An Unexpected Twist of Fate

Chapter 3

The flight lasts three and a half hours. I try to sleep, but I can't. My head won't stop spinning. When we finally land, the cold of Denver greets us. Although it's also cold in Boston, the cold here is different. It's as if it seeps directly into your bones.

We take a taxi to the hotel I've booked. It's not far from the stadium specifically, so we won't have any trouble getting to the game tomorrow.

"Izan, you seem very nervous," my father says, concerned.

"It's just that I still can't believe the silly thing I did."

"Well, daughter, it gives us a chance to spend a few days together. Besides, you need to rest, when you're not working nights, you're doing double shifts at the hospital."

"Yes, Dad, you're right, I can't do anything else for now."

"That's right, try to relax. I'm sure you'll be able to sort everything out."

We're arriving at the hotel, and we see an enormous billboard with Brett's photo. He's holding his helmet in his hand and smiling very excitedly.

"That photo is from the previous game. They won and that's why he was so happy."

I nod without saying anything. We arrive at the hotel and check in. We take the suitcases to the room.

"Shall we go eat?" my father says, smiling.

"Sure, Dad, let's go."

We go down to the hotel restaurant and order something to eat. My father is very excited about tomorrow's game, so he can't stop talking about it. After eating, we go out for a walk. Although it's cold, we don't want to stay in the hotel.

"Daughter, how about we go to the stadium?"

"Sure."

When we arrive, we see that there are many people. They have set up camps and are cooking. Obviously all wearing their Broncos jerseys. There's a naked man covering himself with a barrel. My doctor's instinct tells me he'll catch a cold by tomorrow, but my father happily approaches him to say hello and takes a photo with him.

"Where do the players enter?" I ask the man with the barrel.

"Through the back door, but there's always a lot of security, no one can get close."

Oh God, how naive I am. This will be more difficult than I imagined. I feel a bit tired, so after my dad takes photos with countless people, I finally convince him to return to the hotel.

"Daughter, I'm so excited."

"I know, Dad, and I'm very happy for you."

We return to the hotel and I go straight to the shower. I set the water very hot to relax my muscles a bit. I come out after several minutes and check my phone. I have several missed calls from Andrew.

I put on my pajamas and dry my hair, then reluctantly call Andrew.

"Hey sweetie, how was your trip"

"Fine Andrew, how about you?"

"Good, here with Mica in the apartment. Did you resolve anything?"

Seriously? I think, annoyed.

"Andrew, I arrived a few hours ago"

"What's your point? I thought you had already gone to look for your husband."

"I don't know where he lives."

"Then how do you plan to find him?"

Andrew didn't know that Brett is a famous NFL player, so he has no idea how difficult it will be for me to contact him.

"I know where he works, and I'll go look for him tomorrow."

"Great, babe. I hope you'll be back the day after tomorrow."

"I don't know Andrew, I'll let you know"

"Make sure you call me. I miss you already."

"Yes Andrew, I'll call you. I have to go now. I want to rest. Say hi to Mica for me."

"Sure, goodbye."

I look at the phone, annoyed. It's strange, but I've never felt so suffocated by Andrew as I do now. I leave the bathroom and go to my father's room because I see the TV is on. When I enter, I see he's already asleep. I turn off the TV and close the door. I return to my bed, and exhaustion takes over, so I quickly fall asleep.

In the morning, I wake up a bit late. I take a shower and put on jeans and a black sweater with black boots. The game is in a few hours, so I want to be ready. I put on some makeup and dry my hair. When I go out to the common area, my dad isn't there, but my breakfast is ready. I start eating, and after a few minutes, my father comes out of the room.

"Oh my god, Dad!"

He comes out dressed completely in the team's colors, he even has blue and orange lines on his face.

"Daughter, we're going to a game. I had to take advantage of everything. I have from the team"

Not wanting to hurt his feelings. I decide not to comment further.

"Do you want me to lend you something? You'll look strange without supporting the team."

"No Dad, thanks. Did you eat already?"

"Yes, a few minutes ago."

