Barbara L. Clanton - Out of Left Field

by Barbara L. Clanton

  “Actually, mi vida,” Susie suddenly switched to a British accent, “gotta go. Outfield warmup, don’t you know. Cheerio and all that.” She took a few steps toward left field and then hurried back. “You guys still coming to Christy’s?” The accent was gone.

  “Yeah, of course,” Marlee answered.

  “Cool.” Susie sprinted to left field.

  Marlee watched her the entire way. She didn’t care if Lisa saw her. The warmth sweeping through her had nothing to do with her thick Cougar sweatshirt. Susie had just called her “mi vida.” It was Spanish. Marlee didn’t know what it meant, but it sounded nice.

  The Northwood team struggled to get base runners against the undefeated East Valley team, but Marlee barely watched the game. She watched Susie instead. She had given herself permission to watch Susie more openly. Not too openly. She didn’t want Jeri or Lisa to think she was weird or anything. And even though Susie didn’t hit a homerun, she went 3 for 4 with a double and three runs batted in. Christy had pitched well, too. In fact, she threw a two-hitter shutout in the 12-0 East Valley victory. Christy had walked a couple, but had struck out most of the Northwood batters. Marlee was a bit jealous, but reasoned that Christy’s success boded well for a pleasant evening at her house later on.

  The three Clarksonville teammates shored up their plans with Susie and Sam and made their way to the Mustang at the far end of the parking lot.

  Jeri pulled her keys out of her letterman’s jacket. “You know, Marlee, if Christy can pitch a two-hitter against Northwood, so can you.”

  “I know.” Marlee kicked a pebble across the lot.

  Jeri added, “You struck out the side in the last inning against them on Tuesday. So why not do it every inning?”

  “Pssht,” Marlee spurted. “Easier said than done, man. And, I am trying you know.”

  Lisa jumped in. “We’re working on it. Marlee’s fixing her rise ball. It’s almost there.”

  “Almost,” Marlee agreed.

  They climbed into the Mustang and Jeri put the top up immediately. Watching a softball game in cold weather was vastly different than playing and the three friends were frozen to the core.

  Jeri shivered. “You guys, I gotta stop and get cigarettes before we go to Christy’s. Did you see a Stewart’s around here?”

  Lisa’s voice came from the dark backseat. “I think there’s one in the town square about a mile or two from here.”

  “Cool. You guys don’t mind do you?”

  Marlee did mind because she was anxious to see Susie, but played it cool. “That’s okay. This will give them time to get cleaned up or whatever.”

  “Yeah, that’s true. I don’t wanna bum cigarettes from Christy. That would be bad form.”

  Marlee’s mouth fell open. “Christy smokes? No wonder she never gets up to bat. She probably can’t run around the bases.”

  “Hey!” Jeri sounded offended. “I smoke and I run around the bases just fine.”

  Marlee laughed. “No, no, I meant it’s not fair that she got the All-County pitcher’s award for the last two years and never gets up to bat. At least I hit for our team.”

  Jeri’s grin was immense when she said, “Well, it is an award for pitching, isn’t it?”

  Lisa leaned into the front seat. “Yeah, but I agree with Marlee. It’s not fair.”

  “See?” Marlee pointed to Lisa.

  “Okay, okay. You’re right. It’s not fair.”

  When the three Clarksonville Cougars walked up the driveway to Christy Loveland’s house, it occurred to Marlee that she didn’t want a repeat of the previous Friday night.

  Marlee hesitated at the door. “Hey Jeri, I don’t want to drive home tonight.”

  “Yeah, I know. I know,” Jeri said, chagrined. “Tell you what. I’ll just have one and then switch to pop after that. Okay? And if it makes you feel better you can have the keys now. Just in case.”

  “Just in case? No, Jeri, no ‘just in case.’ I’ll take the keys, but you need to stop at one beer.”

  Lisa looked at Marlee, perplexed. Marlee mouthed the word “later” to her and Lisa nodded her understanding.

  “Okay, okay. I’m cool with that.” Jeri opened the ornate screen door and knocked on the heavy oak door behind it.

  Clearly, no one had heard them so they let themselves in.

