Change Up

by Ann, Natalie

  “She did,” Michael said. “It’s a good thing you did for those kids. We’ll figure it out. I did make a call to the Colonie Police Chief, as he lives in the development too. For a number of reasons I’m sure he might even want to patrol around. Not just for you and the kids but also the area and other homeowners.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t think this through. I was just working with the kids and saw their excitement.”

  “It had to take a lot to put yourself out there,” Judy said. “Kaelyn said you’ve been keeping a low profile, but now you can pretty much throw it out the window. I’m sure many are going to put it together you live in Paradise Place so there could be some action in the area now.”

  Damn, he hadn’t thought anything through. Stupid impulsive shit he’d done most of his life. He probably wouldn’t even be able to walk Nicks now without someone trying to find him. In Manhattan he didn’t worry about this as much. He blended in well with the crowds or most were used to seeing him around and didn’t flock to him as much and plenty of other celebrities lived in the city.

  Sure, he’d get asked to sign autographs and take pictures and he was always accommodating when many weren’t. He remembered where he came from and he had what he did because of the fans. Without them, he’d be no one.

  “And that might bring a lot of unwanted attention to Paradise Place,” he said.

  “Attention to our business isn’t a problem,” Michael said. “We might be able to increase prices with demand to be where you are.”

  Judy slapped his arm. “That is in poor taste.”

  “Sorry,” Michael said. “It was a joke.”

  “I get it. Not a problem.”

  “So that is the only reason you are here?” Judy asked.

  He was ready to answer when Evan and a man he assumed was Christian opened the back door. “No,” he said, reaching for Kaelyn’s hand. “I’m here to meet the parents and the rest of the family as Kaelyn’s boyfriend. I realize now that everyone is going to have unwanted attention and though I’m sorry for it, I’m not really. I’m just trying to be a normal guy as much as I can. In this room, with you all, I’d like you to think of me as Kaelyn’s boyfriend, Harris. Not Harris that pitched the best game of his life to have it taken away hours later.”

  “It’s a little hard to do that,” Evan said. “Especially with all the attention from today alone. It’s going to get worse and you know it.”

  “Evan,” Kaelyn said. “Don’t be an ass.”

  “I’m not being an ass. I’m not trying to be. I’m just being honest.”

  Christian jumped in. “I get what Evan is saying. He means no harm by his words. This is our family business. We’ve had people chasing us individually because of our name. Now Kaelyn is going to have a lot of eyes on her too once people put it together.”

  Another thing he didn’t think about. “I wouldn’t put Kaelyn in harm’s way. No one needs to know about Kaelyn when I go on Thursday. I’d like to continue with the kids if I could and it only should be about them and not my personal life. I have no intention of answering anything personally. I even saw you’ve got a summer picnic coming up and already decided to forgo it.” Not that he really thought he’d put himself in that position anyway, but now with this, there was no way.

  “So you expect the media to be there on Thursday?” Judy asked. “And whether you go to the picnic or not, it’s going to be bigger this year alone just with people hoping you’d show up.”

  There wasn’t much he could do about that and wasn’t going to worry either. “I’m not sure about the media. Like I told my sister earlier. I’m no one now.”

  Evan snorted. “That isn’t true and you know it. What happened to you...it’s still early yet.”

  “Time erases things. By the end of this season—maybe even the end of the summer—not many will be looking at me. I’m not the first professional player to retire and live a normal life. I’m not going to be the last.”

  He’d been telling himself that for weeks. Everyone retired at one point and not everyone continued the high profile lifestyle.

  Hell, many didn’t have that high profile lifestyle while they played. Plenty were married with families and lived outside the city they played for. He was convinced time would ease memories. There was always the next big thing or person that someone latched on to.

  Kaelyn and he stayed for another twenty minutes, and he had what he thought might be a game plan. Or her family did. He was just going to show up on Thursday like he told the kids.

  “That wasn’t so bad,” Kaelyn said.

  “No. I didn’t think it would be. I’m not concerned about Thursday after talking to your father. He seems to have it all under control.”

  “He does. He’ll talk with my Uncle Matt tomorrow.”

  “Your uncle lives in the development too?” he asked.

  “Pretty much everyone in the family does, but me and Christian.”

  “Why doesn’t Christian?”

  “He likes buying and flipping on his own. Kind of his own business. Actually Evan helps him out. They do it together, but Christian sort of floats through life and lives in those houses while he works on them. I’m sure once he settles down he’ll end up here like everyone else.”

  “You don’t live here like everyone else,” he said.

  “But I live in a family-owned property. It’s pretty much the same thing.”

  “Your family is close, aren’t they?”

  “Just like yours by the sounds of it. Evan and Christian were tolerable tonight. I knew they would be, that they’d come around. Your little hand holding move when they walked in helped.”

  “It wasn’t planned. I mean not for when they walked in. But it was good timing.”

  “That’s you, isn’t it?” she asked. “Haven’t they always said you had good timing? Even on the mound.”

