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“If I fall, save my Junior Mints.” “Absolutely not.”
“I’m quitting baseball.”
“You’re incredible at cooking, and you have the passion for it. This is a good plan, Seb. I want to see you in that chef’s jacket.”
“Oh, you’re so handsome. Auntie Carmela especially is going to flip. Too bad you’re not Italian, but no one’s perfect.”
“It is serious, sir. I love her. I’d never hurt her like that. I wouldn’t even think about it.”
“I’m sure she’d try to bite your head off. She’s as crazy as her mother sometimes.” He shakes his head, gesturing with the tongs. “I love that woman, but she’s goddamn stubborn. Mia’s sister, she takes after my side of the family. A softer touch, you know? Mia, though? Mia’s all Pancheri.”
“You know I don’t give a shit about how my life looks as long as I have you, right?”
S— Thank you for everything. Please know that I do believe in you. You’re going to make a wonderful chef. I’m sorry for this. It was so easy to love you. Goodbye, M P.S. We were always friends.
Bex: Good luck today, Mia! James: Good luck Mia! Cooper: You’re going to crush it :) Penny: I can’t wait <3 You’re going to be amazing! Izzy: Go get ‘em, space genius <333
To Commissioner Scofield and Those it May Concern: With the MLB Draft Day approaching, I want to thank the 30 major league teams for their interest, both in me as a player and as a person. Baseball has been a major part of my life since the very beginning, and I know how much it meant to my father, Reds legend Jacob Miller. Some of my earliest memories include playing catch with him and listening to Marty Brennaman shout, “This one belongs to the Reds!” after victories. It has been an honor and a privilege to follow in his footsteps, and I will always love the sport. In considering my future,
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I lace up my cleats, making a double knot and tucking in the loops. Socks, belt, buttoned-up jersey. Dad’s necklace tucked underneath my collar, my baseball cap, my sunglasses. The pieces of my uniform come together the same way as they always do, one last time. I paint two thick stripes of eye black on my cheeks, then help Rafael with his.
Today is an ending for me, but a beginning for her.
I lead the countdown for my team one last time.
“We’ll get you there by the ninth,” Dad promises.
My man. My love. My future.
When I’m close enough, I launch myself at him, sending him staggering backward as he catches me. His glove falls to the ground, along with his baseball cap. I pull his sunglasses off and cup his face with both hands, kissing him with as much force as I can muster. He tastes like lip balm and sweat, my favorite combination, and his skin is warm from standing out here in the sun. He’s frozen for a moment, just long enough to send a wave of panic through me, but then he fists his hand in my hair and kisses me back, and something clicks into place in my soul.
“But I love you, Sebastian Callahan. I love you and I’m never letting you go again. Come on an adventure to Europe with me.”
We can start planning it right away. You know why?” I smile. I feel so warm, I might catch fire. “Why?” “Because I love you too.” He leans in for another kiss, his lips lingering on mine. “Feels like I’ve loved you forever, you know.” “I know that now.” I wipe at my eyes with the heel of my hand. My smile is wobbling, but I don’t care. “I know you mean it.”
“Sebastian?” “Yes, love?” I shove at his shoulder until he laughs. “I hate you.” “No, never.” He pecks me on the lips. “Not even a little bit.”
“No matter where I go, or what I do, I want you by my side as my partner—my equal partner, because I wouldn’t expect or want anything different. I don’t care about the rest of it—if we get married, if we have kids, if we stay in one place or if we travel the world. Whatever happens, I want to do it with you. Switzerland is just the beginning. And I know those are only words, so I got you a little something to prove it.”
“Are we interrupting anything?” Hunter asks. I untangle myself from Sebastian. “He’s here to celebrate with you all one more time.”
“Mia’s favorite, yeah. It’s blackberry bourbon lemonade with a brown sugar syrup.”
“It makes me happy to see you so happy,” she says. “And it’s clear that she makes you very happy.”
“It makes me so happy to see everyone around this table,” he says. “My beautiful wife, my children and their partners, Bex’s little one on the way. When Sandra and I bought this house, we hoped we would get here one day, and being able to witness it—it’s a joy. A complete and total joy.”
Tonight, when it’s dark, we’ll take Mia’s old telescope to the beach. I’ll bring a blanket, so we can stay there all night. And I’ll listen to my angel talk about the universe while I hold her in my arms.
“Her favorite way to ask for sex is to say I look acceptable in whatever I’m wearing.” I can’t help it; I stomp on his foot. “Sebastian!” His laughter peals through the air like bells. “Love you, angel.”
“I’m proud of you,” he says. “For what?” “For everything.” He stops in his tracks, even though we’re nowhere near the gate, and tilts my face up. He looks serious enough my breath catches in my throat. “But right now? For trusting me to go on this journey with you.”
“Ready?” I take it, squeezing our fingers together without reservation. Without fear. Without anything but love coursing through me, connecting us like planets orbiting the same sun. Our stars align. I smile—my true smile, the one I only use with a very small list of people that is headlined by him—and know he sees everything he’ll ever need to know in that smile. He’s mine and I’m his, and this adventure is just the beginning of a long, purposeful, passionate future. A future that belongs to us, together, and no one else. “I’m ready.”
