The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride

Content Warning: This section contains a brief discussion of abuse.

Murray and Jason arrive at the football field where Mindy and the other cheerleaders are practicing. Murray gives Jason his hat to disguise him and sends him over to the nearest cheerleader to ask if Mindy has a boyfriend. Jason is nervous, but he manages to follow Murray’s instructions. He returns and reports that Mindy is single but has a crush on the football quarterback. Murray congratulates him; tomorrow, he will help Jason win his kiss.

At home, Murray listens to a message from his agent, who offers him more unwanted modeling work. On an impulse, Murray goes up to the attic, where he has not been in years. He finds a record that features commentary on one of his baseball games, and he examines his most precious baseball card. He loved his sports career, but it often took him away from Jenny and their two sons for much of the year. As a result, he was never close to his sons. He becomes emotional and wishes he had been “the kind of man who [could] say the things he feels in his heart” (114).