Abel was sleeping when he got a call from an old friend from the high school football team. Steve had been the running back and they’d always been close, but he hadn’t been able to make the jump to college football. When scouts had visited their games, Abel’s talent had overshadowed the other players to an insurmountable degree.

“Hey big man, you want to go check out the old bar? It’s been a while,” said Steve. “I’m sure they’d let you take a bite out of everything for free, as long as you’re willing to let a few people take a bite out of you while you’re there.”

“When have you known me to turn down a hungry fan?”

“Right on,” said Steve. “I’ll pick you up in a few.”

Emerald’s Pub had been their favorite spot. The bartender had always been willing to look the other way and serve drinks to the football players, particularly Abel. In hindsight, thought Abel, serving alcohol to football players who needed to be able to practice, study for school, and function as teenagers probably wasn’t a great strategy, but they had all loved it at the time.

As soon as they walked into Emerald’s, Steve started laughing. “I knew you’d love it,” he said, enjoying the horrified look on Abel’s face.

“I can’t believe this,” said Abel. There was a shrine in the corner that would have looked cultish if he hadn’t known better. A life-sized, cardboard cutout of himself stared at him, arm retracted, prepared to pass. Actually, it wasn’t life-sized: it was at least eight feet tall, a giant version of Abel. There was a glass case of footballs next to the cutout, all autographed, all from significant wins.

“Yeah, the only thing missing is a crown full of jewels,” said Steve. “You haven’t seen the best part, though, come here.”

Abel followed Steve across the bar, feeling the eyes of the women devour him. He felt like an exhibit in a museum. Steve reached up and pulled a string that was hanging from the glass case of footballs. The cardboard cutout’s eyes lit up bright blue and a mechanical voice said, “No doubt, no fear, no hesitation. I win because I refuse to lose.” There was a hiss and a crackle as some mechanism caused a brief glitch in the sound.

“You’ve got to be kidding. Is that from—”

“Yes!” Steve clapped his hands. “They took the voice from your radio interview and slapped it onto this guy here. Remember how cute that reporter was? She was all over you.”

“I do. The whole thing was kind of weird, but it was pretty flattering as a kid. ‘

“I’ve got to say, those blue bulbs for your eyes are creepy,” said Steve. “How’d you like to wake up next that?”

Abel laughed and shook his head. “No thanks.”

“I always thought your eyes were your best feature,” said a blonde woman, appearing at his side and putting her hand on his arm. “And yes,” she said to Steve, “I can’t speak for everyone, but I’d love to wake up next to that.”

“You can speak for us too!” said a woman at a nearby table. Her drinking buddies quickly agreed. They started chanting Abel’s name. One of them pulled back an empty chair. He tried to be gracious, smiling and thanking them, but ultimately saying that he had to catch up with Steve.

Steve and Abel sat at the bar and made small talk. From time to time a woman approached, circling like a moth around a flame, but Abel was putting out the vibe. Not available tonight. The truth was that he couldn’t stop thinking about Lacey. He just could not get her out of his head, and there it was, the story of his life. Guys like him weren’t supposed to have stories about the ones that got away. Three beers later he was pouring his heart out to Steve, who had never heard any of this before. There was a small part of Abel that was still sober, and that part of him could see Steve’s surprise. His friend obviously couldn’t believe that Abel was talking about a woman like this. Abel, who could. have anyone he wants.

“I mean, I liked Lacey,” said Steve. “But I can’t believe you’re hung up on her, of all people. But I guess I didn’t know anything about it. It’s just weird to hear you talk like this. Abel, you’re living the dream. I think anyone would be surprised to hear you say this stuff.”

“I’m not as great as you think,” said Abel. “And my life’s not as easy as people think. I’m not…” He pointed at the cardboard cutout. “I’m not that guy. I’m not that tall.” He could hear how badly his speech was slurring. Another woman approached in his periphery. To stall her, Abel loudly ordered a round for everyone in the bar. Everyone cheered. Once more, he remembered how easy it was to give people a special moment. Abel slipped out during the ruckus. They were probably all in there toasting him, not even having realized that he left.

Abel knew he shouldn’t drive, but restraint and judgment had never been his strong suits. The town was small enough that there was no real traffic on the road at this hour. He turned up the radio and sang along with Unchained Melody.

He barely knew where he was going until he realized that he had pulled into the parking lot at Lacey’s crappy apartment complex. “I’ve got to get her out of here,” he mumbled to himself. “She’s a…she’s too special for this place.”

Abel started honking his horn in a jaunty rhythm, hitting the console with the heel of his palm. Someone leaned out a window and yelled at him to shut up.

