“Yeah. Tonight. At six o’clock.” Sophie gave her a look that was almost, but not quite an eye roll.
“Yeah, but we have to be there at five-thirty to get our costumes on and go to the bathroom before we go on stage,” Olivia demanded.
“Okay. I’ll let him know we’ll have to leave early and see if he wants to join us.” She pulled out her phone to send him a quick text. “Maybe we can all go out for pizza afterward.”
“Yeah. Cool.” Sophie’s eyes lit up at the idea. They hadn’t been out since before the accident.
Both girls finished their snacks and raced upstairs to start getting ready.
Annabelle cleaned up the kitchen, and put the teakettle on. She sent Cooper a text and he texted back, letting her know he’d be happy to join them for the girls’ school play. He even offered to drive, and even though she’d been waiting for clearance to drive herself, she was relieved she wouldn’t have to. Her nerves were a jangled mess. She’d made the decision to let Cooper into their lives, and she was scared of how neatly he fit.
She was even more afraid of the hole he’d leave behind when he signed with a new team.
“Wow, you two are ready already?” Annabelle had just sat down with a cup of tea when the girls bounded down the stairs. “We won’t leave for another hour.”
“We’re just super excited.” As if Sophie’s bouncing didn’t make that obvious.
“And Cooper’s coming.” Olivia was only slightly more restrained than her sister. “He’ll get to meet Miss Ramirez and everything.”
“Well now, let’s not get too excited.” She needed to explain a few things to her daughters. “Have a seat girls.”
They took up their regular places around the kitchen table.
“Cooper is our neighbor. He’s my friend.” She felt a little guilty about not telling the whole truth about her relationship with Cooper. “He’s not going to be your stepfather. Are we clear on that?”
They both nodded, but they shared a look with each other that had her worried they had other plans. They wanted a fairy tale ending. Nathan Cooper was Prince Charming, and their mother was the queen. They would be little princesses and they’d all live happily ever after.
“Your father will always be a part of your lives.” She worried how frequently or consistently they’d see him, but that wasn’t the main point of this conversation. “He loves you both very much. And even though he and I aren’t married anymore, we still care about each other. We’re still your parents.”
“We know.” Sophie looked at her as if she couldn’t figure out why she was telling them this all again. “But Daddy would want you to get married again so he wouldn’t have to pay abalone.”
“Where on earth would you get an idea like that?”
“Um, Uncle Leonard.” Olivia looked almost scared to out him. “He and Daddy were talking at Christmas. He said if you married someone else he wouldn’t have to worry about you making him bleed.”
“Did he say ‘bleed him dry’ or something like that?”
“Yeah. That. Why would getting married to someone else keep Daddy from getting cut?” Olivia took everything she heard literally.
“Oh honey, it’s an expression. I think he meant that if I were to remarry, and I’m not saying I will, then he wouldn’t have to pay me money for being his ex-wife.” She wasn’t going to explain that he’d already given her a payout instead of alimony. The only money he’d have to pay would be child support, and that wouldn’t change if she remarried.
“He doesn’t have to pay you because you’re a model. Isn’t that a job?” Sophie was trying to figure out the complicated lives of adults.
“I did have a job, but I’m not going to be a model anymore.”
“Why not?”
“People don’t want to look at pictures of great big scars.” She brushed her hair off her face, to remind herself as well as her daughters that she was flawed. “I’ll just have to find another job.”
“You could work at our school,” Olivia suggested.
“I don’t think so.” Annabelle knew that she wasn’t qualified. “I didn’t go to college, and they only let really smart people work with kids.”
“Why didn’t you go to college?” Sophie asked. “Is it because you got married?”
“No. I just never really thought about going.” She’d never been encouraged, either. “When I graduated from high school all I wanted to do was get out and see the world. I did that as a model. I got to go to New Zealand, Costa Rica, and even South Africa.”
