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Isaiah

One Year Later

A nervous energy pulses through my body unlike anything I’ve experienced before. I’ve played in massive stadiums but nothing of this magnitude. It’s not even my game. But when Dell and I step through the tunnel and find our seats amongst our family and friends, all gathered to watch my wife play in her second Olympic Games, my blood electrifies as if I’m about to play, too.

“There she is,” Dell’s mom cheers as the USA Sevens team takes the field, Robyn leading the way. Everyone came for this—most of my family, Dell’s parents, and of course Robyn’s parents—and every one of us is wearing custom red, white, and blue apparel with Robyn’s face plastered all over.

As the players begin their warm up, my husband squeezes my hand tight. “They’re gonna take it all, I know it.”

“It’s only the first game,” I remind him. “And the US has never won gold in rugby before, and she's been playing fifteens most of her career, and—”

“I know, but can’t you feel it?” he asks with a manic grin.

“I can feel it!” Angie bellows behind us. This sets off a chain reaction through our section, and the whole stadium breaks out in the wave. The crowd ripples three tiers high, and it’s impossible not to marvel at the magnitude of this day.

There was a time when I was too scared to tell her my feelings. There was a time I was too scared to let anyone know about us in fear she'd lose all the success she’d amassed. None of that matters anymore. My partners have shown me time and time again that good things come to me when I ask for them—when I open up and speak my truth. Good things come when I don’t let my fears keep me from happiness. Sometimes I need reminding, and they’re both always there, encouraging, holding, and loving me.

The jumbotron starts playing a segment where they feature individual players as they’re warming up before the camera cuts to their family in the stadium. When it gets to Robyn, my gut clenches. Then there we are, Dell and I front and center. My whole body swells with pride before I lean over and hug my husband tight. There’s a roar from the crowd as hands slap our backs as hard and as wild as our hearts beat.

When we break apart to look back at the giant display, the segment ends, only to be replaced by the newest ad campaign.

It’s a double overlay image of Robyn. In one photo, she’s wearing her rugby uniform, covered in sweat and dirt and determination. In the second image, transposed and slightly overlapping the first, she’s wearing an amber evening gown and a sultry smile. One shoulder and a peak of her defined back are displayed. Low, near her hip, she holds a tumbler of brown liquor on ice.

Be anyone you want to be.

Castle Whiskey