Page 46 of DadBod

“I think it does work.”

“Sure is a nice neighborhood. Safe. Good place to bring kids.” Sarcasm abounds with these two jokers. Especially Ryann.

I mutter a response. “It’s a fine neighborhood.” Honestly, it’s okay. There are worse places to live. Feeling like I need to defend my home, I add, “This is a sunny, happy apartment that happens to be affordable for me.”

“God.” Ryann’s about to deliver another scathing remark, when there’s a knock at my door. Both kids look at each other with fear in their eyes.

“Jeez, you guys. It’s just Jeriann. She’s going with us.”

Opening the door, she steps in and smiles at me, then at Calvin. She tries to smile at Ryann but gets a frown from her instead. “Hey, Ryann.” Her voice is a bit taunting.

“Great,” the teen grumbles. “Another one of Dad’s employees.”

“Oh, princess.” Jeriann’s about to launch into something snarky, but I stop her.

“Come on. We need to go. We don’t want to miss the first pitch.”

“Pitch?” Ryann’s expression says it all. She either hates baseball or she hates everything.

I’m going with number two.

“Yep. Baseball. The Chicago White Sox versus the LA Dodgers.”

“Sweet,” Calvin says with a grin.

“FML.” Ryann says it like she’s given up hope. Probably a good thing––at least for today. I’m not worried. She’ll live to fight another day. And another. And another.

“It’s gonna be a long summer.”

I glance over at Jeriann and frown. “Don’t remind me.”

“Too late.”

She’s righter than she’ll ever know.

* * *

“How was it today?”

I’m startled from my snooze on the sofa in Rome’s living room. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I parked in the garage and came up the back steps.”

“Oh.”

“Seats good?”

Pushing myself up, I roll my eyes. “They were right behind home plate. Of course, they were good.”

“I’ve got a buddy who works in the front office.”

“Of course, you do,” I mutter.

“We grew up together.”

“Uh-huh.” I stand and attempt to get my bearings. I must’ve fallen asleep. “You missed a good game, even though the Sox lost.”

“I did.”

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