Summer Swing

by Delia Delaney

  He shrugged. “You don’t have to bring anything. Wes and I grabbed some chips and soda after our meeting this morning. We’re good to go.”

  “Oh, okay. Well if you think of something I should bring, just let me know.”

  He shrugged again, but assured me that I didn’t have to bring anything.

  I had a really fun time with Tyse that night. After we were too full to eat another bite, he took me back home and I invited him in to watch a movie. If Kailey had been home I probably wouldn’t have, but since she was out with friends for who knew how long, I figured I’d take advantage of that.

  We actually ended up watching the Bob Dylan documentary that I kept forgetting to give him, and it was interesting to hear Tyse add to it with things that he knew. After that I decided that I probably should bring something to the barbecue the next day, so I convinced Tyse to help me make chocolate-fudge brownies. I even melted some caramel to drizzle over the tops of them, and I felt like I could officially contribute to the potluck. I let Tyse eat one to make sure they were decent, and he was amazed.

  “I can’t wait until tomorrow,” he said. “Do you really have to share these at the barbecue? I just want one more. Please?”

  Of course I had to give in, and then I packed him a couple more to take with him. It was eleven-thirty when he said he should probably head back to Wyatt’s.

  “The game is at two, right?” I asked him.

  “Yep.”

  “Oh hey, I meant to ask you… Are you still working early mornings?”

  “No, Friday was my last day. I’ll be heading back to California Monday or Tuesday.”

  Hearing that kind of stunned me. “Really? So soon?”

  He shrugged. “Baseball will be over. What do I have to stay for?”

  I wanted to say “me,” but would that sound weird? I didn’t want him to leave, and knowing that I’d probably never see him again kind of made me panic.

  “Well, what are you going back for?” I asked instead. “College, right? You’re enrolled for fall?”

  “Yeah, that starts the first week of September.”

  “That’s in a couple of weeks. What about a job or anything? Will you be working when you return home?”

  “Yeah, I got Nate’s shop I can put in hours at.”

  “Oh, yeah,” I remembered.

  With a smile he asked, “You gonna be around on Monday? Maybe you can meet Nate officially.”

  “Uh, sure. I’m off at three.”

  “Hmm, okay, I’ll keep that in mind. I don’t know when he’ll be heading this way, so I’ll let you know if that works out.”

  “Okay. But what about you? Will I see you again on Monday before you leave? Even if Nate’s schedule doesn’t coincide with mine?”

  He studied me for a second. “Sure, I’d like that. I’ll make it work.”

  So he left my house that night knowing I’d be at his game the next day. It was an odd feeling because it already felt like I’d said goodbye to him. I still had Sunday to see him, and hopefully at least a goodbye on Monday, but my heart already felt the loss.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I wasn’t expecting a phone call from Gage the next morning. I’ll admit that I was excited that he’d called, that he’d been thinking of me, but it really hurt at the same time. He didn’t really say anything too earth shattering, but he did tell me that he still loved me and that he was sorry for hurting me. It almost sounded like my sister had called him up and unloaded a gigantic guilt trip on him or something. I could just picture her sticking her nose in my business and chewing him out like that.

  I was just about to ask if that was the case when he said, “I’m heading that way this week again. Can we spend some time together?”

  My heart soared with joy. Yes, I definitely wanted to see him. Maybe being together would remind him of what he was missing.

  “I’ll be working with Rick and Wyatt for a couple of the days—I need the money before I head back to school. Basically I’ll be heading right to Eastern after that, so I’d like to spend a week in Portland with you first.”

  “Yeah, I would love that, Gage.” That was my honest-to-goodness initial response because I really did want to see him. But at the same time I still felt slightly wounded, and I wasn’t sure if the time together would be better for us, or worse.

  “Okay. I’m thinking I’ll probably get there on Wednesday, and then head east on the next Wednesday. That way I’ll have a few days to settle in before classes start the next Monday.”

