Three Years Later

The stadium was full of baseball lovers ready for their favorite time of year to begin with the sound of the umpire yelling, "Play ball." They had all come to see a show, a game they had grown up playing, but on the big stage. Not a single one of them noticed a short, curly-haired woman weaving effortlessly through the crowd, a camera in her hands.

To any fan, she probably looked like one of the team photographers, which may have been true at one point. She was, in fact, sporting a Cougars jersey with the name Mikals on the back, snapping pictures of various fans as she passed. What a fan wouldn't have known was that she wasn't hustling for the perfect shot anymore. She'd already achieved that.

Or maybe they'd think she was some player's girlfriend, enjoying Opening Day. Which may have been true, but it still didn't encompass the whole truth. She was clearly important to the club because her name was called out over the speakers, asking her to come down onto the field. The woman hustled through the first archway she could find that led down to the field, taking the steps two at a time. One of the ticket checkers waved at her, telling her congratulations on her new position as she ran by. She had recently been given the job of running the entire media department of the Cougars, overseeing not only their major league team, but all of the minor league teams as well.

Fans watched her run down onto the field and wondered who exactly she was. Some recognized her from the gossip magazines that were plastered everywhere three years ago. It became obvious what was happening the moment that her feet hit the dirt of the field and she was greeted by the Cougars' star player, Tommy Mikals. He took her hand in his and said some words that no one but the two of them could hear. But everyone knew what was happening the second Tommy's knee hit the ground and the girl started nodding her head yes.

The crowd erupted in cheers as they watched Tommy become engaged to the woman of his dreams on the Jumbotron. The picture that would be on the front page of the paper the next day would be taken by Olivia Thompson and would be the first picture of the couple in the news in the past three years. They had remained private after every aspect of their relationship had been out there for everyone to see. It was like all of a sudden they were the world's favorite couple to read about, and then poof they were gone. But after they disappeared from the public eye, Tommy Mikals stepped into a new role as the team's captain and MVP, leading the league in multiple categories. It was like his career had exploded, and many had speculated it was due to a certain curly-haired woman.

The cameraman zoomed in on the couple as Tommy swung the woman around in circles, a look of pure joy on his face. To the average person, their love looked like a storybook romance. The girl met the guy. The guy swept her off her feet. But for the few people in the stadium that knew the truth, their tale was more than a storybook romance. It was the story of two perfectly imperfect people loving each other despite it all.