Not His Type (15 page)

Ben braved the crowd to get through. Seeing that
Marcus was being interviewed by two local metro channels,
Ben hung back and waited until it looked like a wrap. He
waved to get Marcus’s attention.

“Hey, man. Are my parents out there with Cathy?”
“Yes.”
“How’s it going?”
“They seem to be enjoying their conversation. I didn’t

have a chance to poll them or anything.” Ben’s sarcastic wit
surfaced.
“Very funny. I guess I’d better get out there.”
Ben held his shoulder. “You might want to wait. I have
something to tell you.”
Marcus felt dread. “Now what?”
“I just got a heads up from one of my buddies at the
paper. They’re running an item and photo in tomorrow’s
paper about you and Cathy.”
Marcus looked disgusted. “When did they get another
picture of the two of us? It’s not like we’ve been all over
town together.”
“They took a picture of you kissing and one of you and
her entering your building.”
“Maybe it won’t be too bad. She’s still a mystery
woman,” Marcus rationalized.
Ben looked away.
“Don’t tell me they have her name.”
“Her name and what she does.” Ben took his glasses off.
Marcus tried to downplay it. “I’ll tell her about it
myself.”
“I could talk to her if you’d like.”
“No. It’s better if she hears it from me.”
Ben patted his back. “I know you can handle it.”
“I just hope she can.”

“So how are your kids doing in school?” Mrs. Fox
asked.
“Not bad. They’ve adjusted to college life, which was
my biggest worry.”
“Marcus says you raised your boys as a single parent.”
“I did. But I had a lot of help from my parents and my
younger sister.”
“Are they your parents’ only grandchildren?” Mrs. Fox
asked.
“As a matter of fact they are. My sister’s engaged but she
doesn’t have children yet.”
“So your family focused on your sons.”
“They say it takes a village to raise a child.”
“I can tell you this, Mr. Fox. If it takes a village to raise
one child, it’s takes a county to raise twins.”
Marcus watched his parents and Cathy for a few
moments before joining them. He could see her bubbly
personality charmed them as it did him.
They were laughing when he joined them.
“So what did I miss?” Marcus asked as he hugged his
mother.
“We were just talking about kids.” Marcus and his
father hugged.
Cathy enjoyed seeing Marcus’s bond with his parents.
She was a little taken aback when he kissed her in front of
them.
“So you’ve met the parents.” He put his arm around
her.
“Yes, and they are wonderful.”
“Good game, Son.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
His mom walked over and brushed her hands through
his hair. “You look well. Have you finally been getting
enough sleep?”
“Yes, Mom. I’m getting my rest.”
“Good.” She kissed his cheek.
“Well, Son, your mom and I have to get back to the
hotel. It’s back to the grind for us.”
“Okay, Dad. I’ll give you a call later.”
Cathy was surprised. “You’re not staying for the series?”
“As much as we’d love to, I have to get back to my practice and Evelyn has inventory at her store.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t worry, they’ll be back.” Marcus rubbed her
shoulder.
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Fox.” She went to
shake his hand and he hugged her instead.
“You take care, dear, and hopefully we’ll see you again
soon,” Mrs. Fox said as she hugged her, too.
“I will.”
As Mr. and Mrs. Fox walked toward the exit, Cathy
turned to Marcus.
“By the way, if I didn’t tell you before, great game.”
He put his arm around her waist. “Thanks, sweetie.”
“Your parents are terrific.”
“Thanks. I think the feeling is mutual.”
“They just met me…Hell, you just met me.”
“You know, it doesn’t always take an eternity to figure
out how you feel about someone.”
Cathy didn’t know how to respond to that statement so
she just smiled as they walked to the players’ lot and she
changed the subject. “Did you drive your car here?”
“No. I came by car earlier. Louis should be outside
waiting for us.”
As soon as the door opened Cathy was nearly blinded
by flashbulbs. Questions were hurled at them from every
direction. She tried to see where Louis was parked. Marcus
took her hand. “The car is over here.”
The flashbulbs popped so rapidly Cathy could barely
see where she was going for the spots in her eyes, but finally
she could see the outline of Louis holding the car door
open. Marcus quickly helped her into the car. Louis closed
the door and both men entered on the driver’s side.
“Are you okay?” Marcus rubbed her hand.
“I’m fine.” She kept her eyes closed until the spots
disappeared.
“Are you sure?” Marcus was concerned.
“I don’t need a doctor, Marcus. I promise I’m fine.” She
opened her eyes.
“As long as you’re sure.”
“I am.” She rubbed her eyes one last time. “Now I have
a question.”
“Shoot.”
“Why didn’t you tell me your parents were going to be
at tonight’s game?”
“I thought I would surprise you.”
“You succeeded. I was surprised, all right. It scared me
to death.”
“You were scared? Why?”
“I wasn’t expecting to meet them. I like a little notice. I
almost passed out when I saw them.”
“I’m sorry. You recovered nicely.”
“That’s not the point.” She shook her head.
