Yes, I should have been aware of that.
“But I’m sure no one would mind if you walked around in your bra and underwear,” he added. “Don’t think you’d get much of an objection for that one.” He was trying to hide a smile when he took another bite of cereal.
“Well I’m sure Gage would mind. Uh, that you guys were here, I mean.”
“I’m sure he probably would. No fun letting everyone else eye the merchandise, right? I’d feel the same way.”
I didn’t respond at first, but I decided to just roll with it and not let it embarrass me.
“Yeah, my mom had to give me the ol’ ‘buy the cow/milk for free’ analogy,” I said, grabbing a bowl from the cupboard. I sat down next to Tyse and poured myself some of the cereal that was in front of him. “She thinks I’m still a teenager, I guess. I don’t know, maybe because I hardly spent any time with my mom when I was a teenager. Apparently she’s trying to make up for it now.”
Tyse took a bite of cereal as I poured the milk. After a few seconds he said, “Well at least she cares. I’m sure if she can save you from one bad mistake or heartache when it comes to, you know, that kind of stuff, she feels like she’s doing her job.”
“Well it’s a little late for that; I’ve learned my lesson.”
He didn’t reply as he finished up the last of his cereal. When he stood up to rinse his bowl in the sink he said, “Hate to break it to you, but every relationship is different. Just because you think you’ve learned what might have gone wrong the last time, it doesn’t mean it’s gonna be something that will help you out the next time. Sure we feel a little more knowledgeable and feel like we can be prepared for the next time around, but it could be an entirely different thing.”
I wasn’t exactly sure what he was getting at, so I slowly took a bite of cereal and spent the time thinking about it. Was he saying that my experience with Tim didn’t matter? Yeah, I understood that everybody was different and every relationship would be different, but at least now I knew what the signs were for a guy that was an inconsiderate jerk. How wouldn’t that be helpful?
“I see your point, but why wouldn’t learning what I learned before be beneficial now? Even though I didn’t see it at the time, I think I can know the difference between guys that want a meaningful relationship and guys that just want to get lucky.”
He studied me for a moment. “Well in case you missed the memo, all guys want to get lucky. Some of us really would prefer the meaningful relationship first, but eventually the other comes up soon enough.”
“Well Gage is very respectful. That’s what makes him so easy to be with. And because of my last experience, I can tell that he’ll be very considerate of my feelings.”
“That you want to wait?” he asked outright.
I didn’t reply at first. I had no idea how I ended up talking about this with Tyse, but I guess I had my mother to thank for that.
“Well I know I deserve to take all the time I need.”
“Yes, I completely agree.” He opened the dishwasher to load his bowl and asked, “Does Gage know that?”
“Does Gage know what?” he asked, entering the kitchen.
As he stopped and looked at both of us I replied, “Uh, that my mom was upset for me staying here last night.”
He slightly nodded and glanced at Tyse. “I’m on her mom’s bad list.”
While Gage grabbed himself a bowl, Tyse took the opportunity to watch me for a few seconds. I wasn’t sure what it meant so I only returned his gaze. It was weird to be staring at each other from across the kitchen with Gage moving in between us, but Tyse finally looked away as he walked by me.
“Hey, what do I owe you?” I asked, referring to the food I’d helped myself to.
He gave me a smirk as he left the kitchen. “Nothing. For you my milk is free.”
I paused in mid-bite, but when Gage gave me a funny look, I put the spoon down and explained the pizza night and the “free” Pepsi. It made sense, so Gage didn’t think anything of it.
Chapter Ten
I did make it to Gage’s game on Tuesday night. I had actually missed watching baseball if you can believe that. But I guess I’d grown used to being around the ballpark, so it was becoming a normal habit of mine.
I was talking to the parents of our third baseman when a body sat down next to me and asked, “What the bloody hell happened to you this time?”
I turned with a smile and said, “Hey, Harlan.”
