When they interview you after the announcement, if you can work the word ‘coconut’ into your response, I will spend tonight in your room.
He responded instantly.
Tonight? In my room? All for coconut?
I wrote back:
Yes.
Reed was fast again.
Deal. You better have your PJs packed, Princess.
I giggled silently to myself. Truth was I was winning in two ways. I’d give anything for more time to reconnect with Reed, and seeing him work an absurd word into a national TV interview was priceless. Sarah had finished her packing and cleaning and was sitting on the corner of her sofa next to me. I looked up and told her we could leave as soon as Reed’s school was announced; there was no way I was missing this.
The Rose Bowl committee made their announcement right after the commercial break, and the camera turned to a room full of cheering UofA students, and then settled in on Reed, Trig and his coach.
“We’re here with Reed Johnson, whose name is being thrown around in a lot of Heisman conversations lately…Reed? How excited are you to face Ohio State in the Rose Bowl?”
Reed was wearing his modest grin, his dimples deep, and his eyes squinted a bit from the attention. He was so amazingly talented, but he always hated being singled out as the reason his team was doing so well, even though he was precisely the reason they were. “Thanks for that, Wendy. Well…it’s pretty awesome being in the Rose Bowl for a second year in a row. Ohio State is a great team, but I feel pretty good about our chances,” Reed said, leaning sideways in his chair to get more comfortable.
“And what about the Heisman hype? Does that distract you at all?” the reporter questioned him again, pushing him for more. But as always, Reed was so cool in the face of big-time pressure. He just smiled again and chuckled to himself.
“I mean, I’d be coconuts not to be a little excited about the idea of winning a Heisman,” he said it. He looked right into the camera after his answer, right at me, and winked a bit with a smile, before he continued on. He was adorable, and I was as in love as I’d ever been. “But it doesn’t take away from the game. The game is my first priority. I worry about one game at a time. It’s worked out pretty well for me so far.”
“Well, alright then. Congratulations to you, and the Wildcats, Reed. We look forward to seeing this great match up,” the reporter said as the camera angle swung wide. I was dizzy with giddiness one instant, and then suddenly lost it all the moment I saw Jenny standing in the background, her eyes bright and focused on Reed, while she clapped and cheered—all for him.
“Why was she there? And what was she to Reed?” I asked myself.
“Steve, I’m sending it over to you to give us a little insight into what Ohio State thinks about this match up, as well as quarterback Ian Herring. Steve?” the reporter signed off and the coverage shifted. I picked up the remote and turned the TV off only to find Sarah smirking at me, standing with her arms crossed.
“What?” I said, shrugging and trying to brush her attention off.
“You know what? You two are so syrupy sweet. It would be disgusting if I didn’t love you so much,” she said, punching me lightly in the arm. I had to smile at her words.
“Yeah,” I paused and sighed a little. “It feels like we’re almost back…I just feel like there are these big clouds out there floating over us, though, know what I mean? I still feel weird about Jenny. Is he dating us both? Was she just a one-night stand? And he still hasn’t brought up my miscarriage, Sar. I mean, that’s weird, right?”
Sarah turned away from me, refusing to make eye contact, and immediately my suspicion rose. “What? What do you know?” I questioned her, crawling over the back of her sofa to run into her, and force her to look me in the eye. She pushed her lips into a hard line and then exhaled heavily.
“Noles, Reed didn’t know. Not at first. This whole time, when you thought he was ignoring you, ignoring what happened. He didn’t know,” her words were so foreign, they seemed impossible. I just shook my head, not understanding. She slumped her shoulders and grabbed mine to look me in the eye. “He never listened to the message. Not until I told him to.”
My eyes went wide, my mind playing back memories of the last three months, trying to fit this new information together with everything I had done, everything Reed had thought, and where we were now. “When? When did you tell him?” I stuttered, my body shaking a bit with adrenaline and renewed understanding.
“The night we all went out…after Thanksgiving. He called me and said you mentioned it in your drunken stupor. You were a nightmare, by the way,” she paused to point out before continuing on. “Nolan, he was crying and upset. He was devastated.”