Page 141 of Double Play

Per my instructions, Tanner filed the necessary marriage license paperwork before my short visit to Philly three weeks ago. Reagan was able to marry us right away. Apparently, she’san ordained minister, having married a few members of her family over the years. We quietly got married before I boarded the plane back to Hawaii to finish out the shooting portion of the contract.

It was an easy two weeks for Layton and me, as we spoke constantly, planning the big reveal.

We’ve kept it a secret from everyone, which was hard, but Tanner is issuing a press release as soon as we text him, which I plan to do right now. We’ll celebrate with our friends and family when this stupid contract is over and we have nothing hanging over our heads. Layton also wants to walk down the aisle without a cane, which should be about that same timeframe.

He's still uncertain of his future in baseball, but the one thing wedoknow about our future is that it’s together. My fantasy man is now forever my reality.

EPILOGUE

THREE AND A HALF YEARS LATER

LAYTON

“Wave to Momma, angel.”

In Ryan’s sweet little voice, she yells, “Hi, Momma,” as she waves her hand enthusiastically.

Despite our little girl and me being in the stands, Arizona hears us, turns around, and waves back with a huge smile on her face. The smile that still makes me weak in the knees. It’s so big we can see it through her catcher’s mask.

I look down at our two-year-old daughter, who’s the spitting image of her mother, as she sits on my lap and takes in her surroundings. How many little girls get to watch their mother play in a gold medal game at the Olympics? Not many. I hope Ryan always remembersthis. I’ve taken about a thousand pictures to make sure she does.

I have a small moment of sadness knowing this is Arizona’s last game ever. She had already planned to retire after the Olympics, but her being pregnant right now only solidified that for her. We intended to begin trying after the games, but life happens, and she’s a few weeks along. I’m a nervous wreck watching her out there, praying she doesn’t have any big collisions behind the plate, but it was her decision to play while pregnant, and I support her wholeheartedly.

I never played baseball again after my leg injury. While I don’t think I could have ever played catcher considering the damage to my leg, I probably could have batted and played first base. I simply lost the desire. The Cougars and my teammates were my family for so many years, I was terrified of letting go. Of being alone. But once Arizona Abbott Lancaster came into my life, the need to desperately cling on to baseball dissipated. I played so well the last few months of my career, and the team made it to the World Series. I wanted those to be my final playing moments. I got to go out on top.

I also truly love to watch Arizona play. Retiring enabled me to be at every game of hers. I haven’t missed a single game since the day of my injury. Even when Ryan was an infant, I watched with her strapped to my chest, sleeping soundly.

I spent the past few years on the coaching staff of the Anacondas. We’ve won the championship all five years the Anacondas have been in existence. The team and the league are now thriving. I love that I played some small part in its success.

They moved this past season up a few months toaccommodate the players in the league competing in the Olympics. It was that or lose them come time for the Olympics. It was a smart decision.

Arizona and I also founded a charity that helps kids in both group homes and foster homes join baseballandsoftball leagues. All are age and skill-level appropriate. It assists them with costs and transportation. We run several tournaments throughout the year as fundraisers, attracting huge crowds because of our famous friends helping out. It keeps us busy in the off-season, and Henry busy every day. We made him the director of the charity, and he’s thrived in that role, finally finding his true calling. He’s never been more stable, and my days of worrying about him are behind me.

Besides our charity, we constantly field offers for us to model all types of clothing together, especially bathing suits and lingerie. Our issue ofSports Illustratedbecame their all-time best-selling issue. The demand for us to model as a couple skyrocketed and has never waned. We accept a handful of offers each year, usually those being shot in exotic locations. Our heat and chemistry always leap off the page. I suppose there’s just something special about watching two people with storybook passion. Advertisers more than recognize it. It never fails to excite me to see what others see when they look at us. Even when Arizona was pregnant, the demand was there for her to model maternity clothing. No woman has ever looked more beautiful than my wife while pregnant with Ryan.

Quincy plops down next to me looking exhausted. His daughter is already squirming in his lap. “This kid is going to be the fucking death of me.”

Ryan gasps and places her little hands on her hips. “Uncle Q, you said a bad word.”

“Shit.”

“Another. That’s two funny facts you have to tell me.”

“Hmm. Let me think. One, there’s nothing soft about softball. It’s only called softball because it started as an indoor sport with a softer ball. Once it moved outdoors, the ball was hard, but they never changed the name.”

Ryan turns back to me. “Is that true, Daddy?”

“Yep. If you think about it, it’s kind of a silly name for the sport.”

She turns back to Q. “What else? You owe me two.”

“Aunt Ripley was a baby in her mommy’s belly the first time softball was a sport in the Olympics.”

“Like my mommy has a baby in her belly now?”

I have no idea how Ryan knows that. We didn’t tell her. She must have overheard us talking about it.

Quincy snaps his head to me. I smile while holding my index finger to my lips letting him know that it’s a secret.

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