by Bria Daly
“Mommy are you okay?” Melle asked with a twinge of fear in her voice.
The kids stared silently while their mother continued to hit her head.
After a while, they all looked at each other wondering what to do. Melle and Charlie looked at Peter and looked really scared.
That was just about the moment when Sera chose to accidentally honk the horn of the car with her head and jumped a foot off her seat yelling, “What was that?!”
Peter looked at her like she had gone mad, but after seeing her smirk, and seeing the confused look on her face after the horn went off, he just started laughing.
Sera smiled at her son, winked, and shrugged.
Another major emotional tragedy avoided.
Later on in the day, they’d have to discuss bad words, bring up religion and tolerance, explain that acting maturely and helping out doesn’t give you a free pass to use foul language, and the toughest one: discuss their dad – lightly – and try to balance the truth with what the kids could handle.
Their dad’s abandonment couldn’t be downplayed. However, how do you explain that type of behavior to a kid when most adults around you don’t even get it? Parenting was a balancing act, and these kids needed a safety net. Sera was their safety net, and she was hanging on by a thread.
Yes, all that would come later. They’d have to put the family pow wow on hold for now, because right now it was time to play ball!
They parked the car as close to the field as possible, but not close enough for all they had to haul. Sera asked Melle to take Emma. She didn’t want to push her luck with Peter today. So Emma was in the stroller with Melle pushing, Peter had the cooler to lug, and Sera carried bags with odds and ends, while trying to follow a very motivated and enthusiastic Charlie onto the field.
They were late. Not surprising after the little episode they had just had on the road. Now Sera’s head hurt. She touched where it hurt and felt some pain. Great, she was probably walking around with a huge bruise on her forehead! Next time she’d put one of those soft covers on her steering wheel before hitting her head on it time and time again.
They got to the field where all of the kids were lined up. The boys and girls looked adorable in their super clean new uniforms. Sera wondered if there would be time for some picture taking before they got too dirty. Even better, maybe they could do a before and after.
The kids were standing attentively listening to their coach. Sera didn’t really care for the coach, who was too serious about a game for four and five year-olds. The guy must have worn a jock uniform in his early days, but now he just wore a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, a baseball cap, and a paunchy belly. He made it clear to Sera the last time she saw him, that he didn’t like that Charlie couldn’t make practices, but the only way he could get to practice would be if someone other than Sera took him. Didn’t other parents work too?
“Hi everyone,” Sera smiled at the kids who gave her a shy wave, but she received no acknowledgement from the coach.
“Charlie, you stand between Joey and Becka.” The coach pointed to two kids who looked a little younger than the rest, and then he looked up at Sera, snorting, “You can hang out with the other parents.”
So she was dismissed. Nice. Sera looked over to the bleachers to see if she recognized anyone, but before sitting down, she’d have to track down Peter, Melle, and Emma. Emma would start wailing soon and she was afraid she’d find her stuffed in a trash can somewhere.
Sera started heading to the other side to see where her kids were when a guy popped out of nowhere, and got in her way. “Uh, hi. Excuse me,” Sera stuttered, “I have to go find my kids.”
“You’re Suzie Sinclair, aren’t you?” he asked looking down at her body and spending little time on her face.
“Sera, I don’t think we’ve met.”
“Brian. I saw you at the school a few times. Your kid is Chuckie?”
The guy was gross. He was leaning into Sera like he knew her and like he thought she wouldn’t mind. Sera took a step back. ”C-h-a-r-l-i-e, not Chuckie, and uh, like I said, got to go.” She turned quickly, but didn’t miss the thumbs up the guy gave to another guy standing nearby.
Well, good to know her husband Peter wasn’t the only scumbag around.
Sera scanned the crowd and saw Peter and Melle standing next to Emma in her stroller, who was still miraculously asleep. From a distance, Sera couldn’t really see if Emma was awake or if she was asleep, but since she wasn’t wailing, it was a safe bet that she was still asleep. She had forgotten about the cooler, but she’d have to bring it to the field a little later for snack time. She was not about to tackle the coach or that gross jerk until she re-energized.
