Trent (Season Two: The Ninth Inning #4) (6 page)

The line moves forward as the
bell signaling the door opening sounds. I glance over my shoulder,
surprised to see Scarlett and a man step in line behind us.

“Can we?” Kaelyn asks, poking
my chest to get my attention.

“Can we what?”

“Watch
Cinderella
tonight? Please, please, please?”

“Yeah, we’ll watch the movie
when we get home.”

Kaelyn squeals and hugs me
tightly around my neck. Watching her favorite movie has her more
excited than she’s been all day. Now that I’ve answered Kaelyn’s
pressing question, I turn to say hi to Scarlett, not wanting to be
rude by not speaking to her since I’ve obviously seen her.

“Hey, Scarlett. We meet
again, it seems.” It’s odd how I keep running into her.

“Trent. Wow. Hi. How are
you?” She seems just as surprised as I am to see her.

“Good. Just on a
daddy/daughter play date. How are you?”

“I’m well.”

“Our turn,” Kaelyn says.

We move up and I ask if she
can try the green and blue ice cream. I try not to laugh when she
tastes the pistachio, immediately makes a face, and says, “Yuck!
Not that one.” Cotton candy is the winner for her and I get cookies
and cream for myself.

“Do you want sprinkles?”

“And gummy bears!”

I set her back down on her
feet, hand her the ice cream, and pay. Before we go find a table, I
tell Scarlett it was nice seeing her again. Kaelyn quickly
recaptures my attention, so we find a seat. Shopping, pizza, ice
cream, and
Cinderella
are all parts of a great day with my
daughter.

***

MY DATE WITH Nathaniel
has been good. There haven’t been too many instances of
uncomfortable silence and I enjoyed dinner. Seeing Trent with his
beautiful daughter throws me for a moment. He is the last person I
want to see. He’s the one I’m trying to stay away from the most,
but he and I keep running into each other. When Nathaniel drops me
off, it’s a simple kiss on the cheek he leaves me with. Sweet,
simple, and a good time is exactly what I needed.

I spend the rest of my
weekend filling out paperwork on my kids and making sure all my
home visit sheets are done. I barely have time to make it to the
gym. I do go late Sunday night because I know I won’t see Trent
since he has road games this week. I’m grateful. I’m even trying to
decide if I need to change gyms, but I hate to do that since this
is close to where I live. No, I’m going to keep my routine as I
always do and avoid Trent at all costs. I can do it. I never
noticed him before the trial and I can do it again. It’s not going
to be hard at all.

A call from Dominic’s
attorney brings my entire Monday afternoon to an abrupt halt. He
wants me to speak on Dominic’s behalf before he’s sentenced. Good
Lord. I close my eyes and think about Trent and his daughter. I
don’t think I can do this. In fact, I know I can’t do this.
However, he’s still my half-brother. I cave and say I will, but I
don’t know what I will say. I have three months to figure it out
though. I can do it.

After I hang up with the
lawyer, I rush to the gym to run off all my emotions. I can’t think
about any of it right now. I’m trying to focus on me and I’ve been
doing well—for a few days at least.

The ten miles go too quickly,
but my legs are telling me it’s enough. When I get home, I answer
the few texts from Nathaniel who tells me about his day. He’s in
the insurance field; I can’t imagine how stressful it could be, but
apparently it is. He wants to see me again, but I tell him I’ll
have to check my schedule. I like him. He’s a nice guy, but I’m not
sure just yet.

I’ve tried to sleep in my bed
the past couple of nights, but it’s been unsuccessful. I’ll give it
another go, but when my head hits the pillow, I know it’ll be a
restless night.

The week seems to fly by
faster than I want and another weekend is upon me. Of course, I
have no plans. Nathaniel’s boss sent him to some insurance
convention because the boss couldn’t go. I’m thankful for the
weekend, so I can rest. I even have an appointment for a spa day
for myself. I never treat myself to days like that, but I am
now.

When I hop off the treadmill,
I grab my towel and pat my face. I’m not paying attention until I
run into something hard.

I gasp when I drop the towel.
“Trent.”

Why can’t he and I quit
running into each other?

“Sorry I thought you heard
me.”

I shake my head. “I didn’t
hear you. Are you okay?”

“I’m good. I thought we could
go to the juice bar.”

No!
My head screams at
me. I’m trying to avoid him with all my being and now he’s asking
me to the juice bar. I stand there, staring into his eyes, and I’m
not sure what to do.
Say no
! My head is still screaming at
me. But it’s not like it’s a date or anything. It’s a juice
bar.

“Sure,” I answer and I’m
mentally kicking myself. This is such a mistake.

We walk to the juice bar and
we both order fruit protein drinks. Trent pays for it before I can
even protest. We find a table near the back. Even though there’s
hardly anyone here, we’re the farthest away from the counter and
doors.

“So, how were the road
games?” I sip on the drink.

“Good. We played well and won
most of them. How’s your job going?”

“It’s okay. I had a rough day
yesterday. Police called us to a home and we had to take the kids,
but I got them in somewhere good. I hope it works out for them.” I
can still hear the kids crying and screaming in the back of the SUV
as I took them away from the only home they’d known.

“Me too. I don’t think I
could do your job.”

“I like helping the kids.
It’s hard and heartbreaking, but in the end, it’s great to see a
smile on a kid’s face. The good days outweigh the bad.” It’s the
truth. I love my job and how I can help people. “How’s your
daughter? She’s beautiful, by the way. She looked really happy in
the ice cream parlor.”

