“You deserve better,” he said quietly.
I closed my eyes and rested my forehead on my battered steering wheel. I didn’t know what to say. I needed to get the focus off me and off Theo. “Tell me about Shelby.”
“Who told you –”
“Does it matter?” I sat up and stared at him. “Reggie, Calvin, Adam, Reid, take your pick. They’re afraid you’re gonna mope like you did last summer. So what happened?”
He stared out the passenger window. I waited.
“Never mind. It’s none of –”
“Last summer, I caught her with a dealer. She was blowing him for meth.” He rubbed his hands together. “We’d been together since freshman year.”
I reached toward him then thought better of it, letting my hand fall to my lap.
“Worst part was that she blamed it all on me. Told me that I never paid attention to her. I never asked her about her stuff. Said all I ever did was talk about baseball or cross country or college.” He finally looked at me with dull eyes. “And she was right. But she was wrong too. She didn’t have to cheat on me. She didn’t have to smoke meth and weed. I didn’t notice her falling into drug abuse, but she didn’t try to stop herself.” He almost smiled. “See, I told you I know Theo’s type.”
I didn’t know what to say. He leaned over to close the gap between us. I blurted, “We can’t do this, Daniel. Regardless of how you think Theo treats me, he’s my boyfriend. I didn’t sign up for the team looking for a new one either.” I sighed, wishing I could close the gap between us and knowing I couldn’t. “Can’t we just be friends?”
He sat up fast and nodded. “Yeah, friends.”
I started the car and put it in drive. “Daniel, I do like hanging out with you –”
“Me too,” he interrupted.
“So,” I said, pulling out onto the street. “Where’s Hansen’s?”
We chatted about the weather on the way. The part of me that liked Daniel too much was mad at the part of me that didn’t want to get involved with anyone on the team. Talk about an inner battle of wills. On top of my own issues, Daniel’s problems with Shelby circled in my head.
I found a spot half a block from Hansen’s. It was a soda shop not far from the park. The booths and chairs were white with red vinyl seats like it was the 1950s. The floor was even made of white and red checked tiles. Daniel waved at the guys who took up two booths and a table in between. “Teen Angel” blared from the old-fashioned jukebox in the middle of the room.
“Hey, did you guys kiss and make up?” Reggie shouted, making the other guys laugh.
I felt the blood rush to my face. Sometimes it sucks being a girl.
“Don’t be a dick, Reg.” Adam slapped Reggie on the back of the head. “Come on, guys. Get an ice cream high like the rest of us.”
They raised their various glasses in a toast. Daniel and I joined them, sliding into a booth. It was a tight fit and Daniel’s side pressed into mine.
He smiled and mouthed “sorry.”
I knew he wasn’t. He didn’t even try to scoot over an inch. But it was okay. I had made my feelings clear. I hoped.
We started joking and I relaxed. It was nice being just one of the guys.
Tuesday’s game was a blowout. Coach gave me the start, but he batted me eighth. The other team never hit the ball toward third, so I had zero chances in the field. And I went oh-for-two at the plate with a walk. Not my best day. Not my best game. Regardless, we won by eight runs.
During the game, I decided to get Jayden to talk to me somehow. I stood before him in the dugout after the final out.
“Good game, Jay,” I said with my hand up for a high five.
He stared at my hand and then walked around me.
“What the hell?”
Daniel shrugged.
“No, no shrugging.” I pointed at Reggie and Calvin. “You guys didn’t want me and Daniel fighting because of team unity or whatever, but jackass Jayden can treat me like a ghost and it’s no big deal? That’s such a load of puke.”
“He’s…” Reggie didn’t finish.
“It’s just that…” Calvin seemed to have the same problem as Reggie.
I turned to Daniel. “What’s your excuse?”
“I already told you why he won’t talk to you. I can’t make him do it.” Daniel tossed his glove in his bag. “If you haven’t noticed, he doesn’t really talk to the rest of us much either.”
“Just Adam,” Calvin chimed in.
