32
Kristin
A day ago, I would have been nervous about going to Wes’ parent’s house to see everyone. Now I couldn’t wait for the evening to come so I could go there for dinner and watch the game. When I got back to the library, Karen wanted all the details about where I went and what happened, and I explained to her how nice Jenny was, how great it was to talk with her, and how I feel like I was making a connection with Isabelle. It all gave me a much better outlook about the potential of a relationship with Wes and where things could go down the road. At least, for the time being, it seemed like there was some potential there.
I hustled Karen out the door at five so I could be sure to get to Wyatt and Jenny’s for dinner before the game started.
“I can’t believe you’re rushing me out to go watch a baseball game,” Karen told me as I locked the door behind us. “A week ago, you didn’t even know who the Pirates and Reds were.”
“Like you wanted to hang around and work anyway,” I said to Karen. “I’m sure Brian will be calling you anyway.”
“Actually,” she said with a smile, “I’m driving up to meet him tonight. I may be in a little bit late tomorrow morning. Is that okay?” Karen asked.
“Oh, really?” I replied. “And why would you be late?”
“Well, we’re going to have dinner together after he gets off work at ten, so I may get in late. Or I may stick around and see if I could work the shy out of him.” She let out a laugh as she started walking away. “Have fun watching the game!” she yelled back to me.
I walked over to my car and drove the now familiar drive over to Martin Way. I pulled into the driveway and parked and walked over to the front door, ringing the bell. Wyatt came and answered wearing a Pirates jersey.
“Come on in,” he said to me with a smile.
“A Pirates jersey?” I said to Wyatt.
“I don’t have a Reds jersey for Wes yet,” he said apologetically. “Besides, I have been rooting for the Pirates for over fifty years. It’s a hard habit to break, even when your son plays for the other team.”
I walked in and could smell a wonderful aroma wafting from the kitchen. I followed Wes into the kitchen and saw Isabelle and Jenny hard at work by the stove. I could see Jenny manning a hot cast iron pan bubbling with oil while Isabelle was hard at work mashing potatoes. Jenny looked over and smiled while Isabelle waved to me.
“I hope fried chicken is okay with you,” Jenny said to me as she flipped a piece of chicken in the pan.
“Okay?” I said to her with delight. “I’m a Southern girl; my blood is part oil from frying chicken.”
“Great,” Jenny replied. “It was Izzy’s idea; she thought you would like it.”
“Can I help with anything?” I asked.
“Perhaps you could set the table for me please since I can’t seem to pry Wyatt away from the TV watching the pregame stuff,” she said loud enough for Wyatt to hear in the living room.
“Thanks, Kristin,” Wyatt shouted back.
I just laughed and grabbed the stack of plates and set the table. Moments after I was done, Jenny came over with a big platter of fried chicken pieces. Isabelle had a bowl of mashed potatoes and then went back for some green beans. I went into the kitchen with her and grabbed the basket of biscuits there and brought them out as well.
“You made biscuits too?” I asked, feeling pangs for home.
“Izzy made those,” Jenny said. “She’s quite the cook.”
“You’ll have to come over to my place to cook,” I said to her as we sat down.
“Wyatt!” Jenny yelled into the living room to get his attention. Wyatt trotted in and sat at the head of the table. We passed around the food, and I filled my plate with all my favorites.
“They said Wes is batting fifth tonight,” Wyatt said as he bit into a piece of chicken.
“Wyatt Martin, not with your mouth full, please,” Jenny scolded. “You’d think you were the fifteen-year-old around here.”
Wyatt just smiled as he kept eating. I savored each bite that I took, from the crispy crunch of the chicken leg to the warm biscuits with just the right touch of honey in them. It was just like being back home in Georgia.
“This meal is amazing,” I said as I wiped my mouth with my napkin.
Jenny and Isabelle both smiled, happy with their accomplishments. I went back for seconds of everything and ate much more than I probably should have eaten until I was completely stuffed.
“Ladies, that may have been the best meal yet,” Wyatt said to them as he polished off the last of his biscuit.
“Thanks, Grandpa,” Isabelle told him as she started to clear the table. I got up to help, and Jenny tried to stop me.
“Jenny, if I don’t clear the dishes I will probably get a call from mother tonight about it. Somehow, she will know I wasn’t contributing,” I told her as I picked up some plates.