  So that was the plan for the week, and I was looking forward to it. He broke my heart on Friday, but maybe it could be mended on Wednesday.

  “So what are you up to today?” he asked.

  “Oh, uh, not much really.”

  Not true at all. Was I lying to him? If I told him I was going to Tyse’s game, and then to a barbecue with him, he’d probably never want to speak to me again. I decided it was better to just keep Tyse’s name out of it this time. I didn’t feel that I was lying to Gage; I only wanted to avoid a misunderstanding.

  “I’m putting away a few more things right now,” I added.

  “You all moved in and stuff?” he asked.

  “Yeah, pretty much. I’ve come across a few of your things. You can take them when you come if you want.”

  “Mm, sure.” He paused for a few seconds and I thought I heard the rustling of papers.

  “What’re you up to?” I asked.

  “Oh, just looking through some, uh, major league baseball information. Just draft info and such.”

  “Draft? Like to be picked to play in the majors?”

  “Uh, maybe. Just looking at where some of the minor league teams are and stuff.”

  “What do you mean, minor? I thought you just said major.”

  “Well the major teams own all the minor teams. If you get drafted by a major league team, you play on whatever team of theirs that they want you to play on. If you’re lucky you can work your way up in a few years, but the majority of players barely make it past A-level.”

  I paused briefly before I asked, “Are you considering continuing on with baseball?”

  “Uh, well, not really. I don’t know. I’m just informing myself for now. I really have no desire to work at my dad’s company anymore. I don’t know what I want to do, Ellie. For now I’ll just finish up this stupid degree and get one more season of ball in. I’ll see from there.”

  That was news to me. The last time we’d discussed it he was fine working for the guy that he’d sold the company to. I had no idea he wanted to pursue baseball. Maybe Gage was struggling with more than I thought he was, and if that was the case, maybe Dawn was right. Maybe he just wasn’t thinking straight because of the decisions he was trying to make.

  “Gage, you can do anything you set your mind to. I agree that you shouldn’t work at your dad’s company if you don’t want to. Do something that you’re happy with.”

  He sighed. “Yeah, I’m not really sure anymore. My mom is kind of having a hard time with it.”

  “With the fact that you don’t want to work in the company?”

  “That I sold it. She’s pretty upset about it, and she’ll hardly speak to me anymore.”

  “What? Are you serious?”

  “I can hardly be around her. Her sister has been here off and on for the past couple of weeks, and even she’s kind of fed up with her. I don’t know, but I don’t really want to talk about it right now.”

  “I’m sorry, Gage.”

  “Yeah, don’t worry about it. Maybe she’ll lay off after I’ve been at school for a while. Hey, I gotta run, Ellie. I’m going golfing with a few buddies and they’re here. I’ll call you later, okay?”

  “Sure. Have fun, Gage. I love you. Things will work out.”

  “Yeah, things’ll work out somehow, right?” he kind of chuckled. “Well, I love you too. I’ll talk to you later.”

  When we hung up I was more confused than ever. Were we really on the track to date
other people? It just didn’t seem like it to me. Where I stood with Gage weighed heavily on me. I just didn’t understand it. Maybe I just couldn’t accept it. That sounded more probable to me. I loved him, I wanted to be with him, and I was hurt when he decided to change all that. However, he’d be returning to town for another week and wanted to see me. What was it going to be like?

  Those thoughts were swimming through my head when I arrived at the ballpark that afternoon. I’d wanted to get there early so I could talk to Tyse before the game, but it didn’t work out that way when I decided to take a phone call from my mom. We talked for several minutes as I sat in the parking lot, mainly about Gage. I politely listened to her advice, but it wasn’t anything I hadn’t already heard or thought of on my own. At the end of the conversation she invited me over for dinner that night, along with Dawn and Wyatt, but I had to turn her down. We went round and round about who I might be hanging out with instead, and I still wouldn’t tell her.

  “Mom, I just have other plans, okay? It’s just a barbecue with a bunch of people. Can you stop acting like I’m turning down dinner with the president? I understand that Dawn and Wyatt will be there, but I eat with them all the time. Why don’t you just enjoy the time with them instead? You never get to spend any time with them.”

