Friday Night Flights

by Susan X Meagher

“Well, that must not have been awkward. ‘Sure. You can take my baby for a drive. Just let me attach this shock collar…’”

  “Don’t care. I’d rather sound both suspicious and paranoid than spend the whole time worrying.”

  ***

  At five o’clock, Casey put the car seat carrier on her bed, making sure it was right in the middle in case Lisbet developed super-strength in the next few minutes and was able to hurl herself and the heavy thing into the air.

  The baby was sound asleep, which was kind of a drag, but they’d spent about an hour playing in the grass under the shade of the tall, thin oaks and maples that hugged the yard.

  She sorted through her dresser, finding her softball uniform neatly folded away. No matter where she kept her dirty laundry, her mother found it, washed it, and replaced it right where it belonged. It was sometimes annoying, but you could hardly complain about someone doing you a kindness—even if it meant she was rooting around in your room whenever she wanted.

  She’d just started to cinch the web belt tight on her pants when there was a soft knock on the door. Before she could respond, it opened.

  “Oh, look. The stork brought a baby.”

  Since Casey and Lisbet had been in the back yard, and the big greenhouse-style window over the sink had a good view of the whole area, she was sure her mom had seen them some time earlier. But they’d all developed a weird, unspoken agreement to act like they never knew who was in the house. Given that Casey always parked in the driveway, and there were security cameras there and at every entrance, all her mom had to do was look on her tablet computer to see the feed from every camera, all of which had night-vision capabilities, to know exactly what car was where. But acting like they were all kind of invisible seemed to work for them.

  “Yep,” Casey said. “I looked up and a great big stork was swooping in with a baby.”

  “What are you two up to?

  “Not much. We’re going to go get a hot dog, then I’ll drop her off before I go to my softball game.”

  “Hello, Elizabeth,” her mom said, showing mild interest in the sleeping child.

  “It’s Lisbet.”

  “Lisbet? Really? That’s the whole thing? What kind of name is that?”

  “I have no idea, but it sounds like a variation on Elizabeth. I’ll ask at some point.”

  “Why do you have her?”

  “Because I asked if I could watch her. Avery’s living with her parents now, so the baby’s going to be much more available.” She sat down next to the sleeping child and tenderly stroked her leg. “I’m stoked.”

  “You left the house before the sun rose this morning, you’re playing softball tonight, and you volunteered to watch an infant in between.”

  “Exactly right,” she said, gazing up at her mother with a blank expression. She usually cut the interrogations short if you didn’t engage her much.

  “You know, people will pay you to babysit. The least you can get out of the deal is a little spare cash.”

  “Thanks for the tip. I’ll ask for money when I drop her off.” She stood and grasped the handle of the car seat. “We’re off. I don’t want to be late for batting practice.”

  “Batting practice,” her mother grumbled, her words just reaching Casey as the big doors swung open. “A woman your age still playing softball.”

  “See you tomorrow, Mom,” she said as she flinched when she opened the back door of her truck to come face-to-face with a brown bear as big as she was, missing its right eye. The animal was a good idea, but it was going to take some getting used to.

  ***

  Once Lisbet was secure in the backseat, Casey pulled out her phone and texted.

  I’m going to stop for dinner, then I’ll return your bundle of joy by six so I can get to my softball game. Good?

  A return message appeared immediately.

  Where’s your game?

  Ghent’s rec area

  Want me to meet you there? That’ll give you more time to eat

  Don’t mind?

  Not a bit. I’ll be there by 6:15

  Want a chili dog from Joe’s?

  YES! No onions, though. Lisbet doesn’t like them. A chocolate malt wouldn’t be refused

  Casey laughed to herself, then adjusted her mirror so she could see the baby. “Your mommy’s never going to lose that baby weight by eating chili dogs and malts. But don’t you dare tell her I said that.”

