Swing Batter Swing

by Zaida Polanco

  “Oh my god, stop talking,” she whispered, her mouth against his. “I’ll go to the damn meeting, alright? You made very good points.” She kissed him, then pulled away to look at him. “I need to start channeling my inner mediocre white guy.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  With his beautiful eyes on her now makeup-less face, his kissable lips turned up into a smirk, and his hands roaming her pajama-clad body, Marty felt like the luckiest, sexiest girl in the world. “Hey babe?” she said, between raining kisses all over his face.

  “Hmm?” he responded, his mouth occupied in the crook of her neck.

  “I love you,” she whispered, feeling his smile against her skin.

  “Mmlobyutoo,” he mumbled, still nibbling on her neck.

  Chapter 42: Jay

  Jay was thrilled when Marty agreed to come straight home with him instead of returning to her awful roommates and her apartment. He had one more surprise for her, one that he had orchestrated while they were on the road, and he couldn’t wait to show her.

  After they landed at LAX, they immediately drove to pick Bruce up. For long trips, Jay always boarded Bruce at his fancy daycare, where he got his own doggie suite and got to play with friends all day. Plus, they had cameras set up around the facility so Jay could always check in with his buddy.

  Bruce was excited to see him, but he was fucking ecstatic to see Marty. He whined in the car because he couldn’t sit up front with Marty, so when they were stopped at a red light, Marty climbed over the center console and sat in the backseat with him. Jay watched them in the rearview as Marty scratched Bruce’s head and belly, and Bruce ate it up.

  “I’m pretty sure you’re the only woman he’s ever fallen in love with,” Jay said, meeting Marty’s gaze in the mirror. Somehow, this dog knew before Jay did that Marty was the one they had both been waiting for.

  “Smart pup,” she said, letting the giant dog sit in her lap.

  Jay smiled as he heard her whispering sweet nothings to Bruce. “You’re the best boy, aren’t you Brucey, hmm? I love you buddy. We missed you so much.”

  Needless to say, they were all a little bit in heaven.

  Jay’s mood immediately soured when they got back to the house and realized that they had company.

  Terrible, awful, uninvited company.

  Marty entered the house ahead of him and let out a small surprised yelp, stopping in the kitchen entryway.

  Jay hurried behind her and found fucking Don Michaelson sitting at his kitchen table, drinking a glass of whiskey and generally looking like he hadn’t a care in the world.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Jay bellowed, seeing red.

  Bruce was freaking out, barking and growling at the elder Michaelson, so Marty took him out to the backyard, leaving Jay alone with his father.

  “Explain yourself,” Jay commanded. His father smiled, which only served to enrage Jay even more.

  “Hi son, long time no see.” Don stood up and reached out to shake Jay’s hand, but Jay did not reciprocate.

  “How did you get into my house? What the fuck?”

  “Who’s the girl?” Don said, walking over to the sliding door and watching Marty in the backyard with Bruce. “She’s beautiful.”

  Jay felt like he might have an aneurysm. “Don’t... just don’t...don’t look at her.”

  Don turned to him, his hands up in defense. “Hey, I’m just commenting. Didn’t know you had a woman.” Don peered at him over his whiskey glass, then looked back to Marty. “She looks a little young, doesn’t she? The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, eh?”

  Jay reached over and grabbed Don by the collar. “Listen here, old man, don’t think that I won’t punch your teeth out in a heartbeat, because I definitely will. Not that it’s any of your business, but she’s a legal adult woman, which maybe isn’t something you’re used to.”

  Marty entered the kitchen at that moment, her eyes widening when she spotted Jay holding his dad by the collar. Jay reluctantly let go when he saw her look of horror. She looked from him to Don, clearly confused.

  Don broke the silence first and walked to Marty, grabbing her hand and pulling it to his lips for a kiss. “I’m Don Michaelson, Jay’s father. And you are?”

  Marty frowned and pulled her hand away. Jay was thisclose to committing patricide.

  “Um, I’m Marty. I uh — nice to meet you.”

  “The pleasure is all mine, pretty girl.” Don leered at Marty, looking her up and down quite openly, as Jay silently cursed her for wearing short shorts and a tank top.

  Jay possessively grabbed Marty and pulled her to him, leading her out of the kitchen. “I’ll be back, don’t fucking move,” he growled at his father.

  He didn’t let go of Marty until they were in his bedroom.

  “Jay, what is going on? That’s your dad?”

  “Yes, that’s the man whose sperm contributed to my creation. But he’s not a father. He’s a terrible human who just got out of prison for having sex with an underage intern of his.”

  Marty’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh shit, that’s terrible.” She sat next to him on the bed, rubbing his back in a comforting motion. “What’s he doing here?”

  “Honestly, I have no fucking clue. He’s been calling me since he got out, wanting to see me and ‘reconnect’ but I have no desire to spend any time with him. I know it’s crappy cause he’s my dad but —”

  “No, don’t do that. Don’t discount your feelings. Just because he’s your dad doesn’t mean you’re obligated to spend time with him. Especially if you don’t respect him as a person.”

  Jay nodded, grateful for her understanding.

