Christmas and Cleats

by Solly, Clare

  “So… it’s over?” Hetty clarified.

  “Yeah. It's been over. I’m waiting for her before we announce it. It is a business decision for both of us. You see rumors and the press will eat it up and we both have contracts in the balance. But the relationship,” he sighed, “has been over almost as long as we were together,” he said hanging a snowman ornament and watching it spin on its string in front of him. “I lost it right after I moved in with her, I thought if we lived together, I would feel closer. But the moment I moved in I just felt… stuck.” He drifted a little. “Teammates all said that having a girlfriend or wife helped them settle into their game, because they had family. So, I tried it. And it just wasn’t working. In fact, I was getting in more fights than before on the field. I knew I was being used. Her relationship with social media takes precedence over anyone or anything. I decided I don’t want a girlfriend who has a more important relationship with social media. I just didn’t want to compete with her fans.” He sat on the floor and started to help Hetty since the ornaments were finished. He smiled and his shoulders shook in a quiet laugh. “Did you know I tried to give Heather my grandmother’s ring? She laughed and said it was dated. She wanted something bigger and newer, and not the antique that has been in my family for three generations.”

  “Dottie always loved that ring. She would talk about coming over here and your mom letting her try it on sometimes,” Hetty knew exactly what she was doing, and she just kept planting the seeds. “Dottie was always yours, you know that, right?”

  “I was about to ask her to the dance. I had it all planned,” he answered. “But then I told Harold one day after practice and he beat me to it. I figured if she really wanted me instead, she would have said no.”

  Hetty stopped decorating and turned to Joe. “She always said that if you wanted her, you would have asked and she would have told Harold where to stick his invitation,” Hetty bluntly laid out the facts she had known for years.

  Joe felt like there was a fist around his heart squeezing tighter and tighter.

  Hetty sat up on her knees. “Don’t you worry,” she said patting him on the leg. “There is always a long quest to find the right lady in all of the stories. You just have to fight the battle. And with Dottie, it’s going to be tricky.” Turning so she could look him dead on, Hetty urged, “But you can do it, I know you can. You will help each other.”

  Hetty’s phone rang. “Hey Murray, what’s—”

  Joe could hear Murray’s voice, he spoke loudly. “Dottie left without saying goodbye. She is on her way back and will probably be there any minute.”

  “Thanks, Mur. We’re done, just need to tidy up,” she said and hung up the phone. “What are you doing?” She asked Joe who was fishing up in the tree for something.

  “Just putting in the flasher bulb. And, voila!” Just then all of the lights on the tree started to blink at them.

  “Never knew you could do that!” Hetty said as she tossed things back in the containers.

  The creak of the kitchen door made them both look up. They hear some rustling and drawers in the kitchen open and close. Both unintentionally held their breath. Joe started to take one step toward Hetty and opened his mouth to say something. She quickly stopped him.

  “Shhh!!!” Hetty waved Joe over to a corner as she pulled the empty boxes toward the other corner. They motioned to each other hand signals to try to figure out what to do. Hetty knew that her best friend was somewhat oblivious, and they might have a chance to get out without Dottie seeing them. On the other hand, was it so bad if Dottie caught them red handed after Joe had done such an adorable thing for her? Hetty thought about hollering out to Dottie, as it would be just the thing to get them together. But she hesitated. Joe had a plan. Suddenly she heard footsteps headed in their direction.

  Dottie dashed in to the museum and went right up the stairs. They both stood stock still just in case she came right back down. Hetty put up her hand and mouthed, “Stay here.” She tiptoed to the bottom of the stairs and looked up. Coast was clear. She motioned Joe to follow her and they quietly snuck out the kitchen and into her car. Hetty drove Joe back to his house,

  “See you later partner!” she hollered at him as she drove off.

