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“It’s lovely to meet you, too.”
“I’m just going to take this up to the concession area for Mom. Will you be okay here for a minute?”
“Sure.” I watched the two of them walk off, Matt leaning toward his mom, her hand on his back as they walked, talking animatedly. Shifting the baby to a more comfortable position in my arms, I said, “Hey, little man. Your family seems nice. Well, the ones I’ve met so far, at least. Give me a heads up, though, are any of them mean? Should I be worried?” He burbled a reply, sucking on his fist. “Well, that’s no help. Thanks a lot.”
Elissa returned a minute later with someone I guessed must be her sister; the family resemblance was strong. Both of them were carrying a coffee cup in each hand. “I’m so sorry, the lineup for coffee took forever.” Elissa placed her coffee cups on the ground, reaching out to take her son from my arms.
“That’s okay, we were having a great conversation. He’s very cute.”
“Thanks. He’s a trooper, too.” Elissa flashed a sunny smile, strapping Xavier back into the baby carrier. “He’s had hip dysplasia, poor little man, but he never let it bother him.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“Thank you. I think we’re through the worst of it now, after surgery.” Picking up the coffee cups from the ground, handing one to me, she said, “Zara, this is my sister Claire.”
Claire stacked one coffee cup on top of the other and shook my outstretched hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
The two women exchanged glances, then turned back to me, smiling. Feeling like I was being sized up, I shifted uncomfortably, sticking my hands in my pockets, desperately trying to think of something to say. Nothing.
“Do you follow baseball?” Elissa asked.
“Not really. I’ve watched enough to understand the basics, but it’s not really my thing.”
“Oh God, don’t tell Dad that. He lives for baseball. So, I guess you don’t have a favorite MLB team?”
I shrugged. “Again, not really.”
“Knights it is then!” I couldn’t help laughing at Claire’s cheeky grin.
Matt returned. “Hey, Claire. You’ve met Zara?”
“I have.” She smiled at her brother affectionately, handing him his coffee. “You never told me she was a Knights fan.”
Matt looked at me in surprise. “Are you?”
I laughed. “Apparently so.”
The organ sounded, letting everyone know to clear the field so the game could start. Claire smiled. “On that note, I’m off to help Mom. I think she’s on ice cream duty today. Catch you later.”
“I’d better go too,” said Elissa. “I left the girls helping Dad with the hot dogs. I’m sure he needs rescuing by now.”
The sisters departed just as the players from both teams jogged out onto the field, taking up their positions. I smiled at Jake, waving at me from the dugout.
“All good?” Matt put his arm around me, pulling me close and pressing a kiss into my hair. I leaned against him, nodding, resting my head on his shoulder.
It was so nice, being here with him, meeting his family, watching him interact with everyone. “Your family seems really sweet.”
“They are. Except my dad. He’s a total asshole.”
“I guess that’s where you get it from.” I smiled as I felt him chuckle.
“Touché.”
“Do you all do this every week?”
“We generally do when there’s a home game. It’s a bit of a family tradition. Gabe and I played from when we were about five into our early twenties. Mom and Dad got involved, of course, just like they did with anything we kids were doing. They think of Jake as one of the family. I guess they’ll help out as long as he’s playing, like they would for any of us.”
