Page 9 of Play Like a Girl

“Just tell me what you want to know.”

“How are you going to handle things with my sister moving forward?”

I wanted to tell him that my relationship with Penny is none of his damn business but that’s not entirely true. They’re tight and I respect that as much as it annoys me sometimes.

“Just like everyone else with the same schedule. Like you and Karen. We’re seeing each other whenever we can and dealing with it in between.”

“But unlike Karen and me, you and Penny won’t have a full off season to spend together to reconnect.”

He’s not saying anything I don’t already know, but his words still piss me off. And what pisses me off even more is the fact that I don’t have an answer. Penny’s schedule will remain the same as long as she’s playing softball and my position with the Waves is year-round.

I know that eventually we’re going to have to figure something out. Hell, Penny can play for another ten years or more, but for now, we’re just taking it day by day.

“I realize it’s not ideal, but we’ll make it work.”

“I just don’t—”

“Look, we could go back and forth about this forever, but when it comes down to it, Penny and I don’t know what we’re going to do long-term. But the one thing I do know is that I love your sister and am totally committed to her. Everything else is just logistics.”

His eyes never left mine as he judged the truth of my words.

“I just don’t want her hurt.”

“Neither do I.”

“Well then,” Dale said as he placed what remained of his cigar into the ashtray and stood, “since we agree on that, we shouldn’t have any problems.”

4

Penny

“Oh crap, he’s still pitching,”Karen said as Jeremy jogged out to the mound.

Jeremy’s team is winning by one run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Once he gets these three outs, he’ll have another win under his belt.

“Don’t you worry,” Dale said. “He’s got this.”

“I don’t know why I get so nervous when he pitches,” she said more to me than Dale. Still, he’s the one who answered.

“Because you’re a great mom,” he said and kissed her forehead.

The first batter got into the box and Dale shifted to the edge of his seat. He may not be as nervous as Karen, but he’s definitely not totally relaxed.

Jeremy went into his windup and threw a fastball waist-high on the outside corner of the plate. The batter got the end of his bat on it and popped it up to the first-base side for the first out.

The next guy took a little longer to get out. The first two pitches were strikes, but the two after that were balls. Then the batter proceeded to foul the next six...yessix...pitches off before Jeremy managed to slip a changeup on the inside corner right by him for strike three.

Karen grabbed my hand and squeezed. She probably would have held Dale’s hand instead, but sometime after the second foul ball, he stood to pace behind our chairs. I have to admit that I enjoy watching him in dad mode. It’s kind of adorable. Before I could share my thoughts with my sister-in-law, another batter stepped up to the plate.

The first two pitches were just a little high and Karen’s fingers dug into my hand. I thought she was going to crush my bones when the batter managed to hit the next pitch down the third-base line for a single.

Jeremy took off his hat and scratched his head as the catcher ran out to the mound to talk to him. He was only out there for a couple seconds before he ran back behind the plate so I’m guessing he did it to slow the pace down.

I won’t admit it to Karen, but I held my breath as Jeremy went into his windup for the next batter. It’s definitely more nerve-wracking sitting on this side of the fence where you don’t have any control over what’s happening on the field.

The crack of the bat sounded a split second after I saw the batter swing. I watched the ball sail out into centerfield. It should be a routine play but with the way the sun is positioned, you never know. The fielder took two steps in before turning and running back. At the last second, he reached out and snagged the ball in the pocket of his glove.

Karen and I jumped out of our chairs and cheered as Jeremy’s team celebrated on the mound.

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