Wedding Homerun in Loveland, Ohio

by Cathy Liggett

  “And now we’ve got the second annual All-Stars Sports Day to look forward to. I hope you won’t mind helping.”

  Still feeling a little bitter—and more than a little put out with her—he got to the point. “Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”

  “Yes. Well, no, it was more than that. It was—” She instantly froze up. Seemed caught off guard like she needed another moment to gather her thoughts when she said, “But you mentioned you wanted to talk to me about something, too?”

  “Yeah, yeah.” He rubbed his hands together. “About Sammy’s birthday party. I got the invitation and …”

  Her eyes widened as she looked at him apprehensively. Did she want him to say yes? Or no? He wasn’t sure.

  “I’ll be there, but it’ll be toward the end of the party.”

  He noticed she looked relieved. Surely for the same reason he was even going to the party—to be sure to spare Sammy’s feelings.

  “That’s fine. We can always wait to sing and cut the cake until you get there.”

  “Well, don’t feel like you have to. I’ll do my best to get back to Loveland from the airport as fast as I can though.”

  She clasped her hands together, rubbing her right thumb across the knuckles on her left hand. “You’re—you said you’re going out of town?”

  “Yeah, I, uh—” He figured he might as well go ahead and tell her. People were going to start hearing things soon enough anyway. “A lot’s happened since we talked last. My elbow got cleared, for one.”

  “I just heard that today, Mac. From Wendy. That’s wonderful news. I’m really happy for you.”

  “Yeah.” It wasn’t the way he’d pictured telling her, but then lately nothing had been going the way he imagined it would, had it? “On the heels of that I got some other news. No one knows except for Hal, and now you, but there’s a 99 percent chance I won’t be here in Loveland next year to help with the All-Stars Sports Day.”

  “You won’t?” Her brows furrowed.

  “No. In all likelihood I’m being traded.”

  “Traded?” She frowned. “To where?”

  “Sacramento.”

  “Cali-California?” She looked shocked.

  “I know. Could they send me any farther? Obviously nothing will or can be finalized next week. But they’ve got me flying out for a meeting with the team heads, and Hal says they’ve already come up with some numbers. So …” He paused, took a deep breath. “That’s what I wanted to tell you. I’ll be back on Saturday but I’ll only be able to catch the last part of Sammy’s party.”

  She sat staring at him, not saying a word.

  “Can you explain that to Sammy for me?”

  “Oh.” She blinked then nodded. “Of course I can. Yeah, I will. But Mac, if it’s a lot of trouble … you’ve already done so much for him. I can’t believe how you made time to practice bowling with him. And then, he won. You’re so …” She stopped herself. “It’s something he’ll never forget, Mac. I won’t either.”

  He didn’t know what to say. Even though there was a lot he could’ve said. Like how it was nothing. How he’d do anything for Sammy. For her. How once he started doing for them he’d never wanted to stop. Never thought it would stop.

  “I didn’t mind. He’s a great kid.”

  They sat in silence for a moment. He looked out into the fields but could feel her next to him. Now her hands were unclasped. She rubbed them over the legs of her shorts.

  “So are you glad about it?” she asked. “About the trade?”

  “Well …” he drawled then finally turned to look into her eyes. “I have to be honest, I wasn’t at first. But then I started thinking maybe it’ll be a good way—and a good place—to start over. Far from past history here. Fresh. New team. New surroundings. New people.”

  “Well …” She paused, sought his eyes. “Good then. I’m happy for you, Mac.” She nodded, her lips curved in a slight smile. “You deserve to be happy.”

  He’d been fighting all day looking at her too closely. And now, having her stare at him that way, he’d thought of asking her to consider the two of them one more time. To ask what had gone wrong—or how he’d apparently misread her feelings so badly from the start. But then, why? He really didn’t need the extra hit to his pride.

  Instead he only asked, “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

  “Oh, that’s all. Just, uh, about Sammy’s party. I’ll mark you down as a yes but coming late. And speaking of late …” She jumped up from the bench. “I bet you’d like to have this place to yourself. Mom and Dad and Sammy are probably finished with their ice cream by now anyway.

