In The Year 2036 (Now in 2044) A Calzona Fan Fic
Title: In The Year 2036 (Now in 2044) A Calzona Fan Fic Chapter 81/?
Couple: Arizona and Calliope and the whole damn Robbins-Torres family
Rating: PG-13 with some flashes of NC-17 in most chapters.
Summary: This thought process is in my head. These chapters are just my take on the characters and how their lives have turned out twenty-five years into the future.
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to these characters. I do not make any money from these writings. All rights belong to Shonda Rhimes and ABC Television.
A/N You all know the drill by now but just in case you have forgotten. Regular print means Present Day and Italics mean Past Tense…
Chapter Eighty One
When we adopted Timothy all those years ago we place him in the same grade level as Bailey so they could grow and mature together. Even though Timothy is sixteen months older than Bailey, Calliope and I agreed that since his first year and only year of school was in France, he and Bailey could start school in the same grade so they could help each other focus and they could always count on each other. That was until they both were juniors in high school when they both went their separate ways. Timothy was into sports and Glee Club and Bailey began hanging out with a different crowd that Timothy did not approve of but did not tell his mommas either. Calliope and I noticed a difference in our oldest daughter’s behavior but every time we brought up the subject Bailey became reclusive and would not talk to us about anything. Then came the talk about the spring dance as Timothy asked my wife and me if he could ask his girlfriend at the time Charlotte to be his date and we said yes. Then one afternoon Bailey came home to tell me that she was going to the dance with a boy named Tristan that we never even heard of before that day as I said to her “Bailey, your mami and I along with your father would like to meet this young man first. Could you ask him to come to dinner tomorrow night so we can all meet the boy who wants to take you to the dance”? With a snarled sarcastic tone in her voice she turns to face me and say in front of Timothy “Why mother, so you can dismiss him because you do not care for the way he looks or the way he dresses. Look I only told you of my plans with Tristan as a courtesy because mami and daddy already said I could go with him to the dance”. I stand from my seated position at the dinner table where I am feeding Alexander to say to Timothy “Son, would you please take your brothers and your sister into the playroom so I may talk to Bailey alone please” Timothy gathers up Alexander out of the high chair as he tells Theodore and Addie to follow him to the playroom as he closes the door behind him.
I calmly walk over to my daughter and say “Bailey Georgia you will never use that tone in your voice to me ever again…do you understand me”? Without any sign from Bailey as she refuses to apologize for her tone, I press on. “As I stated before your three parents would like to meet this young man before he takes you out on a date. You may have permission from your mami and your daddy but it takes all three of us to agree to let this boy take you out. Do I make myself perfectly clear young lady” as I never raise my voice but my tone is very clear. Bailey begins to walk away from me and up the stairs in a huff as she turns to me and says “You never wanted this…you never wanted me…You never wanted to be a mother…You came home after being gone for a year to a woman…my mami…who was pregnant with a child you never wanted. Then six years later you again get stuck with another person’s kid…your dead brother’s kid. This isn’t the life you envisioned for yourself. This decision…about the dance should be up to my mami and my daddy and you should not have any say in the matter. You are not my mom because you are nothing…you never wanted me in the first place and I do not have to listen to you. This is my life and I should be able to go to the dance with whoever I want. So you cannot tell me what to do anymore. This is not fair and you are not fair and you are ruining my life…can’t you just stay out of my life for once”. Bailey runs up the remaining stairs and away from me to her bedroom as she slams the door behind her and Timothy hears everything his sister shouts at me as he comes back out into the kitchen as he sees me standing there physically shaking. Our oldest son comes up behind me as he swallows me up in his arms and holds me tight. I begin to say to him “What is happening to our Bailey? I don’t even recognize her anymore”. Timothy says to me “I don’t know momma but she has really changed this year at school. She does not hang out with her old friends like she used too and these new friends are just using her and she doesn’t even see it and she won’t listen to me when I try to tell her about them, I just don’t know what to do anymore”.