“Well thank you,” she said. Wyatt came over and helped her up to bring her into the living room so they could sit down and watch the game. Isabelle and I went about loading the dishwasher and then she washed while I dried the pots and pans.
“I have a couple of ideas for dresses for the dance Friday,” Isabelle said to me as I dried the frying pan. “They are dresses I haven't had a chance to wear yet. Maybe you could look at them and let me know what you think?”
“I’d love too,” I said to her.
“This is going to be so much fun!” I Isabelle said with delight as she washed another pot.
By the time the dishes were done, and everything was put away, the game was just about to start. Wyatt was seated in the recliner and Jenny was in an easy chair on the other side of the couch from the recliner. I sat down on the couch while Isabelle took a seat on the floor. I was excited to watch even though I didn’t really know that much about what I was watching.
When the Reds took the field, Isabelle pointed towards first base. “There’s Dad!” she said excitedly. Wes was all decked out in a crisp white uniform with red trim, wearing the number twelve on the back. It was exciting to see him for a few reasons. I had missed seeing him, and this was the first time I had ever seen him while he was playing. I had to admit, he looked very good in his uniform, and you could clearly see his big, strong forearms in the short sleeve jersey he wore.
The Reds pitcher seemed to struggle at the start, and Wes walked over to talk to him after two batters. After that, he fell into a good groove and got everyone out. The Reds came to bat, and two men got on base before Wes came up. The announcers talked about his last game and how great it was to start out that way. The at-bat went on and on, with Wes fouling off pitch after pitch until he finally hit one, hitting it deep and out of the park. The family erupted in a cheer, and I had to admit I got caught up in the excitement of seeing him do well. I looked and saw smiles on all their faces and could tell how happy they were for him.
The game went on, with the Reds leading. I had a hard time keeping up with everything, and Wyatt and Isabelle would explain things to me about the game, so I had a better idea of what was going on. I felt embarrassed that I didn’t know more about baseball, but it wasn’t until now that I found anything worth watching about it. When the Reds were batting again, one man had gotten on before Wes came up. This time, Wes went after the first pitch and hit it again. We watched as it soared over the fence, the crowd in the stadium yelling and screaming and Wyatt and Isabelle yelling as well as Jenny calmly sat in her chair and smiled at them. I gave Wyatt and Isabelle high-fives.
“You know that ties a record,” Wyatt said excitedly. “No one hits home runs like this in back-to-back games.”
The game then swung a bit, with the Pirates scoring to tie the game up before Wes was due up again. Jenny got up out of her chair and yawned.
“That’s it for me, folks,” she said as she stretched. “Isabelle, not too late; you have school tomorrow. Wyatt, get Kristin a piece of pound cake for dessert.” After she gave her instructions, Jenny came over and put her hand gently on my face.
“Thank you for coming back tonight,” she said to me with a smile.
“Thanks for having me,” I said to her, placing my hand over hers on my face.
I watched as she walked down the hall towards her bedroom, and then the yelling of Isabelle and Wyatt grabbed my attention. The Reds had two men on base as Wes was coming up again. The man pitching for the Pirates had a mean look on his face. He had big, bushy, black hair and a long mustache and beard. Wes stood up to face him, and the man threw the pitch, with the ball hitting Wes right away. I heard myself gasp and Isabelle gasped too as Wes hit the ground. He lay on dirt for a few seconds before sitting up. The team trainer came running out to him, and you could hear the fans booing.
“Son of a bitch Williams. That guy has always been a bastard,” Wyatt grumbled as Isabelle and I looked over at him. “Pardon my language ladies, but it’s the truth,” he spat out. We waited and watched closely as Wes stood up and jogged down to the base, indicating he was okay. The next batter for the Reds got a hit to score a run, and the Reds were ahead.
The lead was short-lived as the Pirates scored again to take the lead back, 7-6. The game was tense as it went to the bottom of the ninth inning.
“How do you watch this all the time?” I said to Wyatt. “This is nerve-racking.” I could feel a knot in my stomach.
“You get used to it,” Wyatt said with a smile. “Izzy, you should go to bed.”
“Come on Grandpa,” she answered. “It’s the last inning, and Dad comes up. Just let me watch him.”
“Okay, but don’t tell your grandmother.”
