High Meadow

by Joan Wolf

  I wonder if I should explain Kate's circumstances to Daniel?

  She stared sightlessly at her image in the mirror as she contemplated this question. No, she finally decided. Better keep out of it. Better not to intrude.

  She glanced at the calendar on her dresser. She had a mammogram scheduled for after work tomorrow. Better remind Kate that I'll be home later than usual. She'll have to take Ben to her first lesson.

  Suddenly and hugely, Molly yawned. I'm tired. I think I'll get into bed and read for a bit. She yawned again and turned to go into the bathroom.

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  The Yankees won the Monday night game and re-turned to New York leading the series three games to two. If they won the Wednesday night game at the stadium, they would be World Champions; if they lost, they would have to play another game.

  Daniel was pitching the Wednesday game. Kate spoke to him on the phone on Tuesday, when he got home from Atlanta, but the first time she saw him was when he took the mound at the stadium on Wednesday night. She watched him the whole time the "Star-Spangled Banner" was being played, watched him standing erect and solitary on the pitcher's mound, his black hair uncovered to the evening breeze, and something stirred inside her. He's an amazing person, she thought. He's a father Ben can be proud of.

  The stadium was quiet while the notes of the national anthem were sung magnificently by a Metropolitan Opera star; then, as "the home of the brave . . ." died away, the fifty-thousand-plus crowd erupted into cheers. The sound was deafening, and Kate continued to look at Daniel, who had begun to throw his warm-up pitches.

  He's going to win. I know he's going to win.

  He pitched a perfect first inning, three men up, three men down. In the bottom of the first, the Atlanta pitcher also retired the side in order. This evenhanded matchup continued until the fourth inning, when the Yankees got two hits but failed to score. In the bottom of the fourth, Daniel walked a man, thus blowing any chance for a perfect game. As the seventh inning started, both pitchers were throwing no-hitters, and the fans were going wild.

  "This is unbelievable," Kate said to Alberto, who was sitting next to her. "Why is it that when Daniel pitches, the other pitcher seems to be inspired?"

  He smiled. "It does seem that way, doesn't it?"

  Daniel walked the first man he faced in the seventh and the next man up sacrificed him to second. The catcher went out to talk to his pitcher, and the two of them conferred until the umpire went out to break up the meeting.

  Daniel threw the next pitch, and the batter hit it off the handle of the bat, flaring it into short left. Kate shut her eyes, it looked so much like the kind of dinky hit that had ended Daniel's bid for a perfect game.

  The left fielder caught the ball at his shoe tops and fired to second, doubling up the runner. The side was out.

  Kate found herself screaming with all the rest of the insane fans. Next to her, Ben was jumping up and down.

  On his way off the field, Daniel waited for the left fielder to catch up to him, then gave him a light punch on the shoulder. The left fielder grinned, and the two men jogged to the dugout together.

  In the bottom of the seventh, the Atlanta right fielder made an error, putting the Yankee leadoff man on. After a passed ball advanced the runner to second, the batter hit a long fly ball into right field that the right fielder made a leaping jump to catch, robbing the hitter of a home run. The man on second took third on the out.

  When Kate saw the ball flying toward the right field stands, she almost had a heart attack. Now the Yankees had one out and a man standing on third.

  A long fly will get him in, Kate thought. You have to get him home! Kate urged Bernie Williams in her mind. You have to get him home!

  The count went to three and two before Bernie connected solidly and sent the ball into center field. It didn't quite make it to the fence, but it was enough to send the man on third racing home. The relay throw went into the plate and the umpire spread his arms. Safe. The Yankees had scored a run without getting a hit.

  The two teams went into the eighth inning with both pitchers throwing no-hitters, but with the Yankees ahead one to nothing.

  "This really is unbelievable," Alberto shouted to Kate above the roar of the crowd.

  Kate and Ben had been holding hands, jumping up and down, yelling "Yes! Yes! Yes!" She turned to Alberto with a dazzling smile. "Isn't this great?"

