the early win the semifinals wouldn’t begin for a few more days. And this is how she chose to spend her time off. She hadn’t seen David since before the playoffs began, and it was probably for the best. He didn’t know what Sandrine, Emmett, and she were planning behind his back, a nice change of pace.
It had been two days since Sandrine mailed out the test kit and, like clockwork, they all received the results. Lisa’s face was bright with the news. She couldn’t stop laughing with the woman on the other line, and she continued on afterwards. A positive result would have stop her in her tracks for a bit, but hearing the woman say the word “negative,” Lisa couldn’t help but to laugh. It was like a negative result was actually good news, as heartbreaking as it may have been. Both of her legs bounced furiously while she sat, and her motions where aimless while she was up. She didn’t know what to do with all this energy. Until it hit her. She checked her schedule, thought for only a second, and decided she would make a quick trip over to Seattle. A phone call would have worked just fine, but Lisa needed to expel some of this energy. Besides, she didn’t think Eric would tell her the truth if she were to speak with him over the phone. No. This needed a personal touch.
Lisa landed in Seattle in the evening, just in time to catch Eric working at the lounge. She hailed a taxi and made straight for her uncle. When she arrived, Eric was nowhere in sight. Carefully, so as not to grab too much attention, she asked the bartender if Eric was in, and she told her she’d get him for her. As she waited, she tapped her nails against the bar. She had not planned what she was going to say to him. Her mind was too occupied to even try to come up with something. All she knew was she was going to get something out of David’s best friend.
“Lisa!” Eric cheered as he walked out from an office behind the bar. He was wearing a red and black suit with a black embroidered design on the left side that almost resembled a dragon. He walked over to her with wide arms and hugged her, but Lisa was stiff. She whispered that she needed to speak with him and then proceeded to guide him back into his own office.
The lounge had music playing. So, it was a shock to find that Eric’s office was silent compared to the noise just outside the door. Perfect.
“How you doin’, kiddo?” Eric began. Lisa had her back to him, visibly heaving. And when she turned to face him, Eric jumped. She was hunched over like a beast ready to kill.
“You are going to tell me everything,” Lisa said through snarls.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! What’s this about?” Lisa was not going to entertain Eric’s question. Instead, she took his office chair and tossed it out of her way as she slowly crept towards him.
“No more fucking games. You are going to tell me everything about David.” Eric had backed up all the way to the wall and continued to press backwards as Lisa approached. She grabbed the collar of his black dress shirt, ripping a hole in it with her claws. With her other arm, she rested against the wall, completely blocking any path of escape.
“I-I don’t know what this is about. B-but I told you, that stuff’s between blood!” Eric tried to struggle out of her grasp so that he can attempt to calm her, but she had been pushed over the edge with his last statement.
“’Between blood?’ David’s. Not. My FUCKING. Father!” Overwhelmed with rage, Lisa slammed Eric back against the wall. It wasn’t hard, but it was more than Eric was expecting. That, and what Lisa said confused him.
“What do you mean he’s-“
“He’s not my father! And you knew this!”
“Whoa, whoa. Hold on a sec. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Eric started to slowly move closer to Lisa as she showed signs that she believed what he was saying.
“Emmett and I did a DNA test to see if we shared genes. The test came back fucking negative! I don’t share his mother OR his father!” Eric held in place as he tried to make sense of what Lisa was saying. “I’m sick of the fucking games, Eric. I don’t give a damn about your morals. What the fuck else have you been hiding from me?”
“I…” Eric tried to find the words, but he still was in shock from this news. “Lisa, I swear I had no idea. I… Lisa… Holy shit… I’m… I’m sorry.”
Eric’s apology was enough to calm Lisa down from her rampage. She took the seat she had tossed and sat in it, crying into her hands not knowing what else to do at this moment. Eric rolled over a second chair and sat in front of her, placing his hand on her shoulder to soothe her.
“Hunny… I mean… I’d ask if you were sure… You took a DNA test?” Lisa then explained everything she had been through in the last few months. She told him what Valencia had said. She told him about the $5 million strip of her birth certificate. She told him about the trip to Albany to find Bellamy’s obituary. She told him about this new woman named Eliza Mae. She told him everything between sniffs and breakdowns all while Eric sat and took the barrage of new information.
“You didn’t know about any of this?” Lisa whimpered.
“No… I… I had no idea, sweetheart.”
“Now what do I do? I’ve got nothing to go on.”
“I still think you should talk to your father… er…” Eric sighed.
“Eric. Please. If there is anything. Anything at all you can tell me…” Eric rubbed the back of his head. “Please. Put yourself in my shoes. Cut me a break, will you? Something. Anything. Please.”
Eric ran through everything in his head before finding the one bit of information Lisa seemed to be off on. “It ain’t much… and I don’t know how much it’ll help ya…”
“Eric… Please.” Lisa could barely see straight as the tears blurred her vision. Eric gave one last sigh.
