Page 93 of Trip Through Your Wires

“Rockies,” I confirm as he settles back into his chair, and I do the same. “And it’s good. Really good.”

“Rockies?” He reaches for his drink and takes a sip. “Expansion team, yeah?”

“Yup,” I nod. “Colorado.”

My dad loved baseball. Bought my first glove, taught me how to throw, and signed me up for little league. But when my passion for the sport turned serious he learned all he could about the world of pro ball. He knew all about the MLB, from team standings to division news.

“Tell me more.” He sets his drink down, and sits back, listening.

“Well…” I press both elbows into the table and clasp my hands together. “It’s a fast track offer. No time in the minors. They give us time to finish college over the summer and fall, then report to Tucson in the Spring.”

“Us?” He rubs his chin. “They have an offer out to another teammate?”

“Yeah,” I grin. “Cruz.”

“Really?” He looks at me, eyes wide.

“The offer is for a catcher/pitcher duo,” I confirm.

“Well, all be damned,” he shakes his head. “What does he think about it?”

“He’s giving it serious thought. He knows as well as I do that the road to the majors can be long, and what they’re offering is too good not to consider. We get to play ball and get our degrees.”

My dad listens, nodding. “When do you owe them an answer?”

“Two weeks. Coach told us to talk with our families and have a lawyer review the contract. Do you know of one?” I look to from him to mom.

“I do,” she nods. “A couple, actually. Let me make a few calls after dinner and see who is available.”

“That would be great,” I give her a grateful smile. “Thanks, mom.”

Everyone falls quiet for a minute then my sister speaks up. “So, clearly, your life is going better than mine.”

“Well hey there, Nat.” I spear a potato with my fork and take a bite. “I almost forgot you were here. Why are you so quiet?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she shrugs, “probably because anything I have to say will pale to your news. The world of advertising isn’t nearly as exciting as major league baseball.”

“Now, sis,” I spear a carrot and plop it into my mouth. “Don’t be jealous. It’s not a good look.”

I wink at her and reach for my drink, taking a smug sip. My sister Natalie works at an advertising agency in Stamford and to save money, lives with two roommates. According to mom, she may as well just move back home since she is always here for food and laundry.

She’s supported me a lot over the years and went to tonight’s opener against UConn, then caught a ride home with my parents to have dinner and hang out. She’d been quiet tonight, and it wasn’t like her. She was usually a ball of energy.

“Well, brother dear, neither were you in parachute pants,” she shoots back, reaching for her drink, and taking a smug sip of her own.

“Hey,” I laugh and nudge her with my foot, to which she kicks back. “Shall we talk about your banana clip phase?”

She laughs and I laugh back, and in no time my parents are laughing too.

Dinner was always animated and full of laughter growing up. That’s probably why I loved living with Cruz, Ellery and Marcus at the row house. When it’s the five of us—or six if Jenica is in town—the house buzzed with energy and I loved it.

I can’t believe I ever convinced myself that having a big, noisy family would never be my life. It’s funny what we believe when we don’t know any better because now I can’t wait until I have a family of my own.

“Okay, okay,” I hold up my hand in a sign of truce. “I’m sorry. How is work?”

“It’s good,” she confirms, her face lighting up. “We just got pulled into Coca-Cola’s Olympics campaign. The Dream Team is getting a lot of buzz so they are trying to buy as much ad space as possible.”

Nat fills us in on the commercial she got to work on with Michael Jordan and Larry Bird. It sounds exciting. “That’s awesome, Nat. Congrats.”

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