  Alberto said, "If they can keep it up, it will go down as the greatest game ever pitched."

  The eighth inning went by uneventfully in the field, but in the Yankee bullpen their ace reliever began to throw.

  "They can't be going to take Daniel out?" Kate said incredulously. "He's throwing a no-hitter."

  "In a game as close as this, Torre regularly brings Rivera in," Alberto said.

  "That's not fair!" Ben cried. "Daddy is pitching great."

  The woman in front of them, who was the wife of one of the other starting pitchers, turned and said, "He's probably just getting Mariano ready in case Daniel gets into trouble."

  It seemed as if she was right, because it was Daniel who came out of the dugout to make the trip to the mound. If he got the next three outs without allowing a run, the Yankees would be the World Champions.

  The ovation he received as he walked to the mound was thunderous. Kate felt tears sting her eyes as she watched him pick up the ball and straighten up to throw.

  At one time she had thought he looked small out there on the mound all by himself, but he didn't look small to her anymore. Instead he seemed to dominate the entire stadium, his whole being radiating joy in the game and confidence in his own strength and skill.

  It's how I feel when I get a perfect movement from one of my horses, she thought in sudden enlightenment.

  The first batter hit a little dribbler to the third baseman. One out.

  The second batter walked. Groans came from all over the stadium. In the bullpen Rivera got up and began to throw again.

  The third batter hit a soft liner to the shortstop. Two out.

  The fourth batter went to a three and two count before he swung and missed. Three out. The stands went wild.

  On the field the Yankees were mobbing Daniel. Daniel's family was hugging each other, and his mother was crying.

  "Aren't you happy, Grandmama?" Ben asked when he saw her tears.

  "I am so filled with happiness that I am crying," Victoria responded with a laugh. "Come here and give me a hug."

  They didn't get to see Daniel, as he had told Kate to take Ben home as soon as the game was over. Ben didn't want to go, and Kate herself was reluctant to leave the scene of Daniel's triumph, but Molly hated crowds and wanted to get away before the general rush to leave the stadium. So they departed while most of the crowd was still celebrating in the stands.

  Kate put the radio on for the ride home, and it was there that they learned Daniel had been named the series Most Valuable Player.

  "Hooray," Ben shouted from the backseat. "Daddy is the MVP! Daddy is the MVP!"

  "He deserves the award," Kate said as she pulled onto the Major Deegan Expressway. "I certainly wouldn't give it to any of the Yankee hitters."

  "Wait till I get to school tomorrow," Ben crowed. "All of the kids will be so excited. Daddy pitched a no-hitter!"

  "I thought you were taking tomorrow off," Kate said.

  "No way! I have to go in, Mommy. I have to tell everyone about the game."

  Molly said, "I feel sorry for the poor opposing pitcher. He pitched a no-hitter, and he lost. What a feeling that must be."

  "It must be terrible," Kate said cheerfully. A car cut in front of her and she frowned and said, "Idiot."

  "Daddy said that now that baseball is over he'll have more time to spend with me," said the voice from the backseat. "He said he would take me to a basketball game at Madison Square Garden, Mommy. And to a hockey game too."

  "That's great," Kate said.

  "He
said he would take me to the Museum of Natural History to see the dinosaurs."

  "You've been to the Peabody in New Haven. They have dinosaurs."

  "But Daddy says this museum is huge. And they have a planetarium that shows pictures of the sky."

  Ben continued to rattle on in this vein for a while, and then his voice slowly dwindled away. "He's asleep," Molly reported.

  Kate made the turn for the Merritt Parkway. "You know what, Mom? I think we're in for a long haul of 'Daddy says .. .'"

  Molly laughed. "He's so happy to have a father, and I know he's been disappointed that he hasn't seen Daniel as much as he wanted. It will be good for the both of them to have time together."

  "I guess," Kate returned.

  "Daniel really was magnificent tonight."

