Zella got up to clear their plates. When she returned, they were airing footage of a previously recorded interview with Derek between innings. They asked him about his injury, the recovery, and his thoughts on the team’s latest road trip.
“I noticed an addition to your glove a few moments ago,” the reporter said. “It looks like the letter ‘Z.’ Right there next to your daughter’s initials. Can you tell us what that’s all about?”
Derek seemed a little caught off-guard by the inquiry. He stammered a bit before he found some semblance of a response. In the interim, the camera zoomed in on Derek’s glove. There, right next to the thumb was a zigzag, written in sharpie.
“It’s for a friend. She was in an accident over the weekend,” he said. “She was there for me during my recovery, and I want to show her I’m thinking about her now.”
“Must be a special friend,” the reporter said.
“She is,” Derek said.
They cut back to the game. Derek was back on the mound for the fifth inning, and the announcers were discussing the mechanics of his pitching.
Usually, Zella would listen to that kind of analysis with critical interest. But she didn’t hear any of it tonight. She just kept hearing Derek’s words and seeing that “Z” on his glove. She felt Kate’s eyes on her.
“Is that why you wanted me to watch the game?” she asked her boss.
“I had no idea about the interview. Or the glove,” Kate said.
Zella believed her.
“But I’m not surprised,” Kate said. “I saw the look on his face when he heard about your accident.”
“I know, but things didn’t go well when he came to the hospital,” Zella said. “My father yelled at him and insulted him. And I … well, I didn’t do much to encourage him to stay.”
“You weren’t exactly well at the moment. I’m sure he understands,” Kate said.
“But he probably doesn’t understand why I was with a guy the night I fell, and I don’t blame him,” Zella said. “I didn’t understand at the time either. Now I know a little more, and I know I didn’t invite that guy back here. I wish I could tell Derek that, but I feel like it might be too late.”
“I’m sure he didn’t enjoy that part,” Kate said. “But obviously he still cares. It’s not too late.”
“I can’t decide if that makes things better or worse that he still cares,” Zella said. “We can’t be together, but I want him to be happy. I still care about him too, and I don’t want to stop caring about him.”
“I understand completely,” Kate said. “And I wish I knew what to tell you about that, but I don’t. As you might remember, I’m not exactly an expert at letting go.”
Zella nodded, remembering the stories her boss had shared with her about Reid. Kate had harbored unresolved feelings for him for years. Last year, the two had an intense discussion – several of them, actually – and finally achieved some closure.
Both women sighed and turned their attentions back to the television, where Derek was shown walking off the mound after the sixth inning. Zeroes still prevailed on the scoreboard, and the rest of the Pioneers still weren’t talking to or going near their pitcher.
“Are they going to send him back out for the seventh?” Zella wondered aloud.
“I don’t know. We’re trying to watch his pitch count,” Kate said. “But the manager will catch hell from the crowd – and lots of other people – if he pulls Derek now.”
“He’s been working pretty fast. His pitch count can’t be that bad,” Zella said.
Sure enough, Derek went back to the mound for the next inning. But not before his offense put up three more runs of support. He now worked with a 5-0 lead. But it was starting to look like he didn’t need the extra runs. Seven pitches retired the Athletics in the seventh, and while he needed 15 in the eighth, Derek still looked as fresh and sharp as he had in the first inning.
“I can’t believe you’re not there,” Zella said to Kate.
“I could say the same to you,” Kate said.
“That’s your team,” Zella said.
“And that’s your guy,” Kate said.
Zella bit her lip. “How long do you think it’d take us to get there?”
Kate’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
“Kind of,” Zella admitted.
In a flash, both women were in Kate’s car. The radio was tuned into the game as they drove toward the ballpark. The Pioneers’ offense didn’t seem to care if their services were needed or not. They challenged the Athletics’ bullpen, chasing two pitchers in the bottom of the eighth inning, but despite having the bases loaded with one out, they only scored one more run.
