Heart of the Game

by Rachel Spangler

  “Hmm.” She tapped her chin as if thinking it over. “Now that you mention it, I might give it a try sometime.”

  “I hear the Cardinals have a hot new writer following them, Sarah something or other.”

  “Yeah, I heard she’s pretty amazing, also kind of cute.” Okay maybe she’d pushed too far there, but she enjoyed this playful side of Molly.

  “I think so, cute would be a good word for her.”

  A rush of butterflies floated through her stomach. “I hear she’s single, too.”

  “What a shame.” Molly shook her head in mock seriousness, then brightened as if something shiny caught her attention. “That reminds me, we’re still on for Thursday, right?”

  We? Did Molly really segue from Duke’s relationship status to their Thursday night plans? If her heart rate had accelerated before, now it tap-danced. “Yes, I’ll pick up some Imo’s Pizza on the way over, whatever kind you like.”

  “The boys eat cheese and only cheese, and for once I won’t even try to talk them into mushrooms and olives since I’ll be dining at Charlie Gitto’s.”

  “What? How? That’s…” Her mind fought to catch up to her mouth.

  “I’ve got a date, thanks to you.” Molly tapped her on the shoulder, but the touch didn’t carry the same power surge the others had. “Lauren’s taking me to The Hill.”

  “Wow. Lauren? Huh. Well, good for you. And her. Good for both of you.”

  “Good for you, too. She’s asked me out a few times, but I would’ve never taken the chance if not for your offer to watch the boys.”

  “Me?” She lifted her ball cap and settled it back onto her head. “I’m, well…apparently awesome.”

  “You are,” Molly said sincerely. “Awesome and wonderful and inspiring. I’ll have the boys all ready for the night. You’ll just have to feed them and put them to bed. Don’t be nervous. I’m sure you can handle them.”

  “Of course I can.” She didn’t worry at all about her ability to handle two kids for a few hours. She hadn’t been nervous at all until Molly mentioned this Lauren woman. Now her palms felt clammy and her heartbeat no longer danced so much as thudded dully through her ears. Someone else was taking Molly out, pampering her, sweeping her off her feet. She’d thought that would be her job, or at least she’d hoped so anyway. Had she missed her chance, or had it never been hers to claim in the first place? “The game is about to start. I better get to work.”

  “Sure, we’ll see you on Thursday, right?”

  “Absolutely. You can count on me.”

  Molly smiled sweetly. “I know I can. Thank you for being such a good friend.”

  Duke couldn’t speak around the knot in her throat, so she waved before she jogged off. Once in the stairway she waited for the heavy metal door to slam satisfyingly behind her before leaning against the gray concrete wall. She sucked in a few deep gulps of air, but they did little to ease the suffocating thought of Molly in another woman’s arms. She was overreacting. She didn’t have any claim on Molly. She’d never even seen her outside of work. They’d only just become friends, so why did it feel like a needle under her fingernails when Molly had used the term?

  She had to pull herself out of this mental fit. So what if she’d looked forward to seeing Molly outside of the stadium? So what if she’d hoped Thursday would be a gateway to something more for them? So what if Molly had a date with someone else? She could still have a great night with the boys, and maybe this Lauren woman wouldn’t even like Molly.

  She exhaled heavily because, really, who wouldn’t fall for Molly?

  *

  She stood on the welcome mat outside the door to Molly’s apartment, listening to the deadened noise of footsteps and roughhousing. Something crashed, and Joe shouted an apology while Charlie let loose a deep, resounding belly laugh. She lifted her hand, but hesitated. No one would blame her for not wanting to knock. Her instinct to run, however, had nothing to do with the hectic vibe behind the door. She actually looked forward to some carefree time with the boys and liked the idea of being able to get rowdy with them. They all had to use their best behavior at the ballpark, but living rooms were made for pillow fights and wrestling matches. Getting wound up was the fun part. She would’ve gladly faced a horde of wild banshees a hundred times over if only she didn’t have to see Molly leave for a date with another woman.