  “I’m not sure about that. I just seemed to know what to do and when. It probably has more to do with luck and skill. Remember, I lived and breathed baseball for so long I wasn’t sure there was any other air in the world around me but cleats and gloves.”

  “And now that you aren’t in that world? What do you think?”

  “I think the air around me is filled with a brown-haired beauty that almost makes my breathing stop altogether.”

  She laughed, but he wasn’t even smiling. “You’re serious?”

  “More serious than I’ve been about anything other than baseball in my life.”

  21

  Flowing And Encouraging

  Kaelyn couldn’t believe she was in the executive suite at Citi Field watching the Mets play against the Marlins. Talk about being overwhelmed and out of her element. Her belly was flip flopping around almost making her a tad nauseous mixed in with excitement.

  But as Harris had said almost a month ago, he was more serious about her than he was baseball and when his agent reached out to him and said they’d like him in the booth to discuss his new energy drink commercial, she knew she had to be there to support him.

  She hadn’t even known he was talking to his agent anymore or had anything to do with him. He explained he did for things outside of contracts to play ball. That he still had sponsors and they wanted to do a commercial on his story along with a few other professional athletes too.

  She’d been dying to see the commercial but had to wait until it was aired on Saturday night during the Mets and Braves game. The same team where Harris threw his last game. She supposed his sponsors thought that might play into the drama of it more. And being here a few days before was just building up the hype.

  While the game was playing, Harris had left to walk over to the broadcast booth where he was being interviewed by the commentators. There was no way she wanted any part of that, not that she was even asked.

  Instead, she was going to stay right where she was behind the glass and watch the game with a bunch of people she was introduced to but had no idea what they did for the team or who they were to Harris.
<
br />   She was here for him and that was all she was concerned with.

  * * *

  Harris had been in this booth plenty of times before. He even expected to be here the day after his no hitter. He didn’t expect it to be about this.

  But like he’d said so many times in the past few months, life has a way of throwing curveballs. He was used to pitching them, not avoiding them unless he was up to bat. Even then, he wasn’t much of a hitter.

  “It’s good to see you again, Harris,” Keith Hernandez said. “First question, how are you feeling?”

  “I’m feeling good,” he said, the headset not unfamiliar on his head. He was dressed casually in jeans and a shirt with the energy drink logo on the front. Still supporting his sponsors, but again, that was why he was here anyway.

  “How is the rehab going?” Ron Darling asked.

  “Going good.” He flexed his arm knowing the camera was on them now. “Got all my muscles back, even my control, but the speed is pretty much gone.”

  There was some laughter in the booth since ball control had been his Achilles heel earlier in his career. Why not make a crack at it?

  “Speed has never been your issue, but as we know, you’re living life in the slow lane now,” Keith said. “Some of us look forward to those days.”

  Nothing was being said in a negative light, but rather to keep the whole conversation flowing and encouraging. Harris knew he was here to talk positively about what happened to him. About other players that went through the same thing or may in the future.

  This was a commercial, and it had to be promoted regardless of the fact his sponsors might be feeding off of his rotten luck.

  “Life is what we make of it,” he said. He’d been coached by his agent and the PR managers for the team. Not that he needed it. He wasn’t an idiot and wouldn’t come on air to have people feel sorry for him. He never wanted that one day in his life and he sure the hell didn’t want it now.

  “And it seems you are making the best of it,” Ron said. “You’ve got a big commercial coming out about life after the game in a few days. Care to tell us what you’ve been doing?”

  Life After The Game was what his sponsors were trying to promote. There they were, three pros that were big names during their time and had to step away from the game they loved due to injury.

  But they were on the screen showing their work ethics. Showing the condition they were still in. Their discipline and their lives.

  In his segment, there were a few clips of him with the kids on the baseball field helping them out. The families of Coy and Brandon had been thrilled to get the attention and the small payday. The exposure was better, he knew, but those two deserved it along with a few others in the background.

  It wasn’t a long clip, but it was long enough. Coy throwing a few pitches, Brandon catching them with a batter in the box giving the signals. Harris instructing them both at different times, high fives, and lots of smiles. A feel good moment.

  It was true emotion in his eyes when he saw the commercial because it was what he felt when he went to the field twice a week to work with those two and anyone else that showed up.

  Yes, the first few times it’d been nothing short of a circus and hundreds of clowns trying to stuff into a Prius. But the local and state police were there, they were reining the crowd in, the media came and got an interview, and then things died down like he predicted they would.

  A lot of kids showed up each time he was there, many faces he’d never seen, and he tried to get them all on the field as best he could. He tried to help many and not overdo it with a few. They were still kids and he wanted them to love the game as well as improving at it.

  He’d even talked with Kaelyn’s father and uncle and donated energy and sports drinks, water and protein bars to have supplied on those days. Her family took care of making sure it was there and he was happy to have it off his shoulders. He didn’t want the thanks or the headache of orchestrating it; he just wanted to make sure the kids were hydrated and not hungry as they stood around waiting for his attention.