“Next time I’ll be sure to let you know ahead of time.”
Next time?
Cathy thought to herself.
“Thank you. That’s all I ask.”
“Done.”
“Now I have another question.”
“Go ahead.”
“What was all of that with the photographers about?
This didn’t happen yesterday. I mean, they’ve taken pictures
and we made the paper but tonight they’re frenzied. What’s
got them worked up?”
“You were sitting with my parents in the stands.”
“I’m sure other people have sat next to your parents
during games. What’s the big deal?”
Cathy caught Louis’s glance in the rearview mirror. He
was pretending not to know anything.
“Wait a minute. I have the distinct feeling there’s a ‘but’
coming down the pike.”
“No, there’s no but. I do have to tell you something.”
“Should I brace myself?”
“No. It’s not that kind of thing.”
“Just spit it out. The suspense is making me nervous.”
Cathy’s heart was in her throat.
“My agent gave me a heads up on a news item a couple
of papers are running tomorrow.”
Her heart was in the pit of her stomach. “A news item?
What’s being reported in this news item?”
“It’s just a little blurb with a couple of pictures.”
“A blurb with a couple of pictures,” Cathy repeated.
“Pictures of what?”
“Pictures of us kissing the other night and a photo of us
going into my apartment building.”
Cathy almost stopped breathing. “Good Lord, I don’t
remember seeing any photographers.”
“Some of these guys missed their calling. They should
have joined the CIA.”
Suddenly a lightning bolt hit Cathy. “Is it in the gossip
section of
The Journal
?”
“Yes.”
Of all the papers,
The Journal
ranked as the premiere
source for learning who was doing what with whom.
“I definitely have to call my sons before they read about
it. Does it mention me by name? Or am I still the mystery
woman?”
“They mention you by name.”
“Great. Just great.” She took a deep breath “You know,
so what? All that really matters to me is that my sons not
find out about us in the paper. Even way up there at
Geneseo they get all the papers.”
“You don’t think they saw the item in today’s paper?”
“No. If they had they would have called me right away,
like they did tonight.”
“They called you tonight?” he asked.
“Yes.” She laughed. “They saw me sitting next to your
parents on television.”
“What did you tell them?”
“I told them I would fill them in later.”
“You can give them a call from the apartment.”
She looked at her watch “It’s a little late, but they’re
college students, and college students are always up late.”
“Are you upset with me for causing all this upheaval in
your life?”
“Why would I get upset with you? It’s not as if I didn’t
know you live your life in the spotlight.”
He came closer to her. “I’m so happy you’re not freaked
out.”
“I am a little freaked out, but as long as you’re around
it’s okay with me.”
He kissed her forehead. “You are something special.”
Cathy truly hoped he meant that. She knew small town
gossip was just that, small. This stuff was the big time, not
the kind of thing she wanted her sons to read about in
People
magazine
Once they were back at Marcus’s place she didn’t waste
time. She made the call.
“Hello?” Andrew sounded groggy.
Cathy could not believe her ears. As the technical oldest
by two minutes, Alexander had always been her night owl
since he was in utero, a fact Cathy determined after many
late nights on the floor with him as a baby.
“Andrew?”
“Yeah, Mom.”
“Wonder of wonders. Were you actually sleeping?”
“Yeah, Mom. I fell asleep after the game.”
“Oh. Sorry, but I need you to wake up for a few
minutes. First, I’m going to patch your brother in.”
“Okay.”
She flashed over to the other line and dialed Alex.
“Hello.” Alex sounded sleepy too.
“Alex, it’s Mom. You were sleeping, too?
“Yeah, Mom.”
“Why couldn’t you have done this when you were
babies?”
“I know.”
“Hold on a second. I have to patch your brother back
in.”
She pressed the flash button.
“Alex? Andrew?”
“Yes, Mom,” they chorused.
“Good. Now that I have both of you on the line I have
to tell you something important before you see it in the
paper.”
“What’s the matter, Mom?” Andrew asked.
“Nothing, nothing bad.” She took a deep breath. “You
know how you saw me sitting with Marcus Fox’s parents
tonight and I told you I would fill you in later?”
“Right,” Alex said.
“There is a little more to it.”
“A little more to it?’ Andrew asked.
Cathy decided there was no beating around the bush.
She had to come right out and say it. “I just started seeing
Marcus Fox, as in dating him.” She blurted it out so she
wouldn’t lose her nerve.
There was dead silence.
“Are you two still there?”
“You’re seeing Marcus Fox?” Andrew was stunned.
“Yes. I have to give you a heads up about tomorrow’s
paper. There’s going to be a picture of the two of us out on
a date in a few of the gossip columns. I just didn’t want the
two of you to find out that way.”
“So it wasn’t a coincidence that you were sitting next to
Mr. and Mrs. Fox tonight?” Alex surmised.
“So Marcus Fox got you into the Hall of Fame Suite at
Yankee Stadium,” Andrew added.
“Right.”
“This is mad hot!” Alex was excited.