“But then you married Daddy, so you didn’t need to go to college?” Olivia was trying to piece the story together.
“I married your father, and I stopped modeling so I could stay home with my beautiful babies.”
Both girls smiled.
“But now we’re big, right? And you can get a job if you want?” Olivia questioned.
“Or you could even go to college,” suggested Sophie.
“I could go to college. Sure.” She’d never thought about it, but why not?
“We’re going to go to college,” Sophie announced with pride.
“Yes, you are.” She just hoped she wasn’t putting too much pressure on her girls. They’d barely begun to read, and here they were discussing college. She wanted to encourage them, sure, but maybe they needed to be little girls a little longer.
“I’m going to be a teacher.” Olivia had decided that on her first day of school.
“I’m going to be a singer.” Sophie’s aspirations changed quite frequently. But Annabelle had little doubt where this latest career choice had come from. “Do singers make more money than baseball players?”
A knock on the door prevented Annabelle from even trying to answer that question.
“Cooper!” Both girls rushed to the door and dragged him inside.
“Do you make money as a singer?” Sophie barely let him get a foot in the door before she blurted out her question.
“Um, I sing mostly for fun.” He gave Annabelle an amused grin. “I have played a couple of times for charity events, so whatever they paid me, I just donated back to the cause.”
“Oh. So are you rich from being a baseball player?” Sophie didn’t know that these kinds of questions were rude.
“I made pretty good money as a baseball player.” He rubbed his chin. “And I managed to save a lot of that money for when I’m done playing.”
“Are you done playing?”
“Sophie. Please, enough with the third degree.” Annabelle was a little embarrassed by her daughter’s relentless questioning.
“What’s the third degree? We’ve been learning about weather. I know there’s an F on one side of the thermometer and a C on the other.” Sophie was too much sometimes.
“So, are my little actresses ready for their performance?” Cooper knelt down to give the girls his full attention.
They nearly knocked him over when they rushed to give him hugs. He took one girl in each arm and lifted them up.
Annabelle couldn’t breathe. It was getting harder to think she could just keep this casual, enjoy his companionship until he left for whatever team he ended up with. Not with the way her girls had fallen head over heels for him. And she wasn’t very far behind.
They piled into his SUV and drove to the school. As soon as the girls saw their teacher, they almost forgot about her and Cooper. Almost.
The girls checked in with Miss Ramirez and then dragged Cooper over to meet her.
“This is Miss Ramirez.” Olivia’s voice was filled with awe.
“And this is our neighbor, Cooper.” Sophie finished the introduction.
“It’s very nice to meet you.” Miss Ramirez passed a look between Cooper and Annabelle, but she didn’t question their relationship. “Okay girls, let’s get into your costumes.”
They scampered off, and Cooper turned to Annabelle.
“I’ll be right back. I have a little surprise
for the girls.”
* * * *
As soon as Annabelle texted to tell him the play was tonight, Cooper had dashed off to the florist. He’d picked up a dozen roses, split into two mini bouquets. He planned to present them to Sophie and Olivia after the performance.
“Oh, Cooper, that’s so…” Annabelle held her hand over her mouth, hiding a smile.
“Too much?” He wondered now if it would draw too much attention from the rest of the parents. Maybe the other kids would feel bad if they didn’t get roses.
“No. It’s sweet.” She reached for him, but dropped her hand at the last second. “Besides, they’re already completely smitten with you.”
He wanted to know how their mother felt about him, but that would have to wait. For now, he was just happy to be there with them.
“They’re great kids. And I thought it would be nice to celebrate their stage debut.” But then he didn’t really know if it was their first time in a play.
“Thank you.” She offered him a grateful smile.
The audience settled and the teacher stepped up to the microphone. She welcomed the families and introduced “One Hundred Days, The Musical.”
They started with a choral piece, the whole class singing about how they were “one hundred days smarter.” Then a group of ten students stepped forward to sing about counting by tens. They were followed by a group of five kids, and then Sophie and Olivia stepped up to the microphone.