For the first time, he really
smiles. “She looks like my wife, thankfully. She’s doing okay. She
has bad days, too, so I’m just happy I can take her out and let her
spend my money.”

“I think that’s what fathers
are meant to do. I wouldn’t know from personal experience, but it’s
what I hear.” I stop talking before I say anymore. “She looked like
she was very happy. I think it’s amazing how you two are holding
up.” I try to hide my sad tone, but it’s hard.

“We’re doing our best, I
guess. Kaelyn keeps me going.” He takes a deep breath, like he’s
trying to control his emotions. “Is that why you’re a social
worker? You didn’t have good parents growing up?”

“No. Well, I have no clue who
my father is, and my mother...” I shift in my chair. It still
bothers me to tell people about her. “She was a drug addict.” I’m
not sure if I should say anything about Dominic. “I have a younger
half-brother, but...he’s in jail too. So, it’s just me,” I tell
him, watching his face to see his reaction.

“Wow, that must’ve been hard.
Where’s your mom now?”

“She died a few years back;
the drugs took her. I tried my best, but I quit talking to her
after I graduated college. I always hoped she would find help, but
she didn’t.”

“Sorry to hear that.
Sometimes, there’s just no helping people.”

“I tried with her and my
brother, but...” I shrug as if it explains itself and I don’t go
into further details. “Sorry, this shouldn’t be so sad. Tell me
something good. One thing happy and upbeat.” I try to sound peppy.
At least the best I can be.

“Well, let’s see. Kaelyn and
I did some painting and she told me my tree looked great. That
count? I’m pretty sure she was being nice, but it made me laugh,
so, there’s that.”

“From my experiences, kids
don’t lie a lot. She seems great.” I smile at the thought of them
painting together.

“She is. What’s your
something good and happy?” He sips his drink, though I don’t think
he likes it because he’s not drinking very much of it.

“Good Lord,” I giggle. “I
don’t think anything good has happened to me in a long time.” A
very long time.

“It doesn’t have to be
something major. Most of the time, it’s the small things that can
turn a bad day to a good one. There has to be something.”

“Then I would say adoption
day makes me happy. Seeing them happy is the most rewarding thing.”
My heart warms thinking of the kids I’ve seen get adopted.

“I bet so. And see, something
good happens in your life every adoption day.”

“True. So, how did you fall
in love with baseball?”

“My dad signed me up. He
coached the local high school team and he would help with the
recreational teams. Once I started playing, I never wanted to stop.
I just love everything about it. Pretty boring story about how I
started, huh?” He smirks.

“No. It’s great. You are very
good at it so I’ve heard; I’m not a sports fan.”

“Have you ever watched a game
before? Of any sport, I mean? Usually people either need a general
interest or someone to introduce them to a sport before they become
a fan.”

“No, I’ve never seen a game.
Not a full game, anyway. I’ve seen highlights on the evening news
though.”

“Then how do you know you’re
not a fan?”

I giggle. “Good point, but
I’m sure it’s hard to follow.”

He laughs and it makes me
smile to hear him let go a bit. “Some sports might take a learning
curve to follow, but I don’t think baseball is one of them. I think
you should find a sport to become a fan of. Then when your team
wins a game
that
can be your something good and happy. I, of
course, would be biased and say it should be baseball.”

I almost snort at laughing so
hard. “I’m sure you would push me into baseball.” Once I compose
myself, I say, “Maybe I’ll convince Macy to watch a game with me.
She’s a big basketball fan.”

“She doesn’t try to make you
watch basketball? I just think you should give a sport a try,” he
pushes me a bit harder.

“Oh, she tries all the time
to make me watch it. I’ll see. Besides painting with Kaelyn, do you
have any other hobbies?” Why am I asking him all of these
questions? I shouldn’t be getting to know him. I need to leave and
do it soon.

“Almost all of my free time
is spent with her, but my wife and I made a hobby out of going to
wine and beer tastings. I used to work on old cars and fix them up,
too.”

Good Lord, can he sound
anymore perfect?

“I think my only hobby is
running. I love to run because it clears my head. I’m quite
boring.” I shyly turn away. I sound almost pathetic.

“Not at all. Do you run in
any marathons or anything like that? You could do well in those, I
bet.”

“I used to run them, but this
past year, with my brother, I didn’t get a chance too. Now that
he’s in jail, I’ll have more time.”

Tell him!
My
conscience screams at me.
Don’t let him find out from anyone
else.
I know he will eventually find out who I am. If not from
me, then he’ll know at the sentencing. I can’t do this to him. I
can’t do it to me. I go to open my mouth, but he starts talking
again.

“You tried to help before he
got locked up? Do you think jail will be good for him? That’s
supposed to help change some people around, so they say.”

“I tried everything. I even
offered to pay for treatment, but he kept saying no.” I pause
because I need to tell him the truth. “It’s my fault he’s there. I
should have pushed harder, but I kept giving him money and hoped he
would come around. Now, he’s never getting out of jail. I take a
small bit of responsibility for it. I could've tried harder to help
him.”

“People don’t change unless
they want to, not because someone tried to change them and made it
work. We all have the ability to make choices, and it’s not your
fault he made bad ones. Really bad ones if he’s never getting
out.”