“You shut up!” shouted Abel in return. “This time I’m not going away! I…want…ANSWERS!” He got out of the car and stumbled across the parking lot. He threw his head back and bellowed drunkenly at the sky, and then began shouting Lacey’s name. Windows started to open in all of the apartments and people started looking out through their drapes at him, upstairs and down. Abel was waking the whole place up. But as he looked from window to window, he still didn’t see the once face he wanted. Where was she? She wasn’t going to ignore him. Not this time.

Then she was there, looking pretty damned mad. “Abel, shut up! What are you doing?” Even at this hour—he realized he had no idea what time it actually was—she looked indescribably beautiful.

“Lacey, I love you! I want you! Come down here, tell me everything that’s wrong. I’m sorry for whatever I did. I’m sorry. I don’t know how else to say it, so all I can do is say it louder. SORRY! What do I have to do?”

“Accept his apology so we can all get to sleep!” someone yelled.

“He’s right!” said Abel. “Listen to whoever that is!”

“No,” said Lacey, yelling at them all. “Don’t encourage him! Abel, go home and sleep it off. You’re embarrassing yourself, and me.”

“I can’t,” he said. “I’ll never sleep again. Lacey, do you hear me? I’ll never. Sleep. Again. And it’ll be your fault!” Then Abel had a brilliant idea. There was a car underneath Lacey’s balcony. He gauged the distance and then sprang into action. He got a running start, stepping up onto the hood and then leaping, reaching for the railing. His fingers closed over it just in time. The whole thing creaked and groaned as he pulled himself up over the edge.

“That’s it!” screamed Lacey as she disappeared from the window. He wondered dimly why he hadn’t just taken the stairs. Before he could knock on her door, it flew open. Lacey stood there, huffing and puffing as if she had just finished sprinting.

Abel threw open his arms and prepared to say something romantic when he saw the little girl behind her. She had two blond braids and was rubbing sleep from her eyes. Abel was stunned. Why was Lacey babysitting at this hour? Was she that hard up for money? It made him want to reach into his wallet and give her everything he had.

“Mommy?” she said. “What’s wrong with him?”

Mommy? thought Abel. Since when is Lacey anyone’s mommy?

“Nothing, baby,” said Lacey. “This is an old friend of mommy’s, but he’s going home soon.”

“Who’s that?” said Abel. “She’s adorable. Hey little lady, what’s your name?”

“Dana.”

“I’m Abel. It is very, very nice to meet you. I think your mom is the most wonderful thing in the world. I bet that means you’re pretty great too.”

“I am,” said Dana.

Lacey held her arm out and kept Dana behind her.

“Wait a second,” says Abel, pointing at Lacey. He was slowly sobering up. There was a timeline falling into place. Something was threatening to click, illuminating the edges of the mystery that had plagued him for so long. “Just wait, wait, Lacey. Hey, who’s her father. Honey, who’s your daddy?”

“That’s it,” said Lacey. She picked Dana up and carried her back into the apartment. She reappeared seconds later and shut the door behind her. “You’re scaring her to death! What the hell is wrong with you, Abel?”

Abel leaned down, nearly putting his forehead on hers. “You tell me straight; is she mine? Did you have a baby with me? Is that why you broke it all off with me? If I had a daughter this whole time and you kept it a secret, I don’t know what I’m going to do.” He paced back and forth on the balcony. The drapes in the apartment next to them opened, then closed quickly.

“I’m going to talk if you’re willing to listen,” said Lacey. “Show me that you can be quiet and listen.” She folded her arms and waited.

Abel put an imaginary key to his lips and locked them. He stood as still as he could, but he was wavering a little. He couldn’t even remember how many drinks he’d had.

“She’s not yours,” said Lacey. “That’s the only time I’m going to say it, and the only time we’re going to talk about it. Understood? She is not yours. I need to know that you get it.”

Abel couldn’t decide what to do. He wanted to look at the little girl again. Dana. Such a beautiful name. And something about her reminded him of how he and Sasha had looked as children. Maybe he was just drunk. Maybe he was just confused. So many women had tried to have his baby, just to get a share of his money. Maybe he’d gotten so arrogant that he assumed everyone wanted him, and when they didn’t he fell apart. If Lacey tried to ask him for money she’d never want for anything, and yet here she was, living in Cockroach Manor with her daughter, so she must have been telling the truth. Otherwise, why would she be here? Or in Palmera, for that matter?

Either way, the world was spinning and he didn’t know what to think. The longer he stood there, he wasn’t even sure that he was still capable of rational thought.

“Abel,” said Lacey, “Before you fall off of this balcony and kill yourself, I want you to come in and sleep it off. It’s not safe for you to be on your own tonight.”

“All right,” he said. Abel took her hand and let her guide him into the apartment. Within minutes he was snoring on the couch, facedown.