Twelve
Road trips were hard. I’d learned that quickly. It was almost halfway through the season now and I still wasn’t used to them. The apartment was lonely and I missed Adam when he was gone. That first road trip when he’d gone out west had been the hardest so far. With the time difference, it made talking difficult and I couldn’t even stay up and watch more than a couple of innings of the game before I had to go to bed to make it to work the next morning.
The team was doing well. They were in a battle for the top spot in the division with the Orioles. The standings kept going back and forth, which stressed Adam out. He’d had a pretty good season so far. His ERA was low and he had more wins than losses, but he was hard on himself and said he could do better. Adam’s competitiveness had really started to kick in. I found it adorable actually, even if I thought he didn’t give himself enough credit.
He was in Tampa Bay currently and wouldn’t be home for another four days after a stop in Cleveland for a three-game series. I tried not to dwell on it. There were so many other people who had it much worse than me, like military members and their families. I felt I had no right to complain about Adam’s absence, especially with his paycheck. I had no reason to feel sorry for myself, but I still missed him.
Work kept me busy. I’d jumped right into the project and hadn’t looked back. Sean and Brett liked me. I knew they did. Ron was pleased with my work too. I knew that by my first evaluation where he’d given me high marks and ended my probationary period. Father Time was another story though. Frank was grumpy, but I tried to kill him with kindness. He’d seemed to soften a little when he learned about my relationship with Adam, but I’d decided Frank was just an overall miserable person and I found ignoring him was the best way to deal with him.
It’d been a long week and I was excited for the weekend because Erica was coming for a visit along with Sawyer and Lindsey. They hadn’t been to Boston since I moved in and I was anxious to see them and to have some life back in the apartment.
It was nearly six o’clock when I walked in the door, dropping my bag on the table and looking around to make sure everything was ready for their arrival. They had left after Erica’s shift at The Silver Falls House ended at three o’clock. They should be here within the hour.
I turned on the oven and pulled the lasagna out of the fridge I’d prepped the night before and started making a salad. I cranked up the music, singing along to The Killers as I chopped the vegetables. I barely heard the sound of my phone letting me know a video call was coming through, but I did just in time to wipe my hands on a towel and pick it up to see Adam’s name flash on the screen. I felt myself smile instantly at the thought of seeing him when I wasn’t expecting it.
“Hey!” I said cheerfully when I saw his face on the screen. He was in his uniform and I could tell he was sitting in the clubhouse.
“Hey, Care,” he said, a sweet grin on face.
“I didn’t expect to hear from you until after the game. Is everything okay?” I asked, trying not to examine the look on his face too much, searching for something to be wrong.
“Everything’s fine, babe,” he said. “I just wanted to see your face and ask how your day was.”
His words caused me to melt a little. I still didn’t understand why he loved me the way he did, but whatever his reasons, I was grateful.
“My day was good. How are you?”
“I miss you,” he said softly and I tried imagining him here with me, holding my hand and kissing my lips.
“I miss you too. You’ll be home Monday though so try not to miss me too much,” I said with a soft laugh.
“I always miss you, Caroline,” he said with a half-smile that made me blush.
“How’s your arm doing?” I asked.
“It’s not giving me any problems, so that’s all I can ask for.”
“You ready to pitch tomorrow?” I asked, thinking about his one o’clock game that was being televised nationally on FOX.
“Yeah. The arm feels good. Dominguez and I have been working on my slider,” he said, referring to his favorite catcher. “It’s coming along.”
“You think you’re going to win?” I asked.
“I always think I’m going to win,” he said with a quiet laugh.
“I’ll be watching,” I told him, having already put it on tomorrow’s agenda. I didn’t care what Erica or my brother wanted to do. From approximately one p.m. to four, our butts were going to parked in front of the TV.
“I’ll try and make you proud then,” he told me and while I knew he was teasing, I still felt the corners of my mouth turn down into a slight frown. “What is it, Care?” he asked, noticing the change in my demeanor.
