! "Strike two!"
"Good luck."
Laura picked up her bat and walked to the on deck circle. She barely got a practice swing in before she hear the swish thwap followed by the predictable call from the umpire. Oh great, now it's on me. Holding the bat with both hands, she lifted it over her hand and stretched, acutely aware of the dampness under her arms. Walking to the plate, she looked over to see Jenny waiting on third base, smiling and giving her the thumbs up sign.
"Okay Julie, one more out," the catcher called as Laura stepped up to the plate. Looking out at the infield, twins made it clear they had no intention of letting a hit get past them. I just have to concentrate and hit the ball. Of course it was more than just hitting the ball. She had to make sure it was high enough to get over the Ice Block but not so high that an outfielder could get under it. Flexing her fingers around the handle, she leaned on her back foot and awaited the pitch.
"Come on, knock it out of the park!" With her back to Crystal, Laura couldn't see her but she easily heard the words of encouragement. The sound of a fist hitting a glove drew her eyes to the curly-haired shortstop. An almost sinister grin met her gaze and she swallowed reflexively. Maybe I can pull the ball. She looked hopefully at the gap between first and second base. Laura kept that thought on her mind as the pitcher lobbed the ball at the plate.
This time her bat made contact but her swing was far too early, weakly sending the softball into foul territory. Holding the bat between her knees, Laura wiped her upper lip and focused her gaze on home plate. One more strike and the tradition of the Bees trouncing the Airhearts would continue. She barely heard the rumble of her teammates as she nervously assumed her stance. Her jersey felt as though it was made of thick wool against her sweat soaked skin and her sports bra was decidedly damp.
She almost swung at the next pitch but managed to hold back at the last instant, smiling when she heard the umpire call ball one. Laura let out a deep breath. "Oh thank God."
"Weren't sure about that one, were you?" the catcher teased. "You know Carol's just waiting for you to hit it to her." As if on cue, the shortstop pounded her glove and glared at the batter.
Please don't let me hit it to her, please don't let me hit it to her. Gripping the bat tighter, she waited for fate to determine if she would be a hero or a goat.
It was a perfect throw: a slow arcing toss just to the left of center. Committing herself, Laura swung as hard as she could, the impact of ball against aluminum making her hands shake. It was just over the first baseman's reach and dropped to the ground well ahead of the right fielder. She was so happy that it wasn't scooped by the Winters twins that it took her a second to remember to run to first base. She thought hard about going to second but stopped short when she saw Toni double back, leaving her no room to advance. Both Jenny and Donna scored, cutting the Bee's lead in half. Laura smiled and, with one foot on first base, leaned heavily toward second. Kelly had a strong bat and was a good clutch hitter, giving the team hope that with two runners on base that they had a chance against the Bees. Their hopes were not to be, however, as Kelly hit a hard shot right at the Ice Block. Carol scooped the grounder up and flipped it to her sister, waiting patiently on second base to force Laura out. With a casual flip of the wrist, Coral tossed the ball at the umpire. "Good hit," she said before trotting over to exchange high fives with her teammates. Laura stood at second base for a moment longer, staring at the retreating forms with disbelief.
"Hey, it was a good game," Jenny said as she came up behind her.
"We still lost," Laura pointed out.
"But we didn't lose by as much because of you." They began walking over to the Airheart's bench. "Look on the bright side, you finally got hit against the Ice Block. That's cause for celebration, don't you think?"
Laura stopped and gave Jenny a look. "Any excuse to go to Ameilia's, hmm?"
"Actually I can't go. I told you I have to go see Mom tonight."
"Well then, I'll probably just go home and get back to writing. No fun to go out alone." As they approached the others, Laura broke off to talk to Crystal.
"You did great," the blonde woman said as her roommate approached. "I thought you guys had it."
"So did I," Laura admitted. "It was a good game, even if the Bees clobbered us again." She picked up her glove and bat. "Can you handle the cooler?"
"Sure, it's a lot emptier now than when we got here. The water's already dumped out."
They walked out to the parking lot, pausing for Laura to exchange words with her teammates. Crystal leaned against the Jeep waiting for her roommate while several Airhearts stood in a circle talking about the game. After trying the door handle twice, the blonde gave up and looked around. A brightly colored flyer caught her eye. She looked over at Laura, finding her still trapped in a sea of blue and white uniforms. Curious, she walked over to read the advertisement.
"No, really. I have to get home and get some writing done," Laura apologized. "Any other time I'd love to come out." Walking toward her car, she noticed the cooler sitting on the ground without her roommate standing nearby. She spotted Crystal standing near the utility shed. Quietly walking up behind her, Laura read the flyer taped to the wall announcing the county fair. "You ready to go?" she asked, causing Crystal to jump with surprise.
"Oh, yeah I guess so."
"Do you like the fairs?"
"Yeah, I went to them a couple of times when I was a kid." Crystal turned around and they headed toward the Jeep.
"You should go," Laura said. "They have those pay one price, get all the rides free passes."
"Naw, it's no fun going alone." Crystal waited for her to unlock the door, then put the cooler in the back seat. "Besides, I don't think my crappy car will make it over to Blue Hill."
Nodding noncommittally, Laura entered the driver's side and put the key in the ignition. A quick side glance showed some dirt on the side of Crystal's face, no doubt caused by the dust kicked up during the game. "In the glove box is some of those pre-moistened towelletes, You should clean your lip. No sense encouraging infection." She watched as Crystal opened the packed and gently wiped over and around the bruised and cut area. No. I have to go home and finish that scene, she thought to herself as the Jeep roared to life. I don't have time to go play all those games and ride the pirate ship and"You know what? That was a pretty good hit I had out there today."
"Oh yeah," Crystal agreed. "I was hoping you'd get a hit. Nothing worse than striking out with the bases loaded."
"You're right. I think this calls for a celebration. You feel up to going to the fair? Just for a little while?"
"You mean with you?"
"Of course. I haven't been to the fair in years. I bet it would be fun." Making the decision, Laura turned left instead of right at the parking lot exit and pointed the Jeep toward Blue Hill. I'll just stay up late tonight and catch up, she told herself.
"Look at all the traffic," Crystal said as they turned off the highway and onto the road that lead to the fairgrounds.
"It's probably the last Saturday that it's here before they tear down and continue on their circuit or route or whatever they call it." Laura pressed the button on the end of the directional signal, sending streams of blue liquid onto her windshield. "I can't believe how dusty this road is. I'm going to have to wash the car on the way home."
"A little dirt never hurt a car. I let the rain wash mine."
"That's why mine has a nice shiny finish and yours is all faded," Laura replied, pressing hard on the brakes when the van in front of her came to a sudden stop. "I haven't been to the fair in years. I forgot what a pain it is to park."
"Do you want to just forget it and go home?" Crystal offered, much to Laura's surprise.
"Is that what you want?"
"I dunno," she shrugged. "I didn't realize you'd have to wait so long just to get the car parked. It's probably packed." She looked longingly at the Ferris wheel off in the distance.