I am changing out my scrubs and just about to jump into the shower after my last surgery as my phone begins to vibrate. I see that I have missed a text message from my oldest son as it reads “Mami, come home as soon as you can. There’s trouble in paradise but everyone’s ok…just hurry home”. I try to call my wife but her phone just goes to voice mail. I walk into our home and the house is strangely quiet and that is very unusual with five children. I find Timothy sitting at the kitchen table finishing up his homework. I kiss him on his forehead and say “Hey there you, what’s going on? Where’s your momma”? Timothy stands and says “She stepped out for a bit” and then precedes to tell his mami what happened tonight but before he can say anything else he hears his sister scream from the top of the steps “No Timothy, you don’t get to be the goody two shoes number one son that gets to tell his version of tonight’s events”. Calliope shouts back at Bailey as she says “Bailey Georgia, you will not talk to your brother with that tone in your voice. Now you apologize to Timothy this very minute”. Timothy says to his mami “Good luck mami, I love you” as our oldest son kiss my wife on her cheek and waits till his sister descends down the stairs before he climbs the stairs to his room. Bailey does not say a word to him as she passes him she just walks into the library and says to her mami “You coming” using that same tone in her voice with my wife. Calliope tries to keep her composure but is finding it very hard to do so as she walks past our daughter and into the library as Bailey shuts the door behind her and begins to tell her side.
I am sitting at Joe’s drinking my sorrows away with some IBC root beer as my phone vibrates again and I hear George O’Malley say “You might want to get that Arizona, it might be important” as he sits next to me art the bar. I smile at him and say “If it’s that important, they’ll call back”. George then looks at me and says “So what brings you out on a night like this without your wife and kids”? I think to myself that George is a “geeky little dude” that Karev likes to call him but he is Bailey’s father so I guess that is why I have grown to like him. But tonight I am having a problem with him telling his daughter she can go out with a boy that we have not even met yet. But I am already upset with the argument with Bailey earlier so I do not say anything to George about what has happened. “I just needed a break for a little while and Timothy and Bailey are watching the other children. So I came here to watch the basketball game and ponder my existence” I say to George as he laughingly says “Ponder your existence…what the hell is that supposed to mean”? Just then Joe tells George that he has a phone call and I make my getaway and walk briskly to the ladies room as George goes to take his call. When I come out of the ladies room George is standing there waiting for me with my jacket in his hand as he tells me “Grab your purse Arizona, we need to get to your house now. Seems that Bailey and Callie are screaming at each other in Spanish and that was Timothy on the phone looking for the two of us. You want to tell me what the hell happened tonight”? I say “No I don’t”.
Timothy is at the door waiting for George and me to arrive home as he says “They have been arguing since mami got home. As I told mami before she went in there with Bailey, good luck to you both and I love you. Goodnight momma and to you too Uncle George”. Both George and I say goodnight to my son as we make our way into the library and George says to both women as I stand against the door as I have closed the door so that we do not wake up the rest of our children “What the hell is going on here”? Calliope turns to face George and me as she says to Bailey “You want to tell them in your own words or shall I tell your father what you said about your momma”? Bailey just sits on the leather sofa in silence as my wife begins to tell George about what happened tonight. Calliope begins to tell George as she says “Seems that our daughter misunderstood what you and I told her about her going to this spring dance with Tristan. Seems she told my wife that we were alright with her going to the dance and Arizona did not have a say in the matter”. My Calliope proceeds to tell George the rest of what happened tonight between Bailey and me and when my wife finishes George says to our daughter “Bailey, why would you do that. You know we always decide these matters as a family and that includes your momma’s and me”. Then Bailey jumps off the sofa and screams in English “She never wanted me so she should not have a say in what goes on in my life”. George exclaims “Bailey Georgia, you do not have the right to say that about your momma and I do not want to hear that again. Do you understand me young lady”. The three of us women just stand there for a moment before I say “You know what, if she truly feels that way about me…if she truly feels that I do not love her like I love the rest of our children…then I just go and the two of you can finish raising her because honestly she is right. Your right Bailey, I never wanted children…I never wanted to be married…never wanted to be in a serious relationship with anyone. I had been hurt too many times by people that say they love me. First there was Timothy’s mother Joanne then there was a girl named Carly then the one that hurt the most was your Uncle Tim. Even though I knew that the decision he made to join the Marines was to follow in my father’s footsteps, I felt like his dying over there in Iraq hurt me the worst. But then I came to Seattle and met the most amazing woman. She changed my whole outlook on life and gave me a dream that I did not even know I wanted until I held you in my arms the day you were born. You both loved me unconditionally and as our family grew to the five of you, I have never known this kind of love but I have never once regretted our life together. I may have not wanted children before my life with you but since all of you have come into my life, I will protect and love all of you with my last dying breath. So if you really want me to not have a say in how you live your life then fine your mami and daddy can finish your journey into adulthood and I wish you the very best that life has to offer. I love you with all my heart Bailey Georgia. Calliope and George, I am going to bed now so the three of you can finish your talk”. I tenderly kiss my wife as I say goodnight as she then says “Arizona” and I smile and walk out the library and into my bedroom.