The first batter for the Reds came up, and after one pitch, he hit the next one over the wall for a home run to tie the game. That brought Wes up again. Wyatt was sitting on the edge of his seat now, watching the game intently. All three of us sat there silently and watched the Pirates pitcher throw the pitch. Wes hit it, and the camera followed it across the screen, going higher and higher until it hit the yellow pole out by the fence. Isabelle and Wyatt both jumped up and screamed as the fans in the stadium and the announcers both yelled loudly.
“What happened?” I asked.
“It hit the foul pole,” Wyatt said happily.
“And that’s a good thing?”
“If you hit it, then it’s a home run,” Isabelle shrieked. “Dad won the game!” She came over and gave me a hug, surprising me. I hugged her back, getting caught up in the excitement. I looked at the screen and saw the players on the Reds mobbing Wes.
I was so happy for him. This was obviously a big accomplishment for him, and he had proved to everyone, especially in Pittsburgh, that he was far from done playing. The field emptied as the game ended and Wyatt turned to Isabelle.
“Izzy, you should go to bed,” he told her.
“You know they are going to interview Dad,” she said. “Can I watch it just for a minute, please?” she said, batting her eyes at him.
“She’s good,” I said to Wyatt with a laugh.
“Too good,” he said to me. “Go get us some cake. You can watch him, and then that’s it.”
Izzy ran into the kitchen and came back quickly with three pieces of pound cake. I was probably too full for it, but I had some anyway and enjoyed every bite. It wasn’t long before the cameras were interviewing Wes in the locker room, asking him about the game and the home runs. He had a smile on his face and was covered in sweat, but he answered each question humbly, saying it was a great team win and it was a good bunch of guys to play with. It was then a reporter asked him about something on his wristbands that they had noticed. He held the wristbands up to the camera, and I could see clearly in marker he had written KA on them.
Wes looked into the camera and said “That’s someone special I was thinking about tonight. She knows who she is.”
Isabelle and Wyatt both looked over at me. I was stunned, and I felt like my heart would explode. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes as I looked at Wes’ face on the screen before they cut away to something else.
“Bedtime now, Izzy,” Wyatt said to her. Isabelle came over to me and took my hand and asked me to walk with her down to her bedroom. We walked into her room, and she stood, facing me.
“I know it was wrong to say the things I did to you like that. I’m sorry that I was so mean, and it hurt you, and Dad. I see that you are important to him and that he wants you to be part of his life… and I want that too.” I could see she had tears in her eyes, and now I did too. She gave me a hug and held it tightly.
“Thank you, Isabelle,” I said through the tears.
“Can you come by tomorrow, so we can talk about dresses and hair for Friday?” Isabelle asked me, wiping away her tears.
“Of course,” I said. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good night.”
“Good night, Ms. Arthur,” she said to me politely.
“Please call me Kristin,” I said to her.
“Only if you call me Izzy,” she said with a smile. “Only Grandma calls me Isabelle, or Dad when he’s mad at me.”
“Okay, Izzy. Good night.”
I walked back down the hall to see Wyatt turning the TV off and cleaning up.
“Thank you so much for having me over Wyatt,” I said to him as I grabbed my jacket. “I had a great time.”
“Our pleasure,” he said to me. “It was a heck of a game.”
“It’s the first one I’ve ever watched,” I said to him honestly.
“Well you picked a good one to start with,” He said with a laugh.
I gave him a hug before I left. “You have a wonderful family, Wyatt.”
“Why thank you,” he said, “I think they’re pretty good. And I think we’ll be seeing you around a bit more, which will be nice, too.”
“Yes, it will,” I told him as I stepped on the porch. “Have a good night.”
I walked out to my car and drove home, though I felt like I could have floated there and don’t remember anything about the drive. I pulled in and went up to my apartment and heard my phone ding with a message. I figured it was going to be Karen if she had seen any of the game. Instead, it was from Wes. There was a picture of the wristbands with my initials on them and the brief message of “For you” following the picture. I smiled and hugged my phone, flopping back on the bed.
I pressed the phone number of the text and tried to call him, but the phone went right to voicemail. He probably had lots of calls he was receiving or making, so I wasn’t surprised. I decided to send him a text message instead:
I told you once that you know how to woo a girl, and I meant it. I’m falling hard for you. Missing you and hoping you have a good night.
I just lay back on the bed, relishing the entire day, and wondering when I would hear from him again.