Page 40 of Off Season

Smaller things such as weaving into school parking lots, forgetting to pick us up, leaving bags of groceries in a hot car for hours, and not getting us to doctor’s appointments were the regular course of business for us growing up.

She wouldn’t give us rides when we needed them. It was a constant struggle just to get to practices and the like. Fortunately, we were both such strong athletes that coaches ended up driving us most of the time, not wanting either of us to miss our respective sports.

And then there was the odd handful of times that I would just take her car and drive us, years before I had a license to do so. She was too blitzed to even notice. I got busted by the cops once, but they let me off with a warning. I wouldn’t let Bails do it because I didn’t want her to get into trouble.

Bailey nods. “I know. You’re right. She has to help herself before we can consider any communication with her, but I’m worried about Daddy. Something is off. More than usual. Before I leave, can we call him? He’s probably in the car on his way to work. You won’t have to see her. I just want you to gauge if something is wrong like I suspect it is.”

“Of course. Maybe we can talk him into coming up for agame or two.” I hold up my finger. “But not her. She’s not welcome.”

She nods. “Okay.”

She opens her laptop and clicks on the FaceTime app before selecting his name from her contacts. After just one ring, he answers right away. It looks like he’s in their kitchen. Fuck. She might be there.

His face lights up. “Hi, girls. How are you?”

We both return his warm smile. Bailey answers, “We’re great. How are you, Daddy?”

He sighs before whispering, “Plugging along.” He holds up his finger like we should give him a minute before he steps out onto their back patio and sits on a chair. “Sorry, I didn’t want to wake your mother.”

Wake her? He was in the kitchen. “Was she passed out on the kitchen floor?” I ask.

Bailey sighs. “We’re happy we caught you. We just wanted to catch up. I thought you’d be on your way to work.”

“I have to take your mother to an appointment this morning. I’m only working a half day.”

I look at Bailey and then back to him. “Any chance it’s AA? Assholes Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous. Both are fitting. Maybe NA, Narcissists Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous, both work.”

He simply shakes his head at me. “Don’t worry about it. I saw you two went back-to-back again the other night. You both have so much power. You’re the best two hitters in the league. I’m so proud of you. I’m more confident than ever that you’ll be on the Olympic team in four years.” Tears fill his eyes. “Won’t that be amazing?”

I nod. “You should ditch the bitch and come up for a live game.”

Bailey hits my leg. “What she means, Daddy, is that we’d love for you to come see us in person.”

His face falls. “It’s hard for me to leave, and I can’t afford it.I’ll try my best.” We hear a clanking noise, and then he looks up, beyond the camera. His shoulders fall as he says, “Listen, girls, I need to run. I love you both so much. I hope you know that.”

Bailey fights back the emotions I know are bubbling at the surface for her. “We do. Love you too.”

She ends the call, and tears immediately fill her eyes. “He’s so unhappy, Kam. Can’t you see it?”

My face falls as my heart breaks for our father. “I do. Part of me feels bad for him, but part of me doesn’t. He can leave her, Bails. I semi-understand why he didn’t when we were kids, but it’s been ten years since we left. He’s choosing this life. I know he feels a sense of obligation, but at some point, you need to choose yourself. You need to create your own happiness.”

She nods as she appears to consider my words. She knows I’m not wrong. You can’t help someone who won’t help themselves.

I wrap my arms around her. “Thank god I have you. I love you, big sis.”

She cracks a smile. She always does when I refer to her as my big sis. It’s only by nine minutes, but I’m sure at times it feels like nine years for her. She’s always taken care of me. I can only hope she knows on some level that I’ve done the same for her.

She whispers our often-repeated line from our favorite movie,Titanic. “You jump, I jump.”

Shortly after she leaves for the Montgomery house, Arizona comes home to trade out her clothes. She wiggles her eyebrows at me. “How’s my friend who took squirting to a whole new level?”

I smile at the burst-waterbed reference. “How’s my friend who finally found a man who makes her squirt?”

She giggles. “I’m more than good. What about you and Cheetah?”

“What about me and Cheetah?”

“Are you interested?”

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