Page 115 of Home Field Advantage
It’s illegal to open someone’s mail.
I just flipped the box around. The packaging isn’t very discreet, honey.
Green is my favorite color, too. *wink face*
Poppy
I’m mortified. This is so embarrassing.
It’s actually really hot.
I can’t wait to help you cross thisone off the list next.
I’m sitting in my truck outside of the barnyard, ready for practice this week. Sage was better the next day after her playground accident, and everything is resuming as normal.
Just as I’m about to exit, my phone rings. I smile to myself, assuming it’s Poppy calling me to ensure I don’t open her box that holds a green vibrator. I’m not sure where she ordered from, but their packaging needs some work.
Except, I see Clark’s name flash across the screen, and my smile falls. I haven’t spoken to him since I left after the last season ended. Not because I don’t want to, but I was afraid that if I picked up the phone to call him, I would make a decision before I’ve thought anything through.
He didn’t call me either, presumably for the same reason.
Now that we’re creeping up on spring training, it’s getting close to me making a decision.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Dallas. Long time no talk,” he says on the other end. “How’s everything in Wyoming?”
“It’s going good.”
“How’re Sage and April doing?”
“Both of them are doing well. Sage is having a good school year here, and April is liking her job.”
“That’s great,” he says, pausing, waiting for me to say more, but I don’t. “I know we’re still a few weeks away from making a decision. Time is flying, huh? Anyway, I was calling to see if you’ve come up with a plan for this upcoming season after all your time away.”
Yeah, I’ve come up with a lot of plans.
I’ve come up with a lot of plans, but surprisingly, none of them revolve around baseball or San Francisco. My issue is I have no fucking clue what to do anymore. It’s not like me to have to think things through. I know what I want, make a decision quickly, and figure it out along the way. That’s how I ended up leaving the city.
But now that I’m here, in Bluestone Lakes, everything has changed.
I didn’t expect to like the quiet, slow-paced small town.
I didn’t expect Sage to fall in love with her school, although I should have guessed she would.
I didn’t expect my neighbor to throw a curveball in my life.
I fucking told myself coming here, I wouldn’t form any attachments due to the impending expiration date. Well, now I have one. And it’s not like any other one I’ve had before. It’s one that I can’t see giving up.
One that I don’t want to give up.
“I haven’t, Clark,” I tell him honestly. “I’m not sure of anything anymore.”
“Yeah?” I can hear the smile in his voice. He’s pleased by this because he was right about me needing a break. “I’m proud of you for not jumping into any decisions and thinking this through. You needed that. We will need to know soon. Not right now, but soon. I’ll email you a date I have on my calendar for a meeting with the board here in the city. If you can make it in person, that would be great.”
“You got it.”
“On a lighter note, you’re doing okay? What have you been doing to keep busy?”
