Page 81 of The Champion
I burst into tears. Another moment in my life when I wascrying and not in a normal way, snot, tears, heaving, slobber...had it all.
Jameson even had to take baby Charlie from me.
“Shhh...shhh...it’s okay, honey.” He soothed against me.
“I know...it’sjust that—” I gave up trying to answerand cried into his hooded sweatshirt.
Once I finally calmed down—took me a good twentyminutes—but once I did, I was able to hold Charlie again and learned that thebaby Alley wouldn’t let go of was named Noah David.
Two new little Gomez babies arrived on Thanksgiving.
Giving birth seems intense and maybe even magical but theact itself is disgusting to me. Even though it’s disgusting it still holdssomething incredible which is new life.
11.Adding Spoiler –Sway
Adding Spoiler –This is a term used to describe the changing of the direction of a spoiler orwing on a race car. Usually adjusting the angle of the spoiler creates down forceand gives the car more grip on the track.
It wasn’t long after the birth of Emma and Aiden’s boysand we found ourselves heading to New York for the championship banquet.
Watching my husband give his second championship speechwas probably right up there with the day our son was born. I was so proud ofhim. He worked so hard for everything. He deserved this.
I sat there in my creamstupidest-idea-ever-with-a-baby-in-your-lap evening gown with Axel, elated. Hewas wearing a tiny tuxedo that resembled Jameson’s and I don’t think I hadstopped smiling since I put it on him.
He was adorable.
My smile widened when they announced my husband. My eyeslocked with Jameson standing in the shadows of the stage; his head bent forwarddisplaying the nervous energy he fought so hard to disguise.
“What this young man has done in the last two years mostspend their entire careers trying to accomplish and this twenty-four year oldkid has done it with poise and reverence. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcomeyour Nextel Cup Series Champion, Driver of the Ford number nine Simplex Shocksand Springs, Jameson Riley!”
When Axel heard his daddy’s voice, his head shot towardthe stage.
Jameson made his way to the podium and stopped. His headremained bent forward staring at his hands before he smiled and slowly met thegaze of the audience as they cheered.
He then laughed and shook his head as the cheeringcontinued longer than it had last year. In the background, they played a videomontage of his season highlighting each win and then a few of the disappointingfinishes he’d had. I watched closely as Jameson turned and watched the videountil the screen stayed on the image of him holding the championship trophybeside his dad in Homestead.
With a smirk, he faced the podium again. He nodded againand took a deep breath, a nervous energy radiated from him.
“There are so many people I need to thank this year and Iknow I can’t think of all of them so if I forget you, I’m truly sorry.” Hesmiled and looked over at Axel and me sitting on the side of the stage andwinked.
He went on to thank his crew, sponsors, family, and ahandful of drivers. I knew I was crying when he started thanking his family andnaming each one and the strength they brought to the team. I could feel thetears tickling my cheeks as they ran down my face. Axel, who was still seatedon my lap, looked up at me when he sensed my hysteria. I thought maybe I shouldcontrol myself but all I could do was sit and watch my best friend, my husbandand the father of my son, thanking everyone he thought deserved this title morethan him.
Kyle looked at me with wide eyes at one point. I wavedhim off and continued my girly-emotional-breakdown.
As I couldn’t stop crying, Axel had wiggled loose and allbut ran over to Jameson. My dress wasn’t exactly the dress to wear if youneeded to chase a kid around but before I could make a fool of myself, Jamesonwaved me off.
When Axel reached him the crowdawwdin response.
Jameson bent down and picked him up. “This is my son,Axel.”
Everyone, including me,awwdagain at the lookthey exchanged with each other and Axel gave him that big cheesy grin he was sogood at.
“This little man and thatabsolutelybeautifulwoman sitting right there,” he pointed at me, keeping his eyes locked withmine, “are my inspiration. They never let me down and late at night wheneverything else fades away, they are there for me...nomatter what.” He winked at me again. “I never thought I’d win anotherchampionship this soon. Hell, I never thought I’d win the first one buteveryone I thanked...they deserve thisjust as much as I do, if not more.”
The proud Mama Wizard I was lost it completely and criedagainst Jimi’s shoulder.
Adding Spoiler – Jameson
After the championship banquet we planned a birthdaycelebration for our little spaz. It seemed, though it seemed this way everyyear, no matter what I did to slow the off season, time flew by.