  She had no right to think that way. She’d offered Molly a night off to do as she pleased, and if that meant dinner at a swank restaurant with this Lauren character, then she should have that. She took a deep breath, inhaling the rich scent of the large Imo’s pizza she held in her arms, and leaned forward to press the doorbell with the corner of the box.

  Molly opened so quickly she must have been waiting for her. A rush of energy hit Duke and flooded the surrounding hallway as both boys rushed to meet her.

  “Duke, you want to see my baseball cards?” Joe asked.

  “Sure, buddy, let me—”

  “I’m going to eat you!” Charlie shouted, then punctuated the threat with his best roar.

  “Don’t eat me. I brought pizza as a substitute sacrifice.”

  “I don’t like pizza,” Charlie said, then ran down an adjacent hallway.

  “Come on in,” Molly said, then added nervously, “I’m running late. Do you mind feeding them while I get changed?”

  “Not at all.” She finally stepped all the way into the apartment, carrying the pizza before her like some peace offering for whatever havoc was being wreaked ahead.

  A small living room stood just beyond the entryway with an open kitchen and dining area to the right. The hallway both Molly and Charlie had disappeared down extended off to the left. She set the pizza on the table and wandered into the kitchen. “Hey, Joe, where do you keep the plates?”

  “The cabinet next to the fridge.” He came in behind her carrying a three-ring binder open wide to a plastic photo sleeve holding several baseball cards. “I have Molina’s rookie season here.”

  She pulled down a few plastic plates with superheroes on them, then glanced at the card. “Nice. Way to hold on to that. I bet a lot of people threw it out because he didn’t hit well those first few seasons.”

  “It’ll be worth a lot more if he wins the MVP,” Joe said, with a seriousness of a bond trader.

  “It’ll be a neat keepsake either way.” She pulled a few squares of pizza from the box and put them on the plates. “Where did your brother go?”

  “He’s probably in the bathtub,” Joe replied casually as he flipped through some more cards.

  “Does he take baths by himself?” She hadn’t been around a ton of kids outside her brother’s baby girl, but something about a three-year-old running his own bath didn’t sound right.

  “He doesn’t put any water in. He just gets in the tub and closes the curtain.”

  “Why?”

  Joe shrugged. “He’s Charlie.”

  “Right, well, why don’t you go tell him dinner’s ready?”

  “He’ll just say he doesn’t like pizza.”

  “Try anyway, will ya?”

  He shook his head at the futility of the exercise but dutifully strolled off down the hall.

  Alone in the dining room, she began to blow on the slice of pizza Charlie probably wouldn’t eat. She wanted it to be ready on the off chance he felt adventurous. Her attempt to prepare for an improbability was interrupted by a knock at the door.

  “Can you get that?” Molly called.

  “Sure.” She didn’t know what she was thinking. She didn’t think really. She just swung open the door to greet a truly beautiful woman. She wore a soft cream-colored scoop-neck sweater, charcoal slacks, and low sling-back heels that made her almost Duke’s height. She extended her hand amicably.

  “Hello, I’m Lauren. I’m here to pick up Molly.”

  Of course you are. Her stomach clenched, but she tried to smile in a way that didn’t appear as though she were experiencing physical pain. “Come on in. I’m Duke. I’m w
atching the boys tonight. Molly’s still getting ready, but you can wait for her in here.” What a mess. She had to stop babbling.

  “Thank you,” she replied as she stepped gracefully past Duke into the entryway of the apartment.

  Charlie came tearing around the corner at full tilt and nearly slammed into Lauren before Duke instinctively caught him with one outstretched arm.

  “Well, hello there,” Lauren said in a voice an octave higher than the one she’d used to greet Duke. “And who might you be?”

  “I might be Batman,” he responded dryly.

  She raised her exotic hazel eyes to meet Duke’s.

  “This is Charlie.” She swung him around until he faced Lauren. “Say hello to Miss Lauren.”

  “Hello to Miss Lauren,” he repeated without a hint of irony.

  She smiled, a small, sweetly polite smile. “You’re adorable. Look at your eyes.”

  He crossed them as if trying to follow her directions, and Duke laughed, grateful for the distraction.