“Is this becoming a regular thing?” he asked, motioning to the cast on my hand. “If you’re starving for attention there are better ways to handle it, you know.”
I rolled my eyes but said, “Another parking lot incident.”
“Did you punch some sorry bloke?”
I laughed. “No, but I should have. Someone beat me to it, though.” I smiled at the thought of Tyse hitting that guy in the face.
“Another parking lot incident, hmm? What happened?”
I explained the story and he ended up shaking his head. “And I didn’t even get to mend you. I’m very disappointed.”
“I was kind of cranky anyway, so it wouldn’t have been enjoyable.”
“But I enjoy all of your cranky moments. You have a different side to you?”
I nudged him playfully with my elbow.
“So how have you been?” he asked. “Well, besides the general nonsense of getting yourself into trouble and such.”
“I’ve been pretty good. Busy at work, busy after work…no rest for the weary.”
He pretended to look me over. “I think you’re right. The dark circles under your beautiful eyes give it away. Maybe the doctor should tell your boyfriend not to expect so much of you.”
“Doctor’s orders, huh? I don’t believe he’d think much of it coming from you.”
With a smile he said, “I’m sure I could convince a colleague to do it for me.”
“Gage doesn’t force me to be busy. I do that all on my own.”
“Perhaps you should slow down a little. You may be warned with another parking lot incident.”
“Warned? Is that what getting hit with things is supposed to do? Warn me?”
“Perhaps. And the next time might be a little more severe. I really wouldn’t want to see you on bed rest for hypoadrenia or somnolence.” The gleam in his eye was pretty funny.
“What?” I laughed.
With a smile he shook his head. “Never mind. So it appears that Gage’s pitching is really whooping my little brother’s team right now. How about you go down there and tell him to stop it?”
“Sorry, I rather like seeing him whoop some butt right now.”
“Does he have plans to continue on with baseball?”
“No, not really. He’s got one more year at Eastern Oregon first. He got a pretty good baseball scholarship to play there. He plans on working for his dad after he graduates.”
“And in what field is that?”
“Civil Engineering.”
“Ah, I see. So not just a dumb jock, eh?”
I scowled at him playfully. “Is that really what you think of him?”
“No,” he chuckled. “I’m just being unfair. He does seem like a very educated young man.”
I rolled my eyes. “Coming from the distinguished older gentleman.”
He laughed. “Is that really what you think of me?”
“Yes.”
He laughed again and then shrugged. “I can lose the accent if that’s what is making me sound old and stuffy.” He actually did speak without it, and I wouldn’t have been able to tell he was British had I known otherwise.
“Nah, old and stuffy kind of suits you,” I replied.
“I’m twenty-five and you have the nerve to call me ‘old.’ You just wait. When you’re twenty-five I’m going to call you ‘Grandma.’ ”
With a laugh I said, “Chronological age is not my issue. Maybe it is the accent. Some women like the ‘mature’ sound of an English accent, but I guess I do associate
it with stuffiness. Maybe I am labeling you unfairly, but how can I help it when you use words like ‘knackered,’ or ‘trousers’? Mum? Lad? Lass? Oh, and when you said ‘dual carriageway’ for the freeway I almost peed my pants.”
He laughed and said, “I should have said ‘motorway.’ I’m not sure why I said carriageway. My mum’s influence, I guess. But I’m glad that you get such a kick out of my vocabulary. I’ll remember not to hold back any more.”
“Do you really hold back?”
“No, not deliberately. I’ve been in the states for over a year; I think it’s improving my stuffy language.”
I studied him briefly to make sure I hadn’t offended him, but he seemed to be hiding a smile. That happy gleam in his eye had returned.
“There’s nothing wrong with your language,” I admitted honestly. “I just like giving you a hard time. And it really is funny. You know, some of the different words and stuff.”
“I had no idea what in the world ‘tic-tac-toe’ meant. We call it ‘noughts and crosses.’ Or the first time I heard ‘bathing suit’ when I was a lad? I really thought people over here didn’t bathe starkers.”