With her eye on her kids, the most beautiful sight ever, Sera rushed over as if she hadn’t seen them in ages instead of the five measly minutes that had gone by.
“Hi guys! Have I told you lately how much I love you?” Peter rolled his eyes and Melle beamed. Emma slept. “So where should we sit?”
“How about here?” Peter said.
Sera looked around. There were bleachers, but that part of the small stadium was empty. “Don’t you want to sit where the other people sit?”
“Nope,” he said and quickly planted his butt on the cold aluminum seat.
“This okay with you Melle?” Sera asked her second child who was looking around and fidgeting.
“Mommy, umm,” Melle twisted her hair with her finger, “is it alright if I go sit over there?” she asked pointing. “I just saw Tiff with her mom and dad.”
Sera smiled, knowing Melle would be bored to tears staying with them, and P.D.’s plans obviously were to sulk and make it miserable for everyone. “Sure baby, I’ll be here if you need me. Remember,” Sera added waving a finger to her daughter, “buddy system. You don’t go anywhere without telling someone or without a buddy. No bathroom visits without a friend. Got it?”
“Yes mommy, I know that. You tell me every time.” Melle put a lot of emphasis on the word “every.”
“Okay, good to know you’ve been listening. So go now!” She pushed her daughter away and sat down next to P.D..
P.D. scooted a foot away from his mom and continued texting or doing whatever he was doing when Sera and Melle were talking.
Sera looked around and tried not to feel sorry for herself. Wait until all four are teens! P.D. couldn’t get far enough away, and Melle was cheerfully running off to someone else’s family, who were obviously a lot more entertaining than her own. Charlie was in the dugout somewhere, and Emma ... well, it was better to leave Emma be.
Sera scanned the area and hoped she’d be able to see Charlie from where she was sitting. It was obvious Peter had no desire to be with others and was hating every minute of this family outing. She had to tread carefully with him. He was at a super tough age, and tough things happened at the worst possible time for him. Deb was right. She should consider therapy for him, but even broaching the subject now was risky business. He hated his dad, but her relationship with him was also turning fragile.
Sera saw two guys coming her way and hoped they didn’t ask her to join them. Now that they were closer, she saw that one of them was the guy she had tried to avoid earlier. Today was continuing to suck.
“Hi again,” Brian said. “You remember Randy, don’t you?”
“Sure. Hi Randy.”
“Mind if we sit?” Randy asked.
“Well, uh,” Sera answered as P.D. shot her a “don’t even think about it” look. She wished she could shoot something back that said “I am with you on this one kid,” but gave a lame “Okay,” instead.
The men sat on either side of her, making P.D. have to move again, but this time it was not by choice.
“This is my son, uh ... Daniel.” She had hesitated, but got it right. No use alienating P.D. any more by using his deadbeat dad’s name.
Brian laughed, but didn’t even say hi to Peter. “What, too many kids to remember their name
s?”
Not worth a response, Sera thought. So instead she changed the subject, “When are they starting to play?” she asked both or none of the two jerks on either side.
“They were waiting for someone, but I think they’re about to start.”
“Good, this is exciting,” Sera smiled. “Their first game! I hope they don’t keep score though, so they can all win.”
“Well where’s the fun then? They got to learn sometime?” Brian answered.
“Yes, but they’re four and five year-olds. They should just have fun.” Sera hated competition for kids. It seemed it was more for the parents’ sake than for the kids.
Case in point, Randy answered, “If they don’t keep score, how will they know who won?”
Oh, he must be the bright one of the two…
“That’s the whole point. It doesn’t really matter if they are learning and just having fun.” They were harder to talk to than her four kids, including Emma who didn’t talk.
“I want them to keep score so everyone will know my son is the one who beat all their butts!” Brian laughed and elbowed P.D., who moved another foot away from them.
“What sport do you play, sport?” Randy asked a very uninterested P.D..
“I don’t,” P.D. answered and went back to his iPhone.
“Single mom is gonna make a pansy out of you!” both men guffawed.
