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“She could have, but she decided not to. She shouldn’t have had to. That’s when I offered her a job to work for me.”
“Well then, I guess you are a ‘key’ to her, too. You’re allowing her to see that you believe in her,” Coop stated.
“I’d like to think that,” Clarence replied.
“I think it’s safe to say.”
“So, back to Cara. I feel she’s a key to you learning to be a real person again, not just a ballplayer.”
“I think she’s even more than that. I’ve never had this happen to me so quickly, and maybe it’s not realistic, but I feel like I already love her. How’s that even possible? Shouldn’t love take longer than a week to happen?”
“No sir, I fell in love with my wife before we ever spoke.”
“How so?”
“Evelynn was working as a social worker for a few of the families that were on my beat when I was a rookie. She was beautiful, man. I used to hope that I’d get dispatched to one of those houses when there was an issue in the hopes she’d be there. She was so damn kind, too. Some of the people that she had to work with were just awful, man, but she was so good at making them feel like she cared. One day, I saw her get between some dude and the wife he was beating up on a daily basis. As I pulled up to the front yard, I see all 110 pounds of Evelynn telling this asshole that she wasn’t going to let him touch that wife of his ever again, and that he’d have to get through her first. I came running up just as he was about to test her and flattened his ass. I made sure to follow up with her later to make sure she was okay, and we just went from there. But, I knew I loved her, man. I knew when I saw her step in front of that abusive husband to protect a woman that she barely knew. That’s all I needed to know. Game over, brother!”
“Wow, that’s amazing, Clarence. She must be an amazing woman.”
“She is, Coop. But you know what? She’s not perfect. And neither am I. But the love we have for each other and our children is. The best part was that before I met her I was convinced I wanted to be a bachelor for life.”
“It’s funny you say that. My daddy used to always tell me that I’d fall in love someday when I stopped looking. He’d say, ‘Those who hunt for love go to bed hungry’…”
“Sounds like a smart man,” Clarence said.
“Yessir, he sure was. I miss him.”
“I have a feeling he’s really proud of you, even still.”
“I hope so…”
“I think if you want to feel that close to him again that there’s only one way to find out.”
“How’s that?”
“Do whatever it is that will make you the happiest version of yourself. As a father, all I ever want is for my kids to be the happiest that they can be. So, while I never knew your father, I’m certain that he wanted the same for you. Maybe if you reach that point you’ll feel him with you.”
“I think he’d want me to play ball again…”
Clarence let Cooper Madison’s words go unanswered because he knew that his passenger wasn’t trying to elicit a response.
A few moments later as Clarence pulled his SUV into the player’s parking lot outside of Jacob’s Field, Cooper Madison wondered if this would be the first of many trips here.
