Trent (Season Two: The Ninth Inning #4) (11 page)

It’s his first home run of
the season. There are tears in my eyes because I know he’s becoming
stronger for himself and his daughter. I’m proud of him and this
accomplishment. Nonetheless, it’ll still hurt when I finally tell
him who I really am and I know I need to do
that
soon.

***

KAELYN BEGGED ME all
week to let her spend the night with one of her friends. I wasn’t
going to let her, but she wore me down until I agreed. Granny is
out playing BINGO with her friends and somehow, I’m the one sitting
at home on a Friday night without any plans. My five-year-old
daughter and seventy-five-year-old grandmother have plans, but not
me.

I thought about going to the
grand opening of a winery since they sent me a pair of tickets, but
going alone doesn’t sound like much fun. Asking any of the guys is
out of the question. I doubt any of them would want to go. When
we’ve gone out, they order beer or whiskey.

Maybe I could ask
Scarlett.

She’s a friend, and I need a
friend to go with me. Perfect reason to ask her. Before I can
chicken out, I text her.

Me: I have an extra ticket
to a tasting for the grand opening of a winery tonight. Any chance
you’re free and would like to come with me?

Scarlett: What time? I’m not
dressed fancy.

Me: I could pick you up in
30-45 minutes? Doesn’t have to be fancy. Just not too casual.

Scarlett: I can be ready in
45. Do you want to pick me up or give me the address?

Me: I can pick you up,
unless you prefer me not to?

There’s a three-minute wait
until she replies.

Scarlett: You can pick me
up. I’ll be ready in 45. Here’s my address.

Me: Great. See you soon.

I jump off the couch because
I need to change and get ready. Anxiety riddles my bones and
really, it shouldn’t. This isn’t a date. I’ve been to places with
Scarlett before. Sort of. I’ve seen her at the gym, at a cafe, and
at the art gallery. Sure, I never planned to most of the times and
I never picked her up, but still.

Scarlett’s house isn’t even
out of the way. It’s practically on the way to the winery. I take a
deep breath, adjust my grip on the steering wheel, and turn onto
the road she lives on. Shaking the anxiety isn’t as easy as it
should be. I pretty much know Scarlett. Tonight should be fun. The
light in the living room is on, and thanks to her open blinds, I
think I see movement inside. I park, get out, walk up to her front
door and knock.

After a moment, the door
opens. I resist telling her she looks great in her black maxi dress
and green cardigan. That is definitely a date-like comment.

“Hey, are you ready to go?” I
ask.

“Sure. Am I too casual?”

“Not at all. You look great.”
Damn it. I wasn’t supposed to say that.

She smiles, locks her door,
and we walk to my car. I open the door for her before walking
around to my side and getting back on the road.

“Sorry for asking last
minute. I wasn’t going to go, but then I ended up at home, the only
one without plans.”

“It’s fine. I was just
flipping through the TV channels, trying to find something to
watch. I don’t even know why I have cable. There’s nothing ever
on.”

“I don’t watch a lot of TV
either. I’d rather do something than sit on the couch.”

“I’m usually the same way,
but I was pretty bored. I’m actually done with all my reports,
which never happens, and I can’t find the charger for my e-reader
or I would have read a book.”

“It’s a good thing I asked
you to come then. Are you a big fan of wine?”

“I like to drink a glass here
and there. I’m never sure what the whole deal is with the swirling,
smelling, swishing, and spitting though. We won’t be doing that,
right?”

“We’ll be drinking mostly,
but I’m not sure if you’d want to drink everything we taste. It
always varies in how many they’ll want you to try, especially if
it’s a grand opening like tonight.”

“Well, I’ll just sip a few
here and there, then.”

“And if you find one you
like, you can be one of the first few to buy a bottle. It should be
fun though. I’ve been to some before, probably too many.” I
chuckle. “I always leave with at least one bottle. I have more wine
at home than I’ll ever drink.”

“I’m a homebody. I mean, Macy
drags me out sometimes, but at the end of the day, I’m too tired to
club hop or whatever it’s called these days.”

“I know what you mean. I feel
too old for it, especially when I realize I like wine and going to
wine tastings.”

She giggles, making me smile.
“Well, I guess we can be old friends together then.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Before long, we’ve arrived at
the winery. I lead Scarlett in with a hand on her lower back. We
take in the scene around us. People are being led to tables, people
are behind a long bar as they get things ready, and as soon as we
sit down, our glasses are being filled. It’s a busy place. Once
everyone is seated and seems to have arrived, a man takes his place
at the front of the room. He introduces himself, gives a brief
history on what led to the opening of the winery, and launches into
the tasting side of things.

I can’t tell if Scarlett is
enjoying herself or not. I lean over to whisper while the man
begins to explain the process of making wine. “You’re going to know
more about wine than you ever cared to know. Are you sure channel
surfing isn’t more exciting?”

She whispers back, “I sort of
feel like we’re watching on of those home shopping shows. I’m
waiting for him to tell me how many easy payments it comes in.”

I laugh. “Or how many minutes
are left to get the best deal you’ll ever find. That actually
happened once believe it or not.”

“I believe you. I wonder if
this guy was a history professor in a past life. I seem to recall
the same monotone voice from my college days.”

“My science professors were
like that. Where did you go to college?”

“I actually went up to
Knoxville to University of Tennessee. Where did you go?”

“A small university in
Virginia. They had a good enough baseball team for it to be a
decent choice for me.”

“Did you declare a major? Or
just take classes to play baseball?”

“I declared. If my career
goes south or after retirement, I’m practically set to coach. If it
came to that, I’d love to coach high school baseball. What would
your second choice be?”