Sera sat upright when she heard “single mom.” What had they heard? Is that why they were here? This was a game she wasn’t willing to play. Besides, how dare they talk to P.D. that way? The poor kid turned bright red and dug his head deeper into his phone.
“Pansy? I’m sorry. I thought I heard you call my son a pansy,” Sera was having a really hard time staying in her seat and not hitting someone.
“Well, if you keep standing up for him, he’ll be a queer someday too!” Brian laughed.
“P.D., let’s go sit over there,” Sera pointed to the general direction of anywhere but here. “This area is starting to stink. Doubt it’s the bathrooms, they’re on the other side.” P.D. got up, grabbed the cooler, and smiled at his mother before looking at the guys who were still sitting down and adding, “Eww mom, it does stink here.”
“I thought she said his name was Daniel,” they laughed, “so it’s true she doesn’t even know her kids’ names. Pops them out too fast to remember!”
Sera and P.D. couldn’t get away fast enough. They walked past where Melle was sitting, and Sera pointed to where she was heading. Melle waved her away instead of over. Interesting. So all was settled. Off they went to find new seats.
Sera saw that P.D. was steaming. He had heard the entire exchange and that last bit about popping kids out, not something a thirteen year-old wants to even think about, especially when talking about his mother. Sera looked at him and said, “You want to talk about assholes? Those two are more like ass craters!” P.D. smiled and his pace quickened; he almost skipped at that one.
They were halfway down to an empty spot with other families when Sera heard her name being called out. It was a man’s voice she didn’t identify at first, and thought great ... another one! She was just about to turn the other way when she heard her name again. Shielding her eyes with her hand to see where the voice was coming from, Sera saw that it was Mitch, sitting on the bleachers with Trish and a couple of kids.
Sera beamed. Mitch was like an oasis right now. What were they doing here?
Mitch and Trish waved them over and then Mitch ran down to help Sera with Emma. They left the cooler down near the field, and Mitch turned to P.D. to introduce himself.
”Hi, I’m Mitch. I work with your mom. Would you like to join us?”
Mitch hadn’t even glanced at Sera when he asked, and Sera loved it. She loved Mitch! What a great guy. She almost threw her arms around him to thank him, but that would have been just weird.
Trish helped pull a sleeping Emma out – still in her carrier – by unsnapping the carrier from the stroller. Trish looked up at Sera and mouthed “She’s gorgeous!”
Trish looked over to Mitch and pointed to Emma, “I want one of these!” she squealed.
Sera laughed and told them both, “Watch what you ask for,” and P.D. laughed.
Sera went on to do the introductions of Daniel and Emma, and explained that Melle was sitting with a friend.
Trish introduced her eight and twelve year-old daughters. The girls were just as stunning as their mother was, and tall ... The oldest looked like she could be fifteen or sixteen, and was absolutely beautiful.
Sera saw that P.D. had also noticed, because he put his phone away in his pocket and was very cool about it all. Pansy, my ass!
The game had just started and they all quickly shifted their attention to the field. Trish pointed to her son, Austin, and Sera pointed to Charlie, who was sitting on a bench with the two kids he had been told to stand next to when they arrived.
It was funny to watch the kids. There were so many errors, a few tantrums, a couple of minor injuries, and random tears. However, it would have been a lot more fun to watch had Charlie been playing.
Sera turned to Trish and asked, “Do they make sure all of the kids play in every game?”
Trish looked at Sera suddenly realizing Charlie had been sitting out the entire time. “They’re supposed to. Our coach makes sure they all go out or he gets hell from us parents. Has Charlie played before?”
“No, this is his first season and first game. The coach thinks I’m invisible. I’ve tried to ask how Charlie’s doing, but ...”
“Mitch,” Trish put her hand on her husband’s knee and squeezed, “go to the dugout and see what’s up with Charlie and why he’s not playing.”
Sera looked uncomfortably over at Mitch who also looked a little uncomfortable.
Mitch got up to leave and Trish explained, “If you haven’t noticed, this is a man’s world. That’s why there are wars and famine. If we ruled, we would be hugging and apologizing even if we didn’t do anything, and we’d be sharing a big table with food for anyone who was hungry. If you go to the dugout, they will ignore you and piss you off. If Mitch goes, they might actually listen. It sucks, but that’s the way it is.”
