“Hi, honey.” Mom’s voice makes me smile.
“Hey, Mom, sorry I missed you earlier. Rafe and I were out for a run.”
“I figured you might be. Hang on, let me just finish making my tea.” The phone clatters, and I know she’s put it on the counter. I can hear muffled sounds coming through, and in my mind, I picture Mom bustling around their kitchen that desperately needs updating, getting the milk and sugar out, and fixing her tea in the china cups she prefers.
I’ve tried to convince my parents to let me pay for renovationsever since I signed my first contract with the Tridents, but they’ve always refused, telling me to save my money for a rainy day.
It’s Vancouver. It’s always raining.
I don’t know how to get them to see that taking care of them would be the best way for me to say thank you for everything they’ve done for me. I might be biased, but I swear, Howard and Edith Montgomery are the best parents on the entire planet. And the most annoying for refusing any help from me beyond physical labour when I go to visit.
Even that takes some convincing.
“Alright, I’m here now. How are you doing?” Mom’s voice returns.
“Good. Taking it easy, enjoying some slower days,” I say in return, settling back against the couch cushions. “How’s Dad? Did you get him in for his physical yet?”
Mom laughs. “Oh, Daniel, you know your father. Getting him to take time out for things like that is almost impossible. But yes, I made the appointment, and didn’t tell him until that morning, so it was too late to cancel. He saw the doctor and got a clean bill of health.”
That’s a relief. The biggest downside to having older parents is being all too aware of their declining health and rapidly approaching mortality. It’s a fact of life we all have to face, and growing old is a privilege. But watching my parents age has become more and more difficult over recent years.
“Did the doctor convince him to slow down at the store at all?”
Mom snorts. “Of course not.”
My head moves slowly back and forth, even though she can’t see it. I pinch the bridge of my nose and decide to shoot my shot. “You know I’d help cover the cost of you hiring more staff. A manager, even. Anything to take some of the workload.”
“And you know that when your father and I reach that point, we’ll talk.” Her tone is firm and leaves no room for discussion.
Even if I highly doubt that point will never come.
“Okay. What else is new?” I ask. There’s nothing to be gained by pushing her, which means changing topics is the best option.
“Well, let me tell you something I heard from Linda…”
I get off the phone with her a half hour later, after promising to come back out for dinner later in the week. When I said I was going to bring Lark with me, I could hear the curiosity in her voice. They’ve met a couple of times, but I’ve never brought her to my childhood home.
When it starts vibrating a couple of minutes later with a call from my agent, I get right back on the phone. He was Rafe’s agent, as well, and a good dude. Total shark, but one that gives a shit about his players.
“Hey, Rocky,” I say, wandering into the kitchen and filling a glass with water. “What’s shakin’?”
“Monty, my man, how’s it going? Keeping up with conditioning?” Rocky says by way of greeting. It’s always business first with him, but I can’t resist having some fun.
“You know it, can’t let my ass get flabby or I won’t bring in the big bucks. Who wants a catcher without a great butt?”
He snorts, which is exactly the response I wanted. “Right, I don’t exactly want to talk about your ass, Monty. But good to know you’re keeping in shape. Let’s talk next season. Last oneon this contract, you know what that means?”
Yeah, it means the pressure’s on and dialed up to a hundred.
But I don’t say that to Rocky. “Of course. It means I play the same way I always do. With a smile on my face and my eye on the ball.”
“That’s my boy. Okay, are you still set on wanting to stay in Vancouver? Is that what we’re working toward? Because even though you’ve got a year left, there’s some chatter about Arizona wanting you.”
“No.” My response is swift and firm. “I’m not going anywhere, Rocky. Vancouver or nothing. And it better not fucking be nothing.”
“Heard, loud and clear. Just wanted to make sure that was still your opinion. Because they could be willing to offer you big bucks.”
“I want the big bucks from Vancouver. This is my home, and I don’t want to play anywhere else.”
