Page 131 of The Backup Plan
“Back at school waiting on a PCR Covid test since her quick test kept showing inconclusive.” Pippa grinned. “So Professor Montoya sent me, and it’s trial-by-fire time. Go team, right?”
“You are going to be great.” He beckoned. “Avery, come here. This is Pippa. Pips, I told you she was real. This is Avery.”
Pippa bounced on her toes. “I am so happy to meet you, Avery. Shay told me all about you, and she said we’ll be friends.”
“She did?” Avery broke into a wide smile. “Do you know?—”
Pippa’s mouth hung open, and she pointed at Cam’s arm when he shoved the stack of his clothes back in his bag.
Under cotton candy clouds just below his shoulder, a posy of French lavender rested in a U.S. Coast Guard life preserver. A fluffy bumble bee wearing sunglasses napped on the blossoms, drifting on calm water. The gentle waves merged into the blaze of a bonfire on the inside of his elbow, flames chasing footballs and uprights, and a helmet with a design of honeycomb, cracked open with a half-dozen bees flying out toward fiery flowers.
“What’s this?” Pippa asked. “And this, and… Avery, you drew all this on the way here?”
She adopted the comic-book styling she envisioned for the Jordan Ackerman project, using rows of dots and tiny crosshatches to create the illusion of depth. Without thinking, she rubbed her left thigh. Her practice ‘paper’ became a sloppy scratch pad, but on Cameron’s arm, her work was nearly flawless.
“I did. Cam said the markers won’t wash off for a week, so get ready for the weird questions about his tattoo, I guess.” She looked at where Pippa was pointing, along the outer edge of his triceps.
“What’s this?”
“More flowers and footballs, right?” Cam asked. “I couldn’t see all the way around.”
Avery snapped a picture with her phone and handed it to him. “Surprises abound. I thought it was right for this game.”
“It’s perfect,” Pippa said. “But he can’t show anyone.”
“Oh my God. I’m showing everyone.” Cam pulled Avery into a tight embrace and kissed her, then zoomed in on the photo. “You put Peyton Manning’s signature on my arm, and a damn bougainvillea vine around it, you show-off. You’re good, Avery. You are so damn good.”
He lowered his voice as Pippa stepped away to answer a phone call. “Is any of this what you were really thinking about all week?”
“I was dwelling on what it would be like to lose all these things if I pushed you away because I was afraid you’d leave like everyone else. Today, I thought about saving them.” She tapped the bonfire. “The times you stood with me.” She poked the waves and the lavender. “The things we shared and want to share.” The bee and the signature. “The things that drive you.”
With the edge of her fingernail, she traced the circle of the life preserver. “And I thought about a loss I couldn’t control. We both know that feeling, and for me, I’ve let it shape my life and my fear of being left behind. I thought a lot about doing the right thing, even when I know I might lose like Isaac did when he jumped into the water. His attempt to do the right thing went horribly wrong, but he tried, and I will always admire him for that. Cam, I didn’t have faith in either of us this week, and that was so unfair to you. Again. Ever since the day I decided to trick you to keep your attention, you’ve shown me nothing but how good and honest you are.”
“Avery, that’s so much to carry.” He covered her hand with his, pressing it to his arm. “You don’t have to do that alone.”
“But it’s been all these cluttered thoughts, and I know some of my stupid metaphors don’t add up. I still don’t know how to put the words in order.”
“Remind me to tell you later how much I feel that,” he said, glancing at his arm. “One fat, sleepy bumble bee. But go on.”
“I wonder if that was what was beneath the water all this time. I’m not afraid of what took my brother. I’m afraid of what took him there. Jumping. A leap of faith without a real plan, like what happened last week. I like plans and goals, and in just a second, I ditched the plan to let it fade away. After that, it seemed like only a matter of time before it would all end.”
Cam held her to him, cupping the back of her head so she’d rest her head on his shoulder. His body was solid and warm with his arms tight around her, his broad hands spread like he’d cover her entirely if he could. The slow rise of his chest moved his breaths like a lullaby even as his heart raced in anticipation.
“I love you. And God, I hate to say this, but I have to go,” he whispered into her hair. “Avery, I’m sorry I have to walk away from you at a moment like this, but I have to get in there with the team.”
“I know. And I’m excited for you. This is going to be some sort of religious experience for you today, isn’t it? Playing here for the first time.”
“I’m ready. I’m so ready for this day.” He drew back and looked into her eyes, and a smile spread across his face. His fingers twitched on her back, curling around a football. “This isn’t the end of anything for us. It’s only the beginning.”
“Come on, lovebirds,” Pippa said, tapping her foot as she shoved her phone into her pocket. “That was Glamis. Shelby chewed his ear off about something, and we really have to go, or I’ll get in trouble.”
He grabbed his bag from the truck and slammed the door. “Turn up the heat!” he shouted, pounding his chest. “Where you at, Engel? We’re coming for you!”
Avery yanked his arm, laughing. “Let it simmer for about three more minutes, then go crazy. I don’t suppose you know where the student section is, do you? Or the closest gate to it?”
“Ooh,” Pippa squealed. “I didn’t show you. Avery, I brought you something. I hope it’s not too much, and you don’t have to take it, but I thought it would be fun. Cam, you had better not tell on me.”
“I’ll never rat you out. What is it?”