by Lacy Hart
“Are you sure?” I questioned. “Seems kind of scandalous for the town librarian to go around dressed like this.” I kissed her again, reaching down to cup her backside as we kissed, causing her to squeal a bit.
“Hmmm, we better get going, or I am never getting to the library this morning,” she said to me as we broke our kiss. I grudgingly agreed and slid on my sneakers and grabbed my keys to drive Kristin to her apartment. We walked out to the car and Kristin certainly felt the morning chill on her body as she waited for me to open the car door.
“Yikes! It’s cold out here in shorts,” she said and felt it even more as she sat on the cold leather seats of my car with her bare legs. I smiled and turned on the seat warmers for her so she could be more comfortable, and then drove off to her apartment.
We were there in minutes, with no traffic in town just yet since it was still early in the morning. I didn’t want Kristin to go but knew that she had to, and I gave her a long, slow kiss as we sat in the parking lot.
“I’ll pick you up at work later to bring you to my parent’s house to help Izzy?” I said to her, keeping my hands on her hips.
“That will be nice,” Kristin said to me. “Have a nice first day of retirement,” she said to me with a smile. I watched her climb out of the car and walk away up the stairs to her apartment. She looked back at me and waved as she got to the top of the stairs and then went inside. I let out a big sigh and realized something.
You’re in love with her, Wes. You’re acting like a schoolboy.
As I drove back home, I thought more about the idea. I had never felt this happy and comfortable with anyone, not even with Rachel, Izzy’s mother. There was a time when we thought we were in love, but I don’t think I ever felt the connection with her that I felt now with Kristin. The main thing was I didn’t want that feeling to go away. I wanted to be with her more than I wanted to do anything else.
I got back home and finally unloaded my baseball gear from my car, bringing it all into the house for now. At some point I had would have to figure out what to do with it all, but I had plenty of time to figure all that out. Instinct told me I should be working out right now, but I was giving myself the day off.
I got enough of a workout yesterday, I thought to myself with a smirk.
I spent the rest of the morning making arrangements around the house. I wanted the place to look good since I figured now that I was going to be home Izzy would come back up to the house to live with me, and I hoped Kristin would be spending more and more time here with me as well. After that, I spent quite some time on the phone with Randy, ironing out a press release about my retirement, and lining up interviews and so on to explain everything. I didn’t really care what other people thought of me walking away like I did, but I did all the press as a favor to Randy for all he had done for me over the years. Randy even said the Pirates had contacted him about holding a special day for me at the stadium later in the season when the Reds were in town. It was a great thing for them to offer, and I was touched by it and agreed we could work something out.
The rest of the day went by in a whirlwind as I went down to see Mom and Dad. Dad tried to talk me into going to the diner with him for lunch, but I told him I wasn’t quite at the point yet where I was going to hang out with all the retired guys in town all day drinking coffee. Instead, I stayed at the house and had a quiet lunch with Mom.
Mom carried a couple of glasses of iced tea over to the kitchen table as we sat and had sandwiches.
She looked at me and asked, “Are you happy, Wes?”
“Mom, for the first time in many years I feel like my life is complete. Baseball always made me happy, but I know now that there was an empty part of my life outside of that. Now I have the chance to have Izzy more in my life, and you and Dad, and Kristin… I don’t think there’s much more I could ask for at this point.”
“Good,” she said as she sat back and sipped her iced tea. “We’re going to miss having Izzy in the house all the time, but I think it will be the best for both of you so you can get to know each other again. And having Kristin… well, it’s nice that you have someone to be in love with.”
I coughed a little on my iced tea. “Who said we were in love?” I told her, feeling flustered.
“Wesley, please,” she said to me. “I understand you haven’t known each other very long, but I know what I see and hear. You clearly love her, so why deny it?”
“How do you know that?”
“I’m your mother,” she told me. “It’s my job to know these things. It’s also my job to tell you that she might like to hear it from you because she clearly loves you too.”
I sat and stared at Mom a moment as she ate her sandwich. “Do you think so?” I said. Now I really was feeling like a schoolboy.
“Honestly, Wesley, how did you survive all these years?” she said in her motherly tone. “A big, strong, handsome baseball star with everything in front of him, and you act like you haven’t got a clue. Think about everything that happened. A woman doesn’t go through all that and come back to you if her feelings for you aren’t strong. Make sure you hold onto her.”
“I’ll do my best, Mom.”
“Do better than that, Wes,” Mom said as she cleared the plates from the table. “I like her. She’s a strong young woman that brings a lot to all our lives, but you and Izzy especially. I think Kristin is just what has been missing from your life.”