“Did I hear my name?” Adam said as he strolled into the dugout.
“Vic wants to know why Jayden’s a jackass,” Calvin said, ducking as I took a swing at him. He didn’t have to shout it for the entire park to hear.
Adam smiled. “He’s not. He’s actually a good guy but doesn’t trust a lot of people. And he just doesn’t like you, Vic. Thinks you’re doing this for some kind of feminist glory.”
“I’ve told you a million times, I –” I began.
“Just want to play baseball,” they finished my sentence for me. In unison, no less.
“We know,” Daniel added. “But he doesn’t see it that way. No matter how many times you say it, he won’t change his mind. Believe me, we’ve tried to convince him that you’re innocent.”
Reggie smirked. “Well, somewhat anyway.”
Daniel smacked him on the arm with the back of his hand.
I smiled, faking sweetness. “And what exactly does that mean?”
“Nothing, it was just a joke,” Reggie said, holding his hands up in mock surrender.
“Just let it go, Vic. Jayden will come around eventually.” Adam walked toward the bleachers where a girl with bouncy blonde hair waited.
“Who’s that?” I asked whoever was listening.
Daniel tossed his bag over his shoulder. “Adam’s new girl. Think her name’s Heather.” His eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“Just never seen her before.” I picked up my bag and watched Adam kiss Heather like he’d just gotten back from war.
“Not crushing on Adam now, are you?” Daniel snapped.
I dropped my bag and pushed him onto the bench, jumping on top of him. Then I started punching him in the soft part of the upper arm. “Take it back.”
“Okay, okay,” he laughed. “I take it back.”
I let him up and he rubbed his arm.
“You hit like a girl, Victoria.”
“No kidding, Cho. I am a girl.”
He bent down to get his bag and mumbled something I pretended to ignore, “Believe me, I know.”
“Need a ride?” I asked over my shoulder as I headed toward the parking lot. I shouldn’t have, but the game of “Punch Daniel” was too much fun and I liked hanging out with him. Friends do that.
He took two strides and fell into step beside me. “Well, here’s the thing. If you give me another ride home, you’re gonna have to meet my mom.” He cleared his throat. “She kinda thinks you’re my girlfriend –”
I raised my arm to hit him again.
“Wait, wait, wait. Hear me out. I didn’t tell her that. She made an assumption.”
I let my hand fall and crossed my arms, giving him my version of Grandma’s stink eye.
He smiled like his words hurt. “I kinda let her believe it.” When I didn’t smile back, he added, “She’s happy about it. It was easier than telling her the truth.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Fine. If you want me to be your pretend girlfriend, you have to buy me a real dinner first.”
He threw his arm over my shoulder. “No problem. How about you just come over tonight? Eat with the family. You’ve already met my dad. You’ll make my mom’s day. And my little sister desperately wants to meet you.”
“Wait.” I stopped before we got to the car. “You have a little sister?”
He smiled and walked to the passenger door. “Yeah. She’s fascinated with Xavier. And she’s brilliant too. Dad’s hoping she can get in next year.”
“Seriously?” I unlocked the doors
and opened the driver’s door.
Daniel got in and immediately started adjusting the seat. “Yeah, she’s already skipped a grade –”
“No. I mean about having dinner at your house.”
“Of course.” He reached over and turned the key for me. “You’d be doing me a huge favor.”
“And you understand that you will owe me big time.”
He smiled widely and leaned back into his seat. “I know.”
BOTTOM OF THE 3RD
Living with my grandmother was almost like having my own place. Her calendar was more extensive than my mother’s. Besides the social obligations she kept up after Grandpa died, she volunteered the majority of her time. There were gardens to tend to all over the neighborhood, the Habitat house and its office, and walking door-to-door collecting clothes for a nearby homeless shelter. On the odd off day, she’d work at a woman’s shelter. Her energy amazed me.
Of course, this meant she was home the one night I was going to Daniel’s house for dinner.
“Tell me about him,” she asked. She sat at the kitchen table with her hand curled around a cup of tea.
