Rising Shards

I stared into my empty glass, trying to look a bit contemplative. I mean, it was a fun memory, but I also couldn't resist having some fun with it, and everyone looking at me so seriously made it fun already.

"There was this day a while ago, probably ten years back? Maybe a bit less, Kalei was still in grade school,"

I remembered it so clearly. Kalei in her jersey a few sizes too big for her, the kind that she'd wear the entire week before a game (she later updated this tradition to a day and a half before so the jersey's odor wasn't completely rank by the time we got to the arena). Her buzzing and telling me all the stats of players that she'd read.

We were just watching a state level beam chasers game, not even one we'd have to make the fun trek to Litus Empirica for, just one in our medium-ish sized town.

I enjoyed the game, and at that age every one Kalei saw was a masterpiece of sporting history especially if she was there in person. I also scanned the players, a mix of many genders, for one that would fit something.

Kalei cheered when one player scored a goal, conveniently the one I had my eye on. I didn't know his name, but his jersey number was forty-two so we went with that.

"Did you see that? Ma! Pay attention!" She pushed me.

"Oh, I am paying attention," I said. "I just am a bit awestruck every time I see number forty-two. You know why?"

"Uh, cuz he rules?" Kalei asked.

"Well. The truth of it is I met him a long time ago," I said. "We dated for a while, but it didn't work out."

The gears in Kalei's lil brain turned as I told my tale. By the end of it, her eyes widened. "Wait. You mean...?"

"Uh huh," I said. "That guy's your dad."

Kalei gasped. "No way! Is that why I like beam chasers so much? Let's go talk to him!"

I let her get excited to the point that she started shouting out "DAD!" Before I told her the truth.

"You know I made that whole thing up, right?" I laughed.

After fairly berating me for that one, Kalei pouted and slumped back in her chair. "I totally knew you were lying."

"Sure you did," I messed up her hair. "And you get your love of beam chasers from me, silly."

"Pfft, I guess," Kalei laughed.

When number twenty-two scored, Kalei tapped my shoulder. "Ma, you see her? She's uh, she's my real mom!"

I gasped in fake shock. "No!"

Kalei laughed. "Uh huh, I was stolen as a baby or something!"

I hugged her as I cried out over the top exclamations. "Nooo! I won't let you take my daughter!"

Everyone around us must have hated sitting near us, but screw them.

"...and I think that little number sums me up," I said. "Love sports, love my daughter, and I think life shouldn't be so serious. We gotta cherish moments like that with our kids."

"I'm gonna be honest, I thought you really meant it that that guy was her dad," Alix said.

"But she said in her story that she never met the guy," Evy said.

"Well! It'd be a twist, wouldn't it?" Alix said.

"OK, but you did explain her parent deal eventually, right?" Stella asked.

"Oh, yeah, definitely," I said. It wasn't as fun a story, but it was one that Kalei had to hear.

"Not that I can judge, it took until my parents crashed into my life again to actually explain them to Zeta. And even then..."

I patted Stella's back. "You're doing great, don't worry."

"You are too," Evy said. "Oh my god, I can't imagine how tough that girl is to handle some days if she gets like she does in class."

"Heh, yeah, she's trouble," I said. "Takes after me with that."

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