I decide to take a shower once I reach my bedroom as I do not want to hear the three of them and their discussion. With my shower completed I make my way into the bed as I move Calliope’s box of tissues from her nightstand to mine as I use most of them for the rest of the night as I cry myself to sleep. Some time later I feel my wife as she comes to bed and wraps her arms around me. She kisses my ear as she softly asks for me to wake up so we can talk. I turn to face my wife as my eyes are bloodshot and puffy because I have been crying since I left the three of them in the library hours ago. My wife swallows me up in her arms as she tells me she loves me and that she is so sorry about what happened tonight. My Calliope takes a tissue as she wipes the tears from my eyes and says “Do you want to know why Bailey has been acting the way she has and why she attacked you tonight”? I kiss my wife as my sobbing continues and I say “No” as I lay my head on her chest but my wife will not let me off that easy as she says “It’s all Christina’s fault”. Calliope explains to me that Bailey told her that she came out and asked Christina what I was like when I first arrived in Seattle. Christina, holding no punches back, basically told Bailey about how I was pretty much a “woman whore”. Calliope continues to say that Christina told Bailey all about our romantic relationship and how it began to blossom but then Africa happened and after a year all of our lives changed for the better. My wife kisses my tears away as she says to me “I don’t care what kind of mood or funk our daughter has in these past few months, she does not have the right to tell you that you are nothing Arizona. You are everything to me and all five of our children and I don’t ever want you to doubt that…ever”. I wrap my arms around my wife’s body as I cry some more and she holds me close.
After a little while my wife asks me “Are you still awake, Arizona”? I have stopped crying and move my head from her chest to say “Yes, I’m still awake”. I move back to my original spot in our bed as we lie on our sides and she says to me “We, the three of us, need to decide on Bailey’s punishment. I sent her to her room after our discussion and told her we would discuss her punishment in the morning”. I start to turn my body away from my wife but she stops me and pulls me close back into her embrace as she says “No, no Arizona, you do not get to ignore the situation. She is your daughter too and you have to help George and I decide our daughter’s punishment. So do not turn away from me…talk to me…baby please just talk to me”. I kiss my wife and then say to her “Well, we all agree that she is not going to the Spring Dance correct” as my wife sarcastically laughs a little and then says “That is a fact…she will not be attending the dance with Tristan or anyone else for that matter”. Then I continue “What are your thoughts on her just going to school and coming home with no outside activities for a month” and then my wife interjects “And no social activity on the computer. She can do her homework and any group homework but nothing else. No Skype, no Facebook and no cell phone activity whatsoever. Maybe we can ask Timothy to set up parental blocks on her computer”. I then think about her and Timothy’s spring break in Miami as the three of us have already given our permission for them to go. I say to my wife “What about her spring break in Miami”? my wife ponders her answer before she says “Her and Timothy can still go to Miami but Bailey has to tell her abuelo’s what she did and what she said and then we will let my parent’s make the decision for her and she will abide by their decision”. “And finally” my wife concludes “She will spend the next four weekends working two ten hour shifts at the hospital in a volunteer capacity with her Aunt Christina. She will follow her aunt around and taking notes because their will be a review at the end of each weekend. If her aunt is in surgery then Bailey will be sitting in the gallery watching all the while taking notes on Christina’s surgeries. That should make them both very happy”.
