It Starts With a Lie

by Mary Clare Lockman

  “I don’t know what your parents will decide. I’ll tell them what you told me. But you need to talk to them.”

  “Yeah, I know that.”

  “Why don’t we drive back to Red Wing? I told your mother you’d be home in time for dinner.”

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  Home Again

  We drove back to Red Wing. I didn’t want to talk anymore about Jake, Sally, or anything else for that matter.

  “Tired?” Aunt Florence asked.

  “Kind of. Thanks for everything today.” Actually, I was exhausted. I closed my eyes.

  “You’re welcome. How about some music?” Aunt Florence turned on the radio. She found a station with a lot of her favorite Motown songs on it. She started singing. I couldn’t help joining in since I loved the music too. The two of us sang all the way back to Red Wing.

  We pulled up to my house. Uncle Mike’s car was there. Great. The whole family would be staring at me and questioning me. I didn’t want to go in.

  “What’s the matter?” Aunt Florence asked.

  “I don’t want everyone questioning me.”

  “Go sit with Gramps. He always watches sports on Sunday afternoon. I bet Rosie is with him too. I’ll talk to your parents. Now, give me a hug.”

  I hugged Aunt Florence. She whispered, “It’ll be all right.”

  My parents waited at the door. “Why don’t we go into the kitchen?” Aunt Florence said. I walked into the living room. Gramps and Uncle Mike had the TV on to Wide World of Sports. Rosie was on Gramp’s lap with a book open. “Rosie’s been waiting for you,” Gramps said. “Sit down.”

  “How was your day?” Gramps asked.

  I could just say fine and Gramps wouldn’t ask any more questions or I could go into a lot of details and he would listen. That’s the way he was. “Well, we ate at the River Room.”

  “Did you have popovers?”

  “Yes. And chicken pot pie. I have to say that Aunt Florence puts more butter on her popovers than anyone except you, Gramps.” Gramps absolutely loved to talk about food.

  “Nothing like melted butter.”

  “Then we got strawberry malts at the Dairy Queen and went to the Monument to eat them.”

  “Sounds good. Did you do anything else?”

  “We talked. Aunt Florence and I talked.”

  “Was that good?”

  “Yes. It was good.”

  Uncle Mike hadn’t said anything. He kept looking toward the kitchen. I suppose he wondered what Aunt Florence was saying to my parents. I did too for that matter. I thought of taking Rosie outside but I didn’t know if Uncle Mike would want me to. Anyway, Gramps loved every minute he had with little Rosie.

  Aunt Florence came out of the kitchen. She looked at me and smiled so I guess that was a good sign. “Mike, what are you thinking for dinner?”

  “I don’t know. Should we take Rosie out?”

  “I think so. That would be fun.” Aunt Florence, Mike, and Rosie left. Gramps went outside with them.

  My mother came out of the kitchen. She crooked her finger to me. “Florence told us what happened with the movie and Musolf’s.”

  “I’m going to fire Jake,” my dad said.

  I took in a deep breath. “Sorry that I recommended him.”

  “I’m not going to have someone who steals working for me.”

  “That’s for sure,” my mom said. “I knew you hadn’t taken the whiskey but I didn’t know what happened.”

  I wanted to say; then why was I grounded for so long?

  “The party could have been a disaster. By the way, don’t the boys and girls on the teams say they won’t drink?”

  “They can be kicked off the team. The whole baseball team was there. I think they’re lucky the neighbor called.”

  “They’re finishing up the season too. When’s their last game?”

  My mom was making small talk, so she couldn’t be all that mad at me. “Friday.”

  “And yours is Saturday.”

  “We wish you wouldn’t have lied to us,” my dad said. “If you had told us about Musolf’s, a lot of this would have been avoided.”

  “I know that now. Am I going to be grounded again?” My fingers were crossed behind my back.

  My mom chimed in. “As much as I love having you help me in the kitchen, I think you need to go to softball practice.” She looked over at my dad. “And with this being my last week at St. Anastasia’s, I just can’t take any more drama.”