I laughed out loud. “Does that mean naked? Hence the expression ‘stark naked.’ ”
He nodded his head with a smile.
“Well I say ‘swimsuit’,” I informed him. “I don’t know what everyone else’s problem is.”
“Perhaps the interpretation hasn’t evolved for some,” he joked.
With a smile I asked, “What are some of the other odd phrases or words you hear in the states?”
“Mmm, well, there have been quite a few. Let’s see… ‘Knock up’?”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Mmhmm. We mean it as waking someone up from sleep. You know, ‘Harlan, be a good lad and knock up your brother.’ ”
I laughed. “Well if she had said, ‘Harlan, be a good lad and go knock around your brother,’ you could have punched him a few times.”
With a smile he nodded his head. “I would have quite liked that on occasion.”
“Aw, but brotherly love. You’re here watching him play, right? You must like him at least a little. Which one is he, by the way? I looked at the roster last time and I didn’t see a Farrell on it.”
I actually had a roster in my hand, and as I glanced it over, I still didn’t see it.
“Right there on first base,” he pointed.
“Felix Allen?” I asked with surprise. I didn’t even have to look at the roster.
“Yes. Are you familiar with him?”
“Well, kind of,” I chuckled. “But only because Gage talks about how he has to pitch to him. I’m not going to divulge his secrets, though,” I added quickly.
He smiled. “Yes, my little brother has a nice swing, eh?”
“Yes,” I said, returning the smile. “So you have different last names. Half brother or adopted?”
“Actually I’m the one that was adopted. My father was in the military and died in a training accident, and my mum, after she had moved in with her sister, died from cancer when I was five years old. Fleta took me in like I was her own. She had even just married and was five months with child when my mum died. She kept my last name the same, though—respect for my mother and father.”
“So what was your mom’s name? Your birth mother.”
“Amelia.”
“And your father?”
“Paul.”
“Paul and Amelia Farrell—and their little boy Harlan. Do you remember them much?”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t. It feels like I remember my mother because of a few pictures I have, but my father died when I was just an infant. But my aunt and uncle are fantastic parents to me, so I don’t feel like I’ve missed out on much.”
I nodded. “It sounds like life has worked well for you. Now you’re a doctor and you drive a Porsche.”
He kind of grunted. “The car doesn’t define who I am. At least it shouldn’t.”
“You’re right. I guess it just says you have money.”
He was quiet for a few seconds and then he turned so he was facing me better. “So is that the problem? You can’t find an interest in someone that has money?”
I was a little surprised by how serious he seemed.
“Uh, no, I didn’t know there was a problem…”
He gave me a look that either meant I wasn’t being truthful, or that I was completely clueless. “Ellie, do you know how completely smitten I am by you?”
I didn’t answer because I couldn’t, and I couldn’t answer because I was scared to.
“That night at the hospital—when you brought Gage in—I honestly had to do my best to pretend you weren’t there. Yes, I did feel a desire to ask you out or get your telephone number, but it felt inappropriate, being that you were with another fellow. But when you came back into the hospital…”
Oh gosh, Gage was right. I really had made Harlan believe I’d returned just for him.
“…I just hoped that you had felt what I felt. I’m sorry for seeming so forward after that, but I just thought maybe you needed me to be.”
“You asked if I was at least eighteen,” I scoffed.
“Oh my,” he replied, rubbing his forehead with his hand. “You completely caught me off guard. I hadn’t even considered that you weren’t even twenty-one, and so I guess I had to make sure I wasn’t hitting on a high school lass. It was my way of panicking, I suppose. I do apologize for sounding like such a pervert.”
I had to smile, and then it led to a chuckle.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“Pervert. Say it again.”
“Pervert,” he said. But it sounded more like “puh-vuht.”
I laughed out loud. “I’m sorry, it just sounds so funny with your accent.” I started laughing again, and then Harlan joined in.
