Blitzed(53)

"Did you have fun?" he asks, his eyes so bright and happy. I don't ever want those blue eyes to look sad again. Passionate, intense, happy, yes. Never sad.

"This has been one of the best nights of my life," I say honestly. "Tomorrow, though, I have a favor to ask of you. Can you stay in town a while?"

"The team's letting me miss this game. I talked with the GM about it. I have until Monday afternoon off," Troy says, pulling me closer. "I know it's only two days, but I want to spend them with you."

"Actually, I was thinking tomorrow we can take Laurie to the zoo," I say. "I want her to meet her father—for real this time."

Troy nods, and we kiss again, only to be interrupted by a polite cough. "Excuse me, isn't this supposed to be our night?"

I turn to see Pete and Dani, their arms around each other, and we stop dancing, both Troy and me laughing in embarrassment. "Sorry. I know we kind of stole your thunder," Troy says. "I'll make it up to you."

"Damn right, you will. When it's your turn, you two had better make Dani here the maid of honor," Pete says with a smile. "And don't say I don't know what I'm talking about."

"Still, we're not in a rush," Troy says. "We missed five years, and we have a lot of catching up to do.”

"Sounds good. Besides, you need to at least wait until after we get back from our honeymoon," Pete jokes before growing serious. "Troy, Whitney . . . whatever you guys need, we'll be there for you."

"What we need is for you two to go get changed and go on your honeymoon!" I say with a laugh, smacking Dani on the butt. "Now go!"



"So what did you think of the lions?"

Troy is smiling and holding a box of popcorn as we walk through the Seattle Zoo, handing her a kernel. Laurie is still big-eyed, especially when she realized that Troy really is somewhat famous when someone came up to us in the zoo and asked him for an autograph. Troy happily signed the t-shirt the guy had, and from that moment on, Laurie's been nearly strutting, realizing that she's with the—at least locally—famous Troy Wood. She doesn't quite realize that Troy's famous as much for his good looks as he is for his football abilities, the two working hand in hand to ensure that if his playing ability grows, he could become a poster boy for the team, and a lot of endorsements too.

"They were kind of cool, but a little sad too," Laurie says as we reach the monkey enclosure. "I wish I could really see them, not all this concrete."

I'm amazed again at the intelligence of my daughter, who despite her willful obstinacy is also very mature and perceptive for her age. "Well, honey, there are other parks that have bigger spaces and more natural settings for the animals. I've heard that San Diego has a good wild animal park."

"Really? Can we go?" Laurie asks, and I have to smile at her innocence.

"I'm sorry, honey, but San Diego is pretty far away. We'd have to fly, and well, Mama's money is a little tight right now." Lorenzo contacted me by email yesterday, telling me that he had decided to end our business arrangement. While I do have my half of our business investment funds, I'm going to need to find a job, and Silver Lake Falls isn't exactly a hotbed for art aficionados.

“Later then," Laurie says contentedly, and she's soon entranced by the monkeys, whose play area is a lot more natural looking than what the lions had. As they play, Troy pulls me back and leans in.

"You didn't say anything about being short on money."

"It's okay," I say, patting his chest. "Really. I have enough until I can get a job. I'm talking with Colette's mother this week. She owns a gallery in town that caters to the IT nouveau riche. Besides, I'm an art dealer. It's kind of part of the trade. I'll be getting in contact with some of my clients this week too. I just have to work out the last of how to divide the client list up with Lorenzo. That won't take long."

"Still . . ." Troy says, looking at Laurie. "You know, we play San Diego in week eleven. Maybe a trip is in order?"

"We'll talk about that later. First, let's enjoy today. Remember, after we sit down for lunch, we can talk with her about other things, okay?"

Troy nods, and I nod in reply and take Laurie's hand. "Sweetie, Mama's getting a bit hungry. How about we grab some corn dogs?"

"What are corn dogs?"

"What are corn dogs?" Troy asks in mock horror. “You horribly denied young child from the savage lands!"

Laurie laughs again at Troy's antics and squeezes my hand. "I'm glad you play football, Troy."

Troy stops and squats down so he can look Laurie in the eye. "Why's that?"

"Because you're no good at acting."

Troy laughs and looks up at me, raising his eyebrow. "You are your mother's daughter. Come on, let's teach you what corn dogs are. My treat."

We go to the snack shack area and find a table that isn't too dirty for us to sit down, Troy clearing away the left-behind papers and tray while I bring over the corn dogs and big sodas. The three of us sit down, and Troy pauses when Laurie folds her hands and says grace. "Sorry, I forgot you've lived in Italy most of your life."

"Actually, Grandma taught me," Laurie says. "She says it's good to thank God for what he gives us."