They were dressed in matching camouflage jackets and hats, looking like twin soldiers.
“Two, four, six, eight, counting by twos is really great.” they sang and marched.
“Ten, twelve, fourteen, sixteen, eighteen, counting in pairs won’t keep us waiting.”
The song went on like that until they got to “ninety-six, ninety-eight, one hundred. After all that counting we’re really tired.” They ended with a dramatic sweep of their hands across their foreheads.
For the finale, the whole class counted to one hundred and ended with “We are one hundred days smarter.”
The audience cheered, and when Sophie and Olivia came off the stage, Cooper presented them with their flowers. They were thrilled.
“Look Mommy, we got flowers.” Olivia buried her face in the blooms and inhaled.
“Just like real actresses,” Sophie exclaimed.
“Or princesses,” Olivia added.
They ran off to show their teacher and their friends. The auditorium was a buzz of excitement. Twenty-seven five- and six-year-olds were running around, singing the songs, and munching on cookies and cider.
Just as he’d feared, one little girl was unhappy about not getting flowers. When tempting her with a second cookie didn’t satisfy her, the father approached Cooper.
“How dare you show up here?” Red-faced, the man balled his fists.
“I guess I should have brought flowers for everyone.” Cooper might have been able to divide up the flowers for each girl in the class, if he’d thought of it in time.
“I’m not talking about the flowers, asshole.” The man leaned closer, his voice raised in fury. “You’re a fraud. A cheater. A disgrace to the game and this country.”
Cooper could feel everyone’s attention turning toward them as the man continued to inch his way forward.
“Maybe we should discuss this outside.” Cooper tried to keep his cool, like he did on the mound, when instead of coming in and shutting the opposition down, he’d been lit up like Opening Night fireworks. “There are children here.”
“Oh, now you give a damn about the kids?” The man’s voice got even louder. “You sure as hell weren’t thinking about the kids when you stuck a needle in your arm.”
He knew he couldn’t win an argument with this man. He turned to Annabelle and said, “I am so sorry. I’ll wait for you at the car.”
Half hoping the man would follow him, he turned and left the school auditorium.
The coward stayed behind.
Even so, he didn’t walk directly to his vehicle. Even though it was a well-lit parking lot, the thought of an ambush played in the back of his head.
What had he been thinking in coming to the play? He’d ruined it for everyone. How was he going to explain to Sophie and Olivia why their classmate’s father had felt the need to verbally attack him? How was he going to explain what he’d done?
Pacing in front of the school, he tried to ignore the suspicious glances cast by the parents as they ushered their performers to their cars.
He’d paid for his sin. Fifty games, plus the trade. But it would never be enough. There would always be some guy somewhere who would feel the need to point out his mistake. Loudly and publicly.
Chapter 22
Annabelle gave her thanks and congratulations to the teacher and then she gathered up her daughters. The wife of the man who’d confronted Cooper gave her an apologetic glance, but Annabelle couldn’t help but feel like every eye was on her and her girls.
What had been a wonderful evening had degraded into something else. Sophie and Olivia looked shocked and confused that their classmate’s father would start yelling at Cooper. They too thought it had something to do with their flowers, and they weren’t quite sure what to do with the thoughtful bouquets.
They found Cooper pacing in front of his SUV. She could tell by the way he moved that he was agitated. He looked like a man who wanted to hit something. Or someone.
But as soon as he saw the three of them, he stopped pacing. His face broke into a wide grin and he crouched down to the twins’ level.
“You two were fantastic.” He held his arms open and both girls crashed into his embrace. “I’m so proud of you both.”
“Thank you.” They remembered their manners at least.
“That was the best hundredth day of school play I’ve ever seen.” He continued the praise like the two of them were the only things that mattered. “Probably the best anyone has ever seen.”