  ***

  Avery parked on the street close to the neatly tended softball fields and cut across the grass. The baby had been out of her sight for barely three hours, but there was a lightness to her step that she almost felt guilty for. When you were walking alone, carrying only your wallet and keys in your pockets, you definitely felt lighter than you did when you were dragging a child in a car seat, along with a diaper bag. All of that stuff weighed on you, physically and emotionally.

  Casey had parked on the other side of the park, and Avery spied her crossing the expanse of grass, all weighted down by her burdens. Avery’s breasts were nearly engorged with milk, but she was truly hoping Lisbet was still asleep. Cold chili dogs kind of sucked.

  She still wasn’t in running shape, not that she ever had been, but she picked up the pace and met Casey in the outfield. “I’m so glad to see you,” she said, reaching out to grab the white paper bag. “Oh. You and Lisbet, too,” she said, laughing evilly.

  “Since you’re too rude to ask, I’ll just tell you that Lisbet mostly slept in her car seat, in my room, but we both enjoyed ourselves.”

  “Ooo. She got to see her new best friend’s room again,” Avery said. “Did you talk about the girls or boys you have crushes on?” She reached over and touched Lisbet’s head. “I’m going to try not to impose mandatory heterosexuality on her.”

  “Good luck with that,” Casey said. “Let’s get over to the bench so we can eat.” She checked her watch. “I hope my digestive system works fast.”

  There were six grey-clad people on one side of the field, with four people in black uniforms on the other. By the time they reached Casey’s people, she was smiling and clapping everyone on the back, acting like the life of the party. It took until just then for Avery to see the “Kaaterskill Brewery” logo on their backs.

  “Where’d you get the baby?” a tall guy asked.

  The kid who’d found a table and fetched food for her family at the brewery spoke up. She thought his name was Jackson, but she couldn’t swear on it. “It’s Avery’s. How’s it going?” he asked, waving. “Casey told me you were moving back.”

  “Just yesterday. I didn’t know you all played softball together.”

  “Softball in the summer,” Casey said. “Bowling or hockey in the winter.”

  “Hockey? Ice hockey?”

  “Yup,” Casey said. “Emanuel and I are the only two from this group who play. You should come watch sometime. It’s exactly like the NHL, but in super slow motion.”

  “I’ve never watched the NHL in any motion, but I’m sure we’ll be looking for fun once winter comes. Count us in.”

  “Any chance of eating?” Casey asked. “I’m about to faint.”

  Avery removed one dog and presented it, then fumbled in the bag for her own. The second her hand hit the warmth, Lisbet jerked, then her little eyes opened wide and she let out a wail that would have been funny if Avery hadn’t been an indispensable participant in stopping the madness.

  ***

  Since Avery didn’t have anything she had to do, and she needed a break from sitting in the house, they stayed for the entire game. Actually, it was a good way to create just enough noise to keep Lisbet awake, which was her new goal, post-feeding. Keeping her up for a while might get her to sleep for longer periods at night.

  The baby clearly didn’t know what was going on, but the field was brightly lit, and there were occasional cheers or shouted instructions to a fielder. That was plenty of noise to prevent her from dozing.

  The teams were mixed sex, but Casey was the on
ly woman on hers. They were playing a team sponsored by the Toyota dealer in Ghent, and they had a pair of women on their team, although they only used them as pinch-runners late in the game.

  Casey, on the other hand, was a starter, and a good one to boot. In her uniform, she owned some of the dyke pride she’d had as a high school kid, when she used to look like she could kick ass and take names. That was kind of cool, and Avery watched her avidly, seeing how she crisply threw the ball around when they warmed up between innings, with her cap pulled down low to protect her eyes from the lights.

  She really had a gun, with Avery able to hear the snap of the ball as it hit the fielder’s glove when she fired it from first to third. Since her dad was an avid Yankees fan, Avery had often been in the room when games were on. She’d never paid any attention, but she’d picked up a lot of the lingo inadvertently. Watching tonight, she had to admit she would have paid closer attention if even one of the Yankees had looked like Casey.

