by Stella
“Hey, Gage.” Coby sounded out of breath. “What’s up?”
“Not much, is Corinne around?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, hang on. We’re at the park. Let me go grab her.”
The sounds of kids playing in the background made me wish I was home. There was nothing Corinne couldn’t fix with a hug and a smile.
“Age. I’m at da pawk.”
“Hey, Rinny. Are you having fun?”
“Yeah, Sammy made a stinky, and it got on Daddy’s hand.” She erupted in hysterical laughter, although I doubted Coby found it as funny. I, on the other hand, thought the idea of Coby putting his hand in his son’s shit was the best thing I’d ever heard. “You home? I have Mama bwing me to yous house.”
“Not yet. Do you miss me?”
“Uh-huh. You miss me?”
“Of course, you’re my best friend till the end. I wish I could put you in my pocket and bring you with me everywhere I go.”
“Eighty can bwing me.” The hopefulness in her voice was cute. “I pwomise I be good. I sit still and evewything.”
“I don’t think your mama and daddy would like that much.”
The tiny huff she let out sent a clear image of her in my mind. I’d bet money she had her little hand on her hip and her hip jutted out to the side, and that mess of curls was stuck to her face while she held a phone the size of her head to her ear. God, I loved that kid.
“You ask Eighty.”
She meant for me to ask Katie to bring her to me—even I knew that. And while I knew Ellie wouldn’t let her out of the state—I had a hard enough time getting her for the day—Corinne’s suggestion might solve another problem.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Pwomise?” She was probably kicking dirt while she pouted.
“Cross my heart and hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye.”
“Kay. I gonna wide da merwy-go-wound.”
“Take a spin for me. I love you.”
“Love you.”
Corinne might not be able to travel with me, but Katie could. Having her on the road would eliminate the constant worry over her and the baby and keep her from spending so much time alone. I’d know they were safe and be able to take care of them.
Oddly enough, even with my mind drowning in concern and fear, I killed it on the diamond. There hadn’t been a single pitch in all six games that I didn’t knock out of the park. Home run after home run—they didn’t call me the King for nothing. And when I took my place on the field and was given the ball, it was like Coby trying to get laid when he was single—no one made it past third base. I was on fire. I should’ve been celebrating with my team; I just didn’t have it in me. Usually, when our away games were split up between two cities with a day off in between, we’d take advantage of our downtime. However, this time, I had other plans.
“Why are you home? Are you okay?” Katie frantically sat up in bed and squinted against the harsh light I’d flipped on. Her concern for me would’ve normally made me ecstatic, but when I got home and found my room empty, my heart sank. Not only was she not in my bed, but I could tell by the lack of cups on the nightstand and my pillow still where I’d left it almost a week ago, she hadn’t been in there since.
“What do you mean why am I home?” I knew exactly what she meant, yet I wouldn’t make it that easy for her. After all, she hadn’t made the last six days all that easy for me. “I think the more important question is…why are you in here?”
“Um…” She glanced around with feigned confusion lining her brow. “Because this is my room?” She may not have said it, but there was a definite “duh” added to the end.
“Yes, Goldie Locks, and it was yours when I found you in my bed before. And still yours when you slept next to me—in my room—before I left.”
“I see this turning into a fight I don’t care to have.”
“You started it. If you want a war, I’ll give you one better.”
“What’s worse than a war?”
“A zombie apocalypse.”
Katie rubbed her eyes and sighed. “It’s far too”—she glanced at the clock on the table next to her bed—“early for whatever this is, Gage. I’m exhausted. Just tell me why you’re home when you’re supposed to be on your way to Boston. You can explain the rest when it’s not four o’clock in the morning.”
“You refuse to talk to me. What did you think I’d do? Rather than go with the team tomorrow—well, technically today—I caught a red-eye home so we can figure this shit out. I have an early flight on game day, so you have me for just under twenty-four hours. Better get talkin’.”
“This can’t wait until morning?”
“It is morning, Apple Crisp.”
She rolled her eyes and threw herself into her pillow with a groan.
“First order of business…why are you sleeping in here instead of my room.”
“I already told you, Gage. I’m not sure why you find it so confusing.”
I plopped down on the side of her bed and pulled my knee onto the mattress so I could face her. “Well, considering you’ve been in my bed every night whether I’m here or not, it raises a multitude of concerns. Add in the fact that you’ve barely talked to me in almost a week, and I think I have a legitimate right to inquire upon it.”
Apparently, she didn’t take my use of big words seriously. “I wasn’t aware I couldn’t sleep in my own room. In my own bed. Your mattress isn’t as soft as mine.” This one’s too hard. This one’s too soft. Women.
“Very well. We’ll revisit this later when I can point out that my bed is bigger without relying on a size-matters argument. Right now, I’d like to discuss your placenta. You can’t pretend it doesn’t exist.”
“I’m not. Trust me, Gage…I’m not pretending anything. I just don’t want to talk about it.”
“Too bad, because I do. Have you researched it? Know what we’re up against?”
“I don’t need to. I’m fully aware of what it is. I’m a nurse…remember?”