  “So. Great day.” She held up her hand to him like they were friends who normally high-fived, instead of like the couple they used to be who would squeeze each other’s hands. Hold each other’s hands. And touch each other gently. Lovingly.

  “Yeah, big day.” He nodded.

  Part of him couldn’t help but want to reach out and grab her hand, pull her into him like he had so many times before. But, of course, he didn’t dare.

  Even so, he hated that as he met her hand in the air, his fingers lingered on hers more than just a moment too long. Then once again, they parted. She was on her way. Gone.

  Chapter 22

  Ever since he’d been a toddler, Sammy had been fascinated by balloons. Such a simple thing, yet they brought out the biggest smiles in him.

  That’s why every year on his birthday Megan made a special point to go all-out on the balloon front. Or, actually her balloon planting began the night before his big day. That’s when she’d sneak into his bedroom after he’d fallen asleep and leave a multicolored bouquet to surprise him in the morning. Downstairs, too, she’d have another group of balloons standing ready to bob around his birthday cake at party time. And there was always one special balloon—an extraordinary sort of one—she’d choose to tie onto the arm of his wheelchair.

  This year, that balloon was Party Town’s number twenty-seven. A three-and-a-half foot, bright yellow Happy Face, wearing a polka-dot party hat along with its traditional plastered-on smile.

  With Mac another week gone from her life … and thinking about all the weeks and years ahead without him, Megan needed the Mylar smile to cheer her up. To help her get outside glum thoughts about the future. And to remind her to focus on the present. Namely, Sammy’s special day.

  Even so, she couldn’t help but think about Mac each time the doorbell rang. Although he said he’d be arriving late, her heart involuntarily lurched in her chest—she bet as much as Sammy’s did. Only she knew her son’s heightened anticipation mostly had to do with Rachel.

  “Think that her, Maw-mee?” he asked when the bell chimed again.

  Due to sheer process of elimination, Rachel had to show up soon. Sammy’s smiling face and his Happy Face balloon had already greeted most of the other guests earlier at the door—her parents, Allie and Greg and their crew, the Slaters and the Biddles. Janey, Rachel and Sean, and Mac were their only no-shows so far.

  “It very well could be, Samster. Let’s check it out.”

  Pushing his chair across the foyer, she noticed him patting his hair once more and really hoped that his first crush ever would be at the door, if only so he wouldn’t have to go through the anticipation all over again.

  Luckily, Megan walked around the wheelchair and opened the door to Rachel and Sean, and—

  Janey?

  “Hey, you guys.” Trying to act as natural as ever, she hailed the three of them in out of the misty drizzle, all the while surreptitiously glancing over their shoulders out to the driveway. Janey’s car had to be out there somewhere, didn’t it? But she didn’t see it in the drive or on the street, and though everything inside her wanted to know what was going on, she tried her best to pretend that the three of them arriving together was the most natural thing ever.

  “Come on in!” she said, feeling like the Happy Face balloon’s twin sister, a smile ingrained on her face.
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br />   “Happy birthday, Sammy!” Rachel exclaimed over the adult’s hellos. Clamoring across the threshold like a female thoroughbred focused on the finish line, she handed Sammy a gift wrapped in Spiderman paper. As Megan shut the front door behind her guests, she didn’t think she’d ever seen his eyes glow quite so bright.

  “Oh Sammy,” Rachel squealed, “you have the best balloon ever.” She gave the Happy Face a gentle bat.

  “It have big smile,” he said to his new friend and crush. “Want to see my cake? It have big smile, too.”

  “Sure.” Rachel took over the wheelchair easily. Megan always appreciated how the young girl never hesitated. How she never let the hunk of metal stand between herself and Sammy.

  After a moment, Greg came up and whisked Sean over to where the men were watching the baseball playoffs. Which left her and Janey. Staring at one another.

