“So, when everybody suddenly invited themselves along on a couple of trips, it just got to me. I’d love to have everyone along, and I’d love to pay for it all. I have to ask myself, would I be doing it for the right reasons? What would you be expecting of me then and in the future? Would it hurt our friendship if I were honest about how I felt?”
I looked at them helplessly and found more than one who didn’t meet my eyes.
“Guys! I’m not yelling at you,” I said with a weak smile.
“I just feel bad that we would make you feel like that,” Tim said.
“Look, I consider us a team. If a team member needs some help, we rally around them and do what we can. If you see me tossing money around, you stop me. Can we do that?” I asked.
“Before we start this new team arrangement, I need a new Mustang,” Tracy said.
“I saw a purse that Coby had his eyes on,” Pam teased.
The two of them joking around seemed to lighten the mood. I sort of got lost in my own thoughts for a couple of minutes. I was glad I’d talked to them but worried about how everything would turn out. The Alpha Male in me still wanted to control it all, but sometimes you just had to take the best actions you could and leave the rest up to God.
◊◊◊
I received a Google Alert concerning Brandon Rigby. His accomplices had turned on him. With the mounting DNA evidence, and more women coming forward, he’d accepted a plea deal of 25 years in prison with no chance of parole. The article said that the average sentence for rape varied by area, but the average was 9.8 years, with only 5.4 years of it actual jail time. Because of the nature and the number of victims, he could have easily never gotten out of jail. His two accomplices had each received reduced 10-year sentences for their part in drugging and raping their fellow college students.
I forwarded the link to the article to Tami. I hoped this gave her some closure on that chapter of her life. For me personally, I didn’t know how to feel. I guess the best description was relief that he’d actually been punished. I’d been worried his dad, as a well-connected lawyer, would have figured out a way for him to go free.
◊◊◊
After school, Coach Haskins and Moose met me on the baseball field. It seemed a little weird with just the three of us.
“I sent your game film to the people at the Under-18 team. They gave me some ideas on what they want you to work on,” Moose said.
“There are four things: batting, stealing bases, all three outfield positions, and pitching. They want to use you as an emergency pitcher if you make the team,” Coach Haskins shared.
For the next two hours, the two of them worked with me. They’d done a lot of one-on-one coaching throughout the season. But without having to worry about all my teammates, they took their time to make sure I understood the
I smiled when Cassidy came out of the field house, decked out in catcher’s gear.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m going with you to Cuba. You need to practice pitching,” she said reasonably.
I was a little tentative at first. A fastball can hurt. I had no desire to let my friend get injured trying to catch me. Part of my learning might mean a pitch would get away from me, and an errant ball would hit the catcher. I should have known Cassidy was up to the task. I tried a curveball, and it bounced off the plate and about knocked her mask off. She just readjusted her mask, tracked the ball down, and threw it back.
“You okay?” I asked.
She gave me a look that I was used to seeing. I shut up and tried it again.
◊◊◊
When I got home, Greg was there with his munchkins. Someone must have fed them sugar because they were going wild. Mom sent me out to the backyard with Kyle and Mac to wear them out. I guess Nate was upset he didn’t get to go because Greg soon joined me, carrying him. He found his son and daughter squealing as we played ‘Unca David, Catch Me!’ I took Nate and told him to tag them as I ran after them. He got the giggles, and his brother and sister soon joined him.
“Mom tells me you don’t have a date to Prom. Dad seems to think it’s funny that Phil found a girl, and you lost yours,” Greg said.
“Prom is Saturday. I have plenty of time to get a date,” I said like it was no big deal.
Even Greg wasn’t buying that.
“Well, Adrienne said she’d get me a replacement date,” I admitted.
“Remember that faux one? Did she even make it to Prom?” Greg asked.
“I almost forgot about her. Adrienne is dead if it’s someone like that. She mentioned it might be Melinda,” I said.
“Is that the Victoria’s Secret model?” Greg asked.
I just grinned at him. Kyle and Mac had caught their breath, and it was time for Unca David to chase them again. Greg stood back and let me wear them out for him.
◊◊◊
Finals were next week, so I was reviewing when Tami sent me a text. I jumped onto video chat.
“Hey. Did you get my email?” I asked.
“Yes. I’m glad he’s getting jail time,” she said and sighed. “I’m just happy it’s over.”
“You okay?” I asked.
She just shrugged. I could relate to that.