“Well. I do know one thing. You weren’t born in Albany. You weren’t even born in New York… You were born in Delaware…”
“Delaware?” Lisa sniffed. “Where in Delaware?” Lisa sat up straight in her seat, seemingly catching a second wind.
“I-I don’t remember exactly. But Delaware ain’t all that big to begin with. And like I said, I don’t know how much it’ll help. But that’s all I know.” Eric wiped her face and stood her to her feet. Before she could make her way out, Eric snatched her over and hugged her close. “Hun. I love you, you know that? I’m so sorry about all of this.” He pulled her out of the hug and placed both hands on her cheeks. “You’re gonna be okay. I’ve got your back.” Lisa said nothing in response. She only kissed his forehead and left his office. She didn’t say I love you, or goodbye. She just left. All that was on her mind now was Delaware. It was a shame the semifinals would begin the following day. This would have to stew in her head for a while longer.
As her hand touched the door leading out into the street, Eric rounded the bar and shouted.
“It was a city!” Lisa barely looked over her shoulder, stood tall, and continued out of the lounge. A city in Delaware. That narrows it down.
It was no surprise to Lisa that her first two games back after speaking with Eric ended poorly. Two losses right off the bat against the Taproots. This meant less free days to go to Delaware. Her plan was to spend her free time re-searching for her mother’s obituary. She failed to find it in Albany, but now she knew that it was because her mother wouldn’t have passed in Albany. It would have to be Delaware. But first she’d have to get pass the semifinals.
Game three was back at home. Yes. A win. Game four? Yes. Another win. Just two more. Maybe she could have four free days before the conference finals. All they needed was to win the next two games. Game five? A loss. This meant this was going to take all seven games. Then the conference finals would begin immediately after, meaning more waiting. That, or they lose the next game and she’d be free until the next season started up. But that was out of the question. Despite everything that was going on, winning this whole thing was also the goal.
Game six was a win. One more. Just one more. Whether they win or lose, all she needed was one more game. Game seven. A win! Yes! The Spirits were going to the conference finals! But that meant at least another nine-day wait. And that was only if the Spirits (or the Voodoo) win with a blowout.
First two games were on the Voodoo’s court, both losses. No big deal. The Spirits were going to match them back at home. Game three? The Spirits won. Game four? A loss? The Spirits were behind, and Lisa was not about to give in just yet. But they absolutely needed to win the next game, or they were out. Problem was they were going back to the Voodoo’s court. It was an amazing fight. It took everything they had, but the Spirits would come out the victors winning 111 to 107! But it truly took everything they had. Erik Toivonen was taken out on a day-to-day watch. No. They needed him. He was their defense, their Center. But unfortunately, he would not recover in time. The Spirits lost in overtime 138 to 130. A true battle, but that was that. The season was over for the Spirits. Time to shift gears.
With the Finals ending for the Spirits on June 11th, Lisa took the following day to take a breath before flying out on the 13th to Wilmington, Delaware. Since she was touching down in Wilmington, and Delaware wasn’t that big of a state, Lisa figured it was the perfect place to start her search. Like in Albany, Lisa found the biggest library she could search up, ending up at Wilmington Public Library. Lisa took a breath before entering. Her heals clicked loudly against the marble floors, catching everyone’s attention. She stormed right up to the help desk and asked where their newspaper archives were. She clacked down the entire length of the library, ignoring the gasps and occasional fan. An answer better be here.
Lisa picked out a pile of microfilm and sat at a monitor with a microfilm reader. Hopefully this would be an in and out job. She’d find her answers and be off in time for lunch. But, of course, doubt spread throughout her mind. In fact, it had been taking a tole on her for the past 26 agonizing days. What if David was in the right? What if there’s more to the story? What if, what if, what if? No. It was time to take the plunge. She shook off the doubt as best she could and began her search. Let’s go.
December 26th, 1995, Lisa’s birthdate. She didn’t expect to find an obituary so soon, but just in case, she searched anyway. But nothing. No big deal. Moving on. December 27th? No. Two dates down and Lisa was starting to realize how long this would take. Unlike last time, she didn’t have Emmett there to split the load. It’s fine. Keep going. December 28th? Still no. Keep going. December 29th?
.
.
.
.
.
Lisa covered her mouth as she sat back in her seat. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her hands shook. There. There it was. She found it. She actually found it. She took several deep breaths and slowly leaned forward again to read through it. The whole time, Lisa was shaking her head. It had more than she expected. After making copies of what she found, she continued down the rabbit hole and researched her mother’s husband since his name was mentioned in the obituary. More head shaking. She researched the gravesite. It wasn’t far from where she was. She gathered her things and left to go visit the site. And there it was. There She was.
