Page 21 of I Saw You First

“Look, I’m going to cut to the chase. Kelsey’s pregnant.”

Of all the things I thought he might say, that wasn’t one of them. He and Kelsey have been married for three years. Andre wants lots of kids; Kelsey has been putting him off and putting Hometown first. He’s even offered to give up his career to stay home with the babies. She makes more money than he does, and probably always will. Dad’s got his sights set on her taking over the company, and more power to her. I might have his name, but I’d never want his job.

“Holy shit!” I say.

“Keep your voice down, man. We’re not telling anyone yet, not until she starts to show.”

I bark out a laugh. Knowing my sister, she’ll find a way to control the expansion of her body while still manufacturing a fully formed infant who will emerge from the womb having already scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT and gotten into Harvard. “Of course you’re not.”

“I knew you’d get it. If there’s anyone who knows your sister as well as I do, it’s you.”

He’s right. For all our differences, and the fact that she can be a class-A bitch, Kelsey and I have always been close, especially during the latchkey years after the divorce when Mom was at work. We learned how to make boxed macaroni and cheese and frozen pizzas and eventually graduated to basic recipes like minestrone soup and chicken parmesan. Those first months in Wausau, before we knew anyone else, we were each other’s best friend.

“To my complete and utter dismay,” I say, “yes, I know her well.”

He snorts. “I know I don’t have to ask you to keep this to yourself. We’ve been working out a plan—you know, like how long will she take maternity leave? Who will take care of the baby after she goes back to work?”

“I thought you were going to quit to be a stay-at-home dad,” I remind him.

“I don’t think I was serious about that,” he says.

“You have a right to change your mind.”

“The thing is, I ran into Austin at Babies ‘R’ Us the other day⁠—”

I laugh. “You went to Babies ‘R’ Us? Already?”

“Shut up. It’s a great store. They have everything you could possibly need for a baby and a hell of a lot of things you don’t. Anyway, he told me that the League is looking to hire a facilities manager for all the ballparks and⁠—”

I hold up my hand. “Why was Austin at Babies ‘R’ Us?” Austin is the executive director of the Hometown League and has four grown daughters.

“One of his girls is pregnant.”

I wonder if it’s Vega, the youngest. We graduated from high school together. She might be having a baby and I’m not even thinking about getting married yet. Not since Candy, that’s for sure. And not since my entire focus became the GM training program.

“I’m confused,” I say, attempting to bring the conversation back to the Hometown League.

“Well, Jaws, when two people love each other very much…”

“Not about that, you dick.”

Andre laughs. “What are you confused about?”

“The nonprofit partners with cities and counties to utilize their ballparks. That’s part of the deal. They help renovate facilities that benefit the entire community, not only the people who play in the League.”

“That’s not changing,” he says. “They need someone to manage that and take the responsibility off the executive director’s plate.”

I lean back. “It’s actually not a bad idea. Austin’s overextended even without that part of the job.”

“Exactly.”

“So, you’re thinking of leaving corporate for this?”

He shrugs. “Kelsey and I are still hashing out the pros and cons. It’s convenient to go to the same building for work every day, and the employee relations department announced last week that they’re bringing a daycare center to the corporate office.”

“Wow,” I say. “That’s progressive.” Mom would have loved that when we were babies.

“And convenient. The League office is twenty minutes in the opposite direction.”