Her History
Hope had told Chloe the story a million times. The story of how the 2012 Olympics meant so much to them. How Wembley specifically, meant so much to them.
Chloe had spent numerous nights staying awake after two kisses were pressed to her forehead by the two humans she loved most, imagining gold confetti raining down from the rafters of the hallowed pitch and her parents in the box, crying tears of joy among the bright shine of the lights and the glint of the new diamond on Kelley’s hand.
Even though the twenty year old could envision the grass, torn up by cleats and slightly damp from the rain, Chloe hadn’t actually been inside of Wembley until today.
Honestly Chloe was surprised she made it through practice without losing focus. There was so much history, soccer and Chloe related, around her. It took everything she had to pay attention to Kellan and Vanessa drilling balls at her.
Now, after the team had cleared out and headed to their hotel across the street, Chloe opted to stay behind and kick a ball around the pitch, slowly making her way to the exact spot Hope proposed to Kelley so many years ago.
The young keeper made it to the top of the 18′ and just stood still. Chloe closed her eyes, inhaling the sweet smell of grass and the lingering scent of twenty-five soccer players running drills for hours.
“Take two steps to the right babe.”
Chloe’s eyes snapped open and she whipped her head around to see Hope walking towards her.
“What?”
Hope smiled and put her hands on her daughter’s shoulders, shifting her two steps to Chloe’s right towards the north end of the stadium.
“Right,”
One more step
“Here. Is where I proposed to your Mama.”
They were both speechless, for Hope and Chloe this spot meant the beginning of the rest of their lives. The mother and daughter stood together, arms wrapped around each other, breathing in the memories and letting Wembley consume them.
Wembley was her mothers’ favorite place and it was quickly becoming Chloe’s.