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My face burned and I looked away, making her laugh.
“And then there’s me, who gags at the idea of being close enough to anyone that they could help me. We’re kind of the worst two people who could’ve been paired together to have a kid.”
“I don’t think that’s true.” I reached for her hand and gave her one squeeze before letting go. But as I pulled away she grabbed my hand.
“Niall, I’m sorry I get bitchy about closeness.”
“Don’t be. I like you just the way you are. Though it is nice to see you be—”
“Christenson?” Coach shouted, confused. I shot right up to standing.
“Sorry, sir,” I shouted back before helping Leah back up.
“Ooo, are you in trouble?” she teased. Coach came over to the center field where we were, scooping up the abandoned ball as he went.
“No trouble,” he said. “Just didn’t realize anyone was still around. You’re not overworking yourself again, are you, Christenson?”
“No, sir. I just brought in my … co-parent to meet the team. Leah, this is Coach Sharma.”
The two shook hands and Sharma’s brow furrowed.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize you had a kid. I—”
“Oh no, expecting co-parents,” Leah clarified. “I’m not due until May.”
“Wow, congratulations then! We’ll miss you at the beginning of next season, but—”
“What?”
“For paternity leave. I don’t know exactly how much it covers, but you deserve the time off to spend with your new …” Coach paused and furrowed his brow, looking at Leah. “Family?”
“Well, yeah, but I don’t want to miss any games.” The idea of leaving the team on their own for any game felt … irresponsible. I couldn’t do that, I couldn’t let them down or back away from everything I’ve worked for, that just wasn’t who I was. It might be hard, but I’d find a way to make it all work without compromising either commitment.
“Okay,” Coach said, the word coming out slowly as he stepped away. “There’s still plenty of time for you to consider it, no need to make the decision now.”
“Sure,” I said, looking down at the ground, unsure why staying dedicated to my work felt so … weird.
“Looks like the closing crew are waiting for us to go,” Leah said, nodding her head to the left of the field where some of the landscaping and janitorial staff were meandering.
“Right, I’ll show you—”
“No need.” She waved me off. “I’m sure you’ve got your own wrap-up shit to get to. I can make it out on my own.”
I did have things to do. We were taking off tomorrow for an away game in Memphis, so there were at least a dozen things I wanted to double-check before calling it a night. But I didn’t want Leah to go just yet.
“Would you want to come to our game Saturday? In Memphis?”
Her face scrunched in a look that said she thought I was crazy.
“Sorry, right. That’s a lot on short notice. Never mind. Have a nice night.” I turned around, embarrassed that I’d invited her to a game when she didn’t want to be close. And I was especially embarrassed to ask her to an away game.
There was a heavy sigh, then Leah shouted at me, “Send me your schedule and maybe I’ll make another game. A home one.”
The Check-In
Niall
As we all crowded around the luggage carousel, I pulled out my phone and opened up Leah’s texts. It was an old habit to text my mom when I arrived somewhere for an away game, though that habit had died after college. Now it seemed my impulse was to move the habit to Leah.