By the time Derek returned to the mound for the ninth inning, Kate and Zella were standing at the top of the section behind home plate. They had decided not to go to their seats, and instead wanted to watch from the shadows. Feeling nervous, Zella wrapped her arms around herself and held her breath with each pitch.
Derek had made a conscious effort not to look at the scoreboard or the stands at any point during this outing. His family was in the crowd. He knew exactly where they were sitting, but he didn’t dare look in their direction. He needed to stay in the zone.
He just went through the motions, focusing on one batter at a time. The Athletics tried to shake things up by throwing a pinch hitter into the mix. But it didn’t work. Derek got him to groundout to Ian Davis on the first pitch. One down.
No, no counting outs, he reminded himself. Stay focused. One at a time.
He took a deep breath and set to work against the second batter of the inning. This guy was a little more persistent, fouling off several of Derek’s offerings. Finally, he swung and missed. Carson pumped his fist before tossing the baseball back to the mound.
Another sharp inhale and exhale as Derek settled on the pitching rubber. He stared at his catcher, watching the sequence of signs. He nodded at Carson’s suggestion and went into his wind-up. The ball hit Carson’s mitt, and the umpire called it a strike. The next pitch was higher, and apparently a bit too high for the umpire’s taste. Derek didn’t like the call, and he showed it. Carson called time out and jogged out to the mound.
“It’s alright. That was a strike, but you can still get him. Calm down, D,” Carson said.
Derek just listened and nodded. His next pitch appeased the umpire a little more. The Athletics didn’t like it. He heard the protests, but he didn’t care. They weren’t going to get the call overturned. The rest of the ballpark was all cheering for him. And they were on their feet as they did so. He sent the next pitch in the direction of home plate, and this time the bat connected. The ball sailed over his head, and looked like it might fall in left center field. At the last moment, Reid Benjamin dove and wrapped the ball in his glove.
The ballpark erupted with sound. It barely registered for Derek. He was still staring at Reid, who looked at his glove and then grinned, got up, and jogged toward the infield. Only then did Derek realize he was surrounded by his other teammates. They were offering their congratulations and slapping him on the back. He hardly heard any of it, still in a daze about what had just happened.
He looked up at the scoreboard for the first time in several innings. There were all zeroes in the top line. No hits. No runs. No runners left on for the Athletics.
A perfect game for Derek Beaman.
History.
As it sunk in, a grin spread across his face and he began to join in the celebration. They moved off the field, where a reporter cornered him and began asking for his initial reaction. Still completely out of his mind, Derek wasn’t sure what he said, but he hoped he was making sense.
He looked around at the fans for the first time all night. All of them standing and applauding, chanting his last name. His eyes scanned the crowd, finally landing on his parents and brother, who were just behind the Pioneers dugout. He couldn’t see for sure, but he was pretty sure his mother was crying. His dad looked like he was about to burst. Mike
did too. Even Bruna showed considerable pride.
Of all nights to have a game like that, this was perfect. No pun intended.
There was only one person he wished was there. But he knew she wasn’t. She was still at home, recovering from a head injury. He wondered if she’d watched the game on TV. Probably not. The thought disappointed him even though he had no business caring about whether she’d just seen the finest night of his life.
He headed down to the clubhouse, knowing he had press waiting for him.
“What’s the frown about?” Reid asked, coming up beside him. “Dude, you just pitched a gem. A complete gem. You have nothing to be sad about.”
“I’m not sad,” Derek said. “I was just thinking about …”
“Zella,” Reid said.
“I know, I know, I shouldn’t be, but for some reason I wish she’d been here,” Derek said.
“She is here, D,” Reid said, pointing down the hallway.
Sure enough, Zella was standing there with Ms. Marks. Derek stopped and just stared at her, as though trying to be sure she was really there. Reid nudged him and finally, Derek started walking again, straight ahead until he was standing in front of her.