I leaned forward to pull the folded piece of paper from my back pocket. When she arched a brow in question, I offered her the famous Gage Nix smirk and started with the first note on the page. “Do you smoke?”
“What? Of course I don’t. You know that.”
“What about the booger frosting? Have you been powdering your nose?”
It took her a second, and when she realized what I was asking, she sat upright and pinned me with her narrowed stare. “Cocaine? Are you kidding me right now? Why would you even ask that?”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“Because it doesn’t warrant a response. To even ask me if I do drugs, especially when I’m pregnant, is an insult. Get out of my room, Gage. Fuck you.”
“We’ll get to that when I’m done with my list.”
“Like hell we will. If you think I’d let you touch me after an accusation like that, you’re out of your mind. I’d rather commit to a life of celibacy and become a nun than to sleep with you again.”
I shook my head and tsked. “Katiebug, I don’t know what celibacy means, but you can’t be a nun. No one will believe you’re a virgin while you’re carrying my bambino. And even though I’m God’s gift to baseball, that doesn’t make my child God’s gift to the people. Well…” I tapped my chin with one finger and twisted my lips to the side in a show of deep thought. “Technically, he will be. But not in the Virgin Mary sense. So you’re out of luck.”
“You need your head examined,” she said with a huff as she fell into her pillow again.
“Back to the issue at hand. I wasn’t accusing you of anything. While I was away—and while you avoided me, might I add—I had a lot of time to research this partial eclipse of your cervix. And before you ask…yes, that can totally be sang to the tune of ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ by that one chick.”
“Bonnie Tyler.” It was clear in her soft words that she connected that song to Granny. Although it wasn’t pain or sadness in her voice�
��I heard nostalgia and fond memories. It was how I felt about the music Granny used to always play, too.
“Yeah. Her. Moving on. So, during my studies, I found a list of possible causes. Now, before I go on, you must know that there isn’t a clear understanding of why this happens, but they do believe—”
“Oh my God, Gage. Yes, I know. I’m a nurse…remember?”
“How could I forget? That’s the second time you brought it up in like two minutes. Next, you’ll want me to call you Dr. Crisp—which I won’t do. Regardless, don’t you fret, little one, I won’t forget again. Anyway…” I eyed her to make sure she was done with her interruptions before continuing. “I was able to scratch off twins or previous C-section, since…you know…I would have noticed if you had a scar down there. But what I don’t know is if you’ve had more than four children or uterine surgery.”
“For crying out loud. You can scratch off a C-section, but you couldn’t scratch off if I smoke or snort coke? And no. This is my first pregnancy, and I’ve never had surgery. Hurry up and get this over with. I’m tired.”
“And cranky,” I muttered under my breath. “Considering I know how old you are, I can also eliminate being over the age of thirty-five. Which means this is a phenomenon.”
She blinked so slowly I wondered if she had fallen asleep. But then she said, “Oh, yeah? Then how old am I?”
“Thirty-three.”
If she could’ve killed me with her glare, I’d be six feet under. “I’m twenty-eight, you reject.”
“Are you sure? I could’ve sworn you were older than me. Damn…all this time I thought I was with an older woman. Although, now I guess I can say I’m rocking the cradle.” I wagged my brows, which earned me a middle finger.
“You’re thirty-one. I’d hardly call that robbing the cradle. You’ll be rocking one shortly.”
“Anyway, so now onto the risks. From everything I’ve read, having it now is a good sign. Well, not good, but you know what I mean. There’s a high probability that it’ll move out of the way in time for our son to crawl out of your tunnel. And if it hasn’t cleared the exit hole by your twenty-week checkup, then they’ll close your gates until it does.”
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about. Nothing is going to crawl out of me, and so help me God, if you refer to my vagina as a tunnel or exit hole again, I’ll wash your boxers in itching powder.” She ran her hands down her face before asking, “And what the hell do you mean by closing my gates?”
“You won’t be able to have sex.”
“Just go ahead and add ‘gates’ to the list of references you aren’t allowed to use. And why do you care? I already told you we aren’t doing that again.”
“That’s what you said after the first time. And the second. And the third. In fact, I’m fairly certain you’ve said that every time we’ve had sex. But sure, yeah, no more.” I winked dramatically.
“Are you going to get to that parts I don’t already know?”
“Considering I have no idea which parts you’re aware of and which ones you aren’t, I can’t answer that question. In case you’ve forgotten, you haven’t talked to me about any of this in a week. So I’ve been left to the internet to gather all my information.” I tried to hide the hurt in my tone, mask it with humor like I’d done for most of my life, but when she held my hand, I knew I hadn’t fooled anyone.
The truth was, I’d been going crazy ever since the night she told me. I was no stranger to doing things on my own, but this was something I wished I’d had someone by my side for. At least she knew what it was when the doctor told her she had it. But me? She threw out the term and mentioned bleeding to death, and that was it. I had never even heard those words before, let alone their meaning. In my head, I was about to bury someone else I cared about. Add to it six days of silence, and I was in a state of perpetual dread. The only reason I played so well was that baseball had always been my escape when I was afraid. I had the ability to channel my fear into the sport, focus on the ball, and release the anxiety with every swing, every catch, every out. No wonder I’d hit consecutive home runs this last week.
