bringing lucy home

Chapter 32: happiness

5 months later...

Lucy leaned forward into the huddle, her palms on her thighs. "Alright girls. This is our biggest match we've ever had. I know you're ready, I need you to believe it yourselves. Do you believe it?"

"Yeah!" they all cried together, smiles and excited faces all around.

Lucy looked around at them, into 18 eager faces. Lucy grinned. She had come to know and love these young footballers like they were her own daughters. "Ok. Ellie, Daisy, Sara, Poppy, Lianne, Christina, Viola, Grace, Becca, Francesca and...." Her eye caught the final player of her starting XI. "Angie. Cmon girls, one two three!" They all put their hands out in the middle and threw them up into the air again, cheering.

Keira walked over to their group, Milly in her arms. Lucy grinned, it was like she couldn't stop smiling. Her life was perfect. The Stretford Union Blues were playing their first big playoff games for the U-17s league and after all their hard work, they were playing the best side in the league at their new pitch. None of the girls could have imagined playing something like this, the journey to this moment had been monumental. Lucy Bronze had carried them to seeing their dreams come true. For Lucy herself, she was beaming with pride as she embraced Keira and Milly.

Keira chatted with the girls for a bit and Lucy took Milly in her strong hands, throwing her up in the air and catching her, watching the expression of pure joy overwhelm her daughter's face.

"Lucy..." Keira said calmly but warningly, taking Milly from her fiancé. "Be careful with her. You know how kids can get head trauma or..."

Lucy cut her off with a kiss. "She's my kid, too Kei Kei," she smiled.

Keira laughed, sighing happily. "I know I know. Sometimes I think you love Milly more than me." She pulled her face into a pretend pout.

Lucy pecked Milly's head with a kiss. "Of course I do!" She covered Milly's ears with her hands. "Love you more, Kei. Always. You know that."

"Time to go!" Viola called. The other girls stood alert, stopping their stretches and warm-ups, watching Lucy expectantly and excitedly.

Lucy nodded at them and gave baby Milly another kiss, and rubbed her thumb along Keira's cheek. "Love you, Kei."

Keira gave her a wry smile. "Do ye now?" She turned her head mischieviously, scrunching her nose.

Lucy rolled her eyes before diving in to give Keira the kiss she was demanding with her cute little face. They broke away, grinning and Lucy turned around and ran off to meet the girls as they walked onto the pitch.

It was an action-filled nervy match, Lucy screaming from the touchline every second, externally fierce but internally melting with pride and cheer. Nothing could have made her happier than this scene, seeing the girls she'd trained and brought up to this level playing the way she taught them, but taking everything into their own hands, bringing into the game their own style, their own touch. They came back stronger from every slip, encouraged by every good play but never letting it make them relaxed. They kept on their toes, but they kept their calm and strength. Across the pitch, Keira and Steph and Baby Milly stood behind the barricade, cheering their hearts out. The sun glistened off every blade of grass, lighting up the pitch and Lucy's heart. By the time the halftime whistle rang out, Lucy's girls had scored 7 goals, Ellie with a brace.

Lucy clapped loudly, the hugest grin on her face. "CMON GIRLS! I'm f@cking proud, of all of yous." She looked around at all of them, pride filling her eyes in the form of happy tears. "I'm sorry, I'm...I'm just so proud," she brushed away her tears and turned to the girls, pointing at them as she went. "Second half, more of the same, ok? Grace, you're a goddam machine. Ellie, I want a hattrick. Poppy, keep it up with them assists. Daisy, more of that amazing defending. If you and Viola keep that up, our keeper, Christina here, won't have a job to do." She patted Christina on the back. "And that's a good thing. Bring it in!" Lucy swept them up in a big hug. "Let's go win this!!"

The girls erupted in cheers, running back on the pitch with new energy. Just before the ref blew three whistles for fulltime, Ellie headed her third in for her PERFECT hattrick. Her teammates ran and jumped on her in a big pile on the pitch, and as soon as the last whistle blow rang out, Lucy ran onto the pitch and jumped on top of all of them. They'd come so far, from being a side without even a pitch, a side no one knew, to the only in the league to beat Manchester United U17 this season.