George arrives on time the next morning as he brings a box of donuts with him to share. Theodore and Addie are so excited as Theodore thanks his uncle for the breakfast treat. My wife says first “You all have to eat your oatmeal and fruit before you can have a donut” as we all watch in awe as Timothy, Theodore and Addie inhale their oatmeal before choosing their favorite donut. Once everyone at the table has completed eating their oatmeal including baby Alexander, my wife washes the baby off as I take Addie and Timothy takes Theodore to wash them up before they all leave for school. When everyone is back out in the kitchen area, I toss Timothy my keys as I ask him “Son, can you take Theodore and Addie to school with you as your mami and Uncle George and I want to talk to your sister before we take her to school. Make sure that all four of you come straight home after school”. With our three children smiling as our oldest son says “Yes ma’am” and they all make their way outside and to my Jeep. Now that there is just the four of us and baby Alexander, George begins to say “Bailey, your mom’s and I have talked it over and we feel that you deserve some punishment for your actions towards your momma”. Then my wife speaks up to say “The three of us feel that you do not deserve to go to the Spring Dance with anyone so we are all telling you that you are not allowed to go”. Then I say “For the next four weekends you will volunteer your time at the hospital and work with your Aunt Christina. You will listen to her every demand and will focus on watching her medical technique and if she is in surgery then you will sit in the gallery and watch her and take notes throughout the day as your father along with your mami and me will quiz you on her surgical procedures”. Bailey begins to say “You” as both my wife and George both say “Bailey don’t” as she remains silent. Then George says “Bailey you are my daughter but you have lost my respect by what you said and how you talked to your momma. We have not raised you to be impolite and unkind. I don’t know what you are going through because you won’t talk to us but for as long as I live you will never talk to any of us that way ever again. Do you understand me young lady”? Bailey begins to cry as we all hear a muffled “Yes sir, daddy” cry. My wife then finishes by saying “We all agreed that we already told you and Timothy that you both could spend your spring break in Miami but tonight you will Skype your abuelo’s and tell them about this matter and if they agree to still let you spend your spring break with them, then that is fine with the three of us. Do I make myself perfectly clear, mija”? Bailey then raises her head to face the three of us as she says “Yes ma’am, perfectly”.
Bailey and I walk into our home almost simultaneously as she has finished her next to her last day of volunteering with her Aunt Christina and I have just finished a thirty six hour shift. Dinner is on the table as my wife has made her famous chicken picatta along with a salad and homemade breadsticks. Theodore takes all the credit for the homemade breadsticks as my wife has been showing him how to cook. Addie takes credit for making the salad and setting the table. I tell both of our children that everything looks wonderful as Bailey says “I’m going to wash up before dinner” as I say “Me too”. When we both arrive back at the table, we both take our seats as Addie says the prayer. In the middle of our dinner I remember what tonight is as I say to my wife “Did Timothy leave already” as I hear our son’s voice and I advert my eyes to the top of the stairs to see our oldest son standing there in a beautiful black tuxedo with a cranberry colored tie as he descends down the stairs. Then my eyes move to see our Bailey turn to look at her brother as she says “You look good Tim…hope you have a good time”. Our son kisses his sister on her forehead and says “Thanks Bailey that means a lot”. Timothy walks over to the fridge as he takes out the corsage that he bought his date for this evening, his girlfriend Charlotte. He kisses each of us as we all tell him to have a good time as my wife tosses him the keys to her vehicle. Once Timothy is out the door, we all go back to eating this delicious meal that my wife and children prepared tonight.
The atmosphere around our hose has been tentative to say the least. Since dolling out punishment to Bailey for her actions almost a month ago, she has been less than talkative to me and only answers my wife and the rest of our family in short direct sentences. She goes to school and comes home but on the weekends she does abide by her punishment and spends her hours at the hospital with her Aunt Christina and has been very cooperative with her quizzes. Tonight I notice, as I am cleaning up the kitchen, that she is helping her brother and sister with their homework, something that I have not seen her do in a long time. Just as I am about to give Alexander his bath I see my wife coming out of our bathroom with Alexander in her arms but he has on his regular clothes as I say to Calliope “Is our baby boy ready for his bath”? My wife moves our son out of my grasp as she says “Bailey, can you join your momma and me please”? Bailey makes her way to stand beside me as my wife says “Ladies, I have run you both a hot bath. The children and I are going over to Addison’s house for a while. So go and enjoy your bath and we will see you both soon”. My wife kisses both my daughter and me as with the help of Theodore and Addie, the four of them leave our home. Bailey and I stand there for a moment trying to figure out what to do next as I say “Well, I am going to take a bath. Goodnight mija”. Before I close my bedroom door I hear Bailey say “Me too, momma and goodnight to you too”.