  “He’s got Molly’s eyes,” Lauren said, sounding almost awestruck.

  Both the words and the tone caused Duke’s heart to twist in her chest. Apparently, Lauren wasn’t only beautiful. She was also attentive and clearly already a little enamored with Molly.

  “Yeah, both the boys look like her, but Joe has more of her personality than this guy.”

  “Joe?” Lauren said the name with a subtle rise in inflection.

  “Yeah, he was around here somewhere.” Duke took the opportunity to step away from Lauren enough to peek down the hallway. “Hey, Joe, come say hi.”

  One of the doors opened, and she expected him to emerge. Instead, she got her first peek of strappy black heels and a tan calf before the rest of Molly came into view. Her breath stalled as her eyes worked their way up to the knee-length hem of Molly’s little black dress and over her perfectly curved waist to the V-cut of her neckline. She wore her dark hair down over her shoulders, and her lips shone an even deeper shade of red than usual.

  Molly froze when she saw Duke staring, nervousness evident in her hesitation. Duke wanted to rush to her, to pick her up and twirl her around, to tell her how beautiful she looked, but her legs wouldn’t move, and the words didn’t come. All she managed to do was mouth a soundless “wow.”

  Molly blushed a beautiful shade of rose as she walked forward. She gave Duke’s hand a little squeeze on her way past. Just a small touch, a brief connection that didn’t last nearly long enough to make what happened next bearable.

  “You look stunning,” Lauren said, kissing her on the cheek.

  “Thank you,” Molly replied. “No one’s told me that in a long time.”

  “Then you must be surrounded by blind fools,” Lauren countered.

  Fools, yes. Blind, no. Duke tried to shake off the hollow feeling in her limbs, but it seemed impossible not to compare herself to Lauren and realize she came up depressingly lacking. Lauren was graceful, smooth, beautiful, classy, and feminine. In short, she was Duke’s opposite. If Molly went for women like Lauren, she was screwed.

  “Duke,” Molly called, “we won’t be late. We’re only having dinner.”

  “It’s fine.” She almost choked on the next words. “Take all the time you want.”

  “I left some notes on the counter for you about Charlie’s bedtime routine, and Joe will help, too. You have my cell phone number, right?”

  “I’ve got it all under control.”

  “I know, but Charlie might not eat pizza. There’s peanut butter and jelly if he’d rather have that, but you have to—”

  “Cut the crust off, I know.”

  “We’re going to be at—”

  “Charlie Gitto’s on The Hill. Now go.”

  Molly released a shaky breath. “You’re right. I trust you.”

  Well, at least she had that going for her. She told herself being trustworthy with the boys had to count for something in Molly’s world, but somehow it didn’t seem quite so impressive compared to Lauren’s graceful manners and easy compliments.

  Molly bent down and kissed Charlie on his head. “Be good for Duke. I love you, my boy.”

  He put one tiny hand on either side of her face. “Love you, my mama.”

  She looked like she might have blinked back a tear before she straightened and called to Joe.

  A door slammed somewhere down the hall. Joe came into view, his head down and his feet shuffling against the carpet.

  “Joe, I’m heading out now. Will you be a big helper for Duke?”

  “Yeah,” he said abruptly.

  “I’m counting on you.”

  He shrugged.

  “We’ll be great. We’re best buds.” Duke cut in.

  Joe lifted his head and grinned at the characterization. Whatever was bothering him didn’t extend to her.

  “Hi, Joe, we didn’t get to meet yet. I’m Lauren,” she said hopefully.

  He looked at her long and hard, his jaw set and his mouth a tight line. As a writer, Duke would’ve described him more as a gunslinger in a showdown rather than a kid ready for a play date.

  “Where are your manners?” Molly prodded.

  “Hello, Miss Lauren,” he said in his best impression of a sullen teenager.

  Molly looked wide-eyed from him to Duke.

  “Don’t worry. I’ve got this, too. You two get going.”

  Molly hesitated, her eager glow from moments before fading into worry. She pinched the bridge of her nose for a second, then smiled a smile that didn’t crinkle the corners of her eyes. “Okay, you’re right. We’ll talk when I get home.”