“Did you really like it?” Olivia asked, eyes wide.
“I did.” And he sounded like he meant it.
Cooper unlocked the doors of his SUV, helped Olivia climb into the backseat, and buckled her in. Sophie scrambled up the other side, and he reached over to make sure her seatbelt was fastened before walking around to get behind the wheel.
He shot Annabelle a quick glance before starting the vehicle. Despite his brave face for the girls, he was rattled. Her heart ached knowing how hard he was trying to keep from showing his frustration. How hard he was trying to keep the mood light and focused on the reason they were there tonight.
“Are we still up for pizza?” He asked as he pulled out of the school parking lot.
“Maybe some other time.” Annabelle didn’t want to put him under any more pressure.
“Well, we need to eat, don’t we?” He had a point.
“True, but maybe we could get it to go?” she suggested.
“Sure. I forgot how superstars need their beauty sleep.”
Giggles erupted from the back seat.
Cooper picked up a pizza and they took it back to her place. Annabelle got a couple of vases down for the girls’ flowers while he dished up slices of pizza.
Sophie devoured two whole slices, but Olivia picked the pepperoni off her slice and nibbled as if she was being forced to eat overcooked vegetables.
“Why did that man yell at you?” She pushed her plate aside. “Was it because Skyler didn’t get flowers, too?”
“It had nothing to do with the flowers.” Cooper wiped his mouth with his napkin.
“He called you a big cheater.” Sophie was still chewing. “Why would he call you a cheater when you’re not?”
“Well.” He pushed his chair back and set his napkin on the table next to his plate. “You see, I did cheat.”
Both girls looked at him, wide eyed, with grave concern on their faces.
“See, I took some medicine—no, drugs—I wasn’t supposed to.” He looked li
ke he was facing an executioner. “I knew they were against the rules, but I took them anyway. And I got into a lot of trouble for it.”
“What kind of trouble?” Olivia asked.
“I got suspended for almost half the season,” Cooper explained. “That means I couldn’t play and my team had to find someone else to do my job.”
“Oh.”
“Why did you take the bad drugs?” Sophie wanted to know.
“Well, I was hurt. And I was afraid if I told the trainers, I’d have to miss some games.” It couldn’t be easy for him to admit his mistakes, especially to a couple of six-year-olds. “But I should have told the truth from the beginning. I should have talked to a doctor instead of trying to take care of it myself.”
“Are you going to play baseball again?” Sophie asked.
“I hope so.” Cooper shifted in his chair. “I had an operation on my shoulder and it’s all better now. But some teams might not want me because of what I did.”
“Because you cheated?” Olivia sounded like the word was hard to pronounce. “And cheaters never win.”
“Right. Cheaters never win.” He held his head high, but Annabelle could tell he wanted to get as far away from them as possible. Yet he was doing much better than he probably thought. “But I won’t do it again.”
“Promise?” Olivia asked.
“I promise.” He nodded.
Olivia slid off her chair and went to him. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his chest.
* * * *
Cooper could feel Olivia’s little heart beating as she held on tight. He didn’t deserve her affection. Or her sister’s. He certainly didn’t deserve Annabelle’s.
When Olivia let out a loud yawn, Annabelle suggested they get ready for bed.
“How ’bout we skip the baths, tonight?” Annabelle made it sound like a special treat.
“Okay.” Sophie yawned, too. “As long as we still get to hear a bedtime song.”
“Please?” Olivia’s wide-eyed plea was impossible to resist.
“Sure.” He finished the last bite of his pizza. “I’ll sing you a bedtime song.”
“I’ll take care of the cleanup while you run and get your guitar.” Annabelle’s smile went straight to his heart. He wanted this. Wanted it so much. But he couldn’t risk putting them through another public embarrassment. He didn’t want to have to worry about strangers coming up to him and laying into him about his steroid use. They didn’t need to be exposed to that kind of scene again.
Making a Comeback Page 19