Page 145 of When You Wish Upon a Wideout

“Okay.” He laughed. “Maybenotyour husband.”

“No, no it’s not that,” Sienna began. “You’re already my family,” she told him. “Always have been. Always will be. I don’t need to wear a ring for that.”

“I do, though,” Beau told her. “Need you to wear a ring.”

Sienna rolled her eyes. “Is this about Dylan?”

The tension between Beau and Dylan had simmered, but Beau hated that he was still one of her most regular customers at Maloney’s.

“No. But we spent a lot of our relationship keeping thisquiet,” he said, lowering his voice. And Sienna knew Beau was right.

“Can I tell you something?” Beau didn’t wait for Sienna to answer. “I promised your Dad I’d always treat you right.” He reached out, twisting a long blonde lock around his finger. “So, this,” he said, as his hand trailed down her side, grabbing her left hand, “is important to me.”

Sienna pressed her lips together, fighting the smile. “Okay. But not today.” Her eyes flickered behind Beau, where Grace, Molly, and Henry had gathered. “It’s Grace’s day.”

“What Grace wants, Grace gets,” Beau said with all sincerity, and Sienna nodded in agreement, knowing if it hadn’t been for her daughter, there would be no them at that moment.

They moved closer to the castle as the sky darkened, anticipation buzzing among the members of the small crowd, who all released a collective gasp of awe when fireworks lit up the sky, painting it with specks of neon reds, purples, and blues.

But Sienna wasn’t looking at the fireworks. She was looking straight up, as if her eyes were drawn to the shiniest, sparkling star right above their heads.

Happily ever after, Sienna silently wished. Then she tugged on Beau’s shirt to get his attention away from the show and held up her left hand, wiggling her bare ring finger.

“Wish list.”

full circle

Dear Mom,

I’ve been meaning to write sooner. I had repacked this diary after we moved out of the house, which Henry still lives in. We bought Beau’s parents’ old home, which he never ended up selling. But a lot has happened since then. There’s too much for me to write, so I’ll just have to hope in my heart that wherever you are—I hope it’s with Dad—you witnessed it for yourself. Things have come full circle in the strangest of ways, in a way I can only believe fate had something to do with it.

Grace’s cancer changed us all. It changed her physically and emotionally, but in a manner that made her determined to seize every moment of life and not waste it.

It changed me too—it hardened me. Her suffering made me no longer believe in anything—love, happiness, wishes, and dreams. I was shrouded in a sense of doom but too afraid to step out of it, even when things were turning around.

Grace’s cancer changed Beau. I once wrote that she had given us (me, Henry, and Dad) a new sense of purpose when she was born. Her disease brought Beau back to me, it opened his heart to realize that he made a difference in people’s lives—that he matters. He’s retired from the NFL now. He got a standing ovation—tens of thousands of people on their feet honoring him—at his last game. What a moment. I know Dad would be proud. I know his brother would too.

The day after that game, I found out I was pregnant, and I knew in my gut it would be a boy. And it was. You have a grandson—Jack Gregory Walker. He’s almost four and a handful. But we’re so lucky and blessed he came when he did. Beau has more time on his hands now that he’s retired. And get this, he stepped into Dad’s old shoes. He’s been the head football coach at Brookwood High School for several years now. The team is alright, but each season gets better.

We began to run weekend training camps for kids all over Texas after Beau retired, and we haven’t stopped. The turnout is huge every time. Beau has some of his old buddies helping out, Henry built the website. It’s all free. We only ask if anyone has a little cash to spare to donate it to the Golden Penny Foundation. We owe a lot to those people. And every little bit helps. Wishes for sick kids are priceless.

I’m writing from Malibu, where we came to celebrate our wedding anniversary. I love thinking about the day—how handsome Beau looked in his sleek suit (with an open collar of course). We married at the planetarium beneath the stars in the auditorium. Henry officiated and Grace was both the best man and maid of honor. She gave a speech for the ages, had everyone laughing and crying—including dozens of former NFL players. She amazes me, my Grace. I know she would amaze you too.

I never knew I could love something as much as I love star gazing, but wow, do I love looking out at the ocean from the back deck. Beau bought this house he once took me to for a long weekend. We’ve been coming out here as much as possible because Grace—who continues to be healthy—is now at the University of Southern California. She’s studying theater, which I think is a good fit. But she’s not the only student in the family.

I’ve gone back to school. It hasn’t been easy—especially with Jack—but Beau and I make it work. He supports me more than I ever probably could have supported him while he still played. I make it to class, I study, sometimes at Maloney’s, which has been renovated and is no longer a money pit. I’m hoping, in a few years, I’ll be a nurse. Better late than never, right?

So, see? We’re doing alright—more than alright. It’s just taken a little more of a detour than I would’ve preferred. But life is full of them. And the major one we took—Grace’s cancer—brought all of us to a better place, even though it was the longest, bumpiest one of them all. Her fight meant something bigger than we could’ve possibly imagined.

I wish I could tell you Beau and I sit outside every night to look at the stars. But we’re exhausted. Having a kid in your midthirties is a lot different from when you’re twenty. Beau usually does bedtime, and I’d say five out of seven days a week, he falls asleep with Jack after reading a dozen stories. I never waste one of those moments to make a wish. I look at my boys sleeping—they’re nearly identical—and focus on Beau and wish away. After all, he’s still my shooting wideout.

What do I wish for, Mom? Just one more day. I try to pack each one with more laughter and happiness than tears and sadness. You never know what could happen.

I don’t let Beau sleep the whole night in Jack’s bed. I feel terrible his neck is all cramped, but after a few minutes of staring I wake him and we lean on each other as we trudge down the hall into our bedroom. Even though this was Beau’s family home, we did minor renovations and upgrades, but my favorite thing we did was frame the coin Beau gave me all those years ago and hang it on the wall. I look at it every night I go to bed and smile.

It might seem silly to frame a double-sided coin. But I don’t need to see both sides. I know—heads or tails—Beau and I will love each other no matter what.

Wherever you are, tell Dad I say hi. Tell him he’s still Grace’s hero even though she’s grown up. Let him know his grandson, even as a toddler, has the arm of a quarterback (the broken TV is a testament to that) and the speed of a wideout. But if he wants to play soccer, teach, or be a pilot, that’s fine too. We only want for him what we do for Grace, to follow his dreams and no one else’s.

Jack sings out of tune to songs like you. He lights up rooms and hearts and makes everyone’s day better without trying. He’s the best of everyone who had a role in bringing him into this world, even when they weren’t around. Both of our children are.

You can tell Dad Beau kept his promise.

Love,

Sienna

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