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“Well, they won’t if you are giving off the bitch vibe. You need to be happy and smiling if you expect them to come over here. Your R.B.F. is unapproachable.”
“Oh, is that it?” I asked with a giggle. “Then my plan is working.”
“Well, shit,” Susie said. She was staring at her phone.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Tammy can’t play softball tomorrow with us,” she said. “We have a few people out with injuries, two people on vacation, and one person is sick. Now we won’t have enough people to play.”
“I’ll play,” I said. That actually did sound like something fun. Maybe that could get my mind off things. At least there, I could go down swinging and wouldn’t jeopardize my future.
“You sure?” she asked. “That would be awesome.”
“Yes,” I said. “I would love to. I used to play in high school. I was a pitcher.”
“Great. We might need you to pitch, but it isn’t fastpitch. Think you can handle slow pitch?”
I shook my head. “Oh, I don’t know…” I grinned.
Susie put her arm around me in the booth. “Thank you so much. You are a lifesaver.”
“This is true,” I said. “I know. I’m that awesome.”
She hugged me tighter and then sent a text to her team. I was looking forward to playing. It had been a while since I’d done anything recreational like that. I would have to get out my old glove.
“Wow, that’s the first real smile I’ve seen on your face all day,” Kayley said. “It’s a great look for you.”
I stuck out my tongue at her. “You know it.”
We gave each other a high five and I sipped my martini.
After a while, a few guys began to approach me. They were cute, but I wasn’t really interested. I took a few numbers, since I declined to give mine out, but I did it mostly to be polite. And besides, it was possible I might find myself wanting some dinner companionship one night. Sometimes, it was nice to sit down and have a meal with someone new, even if I didn’t want it to go anywhere.
I was trying to force myself to be open minded. I was tired of being sullen and depressed.
This funk I’d gotten myself in had to change.
Chapter Three
Lance
“Great class, everyone! See you tomorrow. Go get ‘em!”
I joined in the applause as our training class ended. I was actually interested in some of the new techniques we’d learned about how to move a victim in the field easier. The new trainer, Shelly Henry, was fantastic.
She was also beautiful. I was not the only one who noticed this, but everyone kept their mouths shut. The brass was really sticking it in and breaking it off about this new fraternization policy. It wasn’t worth the hassle or headache. Besides, one of the veterans, Gary, seemed to have some intentions towards her. Or at least, it appeared that way from the look in his eyes when he was helping her with the demonstration. If the other guys noticed this, they weren’t saying anything. Gary was a good guy and didn’t need us ribbing him about stuff like this. It would only stir things up around the station and possibly get him in trouble.
I was almost done with my shift, so I gathered up my stuff. I was tired. It had been a long shift, and we’d had several calls. There was something in the air today apparently.
I clocked out and went home where I fixed some lunch, then showered. After that, I set my alarm and laid down to catch some sleep before the softball game I was playing in. Softball was one of my greatest loves. I’d been a baseball fan all my life, since I was old enough to even throw a ball. It was one of the few things that my dad and I actually had in common. I missed those days of watching games on TV, and the rare occasion that he took me to a live game. It was a simpler time when my dad and I actually got along. He always said I was full of so much potential, and at the time he imagined I would grow up to be just like him.
I closed my eyes and tried not to dream about anything. But as I drifted off, my mind kept wandering to the days when I was young. A simpler time, before my father really started to express to me how disappointed he was in just about everything I did. It was tough to deal with growing up, but I felt it made me resilient somehow, as I got older.
When I woke up, I felt refreshed and headed to the game. It was a beautiful evening for softball. It wasn’t too hot, and the sun was shining. I had my sunglasses glued firmly to my head with my strap, my hat was secured, and I was ready to have some fun.
“Hey, man,” Nate Biggs, one of my best friends said to me jogging over to the dugout. “Let’s warm up.”
He grabbed a ball and we jogged out to the field where we started to toss the ball back and forth. “So, how’s things going?” Nate asked.