  “What does that mean?” My dad said.

  “I mean I don’t think Colette should be grounded. She was helping Sally. She wasn’t drinking.”

  My fingers were still crossed. One thing I had noticed through the years was that if my parents disagreed, which was rare, my mom usually won.

  “I think we should eat,” my mom said. “Then your dad and I will discuss this whole situation.”

  At dinner, Gramps asked me all about St. Paul. I told them about driving down Summit Avenue and how Aunt Florence knew so much history. She talked about James J. Hill and the Great Northern Railway; the James J. Hill house was huge. She pointed out a house that had a little square on the top. She said that you could see when the boats came down the river from the little room and that’s what it was for. She got really excited about a house where a famous author had lived. His last name was Fitzgerald and he wrote a book I hadn’t read. Aunt Florence knew all about him and she assured me I’d be reading his books in the future.

  Gramps talked about what he liked about Summit Avenue in St. Paul. It helped pass the time at dinner.

  My dad helped my mom clean up on Sundays so they both went into the kitchen. I went to the living room where Gramps was already sitting. I knew my parents weren’t done with me yet and they would want to hear my side of the story.

  Gramps liked to watch Perry Mason on Sunday nights. Once it started you couldn’t talk at all. It was starting in a half hour so Gramps and I would have some quiet before Perry got Gramp’s full attention.

  “What do you want to talk about?” Gramps asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “I’m only going to ask you one question, Bella. Were you able to talk to Florence?”

  “Yes.”

  “Maybe someday you’ll talk to me about it. Should we talk about softball?”

  “Sure, Gramps.” So we talked about hot grounders, line drives, and stealing bases until Perry Mason started.

  “Colette,” my mom called.

  “Coming.” I walked to the kitchen.

  “Your dad and I have decided no grounding.”

  “Thank you.”

  “No more lying, Colette,” my dad said.

  “I won’t.”

  “Okay. I’m going to give Jake a call.” He went into the sunroom so he could have some privacy. He wasn’t gone more than five minutes. “That’s done,” he said.

  “What did he say?”

  “He asked if it was about the party. I said no, there were other things. He asked if I wasn’t happy with his work. I said no, he did a good job but we couldn’t trust him after hearing about stealing from Musolf’s and Mike’s whiskey. He seemed kind of shocked. Then I said I didn’t like him intimidating you so he was fired.”

  I don’t know why but I felt kind of sorry for Jake.

  “You’re going to have to work every Saturday for a while,” my mom said.

  “I can do that. What about the big game?”

  “I’m going to close the store for a half day.” my dad said. Maybe my dad had listened to Gramps about spending more time with the family. “I only have one kid and I want to see the championship game.”

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  The Big Game

  It was a relief to tell Aunt Florence about everything that had happened. My parents and I came to an understanding while Gramps was watching Perry Mason. They had many questions and I told them the whole story.

  On Monday, I met Suzy in the cafeteria about ten minutes before schoo
l started. I told her about the party and why I left her house so quickly. She said she understood and she wasn’t one bit surprised about how crazy the party was.

  Sam was furious with me for taking Sally away from the party and over to Aunt Florence’s. At school on Monday, Sally thanked me again for getting her away from the party. She told me both she and John were grounded for a week but John could play baseball. She walked away from Sam when Sam tried to talk to her in homeroom. She said we would have to talk things out in the next week.

  At practice, everybody on the team was happy to see me. Everyone, that is, except Sam O’Malley.

  “Let’s line up for batting practice,” Coach Richter said. “O’Malley, you can pitch.”

  It felt good to stand at home plate again. I took a couple of swings. I was ready. Sam wound up and hit me right on my left hip. I yelped, believe me. I went down in the dirt.

  Coach Richter went crazy. He raced up to the pitcher’s mound, took Sam’s glove, threw it on the ground, and yelled loud enough for people strolling down Main Street to hear. Nobody moved, including Sam O’Malley.

  “What was that? You trying to hurt her?” He screamed. From home plate I could see the spit flying. “I asked you a question, O’Malley.”