  Shoving his hands in his pockets, Joe realized he still had the key to the kitchen door. Dashing up the hill and wiggling through the bushes that had overgrown, Joe snuck up to the kitchen and was about to put the key back, when the lights snapped on. Dottie got a glass, poured herself water. She chugged the first glass, then refilled. He smiled. She was thinking about something, planning something. He wanted to walk right in, like in the old days and ask about whatever crazy plan she had going this time. But he didn’t. Both their argument from yesterday and the surprise he just created for her held him frozen in place. He just watched her for a moment. She was so beautiful. Dottie moved out of his view, and the light went off in the kitchen. Not wanting to get caught, he slapped the key up where the found it. Joe put the key back took one more glance hoping she’d come back into the kitchen. When she didn’t, he smiled at the warmth he felt just being close by. He walked off the porch heading home and started to whistle “The Way You Look Tonight.” This ceased immediately when he walked into his house to find the woman waiting for him.

  * * *

  Joe was now restless and stalked the living room like a snow leopard searching for something. Maybe he could go out in the driveway again. From the top, the lights from the museum could be seen. Banging at the front door startled him out of his thought.

  “Joe, we need to talk,” Dottie’s voice was angry.

  Although those words are usually terrifying, his heart sang hearing her voice. Then his mood quickly flipped. Why couldn’t he have caught her in the driveway? Why couldn’t she have come earlier? And now he had an unexpected guest. Joe heard the pipes in the house groan as the knobs turned in the bathroom and the shower started. Good. Joe would have a few minutes. He would get Dottie out of the house and explain about his unexpected houseguest. Unless she already knew and was upset about it. But why would she be upset? It didn’t matter anyway, and he was sure if he could just explain—

  She banged again. “I know you’re in there, I see all of the lights.”

  He jogged to the front door. “Hey, Dottie,” Joe was sheepish and rubbed his neck as he opened the door. She just stood in the doorway. This was unlike her. “Um, do you want to come in?”

  “I’m trying to decide,” Dottie spoke through gritted teeth.

  “Ok, well, I’m gonna go get a coat if you’re just gonna stand—” Dottie cut Joe off and barged in.

  In a huff she turned, crossed her arms and stood in the middle of the living room. He worried for a moment that they might be heard if they stood right here. Then again, he didn’t care.

  “Would you like a drink? We could go into the kitchen—” he tried to lead her into the other room, away from the stairs. Dottie didn’t budge.

  He waited. She stood boring her eyes into him.

  “I’m moving,” she declared boldly.

  “Okay….”

  “So, there was no need to do that,” she held hear arm straight out in front of her and pointed in the direction of the museum.

  “Put up the painting?” he asked looking at the wall that she was actually pointing at.

  “No,” she slapped her arm down. “The tree. And don’t deny it. Those flashing lights have your name all over them,” her temper rose. “And I don’t know how you roped Hetty into it, and I’m sure Frank and Murray have their fingers in this pie too, but you shouldn’t have done that. I’m engaged to another man, and whether we like it or not, that is just how it’s going to be,” she huffed and crossed her arms back over her chest.

  “I… don’t quite know what to say to that… but you’re welcome?” Joe was confused. This wasn’t how she was supposed to act. Why was she mad at him? Wait, she said engaged? “Wait, you’re engaged?” Joe repeated his thought out loud.

&nb
sp; “Well,” she looked at her feet dropping her guard. “Well… not technically,” she went on the defensive again, “but it’s bound to happen.”

  “So, Harold hasn’t asked you.”

  “Yet. But since we’re moving to New York, I’m sure it will happen eventually,” she stated with a twinge of disbelief and distraction. Joe knew that she was starting not to believe in that idea as much as she used to. The corner of his mouth lifted and gave away the smallest of smiles.

  Taking a step toward her, he asked, “So when are you moving?”

  “Harold has to start on Monday, so he’s going up—”

  “I didn’t ask about Harold,” he said taking another step closer, “I asked when you were moving.

  Dottie took a step back. Joe was closing the four-foot gap between them, but it felt like it was just inches. “Well, sometime… in the new year… I suppose.” She was grasping at straws now; he could feel it. “And what does it matter,” she fought back. “You’re leaving town as soon as this house sells, probably sooner.”