I am just about to fall asleep after taking a relaxing hot bath when I feel a soft hand and arm slide under the covers as it comes to rest on my stomach. I place my hand on top of the hand on my abdomen when I realize it is not my wife’s hand as it is smaller and I do not feel her wedding ring. I take the hand in mine as I softly whisper “Mija” as I then hear to faint cries of my daughter. I turn in my bed quickly as I ask her “What is wrong baby girl”. Bailey lifts her head to face me as she says calmly “I have been a monster and I have taken it out on you and for that I am so sorry. Everyday for the rest of my life I will tell you how unbelievably sorry I am for hurting you. I don’t know what has gotten into me lately that I could be so cruel to someone I love. Ever since the beginning of this school year, I have gotten worse. My friends who I have known since first grade won’t even talk or even acknowledge me anymore. And all this over a boy…a boy that I thought liked me…but turns out he just used me to make another girl jealous. I know now that you cannot forgive me for my actions right now but I hope to win your trust and respect back by being the best daughter to you again. You are and always have been my momma and for that I love you beyond measure and will earn my way back into your heart. I promise you that above all else, momma. Is it alright if I stay her in your arms until mami and the rest of my siblings come home? I miss my snuggle time with you and I want them back”. I tighten the hold I have on my daughter as I pull her close and say to her “I miss my snuggle time with you too my daughter and yes you can stay right here in my arms for as long as you like”.
That is the way my wife finds the two of us as she returns home from her visit with Addison. My Calliope kisses my forehead and then kisses our daughter’s forehead too. I am awoken by her kiss as I ask my wife in a whisper “Did all of you enjoy your visit tonight with Addison”? My wife whispers back “Yes we did, baby and what’s this”? As my wife kisses our daughter’s forehead again as I say “A revelation and an apology. Why don’t you get ready for bed and I’ll take her upstairs to her bed”. My wife kisses me again as I stir our daughter awake and we make our way out of my bed and up to her bedroom but first Bailey opens the bathroom door to say goodnight to her mami. I tuck my daughter into her bed as she says to me before I leave “I meant what I said earlier momma. I will tell you everyday for the rest of my life how sorry I am for hurting you”. I lean over my daughter’s bed as I kiss her and then tell her “I know you are sorry and I know that you will do everything in your power to make it up to me. I love you mija and even though your words hurt me deeply, I never stopped loving you”. I arrive back in my bedroom as I find my wife sitting up waiting for me. I climb into bed as my wife asks “Everything alright my love” and I snuggle into her arms as we share a very passionate kiss and then I say “It’s getting there baby…it’s getting there”.
The smell of freshly brewed coffee fills the air as well as the smell bacon and sausage as my wife peels herself off my body and begins to run out of our bedroom buck naked. “Calliope” I scream as she stops dead in her tracks and turns to look at me and says “What” as I laugh and say “Clothes, baby” and she looks down at her naked form and says “Oh yea, clothes would be good”. My wife and I get dressed as we are standing in our bedroom doorway watching the scene unfold in front of us as we see Timothy and Theodore making breakfast food items as Addie is setting the table and Bailey is feeding Alexander. I whisper to my wife as our children have not seen us yet “Baby, um…when did we move to Stepford”? My wife giggles a little as our daughter Addie hears that we are up now as she yells “Good morning, mommas, look what we all did for you both”. Calliope and I move about the kitchen as we kiss each of our children and make our way to the table to sit and enjoy our breakfast. Bailey finishes her breakfast in a hurry as she makes her way to the front door to finish her last volunteer day with her Aunt Christina. She tells all of us over her shoulder that she will be home for dinner. We all wave goodbye to her as we concentrate on our breakfast.