  “I just lost control, Coach. I don’t know what happened.”

  “Go sit on the bench for the rest of practice.”

  Sam walked toward the bench. I stood at home plate, rubbing my hip. It really hurt. Several girls surrounded me, asking if I was okay. Suzy stood right next to me and kept patting my arm. Sam walked by in a huff.

  “Excuse me,” Coach Richter said. “You forgot something.”

  Sam kept walking.

  “Didn’t you hear me? Apologize to McGiver right now.”

  “I’m sorry,” Sam said without even turning around.

  “I’m going to tell you something. You either apologize or you’re not playing in the championship game.”

  That got her attention. She turned around. “I’m really sorry, Colette.”

  “I’m talking to everyone now. If you have problems with each other for whatever reason, leave it off the field. It doesn’t belong here. We’re a team and we work together.” Coach Richter paced back and forth. He walked over to the cooler he always brought with him. He took out a plastic bag and put ice in it. He wrapped it in a small towel. “Here, McGiver. Stay put. No running.” He handed me the ice. “Okay, let’s continue batting practice.”

  Sam stood up from the bench, picked up her glove, and headed toward the mound.

  “I guess you didn’t hear me, O’Malley. I said sit on the bench and be quiet. McGough, you pitch practice today.”

  McGough ran to the pitching mound. Sam threw her glove on the ground and sat back on the bench. I sat as far over on the opposite end as I could from Sam. I didn’t look at her. I put the ice on my hip and watched practice.

  My parents and Gramps were really mad at Sam. My mom made me put more ice on my hip. “How are you supposed to play on Saturday?”

  “I’m playing. And I’m going to practice tomorrow too.” I didn’t say anything about the grounding because my mom and dad knew they had overreacted and I knew that I had lied several times. I guess we were both wrong.

  On Friday, I was glad to say goodbye to all the teachers at City Bluffs since summer was my favorite time of the year. Not only could I sleep late, read only what I wanted to, listen to music to my heart’s content, but I didn’t have to write any papers or do any homework. The other great thing about summer was I could put on my shorts and a shirt, ride my bike all over town, go walk by the river, check out Musolf’s new merchandise; all while enjoying the green trees and the blue, blue sky of Minnesota.

  The championship game was at ten o’clock on Saturday in Lake City. Mr. Musolf, Oma, and Tommy were going to the game, but Musolf’s would be open so Fred couldn’t come. Tommy had talked to me about the candy bar. I told him I hoped we could still be friends. He said, “My whole family is friends with your whole family so we’re friends too.”

  The drive down to Lake City was really pretty. Gramps exclaimed as soon as Lake Pepin came into view. He told us, as he always did, about the Sunday drives he used to take with Grandma Rose, my mom, Uncle Daniel, and Aunt Florence. “Look for eagles,” Gramps said happily.

  We were at the softball field by nine o’clock. Most of the girls were already there. Coach Richter was talking to the umpire and the other coach. He came over to the bench. “Okay, girls, we can have the field in fifteen minutes for a quick warm-up. Just relax, for now.”

  My hip ached but not like the beginning of the week. The only problem was running really hard. The coach told me he wouldn’t give me the signal to steal but it was my decision if I thought it was a good move.

  Coach Richter said, “Gather round, girls. We’re here today because of your hard work. I’ve enjoyed every minute of coaching you. I know you’ll give your best like you always do but have fun too. Okay, quick prayer.” He bowed his head, “Thank you, Lord, for all your blessings. Our Father who art in heaven...” We all joined in with our hands in the center.

  Aunt Florence, Uncle Mike, and Rosie waved from the stands. Sally and Mrs. Reynolds were there too. Mrs. Reynolds had talked to my mom about the movie and the party. She decided she should spend more time with Sally alone.

  I was the number one batter so I started the game. “Okay, girls, talk it up,” Coach Richter said.

  “C’mon, Colette.”

  “Start us off.”

  “Wait for your pitch.”