  “So, you and …? You two came together?” The mere idea was so improbable to Megan, so out of the blue, that she couldn’t even manage to put their two names in a sentence together.

  “Me and Sean.” Janey’s eyes glowed. “Yeah, we came together all right. Can you believe it? Crazy, isn’t it?” Purse hanging at her side, she hugged her arms around herself, shaking her head in disbelief. “Oh Megan, I’ve started to call you a million times to tell you. I even wanted to mention it when you called the last couple of times to tell me about Mac. But then … I felt so bad about the two of you and how things were going. And, I don’t know. I thought maybe I’d jinx something if I started talking about how much I’ve been starting to care for Sean. How it feels like there’s something real between us. You know?”

  Megan blinked.

  Janey thought there might be something real between them? Evidently a lot had happened in the past few days. She tried to process that quickly. “My mom mentioned she’d seen you two. At the movie on the banks. But I didn’t really think—”

  “Your mom? Really? Did she say anything? I mean, did she, you know, get a feeling about the two of us?”

  Her friend seemed so eager to hear that it almost made Megan feel envious, remembering how good it had felt to have feelings like that for Mac. Evidently, too, Janey was so head over heels for Sean that she’d forgotten she’d never put much stock into what her matchmaking mom had to say. But Megan wasn’t about to remind her suddenly lovesick friend of that.

  “Actually, Mom said that even though you both were sitting apart during the movie, when you met up at intermission, you two looked like you were together.”

  “She did? Your mom said that? Well, if she can see something special, then maybe it is real.” She blushed, her eyes gleaming as she looked off into the distance, into the family room where Sean was watching TV with the guys.

  “But how did you two hook up? I just don’t get it.” Megan almost had to wave her hand in front of Janey’s face to get her friend’s attention.

  “I know, it’s crazy. But not bad crazy. I think it’s good, Megan.”

  “I’m sure you’re right. It’s surprising, that’s all.” Two weeks ago, Janey had been lamenting about Sean. Now she was talking about a real relationship with him?

  “Well, before the movie even began, I spotted Sean sitting across the amphitheater,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I couldn’t believe he was there. I got these butterflies in my stomach. The whole thing. It even got worse when he glanced around and noticed me. And then at intermission we sort of nodded to each other and met up and talked. And the whole time, I just kept remembering what you and Allie had said.”

  Megan remembered what Allie had said. But she was clueless on any advice she’d given out. She certainly wasn’t in the position to give relationship advice, that was for sure.

  “What I said?”

  “Yeah. In the bakery that day. You said people change.”

  “And so you think Sean has changed?” As far as Megan could tell, Sean appeared to be the same nice guy he’d been in high school. But if Janey had thought he’d changed somehow and that led the two of them together, more power to the both of them.

  So she was surprised when Janey said, “Actually, no. I suddenly realized that all along it wasn’t Sean who had to change.”

  “It wasn’t?”

  “No, it was me. I needed to change.”

  “Well, don’t change too much.” Megan laughed. “I’ve grown accustomed to all your quirks and weirdnesses over the years.”

  But even as she said that, she could feel a twinge of envy resurfacing. There was a calm about Janey that she’d never witnessed before.

  Janey laughed. “Oh, I don’t mean that. Not things with you and me. I mean with guys. I realized I needed to stop being in competition with them. Needed to stop making up stories about them to myself about who they are and what they’re like before I even got to know them. And, Megan, oh my gosh!” Her cheeks flushed red against her creamy white skin again. “It’s been so great. Sean and I have hung out every night this week. I can’t believe how well we get along. I’d been carrying around a grudge since high school for no reason at all. It was so stupid.” She waved a hand to the past. “And you know after we talked about it, we realized Stacy Littleton was the one who got us pitted against each other at the senior prom.”

  Megan remembered Stacy well. A girl who could have five guys liking her at one time but was never happy unless she was stirring up trouble for someone else.

  “You didn’t mention Red to Sean, did you?”

  “I had to, Megan. I wanted to start clean. Be honest, like Allie suggested.”

