by Lacy Hart
Karen sat down in the chair across from Kristin.
“Sadly, that sounds just like Fred,” Karen told her. “I can only imagine the locker room talk that goes on in that barbershop. Did anyone say anything to him?”
“Marion tried to give him an out, but he just dug himself in deeper to make things more offensive. I am so tempted to just turn in my resignation right now.”
“No way!” Karen yelled. “You are not leaving me here by myself. Besides, you’re the best thing to happen to this library in forever. Without you, who knows how bad things would get in here. Just give yourself a few minutes to calm down. Want some coffee? How about I run out and get us some cashew chicken from Tiger Palace?”
“Ugh, I can’t even think about eating right now,” Kristin said, her face looking sour suddenly.
“Okay, well, don’t do anything rash,” Karen begged. “We need you here, Kris. I need you here. Who’s going to help me plan the wedding if you’re not in here every day?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” Kristin answered gruffly, waving her hand to get Karen out the door.
Once Karen left, Kristin went back to her computer. The thought of a resignation letter was real to her for a passing moment, but she could never go through with it. Even so, she wanted to let Marion know how she felt about the meeting. She started to write an email, and while she read things over, she remembered to turn her phone back on after she shut it off before the meeting. Her phone came to life and dinged, letting her know she had a missed call and a message. Kristin saw it was from Wes and listened.
Wes sounded more upbeat than he had in days. She wondered what happened to put him in such a good mood. Kristin was grateful for whatever it could be, but when she tried to call him back, several unanswered rings occurred before it went to voicemail.
“Tag, you’re it,” Kristin said, as she tried to hide her own feelings of frustration from the day.
I’m glad one of us is having a good day, she thought. Kristin put her hand down on her stomach as it grumbled some more.
7
Nervousness overcame Wes as he picked up his cell phone and pressed the number for his agent, Randy Miller. Randy tried to get Wes to do all kinds of things after the retirement last year, and at the time Wes showed little interest in doing anything beyond spending quality time with Kristin and Izzy. Several times the two of them argued over doing interviews, commercials, and things like that, but Wes almost always won out. A few times he gave in to Randy just so his agent would stop pestering about things, but mostly Wes just went on with his life. Now he worried about how the conversation would go.
Wes got Randy’s assistant and calmly asked to speak with Randy, letting the woman know it was Wes Martin. The assistant’s voice sounded new, not the Southern accent of Randy’s typical assistant Kacey, and Wes knew the woman had no idea who he was or what he might want. He hoped he wouldn’t just get put on hold, left there for a bit, and then told Randy was in a meeting, something Randy often did when he got a call from a client or potential client he didn’t really want to talk to.
After listening to a few verses of “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips, something Randy thought was hysterical to use for his on-hold music, the phone finally clicked back on.
“Wes Martin,” Randy chimed in. “I thought maybe you fell off the earth. How’s it going, Wes? Izzy and Kristin doing well?”
“Hey Randy,” Wes replied. “Yes, they are both doing well, thanks for asking. Say, where’s Kacey? That wasn’t her who answered the phone.”
“Kacey moved on to greener pastures. She hooked up with one of my football players and left me to go to Oakland. It was a damn shame. She was with me for over ten years. My new assistant, Tammy, is great though. A real sparkplug and she’s easy on the eyes too. Anyway, I’m sure that’s not why you called me. What’s going on? I usually don’t hear too much from my retired clients.”
Wes breathed deeply and then started in with his pitch.
“Here’s the thing Randy. I’ve been thinking… well, more than thinking. I’ve been hitting, and it’s felt pretty good and going well. I guess it has given me a bit of an itch that I need to scratch. I was wondering… well, I was wondering if you thought there might be any interest in me coming back with someone.”
Randy was quiet for a moment, and Wes didn’t take this as a positive sign.
“Are you sure about this, Wes? When you left, you felt confident that you were done. Hell, no one walks away from the game with a finish like you had. It came right out of a movie, hitting those home runs and all against the Pirates. With all the other stuff I offered you over the months, I thought you just wanted to be done with baseball.”
“I did, Randy,” Wes answered. “But… I don’t know, I miss it, and I think I still have something left to offer. I’ve kept myself in pretty good shape, and the bat is there for sure. I’m sure once I started fielding drills, it would all come back quickly. If you could get me a tryout with someone, I know I could…”
“Wes, hold on,” Randy said, cutting Wes off before he could go further. “It’s already the beginning of March. You’ve got what, maybe 2 or 3 weeks left in spring training? Latching on with someone this late without having any real time to get into playing shape is a tall order. Most teams are pretty set when it comes to the rosters they think they will have for Opening Day. You’d have to be willing to go to extended spring training, probably spend some time in the minors, and even then, there are no guarantees. You really want to do all of that?”