I pulled the carton of milk from the fridge. “You know him already. He works at the Habitat house.”
Her eyebrows scrunch while she thought about this. “The Cho boy?”
“His name is Daniel.” I chugged the milk and put the glass into the sink. Staring out the window with her in my peripheral vision was easier than looking at her head on.
“Good family.” She sipped her tea but didn’t take her eyes off me. “What does Theo think of this?”
I hadn’t told anyone that Theo and I were on the rocks. The one person I would’ve discussed it with was in Europe with the maybe-cheating boyfriend. “Theo doesn’t know.”
“You didn’t tell your boyfriend that you’re having dinner with another boy and his family? Do we have something to hide?”
“No, ‘we’ don’t.” Three birds hopped around the birdbath chirping at one another in the back yard. I wished I could be that carefree.
“Then why not tell Theo?”
I closed my eyes. Why didn’t I just tell her? “Because it’s more trouble than it’s worth. I’m doing Daniel a favor to get his mother off his back. That’s all.”
“By pretending to be his girlfriend? Honey, are you sure this is a good idea? Daniel likes you. Anybody can see that.” She snuck up behind me and hugged my shoulders. “You may do more harm than good.”
“You sound like Mom.”
She laughed then let go. “Your mother is much wiser than I realized.”
My cell rang in my pocket. Theo. Grandma cleared her throat and went back to the crossword puzzle she’d been working on. I walked down the hall, staring at the flashing screen. Why was he even calling? I flipped it over on the bed so I couldn’t see his smiling face and surveyed my little room. This felt more like home every day.
After showering, I dug into the closet. It was crammed full of the clothes that I hadn’t even worn or looked at. My daily attire had been shorts and a t-shirt or my baseball uniform. I had nothing to wear. I sat on the bed to think it out. If this was my family dinner, I would have to wear a nice dress with heels. That didn’t seem right. What would the Chos wear? Jeans? No, too casual.
Then I spied my simple white skirt sticking out in the back. My legs were tanned sufficiently and would only appear more so. I pushed around and found a black v-neck tee. Perfect. It was casual but dressy enough for a girl meeting a boy’s parents for the first time.
I tied my hair into a low ponytail and swiped some mascara over my lashes. Simple and classy. I slipped on a pair of black flat sandals to complete the ensemble.
“You look … nice,” Grandma said as I hurried to the front door.
I stopped. There was a hidden meaning in that statement. I turned to face her.
She put her hands up. “I didn’t mean anything by that.”
There wasn’t any point in arguing. I shook my head and left the house. When I got to the car, I realized what she implied.
Why did I agree to this? This is stupid. I’m not his girlfriend. God, I’m an idiot.
It was too late to back out gracefully. Feeling guilty for what I was about to do, I called Theo on the way over. He didn’t answer.
Andrea did.
“Vicky! I miss you. Europe is so awesome.” She giggled like she did whenever she was nervous.
“I miss you, too. What’s going on?” It was great to hear her voice. “I’m surprised you haven’t called me earlier.”
“I know. I keep meaning to.” She laughed again. This was odd. “We’ve been like everywhere. The Louvre was so incredible. We spent two days in Paris. Oh, and the Eiffel Tower was muy romantic.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Did you hook up with someone?”
“Vicky, you’re so funny.” She giggled and I knew she was lying. “Did you get my email? I sent you a ton of pics.”
“No, I haven’t checked my mail.” It was partially true. I’d seen it on my phone but hadn’t bothered to open the attachments.
Someone shouted “let’s go” in the background.
“I’ll tell Theo you called. We’re heading somewhere … Oh, I don’t even know where we’re going now. I think another club. There is so much to do in Amsterdam. I can’t wait to see you. Bye.”
She hung up.
Less than ten seconds later, Theo called me back. I was turning onto Daniel’s street and didn’t feel like answering. The conversation with Andy bothered me. Why did she answer Theo’s phone to begin with? Why was she laughing nervously? Something was going on. For the first time since we’d become friends, it felt like there was more than an ocean between us.
