“It would be indisputable proof! And if you could break that story, that would clear you of any ‘breach of contract’ issues. You would have been within your ethical rights to refuse to report the story.” Anthony jumped up and hugged me.
“So, Maisie, now aren’t you glad that I shoot extra footage and file it away?” Alek grinned.
“Not the time for that.” I waved his comment aside with a loving smile and turned to Anthony.
“So, let’s think about this. I’d say the first thing is to find any footage if we have it,” Anthony said.
“Hold on. Don’t you think that if he was there, there would be many, many people taking selfies and phone videos? Why would Alek’s footage make a difference?” Addison asked logically.
“A lawyer could argue against those,” Anthony answered. “There are always a lot of questions about personal videos as to whether they were doctored. Official footage from a TV station would have more power.”
“You’re right,” Addison nodded.
“Okay, back to the plan,” Anthony continued. “First, I’ll contact Nelson’s lawyer so that he knows this is a legitimate proposition. At the same time, Alek needs to find the footage. As soon as he does, Maisie, you contact someone at ESPN or ONESport and tell them you have a breaking story—”
I stopped him.
“Anthony! I kinda think this is where the whole caper falls apart!”
“Why?”
“Oh, sure. I’m going to call ONESport and say, ‘Hi! This is Maisie-random-reporter! And boy do I have a story for you!’”
“You really are a knucklehead,” Anthony said. “We both know someone who could help you get your foot in the door.”
I paused. “Oh, no. I can’t ask Pop to use his connections to get me an appointment there.”
“Why not? All he would do is get you an appointment. Once you got there, it would be up to you to sell the story and yourself.”
“He’s right, Maisie,” Alek said. “Besides, you can’t let your own pride get in the way of helping Nelson.”
“And helping yourself,” agreed Addison.
I gnawed on my lip. They were right. This wasn’t the time for me to stomp my foot and say “Let me do it alone.”
“Okay. But one tiny little thing. How does Alek get the footage out of the station? Doesn’t it belong to them?”
“Ah, but you haven’t seen MY contract. It is worded such that I can use any copies of footage that I shoot if I’m using them for educational or other appropriate endeavors.”
“What! That is so vague,” I said. “Who okay’d that?”
“Mathis did,” grinned Addison.
“I guess he thought I was going to do some school project,” Alek shrugged.
“Well, I’d say this is going to ‘school’ somebody,” I said. “Will it be legal?”
“Perfectly so, if that’s how his contract is worded,” Anthony said.
“All right then,” I said. “Let’s do this.”
“With any luck, we’ll be done in plenty of time to bake cookies with your mother on Saturday,” Addison nudged me.
“Cookies! I wasn’t aware there would be cookies! I wasn’t coming home on Saturday,” Anthony whined.
Addison and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes.
32
Chances always are that when one of the country’s premier sports attorneys calls, most people will pick up the phone. Nelson Humbert’s attorney took the call from Anthony, who later told us that the lawyer was wary at the beginning of the conversation. Once Anthony explained the situation, however, the call went more smoothly and enthusiastically. At the end of the call, Anthony motioned me to the phone.
“Hello?” I said.
“Miz Valenti?” asked a shy young voice on the line.
“Yes. Is this Nelson?”
“Yes, ma’am. My lawyer is here at Mom’s house with me, and he just told us what you and your brother are doing. I’m so grateful.”
“No problem, Nelson. We just thought it was the right thing to do.”
“I’m also grateful that Coach Sal Valenti is helping me out. That’s amazing!”
“Well, after this is all done, we’ll have a chance to get together and you can meet him. He has great things to say about you.”
“That would be awesome!” I could sense his lopsided grin through the phone. We chatted for a few minutes more, then cut off the call.
Alek needed to leave for the station. His marching orders were simple: He just shouldn’t let anyone know that he was helping me in any way. The fact that we had been seen bickering in the last few weeks would help the illusion that we were on the outs, I thought ruefully.
Saying good-bye in the hall was a lingering affair. Since we thought we were shielded from view, he moved me into the alcove next to the door of my apartment. I pressed my hands against his chest as he leaned in for a kiss.
“Hey, you have things to do!” I protested.
“I think I’m doing some of those things right now, Maisie.”
“Not those kinds of things!”
How could I not have known that a kiss from Alek Markovich could be so melting? It was as if I finally removed filters from my eyes and could see how swoon-worthy he actually was. What I couldn’t believe was that he was swooning over me!
“Stop!” I tried to catch my breath.
“Really?” He looked down at me and moved one hand to the side of my face and the other to my waist.
“I … no …” He backed me into the corner, and we knocked over a tiny table holding a plant.
We looked at each other and laughed.
“That’s a sign, mister!”
“Oh, no.” He shook his head.
“Oh, yes.” I put my hands on his beefy arms and turned him around. “Go! I’ll give you a rain check.”
“You’d better believe that there’s going to be a storm awfully soon,” he teased.
I turned to straighten the table and was rewarded with a pinch on my bottom!
“Hey!” I turned, but he was gone.
