Page 60 of Love in the Outfield

Quinn appears, an older version of his younger brother Cade. A little huskier, jaw a little squarer, but very handsome indeed.

His welcoming smile encompasses all of us. “Why is everyone standing around in the foyer? Come on in and join the party. Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson. Good to see you again. It’s been a minute. Hey, Ava,” Quinn says then turns to me. “Georgia. It really is great to see you.” He awkwardly hugs me and I hug him back. I always did like him and his wife, Kennedy.

“Cornhole, great! Here, let me take those off your hands,” Quinn says to Daddy. He takes the cornhole boards and carries them off.

Mama pipes in, “Wendy, this here is for you. Thank you for the invitation.” She hands the gift bag to Wendy. “We didn’t know it was a fancy to-do or I would have dressed up.”

Wendy takes the offering. “There’s no dress code, Loretta. We want you to feel at home. I’m sure you’ll feel more comfortable in your old blue jeans. And that’s what we want. Thank you for the goodies. Follow me.”

Mama rolls her eyes to the back of her head as we follow Wendy in her slim-fitting tan slacks and white sleeveless blouse tucked, as her leather slip-on Gucci’s click-clack on the beautiful marble tiles. Cade slips his arm around my waist and my heart flutters. We wind up at the back of the house in a gargantuan great room with impossibly high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling glass walls overlooking their outdoor swimming pool with pool-scaping to die for. The glass walls are currently open, bringing the outdoors inside.

“Did Cade tell you to bring your swimsuits?” Wendy asks.

“No, he failed to mention that,” I say narrowing my eyes at him.

Looking tickled, she says conspiratorially, “I just may have bought one for my grandson. Couldn’t resist. Baby Dior trunks. I’ll take him for a dip with his cousins.”

Mark interrupts and says, “What can I get everyone to drink?”

“Do you have any Pabst Blue Ribbon?” Daddy asks.

Mark clears his throat. “Sorry, would a Heineken do?”

He guffaws. “No thanks. That stuff tastes like skunk piss.”

Cade laughs out loud.

“Mom, did you buy any Corona?” Quinn suggests. “He may like that.”

“I’ll have a bourbon on the rocks,” Mama says. I bite my lip. Mama with a bourbon buzz does not ease my mind the least little bit.

“How about you Georgia?” Mark asks.

“I’ll stick with water for now.”

“I’ll have the same as Mama,” Ava requests.

“You got it. Make yourselves at home,” Cade says before heading outside to mind August while Mark heads to the wet bar to make our drinks. I watch him fill two crystal glasses with fancy ice and pour a brand I recognize from the bar, Woodford Reserve, with a price tag of one-hundred-twenty-nine smackeroos a bottle, over said ice, then add a splash of ginger beer and a lime wedge. Not sure how that will go over but, we’ll see.

Quinn appears with a Corona and a lime wedged in the neck plus a bottled water for me. Daddy looks askew at the lime wedge and I nudge him. “Why thank ya, Quinn,” he says remembering his manners.

I whisper, “Just shove it down the bottle and don’t fuss.”

Cade is sitting by the pool with his niece and nephew and August is in heaven with all the attention from his newfound cousins. I tug self-consciously at my top, wishing like hell Cade had given me some kind of warning.

A man in a chef’s uniform glides in with two large trays of food, places them on the granite island countertop, then disappears again.

“Appetizers have arrived. Help yourselves. Since it’s a fairly mild day, I thought we’d eat on the patio today,” Wendy announces.

I notice there is a long table under a shaded arbor, already set with a white tablecloth and vases of colorful spring flowers strategically placed. “I hope everyone is hungry,” Wendy says gaily. “We have enough food for an entire baseball team.”

Mark says, “She’s not kidding folks.”

Me and my family stand off to the side, huddled together somewhat awkwardly. At this point, only Auggie seems to be enjoying himself from our clan. I see Mama sizing up Wendy with a calculating stare and I’m on notice not to let her alone with Wendy for even one second.

Mama takes a big swig of her bourbon and then smacks her lips. “This isn’t too bad. Y’all reckon that TV is big enough?” she says loudly. It honestlyisthe biggest TV I’ve ever seen. It’s mounted on a wall of natural stone, right above the fireplace.

Wendy overhears, Mama’s intention all along, and says, “Now Loretta, not everyone has a son who is a major league baseball player! And um… who is… what did his new teammate call him?... I think it was something like ‘an absolute gamer’. When he’s playing across the country, I have to be able to see my son in high definition.” She titters disingenuously. That’s my opinion anyhow, and I’m sticking with it.

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