  Avery had never felt a strong draw for butch women, but there was a chance she was changing her tune, given that she hadn’t taken her eyes off Casey’s butt the whole time. It looked awfully nice, even in those thick polyester uniforms.

  She looked kind of nonchalant between pitches, standing near first base and smacking her hand into her glove or adjusting her hat. But just before the pitcher threw the ball, she slid into a deep crouch, with her hands low to the ground, ready to hoover up any ground ball that came near.

  Casey actually didn’t get the chance to show her fielding skills, merely snagging balls thrown by the second baseman or shortstop. But when it was her side’s turn to bat, she showed she really knew how to play the game.

  There was one out and a man on second the first time she batted, and she approached the plate like she was getting on a bus. Cool and collected. In no hurry at all. She had a cute stance, standing tall and waggling the bat a little as she waited for the first pitch. Unlike the other players, she bit right away, smacking the ball over the shortstop’s head and clapping her hands together to congratulate herself when she rounded first and danced around on the base path for a moment before going back to tag up. She’d knocked in a run, and looked really pleased for a second or two. Then she snapped to attention and watched the pitcher intently until her team made two more outs, never advancing her.

  The game got a little out of hand for a while, with both pitchers losing control and getting wild, but Casey was able to knock in another RBI late in the game, and her team never looked back. They won twelve to nine, and since Casey had produced four of the runs, Avery called out to her as she walked across the field at the end of the game. “Who’s the star of the game? C-a-s-e-y!”

  She took off her hat and bent at the waist, having to put up with some teasing from her teammates. But she seemed pretty pleased if the half-smile that never left her face was any indication.

  “I did all right,” she said, sitting on the bench and sticking her legs out in front of her. “I was four for five, which I can’t complain about.” Avery had Lisbet on her lap, and she started to fuss a little, probably having exhausted her appetite for sitting in one spot. “Mind if I hold her for a minute?”

  “Be my guest.”

  Avery handed her over and Casey bounced her gently on her knee, being very careful to support her head, which really wasn’t necessary at this point. Avery took out her phone and snapped a couple of pictures, then did a video when Casey held Lisbet over her face and spoke as though the baby was doing the talking. “I love softball, Mom. Will you buy me a uniform next time you see one in my size?”

  Avery laughed when she replayed the little clip, then handed the phone to Casey. After she played it twice, showing it to Lisbet, she started to page through the gallery. “Mind if I look at your roll?”

  Before Avery could consent, Casey stopped abruptly and said, “Why’d you take a picture of the woman who runs our cleaning crew?”

  Avery almost swallowed her tongue. She’d completely forgotten she’d done that, and was mortified to have Casey see it. Unable to think of a foolproof fib, she went for an easy one, “No reason.”

  “No reason?” Her brow furrowed as she continued to look at the photo. “Don’t you think it’s a little odd to take a picture of someone without her knowledge?” Her gaze traveled to Avery’s eyes and she added, “I do.”

  Avery wasn’t sure why she felt so humiliated, but she could have burst into tears. She felt just like she had when her third grade teacher accused her of cheating on a spelling test. Her friend had clearly copied from her, since Hayley had been a terrible speller, but Avery didn’t have the gumption to defend herself. But that had been thirty years earlier! She’d turned into a pretty well-respected member of society, yet she still couldn’t figure out how to defend herself without sounding like she was lying. “I should have,” she said, grasping the phone to delete both photos. “That was rude of me.”

  “Mmm,” Casey said, looking at her the way homicide detectives sized up a suspect. “What did you do with the photo? Did you share it?”

  “Share it?” she managed to get out, with her voice rising an octave. “Who would I share it with?” She blinked, trying to figure out what Casey was even getting at. “Are you asking if I put it on Facebook or Instagram?”

  Casey nodded soberly.

  “I don’t even have personal accounts for social media. I shut them down when I got pregnant, since I didn’t want to be tempted to bore everyone to death.”