  "The man knows how to pitch," Kate agreed.

  "Have you told him that he can stay with us for January?"

  "Not yet."

  "I hope a month under the same roof with Ben doesn't cool his ardor for fatherhood."

  Kate replied soberly, "I don't think that it will. I think Daniel is in this for the duration, Mom. I think we can trust him not to hurt Ben."

  "What makes you say that, dear?"

  Kate hesitated, then said, "It's just a feeling I have."

  "I have the same feeling," Molly replied. "I think he's a good man, Kate, and I think we're lucky he came into our lives."

  In the darkness Kate smiled, but she didn't reply.

  That night, as she lay in bed, she thought about the conversation with her mother and she thought about why she hadn't told Molly about Daniel's bout of mumps.

  He asked me not to tell anyone, and I'm simply honoring his request.

  But Kate had never counted her mother as an "other person." Molly was almost an extension of herself, and as such Kate had never shied away from confiding in her. A month ago she would have told Molly Daniel's secret without hesitation, confident that the information would go no further.

  But there was no denying the fact that she felt she would be betraying Daniel's trust if she confided in her mother. He's obviously supersensitive about this issue. He would never have told me if I hadn't asked him to explain his interest in Ben.

  But he had told her. And Kate was happy that he had trusted her enough to tell her. And she wasn't going to do anything to violate that trust.

  He's a good guy, Daniel, she thought as she drifted off to sleep.

  That night she had a dream that she was a child again, shopping with her mother. They were in a store like Macy's and it was Christmastime. She was walking next to Molly, keeping close to her red coat, when her attention was distracted by a statue of a horse in the china department. She stopped to look at it, and when she turned around again, Molly was gone. Panic gripped her heart. Where was Mommy? She stood in the middle of the aisle, looking up at all the coats that were passing her by, but none of them was Molly's coat. Mommy! Where is Mommy?

  She struggled against her panic, and woke up, her heart pounding. It's all right, she told herself as she stared, wide-eyed, around her dark room. It was just a dream.

  It was a dream she had had before. In fact, she had once asked Molly if she had ever gotten lost in a store when she was a child, and Molly had said no. So Kate didn't know where the dream came from, but it was truly terrifying.

  She lay in bed, waiting for her heartbeat to slow. I must have gotten lost one time, if not in a store then someplace else. Mom just doesn't remember.

  It was the only way she could account for this occasionally occurring dream. After a time her heart quieted, her breathing slowed, and she went back to sleep.

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  Daniel found Kate washing water buckets when he stopped by High Meadow the following afternoon. He frowned as he saw her at the sink, with her sweater sleeves rolled up and wearing bright yellow rubber gloves, vigorously scrubbing the inside of a bucket.

  "Do you do this every day?"

  "Of course," she returned. "Do you think I'd allow my horses to drink out of dirty water buckets?"

  "I mean, don't you have someone who does this for you?"

  "It's much cheaper if I do it myself." She continued scrubbing but gave him a smile. "Congratulations. Not only did you win the World Series, you did it pitching a no-hitter. The game was great."

  Every other woman Daniel had known would have given him a hug and a kiss. Not Kate. She just continued scrubbing her buckets.

  He grinned. "Thanks. Poor Belaveau. He pitched a no-hitter, too, and he lost."

  Kate said sardonically, "True. Once again, the Yankee hitting was notable for its absence."

  "If you notice, Kate, the guys always manage to get what we need to win. Even without a hit last night, they scrambled and got a run home."

  Kate began to rinse out the bucket. "I guess. We heard on the radio on the way home that you got the MVP. Ben was ecstatic. I wanted him to stay home from school today, but he insisted on going in. He wanted to brag."

  His son wanted to brag about him. That felt good.

  Kate was going on, "He won't be home for another hour. You're a little early."

  "I came to see you."

  "Oh?" She looked at him with a lifted eyebrow. "What's up?"