  “You cheated.” Marlee heard Susie yell from somewhere in the house. Marlee smiled. She couldn’t help herself. She looked where the altercation seemed to be coming from and noticed an open door to the right of the plasma television. She hadn’t noticed the door last time. The girls followed the sound of the accusation and found the East Valley players jammed into the Loveland’s recreation room.

  “I did not cheat. You’re just mad because I’m winning.” Christy banged the ping-pong table with her red paddle. She loomed over her end of the table. “I see Cougars.” She turned to them. “You want in on the tournament?” She nodded when each of them said yes. “Cool. Write your names down and put them in the hat. And as for you,” Christy redirected her attention to Susie, “this will be game point.” And it was.

  Susie tossed her blue paddle on the table and walked toward Marlee, Jeri, and Lisa who sat on a bench near a window that faced the back yard. Marlee couldn’t take her eyes off Susie and felt her stomach clench when Susie pushed a fallen lock of hair out of her eyes.

  “Aaay,” Susie said as she plopped on the floor near Marlee’s feet. “She always beats me. I don’t know why I play her.” Her shoulder touched Marlee’s knee. Marlee could hardly breathe. The only thing real to her right then was Susie’s warm shoulder against her leg.

  Susie said with exasperation, “Well, I’m out of the tournament now. Yup, done for the night.”

  “There, there.” Marlee patted the shoulder so conveniently pressed up against her knee. She was stunned by her boldness. She was also stunned when one of the East Valley players called her name.

  “Marlee, you’re up.” One of the East Valley players held up the slip of paper with Marlee’s name on it.

  “I am? Okay.” Marlee didn’t want to move away from Susie, but leaped to her feet and grabbed the blue paddle. She thought for sure she’d be playing Christy, but Sam stood on the other side of the table pulling her gorgeous hair into a ponytail. Marlee’s mother called that particular hair color dirty blond. Marlee didn’t care for the label, especially because Sam was so pretty with her high cheekbones and fitness trainer body that to describe any part of Sam as “dirty” didn’t seem nice.

  Sam grabbed for the red paddle and said, “Ready, Pitch?”

  “Yeah, Second. Bring it on.”

  Marlee discovered that ping-pong wasn’t her game. Great, she thought, here’s another thing that Christy does better than I do. She knew that Sam eased up on her once Marlee’s ping-pong skills failed to materialize.

  “Marlee,” Sam coached, “keep your paddle away from your body.”

  “Okay, okay,” Marlee shot back. “What’re we in the Olympics or something?” She looked at her friends. Jeri and Christy laughed together, but Lisa sat by herself—an island in enemy territory. Lisa smiled and gave her the thumbs-up sign. Marlee guessed Lisa probably felt the same way Marlee had the week before. Marlee shrugged at Lisa and rolled her eyes in acknowledgement of her imminent defeat. She then chanced a look at Susie who still sat on the floor. Susie’s mega-watt smile went straight to Marlee’s heart, and knees, and ... Stop! You need to focus. She tore her eyes away and said to Sam, “Okay, how much longer until you beat me?”

  The East Valley players laughed.

  “Three more points is game for me,” Sam answered.

  The three points came quickly.

  “If that stupid net wasn’t there, I’d have been fine.” Marlee took back her original seat on the bench next to Susie who still sat on the floor. She let her knee discreetly touch Susie’s shoulder again. She could feel Susie’s warmth even through her jeans.

  “Yup. I think it’s there just to piss you o
ff,” Susie answered.

  Marlee watched Jeri move to the kitchen with Christy. She patted the keys in her pocket for reassurance and hoped Jeri would keep her word. When Lisa got called up to the ping-pong table next Marlee hoped Lisa would fare better than she had. But Marlee also did a tiny happy dance inside. She was going to have Susie all to herself for a while.

  “Hey,” Susie said, “seeing as we’re both out of the tournament, do you want to go out back for a while?”

  “Uh, yeah. Sure.” Marlee stood up. Maybe she really was going to have Susie all to herself.

  Susie put her hand up for a lift and Marlee prayed Susie would think her palm was sweaty from playing ping-pong. Marlee knew otherwise.

  As they walked to the front hall to get their sweatshirts, Marlee wondered aloud, “Hey, where are Christy’s parents? Do they go out every weekend?”