“Ah, well you may be
surprised to learn I didn’t always want to be a social worker. I
started out in nursing classes. I even thought of being a doctor,
but on the weekends, I worked with a group sort of like Big
Brothers-Big Sisters and I saw how hard the kids had it. It
reminded me a lot of my childhood. That’s what made me change my
major. I want to help kids get out of the system and find good
homes.”

“Either way you go, you have
an admirable career.” I smile because she does.

“I’m happy. I’m broke, but
happy. I knew going into this I wouldn’t be rich, but at the end of
the day, if I know I helped a child, I’m okay with it.” She pauses,
taking a sip of the most recent wine. “Were you traded a lot before
you came to Memphis?”

“A handful of times, yeah.
I’m hoping I can finish out here, but if not, hopefully I won’t be
traded too many more times. I want things to stay rather stable for
Kaelyn.”

“You don’t seem ready to
retire. I saw you playing the other day. You were all over the
place. And congrats on the home run.”

I grin, remembering how great
it felt to finally hit one out of the park. “Thanks, it felt really
good. How did Joey and David enjoy the game? Did they get all the
autographs they wanted, like Colby’s?”

She laughs and nods. “They
did. They ate
way
too much junk food, but they had a blast.
They both want to be baseball players when they get older. I
thought taking them to the game would help keep them focused on
their goals.”

“You should bring them for a
tour one day. I can get whoever their favorite player is to join us
and we can show them around the park and facilities.”

“Oh, Trent, you don’t have to
go through that sort of trouble.”

“It’s no trouble. You want to
show them baseball and keep them focused, right? A tour would help.
They could hang out at practice too, I’m sure. If you want to do it
for them, say the word, and we’ll plan it.”

“I would owe you one for sure
if you can pull it off. David and Joey are still in a foster home
and I’ve been trying to find someone to adopt them, but they’re
older and it’s harder for kids that age. Everyone wants babies, but
those boys are so good.”

“You’ll find someone. If
they’re as good as you say they are, then you’ll find a way to pull
it off.

“You seem sure of me.” She
takes another sip and moves the conversation away from her job.
“Now, you know a bit more about me and I still don’t know a lot of
you. What’s your favorite drink besides wine?” She smirks, causing
me to laugh.

“You know tons about me. But
my favorite drink would be sweet tea. Nothing beats that. What
about you?”

“I have a sick addiction to
Dr. Pepper.”

“What about food?”

“It’s a tough call because I
love a lot of food, but I think I could eat popcorn every single
day without fail. Do you have a favorite food?”

“I like everything and I’ll
try anything.”

“Okay, now the tough
question. What is your favorite past time? And you can’t say
baseball,” she tells me with a pointed look.

“If I can’t say baseball,
then does that mean I can’t say spending time with Kaelyn too? Not
like normal everyday stuff, but I take her shopping and out to eat
every so often. Or whatever else she wants to do.”

“How adorable. You light up
every time you talk about her. It’s sweet.”

“I can’t help it; she’s my
girl. It helps that she’s amazing, too. Do want the whole family
package one day?”

“Yes,” she answers solemnly.
“I do. I would’ve thought that by now I would have been married,
but obviously I’m not. I’m almost thirty. I hope to settle down by
the time I’m thirty-five. If not, then I’ll buy my first cat,” she
jokes.

“It’ll happen. What did you
tell me? Everything will happen when it should? You should remember
your own advice.”

“Hey, no using my own advice
against me.” She tries and fails to suppress her smile. “Plus,
sometimes it’s easier to give advice than to listen. Nonetheless,
you’re right and I know it in my head, but my heart is impatient at
times. Especially around the holidays. Those are the worst for me.
This last year has been horrible. My brother would at least come
over for food and this past year was the first one where I was
completely alone.” She glances down at the table and then back up
at me with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to drag down
the party.”

“It’s fine. The holidays are
supposed to be the best times of the year, but it can be the worse,
too. I get it.”

“So,” she says, dragging out
the word. “Which wine is your favorite so far? I like this blush
looking one with a name I can’t pronounce.” She laughs.

“I was torn between that one
and this dark red one. Did you try it or skip this one?”

Scarlett reaches out, takes
my glass, and proceeds to take a sip. She shakes her head as she
hands it back to me. “That’s too strong for me. I’m a lightweight.
I’ll just stick with the blush one. Thank you for letting me try
it.”

“You’re welcome. How would
you rate your experience? Sometimes, they’ll pass around cards or
send a follow up email in case they need to alter things once they
officially open. Should we mention the time traveling monotone
history professor?”

“Ha, yes, we should. I’ve had
a great evening, Trent. I’m really glad you asked me to come. Thank
you from saving me from a boring night and making this fun.” Her
smile is bright and happy, and I can’t help but return it with one
of my own. It has been a great night.

“You make it easy.” She
really does. “Thanks for coming and saving me from being the dad
whose little girl has better plans than he does.”

“Always. It’s what friends
are for, right?”

“Right.”

We spend a few minutes
filling out the questionnaire that gets passed out before we head
out. A comfortable silence fills the air around us as I drive her
home. It’s nice to get out of the house and spend time with another
adult. Someone other than my grandmother or my teammates. I walk
her to her door to make sure she safely gets from my car into her
house.

“Thanks again, Scarlett.”

She smiles. “Thanks to you,
too.”

“I’ll see you around.” As she
pushes the door open to her house, I head back to my car. I falter
in my steps. Did I just go out on a date? Scarlett is safely in her
house when I begin to back out of her driveway.