  She reluctantly agreed, but I could tell she wasn’t pleased that I would be elsewhere. I almost asked her when she’d last talked to David, just so she had someone else to pester.

  “David is dating someone new,” she said as if she could read my mind. “She’s divorced and she has two kids.”

  “Oh, yeah?” I replied casually, completely ignoring her worry. “How old are the kids?”

  “Five and three if I remember correctly. She’s a year older than David.”

  “Hmm, what’s her name?”

  “Mallory.”

  “Oh, Mallory’s the one with kids?”

  “He’s told you about her?”

  “Well yeah, but I didn’t know she had kids or anything. He seemed to really like her when he was talking about her on the phone the other day.”

  “Hm. Well they’re coming over on Tuesday for dinner. Maybe you could come then?”

  “Yeah, I could probably do that. Sure, I’ll see you on Tuesday, then.”

  “Oh, wonderful, Ambrielle.”

  “Okay, but I gotta get going Mom, so I’ll check in with you Tuesday afternoon, okay?”

  “Where are you headed? I thought the barbecue was later.”

  “It is, but I have things to do before then. Bye, Mom. Love you.”

  So there I was sitting at the baseball field, thinking about my relationship with Gage, thinking about my parents, thinking about Dawn and Wyatt, and thinking about my brother’s new girlfriend. It took me a while to realize that Tyse had been trying to get my attention for a minute.

  “Man, you were in a zone,” he smiled when I joined him at the fence. “What were you spacing out about?”

  “Oh, just my family. My brother has a new girlfriend and my mom is eager to make a prediction about their future together. They’re going over there for dinner on Tuesday night.”

  He chuckled. “Meeting the parents, huh. Your parents aren’t that bad, are they?”

  “Nah, not really. I mean my mom worries. A lot. She looks at every girlfriend or boyfriend as a potential spouse for us, so it can get a little irritating.”

  “Well she’s only looking out for you guys.”

  “Yeah, I know. I’ve learned to just roll with it and not get annoyed with her anymore. So what’s up? Did you need something?”

  He slightly smiled as he looked at me, and because it was really cute, it gave me a happy feeling.

  “Just wanted to talk to you before I take the mound. It gives me an edge,” he winked.

  I sort of rolled my eyes. “Your coach probably wants to ban me from the field.”

  “Nope. He’s very aware that I get all of my positive energy from you. I told him it’s what helps me relax, and anything that helps a pitcher relax is a good thing.”

  “Ah, I see. So how come I don’t get to sit in the dugout, then?”

  “Oh, I could make that happen,” he smiled. He even made a move for his coach, like he was going to make arrangements or something, but I grabbed his wrist to stop him.

  “I was just kidding.”

  “Yeah, probably better that you don’t. None of the guys would be watching the game.”

  I rolled my eyes again. “I’d only sit in there if you were in there,” I told him.

  I also realized that he was looking at my hand that was still on his arm, and out of embarrassment, I quickly removed it. I was thankful the national anthem was announced right then, and Tyse only smiled and said he’d talk to me later.

  The game was great, and I had a lot of fun. I think everyone was energized because it was the final game of the season, and the fact that Tyse was throwing a no-hitter into the seventh inning was another reason for the excitement in the stands. Finally there was a hit—basically a fielding error that was ruled a hit, according to the guy next to me. Tyse was relieved from his duties with a loud applause from the crowd, and I was proudly standing amongst them.

  The Bears ended up winning their final game of the summer 2-0, and once the majority of the crowd left the stands, the rest of us gathered for the barbecue. It was fun to watch the kids hit up the players for autographs like they usually did. I knew Gage missed that, and I felt really bad for him. Tyse had become pretty popular among the younger fans, and the kids were always bringing him things to sign. He didn’t seem to intimidate them at all, but then again, Tyse looked just like any other baseball player on the field.