“I want you to know you always make me proud,” I told him and it grew quiet for a few seconds before he spoke again.
“I know,” he said softly. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize,” I told him. “Just remember how proud I am of you…how proud we all are.”
It grew quiet again and his blue eyes seemed to pierce right through me even though we were a thousand miles apart.
“I will,” he said just as the doorbell rang.
“I think Erica and Sawyer are here,” I said, feeling the excitement brewing inside me to the point a smile crawled across my face.
“Tell them I said hi. Have fun this weekend,” he said.
“I will.” I blew a kiss at him, which he pretended to catch. It was a totally lame way to end our conversation, but it’d become our tradition after I’d had too many glasses of wine while I sat alone in the apartment during his first road trip. I had blown him a drunk kiss and told him to try and catch it. He did and we’d done it every night we’d been apart since.
“Love you, Care.”
“Love you too,” I said, looking into his eyes once more before ending the call.
I always felt a little empty after our conversations. I was glad to hear his voice and see his face. It numbed the ache a little bit, even though it never fully healed it and when we’d hang up, the ache for him was even stronger than before we’d spoken. I’d decided that loving someone the way I loved Adam wasn’t always an easy task, especially with the amount of time we’d been apart.
The doorbell rang again and I set the phone down, walking quickly to the front door, swinging it open and smiling when I saw the familiar faces looking back at me.
“Caroline!” Erica shrieked, opening her arms and lunging toward me, wrapping me in such a tight bear hug, I couldn’t breathe for a second. “It’s so good to see you!” she continued to gush. “You look amazing! You’ve only been gone a couple of months, but holy crap, living in Boston definitely suits you.” It was as if she’d pushed out the last few sentences all in one breath, but that didn’t surprise me. That was simply Erica.
“It’s good to see you, too,” I said to my cousin and then stepped back when she released me so they could all come inside.
“Hey, Care,” Sawyer said and I looked over at my brother. While not the exuberant greeting Erica had given me, I could still tell she was excited to see me.
“I’ve missed you, Sawyer,” I said, leaning over and hugging him.
“I’ve missed you, too.” He squeezed me tighter for a moment before letting go and I locked eyes with Lindsey and smiled.
“I’m so glad you could come.” I wondered if I should hug her. I wasn’t much of a hugger aside from my family members, but then my eyes caught the gleam of the diamond on her finger and I was reminded that soon she would be family and I should treat her as such. We leaned in for a quick hug and she pulled back, looking me in the eyes again.
“Thank you for having me,” she said.
“Please,” I said, waving my hand at her. “Don’t thank me. I should be thanking you guys for coming. This place is so quiet when Adam’s gone. I’m grateful for the company.”
I started walking down the hall towards the kitchen and they followed. I could smell the lasagna cooking in the oven and my stomach growled just thinking about it.
“It smells incredible in here. What’re we having, Martha Stewart?” Erica asked, leaning down and trying to peer into the oven.
“Lasagna,” I told her and she moaned as she stood up.
“Your mom’s recipe?” she asked and I nodded.
“Yeah. I made it up last night and put it in the oven when I got home from work. I hope it tastes alright.”
“It’ll be amazing. I love your mom’s recipe. It’s seriously the best lasagna I’ve ever had. Are we having breadsticks or anything else?”
“Yes,” I sighed, already tired from her constant talking. I loved my cousin. Truly, I did, but I’d almost forgotten what a handful she could be. It’d taken less than five minutes to be reminded. “We’re having garlic bread and salad. Is that okay?”
“Oh, most definitely,” she said, walking over and grabbing a piece of the tomato I was part way through chopping and popping it in her mouth.
“Mom would be proud, Care,” Sawyer teased. “Taking care of your visitors the way she would.”
“Shut up, Sawyer,” I said, shutting down his sarcasm. “I simply wanted to have a nice dinner to thank you guys for coming all the way down here.”
“Thank you, Caroline. It was really sweet of you. Don’t pay any attention to Sawyer,” Lindsey said, smiling over to me and then looking up at my brother with the same adoring eyes I’d grown accustomed to since they started dating.