  “As many will see with the commercial in a few days, I’m giving back in my hometown. There are a lot of talented kids around and one day I was walking my dog, saw a game of pickup baseball, and found myself intrigued. You all know me, I can’t keep my mouth shut and had to give my opinion to the kid on the mound.”

  Keith laughed. “We’ve all been there. What advice did you give him?”

  Even though the parents had signed off that their sons could be used in the commercial, he wasn’t going to use their names during the interview. “I told him he couldn’t keep throwing the same pitch or the batter was going to get his number every time.”

  “Never you,” Ron said. “You changed up your pitches more than most. No one knew what was coming or when. At least once you mastered your control.”

  “It took me longer than most to get my control under...well, control,” he said, laughing. “But like I tell these kids—practice, practice, practice. If it’s what you want, you need to eat, sleep, and breathe it. But if it stops being fun, if you hate it, or dread it, then you need to find something else.”

  “That’s good advice to have,” Ron said. “I’m sure the kids are enjoying the time you spend with them. Anything else you’ve been up to that you want to share on national TV?”

  Harris laughed. “Unfortunately, my life is pretty boring. I got myself a puppy on the advice of my physical therapist. I needed to work my ankle and anyone who knows me knows how much I hate the treadmill and running. A puppy was an excuse to get out of the house for a walk.”

  “And just like that, you went out and got a puppy?” Keith asked. “We heard you adopted Nicks from a shelter. I’m sure every shelter around would love advertising like that from medical professionals.”

  He laughed. “After I told my physical therapist I’d gotten the puppy she was shocked. Said she was only joking, that it was just a suggestion.”

  “It’s been told you’ve been pretty impulsive in life about things outside of baseball. I guess Nicks is one indication of that,” Ron said.

  “Just like walking to the park that day and talking with the kids. But it’s working out and I’m giving back like I wished some would have done to me. All of us out there, all us pros, we have what we do because of the fans. Because of the kids. They deserve to reap some of our knowledge.”

  “There you have it,” Keith said. “All you active and retired athletes alike. Remember what got you where you are and give back. Help create the next era of Mets out there.”

  Harris shook hands with Ron and Keith, left the booth and made his way back to Kaelyn and the owners. He hated leaving her alone but hadn’t wanted her in there with him. Ron and Keith were hinting around to hear more on his personal life, but he didn’t want to share. He never did if he could avoid it.

  After the game tonight, Johnny and a few others wanted to get together, but he knew they’d be tired and had a game tomorrow too. He and Kaelyn were staying the night and going back home tomorrow. He wasn’t sure he wanted Kaelyn to see him around his old friends and how the women and fans flocked over them.

  It wasn’t his life anymore so there was no need for her to witness it.

  When he got back to the executive suite, he saw Kaelyn talking to one of the wives. He wasn’t sure who it was and it didn’t matter.

  “Hey,” he said. “Sorry I was gone so long.”

  “No worries,” she said back. He leaned down to kiss her quickly and she smiled. “I watched it on the screen here. It was more exciting than the game.”

  “Yeah, they aren’t doing so hot today. It happens. Ron and Keith would have continued the interview if they could but were told to wrap it up and get back to the game. That’s fine with me.”

  “You seemed to enjoy yourself there,” she asked. “Have you considered a career in broadcasting? Don’t a lot of retired athletes do that?”

  “They do, but I’m not interested in that. I d
on’t think I’m that exciting of a person or have that much to talk about.”

  “I think you are plenty exciting,” she said.

  He walked to the window to catch sight of the line drive that Johnny just hit, his arms going up in the air when Johnny got his double and sent a run in. Kaelyn clapping with him, then slipping her arm around his waist.

  “You miss this a lot, don’t you? You don’t have to hide it or lie.”

  “I do and I don’t.” He ran his hand down her cheek. “I wouldn’t trade it for this,” he said, looking at her. It was the closest he’d ever gotten to telling any woman he loved her. He knew what he felt for Kaelyn, but this wasn’t the place to voice it.

  22

  Drew Her Closer

  “That was so much fun!” Kaelyn said when they got back to the hotel. It’d been an afternoon game, which left them plenty enough time to go to dinner and do some sightseeing. Instead she’d asked to order dinner in and relax.

  “I’m glad you had fun. I’m sorry I had to leave you to go do the interview.”

  “Don’t think anything of it. It was kind of funny seeing you on TV with the headset on.” It wasn’t far from her mind, his “celebrity” status, yet she didn’t really think much of it when they were together in their hometown. But here, in the city where he’d made his mark—the place where it all started and ended for him—she saw a different side of her boyfriend.

  Not one that made her not want to be with him. Rather one that drew her closer.

  He was confident up there. He was happy. And he was vulnerable. Real. Anyone watching that broadcast and listening to his voice could see how honest he was. How everything Harris said came from his heart.

  He missed his career, his friends, and the life he had. But he was making a new one. One that he was finding rewarding and he wanted the world to know.

  “I always hated to wear them. I thought they made my head look big.”