“You have five minutes, Beaman,” Ms. Marks said. “I can’t promise to hold the press off any longer than that.”
The GM stepped away to give them some space. Even without taking his eyes off Zella, he knew she hadn’t gone far. Reid was still hanging around somewhere too. But Derek didn’t care.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” Derek said.
“I almost wasn’t,” Zella said. “Kate came to visit and we were watching the game on TV. By the eighth, we knew we needed to be here. I wanted to be here.”
“I’m glad you were,” Derek said. “But I’m glad I didn’t know you were.”
“You would have been fine,” Zella said. “You were fantastic tonight.”
“Thanks,” he said. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” she said. “Ready to come back to work.”
“That’s good,” he said. “Your memory?”
“Still a little fuzzy, but … I remembered more,” she said. “About Alex. It’s a long story, but I’m not dating him. I didn’t even invite him back. I never would have, Derek. I’m still in love with you.”
“And I still love you, but it doesn’t change anything,” Derek said.
“Sure it does,” Zella said. “Because we finally said it to each other. Saying those words changes everything.”
“But your parents …,” Derek said.
“My mom has warmed up to you, and she’s working on my dad,” Zella said. “I want you back, Derek. Will you give me another chance?”
“You don’t even have to ask,” he said.
Dropping his glove, he wrapped both arms around her, pulling her against him. His eyes dropped to her mouth only moments before he kissed her. Every feeling for her that he’d kept locked away over the last few weeks poured into the kiss. And he sensed the same coming from her side of the liplock. He felt her arms around him and was pretty sure she shivered at one point.
“Derek … Derek …”
Only when he heard his name did he remember they weren’t alone. He pulled back and looked around. Reid looked smug, but Ms. Marks looked a bit uncomfortable as well as apologetic. Behind them, he spotted his parents, brother, and Bruna. Their expressions bore curiosity and amusement.
“The press is waiting,” Ms. Marks reminded him. “I gave you five minutes. I’m sorry.”
“It’s OK,” Derek said.
He looked back at Zella. “Wait here for me, OK?”
Zella nodded and gave him a soft kiss before releasing him.
Derek turned and followed Ms. Marks to the press room. He could barely concentrate as he sat in front of the reporters. There were lots of camera flashes and beeps. The questions just seemed to keep coming. Finally, the press let him go and Derek saw it’d only been about fifteen minutes. It felt so much longer.
He started to head in the direction of Zella, but Reid grabbed his arm.
“Go shower and clean up first,” he said. “She’ll still be there. Kate drove her here, so she can’t leave. And she’s with your family, so she’s fine. Besides, you stink.”
Derek glanced over his shoulder. Sure enough, Zella was surrounded by his parents, brother, and Bruna. They were all talking and smiling, so even though he wanted nothing more than to be near her again, he decided he could afford a little more time to shower.
Zella had still been trying to catch her breath from Derek’s kisses when four people she’d never seen before approached her. An older couple and a younger couple.
“You must be Zella,” the younger man said.
“I … yes,” she said. “And you are?”
“Mike Beaman,” he said with a smirk. “Derek’s brother.”
“Oh,” Zella said, looking at the group with more interest. “So you must be ….”
“Ken and Linda, his parents,” the older woman said.
“And this is Bruna,” Mike said, gesturing to the woman next to him. “My girlfriend.”
“It’s nice to meet all of you. Derek’s told me all about you, well, not as much about Bruna. I mean, he mentioned you, but at that time, he hadn’t met you yet, but he was really looking forward to it,” Zella said.
She was suddenly rambling as the nerves hit her. Not only had they just watched her and Derek make out, but also now she was standing there in yoga pants and a Pioneers shirt. When she got dressed earlier that day, she hadn’t expected to leave her apartment or see anyone, really. And now she was standing in front of Derek’s family for the first time, feeling more than a little self-conscious about her appearance.