  Joe knew from years of playing competitive sports that in any competition or fight, when a person knows they are losing they pull out all the stops, including fighting dirty. His mind was suddenly on that last game again. His team was losing and there was nothing he could do for the team he loved. He would have done anything then to win that game. He kept it clean. Well almost clean. He said a few things to batters that he probably shouldn’t have. It was all part of the game though. Outside of the playing field, he wouldn’t have said any of it. Because when it came down to it, his team was more than a team to him. It was his family. He felt the same way about his teammates that he did about his parents. The way he felt about Dottie. They were all his family.

  How to play this game he wondered. How could he win her? What was his strategy? He could see she was scared, too. She was a fighter, and she truly believed she wanted to go to New York. Joe wanted to help her, but maybe if he pushed her toward that New York dream, she would see it wasn’t really what she wanted. Harold wasn’t what she wanted. It was a big gamble, but he could always to the run-after-her-and-confess-everything moment if this didn’t work.

  “Ok, so I put up a tree with Hetty, so what? Hetty and I thought it would be a fun antic for old times. I mean, you did drive off and leave the tree in my driveway. So, I figured I could do what I wanted with it. Plus, you love Christmas, so what is the big deal?” Joe crossed his arms and challenged her with his eyes.

  “Well…” she let her shield of anger drop and she smiled. “It was a pretty good trick,” Dottie admitted. She continued in disbelief,” I can’t believe you two got the ornaments out of my apartment. But then you and Hetty together were always a good team.”

  “We were a good team,” he said dropping his arms and taking a few steps closer. He was only two feet from her now. A close enough distance that they could touch.

  “That’s what I just said,” Dottie put her hands on her hips.

  “No,” he smiled and rubbed his neck. He dropped his head toward the floor as he could feel the blush rising in his cheeks, “I meant you and me,” he peeked up at her again.

  “Oh…” A slow blush started to rise in Dottie’s cheeks, and she glanced down at the floor. He wasn’t sure if she was still angry or if she was blushing. Either way, it filled his chest with pride and hope.

  Joe liked when he threw Dottie off balance a little, especially when she was angry. Even more when she was angry to hide other feelings. When she was this angry, it meant she was vehemently passionate about something. He hoped it was him. He wasn’t sure before, but to have Murray, Frank and Hetty all confirm that Dottie did have feelings but was keeping them so hidden that she herself didn’t know they were still there. Joe was ready to dig those feeling up and fight for her. His heart which had been crumbling for years suddenly felt like it was resealing and healing. He had the feeling he was stepping into the batter’s box of the biggest game of his life, and he just had to keep his head; to wait for the right pitch and then lean in and swing. This moment in the last few games had him rattled and unsteady. Right now, he was a rock. Nerves diminished, and he saw her clearly. He just had to stare her down and wait. Coach always said that the relationship between a batter and a hitter was like a dance. Joe really understood that now. He just had to wait for the right moment. She was ruffled now, so she was about to throw him something. Come on Dottie, throw me the heat, he thought.

  “Well,” she crossed her arms again. “It doesn’t matter what kind of team we were. You are leaving again, don’t pitchers and catchers report in February?”

  He smiled because she paid enough attention to know this fact. She was interested. “Yeah, the eleventh, but—”

  “See, you’re leaving. And the tree is beautiful, but I’m sure you can throw your money around and do that kind of thing for any girl, I mean anyone you wanted,” she grasped at straws.

  Joe just wanted to reach out and hold her. He started to step toward her, but she put out her hand, “Stop! Don’t come closer,” she said. He almost had her. He knew it.

  “Dottie, I—”

  “Don’t say anything you’ll regret,” Dottie warned.

  “Regret?” He opened his arms out to his sides and chuckled nervously. “The only thing I regret is that I walked away and left you all behind.”

  “Speaking of which, why did you do that?” she painfully asked. “Why did you just walk away? You discarded us like we were nothing to you. Must be nice to have so many friends that we’re all disposable,” she spat at him.

  “Disposable? DISPOSABLE?” He echoed his temper starting to rise.