“I know it might be a long shot, Randy, but I have to try. Can you at least put some feelers out there and let me know what you find?”
“Are you willing to look beyond Pittsburgh? I didn’t think you were too keen on doing that. What does Kristin think about all this? Or Izzy?”
“They don’t know anything about all of this yet, Randy, and I want to keep it that way. If something came up worth considering, then I will talk to them about it. Until then, it’s just between you and me. I’m… I’m willing to go anyplace. Maybe there’s an AL team looking for a DH or an NL team that wants a bat off the bench, whatever.”
Wes heard Randy’s chair creak and a sigh came from Randy.
“Okay, let me see what I can do. I can’t make you any promises, Wes. This is a tough one. The baseball landscape is a lot different now. Teams are willing to go with younger guys that cost less and give them more control. There are still guys out there waiting for contracts, and those are guys that played all of last season.”
“Thanks, Randy. That’s all I’m asking.”
“Okay, give me a couple of days to see what I can find. In the meantime, you should talk to Izzy and Kristin about this to make sure they are okay with it too. You walked away for them, remember?”
“I know Randy. Everything feels, well, unfinished, is all. Just let me know what you can find.”
“You got it. Talk to you soon,” Randy added before hanging up.
A tinge of guilt washed over Wes. He didn’t want to come off as being selfish, and that was what Randy implied. Putting his family first had been an important priority for him when he left the game, and Kristin filled a big hole that existed in Wes’ life for a long time. He could never forget that. But Wes also knew that if he didn’t at least try, at least find out if a team wanted him and if he could still perform, he would always regret it.
The harder part would be telling Kristin and Izzy that this is what he wanted to do now.
****
The workday wouldn’t end fast enough for Kristin. She spent the rest of the day annoyed about how things went at the board meeting and how insulting Fred Clark had been to her. Her contributions to the library were much more than having Wes Martin as a boyfriend, and to insinuate anything else made Kristin boil over. She wrote and rewrote an email to Marion four times before she finally sent one that seemed composed and controlled while still getting her point across. Marion had yet to get back to her and the day neared an end, wh
ich left Kristin to stew even more.
By the time the last patron left the library, Kristin had packed and anxiously wanted to call it a day. She walked out to the front desk and stood there with her bag over her shoulder, watching Karen pile up the last of the books to be re-shelved in the morning.
“A little eager to leave today?” Karen remarked.
“You know it,” Kristin answered coldly.
“I know Fred Clark pissed you off, Kris, but don’t let his attitude consume you. He’s not worth it,” Karen said as she shut off her computer.
“No, he’s not worth it, but what he said makes it seem like the only thing I bring to the table here is Wes. It just makes me wonder how many other people involved with the library feel the same way as he does and aren’t saying it out loud.”
“Hey, people here are aware of what you do, and that has nothing to do with Wes. Unfortunately, we live in a small town where Wes has always been the hero, and some may never see beyond that. If that’s the way they want to think, screw them. Don’t let that drag you down.”
“You’re right Karen,” Kristin replied, “but it still bothers me.”
“Want to go down to the barbershop and write in lipstick on the front window ‘Fred is a sexist prick?’” Karen said, as she grabbed a lipstick from her purse and smiled.
Kristin grinned and laughed, the first time she felt good today since she left the house.
“Thanks, Karen, but I need to go pick up Izzy from school. She stayed after to go to the announcement of the cast for the musical. I hope at least one of us had a good day today.”
“Okay,” Karen answered. Karen twisted her tube of lipstick back down and put it away. “Go ahead, and I’ll lock up. I’ll be sure to have a good night. Brian and I are getting together to make up a list of potential places for the wedding and talk about who to invite. Can I bring it in tomorrow so we can talk about some stuff?”
“You bet,” Kristin smiled. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Kristin walked to her car and started it, heading over towards Chandler High School. She had been so caught up in feeling angry about the meeting today that she lost sight of everything else going on in her life. Karen and her wedding, Izzy and the play, Wes’ parents, and Wes… what to do about Wes? He never called her back after she left a message, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. He sounded better today, so that was undoubtedly a good sign, and after their talk the night before, she hoped their lines of communication were better now.
Kristin pulled up in front of the school and saw Izzy sitting on a bench. Her boyfriend Bradley sat there with her, his arm around her like he was consoling her.
Oh no, Kristin thought. Maybe she didn’t get the part. Or perhaps he’s breaking up with her.
A dozen things raced through Kristin’s head as she stressed over how to deal with Izzy, Wes, her job, and everything else. It was only the knock on the window of the passenger side of her car that broke her trance. Kristin turned quickly and looked to see Izzy, sad-faced, leaning her head against the window. In an instant, however, Izzy cracked into a big grin and slapped a stack of papers on the window. She held the script of the musical, and on the front, it read Isabelle Martin as Ariel.