Truly, when she came to the ballpark with Kate, she hadn’t intended to even talk to Derek. But while they were waiting for him to come off the field, Kate changed her mind.
“You have to tell him how you feel, Zella,” Kate said. “I’ll buy you the time, but you need to use it.”
And then Derek had appeared in the hallway, clearly stunned to see her. But happy too. She saw it in his face immediately. When she started talking, the words just came pouring out. She still wasn’t entirely sure what all she’d said. Because as soon as he kissed her, nothing else had mattered.
Except now she was standing her with his family, looking like a slob and rambling like an idiot.
“It’s OK,” Bruna said, offering her a friendly smile. “I only met Derek a few weeks ago. But Mike told me a lot about him beforehand. I’m sure he did the same with Derek about me, so he probably felt like he knew me. You’ll figure out pretty soon how much these brothers talk.”
Zella nodded, still feeling slightly uncomfortable with the situation.
“I’m sorry I don’t look nicer right now,” she said. “I wasn’t planning on coming to the ballpark tonight.”
“You look just fine,” Linda said.
“Especially with that pinkness Derek seems to have put on your face,” Ken said, laughing a little.
His words only caused Zella to blush further and Ken’s laughter to grow louder. Linda smacked her husband.
“Don’t embarrass the girl,” she said.
“I think Derek took care of that,” Mike said.
He turned back to Zella and gave her a sympathetic smile.
“This is their way of showing they approve of you,” he said. “We all approve. It’s good to finally meet you.”
Zella relaxed a little. She knew how important he was to Derek, so his approval mattered. Plus, he just seemed nice.
Conversation quickly shifted to Derek’s outstanding pitching performance. It was clear to her how proud his family was of him.
“The Pioneers may need to fly you to every start,” Zella joked with them. “I’m sure it meant a lot to him that you were here. And now you guys can all celebrate together.”
“I have a feeling he’s made different plans,” Ken said, smirking at her.
“Oh no, I won’t let him ditch you,” Zella said. “Family comes first. You guys traveled all this way. I’ll still be here after you’ve gone home.”
“I sure hope so.” That was Derek’s voice.
Zella turned and saw him coming up behind them. His hair was still damp, but he was dressed in his typical post-game attire – dark grey pants with a button-down shirt and a suit jacket that matched his pants. He hugged each of his family members and even Bruna, taking in their words of congratulations and thanking them for being there. As soon as he finished, he put an arm around Zella, pulling her close to him.
“While you were busy being a star, we took a message for you,” Linda said.
Derek looked confused as Linda pushed a few buttons on her phone and then turned the screen to face him. Moments later, a toddler’s face appeared. Zella immediately recognized her from the many photos Derek had shown her.
“Hi Daddy! Good job Daddy! Lub you!” Brynn said.
The little girl then put her hand to her mouth and blew a kiss toward the screen just before the video ended. From the way she was looking off to the side, she was clearly being coached, but that didn’t matter to Derek. Zella could feel his body tense a little, and when she looked up at him, she saw tears in his eyes.
“That’s my girl,” he said softly.
Zella reached for his hand that was at her side and squeezed it.
“Told you she was proud of you,” she said softly.
Derek nodded and kissed her forehead. She could tell that wasn’t his first choice, but they’d already given his family enough of a show. He turned back to his parents, brother, and Bruna.
“So should we go celebrate?” he asked. “Zella can go with us. I already told Ms. Marks I’d get her home.”
“It’s kind of late, and there’s probably not much open,” Bruna said. “Why don’t we celebrate tomorrow with brunch instead?”
“That sounds like a great idea,” Linda agreed. “I don’t like to eat this late anyway.”
Derek frowned as he studied his family.
“Are you sure? We always go out to eat after my starts,” he said.
“Yes, we’re sure, D,” Mike said. “I’m sure you can find someone else to celebrate with you tonight.”
Behind in the Count: A Portland Pioneers Novel Page 24