  “Sure, you keep us all for a time and then toss us away,” she said standing and facing him now. Her pain radiating and filling the whole room.

  “I think you should leave, if you think that,” he said. Protecting himself. Again. He instantly regretted it. Instantly he contained his anger, shoving it away and tried to find the right words in his head. Dottie was precious. China. Delicate situation. All of the words he wanted to say to her came to him in a deluge. The ones he really should say now. The ones he meant to say to her over the years when he dialed her number or started emails. The words that he should have said to her before Harold had.

  Nausea threatened. Focusing his fear and nervousness down to his toes like his coach had taught him to do many years ago, he took a deep breath in through his nose. Opening his eyes, he didn’t realize were closed, courage soared through his veins. He cleared his throat and began to speak, “I have loved you for as long as I can remember—” the front door slammed. He realized she had done exactly as he suggested. She walked out. Joe’s newly repaired heart cracked into a thousand pieces.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Dottie stepped outside and fought with the zipper on her coat. She was so upset her hands were shaking and she couldn’t connect the ends together to zip the jacket. The wild gusts of wind didn’t help her either. It blew a handful of hair into her face, blurring her vision. She huffed and took a few steps up the driveway to go back to the museum. Suddenly a gust of understanding hit her, and she couldn’t breathe. She bent over and put her hands on her knees as she tried to tell her lungs to move. This feeling was exactly how Joe felt when he heard about Dottie and Harold. This was a terrible feeling. Why she had walked out? Dottie didn’t know. It was not at all how she really felt. She didn’t want to run away from Joe. She wanted to run to him. Joe wasn’t throwing her away, he was waiting for her to make a choice. She hoped.

  It was worth a shot, though. Courage surged through her chest and then burned down into her legs. Joe was worth fighting for. She should have fought for him sooner. But pride and pain led to blindness and ignorance.

  Before she knew what was happening, she stood up and turned on her heel. This time she didn’t knock when she got to the front door. Taking a deep breath, she flung open the front door and marched back into Joe’s house. Joe was standing in the same exact spot when she left
him. Slowly he looked up and revealed his handsome face filled with anguish. His still hopeful eyes met hers. Her breath left her as she opened her mouth to speak. When words finally found their way out of Dottie’s mouth, she spoke at the same time he did.

  “I didn’t mean anything I—” he said.

  “We shouldn’t have let so many years—” she said.

  They both laughed with nervousness and excitement.

  “You first,” they both said at the same time.

  “You know what, it doesn’t matter,” he said and in three steps he was across the room. He cupped her face in his hands and looked in her mossy green eyes searching quickly for permission. She looked right back. He took that signal as the go ahead. Lifting her chin up a little to meet his, Joe gently placed his lips on top of hers. She leaned in falling deeper into the kiss while he wrapped his arms around her.

  Everything seemed to be aglow and grow fuzzy around the edges. Nothing else existed. It was just the two of them with their arms wrapped around each other. Finally. Together as they should have been for years. Terror and fear no longer existed between them. In this moment they stared into each other’s eyes and saw the whole world, and their future all at the same time. Touching their foreheads together communicated every apology that needed to be said. Everything was perfect. Until they heard footsteps on the second floor.

  “Joe,” called the foot stepper, who was female by the sound of her voice. She was obviously in ill-fitting heels clomping across the second floor and started down the stairs.

  Dottie pushed Joe away, “Who—?” she looked at him, then up at the ceiling.

  “Dottie, I can explain. Give me a moment to—”

  Joe was interrupted by a thin waisted, bleach blonde woman who had so much makeup on, it would probably take hours to wash off.

  “Joe, where can I—Oh!” she cut herself off as she noticed Dottie in the room. “Joe, why didn’t you tell me we had company?” She looked to Joe then crossed the room to Dottie offering a limp hand, “Hi, I’m Heather. Heather Smolen? You might recognize me from my season of ‘Real Lives’,” she said as if everyone knew her reality show as if it was momentous, groundbreaking television.