Lisa sat down on the grass in front of her mother’s grave and just stared at it. She would reach her hand out every so often to try to rest her hand on the grave itself, but it was hard for her to do. After some time, Lisa got up and sat right back down in front of a grave right beside her mother’s. And like her mother’s she stared at it. And then a ring. Lisa sighed and reached in her pocket for her phone. Valencia, huh? Perfect way to get some confirmation. Lisa picked up.
“Hey, Val,” she said softly.
“Darling! How are you?!”
“Good… To what do I owe this pleasure.”
“Well. I saw your tweet. Oh, and congrats on making it to the conference finals. You did great!”
“Uh huh.” Lisa placed her free hand on the grave in front of her.
“Right. So! I saw your tweet. You’re in Delaware?”
“Yeah?”
“Interesting. Well, I wanted to talk to you about a certain birth certificate.” Lisa silently laughed. Valencia was nervous about Lisa being in Delaware and called to bring up her birth certificate? That said plenty to Lisa. Let’s see how much more we can get.
“I don’t need it anymore,” Lisa informed Valencia. “I have everything I need already.”
“O-oh?” Valencia’s voice shook. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m pretty sure. I already know what it says.” Lisa took a breath and began to recite what she knew was on her birth certificate. “My mother’s maiden name was Bellamy Lambert. The father’s name is Timothy duPont. And the child’s name… Was Eliza Mae duPont.” Lisa laughed. “I admit I was confused at first when I found Bellamy’s obituary.” She cleared her throat and began to read her copy of the obituary. “’Bellamy duPont, age 28, of Wilmington DE, left us, surrounded by her friends and family on December 26th, 1995, during childbirth.’ Yadda yadda yadda. ‘Bellamy was survived by her parents, Andrew and Martha Lambert, her husband Timothy, and her two sons Daniel and Andrew,’ and so forth.”
Lisa decided to lie back on the grass, with one foot propped up on her knee, in between the two graves. “The confusing part,” she continued. “Was that this was a joint obituary. The parts that I skipped? Yeah, it was the other person who passed. Poor Eliza Mae, 42 minutes old, passed after her mother gave birth to her. ‘Eliza was survived by her father, Timothy, and her two older brothers, Danial and Andrew!’ So, I’m like, ‘Oh! There’s this girl who passed with her mother!’ But then I was like ‘it didn’t mention me anywhere, though. Maybe I’m not related to this person.’ But then! I’m like, ‘Well, then why do I have this girl’s birth certificate?’ And then it hits me. That girl… IS me… I’m guessing just like David had his name changed, my name was changed. But my birth name… The original name I was given… was Eliza Mae duPont.”
There was silence on the phone for a moment before Valencia replied. “Well, look at you, miss junior detective. You’ve got it all figured out, don’t you?”
“Well, there’s still some unanswered questions,” Lisa said as her knee carelessly bounced. “Like, why am I able to lie here next to both my mother’s grave, and my own grave?”
“Well,” Valencia laughed. “For that, I think you know who you’ll have to talk to”
“David’s just full of surprises… What about you? You gonna be okay with just the $5 million I gave you?” Lisa taunted.
“Oh, sweetheart. The first rule of conducting business is always ask for more than you actually want, then give them the ‘better’ deal of the actual price.”
“You got me,” Lisa snickered. “So, what will become of you and David?”
“Oh, I’ve left town long ago.” Both Valencia and Lisa laughed at that. As Lisa’s laughter died down, her mind hit on a particular topic.
“Hey,” Lisa began. “Do you know what my favorite flowers are?”
“Can’t say that I do.”
“It’s pink roses and yellow daffodils.”
“Ah. An odd combination. What brings this up.” You could almost hear the smirk through the phone.
“Oh, just that David was the one who got me to like them. I was his yellow daffodil. Makes sense, yellow neck, yellow daffodil. Anyway. The pink rose was supposed to be the love of a parent. Probably the love of a mother now that I think about it. I don’t know what they actually represent, but that’s what I was told. And whenever I was having a particularly hard time, David would recite this poem. It always meant a lot to me, but I never really sat with the words before.”
“That poem have a new meaning now, don’t it?”
“Mmmhmm.” The two laughed again, and as Lisa hung up the phone, she let her arms fall to either side of her. Bellamy Lambert. Timothy duPont. Eliza Mae… So many answers at once. There were just a few more things she needed to know. And she was going to get it out of David. One way. Or another.
One week.
One week ago, she went to Delaware.
One week ago, she found Bellamy duPont’s archived obituary.
One week ago, she learned it was a joint obituary.
One week ago, she found Bellamy’s, alongside her child’s grave.
One week ago, she learned that child… was her.
There was a man named Timothy duPont who lost his wife and daughter the day after Christmas in 1995. He had two sons, Daniel, and Andrew. The wife’s name: Bellamy. The daughter: Eliza Mae; the same name on the one piece of birth certificate Lisa could afford from Valencia. Lisa held all the pieces of the puzzle. But it would have to take too much willpower to fully piece them together. But the image she could already see was already too much.
