The Sporty Sister

Making It Right

After the big reveal, Christmas dinner was much less enjoyable for all. When Cole returned downstairs, his mood had changed dramatically. He was more somber and less joyous. Noone knew why until they saw Danny help Christi hobble down the stairs. 

So it was no surprise that Cole and Danny brought a tense atmosphere wherever they met. Even the people in the office took notice. 

Danny tried to be understanding. They knew Cole finding out like he did was wrong, but his sister was a grown woman. Besides, Danny was his best friend. Cole should know he could trust him. Yet, there was nothing you could say to Cole to make him think that. 

Board meetings felt like treaty agreements between warring countries. Before, the two were always on the same page and built an alliance against the other employees. And now, they couldn't agree on anything. Danny had been spending a lot of time out of the office to be with Christi, but now he felt like he could never come back to the office at all. He stuffed a few papers in his briefcase and walked out. He said bye to his secretary as he headed to the elevator. He thought he saw CFO Richards on his way out, but he didn't stop. He had to get out of there. 

There was only one person who could brighten this sour mood. 

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After the disaster that was Christmas, Christi jumped full force into coming up with solutions for solving the problems proposed by Jose. She just didn't know how to do it. 

So she welcomed the sight of Danny. He looked tired with bags under his eyes and a saddened appearance. 

"He still won't talk to you?"

"Nope! It's like he wants to ignore I exist. If we didn't have a board of director and investors, I'm sure he would have fired me already." 

Christi cupped Danny's face as he leaned in to give her a welcome kiss. 

"No need. It's just him. We knew this would happen. I don't regret a thing." Danny gave her a kiss before he noticed that the TV was not on and Christi was surrounded by papers and books. 

"What's all this?" 

"Work, I guess."  Danny was surprised. He knew that Christi had been in a better mood lately, but it always felt like she was missing that spark that made her such a success on the field. The spark that one got from pursuing their passion.  

"Explain." 

"Well, I have two problems. I know these kids that play soccer. One of them got an offer to play pro soccer, but I don't think he saw past the money. The contract is ridiculous. Another girl that plays with him is trying to narrow down college choices, but she doesn't know which will support her best. That's just one part of the problem. The other part is that the place where they practiced is going to be torn down. It's like the area's unofficial park. The nearest actual park is like 45 minutes to an hour away. I want to help them out. I used to practice with these kids you know. They kept me grounded because soccer was just a game and not a job. Just good ole' fashioned fun. Now, their little siblings won't even get that." 

Danny was thrown back by the sheer amount of information Christi was able to share at once. 

"You really care about these kids?"

"Well, yeah. They were like me. Soccer was how I coped when our parents died. I won my first championship as the MVP that year. I had a focus. A goal that I knew I could reach. It was much easier to kick around a ball than it was to realize that I had no parents. It has been my life ever since. I want others to have that escape, you know?" 

Danny cupped her face and gave her a gentle peck. 

"This is it. You know that, right?" Christi looked at him in confusion. 

"You keep telling me that you feel lost. And I know you are worried now that you don't have soccer. This is it."

"I obviously don't see the solution that you have apparently created already."

"I have a plan. Maybe something that could solve both problems."

Danny began to explain his ideas. Christi took them and molded them with her own thoughts. More ideas were bounced back and forth until a clear plan was created. Christi felt energized like her old self. She could do this. It was possible to have a dream that would help others to achieve theirs. 

"You do know that you are going to have to ask him for help, right?" said Danny as he slid down in the chair. 

"Yep. I'm going to talk to him."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Christi hobbled into the office on her crutches still. Adrian told her she was making more progress and could possibly move to a cane or a "walking stick" soon. He told her that a cane was for older people, but she could totally pull off a walking stick.  Maybe before she would be worried about other peoples' opinions. Now, she was just happy that she didn't fall over when she tried to stand on her own. She reveled in the little successes. 

Cole sat at his desk, typing away on his keyboard. 

"Cole, we need to talk."

Cole barely looked up when he responded. "We're fine."

"No, we are not. You won't talk to Danny. You aren't even looking at me."

Cole shut his laptop and looked her straight in the eye. He was hurt. She could see it clearly now. That is why he wouldn't face her. There were only a handful of times she had seen this face, but she knew it well. 

Christi sat in the chair, facing him. She laid her crutches on the ground. She needed the focus and attention that she usually used to stay standing. 

"Talk to me even if you won't talk to him."

"Fine. What do you want me to say? Don't date him. You aren't going to stop. Don't lie to me. You already did that. What do you want?"

"I want my big brother to be happy for me." Christi clutched her crutches close to her chest. The siblings had always been close. And even though she complained about his over-protectiveness, she loved how he doted on them. To make him this mad felt like disappointig her father. 

"Christiana, I am always happy for you. When you are happy, so am I.  I guess. . .I wished . . .I wished that I had known it was my best friend that made you happy. I wished I had found out by you telling me the truth literally any other way than the way I actually did find out. I love seeing you being up and about. The Christiana that I love is coming back out. So, it is not you that I need to talk with. It's him. And I just need some time." 

Christi sighed knowing there was nothing she could say at this point. So she decided to switch subjects. 

"Well, I did come here for other things. I need help with a project that I want to start. It requires your expertise." 

Cole looked not amused, but he waved her to continue.