Kristin unlocked the door and Izzy climbed in, squealing and giving Kristin a big hug.
“You did it!” Kristin yelled. “I am so proud of you. Congratulations! This is awesome!”
“It is awesome!” Izzy rolled down the window and screamed, “This is awesome!!”
“It’s excellent news, Izzy. We should celebrate tonight. Let’s go home, get your dad, and go out.”
“Where are we going to go?” Izzy said. “We only have the diner and Angelo’s, and we just had Chinese the other day.”
“Maybe we can take a ride up to the mall and go somewhere there.”
“I love the sushi place there. Do you think Dad will be up to going out? He hasn’t been much for doing anything lately.” Izzy looked concerned as they sat in the idling car.
“He sounded better on the phone today,” Kristin told her. “Besides, it’s a special day for you. I’m sure he will do it. Sushi, huh?” Kristin wasn’t thrilled with the choice, but it was Izzy’s moment, so she would go along.
“That’s okay, right?”
“Of course. You know what, let’s really celebrate.”
Kristin got out of the car and walked over to the passenger side and opened the door.
“What are you doing?” Izzy said as she watched Kristin.
“You drive. You’ve had your permit for a week now. Let’s get some practice,” Kristin told her, pointing at the driver’s side.
Izzy had a shocked look on her face, but then quickly slid over behind the wheel so she could drive. Kristin climbed in and sat on the passenger side and made sure to buckle up, and then watched as Izzy put the car in drive and took off.
Izzy started slowly until she reached the edge of the parking lot. She looked cautiously in both directions before gunning the engine so she could turn onto the road and head towards Route 5. Kristin felt the surge of speed as her head pushed back against the headrest.
“Just watch your speed, Izzy,” Kristin reminded.
Izzy nodded and moved the car carefully to Martin Way before making the right-hand turn to go to their street.
“Can we invite Grandma and Grandpa too?” Izzy asked Kristin.
“Sure,” Kristin nodded.
Izzy made a sharp left turn into the driveway and slammed on the brakes, putting the car into park as Kristin put her hands up on the dashboard.
“I think we need to work on a few things, like speed and braking,” Kristin said as she got out of the car quickly.
Izzy raced out of the car and up the front porch into the house. Kristin followed behind at a slower pace and could see Izzy talking to her grandfather when she walked through the door.
“So, we’re going to go for sushi to celebrate if you and Grandma want to come with us,” Izzy said, talking a mile a minute.
“I think we’re going to have to pass tonight, Izzy,” Wyatt said to her as he put his arm around Izzy. “Your grandma isn’t feeling too good today. She’s in the bedroom laying down.”
“Oh, okay,” Izzy said, a bit disappointed but understanding. “Is it okay if I go in there and let her know about the musical?”
“Sure, honey,” Wyatt told her.
Izzy ran off down the hall to talk to her grandmother, leaving Wyatt and Kristin alone.
“Is Jenny okay?” Kristin said with concern.
“Yeah,” Wyatt said, sitting down in his recliner and pointing to the couch to get Kristin to sit as well. “Just one of those bad days, you know. It happens. She just tries to overdo it sometimes; you know how it is.”
“All too well,” Kristin said with a laugh.
“How is Wes, anyway? I haven’t seen him for a few days. Is he actually coming out of hibernation to go out with you tonight?”
“He is, whether he knows it or not,” Kristin asserted. “I haven’t talked to him all day, but he left me a message today, and he seemed upbeat, so I hope that’s a good sign. Sooner or later, Wes is going to start feeling better. I’ll make sure he comes down to see you two. There’s no excuse for not doing that.”
“He’s stubborn, like his mother. I’m sure he’s avoided me because I don’t tell him exactly what he wants to hear. He’ll get over it, and even when he does, I’ll still give him a hard time. How are you with having to deal with him?”
Kristin sighed.
“I’m holding my own. It’s been tough at times, but we had a good talk last night, and I think he’s coming around now. I can understand how he feels; I just wish there was something more I could do to help him, and with all the other busy stuff going on lately, I feel like I haven’t had much time to spend with him.”
“That’s relationships for you. It happens in every marriage…” Wyatt realized what he said and cut himself off. “I’m sorry, Kristin. Just a sli
p of the tongue.”
Kristin tried to roll with it and eked out a smile.
“It’s okay, Wyatt. I know what you meant by it. I know we act like a married couple all the time, and if that happens at some point, that will be wonderful.”
“What do you mean ‘if’?” Wyatt barked. “Of course, he’s going to marry you. If he doesn’t, he’s a damn fool, pardon my cussin’. And he’s not too old for me to whoop him either.”
Kristin laughed loudly. “I appreciate your support, Wyatt.”
Izzy came out into the living room and stood in front of Kristin.