“Long way to the elevator, sis?” Anthony asked as I reentered my apartment with what I was sure was a goofy smile on my face.
“What?” I tried to recover my composure.
“Oh, nothing.”
“By the way, you two, you’re not fooling anyone, either. What’s the deal here?” I pointed from one to the other as they sat together in my club chair that was clearly meant for one person.
They glanced at each another.
“Actually,” Anthony started.
“No, Tony, not the time—” Addison shook her head.
“Oh come on,” I said. “You’ve been ‘honey’ and ‘sweetie’ all day, and look at you now. A wisp of air couldn’t fit between you.”
Addison reached for the chain around her neck that was tucked into her blouse. She unclasped it, took a ring from it, and placed it on her engagement finger.
“I knew it!” I cried and rushed to hug them both. I grabbed her hand and examined the ring. I had my answer. The ring was Nana Maisie’s anniversary ring, a delicate web of filigree with a sizable diamond smack dab in the center. As the eldest, Sammy had inherited Nana’s wedding rings and had stones from them embedded in his chalice when he was ordained priest. Anthony, next in line, inherited this piece.
“Oh, Anthony,” I teared up. I didn’t have to wonder if the parents knew. If he had given Addison this ring, he had told them. “Earlier today when I talked with Pop and with Ma, they didn’t give any indication that they knew.”
“We asked them to wait until we told you. We thought it was only fair, since you introduced us.” Anthony kissed the top of my head.
“You sentimental dope,” I mock punched him.
“Are you still sure you want to be in this family?” he asked Addison.
“Sure as anything,” she smiled.
Ha! That was the original reason why Addison was resigning from the station, and that was why she ha
d champagne. It was a real tribute to her character that she was willing to put my needs in front of hers at this happy time for her.
“I’m so sorry that I’ve caused this problem when we really should be celebrating,” I said.
“We’re family. It’s what we do,” Anthony reminded me.
I hopped up. “Speaking of family, I better call Pop and let him in on this plan that revolves around him.”
It only took a nanosecond for Pop to agree to make a call to a longtime friend at ONESport.
“Of course, baby girl. As soon as your friend finds the film, let me know. Better yet. Come over here for dinner. Tell Anthony to come and bring—”
“His fiancée. I know all about it, Pop.”
“Well, good. I didn’t want to have to keep that secret, and your mother is bursting at the seams. All of you come over. Bring Phyllis.”
“She’s somewhere in the Maldives on a photo shoot and can’t even be reached.”
“Well, she’s going to have a lot to catch up on, isn’t she? Don’t forget your boyfriend.”
“He’s not my—” I stopped. Wasn’t he? “We’ll all be there, Pop.”
When I said “all,” I actually didn’t anticipate the others. Angelo, Lucy, and the twins were there, as well as Vinnie for some inexplicable reason, who commented that all we needed were Sammy, Joey, and Johnny and we could have taken a family photo. Ma pointed out that we would have that chance at the next wedding—whether it was his or Anthony’s.
“Are we in a competition?” Vinnie shook his head as we collectively helped set the table. He and his fiancée were in the first steps of planning their wedding.
“Maybe baby sister will beat both of us,” Anthony said, bopping me on the behind with the salad forks.
“What! Do tell!” Angelo asked and gave me a head noogie.
“Why have we never been able to get a dinner table set without some sort of fracas?” Ma asked with mock exasperation.
“It’s all these children you had—particularly the boys,” I pointed out.
“You didn’t have the in-laws to balance it out,” Addison said a second before Lucy walked into the room balancing the salad bowl on her head and the twins following behind, buzzing their lips through empty paper towel rolls to hum a cheerful march.
“You were saying?” I asked.
As we laughed, out of the corner of my eye I saw a tall, dark-haired person who wasn’t usually in this house enter the room.
“Alek!” I colored.
“Your father let me in.”
He looked around the dining room. Everyone but Anthony and Addison stopped to eye him, and I felt for him. He had changed from his suit to a familiar pair of black jeans and a vintage Star Wars T-shirt, so he looked more like the Alek I knew. Even though I had just gone to meet his entire family, that was different. We were just buddies then. Pals. I was bringing him into my family as something different, so he was subject to different scrutiny.
In a flash, he introduced himself around and gave my mother a bouquet of flowers and a box of bakery cookies. He kneeled down to admire the twins’ musical instruments and promised to play with them after dinner.
What was I worried about? Alek was Alek. The reason I liked him so much and had finally fallen in love with him was because he was this guy. He caught my eye and gave me a naughty wink. Oh my. Then there was THIS guy.
The question of the hour loomed.
“I got the footage,” he finally said, and we cheered.
“We’ll have time to look at that after we eat,” my mother pronounced. And no one argued with Ma.
Crowded around the giant table, we were in a merry mood, even though one important step remained in our plan. Alek was bursting to give us his news.
“Just wait till you see the footage. Couldn’t be better. Nelson is sitting near the scoreboard, and the date and time are plain as can be. It’s all good now, right?” Alek leaned over to me as he conspiratorially held my hand under the table.