I spent the rest of the afternoon with Mom, laughing and being with her like I hadn’t done in a long time. We told stories about the past and talked about the future, and it was nice to reconnect with her in this way. Before we knew it, Izzy was racing through the front door to see us. She tossed her backpack on the floor inside the front door and came over and gave Mom a hug and then gave one to me.
“What time are you picking up Kristin?” Izzy asked me anxiously.
“Izzy, it’s just after two,” I told her calmly. “Kristin doesn’t get off work until five.”
“I know, but I have been texting with her all day about ideas of what to do. I’m just so excited!” Izzy went off to her room to start preparing.
“Is this what I have to look forward to for the next several years?” I said to Mom.
“Enjoy it while it’s here, Wes,” Mom said honestly. “Before you know it, she will be off to college, and you will wonder where the time went.”
When five finally came close, Izzy was begging me to go down and get Kristin, so I left the house just to satisfy her. I pulled into the library parking lot just at five, and saw Kristin and Karen out front, locking up for the night.
I got out of the car and walked over to the two of them as they slowly walked towards me. Kristin looked up and smiled at me as she got closer. She gave me a quick kiss as we met.
“Hi, Karen,” I said, looking over at her as she watched Kristin and me.
“Hi,” Karen waved. “I’ll let you two get on with your romance here,” she said with a laugh. “Enjoy your weekend, you two.” Karen walked off, and I led Kristin to the car so we could head over to my parent’s place. I noticed she had a case with her.
“What’s with all the stuff?” I asked as I put the items in the back.
“Just some makeup and things that we might need to help Izzy get ready,” Kristin said as she got in the car.
“All that to get her ready?” I said.
“Relax, Wes,” Kristin said as I started the car. “It’s a girl thing. It’s her first date, and she wants to look perfect. “
“I know, but she doesn’t need to look like a fashion model either.”
“It will be fine, I promise,” Kristin said as she flashed me a smile.
We arrived at the house, and as soon as we walked in, we could hear Izzy calling out to Kristin from her bedroom to come to her.
“You might want to go occupy yourself,” Kristin said to me, “so you don’t get yourself all worked up over this. It’s going to be a while.”
I sighed and gave Kri
stin a kiss as she walked down the hall to Izzy’s room. An idea came to me as I stood there.
“How is Izzy getting to the dance?” I asked Mom.
“Your father was going to drive her there and pick her up,” Mom told me.
“Tell Dad I’ll take care of it,” I said to Mom. “I’ll be back later.” I went out the door and up to my house to change.
I took my time getting myself ready, showering and shaving, splashing on some cologne, and then picking a nice suit out of my closet to wear. I looked at myself in the mirror and figured I looked pretty good, and I still had plenty of time before I needed to get Izzy. I drove down to Main Street and went to the flower shop and saw Dave there behind the counter. He had helped me yesterday with the flowers I got for Kristin, so I knew he would be able to help me out again today.
After getting what I needed from Dave, I had one more stop to make in town at another store. I then walked over to the diner and went in. The usual crowd was there, and Clyde Stuart and his buddies all greeted me with a cheer when I went in. I walked over to the table to pay homage to the crew and said my hellos as they drank what was probably their tenth cup of coffee of the day for each of them.
“Clyde,” I asked as he sat at the head of the table. “Is your grandson here?”
“He might still be in the back before he goes home to get ready for the dance tonight,” Clyde said as he pointed towards the kitchen. Just then, I saw the boy I had seen when I dropped Izzy off here last weekend came out of the kitchen. He stopped when he saw me, figuring he was in trouble.
“Are you Bradley?” I asked him with a serious tone.
“Yes, sir,” he croaked, putting down his tub to collect dirty dishes.
“You’re taking my daughter to the dance tonight,” I said to him as I approached him.
“Yes, I am, Mr. Martin,” He said quickly. “Sir, you have nothing to worry about, I promise…” he stammered.
“Relax, Bradley,” I said to him. “I’m sure you’ll be a perfect gentleman. I just wanted to give you this, to give to Izzy. I don’t know if boys still do this, but it will make her feel special.” I handed him the container with the white wrist corsage in it.
“Thanks, Mr. Martin,” Bradley said, still looking at me nervously.
“We’ll be dropping of Izzy at the school at eight,” I told him. “Meet her outside and give it to her.”
“I will,” he said with a smile, putting the corsage down so he could pick up the tub and finish his work.
I strode towards the diner door, stopping along the way to answer a few questions from the gentlemen in the window.
“Wes,” Clyde Stuart barked at me. “So, who is KA? It’s Kristin Arthur isn’t it?”
“Clyde, it would be ungentlemanly of me to speak of a young lady like that. You boys have a good night now. I have a date to get to.”
