Aside from Noah’s games, Jimmy spends most of his time watching rugby or surfing competitions with Eden. Recently, he’s been watching American Ninja Warrior with hopes of trying out. My skinny British man who still suffers the effects from being shot wants to try out for the show. He’s taken his quest to Xander, who has been trying to implement the routines into his gym. I wish my husband the best of luck.
Noah’s face is shown on the big screen and Josie lights up. “That’s my boy,” she screams loudly. This, of course, gets everyone’s attention, especially the men. A few come over to us and take the extra chairs surrounding our table. Only they don’t talk to us, they turn and face the big screen. Katelyn and I make faces at them and each other, wondering what the hell they’re doing.
“Does he look skinny to you?” Josie asks, her voice full of worry. Her head tilts side to side as she tries to take in every aspect of Noah’s face while he’s interviewed.
“He’s on TV, you can’t really tell,” Katelyn says.
“She’s not feeding him. All they do is eat out. I bet he hasn’t had a home-cooked meal since the last time he was home.”
“He’s fine, Josie. Noah knows how to take care of himself,” I say, but she shakes her head.
“Do you know that kid?” one of the men in front asks. I’m ready to ignore him and his friend for their rude behavior, but Josie isn’t.
“That’s my son,” she says proudly.
“Wait, so you’re the wife of that Liam guy my wife is constantly raving about?”
Josie nods, but her eyes are completely focused on the television screen. I glance at Katelyn who eyes them suspiciously. I’ve been around the industry long enough to know when something doesn’t feel right, it usually isn’t.
He finally turns around, but not before I see him pull out his cell phone. I let out a huge aggravated sigh. I’m irritated they’ve invited themselves to sit with us and our security guard isn’t around to remove them. Maybe he’s watching these guys and waiting for any sign of trouble. Of course, if we knew his name or had his number, we could text him and tell him to come and remove these two buffoons.
Josie’s lost in her own little world with the Portland Pioneers on the field that she doesn’t even notice the group of women that walk in, followed by a few more husbands. Before either Katelyn or I can say anything, they’ve surrounded themselves at our table, pulling every available chair over they can find.
I open my mouth to say something just as one of the women scoots in next to me and snaps a picture of us.
“Oh no, this one isn’t any good. Let’s do it again,” she says. Unfortunately, I oblige because the last thing I want is for the guys to receive any bad press. “You’re so lucky.”
“Is that so?” I ask, taking a long drink off my cocktail. I signal to the bartender that I need another. It’s going to be a long-ass day if I must be super nice.
“Jimmy’s so hot.”
Of course, that’s why I’m lucky. Not because he’s an amazing man but because he’s hot. I should tell her he’s excellent in bed and has a big dick to curb any notions she might have about asking me the finer de
tails of my marriage.
I nod in agreement. “Thanks.”
“RUN!” Josie scares the shit out of me when she yells at the television. I turn my attention there to see Noah running down the center of the field with many guys chasing after him. He slides before he can get tackled.
“Oh. My. God. You’re Liam Page’s wife. Like, holy shit,” another woman says. “We love the Pioneers and Noah. We root for him all the time.”
“Thanks,” Josie says without making eye contact with them.
I look at Katelyn, who rolls her eyes. We have a decision to make. Do we let them stay and hang out, and give them the glory? For any fan, going back to your friends with the story that you hung out with the wives of 4225 West is something that can make a trip memorable.
But at who’s expense? Not Josie’s—she’s focused on Noah, and it won’t be Katelyn because she’ll be watching the Bears game for any sign of Peyton. So, it comes down to me. I down the rest of my drink and make a mental note to tell Liam his bodyguard sucks because the Chatty Kathy next to me won’t shut up about how great he is.
Man, if they only knew.
11
Josie
Watching Noah’s game, no matter where I am, is important to me. In hindsight, I should’ve asked that the bar be shut down for a private event, but I don’t like using my husband’s name to get what I want.
Katelyn and Jenna are being saints, even though I know they’re pissed off. I am too, but at this moment, I don’t care. My son is on television and the game is close. Noah’s team isn’t great, and he tells me it’s because it’s an expansion team that must build. He wants to carry that load though and shoulders each loss as if they’re his fault. Liam, Nick, and I have both told him that he can’t make the receivers hold onto the ball once they’re tackled. That’s their job. There is only so much a quarterback can do. Of course, when you’re facing the likes of Tom Brady, I’m sure anyone feels inferior.
As his mother, I want him to win. I think it’s what all mothers want. We want to see our children happy and proud of their accomplishments. In high school, he had that. Not always in football, but in baseball. So, when he chose the former as a career, I thought he was crazy. But I supported him. Encouraged him to be the best. And he is.