He turns around, and I realize his jersey is Brett's, with number 09.

"Do you think after you talk to him, I could ask for his autograph?"

"I guess so, Dad, as long as he doesn't have security throw us out when he finds out why I'm looking for him."

Game time arrives and we go to the stadium. Luckily, the game is at noon and the weather isn't too cold. Upon arrival, I realize it's going to be impossible for me to talk to Brett. There are thousands of people, and I seem to be the only one not wearing team gear, which makes me feel self-conscious about the looks I'm getting. I take my father's cap and put it on. He smiles and pulls out another one from his backpack and puts it on.

"I told you, Izan," he says, smiling.

We head into the stadium to find our seats. Luckily, they're not too far from the field, though, given what we paid, we should be sitting on the players' bench.

After a few minutes, the players start to enter. When the Broncos team comes in, the entire stadium stands up. My dad shouts excitedly, and I stand up next to him. I catch a glimpse of player number 09. He's wearing his helmet but enters running and waving. He's taller than I remembered.

We return to our seats, and after several minutes, the game begins. I can't make heads or tails of what's happening. All I hear is players smashing into each other, which makes me cringe thinking about potential fractures.

My father is happy, he doesn't stop shouting and supporting his favorite team. When the team scores, everyone jumps excitedly, and I do too, although on one occasion the other team scored, and I almost celebrated. I was lucky that my father stopped me before I stood up and made a fool of myself. That's what you get for not knowing the first thing about the game.

"Izan, it's about to be halftime. I'm going to buy a beer. Do you want anything?"

"No, Dad, thanks."

He stands up and walks away. I rack my brain trying to figure out how to get close to Brett. This will be impossible. I stand up and go to look for the bathrooms. When I enter, I hear some girls talking about several players, including Brett.

"They say that if the Broncos win today, Brett will have a huge party as he always does to celebrate."

At that moment, I come out and they turn to look at me curiously. I try to put on a friendly smile.

"Hi girls, I couldn't help but overhear. Do you know where that party will be?"

One of them smiles.

"I imagine it will be at Brett's mansion. " They say that's almost always where the parties are held to celebrate the team's victories."

"Oh, I see. Thanks."

I hurry out of the bathroom and return to our seats. My father is waiting for me with a lemonade.

"Here, daughter."

"Thanks, Dad."

The game continues and I feel increasingly disappointed. I'm glad to see how my father enjoys every hour, but I feel worse and worse, realizing there's no way I can get close to Brett.

After several hours, the game finally ends. My father is excited, celebrating the team's victory. People start to leave and we follow them. Before reaching the exit, I see a huge sign saying that some of the players will be taking photos with fans at the exit door.

"Dad, have you seen that?"

"Let's go, daughter."

We arrive at the door and obviously there's a huge line, but luckily it's moving. After several hours, it's finally my turn to enter. As luck would have it, I get to take a picture with Brett. He's no longer wearing his helmet and is standing with a smile. When I approach him, he gives me a curious look.

"Where do you want me to sign?" he asks, smiling.

I look at him blankly, not understanding what he means, and he waits for my answer.

I react, take off my cap and hand it to him. He quickly signs his name and returns it to me. When I stand next to him, he puts his arm around my waist and I feel a strange sensation run through my body. I sense that he notices it because he keeps looking at me.

"Brett, I need to talk to you, it's very urgent."

He smiles.

"If it's for a donation, you'd have to talk to my agent."

"No, it's not for that." People behind me start urging me to move along. "I met you 11 years ago in Las Vegas."

He pauses for a moment while people continue to pressure me to hurry up.

"Are you a journalist?"

"No." I give him my number on a piece of paper. "It's really urgent, this affects both of us. It's better if we resolve this as soon as possible."

"I didn't go to Las Vegas 11 years ago."

"Of course you did, that's where I met you."

He keeps looking at me. At one point, the smile disappears from his face as if he remembered something. Security comes over and takes my arm.

"Miss, you have to leave."

"Let go of me, don't touch me, I can leave on my own."

Brett continues to stare at me silently until I leave the area where he was.