Summer Swing

by Delia Delaney

  I was speechless at first, trying to take in the information and make sense of it. “You got arrested for killing someone out of self-defense? –With a knife that he came at you with? While you were trying to keep someone else safe?” I shook my head. “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “Well according to the courts, we went there looking to kill the guy. Nate had been beaten unconscious by four guys that were inside the house, but my fight with Flynn was the only thing that the police focused on that night because he died. And I didn’t kill him with the knife; he died when his head hit the sidewalk after the last time I hit him.”

  I scoffed. “What about Lindsey? Didn’t what happened to her matter?”

  He shook his head. “What happened to Lindsey wasn’t even a part of the investigation because they claimed she was Dallas Flynn’s girlfriend—which I’m pretty sure was true. She’d known him for a few weeks, and I’d go as far as to say they were even sleeping together. I think they had an argument and she just…I don’t know, tried to get back at him. But the bottom line is that someone died that night, and someone else had to be responsible for it.

  “Anyways,” he sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t really want to talk about this anymore. I can’t pursue a baseball career because no one will even look at me twice after seeing that I’ve served time. Nobody wants to deal with that.”

  “Oh, like you’re the only one, Tyse,” I said with a sarcastic chuckle. “I wonder what the percentage of athletes that have been convicted of crimes really is.”

  “Uh, killing someone isn’t exactly the same as drug charges or assault.”

  I looked at him sternly. “Don’t even compare yourself to other people. For you, anything is possible.”

  “Well…thanks for the confidence. And I’m working on it. I’m not playing at a big university where the scouts hang out, but I’m doing what I can right now to get good grades and make it there somehow. We’ll see.”

  I considered that for a moment and I was impressed that he was trying so hard to make something of himself. It made me care about his future even more, and I wished only good things for him. Finally I said, “I’m going to give you some advice right now. Will you take it?”

  He smiled. “If you tell me what it is first, then I’ll consider it.”

  “No, it doesn’t work that way this time. You either agree to it first or you don’t hear it.”

  “How is that fair?”

  “Well that depends on how badly you want to hear my advice.”

  “Ooh, nice play. If I don’t agree to it, then I don’t care enough to listen to you.”

  I smiled my satisfaction. “Yep, so it’s your choice.”

  He sighed. “Yes, Ellie, please make me keep a promise that I might regret for the rest of my life.”

  I laughed, but I was thoroughly relieved that he had actually agreed to it. “Okay, so my advice is this: just keep playing baseball, Tyse. Find a way to stay in college if you can, and keep playing. If it’s something you really enjoy, just keep playing. If there’s a way to try out for a team, then just do it. When it comes to a point where playing isn’t fun anymore, and working your way onto a team isn’t making you happy, then you’ll know it’s time to stop. But as long as you’re able to play and you enjoy it, just keep playing.”

  He’d been focused on me as I was speaking, but then his eyes drifted to the window again. “You might need to write that down for me,” he eventually said, returning his eyes to mine. “If you expect me take your advice, I’ll need a written reminder. And maybe a phone call every so often. Or a personal visit when you need to kick my ass for real instead of threaten to.”

  That made me smile.

  “And if I make the big paycheck in the majors, I’ll buy you your own broadcasting station.”

  “Awesome. I was gonna ask, but you know…”

  It was his turn to smile. “You’re full of soul, aren’t you Ellie Abbott.”

  Hearing that made me remember something from that morning. “Yeah, I like your Billy Joel music, by the way. And that’s a pretty killer tape player you got going on in that truck.”

  “You like that? Pretty vintage, huh. And yeah, Billy makes me feel good. And that song is about you, by the way. I’m dubbing that my theme song for you.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “You’re a pretty soulful lady, you know. He must have known someone just like you.”

  I shrugged casually. “What can I say. We must be a dime a dozen.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” he chuckled.

  “Actually I just follow these tips online of how to be a soulful person. It must be working wonders. There’s a checklist, and I think I’m almost to the end of it. I might have to move on to something else, like how to be outrageously funny, or ten steps to better self-esteem. No, actually I need, like, a dummy’s guide to baseball or something.”

  “You don’t know anything about baseball?” he smirked.

  I shook my head. “Not really. Just most of the basics, I guess. But my brother wasn’t a pitcher, so I’m not familiar with a lot of that stuff. Gage has taught me a lot, but for once I’d like him to see that I know the difference between a slider and a cutter. And then there’s two-seams and four-seams… I don’t know; I get confused. Once in a while I wish I actually knew what he was talking about.”

  “The seams just have to do with where your fingers are on the ball. But if you want to impress your boyfriend, I can show you a few pitches. If you want.”

  “Really?”

  “Sure.”

  My phone buzzed in my back pocket but I didn’t want to be rude by answering it. However, Tyse motioned for me to, so while he started eating again, I took the call. Since it had been on vibrate, I didn’t realize that it was Gage calling.

  “Hey,” I answered cheerfully.

  “Hey. Uh, is this a good time?”

  “Sure, it’s my lunch break.”

  “Yeah, I was hoping it was. Otherwise I was going to leave a message.”

