’em.”
Please. Like she needed to educate me on the Ross family. But, okay, I hadn’t known that.
“Mom, we’re gonna go play catch,” Cameron called over his shoulder as he and Curtis thundered down the steps. “Stay where I can see you,” Amy called after them.
I scanned the baseball field and found Connor in center. Actually, from that distance, I couldn’t tell if it was Connor or Chris, but no way would I ask.
“So tell me all about Hawaii,” Amy said. “I’ve always wanted to go.”
“It was good. Beach, palm trees. Your basic island stuff.” “Now, I thought you were staying until August. Was that wrong?”
I shifted on my hard seat. “No, I was gonna stay. But I didn’t want to be away for that long. With Owen and all.” “I understand,” Amy said. “They grow up fast.”
“How’s Owen doing?” Jodi asked.
“Great. He had his four-month checkup today. He weighs sixteen pounds and is twenty-five-and-a-half inches long. And he had shots. He’s in a lousy mood. That’s why Abbie didn’t come.”
Amy cringed. “I hated taking the boys in for shots. How’d Abbie do?”
I thought of my sister in the doctor’s office, stroking Owen’s head and murmuring, “It’s okay. It’s okay.”
“She did great,” I said. “She’s able to be really strong for him.”
Amy smiled, looking as proud as if Abbie were her own daughter. “She’s an awesome kid.”
The unmistakable sound of the ball connecting with the bat’s sweet spot drew us from our conversation. The ball sailed to the outfield.
“Come on, Connor!” Amy said.
So I’d been right. My heart fluttered as he sprinted after the ball. When he dove for it, my breath caught until he raised his glove, indicating a catch. The three of us whooped and hollered, until Jodi and I glanced at each other and dropped our hands to our laps. Talk about awkward. No way could we ever get past the whole mess of last year.
While the teams switched out, Amy asked, “So did you do anything special in Hawaii?”
“Not really.” Justin’s image came unbidden. “Laid on the beach. Attempted surfing. Normal stuff.”
“I ran into your mom yesterday at the grocery store.” She glanced at Cameron and Curtis, still playing catch within view. “She sounded happy to be home.”
I smiled, thinking of how many times I’d heard Mom say that since Friday. Before our trip, I’d never heard her speak of Kansas as home, as where she belonged.
“My grandparents’ house is pretty small. It was close quarters.”
In the dugout, Connor chatted with a teammate. He laughed and shook his head at something the guy said. When he caught me watching, Connor smiled and waved. My heart flipped. I raised my hand to wave back, but then Jodi did the same.
“Oh.” I dropped my hand to my lap.
Her mouth formed an O and her face burned red. “Sorry. I’m sure he was waving at you.”
“No, I doubt it.” My face would’ve been red too if not for my dark skin. “I don’t know why he’d be waving at me, so . . .” I attempted to swallow the lump in my throat. My eyes burned as I battled tears.
“Cameron!” Amy hollered, seeming oblivious to us.
I glanced to where the boys had been playing catch and saw they’d shifted. Only Cameron was visible. When he didn’t respond, Amy excused herself and took off down the bleachers, her flip-flops flapping.
Just me and Jodi. Swell.
“So,” Jodi said. “We obviously have a problem here.”
“Obviously.” Though it seemed to me we had a cluster of problems.
“I was trying to tell you something on Saturday at Heather’s, but it didn’t really come out the way I intended. Actually, it didn’t come out at all.”
My heart raced. Here it was. Here was where she’d inform me they’d started dating. I formulated my response. “Oh really?” I imagined myself saying. “That’s strange, because Connor didn’t say anything about it when he asked me to come tonight.”
Jodi glanced at me.
Please. Like she needed to educate me on the Ross family. But, okay, I hadn’t known that.
“Mom, we’re gonna go play catch,” Cameron called over his shoulder as he and Curtis thundered down the steps. “Stay where I can see you,” Amy called after them.
I scanned the baseball field and found Connor in center. Actually, from that distance, I couldn’t tell if it was Connor or Chris, but no way would I ask.
“So tell me all about Hawaii,” Amy said. “I’ve always wanted to go.”
“It was good. Beach, palm trees. Your basic island stuff.” “Now, I thought you were staying until August. Was that wrong?”
I shifted on my hard seat. “No, I was gonna stay. But I didn’t want to be away for that long. With Owen and all.” “I understand,” Amy said. “They grow up fast.”
“How’s Owen doing?” Jodi asked.
“Great. He had his four-month checkup today. He weighs sixteen pounds and is twenty-five-and-a-half inches long. And he had shots. He’s in a lousy mood. That’s why Abbie didn’t come.”
Amy cringed. “I hated taking the boys in for shots. How’d Abbie do?”
I thought of my sister in the doctor’s office, stroking Owen’s head and murmuring, “It’s okay. It’s okay.”
“She did great,” I said. “She’s able to be really strong for him.”
Amy smiled, looking as proud as if Abbie were her own daughter. “She’s an awesome kid.”
The unmistakable sound of the ball connecting with the bat’s sweet spot drew us from our conversation. The ball sailed to the outfield.
“Come on, Connor!” Amy said.
So I’d been right. My heart fluttered as he sprinted after the ball. When he dove for it, my breath caught until he raised his glove, indicating a catch. The three of us whooped and hollered, until Jodi and I glanced at each other and dropped our hands to our laps. Talk about awkward. No way could we ever get past the whole mess of last year.
While the teams switched out, Amy asked, “So did you do anything special in Hawaii?”
“Not really.” Justin’s image came unbidden. “Laid on the beach. Attempted surfing. Normal stuff.”
“I ran into your mom yesterday at the grocery store.” She glanced at Cameron and Curtis, still playing catch within view. “She sounded happy to be home.”
I smiled, thinking of how many times I’d heard Mom say that since Friday. Before our trip, I’d never heard her speak of Kansas as home, as where she belonged.
“My grandparents’ house is pretty small. It was close quarters.”
In the dugout, Connor chatted with a teammate. He laughed and shook his head at something the guy said. When he caught me watching, Connor smiled and waved. My heart flipped. I raised my hand to wave back, but then Jodi did the same.
“Oh.” I dropped my hand to my lap.
Her mouth formed an O and her face burned red. “Sorry. I’m sure he was waving at you.”
“No, I doubt it.” My face would’ve been red too if not for my dark skin. “I don’t know why he’d be waving at me, so . . .” I attempted to swallow the lump in my throat. My eyes burned as I battled tears.
“Cameron!” Amy hollered, seeming oblivious to us.
I glanced to where the boys had been playing catch and saw they’d shifted. Only Cameron was visible. When he didn’t respond, Amy excused herself and took off down the bleachers, her flip-flops flapping.
Just me and Jodi. Swell.
“So,” Jodi said. “We obviously have a problem here.”
“Obviously.” Though it seemed to me we had a cluster of problems.
“I was trying to tell you something on Saturday at Heather’s, but it didn’t really come out the way I intended. Actually, it didn’t come out at all.”
My heart raced. Here it was. Here was where she’d inform me they’d started dating. I formulated my response. “Oh really?” I imagined myself saying. “That’s strange, because Connor didn’t say anything about it when he asked me to come tonight.”
Jodi glanced at me.
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