“Dad told me that when I was in first grade, they did DNA tests, and he assured me you and I are related,” I shot back.
“You little shit. You wanted proof I was your mother?”
“Wouldn’t you? I mean seriously, talk about redneck crazy. Sometimes you take the cake.”
“Listen here, young man. You are not distracting me from why we’re having this talk,” she said as she glared at me.
It was worth a try.
“To answer your question, I’m still a teenager. I have zero desire to get married other than what is best for Coby and, by extension, Pam. If having her in his life on a daily basis gives him a better life, then so be it.”
“Didn’t your uncle have the free milk and cow talk with you?” Mom asked.
I don’t believe Melissa was used to anyone like my mom, because she choked on her coffee. The story went that if you were receiving free milk, i.e., sex, why buy the cow?
“I … I … I don’t even know what to say to that,” I stammered.
Mom shook her head and sighed.
“David, I love you to death, but you’ve got to get a handle on this need for grand romantic gestures. I know your heart was in the right place last night. You were just lucky Pam has more common sense than you do. What you did last night tells me we have to establish a new rule. Before you make any relationship decisions, you have to come to me and talk about it first.”
I blinked at her. Did she just say that? I did what Dawsons do when confronted with a situation like this: I became quiet.
“Don’t you clam up on me,” she threatened. “I know you think you can make your own decisions and you can tattle to your dad, but I’m serious about this. It’s obvious you’re not talking to Tami enough, so I’m going to have to step in. Last night showed me you have yet to learn to think things through. You’re letting your heart make your decisions, not your head.”
“Is that so bad?” I asked.
Mom’s mouth pinched, and she leaned back, then visibly forced herself to relax. I don’t believe either one of us wanted to argue about last night, so I came clean.
“I realized it was a mistake when I said it … well, ‘mistake’ might be too strong a word. You know that if it came down to it, I would’ve done what Greg did and stepped up and taken responsibility,” I admitted.
“I’m sure you would have, but you’re younger and in a different financial situation than your brother was, and still is. I realize that isn’t fair, but it’s the truth. You also have your father’s and my support,” Mom reminded me.
“Greg also has your support,” I shot back.
“The difference is they decided they wanted to get married. We backed him on that,” Mom said.
“Mom, I don’t want to argue about this. I said what I said, and at the time, I was ready to back those words up. Pam decided that she likes our current arrangement, so nothing has changed.”
“I know, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t worry about you.”
“And Mom …” I began and looked her in the eyes. “I’m not coming to you for relationship advice.”
“I didn’t really expect you would. It was worth a shot, though. I love you,” she said to end the discussion.
“I love you too.”
“Now that that’s settled, anyone up for pancakes?” Melissa asked.
“I could eat,” Paul said with a smile.
◊◊◊
We had morning practice in the stadium. My Lincoln coaches had spread out across the other baseball fields to scout the other teams. Coach Mallei, our pitching coach, called me to join him in the bullpen.
“David, I understand you pitch some. I’d like to see what you have in case we get into a jam.”
I warmed up and showed him what I could do. He didn’t have anything negative to say, but it was clear I wasn’t going to make it to the majors as a pitcher. I didn’t think much about it until I was called over by Coach Nautilus, our infield coach.
“I want to see how you do at different infield positions.”
It seems someone had opened his big mouth and said he was willing to do whatever the coaches needed. Coach Nautilus was surprised when I had infield and first-baseman’s gloves. I’d already figured out that first base wasn’t really the best option for me, but I could play it in a pinch.
I, of course, excelled at shortstop, because that had always been my position up until this year. Somehow, second base felt backward. I was sure I could play it just fine, but I was more comfortable at short.
The position they worked me at the longest was third. I was surprised when I did well there. With my arm strength and reflexes, I was able to do a credible job.
They call it the ‘hot corner’ for a reason. At short and second, you can play a little further back because you don’t need to worry about bunts.
For me, it wasn’t as challenging as short, as far as turning double plays was concerned. The key to third was that you had to react even faster to a hit ball. Since third is played closer to the plate, the ball is on you quicker. Right-handed batters also tend to hit the ball harder towards third than up the middle.
At the end of practice, Coach Kingwood pulled me aside.
“What’s your take on this morning’s practice?”