Cathy wasn’t up to date on the latest sayings. “Is mad
hot a good thing?”
“Yeah.” Andrew, Alex and Marcus chorused.
Cathy flashed a look at Marcus, who covered his mouth
after the fact.
“Sorry,” he mouthed.
“Too late,” she mouthed.
“Mom? Is someone there with you?”
“Yes, Marcus is here.”
“Oh my God!” Alex yelled.
“Alex! Stop yelling. You are going to wake up your
entire dorm.”
“Wow, Mom!” Andrew was much more low key with
his excitement.
She abhorred lying so she crossed her fingers. “We’re on
our way back to the island.”
“How did you meet him, Mom?” Alex asked.
“It’s kind of a long story. Suffice it to say we met and we
liked each other.”
“This is something else.” Alex was still in shock.
“Are you sure you two are okay with this?”
Marcus’s interest picked up on Cathy’s end of the
conversation.
“Whatever makes you happy, Mom,” Andrew said.
“You’re both sure?”
“Yes,” they chorused.
“Besides, Mom, it’s not like you’ve dated much in the
last two years. So it’s time for you to meet a nice guy and
Marcus Fox seems like a nice guy.”
“You’re right, Alex. He is a nice guy.”
Marcus smiled.
“So we’re cool,” Andrew added.
“That’s a load off my mind.” She yawned. “Now that
I’ve talked to you two, you should get some rest.”
“How can anybody sleep after this kind of news,
Mom?”
“You just go back to bed, Alex. You have classes.”
“Tomorrow’s Saturday, Mom.”
“Go to bed anyway.”
“Okay, Mom.” Another tandem answer.
“I’ll talk to you two later. Love you.”
“Love you too, Mom.”
She turned her cell phone off. Marcus cuddled up to
her on the sofa.
“Sorry about before. It just slipped out,” he said.
“That’s okay, it happens.”
“It’s cute the way you are with your sons.”
Cathy laughed, knowing they must sound strange.
“Were they okay with you dating me?” Marcus asked.
“What do you think? You’re only their favorite player.
Alex got excited and nearly woke up the dorm, while
Andrew was also excited but quiet.” She chuckled. “If I
hadn’t been the one on the delivery table I would never
guess they were twins.”
Marcus smiled. “I can’t wait to meet them.”
The words nearly bowled her over.
“Why the look?”
“No reason. I’m just surprised.”
“You’re surprised I would want to meet your children?”
“Some men aren’t crazy about meeting your kids,
regardless of their age. I know for a fact my sons would love
to meet you.”
“I’m not most men.”
“Isn’t that the truth?”
They kissed.
He looked at her strangely.
“What?”
“Is there anything else you want to talk about?”
“No. Why do you ask?”
“I heard the message from Sarah and judging from the
time stamp, I think you did too. Is there anything you want
to ask me about that?”
“So I heard the message. It’s not a big deal.” Cathy tried
to sound real casual about it.
“Don’t you
want
to ask me about it?” he pressed.
“Marcus, we met a couple of days ago. I know you had
a life before. I do not expect it to disappear.”
“Are you saying you don’t care?”
“No, it’s not that I don’t care. I don’t have the right to
get upset or ask for any explanations from you.”
“You don’t think you have a right?”
“Marcus, I’ve made the mistake of going into new relationships with expectations and I got burned. I refuse to do
it anymore.”
“So you learned to accept less.”
“I guess that’s exactly what I did,” she conceded.
“You don’t have to do that anymore.”
“I don’t?”
“You know, the reporters aren’t that far off the mark.”
“What do you mean?”
“Yes, people have sat next to my parents at the stadium
before, but I’ve never had a girlfriend sit next to them until
tonight.”
Cathy was speechless.
“All I’m saying is, give us a chance. My father always
said when you meet the right person, you’ll just know it. I
think we’re on that track.”
“You do?”
“Yes, I do. The moment you walked into the restaurant
I saw this confident and beautiful woman sit down at a
table in the middle of the place by herself. Then I saw you
smile at the waiter. I thought to myself, I’d love to have her
smile at me the same way. That’s why I had to meet you.”
“You
had
to meet me.”
“Yes, I did. Sarah and I weren’t an item. We had fun
together and that was about it. I’m not a saint. I’ve dated a
lot of women but now I’m ready to give a real relationship
a try. All I want to know is if you’re willing to do the same.”
“I would like that.” Cathy was lot more emotional than
she’d been in a long time.
“Good.”
Tears streamed down her face. “Damn. Now my face is
leaking.” She wiped her eyes. They looked at each other
and howled with laughter. Marcus handed her some tissues.
“Your face is leaking. That’s a new one.”
“It’s an expression Alex used to use when he was little.
Whenever I peeled onions he’d say, ‘Mommy’s face is
leaking.’ It was so cute I haven’t stopped using the saying;
it reminds me of when they were babies.” She looked down
at the floor. “I know, I’m a cornball.”
“You know what? I like corn.”
“You do?”