Lisa had just finished her long walk through Baltimore. Even a run, her favorite thing to do to cool herself off, was too much for her. But the rage in her had not dwindled. There were so many names that surfaced from all of this. Names she had not known until recently. Names she knew David must have always known about. And then there was the thing David said to her in the hospital:
“You’re not my daughter.”
Her body stayed stiff as she entered her condo, looking for something to occupy her time. Anything to try and calm her nerves. Maybe something to eat? No. There would be no way to keep it down as tied into knots her stomach was. Maybe a coffee? With her heart racing and the adrenaline flowing, that’d only make things worse. Maybe a bath?
The decision was made when she heard the knock on her door. Of course, he’d be there now. If he was wise to what Lisa was going through, David would not be there today, and on Father’s Day. But almost eagerly, Lisa opened the door, though her face remained blank and unreadable.
“Lisa!” David shouted as he entered her condo, arms raised to embrace her.
Lisa said nothing, did nothing. David might as well had been hugging a doll. As David caught notice, he adjusted himself.
“Right,” he began. “So, I’m sure you know what day it is.” David spoke with a bit of cheer in his voice.
Lisa said nothing.
“A-and since it’s Father’s Day, I thought it would be a perfect day for you and me to have some fun together… You know… after the last few weeks.”
Lisa had begun to pace away from David towards her living room, but with no aim in mind. David took this chance to cautiously enter a bit farther into her condo. He stopped as soon as Lisa did. She had paused in front of the painting hanging across her couch. On it were two daffodils and a pink rose. Her bottom lip quivered.
“Guess what I did,” he continued with a nervous/cheery voice. “I rented a couple of jet skis! You know how you and I have been-“
“’Pray, do not pick the daffodils…’” Lisa softly interrupted. Her gaze stayed fixed to the painting on her wall.
“Hmm?”
“’Do NOT pick the daffodils,’” she burst out, slowly turning to face whom she thought was her father her whole life. She continued: “’their life has just begun.’”
Shock grew across his face, but David said nothing as Lisa approached.
“’Oh, let them live as NATURE MEANT, stood dancing ‘neath the sun.’” Her steps were heavy, her breath nearly visible. “’Nor PLUCK the roses from their stems, for they will WILT and DIE.’” It was slight, but David had begun to step backwards. “’ Oh, LEAVE them ling’ring in the earth, to grow wherein they LIE,’” her voice began to raise. “’Each leaf, each bloom, each blade of grass BELONGS to MOTHER earth.’” Though nowhere near one another, the tension was that of two people standing chest to chest. “’Pray do not TAKE them from the soil. Do not. Destroy. Their birth.’” Lisa had barely left her living room, leaving plenty of distance between the two.
“H-ha…,” David chuckled. “Still love that poem.”
Lisa said nothing.
“R-right. Well! Grab your swim gear and let’s get going!” David shouted as he clapped his hands together. “We’ve got a full day ahead of ourselves!”
Lisa said nothing.
David sighed. It was clear he was going to have to address the situation. He entered farther into her apartment, making his way towards Lisa. “Come on, sweetheart,” he cooed. “I want today to be a good day…” Lisa’s eyes pierced David’s. “I know…” he sighed again. “I know Val has made things difficult… but I want you to know that you come first.”
Lisa said nothing.
“I mean, I tossed her out. I haven’t even seen her since Steerbucks… H-have you?”
Lisa said nothing.
“Well… you let me know if she ever tries to contact you. Oh, and I will get your money back,” David said with determination. “I won’t let her get away with attacking my daughter.” There was that word: daughter. Lisa’s eye twitched.
“I HAVE heard from her,” Lisa finally responded. Her body swiveled away from David as she slowly moved to the chest of drawers under the painting.
“O-oh?”
“She called me when I was visiting Bellamy’s grave in Delaware.” Her voice was calm as she knelt to rummage about the chest.
David said nothing.
“David,” she said to the man she once called father. She was opening a toolbox inside the chest.
“Lisa,” David groaned.
“This… is your last chance to tell me… everything.”
“Lisa…”
“And I mean EVERYTHING. You lie to me…” Lisa pulled a hammer out of the toolbox and stared at it, her back to David. “I won’t hold back.”
“Lisa!” David firmly shouted. Unfazed, Lisa slowly stood to her feet, turning to face David, the hammer held out to one side.
“I am so… fucking serious. I will not hold back.” Suddenly, David’s words got caught in his throat as Lisa began her advance once again. “What was Bellamy’s maiden name?” Lisa quickly started, giving David no time at all to catch his breath.
“Lisa… I…” he struggled. “It… was DuPont…”
“WRONG!” Lisa quickly called out. “Lambert. What state was I born in?” The distance between the two grew uncomfortably shorter as she continued her barrage of questions.
