an act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities.
Choice
Chapter One | Bleacher Heat
“The power of a glance has been so much abused in love stories, that it has come to be disbelieved in. Few people dare now to say that two beings have fallen in love because they have looked at each other. Yet it is in this way that love begins, and in this way only.”
– Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
.
Harper Eliot first saw her at a middle school football game.
He’d seen and talked with her innocently many times before, but today he was emotionally intoxicated in her presence. He, too, was alerted that he could never have her for himself. They would never be a couple. It would never be an option, never discussed, only an opportunity to make one bad choice after another and ultimately hurt others immensely.
Harper didn’t know it then, but he would soon find out some four years later, the words of Robert Kincaid – played by Clint Eastwood – in the film “Bridges of Madison County” to be prophetic and accurate: “In a universe of ambiguity, this kind of certainty comes only once, and never again, no matter how many lifetimes you live.”
In the years to come, four to be exact, Harper would know with complete certainty that he loved Ellie.
…..
The sun was bright and hot, and as customary for early evening, it positioned itself in your eyes so quickly that it could render one blind.
“Bleacher Heat,” as I like to call it, is a real phenomenon. When one finds themself in the stands watching a game, and the sun is directly upon your face, there is no way of escaping its wrath. Using a hand as a sun visor and a player paper program as a fan are the only weapons of defense to fight off intense rays at a youth sporting event.
September in the Midwest: bright Sun, July heat, and sweat bees. Oh, how I hate the annoying sweat bees.
Harper loved sports; his two older boys both excelled in all they did athletically. Holden, his oldest son, is the senior starting quarterback, and his younger son, James, a sophomore, is the starting varsity point guard. Harper’s youngest daughter, Grace, was the best accident that has ever happened in his life. Harper loved Grace with all his heart. But today, Harper is there for his 8th-grade daughter, Hannah. Harper loved Hannah, and the boys, in the same way he loved Grace: completely.
Hannah was a cheerleader for the Vineland Middle School Vikings football team. Harper stood at the waist-high chain link fence, using his forearms to lean forward on the fence. Harper waved at Hannah to announce his presence. He’d been repeating this behavior since the opening kick-off. Harper felt his daughter needed the reassurance of his commitment to her pursuits and activities. Hannah wasn’t convinced her dad was into cheerleading like he was football and basketball. She could not have been more right, but what Hannah didn’t know was her dad worshipped the ground she walked on. No one warmed Harper’s heart more than Hannah and her sister.
Harper Eliot’s wife, and the mother to Holden, James, Hannah, and Grace, was Elaine Eliot. Elaine, in a word, was wonderful. She was also caring. If you tried, you could not find one person to say one bad thing about Laney.
As Harper was leaving the game in the middle of the fourth quarter, he heard a faint voice call out his name; “Harper, hey, Harper.”
As Harper traveled towards the voice, covering his eyes from the west sun, he couldn’t determine who it was until the bleachers blocked the sun. While he stood behind the bleachers, looking up, he realized Ellie was the one standing on the top row looking down at him.
Ellie never looked more beautiful. The sun silhouetted her perfect frame. She wore a simple pair of olive shorts. They were lightweight and adorably short without being obnoxiously slutty. Yes, unfortunately, one can be obnoxiously slutty. She wore a black cotton tank top. Ellie was long without being too tall. Her features were athletic. Her long legs were perfectly shaped. Ellie’s features were small and delicate. Her hands, fingers, eyes, nose, and ears were all diminutive and darling.
Her hair was long and the lightest of brown. Her breasts were entertaining and lovely. They were supple and garnered the right kind of attention. Ellie’s eyes were faint blue. Her smile was inviting and safe. Her lips were slightly full and were so soft looking they were distracting. When Ellie spoke to you, it was hard to remain focused and hear what she was saying. Ellie’s beauty was fresh, sexy-cute, innocent, and memorable. She was intoxicating. In the words of F. Scoot Fitzgerald, Ellie was “uncomfortably beautiful.”