  “Oh. What’s up?”

  “I’m gonna have to cancel on you for this weekend. I’m really sorry, Ellie, but there are some business associates of my dad’s that I need to meet with, and tomorrow is the only day they can do it.”

  “Well that’s okay. I can find other things to do. I can help clean the house or—”

  “I’m going down to Redding, so I won’t even be at home. I have one appointment tonight, so I’m just going to stay down there for the other one that I have on Saturday morning. I’m sorry, but I have no idea how long it will take.”

  I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Well what about Sunday? Will you be home?”

  “Yeah, I should be. But Ellie, that’s too much driving for you to do in one day.”

  “How about you just call me tomorrow when you’re leaving Redding, okay? If it’s not too late, maybe I can still come down Saturday night.”

  “Okay, that sounds fine. I’m sorry about cutting our weekend in half. I’ll make it up to you.”

  “Yeah, you’d better,” I playfully threatened.

  That made him chuckle.

  “So what are your meetings about?” I asked. I glanced at my watch because I knew I was already cutting it close, but I really wanted to talk to Gage. However, I felt really bad because Tyse was present too, and I didn’t want to just ignore him. But he was busy eating and didn’t seem put off at all, so I spent another minute on the phone.

  “These guys are interested in taking over the company,” he kind of sighed. “I’m just tossing around the idea for now, to see if it’s what I want. They’re both interested in relocating here to run it how my dad did.”

  “Oh, that doesn’t sound too bad. Then you could always choose to work there if you wanted.”

  “Yeah, we’ll see. But I really need to get going, Elle. I still have a few things to get together before I leave.”

  “Okay, just call me when you get a chance then.”

  “I wil
l. Thanks for understanding, Ellie. I love you.”

  “Yeah, I love you, too.”

  I hung up the phone, feeling pretty disappointed. I had been so excited to see Gage that evening, and now it wasn’t going to happen.

  “Change of plans?” Tyse asked.

  “Yeah, he’s got a couple of meetings to go to.”

  Tyse pushed his plate away from him, obviously finished with it because it was nearly spotless. “Aren’t you gonna finish eating? How long is your lunch break, by the way?”

  “Oh, it’s about up. And I’m not hungry anymore; the pasta was enough for me.”

  “Do you mind?” he asked, motioning to the half sandwich I hadn’t even touched. “Or did you want to take it with you?”

  “Oh, no, have it,” I replied, pushing my plate to him.

  He didn’t even hesitate when he picked it up and took a bite.

  “Do you like pie?” I asked him. “They have the best pie here.”

  After he swallowed he said, “I don’t need dessert.”

  “I didn’t ask if you needed it. I asked if you liked it.”

  He smiled. “Uh yeah, I love pie.”

  “Apple? Cherry? Weird stuff like pumpkin?”

  “You don’t like pumpkin pie?”

  “No, it’s disgusting.”

  “It’s one of my favorites. Pecan, too. Oh, and that Oreo stuff is awesome. What kind do you like?”

  “Mmm, I prefer lemon meringue, I think.”

  “That’s good too.”

  “You’re not very picky.”

  “I’m not picky at all. When it comes to food at least.”

  When our waitress passed by I asked for the check and two pieces of pie to go. “He’s not picky so just surprise us,” I told her.

  Tyse thought that was pretty funny. “What if she brings you something you don’t like? What if she brings you pumpkin?” he asked dramatically.

  I only shrugged.

  “You know, now I feel like I owe you dinner,” he told me.

  “You don’t owe me anything.”

  “What if I feel like I do?”

  “Well that’s just something you’ll have to get over.”

  He eyed me carefully but only finished off the last of the sandwich. “Well maybe you’ll have to come over for a bowl of cereal or something,” he finally said.

  I thought that was funny. “Well maybe I will. Since your milk is free and all.”

  He laughed, just as Deanna brought the check and two little boxes with pie. I pulled some cash out of my pocket and dropped it on the table as I stood, and grabbed the pie.

  “Well, duty calls,” I said. Tyse stood up and followed me out of the café, and I kind of had to laugh at him. “You so have a problem with me paying for lunch, don’t you,” I stated.

  He gave me a funny look but replied, “Yeah, I do. I’m sorry, but it’s just not right.”

  I laughed and shook my head as we crossed the street. “Okay, then I’ll give you a call about that bowl of cereal.”

  He agreed to that, but as we walked across the parking lot to his truck he added, “I do thank you for lunch, though. Not just the food, but for the company. It’s been nice hanging out with you, Ellie.”

  “Likewise. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.”

  “Well yeah, you’ll be ready for cereal one of these days.”

  “Yes I will,” I chuckled, as we stopped at his truck. I handed him both pieces of pie and said, “Here, these are for you.”

  “Why do I get both?”

  “Because I got them both for you. What do I need pie for?”

  He gave me a crooked smile and shook his head. “Maybe you don’t understand this, but you’re making me feel worse.”

  “What? How can pie make you feel worse? Pie is supposed to make you feel better. Pie makes everything better.”