“Lisa…” David had backed himself up against the kitchen island.
“What state was I fucking born in?!”
David could not bring himself to answer.
“ERRR! TIME’S UP! Delaware. Here’s a big question for ya. What was my birth name?”
“Lisa, come on,” David groaned again.
“WRONG!”
“No!” David finally pushed back. He stood tall and even took a step towards Lisa. “Where the hell are you getting your info from, huh? Valencia? She used you! Stole your money! And you want to take what she says for face value?”
“So, you can prove it?”
“What?” When Lisa didn’t repeat herself, David threw his head back. “Are you serious? What, you wanna do a DNA test or something?” he mocked.
Lisa said nothing, only glaring at him.
“You know what? If it’ll end this whole stupid thing once and for all, then sure! Let’s take a fucking DNA test!” David held out his arms, challenging Lisa.
“And you’ll accept whatever the results are?” Lisa spoke softly.
David folded his arms and stood with a wide stance. “I ain’t got nothing to hide. In fact, here…” David then reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “I’ll call up-“
“Someone you know so they can fuck with the results?” Lisa interrupted. “Is that how you’ve been fucking with me?” Lisa’s grip on the hammer grew tighter. Her teeth began to grind. “Hiring some goon to feed me the lies you’ve fed them? Like the doubt you planted in Jason’s mind about his wife cheating on him…? Or like her fake lawyer…? Or like what you tried to do with Damario…? And God knows whatever else you’ve lied to me about?” David scoffed at Lisa in response. “Put your goddamn phone down,” she said through her teeth. “’cause I’ve already ordered a test.”
“Fine!” David pivoted. “We’ll do it your way.” She could almost see a smug smirk on his face. “Then you’ll see I’m-“
“So, even with me calling the shots, you’re confident you’ll be able to manipulate the results?” Lisa whispered. Her body was visibly shaking.
“You’re not going to accept any results unless it’s this bleak one you’ve cooked up in your head?” David shouted. “What conditions would you be happy with, huh?! What would get you to finally drop this whole damn thing?”
“Results you have no chance of messing with… Like the results I got a month ago.”
David said nothing.
“I got to thinking,” she began. “Emmett’s your son, right? And Sandrine confirmed as much. So, if he and I share a father, we should share some DNA… Right?” Lisa caressed the top of the hammer with her free hand. “You wanna know how many of your genes we share? Fucking. Zero,” she said without looking up from the hammer. “Emmett and I have completely different parents. His mother is not my mother…”
“Okay… Lisa…”
“And his father… is not my father…” Her eyes rose and stabbed David. “So, then I went to Eric. Damn near knocked the man out when I confronted him. But I got him to tell me about Delaware.” Lisa was nearly on top of David by now, her gaze never leaving the man whom she will no longer call father. “That’s where I found Bellamy’s obituary… Hers AND Eliza’s… the little girl she gave birth to and apparently lost on the same day. I found her grave after that. Both of theirs. Can you begin to imagine what it’s like standing in front of your own grave?”
“Lisa,” David pleaded with a whisper. “Listen to me…”
“And Timothy? Bellamy’s ‘psycho-crazy’ husband who was out to kill me? Yeah.” A dark smile began to creep up her face. “He apparently misses his wife and daughter so much, he holds a huge event and charity for mothers and daughters every year on Christmas in honor of them, and closes his company down the day after to mourn with is family… Every. Year. He’s done this.”
“Please…”
“Everything… you ever told me… was a FUCKING LIE!” Lisa swung the hammer up over her opposite shoulder. David flinched, holding his hands out and begging for mercy. But Lisa held there, heaving. “I want… to know… the truth…” Her body was rigid. It took everything to stop her from following through. “Give me one reason… why I shouldn’t beat you within an inch of your life?!”
“Sweetie… Baby…” David had fallen off balance a bit and was trying to gain some ground. “I… I told you, it’s complicated.”
“Because you made it fucking complicated!”
“Okay! Okay. Okay… Just… calm down, okay?” Lisa’s breath had quickened, her vision gone hazy. “I don’t care what anyone else says, you are my daughter. And I love you so very much.”
“Bullshit!” Lisa cocked the hammer back even further, ready to strike. “You’ve disowned me, lied to me, used me, threatened me!” Each pause drew Lisa a little closer to letting go. None of her anger management lessons would matter if she were to continue this way. “And after all of this, I find out that I wasn’t even your fucking daughter to begin with?!"
“Yes, you were!” David stood firm. “You were always going to be mine! That’s how it was supposed to fucking be! You were supposed to be my daughter!”
“’Supposed to…?’” Lisa whispered. “You stole me…”
“What? No. Lisa.”
“I had… a real father… who never turned away from me, even after he thought I had died… While I was living with you: The man I looked to for guidance… that put his hands on me, threatened to sue me, and disowned me, all while lying to my face… for twenty-five fucking years!”
“Lisa! That is enough!”