  She dropped a kiss on Joe’s head, then whispered, “I love you, always.”

  Duke waved good-bye and closed the door behind them. “All right, you two, we’ve got a lot to do tonight, but first things first. It’s time for pizza.”

  Joe sat quietly while Charlie proceeded to speed-walk around the table.

  “Come on, Char, into your booster seat.”

  “I don’t like it,” he answered matter-of-factly.

  “What? The pizza or the booster seat?”

  “I don’t like it.”

  “Both of them?”

  Charlie nodded and kept lapping them.

  “Okay, but there’s a tollbooth here now,” she explained, kicking one foot onto another chair. “Every five laps you have to pay the toll.”

  He regarded her suspiciously and slowed his gait without stopping.

  “No worries. The first five are free,” she said, taking a bite of pizza. “We’ll eat without you in the meantime.”

  “It is good pizza,” Joe said softly, resting his elbow on the table and his chin on his fist.

  “Good. I was worried earlier because you seemed kind of upset. Glad to hear the pizza isn’t the problem.”

  “No, I’m happy about the pizza.”

  “You don’t look happy. You look like I’m making you eat creamed spinach.”

  He sighed. “My mom said Lauren is a friend, but I think they are having a date.”

  “Yeah, I got that sense, too.” Her heart ached, but she tried to focus on his needs. “Do you have any questions?”

  “I think it’s the kind of date boys and girls go on together.”

  Uh-oh. Had Molly not come out to Joe? That could complicate this discussion considerably. “Which part bothers you, the date part or the boy / girl part?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, clearly wrestling with concepts he’d never voiced before. “It’s all mixed up right now.”

  “Fair enough. You don’t have to have all the answers. Sometimes it’s okay to mull things over.” She kicked her foot up on the chair, abruptly stopping Charlie. “Toll booth time.”

  He laughed and tried to back up, but she raised her other leg, trapping him between them. “You have to pay the toll. Five dollars, please.”

  He stared at her before lifting his empty hands.

  “You don’t have five dollars? Oh, well, that’s an issue. I
can’t let you through if you don’t pay the toll.” She pretended to think hard, buying herself some time to calm her nerves and Charlie’s energy level at the same time. “Hmm. I’ve got an idea. How about instead of giving me the money, you could have one bite of pizza?”

  He seemed to consider the offer. “One bite?”

  “Just the one.” She held the small square slice out for his inspection. “Gotta be a big bite, though, like a monster lion Batman bite.”

  Charlie roared and chomped on a nice chunk of the pizza.

  Duke and Joe’s surprised grins mirrored one another. Duke dropped her legs so Charlie could resume his loops around the table.

  “How did you get him to do that?” Joe asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Yes, you do. You know everything,” Joe exclaimed excitedly. “Why can’t my mom go on a date with you?”

  “Yeah,” she sighed, then caught herself. “Wait. What?”

  He blushed and looked away.

  “I thought you didn’t want your mom to go on a date with a girl?”

  “I don’t know. I never thought about my mom going on a date with a girl. I never thought about her going on a date at all. But if she’s going on a date with a girl, why can’t it be you?”

  Duke’s eyes widened at the stream of thoughts he’d worked through. “Well, it’s not that simple, I suppose.”

  “Why? Don’t you like her?”

  “I do.” She wasn’t sure she should admit that, but she’d never lied to Joe before, and she couldn’t bring herself to do so now. “But sometimes liking someone isn’t enough.”

  “It’s enough for me. I like you. You like her.”

  “What I want or what you want isn’t as important as what your mom wants in this situation. She has to like me back for things to work.”

  “She likes to talk to you. And you’re a girl, kind of.”

  Duke grinned in spite of the fact he might have hit the target. She ran her hand through her short blond spikes of a haircut, trying not to compare it to Lauren’s silken locks. “I think it might be the ‘kind of’ part that’s causing the problem. Your mom likes Lauren, and Lauren and I don’t seem to have a lot in common.”

  “Yeah, like nothing.”