  “So,” Marty continued, “that’s why you didn’t want to be with me at first? Because of him?”

  He looked at her, squinting as if trying to understand her better. “How did you know? ”

  “Um, Jay, sweetie. I love you. But you’re not exactly complicated. It’s obvious you are scared to be like him, which is why you didn’t want to be with someone who not only worked for you but was also younger. Doesn’t take a genius to see that one.” She stuck her tongue out at him, making him laugh.

  “I’m an idiot, aren’t I? For trying to resist you for so long because of him?”

  “You’re not an idiot, babe. You’re a good person and you didn’t want to be like him. I get it. But I have to tell you, you’re nothing like him. In case I haven’t made it abundantly clear: I want you. I wanted you the first day I started. I’ll want you every day moving forward. I didn’t want you because you were my boss or you could do something for me. I wanted you because you’re magnetic and I’m super duper in love with you.”

  “Whaaat?” he said in fake disbelief.

  She gently swatted his chest. “I know, crazy right?”

  They sat on his bed in silence for a moment. “Babe, you gotta go back down and deal with him. I’ll go back to my place tonight so you can have time alone.”

  Jay was agitated. His father ruined everything yet again. “No! I had a surprise for you, I had a plan.”

  “That’s okay, honey. Can’t it wait? Til you figure everything out with him?”

  He shook his head, running his hands through his hair. “It can’t wait. I need to show you now, sorry.”

  Jay grabbed Marty’s hand and led her down the hallway, forcing her to close her eyes as they walked.

  “Okay, just try to ignore the last thirty minutes and the fact that my convicted sex offender father is in the house right now, alright?”

  He walked to the door of one of the guest bedrooms and stood outside for a beat. He was nervous. What if she didn’t like it? He pushed those thoughts out of his head as he opened the door and turned the light on. It was perfect.

  He pulled Marty into the room. “Okay baby, open your eyes.”

  Marty did as instructed and looked at where they were, blinking in surprise. “What... what happened in here? What’s this?”

  She turned to Jay, confusion
warring with understanding on her face. “Jay... what did you do?” she whispered, covering her eyes with her hands.

  Jay gently pulled her hands down, forcing her to look at the room, which was now a cozy office space. He walked her to the desk, where he had set up some of the items from her work desk.

  “Is this... what’s happening here, babe?”

  “I think you know what’s happening here, McFly.”

  “Okay but, explain it to me like I’m dumb because I feel like I’m dreaming.”

  He pulled her close to him and held her tight. “Well, you’ll be off my desk this week since Ralph is coming back, and I thought maybe, instead of you working as someone else’s assistant, you could just take some time off to work on your writing. And, I thought, what better place for you to work on your writing than here. You did call this a peaceful spa oasis writing retreat before.”

  Marty stared at him for a frustratingly long while. She shook her head. “Jay, I can’t just... not have a job, okay? That’s... I don’t have... I need money. I don’t have money. I need to eat and pay rent and pay bills and—”

  Jay rushed to allay her fears. “I know, I know. And, I know you’re possibly going to murder me for this so I am sorry in advance, but I do want you to remember that you love me, okay? Okay. So. Yes, right. The bills — your bills — they’re paid off. Including your student loans. All of them.”

  “Jay no, what the fuck—”

  “Please, wait a second, let me finish this. Don’t be mad. I paid them off. Don’t say anything about how I shouldn’t have, because I’m in love with you and I don’t want you to have that burden around your neck while you could be making great art instead. So I paid them. I have a lot of fucking money, alright? I paid your loans, and I paid the rest of your rent til the end of your lease.”

  “But I — shit I can’t believe I’m doing this with my dad downstairs. Too late to turn back now, I suppose. I want you to move in with me. I know you’ll say it’s too soon, but it’s not. I don’t want to spend my nights without you by my side. And I want to marry you. I would ask you now but I feel like I kind of just dropped a big bomb on you so just know that I’ll be proposing soon so get ready.”

  Jay stopped and took a breath.

  Marty’s eyes were as big as saucers. Her mouth hung open as she listened to his speech.

  Once he was done, she sunk into the desk chair, staring at him as he knelt down next to her.

  “Baby, say something, anything.”

  “I — I think — fucking hell. I think... I need to be alone tonight,” she said, in a quiet voice that broke Jay’s heart.

  “Oh. Okay. Ah, alright then.”

  “Go down to talk to your dad. I’ll head to my place for the night.”

  “Please stay, you can sleep in the guest room even?” Jay was desperate to be with her and didn’t want to let her leave. He couldn’t let her put this distance between them.

  “Jay, please. Just give me some time. This is... a lot.”

  He nodded and she gave him a soft kiss on the lips before slipping past him and out of the house.

  To say Jay was heartbroken was an understatement. He had already set this plan in motion before they’d had their fight about him getting her a meeting with the agent.

  Looking back, he should have just scrapped the whole plan or at least put it on hold until he and Marty settled into a routine in LA.

  But shit, he was just so desperate to be with her, so in love with all of her — all he wanted was to give her the best life.

  Paying off her bills had been a no-brainer, as was offering to support her while she worked on her career. He literally had more money than he knew what to do with, and why not spend it making his girl’s life easier?

