Remy

Little black dress or baseball shirt and jeans?

What do you wear to a practice game after which you have a date to some unknown location?

Remy had given in to Troy’s request for a date. She wasn’t so sure they would get along well enough to do anything but fool around. But maybe if that’s all there was, that would be OK. Wouldn’t it?

Except, there was something else going on here. When she’d woken up Thursday morning after their little phone sex interlude, her car started immediately. She had checked under the hood, and sure enough, Troy had replaced the battery in the middle of the night. This was not the activity of a guy who just wanted to mess around.

Anyway, how long had it been since she’d been on a date? Too long. Saturday was perfect timing, because of Ryan getting tickets to Weird Al.

”I think he kind of wanted me to tag along, but I’d rather not. Feels kind of pathetic if we’re not together,” she had laughed as she told Troy about it.

Troy had been mysteriously silent on the other end of the phone call. Then he finally asked, “Is there a possibility you might get back together with your ex?”

What a weird question. The thought had never crossed her mind. She didn’t want to make Troy feel like an idiot for asking, though. How would he know what her relationship with Elliot’s father was like?

“No. He’s a great dad, but we’re a terrible match.” She chuckled and said, “Kind of like you and me.”

Troy was silent again. Oh great job, Remy. Now you’ve hurt his feelings.

“I just mean that you and I aren’t exactly written on the wind, am I right? We met three days ago, and what do we know how to do together besides argue, make out and have phone sex?”

Troy replied, “Well, I hope to find out on our date, but I get what you’re saying.”

They had hung up the phone before Remy felt like she had time to recover from making the “terrible match” comment to Troy. He sounded terse at the end.

Well, what did he have to get his panties in a wad about anyway? They barely knew each other. Arguing made them both horny; it wasn’t exactly rocket science. He had to see the unlikelihood of this working out. Hadn’t he? He was just having fun, just like he had told her to have fun. Right?

But here she was, just having fun, and five minutes in she was hurting somebody’s ego.

She looked from the dress to the tee-shirt. Back to the dress. Maybe she wasn’t ready to date again. Maybe her emotional maturity atrophied after her split with Ryan. Maybe she had never matured in the first place since Ryan was her first, last and only until now.

Remy settled on wearing the baseball shirt and jeans. She also decided to cancel their date after the game.

Sitting still in the bleachers on a warm, sunny spring Saturday afternoon at the scrimmage did not improve Remy’s edgy mood one bit. All the other parents chatted to each other about the upcoming season. About how impressed they were with the new coach. About the brand new backstop, thanks to the field being purchased by BKG Genetics. About how this new company bought out a huge cattle ranch west of town and built a mysterious high-tech laboratory. About how the dad of the first baseman, Brandt Fuller, got a new job there and was said to have to wear a sterile white suit before walking onto the production floor. She half-listened to all of it but could only focus on one thing: Coach Troy had kept his word and benched Elliot.

What. The. Fuck.

Oh yeah, she was definitely going to cancel this date.

Elliot’s team, which was sponsored by Hawk’s Diner for the umpteenth year in a row, ended up winning the game without his help against their cross-county rival, Mount Pleasant Chiropractic. After the game, Ryan sauntered up to her.

“What’s the deal?”

Remy rolled her eyes. “Oh, the new coach thinks Elliot has a fatigued shoulder from working too hard on pitching, so he benched him.”

Ryan squinted at her. He was trying to read her. Then he seemed like he was examining her hair, her makeup, her jeans.

“No, I knew about that. I actually kind of agree with Coach Troy about all that. Elliot told me about it. I’m talking about what’s going on with you. You look awfully nice for a baseball game.”

“Practice game.”

“Even more overdressed, in that case. You got a date?”

Remy blushed. None of this was Ryan’s business. “I’m wearing jeans and a tee-shirt; it doesn’t get any more casual, Ryan.”

“You have on makeup and your hair is not in a ponytail nor in a messy bun. You’re wearing your good bra—“

“Hey!” Remy crossed her arms over her chest. This kind of talk in public—from her ex-husband no less—felt like a violation.

“You look hot. You have a date. Admit it.”

She grunted and gave up. “Yeah, well, I did have a date, but I’m calling it off.”

Remy looked over at the field where the opposing coaches and the dusty kids were shaking hands with each other as the sun dipped lower in the late afternoon sky.

Coach Troy was nodding and chatting with the other coach. The two of them were laughing about something. Probably laughing about the “psycho baseball moms.” Maybe they should go out for beers and Troy could leave her alone.

“Hello? Are you still with me, Remy?”

“What? What are you asking me?”

Ryan laughed. “Holy shit, you have a date with the coach!”

She shrugged. “Not anymore. He just benched our kid, in case you didn’t notice.”

She studied Ryan’s face, which was looking at her with both confusion and amusement. She remembered why she used to love him, or think she did. But today she could honestly say she felt absolutely no attraction to him.

Which was why when he said what he said next, she was able to take it as advice from a friend, and think of it as such, rather than from her goofy ex-husband.

“What has one got to do with the other?”

“Elliot is my whole entire life. I think you ought to relate to that, Ryan.”

“Think of it this way: you both want what’s right for Elliot. You see that he’s pushing himself to his limits. Coach Troy benched him because he is genuinely worried about his arm and his shoulder. He is saving him for later. He is protecting him from injury and also protecting the league from a potential lawsuit.”

“As if I’d sue the league,” she snorted. “Ridiculous.”

“No, you wouldn’t. Because despite this Tiger Mom facade, you’re a decent person who knows how to do the right thing. And so does he. Troy’s a conscientious dude. You should go on the date. Don’t let this one practice game bruise your ego.”

Just then, Elliot hopped up and hugged his dad. “Weird Al Time!” he shouted.

“Honey,” she said, “do you want to shower first? You don’t want to stink your dad out in the car ride.”

“Nah, we gotta go,” Ryan said. “Besides, he didn’t even break a sweat today! And also, we can handle each other’s odors. We’re men!”

The boys both roared and bumped chests as Remy rolled her eyes. “At least stop by your house and change into something not covered with dirt.”

“Whatever. See you all tonight.”