  The first pitch was right over the plate. I didn’t swing. I waited for the next pitch. It was outside. One strike, one ball. I dug in by the plate, took a couple of swings, and waited. The pitch came in waist high. I stepped into the pitch and swung as hard as I could. Crack! It was a hot grounder between the shortstop and second base. I was on first.

  I looked over at the coach and then remembered that I could decide if I wanted to steal or not. Donahue was batting. I knew she would swing if the ball was anywhere near the strike zone because she was so afraid of a called strike. Donahue swung at the first pitch and hit a little dribbler to the pitcher. The pitcher scooped it up and threw it to the second baseman. I was out and Donahue was out on a double play. Sam O’Malley batted third. She was really good when runners were on base. She stepped into the pitch and hit a long fly ball to center field. Lake City’s center fielder caught it. No problem. Our side was out.

  “Okay. Shake it off,” Coach Richter said. “We’ve got six more innings.”

  We ran out to our positions. Lake City’s first batter hit a pop up to Sheila Donahue on first. One out. The second batter hit down the third base line. I charged it and threw it to first. Two outs. The third batter struck out. Three outs. Our turn at bat.

  The game was like the first inning with both teams struggling to even get a batter on base. It was a pitcher’s duel like our first game. I was glad Sam was on our team even though she wasn’t talking to me. She struck out more batters than the Lake City pitcher.

  I got on base to start out the fifth inning. I decided to try to steal on the next pitch. The second their pitcher released the ball, I raced toward second. Donahue swung and missed. I was on second and in scoring position. Donahue grounded to the shortstop who waited to hold me at second before throwing it to first. Donahue was out. Sam O’Malley stood at the plate. She moved her feet around in the dirt and swung a couple of times. Sam didn’t like to swing at the first pitch so I waited.

  Since we didn’t have any runs, if the ball was hit out of the infield, Coach Richter would be waving me home. My hip still hurt a little bit but I had stolen second with no problem.

  The pitcher wound up and threw. Crack! Sam hit a line drive that whizzed by me into center field. I was off. The coach screamed, “Go home, McGiver. Go home.” I didn’t slow down to see where the ball was.

  Their center fielder rifled the ball to the shortstop who was the cutoff person. The pe
ople in the stands were standing so I knew it was close. I couldn’t run any faster. We didn’t slide like the boys and the catcher couldn’t block home plate. Their catcher was in front of the base. I was about five feet away. The shortstop hurled the ball toward home. I heard the smack of the ball in the catcher’s glove. I went around the back of the base as the catcher spun around trying to tag me. I got my toe on the base.

  “Safe,” the umpire yelled.

  Our whole bench had been standing. Now they were cheering, clapping, and slapping me on the back. The score was 1-0. Sam O’Malley waited on second hoping to score too. The next two batters both struck out.

  Lake City’s first batter didn’t waste any time. She swung at the first pitch and she was off toward first base. The ball streaked down the third base line. I had to back hand the ball to keep it from going into left field. I threw to first. It landed in the dirt and Donahue couldn’t handle it. The runner raced toward second. Their next batter hit the ball to first. One out but they had a runner on third.

  Sam wound up. The batter smashed the ball to right field. The right fielder waited and caught the ball on the fly. Two outs but the runner on third tagged up and scored. It was 1-1. The next batter dribbled the ball to Sam who scooped it up and threw it to first. Three outs.

  Our turn to bat. Laurie Zastrow got ready. She swung twice and missed. The next four pitches were balls. Zastrow was on first. The next pitch she took off for second. The hit and run play told the batter to swing if someone was stealing. Our batter swung hard. The catcher bobbled the ball. Zastrow was safe at second. Pearson struck out. The coach told Suzy just to get Zastrow to third. She did more than that. She hit a line drive right up the middle. Zastrow ran toward third. The coach waved her toward home. We were all standing and yelling. The ball came home right after Zastrow scored. It was 2-1. Suzy decided to run toward third. Their catcher quickly threw to third. Suzy was out. The next batter hit a pop up to the shortstop. Our side was out.