Page 142 of Summer Breakdown
“Yep,” Lani replies. “Then Marcy can help with training all the time now that we’re in the championship and it would get us to the premiership so fast! Frankie can make me so many drawings, and I’ll get better at colouring. Then, when I go to school, you can pick me up together, and I can showeveryone that I have two mums, which is so much better than a mum and a dad.”
She says it so casually, like this is something she’s thought about.
Marcel nods in agreement.
“We moved some stuff in the garage in case you have storage,” he says, “and you can help us plan the garden. Maybe we could have a permanent star-looking place.”
Frankie cries, as Jasmine expected her too. Lani moves over and climbs into her lap.
“Happy tears?” she asks, and Frankie nods. Lani hugs her anyway. Frankie whispers into her ear, and Lani gasps. There’s some movement, and then Lani hands Jasmine the scrapbook. Jasmine cries as she looks at it. She thought it might not happen this year, after everything else. This is the year her life changed. She hoped it was documented with various shades of yellow.
The first picture is of them all on the sofa. Marcel has a red nose. Lani is smiling so wide her eyes are closed. Jasmine smiles with her teeth, and Frankie’s looking right at her.
“I love it so much,” she whispers. When she turns the page, all the spare paper around the photos is coloured. Some are drawings Lani made, flowers and hearts. Some are Frankie’s work, but they blend together perfectly.
There’s page after page of pictures of Jasmine and Frankie doing nothing, hands on backs, heads touching. Lani is such a sneak. There’s even a photo of them sitting on the seats at the Titans grounds the day Frankie built the ramp. They weren’t even friends then, but their hands almost touch. Jasmine’s not sure she was ever subtle about the way she wanted Frankie, and she’s never been so glad about something before.
She flips the pages. Marcel asleep on Frankie’s shoulder. Ezra smiling with Cam. Ezra smiling with Lani. He’ll be raging. A picture of Frankie as she looks in the mirror witha smile. Jasmine doesn’t know if she even knew Lani was there.
“Oh, I love you so much,” Jasmine says, kissing Lani on the top of the head. Jasmine had known, when she was lying in the dark so unreasonably alone with her boyfriend in the spare room, that at some point, everything would be worth it. She knew it to be true the moment she held Marcel. She knew it again when Lani held onto her finger for the first time. She knows it now, as Frankie patters around the dining table to kiss her on the forehead.
Jasmine knew she’d be so full of happiness she wouldn’t know what to do with it. Still, she can’t quite believe she has everything she’s ever wanted.
Frankie smiles at her. “Everyone is coming over in a little while. Breakfast?”
“Yeah,” Jasmine replies. “Breakfast sounds nice.”
EPILOGUE
ThechampionshipiskillingFrankie off, and the Titans aren’t even in it yet.
She has to fill out form after form after form. They only got in two weeks ago. The proper celebration hasn’t even happened yet, and she’s drowning in emails. Well, the team celebrated, and Frankie was hungover for days. She’s learning that being a parent means something more than having cute kids. Even if she wants to lie in bed in the dark regretting her decisions, she’s not able to. (The first day was an actualneed to, but Lani didn’t care. She wanted to go to the park and play on the swings, and Frankie does just about anything she wants.)
They’re celebrating today, though. The main ones. The ones she likes outside of the training grounds. From this afternoon, training is cancelled for three whole weeks. A couple of months ago, Frankie would have panicked about what to do to fill the time. Now, she might cancel all her plans to watch Jasmine nap in the garden. Maybe she’ll get lucky tomorrow.
Today, the group is getting together at their place. Frankie’s hosting. Well, Jasmine is helping her. They’re hosting together, like a real couple. She wants to be at home. Why did she think it would be a good idea to start a women’s team at the same time as getting to the championship? Ridiculous planning on her behalf, but the Glory Park contract came through so it just made sense. Last year,there’s no way she could have done it. She’s not alone anymore, Jasmine’s right here. Well, she’s at home and Frankie misses her.
Instead, Frankie’s been buzzing in her office, and staring at the sun on this unseasonably hot day—probably the last pool day until next year. Frankie rolls her neck as her phone buzzes. She smiles when she sees it’s Jasmine.
Jasmine: looked over the forms – nothing to worry your pretty mind about until next weeeeek
Jasmine takes on some of Frankie’s crazy. Her calendar is simplified, sort of. She doesn’t have as many reminders now because Jasmine does some. They take their medications in the morning (Lani makes her take them with a strawberry yoghurt because that’s how she takes hers), and Marcel remembers to tell her about the things he does at school, the fact he wants to take Tabitha to the skate park, and that he’ll pick Lani up from playschool on his way home from school on Wednesday’s.
Frankie has structure, but it doesn’t feel overwhelming because it’s not all on her. She didn’t know how good it would feel for someone to take some of the burden without being asked.
Jasmine: one of them is finance so I’ll do it next week
Jasmine: you know Mal said about M’Baku’s sister? She’s hot check her out
Jasmine: not as hot as you
Jasmine: can you bring milk please
Jasmine: and yourself
Jasmine: come home – I miss you
Frankie smiles and immediately puts her computer to sleep. M’Baku’s transfer is going through; that was all she had to do today. Kai’s not happy about it, but he kissed Frankie on the forehead after practice anyway, so she thinks he’ll get over it.
