Page 21 of Small Town CEO Grump

We both looked out at the field and watched the game. Although neither of us was talking, it wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable. It was as if we both knew that nothing more needed to be said at that moment.

I was glad to know more about her, and what I had just learned made me like her even more.

At that moment Tyler made a great play, and Jenna and I both jumped to our feet to cheer for him. He looked over and smiled, and Jenna grabbed my arm.

“Did you see that smile?” she asked. “He’s so happy!”

“I did,” I said. “And he should be! That was a great play.”

“It was,” she said, sitting back down into her chair. “But the greatest thing is that we worked on that exact play all last weekend. He was really having a hard time making the backhand grab, and so we practiced it over and over again until he felt completely comfortable with it. And it paid off tonight! I love that!”

“That’s awesome,” I said.

I sat in silence, completely in awe of her. She was such a good mother. I loved the fact that she was so committed to him that she would spend hours at the field, helping him perfect one skill. I knew that a lot of it came from the fact that she was a ballplayer herself and that she knew what she was talking about, but it also spoke volumes about how much she cared for her son.

Get a hold of yourself, I thought. You can’t go one step further down this road. She works for you, and she is not going to date you. You can be her friend, and you can care about her kid, but it has to stop there.

“Are you alright?” Jenna asked, breaking me out of my reverie.

“Yes,” I said. “Sorry, I was zoned out with my thoughts.”

“Anything you want to share?”

I shook my head. “No, nothing worth sharing. Just sorting some stuff out.”

“Got it,” Jenna said.

I knew that she wasn’t going to press me further, and I was grateful. The rest of the game went by quickly. Tyler had two good hits, and the team won again.

After the game Jenna and I stood and made casual conversation with the parents waiting for their sons. There were two moms who I recognized from the other game I had gone to. They had made a point of asking Jenna to introduce me, and I could sense that Jenna was embarrassed, although she complied.

I was polite and spoke briefly with the women, but I quickly moved on from the conversation.

Tyler came off the field and ran straight to Jenna, tightly wrapping his arms around her.

“Did you see, Mama? Did you see me do the play we worked on?” He asked, excitedly.

“I did, Bubba!” Jenna answered. “I am so proud of you. All of your hard work paid off!”

“Can we work more this weekend? I want to get even better!” Tyler asked.

“Of course,” Jenna said, smiling.

Tyler came up to me and shook my hand. “Hello, Sir,” he said.

“Hello, Tyler,” I answered. “That was a great game!”

“Thank you,” he said, smiling. “Thank you for coming to watch me play! And for taking us to get dessert!”

“You’re welcome,” I said. “I’m going to go talk to Coach for a little bit, and then we will go. Does that sound good?”

Tyler nodded. “That sounds great.”

Twenty minutes later we were settled into a booth at the local diner, looking at the dessert menus.

“What are you going to get, Tyler?” I asked.

“I think I’m going to get a chocolate milkshake. I was deciding between that and a chocolate sundae, but I think the shake is bigger!”

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