“It’s nice to know I can say such a filthy word and make it funny with just my accent,” he said.
“I’m sorry,” I replied, wiping the moisture from my eyes.
“Oh and to make you cry at the same time?”
“While you’re at it will you say, ‘I watch the telly whilst lying on the settee’?”
“Oh for bloody sake.”
I laughed again. “No, will you just say ‘Bob’s your uncle’ for me?”
He only partially smiled, and I thought he wasn’t going to do it, but a bit louder he came out with, “What’s all this, then? Pip pip, cheerio and all that rot. Just watch the match, and Bob’s your uncle!”
I laughed, and some of the people around us chuckled as well. They may have even thought he was just making fun of the English.
We were both quiet for a few seconds. I shook my head with a smile, having thoroughly enjoyed his playfulness. But it hadn’t deterred him from the subject that had been on hand, and he studied me closely once more.
“So is that a closed subject matter?” he asked softly. “My interest in you means nothing and it’s going to remain that way?”
I quietly sighed. “I don’t know what to tell you, Harlan. My heart is with Gage right now, so I’m not even in the position to consider how you feel about me and what it means. It’s just not even an option.”
“Take that off of the table—just your relationship with Gage—and tell me what you think of me otherwise.”
“If I wasn’t with Gage?”
He nodded.
“Then yes, I’m sure I would consider a date with you. Harlan, you’re a nice guy and I—”
“Oh my,” he sighed.
“That’s not what I meant. That doesn’t mean anything other than ‘yes, I do like you, but I can only be friends with you right now.’ I’m in a very good relationship at the moment, and that’s where my focus is.”
“Very good?”
“Very, very good.”
He nodded, and he seemed to be thinking about that for a bit. But then his attention drifted to the game again, and so did mine. Felix was the first batter up in the top of
the fourth, and Gage was on the mound to face him. It was kind of an uncomfortable few minutes for me because I didn’t even feel like I could cheer for Gage since Harlan’s brother was at the plate, but of course I was hoping for an out. I’m sure Harlan was hoping Felix would easily blast a homer off of Gage, but he didn’t say anything either. Felix did hit a fly ball to center field, but it was caught for out number one. The score was still 0-0.
“I’m sorry if I’ve made you uncomfortable,” Harlan finally said. “I just wanted you to know how I feel without any wonder on your part.”
I slowly nodded. “Okay. Thank you for your honesty.”
His smile confused me. I wasn’t sure if it meant “yeah, but it didn’t do me any good,” or “you don’t even know what you’re missing.” I guess it didn’t matter either way because I was in love with Gage, and Harlan was just going to have to accept that.
By eight o’clock I was getting a little cold. The sun had disappeared over the trees, and even though it was July, the night was a little chilly to me. I put my sweatshirt on to keep warm and watched Gage take the mound in the sixth inning.
When the count was at 1-and-2 for the second batter, I noticed Wyatt enter the stands. I was surprised to see him because he’d been helping his dad build a deck and wasn’t planning on being at the game. I thought maybe he’d changed his mind and come anyway, but the look on his face made me question that, and then he walked right into the Bears dugout. Gage threw one more pitch and struck out the batter, and then he seemed to notice Wyatt. Time was called, and Coach Baxter made a motion to the bullpen at the same time he walked to the mound. It was strange, and I knew something wasn’t right.
Gage came off the field immediately, passed Coach Baxter, and seemed to go straight to Wyatt in the dugout, even though I couldn’t see him. The crowd was buzzing around me and I hadn’t even realized I’d stood up. I could barely see Gage’s head below the roof of the dugout, but I could see that he’d put both hands on top of his head and just held them there for a second.
I couldn’t take it anymore—I knew something was wrong—and I left the bleachers to go to the dugout myself. But by then Wyatt and Gage were already leaving the park, and I had to jog to catch up to them in the parking lot.
Summer Swing Page 11