Just after we have all eaten our lunch, Calliope puts Alexander down for his afternoon nap and my phone begins to ring as I see it is Christina who is calling. I walk out of the living room and into the library to take the call. Christina asks me and Calliope to come to the hospital as she says that Bailey is fine but she seems to be in shock. I calmly walk out of the library as I tell my wife we need to go to the hospital. I do my best to not alarm the children as my wife gathers our coats and I tell Timothy that we won’t be long. He makes the comment back to me “I know the drill momma and I will keep an eye on everything here. Don’t you two worry about a thing and go save some lives”. My wife and I kiss our children and say that we will see them soon. Once we are outside the house I fill in my wife on what has happened today as we practically run to the hospital. We both make our way to the ER bay doors as Christina meets us there. My wife and I walk into the first waiting room we see and when we open the door our daughter Bailey runs into my arms as she repeats “Thank you, momma…thank you…thank you…thank you”. With a very confused look on both my wife and my face we both turn to Christina but as Bailey holds on to me for dear life her father comes into the room with the explanation of what the hell is going on. Bailey never lets go of me as George begins to say “Ladies, this afternoon a multiple MVA came into the ER. There were five teenagers in an SUV and a tractor-trailer truck driver admitted. All six patients succumbed to their injuries and died within a couple of hours. Five of the teenagers that came in were from St. John’s Catholic High School. The driver, Tristan O’Connell, was the first to be pronounced dead in the ER. The police said that Tristan stole his mother’s SUV and him and four of his friends went on a joyride. They were all on the interstate and were weaving in and out of traffic as passerby’s called the State Police. The WSP tried to stop the SUV but Tristan tried to elude the police and as he was changing lanes he clipped the 18 wheeler making the tractor-trailer truck blow a tire. This action caused the truck to run over the SUV and crush the vehicle. Then the tractor-trailer truck lost control and jack-knifed as it careened down a ravine killing the driver”. George takes a minute to compose himself as Bailey loosens her grip on me and then says “Momma, you saved my life again. Tristan called me while I was on my way to the hospital and said he wanted to see me and that he was sorry for treating me the way he did. He asked me to skip my volunteering today and come with him and his friends as they were driving around town. When I told him that I could not disappoint you again by cutting out on my punishment he became angry and verbally abusive saying that I was just a mama’s girl and a chicken shit and I just hung up on him and came to work. Now look at him…I told you last night that I will make this all up to you. So no matter who in my life from now on calls me a mama’s girl or a chicken shit, I will remember this day and smile with pride because I know how my momma loves me with all of her heart and how she saved my life today”. My wife and I along with Bailey’s father George hold on to her as tight as we can because we are never going to let her go and we will always protect her no matter what happens in all of our futures for as long as we all live.
As I finish this part of our love story book, my wife comes to find me as she has brought me some orange juice and some fruit to share breakfast with me along with her plate of food just as the sun comes up over the horizon. I read to her what I have written as she enjoys her breakfast and remembers that day all to well as she makes a few well deserved comments along the way. Then as our conversation travels throughout the beach area, my wife and I begin to hear the soft voices of our grandchildren and some of the rest of the family as they have found us this morning and come to join us for breakfast. We all watch the sun as it begins to shine in the sky and heat up the air as we all decide to go for a swim in the ocean. Clearing up the dishes and taking them back into the “big house” as we all agree to meet back at the beach in thirty minutes for our morning swim.
After our morning swim in the ocean we all head back to the big house to start getting our things together as my wife and our youngest son and I are heading back to Seattle tomorrow. My wife and I are in the guest house putting things in order as everyone comes crashing through the door as our oldest son says as he is a little out of breath “Momma…mami, turn on the TV” as my wife grabs the remote and does as we are asked. On the TV screen is the President of the University of Miami as the caption below his face reads “Longtime Athletic Director Todd Rawlins has been ousted for inappropriate behavior with a female student”. My wife falls back on our bed in a sitting position as she says “I’ll be damned…they finally got the bastard” and I say “Calliope language” as I gesture around the room and my wife sees our grandchildren in the room. My wife says to me “Sorry baby” and then whispers to our grandson Timothy Daniel “I know Timmy, two more dollars in the swear jar” as he just smiles at her and says “Yes ma’am”.
Within seconds of the announcement on the TV my phone begins to ring as I answer it “Hello” and then I say “Yes this is the Callie Torres that graduated from The University of Miami and whom am I speaking with”? With all eyes on me as I say to the person on the other end of the phone call “We’ll be there by four”. I hang up the phone as my wife Arizona says “What was that all about, baby”? I look up at everyone and say “That was Coach Dugan and he wants all of us to meet him in the Athletic Director’s office at 4 pm.” Our son Alex says “Mami, what do you mean by all of us”? I stand in the middle of the guest house as I say again “He asked to meet all of us before we head back to Seattle tomorrow. He asked if we could come by around four so we all could meet the new Athletic Director and I told him we would be there”. I hear my wife say “Crap…crap…crap Calliope that does not give us much time to get ready. What about the children”? Bailey and Elizabeth say together “We’ll be ready momma” as our sons and son-in-law gather up all of our grandchildren and everyone else flies out of the guest house to go and get ready for our appointment. All of our family members have eaten some lunch and have showered and are in their Sunday best as we meet by the town car. With the final inspection by my wife as she checks everyone attire as we all enter the car.
