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“But, can you give me a hint? Blink twice if you are leaning towards Arizona,” she says turning her body to fully face me and stare at my eyes.
I do my best to not give off any hints and instead do what I can to not blink at all.
“Oh, you’re good at this game.” She laughs. “How long have you and Gunnar been a couple?”
“Four and a half years,” I reply.
“Any signs for marriage?” she asks out of nowhere.
Ignoring her question, I turn the questions on her. “How about you and Brian, how long have you been married?”
“We married two years ago, but we’re high school sweethearts. We’ve been together since we were fifteen,” she gushes.
“Oh wow. Good for you guys.” I say when the line finally starts to move and I step forward, adding bacon and eggs to my plate first, with Betty following suit.
“When he first hit the show, we had a little issue with some cleat chasers but other than that, we’ve been solid.”
Why is she sharing this information with me? Betty seems nice enough, but I barely know her and she’s telling me about her husband having an issue with infidelity? I’m not sure that’s something that I would share with someone who was practically a stranger.
I notice that none of the other wives or girlfriends of Arizona’s players seemed to acknowledge her, so I just kept listening, wondering if there was a reason for that.
“Sawyer! Sawyer!” Delphine, Brad Masters’ girlfriend hollered as she walked into the banquet room.
I turned and waved to her as she came closer.
“Oh, thank goodness. I’m so glad I found you. I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever girl! Hi, I’m Delphine and who are you?” She asks turning to Betty, cutting into line.
The two started talking and soon, I was able to get through the remainder of the food line in a reprieve of conversation. I wasn’t annoyed with the interactions, it was just a lot to handle all at once.
When the plates were full, the three of us headed to the same table, and we shared pleasantries with the other women seated at the table we were seated at.
Someone in a black and dark blue form fitting dress stepped up to the podium and tapped it a few times before speaking.
“Today’s luncheon is sponsoring the same charity but in both cities. Since we have two different groups of ladies here, we’ve set to sponsor the Boys and Girls Club.” She pauses for effect and then claps her hands together and resumes speaking. “We hope that we can continue with the time-honored mission of compassion, courage and kindness between our two organizations. We play the same game, we speak the same language, and we live the same kind of life. Our mission for today’s luncheon for The Boys and Girls Clubs is that we’re hoping for new sports equipment. With the combined efforts of the baseball wives and girlfriends of both Arizona’s Gila Monsters and San Diego’s Hornets - we’ve got fantastic company here today. Ladies of Phoenix and surrounding areas, welcome and I hope that you all enjoy your lunch with these inspiring women.” The organizer says from the podium at the front of the room to the space of combined spouses and girlfriends of baseball players and philanthropic guests.
The room erupts into chatter from each table including our own. By the end of the lunch, we’ve managed to raise several thousand for each charter of the Boys and Girls Club, making the event a success.
After awhile of mingling with the ladies I knew from the Hornets, I also introduced myself to a few women on the Gila Monsters end. They were nice and welcoming, especially once I mentioned Gunnar, but overall the nicest person that I did meet today was Betty. With giving my final goodbyes to my friends and Betty, I look at my watch and note that the game will be starting in two hours. I excuse myself politely, say my goodbyes and head over to the hotel to get ready and hopefully to get a chance to speak to Gunnar before the game starts.
FOURTEEN
GUNNAR
BEFORE THE GAME TODAY, I sat with my potential bosses and I saw the desire in their eyes for me to wear a Gila Monsters jersey. I heard it in the way they spoke to me as well. I did not play into the finality of a choice for where I intended to play and kept them on their feet. I let them know that I was in-between Arizona and Boston. That Boston was showing me more money, bigger incentives and a start on the team rather than the bench.
Whether or not they believed me was a different story.
We won the first game tonight against Arizona, which made up for the shit-show in Denver and brought the team morale up a bit. I didn’t get back to the hotel suite until close to midnight. Sawyer was sitting in the chair in the corner of the room with a reading light on behind her, illuminating her.
I set my bag down and walk to her. I kneel down on the floor and unwrap her legs from her body to settle on the sides of my body.
She wore a loose t-shirt, one that’s been washed so many times that whatever was on the shirt is a distant memory and small black shorts that barely cover her curves.
“Good game tonight,” she smiles at me, closing her book and tightening her legs against my sides.
“Thanks. Did you have a good day?” I ask as she nods draping her arms around my neck.
“The game tomorrow is an evening game, so we have a lot of the day to ourselves, to explore and whatever. If you want to look at any other houses, I’m game for that too.”
