The Way We Score

<p><strong><em>We promised our love was forever. A decade later two little blue lines might settle the score.</em></strong></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>You've heard of those kids who peak in high school?</span></p><p><strong style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>Meet my love life.</strong></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>Garrett Bradford was mine from the moment we saw each other in ninth grade.</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>Even then he was a six-foot-four </span><strong style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>mountain of muscles with bright blue eyes a wide grin and a way with his hands.</strong></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>He was the high school football star and I was the dance team captain.</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>We were the storybook cliché... until we weren't.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>Now he's the most famous offensive lineman in the league and I'm a buttoned-up ultra-professional lawyer.</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>My dancing days are over and </span><strong style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>my carefully controlled life is a mess.</strong></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>Infertility killed my marriage or that's what I told myself. Infertility and a cheating ex.</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>And my inability to get over Garrett Bradford.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>One reckless night at his little sister's wedding is </span><strong style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>only supposed to be a reunion</strong><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)> a trip down memory lane to a time when life was happier.</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>Six weeks later I'm staring at </span><strong style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>a positive pregnancy test</strong><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)> wondering </span><em style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>How did this happen?</em></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>I figure I'm on my own until Garrett overhauls his life </span><strong style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>moves back to our small town</strong><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)> and shows up every day to massage my feet and hold my hair when I barf and go with me to all my doctor's appointments.</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>Our situation has an end date just like it did so many years ago.</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>Unless this little score changes the game and gives us </span><strong style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>the second chance</strong><span style=color: rgba(15 17 17 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)> I thought we'd lost.</span></p>