“MY NAME IS ELIZA!”
The sounds that followed shattered across the condo. The screams: even more so. All her fighting, all her holding back, all her anger management training did nothing to stop her in that moment. Any hesitation she started with melted away the louder the condo grew. Then finally, towering over the crippled mouse, Lisa used the blunt edge of the hammer to force David to look up at her.
“You… are going to tell me everything,” she spoke out of breath. “Or I swear, I won’t hold back this time.” David cursed and grunted as he clenched his leg. “Now!” she demanded.
“Fuck you! I raised you!” David snarled back. He was breathing through his teeth, trying to manage the pain. “You ungrateful…” Lisa slowly raised the hammer once more, threatening to follow through. “It’s your fault she died!” And suddenly, Lisa froze. David blamed Lisa for Bellamy’s death? Between grunts and yells, David bared his teeth at Lisa. “I was going to finally be happy! Until she got pregnant with you. She was all fine with leaving her husband, but she ended up pregnant with you! Because of you she had to ‘stay with the family,’” he mocked. “I told her! I told her to just get a fucking abortion! We would have been fine! We would have been together! But no! She kept you! And what did that do for her?!” Lisa was stunned the whole time David spoke. He had been harboring this for twenty-five years? “She fucking dies! She was going to leave me and go back to her husband. And even if I had a chance to convince her to leave with me after you were born, she dies because of that fucking decision! And then what?! Tim gets to have you?! Fuck that! I was supposed to have a family with Bellamy! I was supposed to be the father! Me!” His heavy breathing caused him to spit a few times. His body rocked as he held his knee close to his chest. “You ungrateful little bitch. Do you think you’d be where you are without me? I should have sued you last year! You think you know what I’m capable of?! I won’t make the same mistake as last time!”
Finally, Lisa looked down at David with an unmerciful glare. “You’re going to sue me? The daughter of Timothy duPont, heir of the duPont family fortune, and whose daughter you’ve KIDNAPPED and made believe was dead all these years?!” She squatted down to meet David eye to eye. “At this point… I could get away with murder…” she whispered. The two stared at each other, neither one sure of what was going to happen next. No one would blame her, not even David. Eventually his eyes closed, and his head fell back against the wall of the kitchen island. His breathing got raspy, and Lisa’s kept getting caught in her throat. Her head moved about, searching for her next action. And eventually, in the middle of her thoughts, she spoke.
“Get the hell out of my house,” she whispered. “I never want to see your face again. If I do… I don’t care what they do to me.”
“So, that’s it, huh?” David huffed.
“You have ten seconds to get the FUCK out of my house,” she warned as she stood to her feet.
“If you haven’t fucking noticed, my fucking knee is busted!” David roared.
“One…” David stared at her, challenging her. “Two…” David’s eyes grew wider when Lisa’s narrowed. “THREE…” She was not bluffing. At this point, why would she be?
“Alright, fine,” he said. “But this isn’t over!”
“Fucking, FOUR…” Lisa twirled the hammer in her hand like she was walking up to bat. “FIVE!” Her pace started to pick up. David tried to ease his body into a position where he could attempt to crawl towards her door, but it proved more painful than he had anticipated. “SIX.” Lisa was on his heels, and he slowly pulled his body across the floor. “SEVEN… EIGHT… NINE!” David pulled himself up as best he could and opened the door, spilling out into the hall just before Lisa finished counting. Staring down at him, Lisa heaved. She slammed the door. And screamed. She wasn’t done with him. There was so much more she wanted to do to him. So much more he deserved. But her sanity has taken as much as one poor soul could take.
((Poem written by Valerie Dohren))
It didn’t take very long for Lisa to learn where to find Timothy duPont, but it took her several weeks to muster any courage to try to meet with him. But eventually, she found herself in the lobby of Coders of Wilmington, one of the companies he cofounded. He ran many companies in different states, but Lisa knew he usually stayed in Delaware. It was the best place to start.
Inside the building was bright. The floor-to-ceiling windows helped with that. They sat upright but were framed on a stylized tilt. The building seemed to be renting out office space, a lot of which appeared to be in a new-age workflow style with open conference areas, coffee bars, and glass walls separating the rooms.
On the wall by the elevators was a directory that listed Timothy’s office. Lisa took a breath and road up to the top floor. There weren’t many doors on this floor. It seemed the whole floor belonged to Timothy. In front of a set of large double doors sat a secretary’s desk. Lisa made her way to the desk with her hands behind her back and smiled at the gazelle working the desk.
“Hi,” she cheerfully said. “My name is… is…” Which name should she go with? It would probably be best not to stir the pot too early. Besides, “Lisa DuPont” has already made a name for herself. “My name is Lisa DuPont. I play for the Baltimore Spirits.”
“Oh!” the gazelle said. She wore large round glasses, and her eyes were beady. “I see!”
