One of our team’s host families invited us to their estate after the game. I say ‘estate’ because that’s what it was. A doctor had purchased fifty acres and built himself a six-thousand square foot eight-bedroom ten-bath monstrosity. He also had a twelve-stall barn for his horses. We all gave Allard a hard time about roughing it.
The food was to die for. The doctor had a cook who made a pork shoulder in a smoker. When it was so tender it fell off the bone, it was shredded, and they made barbecue. They served it on a Kaiser roll with coleslaw on top. It was the best thing I’d eaten since I got here.
M.E. found me.
“Let’s go for a walk,” she suggested.
Mac wanted to go see the horses, so I took her with us to the barn.
Once we were away from everyone, M.E. gave me a look I wasn’t sure how to read.
“Rumor has it you talked to my brother. I don’t need you to get into the middle of what’s going on.”
“I figured while I was saving him from himself, I would also save him from you.”
“While I appreciate that, they did what they did,” she said with a huff.
M.E. was right. I don’t know what I would’ve done in her situation. Well, I sort of did. I hadn’t handled it too well when Tami had dated her first few guys. For a while, freshman year, before I knew about Angie, I’d even suspected that Tami was dating my brother. Even with us being apart for the summer, I’d felt the hurt in the pit of my stomach when I was sure she’d been with Greg.
“I had something very similar happen during my freshman year of high school. I know what it’s like to feel like your best friend picked your brother over you. While you want what’s best for your friend, there’s a special level of betrayal when you believe your brother has taken your best friend from you. For a guy, it may even be worse because there’s that voice in the back of your head that wonders why they picked your brother over you. I always just assumed that we would be together,” I admitted.
“Did you two ever get together?”
“Not in that way. We’re still friends, but I no longer believe we’ll be together. It turned out it was all in my head, but the pain felt the same.”
Of course, being a girl, she wanted the full scoop, so I told her the story of Tami and me.
“I can’t believe you worried that your brother could steal her away from you,” M.E. said.
“My brother is no slouch with the ladies. Angie got her claws into him and never let go; otherwise, he could give me a run for my money. He’s a charming guy.”
“I know, but you’re a movie star.”
“Yes, who was a pudgy nerd in middle school.”
“What should I do?” she asked.
“I don’t know. On the one hand, Dave’s an immature jerk who did what he did without considering the consequences. I guess you could say that’s a boy thing. We let the little head do our thinking sometimes.”
I was getting no disagreement from her.
“Then there’s your friend Kelly. I might have a hard time with what she did. Something I’ve learned is that people make mistakes. I don’t believe she did it intentionally to hurt you. I think you’re right that she saw this as a way to become more popular. Can you really hold that against her?” I asked.
“But we make fun of the popular kids,” she said and then blushed when she surmised I might be one of those.
“Sorry, you’re not that bad,” she added.
“I have my moments.”
It was clear she needed a hug, so I gave her one.
◊◊◊
Mac was starting to get tired, so we returned to the party. I found Angie and gave her back her daughter.
“Did she get her fill of horses?”
“Are you kidding me? I foresee a large cash outlay on my part when she’s old enough,” I said.
“I foresee having to take her for riding lessons,” Angie complained.
“If it wasn’t that, it would be something else,” I assured her.
I was back in time for some homemade ice cream and peach pie. Allard had really hit the jackpot with his host family.
I spied Dave and Kelly talking to M.E. She at least wasn’t running away. I could tell it would take more than one talk, but it was a start. Meanwhile, Pam and Peggy were teasing my teammates. I stood back and watched the players try their best moves on them. It was apparent Pam had had enough, so I strolled up.
Pam and Peggy shot to me, and I put an arm around each of them.
“I hope you two didn’t tease them too much,” I said, giving my teammates a knowing look.
“No, they were fine,” Daz supplied.
“You’re a lucky guy,” Nick added.
“Thanks,” I said to the boys and then looked at the girls. “You about ready to go? I have baseball tomorrow.”
That reminded everyone we needed to get some sleep. We thanked our hosts and went our separate ways.
◊◊◊
Chapter 15 – Why Would You Need Tackle? Wednesday June 22
Today, we had our only night game, against Pony. Tomorrow would be a double-header day versus the Nationals and the Free. On Friday, the top two teams would play a championship game, and then the forty-man roster would be announced.