  “I know. It’s weird. Mr. Loveland travels a lot for business and Christy’s mom goes with him. They’re, like, never home. Christy’s always here by herself. She’s stayed home alone ever since her sister went to college four years ago. Lauren’s a senior at Albany State and doesn’t even come home on vacations anymore.”

  Marlee had no idea where she wanted to go to college, but she knew she’d probably come home every available vacation. “That’s kind of sad.”

  “Yeah, but I’m over here a lot so Christy doesn’t have a chance to get lonely, you know?”

  Marlee didn’t like the fact that Susie spent so much time with Christy. She wasn’t sure why, but it made her uneasy.

  Susie led her out the front door past the split-rail fence, the fence where Marlee had grabbed her hand and held it a little too long.

  Susie unlatched the gate to the back yard and motioned for Marlee to go through first. Marlee had been cold when they left the softball game, but she had warmed up considerably since then. She wasn’t sure if the heat she felt was from the ping-pong game or her proximity to Susie. A little of both, she thought.

  “So,” Susie asked, “how’s this Bobby of yours?”

  Marlee inhaled sharply. She hadn’t expected that question. She gathered her composure as best she could. “Oh, I didn’t tell you. He, um, broke up with me on Tuesday.”

  “What?” Susie was clearly flabbergasted. “Why didn’t you tell me right away? What happened? Aay, I’m sorry. You probably don’t want to talk about it.”

  The lights from inside the house dimly illuminated the spacious back yard. They picked their way carefully over the grass in the semi-darkness toward some outdoor furniture at the far end of the property.

  “No, that’s okay.” Marlee sighed. “I’m getting over it. I think we were heading toward a breakup anyway.”

  “Well, it always feels worse when they break up with you.” Susie rolled her eyes. “That I can tell you for sure.”

  Who in their right mind would ever break up with Susie? What history lurked behind those alluring brown eyes?

  The voices of their teammates permeated the relatively quiet night. Marlee could hear Lisa among the voices. It sounded like she had scored a point.

  “Aay, Santo,” Susie said. “They sure are getting loud in there.”

  Marlee wanted in the worst way to reach out for Susie’s hand as they strolled toward the chairs, but she kept both arms tight by her sides.

  As they neared the tool shed, Susie asked, “So are you still thinking about him?”

  “Who?”

  Susie laughed. “Bobby.”

  “No,” Marlee said quietly.

  “Well, this Bobby must be a real jerk to dump someone like you.” Susie stopped walking and looked at Marlee. “Because I think you’re beautiful.”

  Marlee’s breath caught in her throat and she looked away from Susie’s penetrating gaze. The realization that she wanted more than friendship from Susie hit her like a physical blow. She swallowed hard and in an almost out of body experience blurted, “It’s not Bobby I’m thinking about.” She looked back up. “It’s you. You are all I can think about. I can’t get you out of my head.” Her heart pounded in her chest and threatened to break free. She was mortified. She couldn’t believe she had actually said out loud what she hadn’t dared think. And to compound matters she couldn’t read Susie’s expression in the dark. Several long seconds ticked by and Marlee screamed in her head, Say something!

  Marlee put her hand over her mouth and stammered, “Oh, my God. I’m sorry.” She turned to flee.

  “Wait.” Susie reached out and grabbed her hand. Marlee was almost afraid to turn around, but Susie’s voice was soft. “Come here.” Susie started walking and Marlee let herself be led behind the shed. When they were out of view of the house, Susie stopped and let go of Marlee’s hand. Marlee backed up a step and felt the rough wood of the shed against her back. Susie moved closer. Within inches. They locked eyes. When neither of them made an effort to move away, Marlee instinctively leaned forward. Susie closed the gap in an instant. Their lips met. Lightly at first, tentatively. Marlee’s blood began to simmer and in a rush she threw her arms around the slightly taller girl’s neck and pulled her closer. Susie’s strong arms went around her waist. Blood rushed to Marlee’s face. She had never ever felt anything like this before. Definitely not with Bobby. She registered every inch of Susie’s hard yet soft body pressed against hers. She thrilled at the sensations whipping through her. Susie broke the kiss and pulled back. She stroked Marlee’s cheek, her forehead, her neck. Susie’s hand felt like home. Marlee surprised herself when she started crying.