I parked in front of Daniel’s house and double-checked my make-up in the rearview before sliding out of the car. I couldn’t dwell on Andrea’s odd behavior, or Theo, at the moment. There was a more pressing problem at hand. I needed to tell Daniel that this was not a good idea. In fact, it was a very, very bad one.
The sun had started to set as I strolled up the sidewalk. The pink and orange hues stretched across the sky like fingers reaching for the night. I stopped before the steps, staring at the imposing front door for a moment. I hated to admit it, but I was nervous. It’d been a long time since I’d met a guy’s parents. I had known Theo’s mom and dad for years so this situation was unprecedented. For once I wanted to be more like my parents. They were masters of self-introduction. Here I had to make conversation that didn’t revolve around Senator Hudson or the state of the nation.
I reached for the doorbell just as the door opened. Daniel smiled, and his eyes slid down to my legs as I stepped by him.
“Hey,” he said as if he’d run to meet me at the door.
The house was much larger than it appeared. To the right of the door was a large staircase that wound up to the second floor. On my left, a set of pocket doors were opened to a parlor. A hallway stretched out before me, leading to the kitchen where the smell of roast and potatoes clogged the air.
Daniel leaned against the banister, staring at me. “Want a tour?”
I smiled, remembering how I hadn’t given him one of Chez Hudson. “Yeah, sure.”
“Um … okay.” He walked into the parlor. There was a light gray sofa and loveseat arranged to face a corner fireplace. “Well, this is the living room. That,” he pointed through another set of pocket doors where a long cherry table sat beneath an elaborate chandelier, “is the dining room.”
Back in the hallway, he pointed out the kitchen, bathroom, and stairs to the basement. His mother peered down the hall and waved.
“Dad’s not home yet. Mom’s cooking like she’s going to feed the entire neighborhood.” He glanced back to the kitchen where his mother’s head disappeared. “Let’s go upstairs.”
I asked in the universal language of the raised eyebrows, “Are you serious?”
He smiled and bent close to my ear. “My sister’s in her room. She’s dying to meet yo
u, remember? I’m surprised she didn’t run down the minute I opened the door.”
He led me up the stairs. I couldn’t keep my eyes off the walls. There were photos everywhere. All of them were family; that was obvious. Pictures of Daniel and his sister covered the lower part of the walls, but older images drew me in. They were orange with age. The faces were all Korean. Daniel must have seen me staring at them because he stopped suddenly. I smacked into his backside. My hands grabbed his thighs to keep from falling back down the stairs.
He looked a little flushed when I let go.
“That was taken in Korea,” he said, pointing to a picture of a man and woman standing in front of a cart on a dirty road with hills behind them. “They moved south to get away from the combat.”
I stepped up between Daniel and the photo to get a better look.
He leaned over my shoulder and pointed at the cart. “See that little guy there. He would’ve been my dad’s uncle.”
“Would’ve been? What happened?” All I could see was a tiny face wrapped in thick blankets.
“War.” He breathed the word onto my neck.
I shivered. I didn’t know if it was the way he said “war” or how his hot breath caressed my neck.
He walked up the rest of the steps and waited for me. I stared at the picture for another moment before joining him. The upstairs hallway contained even more photographs. Some were more recent, like Daniel and his sister by a river somewhere. Some were older, but these were of Daniel’s mother and her family.
We walked by an open door with a full-size bed and a chest of drawers. He didn’t need to tell me that it was his parent’s room. Daniel knocked on the first closed door to his left.
“Go away, Mom,” a girl squeaked.
“It’s not Mom, idiot,” Daniel snapped as he wiggled the door knob.
I slapped his arm. “That’s not nice.”
“You don’t know my sister.”
She opened the door with a major scowl on her face that disappeared when she noticed me.
“Omigod, you’re Vic. You have to tell me everything about Xavier.” She grabbed both of my hands and pulled me into her room, kicking the door closed at the same time.
Extra Innings Page 6