  “What did he say?”

  She laughed. “He knew it was me all along.”

  “But he’d asked me about the mysterious redhead.”

  “Figuring you wouldn’t rat me out anyway.”

  Megan bit her lip. “He doesn’t think I’m awful for not telling him?”

  “No, just thinks you were being a friend. And he thinks I look good as a redhead, too.” She giggled then looked around, sobered, and shrugged. “I didn’t see Mac’s truck out front. Is he coming?”

  “He said he’d be late.” She started to tell Janey the reason why but then stopped herself. Mac’s business was his and his alone. If he wanted anyone to know his whereabouts or about changes in his life, that information should rightfully come from him.

  “Oh! I have copies of the photo I took when Sammy won. I made five-by-sevens for you actually.” She removed an envelope from her purse. “I thought you guys would like it. It’ll run in tomorrow’s Sunday paper, recapping the event and talking about next year’s plans. Which was good I had a photo of the co-chairs anyway. I brought one along for Mac if you can help me remember to give it to him when he gets here.”

  “No problem, I can do that.” Megan laid the envelope on the foyer table. “We’ll put them here so we don’t forget. Thanks, Janey. That was so sweet of you to make copies.” She put her arm around her friend. “Guess we should join the party, huh? And go visit with that new beau of yours?” she said, not even bothering to open the envelope and glance at the photos of the three of them.

  She couldn’t at the moment. Not if she hoped to keep smiling.

  Huge as it was, O’Hare’s overcrowded airport terminal felt small and stuffy to Mac. Especially the designated section where he sat squeezed between two weary-looking travelers. He’d been sitting that way for over an hour waiting, which shouldn’t have bugged him as much as it did.

  After all, the quick trip out to California had been extremely worthwhile, and after meeting with the Miners’ people the night before, he was heading back to Loveland, verbally assured he’d be playing ball next season for a stellar team and making more money than ever before.

  But the day had been filled with delays. His initial flight held up because of a mechanical malfunction, and then further delays because of heavy thunderstorms in the Midwest.

  For a while it didn’t look like he’d make the connecting flight in Chicago, but after all the setbacks, he’d
gotten there in the nick of time. With the hour time difference, he could make the tail end of Sammy’s birthday party as planned.

  That is, if his connecting flight got off the ground in the next fifteen minutes. Otherwise …

  He hated to think about it.

  Hated to think he’d made a promise to Sammy and had little to no control to make that promise come true.

  Tired of not seeing any movement out the steam-filled windows and too agitated to sit still any longer, he got up and stretched his legs then picked up his carry-on and made his way over to the attendant at the boarding desk.

  “Look, is there any reason we’re not boarding yet? Isn’t the flight scheduled to leave in the next fifteen minutes?” He knew he sounded huffy, but he couldn’t help himself.

  “Sir, I’m going to be making an announcement in just a moment.”

  “And then we’ll be boarding?”

  She looked at him but wouldn’t give him an answer confirming or denying that.

  “Trust me, miss, you can fill me in now. I won’t tell anyone, I promise. It’s just I have to get to a party.”

  “A party?”

  “For a little boy. He’s seven today.” He glanced at his watch. “And I can still make his party if the flight leaves pronto.”

  Her face softened at the mention of a seven-year-old. “Well, I’m sorry to tell you, I’m about ready to announce that all the flights are being canceled.”

  “Canceled?”

  She nodded. “Heavy mist. Poor visibility.”

  “Canceled temporarily or for the rest of the day?”

  She shrugged. “We don’t have any control over the weather, sir.”

  “I know, but …” Telling her how he had to get to the party again was a waste of time, he knew, and only made him sound ridiculous. “Of course you don’t,” he said instead. “Thanks for your help.”

  Lifting his cell phone from his shirt pocket, he went to sit down again. He plunked his bag on the floor and this time sat in a chair that faced away from the menacing weather. If nothing else, he could at least call Megan and ask to speak to Sammy and wish him a happy birthday.