  “Well I’d agree with you under normal circumstances, but I’m not used to…”

  “Look,” I said, taking the pie from his hands and setting them on the seat of his truck. “If you pray to God for patience, how do you think he’ll grant you that patience?”

  He sort of scoffed as he rolled his eyes.

  “Exactly. He’ll give you lots of opportunities to practice patience. So if you can’t accept random acts of kindness on occasion, then I’m just going to start baking you whole pies. And then I’ll throw in some brownies once in a while, and then maybe a case of Pepsi here or there, and if you still haven’t learned to accept me for who I am—”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa. I never said I didn’t accept you for—”

  “It’s part of who I am, Tyse. I like to do things for people because it makes me happy. And you don’t even know what it means to me to have someone willing to fix my car so I could get to work. I am very grateful for that, so again… Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

  “Okay, I got it,” he smiled holding up his hands. “You’re an easy one to please, you know it? Fixing a car is one thing—it was painless for me, so it wasn’t a big deal—but you gotta take it easy on me for the other stuff.”

  “You’re not used to having friends?”

  The way he looked at me was a little confusing. Maybe I had offended him, but I didn’t feel that I had. I thought he was just thinking the question over, or how to best answer it.

  “I’ve never had a friend like you,” he finally said. “You’re a little different than what I’m used to.”

  “What do you mean? What kind of friends are you used to?”

  He kind of chuckled, but then he said, “Have you checked the time, Ellie? I think you’re borderline fired.”

  I did look at my watch and said, “Oh, crap! You’re right! Okay, I really gotta go. Thank you soooo much for taking care of my car, Tyse. I really appreciate it.”

  I actually gave him a hug because I was so grateful, and I think I caught him off-guard. Besides thinking that he smelled really good, I didn’t have time to think about much else. He sort of hugged me back after a second or two, and then I took a step back to be considerate.

  “Sorry, I’m a hugger,” I told him, feeling a little embarrassed that I’d unnerved him.

  “Oh, uh, no it’s fine,” he replied, seeming totally uncomfortable.

  Note to self: Tyse is spooked by hugging.

  “Okay, I’ll see you around,” I said. I waved and turned to leave before I made the moment even more awkward.

  “Bye, Ellie. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

  I briefly turned to smile at him as I headed into the building.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Guess what?” my sister said to me over the phone the next morning.

  “What?”

  “No, you really have to guess.”

  “Mmm, you finally dumped Wyatt.”

  “What?! That is terrible, Ellie. I can’t believe you even said that.” She was chuckling a little, so I knew she really wasn’t mad at me.

  “Uh, you transferred hospitals so you could work side by side with mom and dad all day long.”

  She laughed at that one. “No, not even close.”

  “Not even close? Okay, so it must have to do with alienating yourself from them even more, so… You ran off to Vegas with Wyatt and got hitched.”

  She didn’t say anything at first, and then she just made an excited little squeal.

  “Oh my gosh, Dawn! Are you kidding me?!”

  “No! We got married! Can you believe it? Yesterday Wyatt just said how much he loved me and how he thought we should finally get married. So we decided to just go and do it. Ellie, we’re having so much fun! And I’m so happy!”

  “Wait, are you still in Vegas?”

  “Yep. We’re coming home tomorrow, though. It was just a short, last minute trip. We’re planning a real honeymoon for another time.”

  “So are you planning to move into Wyatt’s house?”

  “Yep, starting on Monday. Ellie, you’re welcome to take over the lease on my house if you want—you know, if you
want to pay that each month. It’s up to you, but I just thought I’d ask. I’m sorry we didn’t get to be roomies too often.”

  “It’s fine, Dawn.”

  We’d had plans to live together several times, but Dawn was just certain that Wyatt was going to propose at any moment. And I’d never been in the position to take on her house payment while I was going to school, so the thought of having to either pay the full amount or find a roommate if Dawn got married kind of deterred me.

  “So how do you plan on telling mom and dad?” I asked her.

  She groaned. “I don’t know, any suggestions?”

  “Uh, send them an open house invitation?”

  She laughed and said, “Yeah, right. Mom would have a cow.”

  “She’s going to have a cow anyway. You’d better do it sooner than later.”

  “Do you want to do it for me?” she asked in a really sweet voice.

  “Yeah, right! They’d shoot the messenger. Just leave them a message on the answering machine while they’re both at work: ‘Hi Mom, hi Dad, just want to tell you how much I love you. Oh and by the way, Wyatt and I got married by Elvis.’ ”

  She was laughing pretty hard when she said, “I should totally do that! What would it hurt, right?” We had a good laugh about it, but she finally said, “Oh, Ells. I’m so happy. I don’t even care if they disapprove. This is something that Wyatt and I decided together, and I’m so happy we’re finally a married couple.”

  “Well I’m glad you’re happy, Dawn. I can help you pack after work on Monday if you want.”

  “Oh, that would be awesome. But first those guys need to be re-housed, so I gotta figure out how to go about that.”

  “What? What do you mean? You’re kicking out the baseball players?”

  “Why is that so bad? I don’t want to be living there as husband and wife with a couple of other guys there. We’d be newlyweds. Why shouldn’t we be able to treat the house as such?”