Page 54 of Totally Opposed

“Tonight?”

“Yep. We have to pick him and Alan up on our way back.”

“He’s going to leave his house?”

“Yep, that’s what Alan said. He’s even leaving the cat behind.”

“Nice, well the more the merrier, right?”

She laughs, covering her mouth as her eyes go a little wider, like she’s just thought of something hilarious.

“What?”

“Gramps is coming to dinner with a house full of Banana Ball players.”

Don hasn’t made it any secret he doesn’t think what we play is baseball. I steer clear of the topic as best I can when I visit him. He’d much rather talk about Precious and what I miss most about London, so it usually isn’t hard to steer the conversation that way whenever it does come up.

“Umm, maybe he should bring the cat.”

We finish paying and drive back to collect them. Surprisingly, Alan and Gramps are on the curb waiting when we arrive. I quickly jump out of the front passenger seat the second she stops.

“Here, Mr. Beaker,” I say, holding the door open for him. He’s carrying an old bowling ball bag and places it on the floor in front of the front seat floor before climbing in.

“He knows we’re having dinner at Kelly’s, not at some bowling alley, right?” I ask Alan before he opens the back door for me to climb in.

“Don’t ask,” he says, climbing in after me. Kelly drives as Don’s attention is on the view out of the windshield. Alan leans in close to my side.

“I tried to tell him he doesn’t need to bring anything, but he insisted. I’m just shocked we actually got him out the door.”

“And without the cat.”

“Exactly. He said he closed her in the bedroom, so she should be fine. She better be, or we’ll never hear the end of it. I warned the guys, too. Told them I didn’t mind if they wanted to bail on dinner.”

“Why would they do that?” I ask, shocked by his suggestion. While Don has his opinions about baseball, he’s still his family, and in a way, that makes him our family, too. At least, that’s how I see it.

“Did anyone take you up on that?” I ask, a pit forming in my stomach while I wait for his reply. I am pretty sure I know these guys well, but even the idea that one of them would skip tonight because they might have an awkward conversation with Don doesn’t sit well with me.

“Not yet, but let’s see how quickly they run once it gets going.”

“Don’t worry, my shepherd’s pie will keep them there. Trust me. Speaking of which, we’ll need to get right into it if we’re going to eat anytime soon.”

***

Once at Alan and Kelly’s place, Alan and I start on the prep for dinner while Kelly shows her grandfather around their place, all the while carrying the bowling bag. I wonder what he has in there.

Working beside Alan in the kitchen is nice. Easy. It’s like we can feel each other’s movements before we even make them. I step to the side when he needs the trash, and he passes me a knife just before I ask where I’d find one. We’re in perfect sync, and when we finally get the two giant trays into the oven, Gramps sits down on the other side of the kitchen counter.

“Now that’s over with, she can come out,” Gramps says, unzipping the bowling bag on the chair beside him and out pops Precious’s head. She meows my way and leaps free from the bag. Alan retreats, knocking over a mug on the counter behind him, and Precious hisses his way.

“Did he scare you?” I ask, bringing her attention back to me, and she lowers her head to rub her ears against my hand.

“I thought you left her at home?” Alan asks, manoeuvering his way out of the kitchen, all the while keeping his eyes on the cat.

“Now, why would I do that? It’s not fair of me to keep her locked up at home all alone if I am going out. She hasn’t seen Kelly’s place either.”

“Gramps,” Kelly sighs. “What if she gets out? She doesn’t know this area; she could get lost.”

“Pfft, she’s a smart cat. She’d find her way home.”

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