Invisible String

25

Across the room, Travis zipped up his suitcase and looked at me with that familiar, gentle guilt in his eyes. “I still can’t believe your award show and my game are on the same damn day.”

I gave him a small, tired smile. “I mean… it’s kind of poetic. We both love what we do. We both made it work before. We’ll do it again.”

He came over and wrapped his arms around me from behind, his chin resting on my shoulder. “I just hate not being able to be there. You’re nominated.”

“And you’re starting. It’s a big game.” I leaned back into him, letting myself rest there for a moment. “Besides, it’s not the first award show I’ve walked without you. I’ll survive.”

He kissed the side of my head. “Still not the same without you.”

Lily looked up at us from the bed. “Are we going on a plane now?”

“Almost, baby,” Travis said, stepping over to ruffle her curls. “We’ve got to finish packing first. You want to help Mama pick her shoes?”

“No,” she said sweetly, and I burst out laughing.

“Appreciate the honesty,” I told her, shaking my head.

The rest of the villa was in full goodbye mode—Kylie and Jason wrangling their girls, Wyatt helping zip up her younger sisters’ backpacks while asking questions like “Can we go on another vacation in the winter?” and “Why do grown-ups always look so tired when we’re having fun?”

It was bittersweet, the way every good trip ends. But my heart felt full. Sunburnt. Sore in places no one talks about. But full.

As we loaded into the cars and waved goodbye to the sea-salt air and the lazy mornings, I squeezed Travis’s hand and glanced over at him.

“You’ll text me during halftime?”

“You’ll send me selfies from the red carpet?”

I smiled. “Every single one.”

---

The wheels of the jet touched down with a soft bounce on the Kansas City tarmac, and I felt Travis’s fingers flex in mine as he glanced out the window. His game-day mode was already kicking in—eyes focused, posture tight, like he was mentally mapping out every play. The rest of us were quiet, letting him go into his zone while the flight attendants prepped for the next leg of our journey.

He turned to me just before the door opened. “I hate splitting up like this.”

I gave him a soft smile. “It’s just a couple days. You go win, and I’ll go try not to trip over my own heels.”

Jason chuckled from a few seats back. “You two are disgustingly supportive, you know that?”

Kylie added, “It’s not normal. But it’s cute.”

I rolled my eyes playfully. “Thank you for that glowing review of our relationship.”

We all stood and stretched as the stairs were rolled up to the door. Travis hugged Lily tight and kissed the top of Mira’s head as I balanced her in my arms. Then, he leaned in close to me. “I love you. Be safe. And have fun tonight.”

I kissed him slowly, the kind of kiss that said I’d be thinking about him all night. “Love you. Break a record.”

Travis grabbed his bag and headed down the stairs, a few of the staff waiting for him at the bottom, already talking logistics. The door closed behind him, and just like that, we were off again.

Back in the air, Mira was napping in her car seat and Lily was coloring next to Wyatt, both giggling at something in their shared notebook. I shifted closer to Kylie, who was already scrolling her calendar on her phone.