Chapter 46

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

BLAKE

I am so nervous right now my armpits feel like uncapped fire hydrants. I have no idea what Molly is going to say, but if her reaction to seeing me tonight is anything to go on, I could be in real trouble here. But no matter. I've put this thing into motion and I'm going to see it through.

Taking the microphone, I tap on it lightly. When I hear the amplified noise, I know it's go time. Standing next to Christian, I lean in and say, "I'm good, man. I've got it from here."

But instead of walking away, the giant basketball player signals across the court and the entire Lakers team comes over. Christian tells me, "No way, man. We're not leaving a friend in his moment of need."

I'm oddly touched by their show of support. I know most of the players from my years interviewing them, but still, this goes above and beyond. However, if Molly's expression is anything to go on, it's also extremely intimidating and perhaps not entirely welcome. But there's nothing I can do about that now.

Turning to Molly, I speak loudly and clearly. I tell the crowd, "My name is Blake Walsh and I'm the new sportswriter at Chicago Wind ." There's a tentative amount of applause which makes it clear people have no idea what's going on. And really, why would they? This is an unprecedented spectacle, even for a Bulls game.

Speaking into the microphone again, I say, "My mom always told me that Christmas is a time for miracles. And folks, that's what I need tonight."

Molly's eyes shift from the left to the right like she's searching for an escape route. I hurry to say, "I recently met a wonderful woman that I'd like to get to know a lot better. The problem is that I lied to her and now she wants nothing to do with me."

The crowd boos me in unison, as only a Chicago mob can do. Molly seems to enjoy this part because she stands up and lifts her arms up and down to encourage their hate. Then she takes the microphone from me. "I met Blake at a singles' retreat. He pretended he was interested in me, but it turns out that's only because his boss told him he had to write about a woman there." Their boos turn to hisses.

Taking the microphone from Molly, I tell them, "I liked Molly from the start, but because I knew I needed to keep the reason I was there a secret, I decided not to ask her out."

Molly leans into the microphone and shouts, "He friend-zoned me and then told me about all the other women he was interested in!" I'm going to need a police escort to get out of here in one piece.

Stepping away from Molly, I defend myself. "I did not tell her about other women. I tried to set her up with another guy."

People are starting to get to their feet and darn if I'm not hit by a flying hot dog. Christian takes the microphone from me and shouts, "None of that! This man is my friend! As much as he's making a mess of things, he's trying to tell this lady something. Now everyone settle down and let the man talk."

Nothing about tonight is going how I thought it would. Nothing. But at least the crowd sits back down. Taking the microphone back, I tell Molly, "I am very sorry for not telling you why I was at the lodge. If I could go back in time, I'd simply quit my job and ask you out. But I can't go back. All we can do is go forward."

The crowd finally likes something I have to say because they start to cheer. Please let it be for me.

"I think you're wonderful, Molly. I love your smile, your sense of humor, all the crazy things you say. I even love how you're constantly tripping over things. I sent you flowers every day this week to let you know how much I like and admire you."

She steps toward me and says, "You didn't sign the cards. How was I supposed to know they were from you?"

Shaking my head, I tell her, "I knew how mad you were at me, and I wanted you to enjoy the flowers before you tossed them."

She crosses her arms and nods her head. There's a lot of murmuring, but the crowd doesn't seem to know which one of us to support. Before they can turn on me again, I say, "I made a big mistake, and I promise that if you give me a second chance, I will never lie to you again."

Her toe is tapping like she's keeping rhythm to a drumbeat. She looks around and the crowd starts to chant again, "Do it! Do it! DO IT!!!"

But it isn't until Ben walks over to Molly and takes her hand that I have any hope. Molly leans down and lifts him up. The microphone picks up his sage advice. "You gotta do it, Molly. Blake is a nice guy. Sure, he messed up, but we all do sometimes." He adds, "I never pick my shoes up when I take them off after school and my mom and dad get frustrated with me, but they still love me."

The Bulls aren't supposed to do anything with Ben until after the game, but I spot Ben's favorite player, Colby White, walking in our direction. He stops in front of Molly and reaches his hands out to take Ben from her. Then he leans into the microphone and says, "You gotta listen to the little dude, Molly. He knows what he's talking about."

The crowd starts to cheer like the Bulls just won the game with a three-pointer at the buzzer. Colby lifts Ben up above his head and declares, "We're winning this game for Ben!" And the crowd goes even wilder.

Not to be outdone, Christian takes the microphone from Molly and says, "I'm afraid the Lakers are taking this one, White." He hands me the mic then reaches out and takes Ben from Colby's hands. "Ben is our good luck charm, so we're gonna win for him!"

I don't even think Christian knows who Ben is, but that doesn't stop him. He's not going to let the Bulls think they've got this one in the bag. But honestly, at this point it doesn't matter who wins because Ben feels like king of the world right now with two famous basketball teams fighting over who's going to win the game for him.

When everyone quiets down a little, Colby points between me and Molly before asking Molly, "So what's the verdict. You gonna give Blake another chance or what?"

Ben gives her the thumbs up which spurs on Colby and Christian to do the same. Molly finally says, "I'm scared."

Ben tells her, "Me, too, Molly. Me, too. But we both have to do what we have to do."

Molly's eyes fill with tears before she looks at me. "Would you really quit your job if you could go back in time?"

"I'll quit it now if you want me to," I tell her.

After several long moments, she finally nods her heads and says, "Okay. I'll give us a chance, but so help me, Blake, if you ever lie to me again, I'm going to have Colby here slam dunk you right through that hoop over there."

Colby is clearly on board with this idea because he comes over and picks me up like he's going to follow through with Molly's orders. Then he laughingly ruffles the hair on my head before practically dropping me on the ground. He must have been watching the clock because the buzzer sounds to signal the end of halftime.

I don't even watch the second half of the game. I spend the whole time holding Molly's hand and telling her how sorry I am. I tell her that I think she's wonderful, and I thank her repeatedly for giving me another chance.

She says, "I liked you from the moment you saved me from falling on my face."

"Which time?" I tease.

"Every time," she tells me. "But that's why this whole thing is so scary."

"I promise on everything that's important to me that I'll never lie to you again, Molly."

She nods her head slowly before leaning closer to me. Then she takes me by surprise and kisses me right there at the Bulls game. The kiss is sweet and special. It's full of hope and possibility. I'm about to pull her closer when we hear the crowd start to chant our names. Breaking apart, we look up at the Jumbotron to see that we're front and center on the Kiss Cam, which signals us to give them the kiss they're demanding. And by golly, we give an all-star performance.

Tonight I learned that Christmas really does bring miracles. It brought Molly back to me, and this time, I'm not going to screw things up.