“I’m sorry.”
People always say, “sorry isn’t good enough.” But this time, it was.
“Come with me,” I whispered.
“Where?”
“Boston. I got two plane tickets, and if you don’t want to go to the games, you can stay at the hotel. I just can’t do this again. I can’t leave you after all this. I’m paranoid something will happen and I won’t be here.”
“Nothing’s going to happen.”
“You can’t promise me that. And even if you could, I would still feel better if you came with me. It’s only for three days.”
“And then what about the next time? Gage, I can’t travel with you every time you have an away game.”
“I know. I think once this all sets in, I’ll be okay. I just need you with me this time.”
Her gaze softened, and she took a deep breath. “Fine. Yeah, I’ll go.”
“Oh, thank God.” I stretched out and slid under the covers next to her with my arm around her waist to pull her close to me. We didn’t have as much room with her bed being smaller than mine, but it was enough to hold her while we slept. “When we get back, we’re totally getting a softer mattress for my bed.”
“You want me to move into your room with you?”
“It’s bigger, so it makes more sense.”
“Hey, Gage? Why didn’t you take Granny’s old room?”
“Because it’s not mine.”
“It kinda is. I mean, this is your house.”
“Nah. It’s yours.”
Her body became rigid against mine. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Granny might’ve given it to me, but right before she died, she told me I was to keep this room for you for as long as you wanted it. You never left, so I figured you still wanted it.”
“Then why go through the trouble of fixing it up to sell?”
“I was never going to sell this place. I just needed an excuse to be here. You know? To feel like I was near her. Not to mention, it gave me a reason to see you, even though you hated me and pretended I didn’t exist.”
“That’s not true. If I did that, how did I get pregnant?”
I didn’t need to answer that question. We both knew how that had happened. We were the only two people who knew how the other felt, the pain we endured, the heartache and sadness that suffocated us. We could only suffer alone for so long before the agony became too much to bear, bringing us together in grief. It was inevitable.
“Immaculate conception,” I teased.
She giggled and snuggled closer, lying almost on top of me, before we both drifted off to sleep.
Katie stayed back at the hotel the first day, claiming she was too tired from the flight to make it to the game. I didn’t argue, although I would’ve liked it had she been there. Instead, she watched it from the suite and then celebrated with me when I got back. To my surprise, she showed up to the second game—although, she didn’t hang around after it ended. On the third and final day we were in Boston, I managed to convince her to stay and meet the guys. She was reluctant, but in the end, she agreed.
Her biggest concern about meeting the team was looking like my girlfriend. Apparently, she had no desire to be romantically associated with me. When I pointed out that we had sex nearly every day, sans when I was away, she informed me that two people did not have to be dating in order to hook up—and that was precisely what she claimed we were doing. Yeah…as if I didn’t know that. That had basically been my motto for years, so it was a little harsh to hear someone say it to me.
“It’s nice to see you moved on after the last one fucked you over,” Darren, our shortstop, said with a heavy slap on my shoulder. The least the asshole could’ve done was wait for Katie to walk away before talking about her—or Missy.
I tried to play it off, but Katie was quick to reply with, “Oh, we’re not tog
ether.”
“Could’ve fooled me.” He glanced between the two of us. “You’re not like cousins or anything, right?”
I nearly choked. “Hell no. She’s Granny’s nurse. Well, used to be.”
The sympathy in his eyes didn’t go unnoticed. Then he turned to Katie and said, “It’s good that you two have each other. He talked about you a lot, you know. Always bragged about how much his grandmother loved you, and if you hadn’t been with her, he would have worried about her. I can only assume we all have you to thank for bringing him back from death’s doorstep.”
Katie eyed me for a moment, then smiled at Darren. “Yeah, I guess you can say he breathed life back into me, too.”
“Well, it was great to finally meet you.” And with that, my teammate was off.
“Ready to get back to the hotel so we can breathe some more?” I winked at her, to which she rolled her eyes. I grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the stadium, fully prepared to make her breathless.
Coming home was always bittersweet, although I hated that our little vacation was over. I liked having her there after a game and seeing her in the morning before I went to the stadium. I had six back-to-back home games, immediately followed by eleven days away with only one off between three stops. And unlike last time, our schedule wouldn’t allow me to come home during this one. Even though it was pointless, I begged Katie to join me again. She refused, of course. And I understood why. That was a lot of traveling, and while her pregnancy hadn’t restricted her ability to go, she had a follow-up ultrasound she couldn’t miss. It was just one more appointment I wouldn’t be there for, and I hated that more than anything. If I couldn’t manage to make it to scheduled appointments, I was destined to miss major milestones once the little tyke was here.
Luckily, when we got back to the house, the new mattress had been delivered—thanks to Coby. In fact, when we walked through the front door, he was still there. It took little effort on my part to convince him to stay for dinner. He called Ellie to bring the kids over, and within a couple of hours, I had the grill started and my favorite people all under the same roof.
