Chapter 4
Addie Mae
ARRIVING AT HOME, I CAN’T wait to see my mama and get a great big hug. Of course, the moment I pull into the driveway she’s out the front door waiting.
“Suga, I’ve missed you so much and what have you done to your hair?” she says with an unsure look on her face.
“It’s platinum. You know how it is out there. I’ve got to look the part, and I like it, honestly. It makes my eyes pop.”
“True, but you’re beautiful just the way you are, and I don’t need any Hollywood folks to tell me anything different.”
“You’re my mama. You’d think I was beautiful if I looked like mud.”
“Well, those mud masks are all the rage now,” she says as we both begin to laugh. Going inside, I take my suitcase to my room, and then go back to the kitchen to go over all the details of the shower with Mama. I need her Southern Belle opinion on everything.
“Addie Mae, I have to say, it sounds like you have everything planned out to a tee. Now, as long as Sawyer follows through on his part, it looks like it’ll be smooth sailing.”
Remembering the jersey in my truck, I jump up from the table and hurry to the get it and show Mama.
"Good gracious, girl! I didn’t know what made you run out the front door like that.” Then she pauses as she sees the purple in my hands. “Whatcha got?”
“I stopped by and got this from Sawyer. I want to have Ellis heat-pressed on the back of it. What do you think?”
“I’m thinking I love that idea! I’ve already gotten everything monogrammed and done on all the items you requested. That bib is adorable! Let me show you. Bring that back to the craft room.”
Walking into my mama’s craft room takes me back in time. She’s always been working on something and the moment a vinyl cutting machine and an affordable heat press was the newest trend, she had it. Everyone within the town limit gets her put their names on everything, and those football moms keep her in business this time of year. It’s crazy how her hobby has now turned into a full-time job for her.
Quickly, she turns on the computer, types in “Ellis,” checks the size, pulls silver vinyl to match the lettering and the machine goes to work. I watch her intently as she does it with ease. It’s almost like how I feel with makeup. It comes natural.
Once the machine stops, I watch her pull the excess vinyl from the sheet and she transfers it to the purple jersey. When the letters are perfectly even, she slides it onto the heat press, shuts it, and waits for the beep. Within a few minutes, I have the most adorable Punchers jersey I’ve ever seen.
“Mama, it’s perfect!” Glancing down at my watch, I know that it’s time to get ready for the game and I can’t wait to see Madelyn’s face when I surprise her tonight.
“I’ve got supper cooking and it will be ready long before the game. Also, I made you a new shirt to wear to the game.”
“Mama, you shouldn’t have.”
“Well, I can promise you this. You are not walking into that stadium looking like that.”
Glancing down, I think about what she’s saying. “What’s wrong with it? All I’ve got to do is throw on my old ball cap and I’m good.”
“Suga, I know you are your own person, but I thought you might want one. If you don’t, my feelings won’t be hurt.” Walking to the closet, she pulls out a fitted white tank top and on it in purple glitter is “Backin’ Jackson.”
“Oh dear lordy! Please tell me that’s not the saying for the season.”
“It is. Everyone has been supporting Sawyer since his playing days. So someone made the comment one day at the gas station that they were backin’ Jackson and it stuck. I made yours a little different though,” she says with a sly grin.
Looking it over, it is really cute and totally screams Addie Mae. I love the fact that the font is trendy and unlike the normal scripts most girls around here use, but it’s what I notice underneath that makes me giggle.
“Really, Mom? You had to put that on there.”
“What?” she says innocently as we both look at the cute little jackass.
“You know what!”
She starts to giggle, “You were always a pain in his ass, so I thought a donkey was perfect instead of the typical Punchers horseshoe.”
“He was always a pain in mine, too. Don’t forget that. When we were kids he always thought he knew everything and then when we were teenagers, no one on the football team would come near us for fear of him punching their lights out. Anyways, it's perfect and will look amazing with my purple shorts and wedges.”
“Wedges? Girl, I hope you brought your boots home.”
“Mama, no worries, they are packed and I have a few spares in the closet, I think. However, they don’t exactly match this outfit.”
“When did that ever matter?” she says, shaking her head and walking out of the room.
* * *
Sawyer
As the moments tick down to game time, I make sure that everything is ready. The team has had their pregame meal, I’ve got the helmet signed for the shower, I’m focused on bringing home the first varsity victory, and ready to enjoy the weekend by the pond as soon as possible.
“Dude, you good?” Tate asks.
“Yeah, I’m going to be great once we win tonight, review film tomorrow, and I’m sitting dockside at the pond with my fishing pole.”
“Don’t forget that cookout tomorrow. You’ve got a lot of shit to do before you’re able to relax.”
“Heck no, I did all that work while she was off in Los Angeles. I get to sit back and watch.”
“Um, have you met Addie Mae? There’s no sitting back and watching.”
“For me there is. She’s not going to tell me what to do with her Hollywood self. She might work in the big league but she’s home, and we do things differently in Texas.”
“So I was thinking that Smart needs to work on holding that defensive line. If he doesn’t have the first quarter, I’m pulling him and putting Jones in,” Tate says, changing the subject.
“I trust your opinion, Tate. Now, let’s go kick some ass.”