The Wedding Winger- Bonus Scene

Clara - 3 months later…

“What time is Silly on TV?” Katie asked the second I appeared on the doorstep at Violet and Sam’s. 

“Hi honey,” Violet said, pulling me across the threshold with a hug and a warm smile. 

Luckily, it had been a pretty quiet day without much time in the field. Once the snow was falling, we spent a lot more time in the office. For me, that meant more time working from home and seeing my daughter. I stepped inside and lifted Katie to my hip. 

“I think the game is at six?” 

“Six o’clock,” Sam confirmed from his station in front of the television. 

It had become routine to watch all the Wombats away games with Sly’s parents. Like most nights where we watched, Violet had prepared what she called “TV dinners” and set them on little folding tables in front of the flat screen in their living room. 

As the game began, I found myself watching the people around me as much as the men on the screen. It was still a thrill to see Sly on TV, but it was nothing compared to the elation of feeling him next to me, seeing the look in his eyes when he aimed his killer smile at me. It was hard for me to believe that somehow, so quickly, I’d been adopted into this family I’d known all my life. And more than that, Katie got the experience of having grandparents in a way. Violet doted on her, and even Sam had begun offering to take her downtown on Sundays, on what was becoming a routine diner and ice cream run. He’d even taken her downtown instead of watching one of the games in the World Series on TV this year. 

It was good for both of them, I thought. 

As the game got underway, I realized Sly didn’t seem to be there. 

I was about to ask Sam when one of the announcers addressed my question. 

“The Wombats are missing right winger Silvester Remington today, you might notice, and his position on the ice is being filled by backup winger, Chris Houstein.” 

“That’s right, Abe,” the other announcer replied. “Sly Remington had a secret mission to accomplish tonight, and even though it took him away from the game, his team made a point of demonstrating their support as the game got underway.” 

“Some of their signs are still hanging on the Wombats side of the arena.” 

The camera panned around the stands, where signs supporting the team were visible, but there were some that I hadn’t seen before. They said things like, “Go Get Her, You Sly Dog!” and “Props to Sly, Have a Rose.” That one made no sense to me at all. 

“He’s off tonight for a very special reason,” the first announcer said mysteriously. 

“Where’s Sly?” I asked Sam. 

He just lifted a shoulder and grunted, so I turned to Violet who aimed an enormous smile at me but said nothing. I turned to Katie, who looked worried, and she shrugged. 

They’d said a secret mission. So he wasn’t hurt or sick. But where was he?

I didn’t have to wonder for long, because just a few moments later, there was a commotion out in front of the house, as music began to play loudly on the street. 

Katie jumped up and ran to the front window. “There’s a parade!” She cried. 

A parade? On our street? At seven o’clock on a Thursday night? “What?” 

I moved to join her, shocked to see that there was actually a marching band in formation just outside, and a couple of vintage cars motored by just behind. It reminded me of the annual homecoming parade we’d had in high school, though that one had gone down Main Street. I’d always envied the king and queen who got to sit on the giant float at the center of the parade as they went through town, but since I was essentially invisible in high school, that was not really my scene. 

The band was loud, and neighbors were stepping out of their houses to take in the commotion as the drums beat loudly and the horns blared. 

“Let’s go see!” Katie pulled me toward the front door, and Sam and Violet followed us to the doorstep. I was going to stop there, but then, as the music died down and the band came to a stop, that enormous float I remembered from school rolled to a stop directly in front of the house. And standing atop it, dressed in a tux, was Silvester Remington. 

My heart flew into my mouth. What the hell was he doing? 

He shot me a cocky grin as I stepped down the path, stopping again in the center of Violet’s yard to stare at him. The horns section began to play again, quietly, in the background. And Sly lifted a microphone and began to speak. 

“Friends and neighbors, please excuse this interruption to your Thursday evening, but since tomorrow is Homecoming at Half Full high, it was the only day I could get the band in perfect form and borrow this float and everything.”

I shook my head, laughing. What the hell?

Katie was bouncing at my side, clearly impressed by this show of… what the hell was this?