“Don’t you go giving my employee any women’s lib ideas now!”
Sera turned and saw Jeff sit down next to her. She flushed, and the sun suddenly started feeling a lot warmer.
“I ... uh ... I didn’t know you were coming. You didn’t say…”
Jeff smiled, “I don’t have to tell you everything, but you should have told me.”
Sera laughed at him, “Really?”
Jeff leaned over to give his sister and the two girls a kiss, raised his hands defensively when he saw Emma, and said, “Hey Daniel. How’s it going?”
P.D. had been talking to Jeff’s niece and turned a light shade of pink. Jeff winked at him and turned to his sister, “Where’s your man?”
“Talking some sense into Charlie’s coach.” Trish answered.
“Oh,” Jeff looked confused. Then he turned to Sera and asked, “Has he been sitting it out?”
“Yes, but I’m not sure if the coach will be calling him in. This is Charlie’s first game, so I’m not sure how it works.”
“Who’s the coach?”
Sera thought for a second and said, “They call him Coach Mike. I think his name is Michael Casey,” Trish and Jeff exchanged a look Sera could not figure out.
“What?!” Sera looked from one to the other very confused.
“Let’s just say he shouldn’t be coaching four and five year-olds,” Trish said. “We had him for the two older girls for a short time and we hated him. If you weren’t really good, he’d bench you.” Trish realized what she said, and added, “Sorry.”
“Hey Daniel,” Jeff called out, “do you want to take a walk with me to check on Charlie?”
P.D. hesitated, looked at the pretty girl next to him, and decided going to check on his younger brother might earn him s
ome points. “Sure, be right back,” he told the girl who had already pulled out her iPod.
When Jeff and P.D. got there, Mitch was on his knees giving Charlie some pointers. It looked like Charlie was about to go play.
“Hey Charlie, how are you doing? Don’t you look sharp in that uniform,” Jeff told a very happy Charlie.
“P.D., they’re gonna let me pway,” Charlie beamed. “Coach said there wasn’t woom before, but he made woom for me now.”
P.D. looked up at Mitch and then to his brother, “That’s great squirt. The game will finally get interesting now.”
The coach called out to Charlie and made no eye contact with Mitch or Jeff. At least Charlie would play.
The three “men” walked back to the bleachers to some very proud and happy women.
Sera was the first to speak, “Thank you so, so much. I had no idea how this worked Mitch, but Trish explained this stupid man code thing, so I’m glad you went to talk.”
Mitch looked at his wife smiling and said, “I bet she did. Anyway, the coach said it somehow got past him…”
“I bet it did…” Trish rolled her eyes.
As predicted by P.D., the game did get more interesting. Charlie was awful, and the coach and a few other dads were not happy. Poor Charlie! The good thing was that Charlie was having fun and didn’t seem to notice or care how bad he was.
It was half time, so Sera brought out the juice boxes and snacks for the kids. She was handing them out when Randy came up to her and asked, “Who taught your son to play? You or your baby?”
Sera’s head snapped up and she was about to say something when Jeff replied, “I did.”
Jeff towered over Randy who was probably only 5’6 or 5’7. He was a bit intimidating and the look he gave Randy made things look worse.
“Oh, well I hope you keep teaching him, because he’s got a lot to learn.” Randy turned to leave, but Jeff stopped him.
“You’re the one who has a lot to learn. Leave the kid and his family alone. You hear me?”
“Or what?” Randy asked, and then shrugged and left when he saw Mitch join Jeff and Sera.
“Ass crater…” P.D. was heard saying behind them.
Chapter 17
On Monday, Sera walked into work with a headache. She hated ugly people and Charlie’s coach and those two dads at the game had really bothered her. Sunday, she had spent the day wondering what she should do. She was happy Mitch and Jeff had been there to help out, since this was a man’s world, as Trish had pointed out. Life wouldn’t be easy raising four kids alone if so many men kept getting in her way. All she wanted was to get her life going in the right direction, and do what was best for her kids.