With all this and much more, Ellie would be Harper’s dream for the remainder of his life. A dream, never a reality.
Ellie Bryant was a wife of sixteen years and a mother of thirteen-year-old twins. Her husband, John, and she named their twins Gifford and Gabriella. Everyone, but their father, called them ‘Giffy’ and ‘Gabby.’ Their dad called them Giff and Ella.
Giffy was the star athlete at Vineland middle school. He was the quarterback on the football team, the leading scorer on the basketball team, and the best shortstop in the county. Giffy was ruggedly handsome for an eighth grader, with light gold-colored skin from long days at the pool and lake. Giffy was all-American great.
Gabby, like her mother, was simply breathtaking. She had the fresh and innocent beauty that would always be her passage to a life that few could ever hope to live. Gabby will have the opportunity to do many things, but she will always be spoken for and taken care of with great detail and wealth. Gabby was all-American beautiful.
“Seen enough?” Ellie says to Harper with the cutest smile ever recorded in the the history of smiles. “Yes,” Harper replies from behind the bleachers. “Giffy looks great out there,” he added. Well, that makes two of you; I love your tie today,” Ellie exclaims. “You always wear the nicest clothes,” Elli added. “Thank you,” says Harper, in the shyest possible way.
Ellie was right; today, Harper looked the part of a handsome gentleman. Harper wore a Brooks Brother, slim fit, light blue button down with a Navy blue, orange striped regimental tie. He had on brown suede Gucci loafers and wore slim-fit dress khaki trousers. The trousers were cuffed. Harper’s clothes fit him like white gloves on a butler. They fit perfectly without being tight.
Harper’s watch was thin with a brown leather strap. Harper’s wedding band was a simple, classic thin gold band. His belt was a Salvatore Ferragamo Adjustable Gancini crocodile belt. His pant fell perfectly to his ankle, displaying his no sock, loafer look impeccably. Harper has loved the no sock, loafer look from the first time he saw President John F. Kennedy in a magazine donning the same look while in Palm Beach, Florida, one winter.
Harper loved fashion without entertaining obsession or becoming a slave to it. Harper had a remarkable ability to look put together without the hint of working too hard at doing so. Great fashion was Harper’s uniform. Harper could fall into a suit or blue blazer like Halle Berry could fall into a bikini. Today was no different.
“Are you and Laney excited for this Friday night? Is Holden ready to go?” Ask Ellie. This Friday was a big night Vineland high school football and for Holden, as his team was competing to get to the states again this year, and for Holden, as he was only 86 yards shy of breaking the career passing record at Vineland. The Vikings lost the state championship the previous year in 2014. Everyone in the football-crazed community hoped 2015 would be different.
With the kindest demeanor, Harper replied that the entire Eliot family was “calm and excited at the same time.” Ellie believed him. She wasn’t alone; everyone believed Harper. Everyone had confidence in Harper. Harper Eliot could simultaneously be the mayor, school superintendent, and chamber of commerce president if he wanted. Harper was likable, approachable, and had the extraordinary ability to leave you a little better than when he found you.
Harper rarely made a poor decision or disappointed another person. His desire for Ellie would threaten and challenge all of this and more. ||. 1404
…
Artwork: Kadir Nelson | Sweet Liberty | 2020
SWEET LIBERTY | LIMITED EDITION GICLEE ON PAPER
Award-winning artist Kadir Nelson celebrates the 2020 Presidential Election with a glowing painting of a proud young girl holding an American flag. Her beautiful crown is adorned with a blue iris (a symbol of hope and faith) and her sleeves are rolled up, a sweet reminder of the importance of social and political movements, and the hard work necessary to maintain liberty, justice, and equality for all people.
*This painting first appeared on the cover of The New Yorker Magazine on November 23, 2020.
Limited edition gicleé on watercolor paper, published by The JKBN Group LLC and Kadir Nelson, Inc., November 2020.
Edition size: 500 Limited Edition Giclées on Watercolor Paper; 50 Artist’s Proofs; 30 Remarqués
Image Size: 18” x 24” // Signed by the Artist
