Page 2 of Batter Up!

“I don’t think she minds,” I heard Papaw say with a chuckle behind me. “Sweetheart, are you ok?”

“I’m fine,” I said, taking a cookie offered to me by the third boy. I took a bite while I watched as the boy who caught my attention also took a bite.

“These are really good,” he murmured, his mouth full. “Did you make them?”

“I did,” I said proudly. “Someday, I want to own my own bakery.”

“You would have my business with cookies like these,” he replied, popping another whole cookie into his mouth. “I’ve never tasted anything like this.”

“I’m glad you like them,” I replied, secretly thrilled at his praise.

He suddenly began to cough and couldn’t stop. His eyes started to water, and he started to massage his throat.

“Oh, shit. Mom!” One of the other boys yelled, “Where is your purse?”

I wasn’t sure what was happening, but it didn’t look good.

“Were there nuts in the cookies?” The woman asked as she began digging in her huge purse.

“Yes, these are my favorite hazelnut chocolate chip cookies.” I replied as I felt tears welling up in my own eyes. “I am so sorry!”

“Don’t worry. It happens a lot,” one of the boys said nonchalantly while my crush tried to offer me a smile, but I could tell he was in pain.

The woman grabbed a blue pen out of her purse and immediately jabbed it into his leg. His coughing began to slow, and he sat down on the ground, trying to catch his breath.

“Do you feel okay? Do we need to go to the hospital?” The woman asked as she gently rubbed his back.

He shook his head and held up his pointer finger to let her know he needed a minute.

“I am so sorry,” I repeated as I held onto my papaw’s arm. “I should have asked if you had any allergies.”

“He’s the one with allergies, so he should have asked,” one of the boys said dismissively. “But he was too busy staring at a pretty girl.”

“Shut up,” the object of my attention hissed, his first words since his allergic reaction. “I’ll be okay. Don’t worry.” He spoke slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. He reached for my hand and gently squeezed it.

“Are you sure he doesn’t need to go to the hospital?” Papaw asked. “I have insurance if that’s the reason, and since it was our cookies…”

“Oh, no. I’m an RN, and if I think for a second he needs to go, I will take him. I just can’t believe he didn’t ask. I’ve always drilled into his head to ask if something has nuts in it, but of course, the one time he doesn’t ask,” his mom said, then turned to look at him. “I’m going to watch you closely. No physical activity for the next ninety minutes, young man. I don’t want you to be alone, either. I volunteered to check people in, and that starts in a few minutes. I’m going to see if someone can switch with me.”

“You can go,” the boy said. He looked around, his wide green eyes taking everything in, then pointed over to a huge tree with a shady area underneath. “I’ll just watch from under that tree over there. It’s not far from the check-in tent.”

“I can sit with him,” I volunteered, not ready to leave him yet.

“I don’t want you to miss out on going down the muddy hill,” his mom argued. “I can sit with him.”

“Mom!” My crush hissed. “Maybe she doesn’t want to get muddy?”

“Yeah, my granddaughter doesn’t like to get messy,” Papaw interjected.

“Well, if you don’t mind,” his mom agreed. “Boys, you be sure to check in to make sure he’s doing ok and call me the minute he’s not feeling well.”

“We promise,” the other two boys chorused at the same time before they ran for the muddy hill. I walked with him toward the tree, waving over my shoulder to Papaw as he called out that he was going to go check us in at the motel we were staying at. He told me he’d find me soon.

“So, Strawberry Shortcake, where are you from?”

“Strawberry Shortcake, huh? I like that,” I said with a grin.

“Well, you’re short with strawberry-colored hair. It works,” he said, his dimples popping out. “Plus, I’m not allergic to strawberries, so it’s a safe nickname.”

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