Page 26 of Rocking Player
My son’s eyes had tears that washed down his upturned cheeks and a glow I’d not seen in him before.
Guess they’d talked about it. My mind had been in a cloud for hours now. After saying I’d marry Michael, I’d been dazed, but I was just now focusing.
Michael jogged back to his dugout, and I returned my attention to my son, his team, their parents, and tried to sip my soda.
A minute later, Deena fluffed her curly black hair behind her head. My nose almost winced from the perfume she exuded. I ignored the fact that her hair didn’t quite blow despite the wind. She gave me a once over, held a hot dog, then said like we were friends, “Georgiana, this is lovely what you’ve done for the boys.”
I put my drink down into the holder and stood as Michael was retaking the field. He was shortstop, so he wasn’t near me, but it was weird for the kids around me that seemed torn to not be rooting for the home team, but none of them said anything to me as I just said, “I didn’t do anything special. Michael invited us all.”
Jeremy screamed like he’d woken up Christmas morning when Michael caught the ball.
Michael fist pumped the pitcher near him.
Deena bit into her hot dog and finished chewing while staying near me, like she was one of my sisters. As she finished, she said, “So you’ve been dating a baseball player for years. No wonder we couldn’t set you up with Andrew.”
Right. Andrew, the widower with five small children and a bald head, who hadn’t been looking for a wife so much as a babysitter to relieve him of duty. Deena’s set up had been an horrendous mistake, and I avoided discussing dating with her, but now I said only, “Michael’s…well, Michael’s pretty special to me.”
Deena finished her hot dog then said, “If you’re looking to be more involved at school, you have our vote.”
My heart raced a little more as I asked, “Vote?”
“For PTA president,” she said.
Wait. My son loved his team and the game. Today’s invitation wasn’t political, but I shook my head. My soda dripped on the ground as I wasn’t drinking it and the ice melted more while I tried to find the words. Then I glanced over at Michael, who expected me to move, and said, “Oh, I can’t. My sister’s a teacher there.”
Deena pinched my side and said, “You doing things like this for our boys… you’re the clear leader here.”
“This is just for the team, not the school.” That wasn’t what this was. I was here for Jeremy…and Michael. I crossed my legs and remembered how complete I was when he rammed inside me, not that I would ever, ever, ever say that out loud. I shrugged and said, “I don’t know. It’s a big time commitment.”
Deena’s nose went up in the air as she said, “You can do it. You’re working part-time, minimum wage at that store, and now we know how you afford that.”
Deena's assumptions about my life were wrong. My skin prickled as I just stared at her and asked, “Excuse me?”
She leaned closer and pretended we were just best buddies as she said, “You’ve been in that big house, alone, and we’ve all wondered.”
The practice inning ended and Michael’s water boy motioned toward me. I politely told Deena, “I have to go,” and went to speak to Aaron, who delivered a message. I was to take Jeremy and go with Aaron after the top of the ninth of the real game.
I nodded and returned to my seat. Thankfully, she was gone.
Good. Jeremy returned and hugged me like today was his birthday. My son hugged less frequently these days, so I took my moment.
Done, we settled into our seats for the game and the sun went down, but soon the appointed hour came. Once the game ended, Michael walked over to me as the other men filed further in where we couldn’t see. I wrapped my arm around his neck that was slightly sweaty now as I said, “Congrats.”
He hugged me but stared at my face when he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Deena. I let out a long breath and said, “I was just insulted but ignored it.”
He picked up my chin and stared at me when he said, “Good. Pennsylvania has a waiting period, so I want us to fly to Vegas tomorrow. There is a 6:30 AM nonstop that gets us there by 9:00. We can be married before 3:00 and we can catch a flight to Tulsa for the 7:00 game.”
During the game, he’d searched for tickets? I held my breath, but his blue eyes were like sirens that dared me to do something out of character. Michael’s offer made my pulse skip. I nodded and said, “You researched this.”
He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me.
I heard applause somewhere, but I thought maybe I imagined it. As the kiss ended, the sound roared in my ear, but he let me go and said, “Think about it. Jeremy misses a day of school, but you and he can be back by Monday morning. I have to go shower and interview. Meet me near the parking lot.”
“We’ll be there,” I said and turned around to see all the parents and other children in Jeremy’s school staring at us.
The kids looked horrified, but the mom’s seemed…jealous. I fiddled with my hair and held my son’s hand. That was a bad thought. I waved at them and we followed Aaron out of the stands.