“This,” Sly continued, “is a long-overdue homecoming that is a bit more personal than the one I experienced in high school. Back then, I didn’t appreciate the real meaning of homecoming. I got to sit on this float, and I wore a little metal crown, and I felt pretty proud of myself. 

“But even back then, it felt a little hollow. Because what no one ever knew, was that I had a secret. I wasn’t in love with my queen.” 

Katle cackled loudly, and I realized she was in on whatever this was. 

“In fact, I was in love with someone else. And that someone has been here all along. But it took me coming home to understand what she meant to me, to fully appreciate that home is so much more than a place.” 

“Hey Sly,” one of the neighbors called from behind him, causing Sly to pause and turn. “Can you hurry it up? We’re missing the game for this.” 

Sly nodded and said, “I can pretty much guarantee the Wombats are gonna win, but yeah, I’m getting to the point here…” 

He turned back and met my eyes. “Clara Connor,” he said, sending a jolt of embarassment through me as every eye on the street turned to look at me. 

“I was hopelessly in love with you back in high school. You were the smart girl, the literal girl next door, and you were so out of my league I couldn’t even imagine asking you out. But I know now that I should have. Because think of how many years we’ve wasted between then and now.” 

He shook his head and dropped my gaze, as if mourning those years we didn’t spend together. 

“But it’s pretty hard to be sad about a circumstance that created one of my very favorite people in the world,” he continued, pointing at Katie, who squealed. “Katie, I hope you’re enjoying the parade. I looked for some unicorns, but the high school was fresh out.” 

“That’s okay!” Katie called to him. 

“Anyway, Clara. A few days ago, I asked your daughter for permission to ask for you hand, and she gave it to me. So I wondered if I might invite you up here, onto this float with me?” 

Nervous laughter bubbled out of me, but Katie gave me a surprisingly strong shove toward the float, and Sly helped me climb up, taking my hand in his and holding onto it as he faced me. He lowered the microphone so it still picked up his words, but as his eyes held mine, the neighborhood faded away and it was just us. 

“I am so glad that I came home,” he said, “and that I got another chance with the girl next door. Because I’m even more in love with her now than I was all those years ago in high school, and every ridiculous fantasy I had about her pales in comparison to the real thing.” 

The love I felt for Sly was threatening to bubble out of me, and I was giddy, nervous, and light. I worried I might actually float away, but Sly took my hand, grounding me. 

And then he dropped to one knee. 

“Clara, you are the smartest, funniest, most incredible woman I’ve ever met. I love you in a way I didn’t even know it was possible to love another person. I love you so much that the thought of being in the world without your hand in mine is physically painful. I don’t know if life would be much fun at all if you weren’t with me. And I know it’s a long shot, but I’m asking anyway. Is there any chance you’d be willing to marry a guy like me?” 

“Yes!” I heard myself squeal in a high-pitched shriek that probably made Katie proud. “Yes,” I said, controlling my voice and forcing some of the giddy excitement to simmer down. 

Sly pulled a box from his pocket and popped the box open, revealing a gorgeous diamond ring, the center stone flanked by rubies and tiny diamonds. It was stunning. 

“You were supposed to open the box when you asked the question,” Katie said, stepping to the edge of the float. “Remember?” 

Sly laughed. “I got nervous, Bear.” 

“That’s okay, Silly. She said yes. You said yes, right, Mom?” 

“I did,” I confirmed, meeting my daughter’s happy gaze. “I definitely did.” 

Sly stood now, and slipped the ring onto my finger, and then he leaned in, hesitating for just a moment as if asking permission. I closed the space between us, sliding my hands over his shoulders, and Sly pulled me into his arms, his mouth finding mine. 

The neighborhood exploded in shouts and applause as the band began to play again, and a second later, I realized we were moving. 

“Oh!” I cried, losing my balance for a second. 

“I’ve got you,” Sly told me, his strong arms banded around me. “I’ll always catch you.” 

He reached down and pulled two crowns from between the thrones positioned on top of the float, placing one on my head. 

“Be my queen?” he asked. 

“I’d love to,” I told him. 

And just like that, every single one of my high school fantasies came true.