“Cheap shot. You heard the song. What did you think was going to happen?”
“Well, I knew you were in trouble once she played it for me.”
“It’s kind of sad, really. She’s backed off since the first night we were together. I need to spend more time with her before she officially breaks my heart and leaves.”
Tami gave me a sad look.
“Okay, now it’s your turn. What happened with Trevor? Why is he not taking you to the Formal?”
She thought she’d pulled a fast one on me. I could tell she was surprised I put it together. Usually, I missed something like that.
“We’re still good friends and do things together. There’s no spark, for me anyways. He would take me to Formal, but I’d rather go with you.”
“Even with two other girls? You know I’d rather spend the night with you alone.”
“I know, but I also know that if we start doing that I’ll be in trouble.”
“Alright, I’ll play along. Now, what’s up with Harper?”
“Well, buddy, I think you’ve found your calling.”
“What would that be?”
“Helping sexually frustrated women who don’t want to be in a relationship. Harper wants to get laid. It’s hard on a girl when she’s used to getting regular sex and suddenly has to go without. We had to talk her out of going out with the biggest douchebag at Wesleyan this weekend. Missy described what it was like with you, and Harper backed off. So you have to help keep her from making the biggest mistake of her life.”
“That guy must be a piece of work.”
“Think of Luke, but with an even bigger ego.”
“I think I want to meet this boy and kick his ass, and I don’t even know him.”
“Personally, I want Cassidy to meet him. She’d snap his pencil neck and do mankind a favor. Either that or Jim would pound the shit out of him as soon as his mouth started going.”
“Well, I’m glad you told me what was up with Harper because I would’ve told her ‘no’ this weekend.”
“Well, don’t say no. That doesn’t mean you have to be easy. What the hell am I talking about?”
“That’s right, just keep it up. I don’t get enough abuse.”
“So, my friend, are we okay?” Tami asked.
“Yes, we are. Like I said earlier, I miss you.”
We logged off, and I sighed in relief. I felt like we had moved our friendship to a better place. I had taken one more step towards growing up. I also felt that Tami and I were closer to being on an even footing. If we ever were to be together, that had to happen. My future partner needed to be just that, a partner.
Chapter 26 – Cancer and Pregnancy News
Wednesday March 26
I CAME DOWN TO BREAKFAST to find Mom cooking and Dad in tan khakis and a green polo shirt with the Dunn’s Country Club logo on it. Today was his first official day of work.
“Looking good, Dad,” I told him.
“Thank you. I’m a little nervous, though.”
“That’s good. It’ll keep you on top of your game. Just remember, you’re a Dawson,” I assured him.
Angie came in, followed by Greg holding Kyle. Kyle saw me and reached, so Greg handed him to me.
“Are all the men in this family like that?” Angie complained.
“Dear, that’s why we marry them,” Mom said.
“Your mommy is silly,” I told Kyle. “She couldn’t find a better man than your daddy, and she knows it.”
“Shoot me now. His head’s going to be so big he won’t get out the door,” Angie moaned.
“I thought you knew how to fix that swelling,” my mom told her.
It took us a moment to catch on, and then I busted out laughing. I was soon joined by everyone else as Angie went beet red. Greg gave Mom a high five. It was good to see her feeling better. Then again, she might be high.
WE HAD OUR FOURTH BASEBALL game tonight with St. John’s. It was one of the bigger Catholic schools in the area. Since we were away, we all dressed in our Range gear. Tonight, the varsity would play first. St. John’s was big enough that they had A, B and C varsity teams. They made a point to tell us that we only rated their C team.
Magic and the other guys were pissed. Their emotions could only help them so much, though, if their pitching failed them. St. John’s cleaned their clocks, winning 9–0.
While we watched in the stands, Eve had been harassed. St. John’s was an all-boys school. It was obvious they didn’t know how to act around a lady. To Eve’s credit, she didn’t rise to their bait. Cassidy didn’t handle it as well, though. It was kind of sad to see a high school boy cry. When her dad got there, no one knew what had happened. Cassidy had to sit by him the rest of the night.
Justin made a point to sit next to me. I braced myself for this conversation.
“Did you know I went out with Tracy Dole Saturday night?” he asked me.
“I’d heard that.”
“Is it true that she stopped by your place after our date?”
“Yes, she needed to talk.”
This was a little uncomfortable with Eve sitting on my other side.
“I’m just going to ask, and I hope you’re man enough to tell me. Did you sleep with her?”
I’ll give Justin credit for having the guts to ask that, but there was no way I was telling him.
“Justin, do you remember Jan Duke?”
Jan had been my first girlfriend in middle school. Justin had dumped her, and then she and I had gone out. As soon as he figured out that the new girl he was seeing wasn’t all that great, he went back to Jan. She happily dumped me to go out with him. Rumor had it he took her virginity over the summer and promptly dumped her again.
“Yeah, she was a hot number. Why?”
“Between the first and second time you two went out, she was dating me.”
“Was Saturday night some kind of payback?”
“No. What I’m saying is you don’t have a leg to stand on, and you should just drop it.”
He nodded, and we talked about baseball. I don’t think Justin and I were ever going to be good friends, but we could be good teammates. I personally didn’t like how he treated women, and it made me a little sick to think that Tracy had almost become another notch on his belt.
MOOSE AND COACH HASKINS were livid before our game started. The St. John’s coach had told them that our JV would be playing their ‘A’ varsity squad because they needed batting practice. Everyone was getting mad until they saw me smiling.
“What are you so happy about, Cap?” Coach Haskins asked.
“Don’t you get it, Coach? They have everything to lose, and nothing to gain, by playing us. If we can survive the first couple of innings, they’ll tighten up.”
It was the same deal we experienced with seven-on-seven. Magic had clued me in on how to handle it.
“So, what do you suggest, Cap?” Coach Haskins asked.
“Everybody, gather around!” I called to get everyone in a tight circle. The varsity joined us. “These guys think they’re way better than us. If we get them a little off-kilter and then hang with them, they’ll tighten up. They don’t want to lose to us, more than they want to win.
“So, instead of Mike starting, we put in Bert and have Lou catch. Bert, I want you to plunk each batter until they kick you out. No headhunting! Waist-high or below will do it. Lou, your job is to tackle their batter so he can’t hurt Bert. Moose, you need to be on our bench and throw a fit when they throw out Bert and Lou. That way we don’t lose Coach Haskins.
“I hate to do this to you, Mike, but you’ll have at least two if not three base runners. Throw them your junk and get them to hit into a double play. If they mouth off, I want you to plunk another one. Justin will be warming up. They have to know we won’t back down.”
I turned to Justin.
“I want you to start striking them out with that curveball. If they’re dumb enough to mouth off again, you put a fastball into someone’s nuts. We may end up forfeiting, but it’ll shut ’em up!”