  “You really shouldn’t take photos of people when they’re not aware, Avery. It’s not cool. People deserve a little privacy—”

  “I realize that,” she said, interrupting her before she could continue the lecture. “I was wrong to take it. I admit that.” She was feeling more centered now and could have thoroughly explained why she’d done it. But she didn’t feel very safe with Casey at the moment, and wasn’t in the mood to expound. “I was taken by the way she looked, and I wanted to capture it. For myself,” she emphasized.

  “All right,” Casey said, shaking her head slightly as she pressed Lisbet to her shoulder while getting to her feet.

  “Um, I wouldn’t mind an apology from you,” Avery said, starting to feel like herself again.

  “Me?” Her brows rose as she stared.

  “Uh-huh. It’s impolite to dig into someone’s phone without permission. We don’t know each other well enough for that.”

  Her lips pursed for a second, then she nodded. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have done that without asking.”

  “Oh, you asked,” Avery reminded her. “But you didn’t give me time to refuse. Not cool.”

  “Got it. I won’t do that again.” She started to go down the stairs, saying, “Can you send me the video you just took? One day when Lisbet and I are on the same softball team, I want to show her what she looked like the first time she came to the ball park.”

  ***

  Once all of the gear was packed up and put into the back of the truck, Avery reflected on what had just transpired. The tension that had built up so quickly between them seemed to have dissipated completely, with Casey acting like everything was normal. But Avery couldn’t assess if Casey had believed her or had just gotten tired of talking about it. No matter what, her taking the phone and looking through it was just weird—not seeming like something Casey would do at all.

  If Avery had known her better, she would have drilled down to get to the bottom of it, but she didn’t want to make a big deal of it now that Casey was acting like the issue had been put to bed. So she decided to let it go, acknowledging that making a friend always entailed some bumps and blind turns.

  “I’m very thankful a superstar like you had time for Lisbet today,” Avery said. “I was worried about having her out of my sight, but only because she feels like an integral part of me now. It’s like temporarily losing a hand.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t mind. I think it’s good for you to have some time off, and I know it’s good for me to be a
round such a sweet little thing. I’ll take her any time you need a break.”

  Avery patted her back, holding on to scratch it through the thick uniform. “I don’t know why you’re being so generous, but I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.”

  “I’m generally really nice,” Casey said, showing a shy grin. “That’s just the truth.”

  “Um…your basement? Chained to the radiator?”

  She laughed. “Nah. My mom would hear your cries.”

  “Okay… Hit me.”

  They were next to her truck, and Casey went to the tailgate and dropped it, then sat on the edge. Avery followed suit, with Casey placing the baby’s car seat next to her while Avery hopped up.

  “My grandmother died a while back, and my dad’s been trying to get permission to knock down her house and put up a little subdivision.”

  “I remember you told me about her dying. Sorry,” Avery said, seeing the sadness in her eyes.

  “Thanks. It’s been over a year, so I’m not as sad as I was at first. My grandma was kind of a character. You’d probably seen her around.”

  “How would I know…”

  “She and my grandfather started Villa Napoli, and she ran the place until my uncle took it over.”

  “No kidding? My parents didn’t take me out for a nice meal until I was in high school, but I can’t remember ever having a woman in charge.”

  “You just missed her. She retired right after I started high school. Anyway, ages ago she bought a summer place on the shore in Lake George. When she died, my uncle inherited that, and my mom got her main house. It’s just outside Kinderhook.”

  “And…your dad’s plans?”

  She looked glum when she said, “I think it’s a crime to knock the house down, but my mom agrees with him, and since it’s hers now I guess I should keep my nose out of it.”

  “It’s hard sometimes, isn’t it,” Avery said. “When you feel strongly about something, but don’t have any control.”

  “Yeah,” she said, nodding. “At this point, my dad doesn’t have too much control either, which I shouldn’t admit I kind of enjoy. He’s wasted thousands trying to get the town and the county to approve his plans to put up four houses, but they’re blocking him every way they can.”