“Yeah! So… I would love to speak with Mr. duPont. I… have a charity idea I’d like to propose to him.”
“Oh, wonderful.” The gazelle’s voice was raspy and upbeat. She reached for a pad and clicked open a pen. “Let’s hear it!”
“Oh…! Um. I’m… supposed to discuss with him… in person,” Lisa smiled.
“Oh! My apologies!” The gazelle placed her pad down and went to her computer. “Hmm. I’m not seeing your name. Did you have an appointment with Mr. duPont?”
“Oh… No… see… I…” Lisa stammered. As Lisa tried to find the next thing to say, the elevator doors opened behind her, and a loud voice boomed.
“Yeah! Yeah! Tell them it’s alright with me!” He had a huge smile on his face and kept laughing as he spoke on his phone. He walked right passed Lisa and stopped in front of the large double doors. “Yeah! Alright! I’ll talk to you later!” He placed his phone in his back pocket and smiled at the gazelle. “Hey, Michelle. Who’s this?” He turned to face Lisa.
Lisa’s nose went white. This was him. This was Timothy duPont. He was inches from her. Her body froze and her eyes locked on to his. But she said nothing. Both him and the gazelle waited awkwardly for a response from her. But when Lisa didn’t answer, the gazelle spoke up.
“This is Lisa DuPont... She plays for the Baltimore Spirits. She says she has a charity proposal for you.”
“Oh yeah? Let’s hear it!”
Lisa remained frozen, stammering every few moments.
“Hello?” he questioned. “Oh. I see. Listen. You have nothing to worry about. I know I’m a big name, but you are, too. You don’t have to be nervous around me.” He squeezed Lisa’s shoulder and gave her a firm, comforting shake. Lisa tried to smile back. “See? There ya go!” Taking a breath, Lisa swiped the hair in her face to the side and gave him a better smile. He, in turned, cocked his head to one side. “Wow. For a second there, you looked like my first wife!” he laughed. “That’s a good thing. She was very beautiful.”
Glancing down at his watch and then up at the ceiling, the mouse offered to talk with Lisa in his office if it were to make her feel more comfortable. The gazelle spoke up. “But sir. You have a meeting to attend in fifteen minutes.”
“Ah, that’s enough time to at least hear what Ms. DuPont has to say. She is a DuPont after all. We might as well be family!”
The mouse then ushered the completely stiff Lisa into his large office. It might as well have been the presidential suite of a ritzy hotel, minus the bed. There were large couches, and a library behind what seemed to be a mahogany desk. “Water?” he offered her. Lisa politely declined. She walked around his room, taking everything in and stopped when she turned to face the mouse. “So, what was your idea?”
Lisa closed her eyes and took slow breaths. This was it. “Actually,” she started. “I… I…” She started to close herself off, hunching her shoulders inward and pressing her chin against her chest. She sighed. “You might want to sit down.”
“Okay,” he laughed, cautiously. He took a seat at his desk, and Lisa sat in the large armchair across from him. Her fingers were interlaced, and her chin rested on top of them.
“I came here… to talk about some information I found… I need to apologize in advance… I’m… going to be opening up some old wounds…” The cheery look on the man’s face completely vanished as he mirrored Lisa’s posture.
“Is that so? Well, I don’t have time to be swindled. I have a meeting to get ready for. You may leave…” He stopped when Lisa began to sob. He watched her for a moment, saying nothing more. Eventually when Lisa looked up at him, he sighed. “Well… I can at least hear you out.”
“You’re right, though. I could be completely wasting your time if I’m wrong. But… I need this. Do you know Eliza Mae…?” Timothy sat back in his seat. He didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. Of course, he would know the name of the daughter he lost. “I’m not sure… but… but… I think… I think I’m her.” Lisa couldn’t look Timothy in the eyes as she spoke, but she could hear him take a sharp breath. “I want to be clear. I don’t care about the famous duPont family fortune, or the name and prestige. I’m just looking to finally get some answers.” Her words were warbly and her body sunk further into her seat as she spoke.
“I-I’m sorry… But Eliza Mae died the day she was born.” Timothy’s voice was shaky, though it seemed he was trying to keep control over the situation.
“I grew up my whole life believing I was Lisa DuPont. I only recently learned that I had a birth certificate with the name Eliza Mae on it… I did some searching… and found you and a woman named Bellamy…”
“I understand, but many people can share a name. Eliza Mae is a famous name because of the charities I run. I’d have no doubt you’d come across that particular Eliza Mae before anything else.” Timothy sighed and swiveled in his seat as he thought. “Where did you grow up? Who raised you?”
Lisa lifted her head. It was the first time she was able to show an emotion other than nervous. “Does the name David Nadeau mean anything to you?” Her voice went cold, and Timothy adjusted in his seat, matching Lisa’s intensity. “Up until recently… I believed that man was my father. I secretly took a DNA test with his son and found out I wasn’t related to him at all.”
