Page 32 of Catching the Coach
“No, Mom, it’s me who should be apologizing. While, yes, I was annoyed with you pushing women onto me.”
“I was not pushing women onto you, Kessler,” she interrupts.
“You were, but never mind that. What I was trying to say is, I’m sorry for pushing you away. Dealing with the fact that I might have had a career ending injury hit me hard. I needed time. But that’s not an excuse for shutting you out.”
“Thank you, Kessler. Now that we’ve gotten all that mushy stuff out of the way, tell me all about Lucy and Hudson. They are coming to dinner tomorrow right?”
I laugh and feel a huge weight lift from my chest that I didn’t even know I was carrying around. I’ve missed good conversations with my mom.
“I’m hoping they do. They don’t know I’m coming to the game. I don’t want to distract the boys from playing their best. I’m going to ask them to dinner after the game.”
I tell my mom my plan, which she is excited about. Then I tell her everything about Lucy and Hudson that I know. Which isn’t a whole lot, but I’m hoping, if everything goes to plan, it will change.
CHAPTEREIGHT
lucy
It’sa half hour before our championship game and the boys are warming up by tossing the ball back and forth to each other. They’re joking around and having a good time. Nerves nowhere in sight, at least for them. I’m nervous as hell for them. These boys battled this weekend and a win would be the icing on the cake. I check my phone for what seems like the hundredth time. No new notifications. Kessler texted me this morning telling me to tell the boys good luck for him and that he wishes he could be at the game, but there’s been nothing since.
“Nothing?” Kara asks, looking at my phone and then at me.
I shake my head, slipping my phone into my back pocket. “No, but I know he’s flying today, so he’s probably at the airport, or even on the plane by now.”
“Wouldn’t it be something if he actually made it here to watch?”
It would be something, but unfortunately, that’s not possible. “Yeah, but he’s in Ohio, or was in Ohio, I don’t know when they’re scheduled to fly back today.” I shrug my shoulders and lower my voice, so only Kara can hear. “Which is another reason why this would never work. He’d never be here. They play eight to nine months out of the year, which means he’s out of state for at least half that time.”
“Hey, what happened to giving him a chance?”
I sigh, letting my shoulders drop. “I was, but then when I got up this morning, I just kept thinking how I missed him, then he texted me and I thought, ‘is this what it would be like?’ Having a relationship through text and phone conversations?” I shake my head. “And what about Hudson, he’s already grown up without a dad, I don’t want someone tokindabe in his life. I want fully present, here for his games, for him, for us. It’ll never work.”
Kara turns to me and grabs my upper arms. “Lucy, I say this with all the love and support in the world, but shut up.”
I raise my eyebrows and open my mouth to say something but she stops me.
“You won’t know if it’ll work until you try. I’ve known you for, what? Nine years now?” I nod my head and she continues, “You havealwaysput Hudson first, in everything. And that’s admirable. But don’t you think it’s time to put you first?”
I stare at her knowing she’s right, but not wanting to admit it. “Plus, it’s not like he’s going to be playing baseball forever. Realistically he has what? Another Five yearsmaybe?” She shrugs her shoulders. “Seems like a small price to pay for happiness.”
I tip my head back and look at the sky like an answer is going to magically fall out of it.
“You’re right,” I mutter
Kara cups her hand around her ear. “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.”
I huff and raise my voice a bit. “I said you’re right. Are you happy now?”
“Not until you accept that date,” she says.
“Let’s just win this game and we can talk about it after.”
I put my fingers to my lips and let out a whistle, letting the boys know I need them in the dugout. There are a lot of people here for this game from both teams and the others who didn’t make the championship game. I look out and am drawn to someone wearing a hat and sunglasses in the sea of people. It’s sunny out, so it’s not like it’s abnormal attire. An influx of people come in and I lose the person I was staring at. If I didn’t know any better I would have thought it was Kessler, but that’s impossible. I mentally give myself a shake, I need to focus and get my head in the game.
“Ok boys, listen up.” I wait until they’re all quiet and eyes are on me. “I know this is a huge crowd, bigger than we’ve ever played in front of before.” The boys nod in agreement.
“But don’t let that distract you. We’re here to do what we do best, and that’s play baseball. You guys have worked too hard to get here to let something like a few extra people get in the way. Focus on one play at a time, talk to each other, and trust each other. No matter what, you guys should be proud of making it this far.” I look out over the 12 pairs of eyes staring at me and hold my hand out in the middle.
“Raptors on three.” Kara and the boys all put their hands on top of mine. “One, two, three. RAPTORS!” we all yell in unison.