“I think so,” I said. “Hope so. It all hinges on the pitch at ONESport. I’m not worried that Pop will get me the meeting. It’s what happens after that.”
“I have all the confidence in the world in you.” He gave my hand a final squeeze before we both had to reach up and join the melee of passing food around.
“You’ll come with me, won’t you? After all, you’re my camera guy.”
“Always.”
Dinner was uncharacteristically brief, and we retired to the family room to watch the footage. You would have thought Alek found lost footage of the moon landing or something. Everyone was so happy.
“Well, nothing more for me to do than make that call to my pal,” my father said, smacking his knees with his hands. He stood up. “I assume you will take the meeting whenever he’s available, Maisie?”
“You bet.”
Everyone else scattered, and Alek asked if I could join him outside for a minute. My brothers unsuccessfully attempted not to snicker.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked as he dragged me toward his car. “I have to warn you that my parents won’t stand for any hanky-panky in their driveway.”
“What, not even a little mischief? Some innocent tomfoolery?” he grinned.
“All right, all right, cut it out. I’m in the car. Now what? And I warn you, there are any number of baseball bats and lacrosse sticks that can be used as weapons on you by a protective father.”
“Darn it. There goes my master plan.” He turned to me, and his tone became serious.
“Maisie, when I went back for Mrs. Morton’s funeral, my mom had a package for me. It seems that right after we left, she had her health care worker put it together.”
He reached into the back seat and pulled up a crumpled, bulging manilla envelope. He pulled out a note and handed it to me.
“What’s this?”
“Just read the note.”
I eyed him nervously and read it:
My darling Sander,
Ever since you moved into the house across the way, you have regularly crossed the yard to come visit me, your adopted Nana. I watched you grow from a mischievous little boy to a fine young man.
The only prayer that I prayed for you that never seemed to be answered was that you find a fine young woman to be your wife.
That lovely girl you brought to me is the answer to an old woman’s prayers. I can’t see very well any more, but I can hear the beauty and sincerity in her voice. Take my advice, do whatever it takes to go after her and keep her.
My nurse Corinne says that what I heard is true in what she saw. She said your girl is beautiful, with amethyst eyes and a sparkling smile. Please take this as a gift to your Maisie, your pearl of light, from your Nana.
My eyes were stinging with tears as he dumped the contents of the envelope into my hand. It was a double string of milky pearls held together with an amethyst clasp.
“I can’t take this, Alek,” I choked.
“You have to. She meant it for you.” He hooked the pearls around my neck, spinning it so that the amethyst fell just below my throat.
“Maisie, I’ve been in love with you since the first day I met you. After university, I thought I would never see you again and that I could get over you, but no one ever compared. When I saw you that day at your old TV station, you were more beautiful than I remembered, and I swore I wasn’t going to lose you again. If Mathis hadn’t hired you at KDW, I would have found some way to be near you. You don’t realize how it felt when I thought you had feelings for Campbell and that I was going to be stuck in the Friend Zone again.”
“But—”
“Let me finish. I love you. Even if Nana hadn’t pointed it out, I knew I had to do what it took to keep you. So what do you say?”
For once in my life, I didn’t have words. All I could do was nod. He pulled me into his arms for a proper kiss.
We soon heard tapping on the window and looked out to see the twins jumping up on the driver’s side.
“Tell them we’re playing an important game in here,” I whispered.
“So this is just a game to you?”
“Not in the least, my love, not in the least.”
Epilogue
“We’re back in thirty, Maisie.”
“Got it.”
I adjusted my earpiece, while Bess touched up my hair and makeup.
“And … 5. 4. 3. 2. 1” I heard my producer’s voice, and I brightened my smile into the camera.
“All right, we’re about to wrap it up here, but one last word from each of our panelists. Coach?”
“It’s going to be the Giants, Maisie. They’ve had a powerhouse season and with their defensive line, they can’t be stopped.”
“Jammer?”
“Steelers, all the way. This year belongs to the AFC.”
I turned back to the camera.
“There you have the predictions on this special ONESport Super Bowl preview highlight show. See you all on Sunday in sunny Miami.”
“And we are … out.”
I pulled out my earpiece.
“Thank you both so much for being our guests today.”
“No problem,” said Jammer Jones. “It’s a little different format than your regular show, but I liked it.”
“Who is your pick, Maisie?”
“Ah, you know I can’t say since I’m calling the game,” I grinned.
“Who’s anchoring with you?”
“Miles Renfrew will be in the booth with me, and Alanna Joyce will be on the sidelines.”
“Coach, did you ever think you’d see the day when a woman would call the Super Bowl?” mused Jammer as he absentmindly spun his own Super Bowl ring around his massive finger.
“No sir, I have to admit I didn’t,” drawled Coach Wyatt Wells. “But if I would have taken a bet, I’da bet the first one would have been Maisie Valenti.”
“Thanks, Coach!”
“You got the goods, girl.”
I grinned and started to skip my way back to my dressing room.
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