Page 30 of Rain Delay

“Yes, Mom,” I said with a laugh as I shut my laptop. “As much as I know you would love to interrogate me, I actually have to go do my job.”

“Hm. Convenient.”

“Or maybe I just know all your tricks by now.”

“Not all of them.”

I smile despite myself. “I’ll text you after the game.”

“You better. And don’t think we’re done talking about this.”

“Love you too, Mom!”

When I got down to the field, I fixed my sunglasses and pulled my phone back out of my pocket to capture some more content of Wyatt. A sharp breeze hit me, causing me to shiver a little.

I was then startled by my phone ringing, seeing that Carly was calling me. She really needed to stop calling unannounced; it scared the shit out of me.

“Carly, hi!” I answer, putting the phone against my ear.

“Eliana! I just wanted to call and say that MLB is loving what you’re doing with Wyatt’s Instagram!” She exclaimed, and I couldn’t help but smile. “ESPN shared your stuff, and they’re featuring it as a way to start talking about Wyatt and the Crafters more!”

The smile on my face grew into a giant grin.

I can barely get out a thank you before I find myself listening to Carly ramble off all of these different things she suggested I do to make sure more people are talking about the team, but more importantly, Wyatt. That’s what the people wanted.

“The fans are eating this shit up, El. You should be so proud of yourself!” She tells me, and this overwhelming sense of emotion swells up in my chest.

This is what made the job worth it. This is what made the job feel so rewarding.

Last season, I spent nights wondering if I was good enough. Wondering if people were actually going to trust that I knew what I was doing.

And now I had ESPN sharing my work to the world.

When the call ended, I went to Wyatt’s Instagram, looking at the notifications.

People were definitely eating the content up. They loved seeing this type of stuff from him.

Thank GOD for baseball season.

I’m calling it. MVP. You were robbed last year, man.

OOOOO He’s getting fancy now!!!

This video is giving Friday Night Lights energy.

I laugh to myself reading some of these comments. Of course, there was the occasional hate comment – Something about him being able to field a ball and not make an error, or something so dumb and minuscule. However, the positivity outweighed the negative.

I looked at the next post I did of him going through a typical day at the gym. I realized I wasn’t the only girl in the world who would probably catch myself distracted at the sight of him working out. The comments showed me that.

The man knew he was attractive; he didn’t have to announce it to the world. I was just giving the fans what they wanted. Which was more of Wyatt Mitchell.

I swiped on Instagram, going to the story feature. I took a video of Wyatt locked in and focused as he and a couple of his teammates were practicing fielding plays. He looked calm and confident, focused on the ball as his shoulders squared and he squatted slightly, getting ready to pounce the moment the ball left the bat.

I held my phone steady in my hand as I made sure he stayed in frame. I got him as he scooped up the ball, drilling it towards our first baseman, Miles Davis. The smile on Wyatt’s face when he was able to make that play was a perfect end to the video. I shared it for his fans to see before they would start making their way into the stadium.

I tried not to talk to Wyatt a whole lot during game days. I knew when he was locked in. Once he was, nothing else mattered.

I then grabbed my camera to get some B-Roll footage of the stadium seats before the fans would fill them. As I pan the camera around, I stop on Wyatt again, and he’s pointing at the camera. It was the first time he really ‘acknowledged’ me while he was in work mode.