“Listen, Tasha…I genuinely love your idea for this. I’m not making this donation because I feel sorry for you. I’m doing it because it’s important to me.” Adam stared at me the way he had that night at his house when I had learned what a great guy he was. “The youth center in my hometown saved me when I was a kid. And yes, I’m an athlete, so most people would assume that I went there to throw around a ball. But in all actuality, that’s not completely true. I could’ve done that at home—the reason for going to the center was to do something I couldn’t do at home. It was to get me around other kids and keep me off the streets.”
“Then what did you go for?”
“There was an elderly woman who lived near the center back home, and she came down every day after school to teach the kids art—all kinds. Yes, I played ball there. But I also learned valuable life skills that I never would’ve gotten anywhere else. And had Mrs. Mason not been there every day, I wouldn’t be the person I am right now.”
It was an incredibly touching moment, but I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t speak up in the most inappropriate times. “What does that have to do with our idea for a video game area here?”
At least he smiled, easing my worry that I might’ve offended him. “I just mean that there are lots of reasons for kids to come to a place like this. Most people assume it’s for the sports, but it’s not. Art gave me an outlet for when things got hard. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mario could do the same for someone else.”
Well, once he explained it like that, it made sense.
“If it were up to me, I’d expand this entire center to make room for all kinds of activities,” Adam continued. “But I think it’d be smart to focus on one thing at a time, and since you have already given this a lot of thought, I’d love to help you achieve it.”
We all went through the preliminary concept for the addition, tossing out suggestions and possible issues. Actually, they did most of that while I just stared in awe. After finding out that I wouldn’t get any money from Tiffany, I had given up on all of this. I didn’t think it would ever be possible—it wasn’t like Dave or I would ever fall into a pit of money, and without that, our dream was unachievable.
I’d blamed myself. Had I not agreed to it, I never would’ve gotten my hopes up for this expansion. I also never would’ve lost my job or put Dave in the financial position he was in after I came back. We were both depending on that money. But now, I was able to see that everything really did happen for a reason. Had I not pretended to be my sister, then I never would’ve met Adam, and if I’d never met Adam, then all this would’ve been nothing more than a pipedream.
I also never would’ve met Jacoby, and had I never met him, I wouldn’t be completely heartbroken. So, I guess there were pros and cons to that. Hopefully, the reason for meeting and then losing Jacoby would show itself sooner rather than later, because I needed to make sense of the pain inside.
After the meeting, Adam walked out with Dave and me. They chatted all the way out to the parking lot. Meanwhile, I followed behind, lost in thoughts of Jacoby. That’s what sucked the most—something would make me think of him, and then I wouldn’t be able to stop thinking of him. Before I knew it, my stomach would be a rocky sea of anxiety as I worried about how he was handling everything.
“Thanks again, Adam. You have no idea how much this means to all of us, not just me.” Dave shook his hand, which managed to pull me out of my depressing thoughts long enough to giggle at the view.
Adam was a big guy; most guys appeared small when standing next to him. But considering that Dave was an inch or so shorter than me, the sight of him staring up at Adam was comical. And the second that Dave turned to glare at me, I knew that he wasn’t oblivious to what I found amusing.
“I’m just happy to get this idea of yours moving.” Adam glanced between Dave and me with genuine gratitude in his eyes. “Both of you. You deserve to get this up and going, and the kids around here deserve the opportunity for more.”
Someone opened the front door and called for Dave. He nodded at them and then finished telling us goodbye. A few seconds later, Adam and I were left alone next to my car—which was about seventy-seven levels below what he drove.
“Listen, Tasha, I was hoping I’d get a chance to speak with you privately. I feel awful about what happened to you. As soon as I heard, I knew I had to do something to make it right. Not only did you have to put up with the cameras and the lying, but then you weren’t even compensated for it. That wasn’t right.”
“I appreciate that, Adam. You really don’t know how much it means to all of us that you’re doing this with the center. Just that makes everything I went through completely worth it.”
“You really don’t have to thank me for that, but I’m not only talking about the center. You lost everything. You put your life on pause so your sister didn’t have to, only to come back and find out that you no longer even have a job.”
“Wow, Dave really told you everything, didn’t he?”
He furrowed his brow in confusion. “Dave didn’t tell me any of this.”
“Then how did you know about the youth center and my job?” I wasn’t dumb enough to think Tiffany had said anything about it.
“Ty called me after