  Susie laughed gently. “Aay, mi vida, why are you crying?” She wiped each of Marlee’s tears away with her fingertips.

  Drowning in Susie’s eyes, Marlee smiled softly. “I don’t know. It’s...” She sighed. “It’s overwhelming.” She felt her chest squeeze tight. “I didn’t know. I wasn’t sure.”

  Susie stepped back and held both of Marlee’s hands in hers. “I wasn’t sure either. Remember when you said, ‘Nice grand slam’ in the high-five line? Dios, you were so cute. Your cheeks turned so red, I couldn’t help but smile inside.”

  Marlee smiled back and wiped at her eyes.

  “And last Friday when you grabbed my hand on the fence, I wanted to kiss you right there in the front yard, but, aaay, I had to wait to be sure. I mean, you had a boyfriend. That kind of threw me. And just so we’re clear on this, I’ve liked you ever since you threw that pitch at my head. Do you remember me smiling at you?”

  “Yeah. You were scary. I thought you were being evil.” Marlee laughed but she was shaking inside. And out.

  Susie kissed her lightly on the forehead. “Let’s go back inside. Somebody might notice we’re gone.”

  Marlee hoped she could stop shaking by the time they got back to the house.

  Chapter Seven

  Deceit

  A LIGHT DUSTING of snow covered the Clarksonville Cougar softball field. Marlee pressed her nose against the glass of the gymnasium window, cell phone in hand. “We’re making up the game on Saturday.” Her breath fogged up the glass.

  Susie said, “Cool. I can’t believe it snowed today. It’s April, c’mon. Our practice got cancelled. Did you guys practice inside?”

  Marlee floated in the sound of Susie’s voice. Even over the crackly cell phone her voice was sweet. “Nah, they’re making everybody go home. And I’m just hanging in the dark gym waiting for Jeri to get her act together in the locker room. So, uh, do you maybe want to come to my game on Saturday?”

  “Yeah, sure. What time?”

  Marlee tried to stay cool, but she did a quiet little happy dance in the corner of the Clarksonville gymnasium. Susie was coming to see her. She did her best to keep her voice steady. “Coach said 2:00, but I’ll call you if it’s different.”

  “Cool. Marlee?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I can’t believe how much I want to see you.”

  “Oh, me too,” Marlee purred. “Talking on the phone is nice, but it’s not the same. I hope you won’t get bored on S
aturday.”

  “No way.”

  Marlee swallowed hard. Anxiety flashed through her at the thought of Susie watching her pitch. “It’ll be nice not having to pitch to you that day. You know?”

  Susie laughed.

  Marlee’s heart swelled at the sound. “Too bad we can’t hang out on Friday.”

  “I know, but we’re away at Mohawk and you guys are away too, right?”

  “Yeah, we’ve got a scrimmage against the Clarksonville Community College team. It’s weird, but Coach says it’ll be good practice for us. Of course, Jeri says it’s always good practice getting your butt kicked.”

  “That’s funny. I can see why Christy likes Jeri. And speaking of Christy, her folks will be home on Friday so we couldn’t have hung out there, anyway.”

  “Who says we’d want to hang out with anyone else?” Marlee teased.

  “Yeah, exactly.” With a slightly suggestive tone Susie asked, “So, what’re we gonna do after your game on Saturday?”

  Marlee moved from the window and sat on the bottom row of the bleachers in the empty gymnasium. “I suppose we can go find a quiet place to, uh, hang out.” She was still new at this sort of thing.

  “Great minds think alike.”

  “You know, Susie, it was really hard not telling Jeri and Lisa on Friday.” Marlee picked at the peeling varnish on the old bleachers. “I mean, here’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me—”

  “The best thing?”

  Marlee smiled. “Yeah, the best thing, and I couldn’t tell them. I mean, especially Jeri. What was I supposed to say?” She lowered her voice. “Like, ‘By the way, Jeri, you know that left fielder? Well, we’ve got the hots for each other.’ I dunno. I just couldn’t do it.”

  “It’s hard. Believe me, I know. People don’t always understand. You never know who’s going to flip out on you. I didn’t tell Christy either. She knows nothing about our covert encounter behind the shed.”