Page 86 of Make It Without You

Dylan’s head moves in what I’m assuming is a nod. The coach holds the ball up so Dylan can see and then it’s tossed towards home plate. Dylan swings and the bat connects with the ball.

“Go, Dylan! Run, buddy!” Adam chants as I cheer next to him.

He runs as fast as he can to first base, pumping his arms and legs as fast as he can to get there before the ball does.

Seeing Dylan’s smile and Adam’s enthusiasm for this game erases any of the hesitation I had about this sport. Yes, it’s tee ball. But it’s still baseball-adjacent. I watch as Adam high-fives some of the parents sitting around us.

“Emily,this is Sandra. One of the team moms. She’s whose house Dylan runs off to any chance he gets.” Adam introduces us when the game ends. The boys are sitting in the outfield as the coach gives them a speech. They won the game but it wasn’t about who won or lost. As long as the boys had that was all that mattered.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” I tell her and hold my hand out.

She swats my hand away and pulls me into a hug. “None of that. It’s so nice to meet you, sweetheart.”

I return her hug, albeit a little shocked by her outright affection. Mommy issues. It happens. “You, too.”

“So how did you two meet?” Sandra asks us.

“Parent-teacher conference,” Adam says and slings his arm over my shoulder, pulling me into his side.

I squeeze his side. “He’s lying. I came into his bar on the night of the parent-teacher night at school.”

Sandra looks between us with love only a mother can give. “Well, you two are a beautiful couple.”

The compliment makes me feel things, more than the love I have for Adam at knowing that this, meeting his and Dylan’s other world is off to a great start.

“Hey, boys,” Sandra says as she looks behind us.

My body tenses and Adam notices. “You’re fine, baby,” he tells me before letting me go and turning around. “Hey, buddy. Great game.”

I turn around and see Dylan looking at his Dad with a smile and then he turns his eyes on me. “Hey, Dylan. Long time to see.” When I get nervous, I spout things like that.

“Hi, Ms. Emily.”

Phew. That’s easy.

Adam takes his bat bag from him and slides it over his shoulder. “Wanna go get some ice cream? It’s hot out.”

“Yeah,” Dylan responds and then looks at me. “Are you coming?”

I look at Adam and he nods his head. “Sure. I love ice cream.”

And so we walk to our cars like an almost family. Me with my former student and his Dad whom I very much love.

I’ve never been shy with Dylan. But that line was firm with a student-teacher relationship. Now I have to muddle through the girlfriend and boyfriend's son relationship.

“We usually go to theTwisted Cow,” Adam offers when we get to my car.

“I do too. I’ll meet you two there.”

Adam leans forward and kisses me on the cheek. “Breathe, baby. He won’t bite,” he whispers in my ear.

Nodding my head, I give them a small and awkward wave before hopping into my car and starting it up to cool down.

“When did you start playing?”I ask Dylan.

Now that we’re all seated and I have something to do with my hands, I’m not as nervous. Plus theTwisted Cowhas Oreo ice cream and it calms me.

“Daddy, put me in it last year,” he tells me. His face is covered in chocolate ice cream. Adam lets him keep with themess because cleaning up little boys is futile. “Do you like baseball?”

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