  “Are you really gonna do the girly stuff, or you gonna play catch with me?” his voice said behind me.

  I turned around to face him after sticking a spoon into a bowl of potato salad.

  “Well do you want the food ready or not?”

  “Nah, it will get itself ready. Come on,” he motioned with his head. He handed me a glove when I met up with him.

  “What does this do?” I jested.

  “It does this,” he said, covering my entire face with his own glove.

  I laughed and pushed it away from me. “I thought it was for this,” I said, smacking him in the butt with mine.

  “You’re right, it is.”

  I moved so he couldn’t return the favor, but somehow he ended up doing it anyway.

  “Ow! Watch it, buddy. It’s my off season, so my cheeks aren’t as toned as yours.”

  He laughed out loud. “You think I have toned cheeks, huh? Does that mean you’ve been checking out my butt?”

  I could almost feel my face redden, but I only said, “Uh, yeah. Why do you think I come to these—what are they called? –Baseball games?”

  He laughed again. “You come to check out butts, huh? Nice.”

  “Well sure. What else is there to do?”

  “Hmm, I guess nothing. Thanks for making me realize I’ve completely wasted my summer here.”

  “Hey, I don’t come with a filter either.”

  “Yeah, sometimes I think I should tape your mouth shut.” He gave me an ornery smile and I had to glare at him. “But then I realize I’d be missing out on quite a lot,” he added with a shrug.

  “Hmm, like when I’m wasted?”

  “Nah, definitely when you’re sober.”

  We’d walked to the other end of the field and he tossed me a ball from a few feet away. Luckily I caught it, but I was kind of worried about how awful I was going to be to play catch with.

  “You do realize I have one hand, right?” I reminded him. I held up the cast on my right hand, just in case he’d forgotten it was there.

  “Yeah, I don’t think I’m blind. Just catch with your left, and throw with your left.”

  “Okay, you know I’m not left-handed either, right?”

  He chuckled. “Just toss the ball, Ellie.”

  I definitely wasn’t left-handed, b
ut there were a lot of things I had to do with my left hand over the past several weeks. Maybe I could throw a ball, too.

  Tyse didn’t even have a glove on his hand when I tossed the ball to him. He just caught it in his left hand and waited for me to put my glove on. He lightly tossed it back and I barely had to move to get it. After a while I decided to just do what he was doing, and I dropped the mitt on the ground and just bare-handed it back to him. I couldn’t catch it as well as he could that way, but the more I did it, the better I got.

  “So how did you break your hand?” I eventually asked him. “Your left hand was broken a while back, right?”

  “Uh, yeah. Broke it in the last game of the season.”

  “You broke your hand during a game?”

  “Yeah.” He eyed me funny. “How’d you think I broke it?”

  With a smile I said, “I just figured you punched someone.”

  He laughed. “That’s right, you had me pegged as a troublemaker from the beginning.”

  “Oh, come on,” I protested.

  “Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he smiled, putting his hands out. “I get it.”

  I tossed him the ball and shook my head with disagreement. “So how’d you break it in a game? Was it while you were on the mound?”

  “Well, I’m actually not a pitcher by choice. I was converted to pitch. I’m actually an infielder.”

  I raised my eyebrows with surprise.

  “I got hit by a pitch when I was batting and it broke my hand,” he added.

  “Wait, so you’re not really a pitcher? What do you mean?”

  “I normally play shortstop. I played it until my senior year in high school. We lost two of our best pitchers to injuries, so I kind of filled in for the rest of the season. I guess I just ended up staying there. But once I made the Mesa team, I joined on as a shortstop. I preferred it more because I got to play every game. I also love batting.”

  “So…how’d you come here as a pitcher?”

  “They didn’t need another shortstop. The team already had three. The only position I could have filled on this team—and other teams—was pitcher. So I decided to just take what I could get.”

  “So how’d you end up joining this team? I mean aren’t there tons of summer leagues and baseball clubs all over? How’d you end up in Portland?”