  How could a woman wearing yellow rubber gloves manage to look so attractive? He cleared his throat. "Did you talk to your mother about my staying with you for January?"

  She put another bucket in the big sink and began to scrub once more. "Yes, and it's okay with Mom. Are you sure you want to do this?" .; ,

  "Yes."

  "Okay then. You can have your custody month at our house. I must warn you, Ben is already talking about playing basketball."

  "Basketball? How can kids his size possibly reach the basket?"

  "These days they start kids in organized sports almost as soon as they can walk," Kate said.

  He asked mildly, "How old does a child have to be before you take her for riding lessons?"

  Kate stopped rinsing the bucket and stared at him. "Eight," she said after a minute.

  "I rest my case."

  After a moment she gave him a reluctant smile. "Point taken."

  "I'm celebrating my win and my freedom today, and I was wondering if you'd like to go out to dinner with me this evening?"

  She finished rinsing the bucket and put it on the floor with all the other clean buckets. "I teach until eight."

  "We'll go out after eight then."

  For the first time since he had met her, she looked a little flustered. "What is this going out to dinner deal? First Alberto asked Mom, then you ask me. I don't get it."

  "How can anyone who looks like you be so clueless?" he asked in amazement. "Haven't you ever dated at all?"

  "I went to my junior and senior proms. It was a big deal for Mom that I go, so I did."

  "Your last date was your senior prom in high school?"

  She replied defensively, "I once went out a few times with a guy from college. But he wasn't interested in horses. I haven't had time for dates since I got Ben."

  "Your mother would have watched Ben for you if you wanted to go out."

  "But I didn't want to go out. When you get up at five-thirty in the morning and finish work at eight o'clock at night, you're too tired to go out."

  "Well, come out to dinner with me tonight. I like horses."

  She bit her lip. "Is this a date?"

  "Yes."

  "I don't know if that's a good idea, Daniel. I don't think you and I should get involved. I don't think it would be good for Ben."

  "It would be great for Ben. Oh come on, Kata, lighten up. Going out to dinner with me doesn't constitute a permanent commitment. We'll just be two people who like each other having dinner together. I promise I won't try to kiss you."

  The prettiest pink color stained her cheeks. For once she didn't have a comeback.

  "What do you say?" he urged.

  "Perhaps your parents
could come with us."

  He regarded her with amusement. "Do you really need chaperones?"

  The pink in her cheeks got deeper. "I suppose I sound very silly. It's just that you took me by surprise."

  "I really want to celebrate the World Championship and the no-hitter. Please, won't you come out with me?"

  "You must have plenty of other women you could ask."

  "I don't want to go out with another woman. I want to go out with you."

  She regarded him uncertainly. He waited. At last she said, "Okay, I'll come. Where do you want to go?"

  "How about Antonio's?" He named a well-known and expensive restaurant in Greenwich.

  "Do I have to get dressed up?"

  "Just don't wear jeans."

  "Okay."

  "Can I do something for you around here? Do you have any stalls that need to be mucked out?"

  She gave him a doubtful look. "Do you know how to muck out a stall?"

  "I do indeed. Although my father uses straw, not wood shavings."

  "He gave me the most marvelous lesson the other day!" she said enthusiastically. "You never told me that he studied with Nuno Oliviero!"

  He looked at her lit-up face and thought, One day you are going to look like that for me. "I didn't? How could I have forgotten that?"

  "I can't imagine," she retorted. She finished rinsing the last bucket and started to fill it with water.

  He was horrified. 'Are you going to fill all of these buckets and carry them by yourself back to the stalls?"

  "They won't do the horses any good sitting here by the sink."

  "They're too heavy for you to carry. You should fill them after you put them in the stall."

  "How?"

  "Don't you have a long hose?"

  "It's a bigger pain in the neck to unwind and rewind the hose. It's easier to just fill the buckets from the sink."

  She had finished filling the first bucket and went to lift it out of the sink. "I'll do it," he said firmly.