“I’m used to it. Sawyer and Adam made it their life’s mission to drive me crazy and even though we’re supposedly adults, nothing in that department seems to have changed.”
“And how exactly does Adam still drive you crazy? Not in the same ways he used to, I’m sure. He’s all grown up now, isn’t he?” Erica was grinning and raising her eyebrows up and down in a suggestive manner that I probably wouldn’t have minded except the fact Sawyer was in the room. I knew what Erica was insinuating, but it was not something I would discuss with my brother.
I could tell Sawyer wasn’t comfortable with the direction the conversation was taking. He was looking around the room, unable to focus on me and I didn’t blame him. I would feel the same way if Erica had brought up his and Lindsey’s sex life.
“What can I get everyone to drink?” I asked, clapping my hands together and changing the subject. Erica started laughing and Sawyer was grateful as I turned towards the cabinets. Despite my cousin’s complete inability to act like a sane human being, I felt myself smile. It was good to have them with me tonight. A little piece of home in Boston was exactly what I needed.
~~~
“So, this is where the magic happens,” Erica said as she flung herself onto the bed, jostling me around on the mattress. I was sitting under the covers, rubbing lotion on my arms until she jumped in beside me.
“Really, Erica? Was that necessary? You’re twenty-four-years-old and you’re acting like a pre-schooler.”
“Lighten up, Care. Seriously. I think you were born with a stick stuck in your ass or something.” She crawled under the covers and rested her head on the pillow as she glared at me.
“I was not. Stop being a brat,” I said, setting my lotion bottle on the nightstand and then turning off the light. I laid on my side, resting my head on the pillow as Erica stared up at the ceiling, a smile still on her face.
“You never responded to my comment,” she said.
“What comment?”
“About this being where the magic happens,” she sighed overdramatically.
“Because it doesn’t deserve any recognition.”
“C’mon, Care. You and Adam have been together almost a year now and still you give me nothing. I need some details. I live vicariously through you, you know.”
“I’m well aware of that,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Then help me out. Let me have some nice dreams tonight.” She pushed me and I started laughing.
“You want to have dirty dreams about my boyfriend?”
“Not necessarily about Adam, per se. Someone like Adam,” she said and I laughed again. “Why are you so selfish, Caroline? You may be my cousin and he may be your boyfriend, but there is no denying that Adam DeLain is hot as sin. You realize you’re the luckiest bitch on the whole planet. You have to give me something!”
“Fine, I’ll give you something,” I said and I could see the excitement on her face. “I’m happy, Erica.”
“That’s it? You bait me like that and then give me nothing?” she gasped.
“That’s all you’re getting,” I said and she frowned for a second. I knew she was hoping for something more. Something juicy, but when I smiled at her, I saw the usual mischievous look on my cousin’s face was gone. Instead, there was a sweet smile.
“Truly happy?” she asked. “Because we miss you in Silver Falls and I just want to make sure you are happy.”
“Yes. Truly happy.”
“Even though he’s gone all the time?” she asked doubtfully.
“He comes home to me though and that’s all I care about.”
She smiled at me, resting on her side so our eyes met. The sarcasm was gone. The scheming was gone. I simply saw peace.
“I’m glad you’re happy,” she said softly.
“I want you to be happy, too,” I said quietly, giving her a supportive smile.
“It’ll be my turn someday,” she said, trying to act as if it didn’t bother her, even though I knew it did. She wanted her very own Adam. I prayed someday she’d find that person.
“Good night, Erica,” I said as my eyes started to get heavy.
“Night,” she smiled at me and then turned onto her other side so her back was facing me. The quiet settled in quickly and the darkness followed, but not before I could get in one more dig.
“Erica?” I asked softly.
“Yeah?” she answered.
“He’s pretty much perfect in bed and with all the equipment needed for such activities. Have fun with that information.”
I started laughing as she kicked me in the knee, but then her laughter joined with mine and it felt like old times back in our bedrooms just like when we were kids.