  Of course, now he knew how independent she was, and he loved her even more for it, though it made his current situation more difficult.

  With his head and his heart torn to shreds, Jay finally joined his father in the kitchen.

  “Where’d your lady go?” Don smirked at him.

  “That’s not any of your business,” Jay responded, taking a seat at the table across from him. “Tell me why you’re here. Now.”

  Don sighed and Jay noticed he looked older, weaker, than usual. He hoped Don wasn’t about to tell him he was dying, because Jay wasn’t sure how much sympathy he could muster for the old man.

  “Your mother — she kicked me out,” Don said, looking pained.

  “Wow, good for her. Only took what? Twenty years?”

  Don shook his head. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do without her. She’s my wife and I love her.”

  “So why are you here? Money? What do you need from me?”

  Don stared Jay in the eye. “Help me get her back. I need her back.”

  Jay looked around the kitchen as if trying to find the hidden camera. “Are you out of your goddamn mind? Help you get her back? Are you kidding me? I’m going to throw a fucking parade for her now that she’s rid of you.”

  “Jay, please. You don’t understand. You don’t know what it’s like to love someone so much.”

  “You love her so much? Is that why you cheated on her dozens of times and made a fool out of her to the whole city? Is that love, father dearest?”

  Don grimaced, looking appropriately chagrined for the first time. “It’s not like that, you don’t understand.”

  Jay crossed his arms, glaring at his so-called father. “No, you’re right, Donald. I don’t understand. I will never understand treating someone you love like that. You have not once cared about her feelings in any of this. If you had, you wouldn’t have done even half the shit you did. So, I’ll say it again: I’m not helping you. I’m not interested in building a relationship with you. And I’ll kindly ask you to get the hell out of my house before I call the police.”

  Hours later, after Don was long gone, and Jay was all alone, he couldn’t help but think about his father’s situation and compare it to where he was with Marty.

  Was he actually showing her he loved her by making all her decisions for her and then pretending he did it all for her? How was that different from Don Michaelson using his money to keep Jay’s mom under his thumb all those years, while he was off gallivanting with a new mistress all the time?

  Christ, of course Marty wouldn’t agree to essentially becoming a kept woman — living in his house, getting an allowance from him like she was a child. Jay knew his actual motivations for doing this had nothing to do with controlling her and everything to do with being terrified to lose her, but he realized that the outcome was still the same. She wouldn’t be happy with the scenario he proposed. He had to fix it.

  Chapter 43: Marty

  If Marty expected her roommates to take care of the apartment while she traveled for a month, she was sorely disappointed. Luckily, she had not expected that, so she put away all of her valuables and locked her bedroom door so they at least couldn’t trash her space while she was gone.

  She was currently holed up in her room, cursing herself for leaving Jay’s place, as her roommates played loud drinking games with their shitty friends. Marty was essentially Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon: entirely too old for this shit.

  Why did she run away from Jay? She missed him. They’d pretty much spent every moment together for the past month and she wasn’t even sure she could sleep without him holding her.

  She was still a little in shock from the revelation that he’d paid off all her bills. She logged into the student loan website and sure enough, there was a $0 balance. That in itself was almost enough to make her come with no other stimulation. She took a deep breath for the first time in months.

  And the office he set up for her? Adorable. He’d put some screenwriting books on the shelves, as well as some framed pictures with scenes from her favorite TV shows. What the fuck was she thinking, leaving him? This man was absolutely perfect... and yet... it felt... wrong.

  Her mom and grandma always told her to have her own stash o
f money in case she ever needed to leave her husband. They were old school in that way, but their advice always stuck with her. She couldn’t rely on Jay for everything and not get a job. That would be setting herself up for failure.

  She finally managed to fall asleep at some point and woke up to her phone ringing with a call from Jay.

  “Hello?”

  “Morning sunshine, will you have brunch with me today?”

  Marty sat up and glanced at the clock. “Uh sure, where should I meet you?”

  “I’ll come pick you up. Can you be ready in like an hour? I have to run an errand.”

  “Sure, sounds good.”

  “Perfect, can’t wait to see you. Love you baby.”

  “I love you too,” she replied, unable to keep the smile off her face as she set the phone down. He wasn’t angry with her. He still wanted to see her.

  She still had a chance.

  Marty bolted out of bed and showered quickly. She put on a flirty summer dress and spent extra time on her hair.

  She was ready and pacing in her bedroom, trying to talk through what she was going to say to Jay, when there was a knock on the door.

  Crap — she told him to call her when he was downstairs. Marty hesitated to let him in but ultimately had no choice. She walked him toward her bedroom and finally looked at him.

  He wore a heartbreakingly earnest smile. “Hi,” he said.

  “Hi yourself,” she replied. “I would have come downstairs to meet you.”

  “That didn’t feel very gentlemanly. Are you angry?”

  “Of course not, it’s just — my place is —”

  “I don’t care about your place, baby. I care about you.”

  “Oh,” she said lamely. She moved closer for a kiss but Jay pulled away.

  “Before I get lost in your amazing kisses, I have some stuff to say.”