“Sir,” a voice called over the intercom after a beep. “You have less than five minutes until your meeting.”
Timothy did not respond right away. He stared at Lisa, cracking his jaw as he thought. Finally, he held down a button. “Michelle. Will you connect me to Cohn in the lab?”
“Sir?”
“Please. It’s an emergency.”
“Right away, sir.” After a few seconds the intercom began to ring. Once he heard a voice on the other side, Timothy picked up the phone.
“Matty! Hey. Can you do me a favor? Run up here with a couple of DNA testing kits. Yeah, now.” The whole time he spoke his gaze was fixed on Lisa with a worried brow. “Thanks, bud.” Once he hung up his face did not change. “Did I mention how much you look like my first wife?
The two sat in silence as they waited for the test to arrive. At this point Timothy was going to be late for his meeting. But the test was brought up quickly. A leopard entered his office and instructed both Timothy and Lisa on what to do with the kit. He didn’t ask them any questions, and the two didn’t say what it was for. After a couple of seconds of swabbing, the Leopard took the kits and packed them away.
“How soon can you get me the results?” Timothy asked him.
“Hmm. It will take me a bit, but I can expedite it and get it done by the end of the day.”
“Thanks, Matty! You’re a pal! Well,” he turned to Lisa. “I, uh… I have to go to a meeting. And I’m pretty booked for the rest of the day…” Lisa just nodded. “And I can’t have you stay here… Maybe you can grab a late lunch or something?”
“I’ll be alright,” she whispered. “I’ll find something to do.”
Lisa was then ushered back out of the office and Timothy left with Matty in the elevator to attend his meeting. The hall outside his office matched the lobby with its tall, stylized windows. There was a single couch in front of the window. Lisa softly sat on the couch, staring off in front of her.
“Um,” the gazelle started. “Mr. duPont will be out for a few hours.”
“I understand…”
“Um. You sure you don’t want to go find something to do until he returns?”
Lisa just shook her head. Where else could she go? She just convinced this man to take a DNA test. What happens if there’s no connection? What if there is?! She was on track for an answer; answers she always wanted but always felt were out of reach. She knew one day she’d get something, but this might just be that day.
After several hours of sitting quietly, Michelle’s phone rang. “This is the office of Mr. Timothy duPont, how may I help you?” she answered. “Yes sir. She is sir. Yes sir.” After hanging up she stood to her hooves to get Lisa’s attention. “Mr. duPont would like you to wait in his office.” Lisa nodded and followed after her. She instructed Lisa to take a seat in the same armchair. There, she waited patiently for something to happen. This was it. No matter what the answer was, she’d be able to cross this off her list.
After a few minutes of waiting Lisa could hear several male voices outside the door. She couldn’t quite make out what was being said, but each of the voices sounded just as boisterous as Timothy’s. And then suddenly it went quiet. It was an odd silence considering what she had just heard. She took a breath. Slowly the door opened. The first two faces she saw were ones she had not seen before. They were both mice, looking to be about Lisa’s age. Timothy walked in next with a hand behind his head and his gaze off to the side. The two younger men looked at each other and then to Lisa.
And in a rush, they embraced her.
At first, Lisa felt claustrophobic and confused, but as it dawned on her, tears poured from her widened eyes. She could hear them sniffling. Her arms slowly but instinctually rose up as best they could to lightly embrace them back.
“Yeah… These are my boys,” Timothy said softly. “Andy and Danny… They’re…”
The taller one pulled out of the embraced forcing the other one off as well. He then held Lisa’s face with both hands, his eyes darting back and forth between hers. “Eli…” he whispered.
“She really does look just like mom,” the shorter mouse said.
“Yeah,” Timothy whispered. “So… The results came back, and…” Lisa and the two other mice looked over at Timothy. The brothers then slowly guided Lisa over to him. When Timothy noticed what was happening, he locked eyes with hers. A smile grew on his face. “You really do look just like your mother.” Lisa gasped. This was it. This was the confirmation she had been looking for. All these years. All this time. She leapt into Timothy’s arms without thinking and sobbed in his shoulders. “My girl,” Timothy whimpered into her hair. “My little girl.” The other two joined in and embraced Lisa. It had finally come. More than just answers. More than tying up loose ends. The thing she had been searching for her whole life was a family who loved her. At that point Lisa had died, and Eliza was resurrected.
Audio
Fed Up
Lisa holds a press conference regarding the scar on her neck - 03/10/2019
Featuring the following cast:
- Lisa Belle DuPont - Shataivian
Further Review
Lisa holds a press conference after All-Star game to apologize - 02/26/2020
Featuring the following cast:
- Lisa Belle DuPont - Shataivian
- Hugo Livingstone - Rourkie
Gallery
Illustration by Shataivian
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Illustration by Shataivian
Illustration by Shataivian
Illustration by Shataivian