I walked out of the diner with the men watching me and went to my car. By the time I got home, it was getting later, near to seven-thirty. I walked into the house and Mom and Dad were there in the living room.
“Just in time,” Dad said to me. “They’ve been waiting for you to get here. You were making Izzy nervous that you would be late. Don’t you look sharp.”
“Thanks, Dad,” I said to him.
“Is that Wes?” I heard Kristin shout from the bedroom.
“Yes,” Mom yelled back. “We’re ready.”
“Okay, we’re coming out,” Kristin yelled. Kristin came down the hall first, walking over to me and standing next to me, taking my hand.
Izzy came out next, walking slowly out to make an entrance. She looked beautiful from the moment I saw her. Kristin had helped her with her hair, putting her hair up off her shoulders where it usually was. The dress she wore was a cream-colored tank dress with a floral applique top and a chiffon skirt, and it made her look very pretty. I could see my father taking pictures of her as she walked over to me.
”What do you think, Dad?” she asked me nervously. With the heels she was wearing she came closer to my height than she had ever done before.
“You look breathtaking, honey,” I said to her, bringing a big smile to her face. “There’s just one thing…”
Izzy interrupted me, and Kristin gave me a look. “Dad, I’m not wearing too much makeup, and we made sure the skirt wasn’t too short…”
“It’s not that,” I told her. I reached into my suit breast pocket and took out a black velvet box and handed it to her. “You need this.”
Izzy slowly opened the box and saw the pearl necklace inside and gasped. She picked the pearls up in her hand and held them.
“Oh, Dad,” she said to me. “They’re beautiful.”
I took the pearls from her hand and helped her put them on, clasping them behind her neck. She looked at herself in the mirror, admiring them, and turned back to me and gave me a hug.
“Pictures!” my father shouted, so Izzy and I posed for several shots, and then Mom got in the pictures as well, and finally Kristin had her picture taken first with Izzy and me, and then alone with Izzy. Finally, it was getting late, and we needed to get going. Kristin and I escorted Izzy out to my SUV, and I drove the three of us over to the school.
The school was just a few minutes away from us on the other side of town, and we made it right on time. We pulled up in front of the school, where many other boys and girls were arriving at the same time. They were all dressed up for the dance and heading to the school excitedly. I got out and came around to the passenger side and opened the door for Izzy. Kristin hopped out as well and gave her a hug and told her to have a good time. Izzy hugged me once more at the curb.
“Thank you so much Dad,” she said to me with a smile.
“Have a good time tonight,” I said to her. I watched her walk over towards Bradley, who was dutifully waiting outside the school for her. They chatted briefly, and Kristin and I watched as he presented her with the wrist corsage, putting it on her. I could see Izzy blush a bit, and she looked back at us and waved as they walked into the school.
“Should we just wait here for them until they’re done?” I said to Kristin, half-joking, and half-serious.
“Get in the car,” Kristin ordered.
We started the drive back to the farm, with Kristin sitting next to me and taking my hand.
“It was nice of Bradley to give her a corsage,” Kristin said to me as we drove.
“Who knew the kid had it in him,” I said to her with a smile.
As we got to Martin Way, instead of going to my parent’s or my house, I turned left and took us down the road towards the stables.
“Where are we going?” Kristin asked me.
“You’ll see,” I said to her. We stayed on the road beyond the stables, the same path we had taken our horse ride on until we got to the pond area. I parked the car close to where the tables were located and near where the hitch for the horses was. I kept the lights of the SUV on so I could see where the power was located and found the switch to turn on the lights that decorated the trees. The small white bulbs lit up in the trees like fireflies, and I came around and shut off the car lights. I walked over to the passenger side and helped Kristin out of the car. I then leaned into the car and turned on some music, putting on some Van Morrison to listen to.
”What are you up to?” Kristin said with a smile. I took her hand and led over to the clearing between the trees, so we were in the lit area. I then presented her with her own white corsage for her wrist.
“No reason we can’t have our own dance,” I said to Kristin as I put the corsage on her wrist gently. I then took her in my arms and started to slow dance with her as Van Morrison played in the background.
“I don’t care what your father says,” Kristin said to me as we danced. “I think you are very suave and romantic.”
I laughed and smiled at her. “Well, I am glad you think so, but to be honest, I think it is you that brought it out in me. You make me want to be that way.” I looked down into her eyes as we danced.
“I’m falling in love with you, Kristin,” I told her.
“I’m in love with you, too,” Kristin said as she put her arms around me.
As the song came to an end, I took Kristin’s hand and led her over so we could look out over the pond. I put my arm around her and held her close to me.
“I’m so glad you came back for me,” Kristin said to me.
I realized the last week had been filled with ups and downs and comebacks, but this moment was the highlight of them all. No home run could top this.
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