The town car pulls up in front of the Athletic Director’s office as the whole baseball coaching staff is standing at the bottom of the steps to greet the whole Robbins-Torres family according to our son Alex. Each member of the baseball coaching staff helps everyone out of the town car as they introduce themselves to my family. Coach Dugan then says “Everyone if you will follow me and my very capable staff the new athletic director’s office we will all go and have a little chat”. The director’s office is filled with relaxing chairs and sofas for all of us to have a seat and we all do find a place to sit. The grandchildren find a place on their parent’s laps as Gabriela takes a seat on my lap so that Alexander and my wife can talk freely to the new athletic director. A woman that looks to be about my wife’s and my age comes walking into the room and takes her place behind the large mahogany desk as both my wife and our oldest daughter inhale a deep breath and say “Oh no” at the same time. Before I can ask my wife anything this woman says as she looks at my wife “You…you are Callie Torres and you miss…you are Bailey Robbins-Torres” as both my wife and daughter scream “Ms. Melendez” as the three of them and our granddaughter Michelle are transformed into a huge group hug as the rest of the Robbins-Torres family sit in shock and wait for an explanation. Within a few seconds after our daughter our granddaughter and my wife all separate themselves from Ms. Melendez my wife begins to tell us what is going on. “Everybody I would like you all to meet the best softball coach this university has ever seen, Ms. Sophia Melendez”. Then Bailey says “Ms. Melendez has coached the girl’s softball team for over forty years now” as we all hear Ms. Melendez say “Please ladies and everyone, call me Sophia”.
For the next hour or so my wife and daughter’s college softball coach Sophia mingles with our family. My wife and I find a corner of the room to talk as I notice that Sophia has taken Elizabeth and Bailey off to sit on a sofa with all five of our grandchildren as she tells our grandchildren about how their mama’s helped the university win a softball championship when they both attended school here. She even has a photo album with all of their pictures as our grandchildren flip though the photo album and are amazed. My wife begins to tell me what an amazing woman Sophia is as she talks about when her sister Aria past away while going to the university. “Ms. Melendez tried to recruit Aria for the softball team but Aria had no interest in the game even when Coach Melendez asked her to come to some of the games. Aria would come home while attending U of M and all she would talk about was this remarkable coach and told me that if I do decide to attend U of M and play softball that I would be able to meet this woman. But even after all of that, Aria’s first love was swimming so she declined Coach Melendez’s offer but they remained friends until Aria death. So when I did decide to attend the University of Miami, I joined the softball team for that reason”.
Athletic Director Dr. Sophia Melendez asks her baseball coaching staff to take the rest of the Robbins-Torres family on a tour of the Athletic compound so she may talk to our son along with my wife and me about our son’s future. Sophia tells the three of us “Although the announcement will make officially be next week, the Board of Directors and all the athletic coaching staffs have unanimously named me the new Athletic Director effective immediately. Now I would like to talk to all of you about Alexander’s future here at The University of Miami”. The four of us talk and the four of us listen as the central conversation focuses on what Alexander can do for the program and what our son wants to do with his life. When the rest of our family returns to Dr. Melendez’s office with stories of what they have seen today and voices their opinion about the university, Sophia stands to say “It has been my great pleasure to meet all of you and to spend this afternoon with you’. Dr. Melendez turns to face our son as she says “You my dear boy have a wonderful and loving family. My hope is that you will choose our school of higher education to attend for the next four years and take you rightful position on our baseball team. But if you choose to go elsewhere for your education, then I wish you all the best this world has to offer you”. Sophia shakes our son’s hand firmly as he says “Thank you for your interest in me and for your gracious hosting of my family this afternoon. It means the world to me that you have been so kind and generous to my family”. The new athletic director hugs our son as she whispers in his ear “The pleasure is all mine”. With a round of hugging and saying goodbye to everyone at the university, the whole Robbins-Torres family heads back to the town car and back home. Alexander, my wife and I fly back to Seattle tomorrow and the three of us have to make some big decisions concerning all of our futures.