Page 11 of Gator: One Love


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“I don’t know what she sees in Marvin though.” It was almost a whisper, but Gaston heard.

He couldn’t help but scowl at the mere mention of Marvin’s name. Gaston looked away and noticed the ball in the long grass. He kept his gaze locked on it but said nothing. He’d learned long ago that sometimes the best thing to do was keep quiet; besides…Sylvie was walking their way now to help look for it.

It seemed Chelsea was more perceptive than he’d given her credit for. She followed his line of sight. “Found it!” she yelled, holding the ball high in the air.

Gaston frowned then looked towards Sylvie hoping she hadn’t noticed his expression.

Instead, she looked at him, after giving Chelsea a thumbs-up and gave him a smile that turned his insides to Jell-O. He’d never forgotten that look on her face, or how it made him feel.

Gator’s eyes glazed over as he rambled on to Baptiste about his sweetheart from twenty-four years ago. Baptiste had just ordered a steaming bowl of gumbo to soak up all the beer he was still guzzling down, but he didn't seem to mind Gator’s sentimental rambling.

As Gator reminisced about his love, Baptiste listened patiently, nodding along and offering the occasional grunt of agreement. He knew how important Sylvie was to his friend, and how much he felt for her after all these years. Baptiste knew he’d feel the same way about Elodie.

Sometimes, all a man needed was a listening ear and another bowl of gumbo to see things in a better light -– at least for a little while.

Gaston just about jumped out of his skin.Fuck. He’d been hoping he’d have to help the girls look for the ball and spend some time with Sylvie. Now he wasn’t even going to get to say hi, as she stopped walking towards her friend and wandered back to the box.

Before long, Chelsea was pitching the ball again and he watched once more as Sylvie stepped up to the plate and swung like a pro.

The crack of the bat echoed through the park as the ball sailed over the opposite fence, disappearing into the distant trees. Gaston couldn’t help but whistle in admiration. And then he ducked out of sight.

As they went off in search of the ball, he turned and made his way back towards The Big River. Whenever he needed time to think, he knew that the murky depths of that waterway held all the answers he needed. The mystery hidden within the dark, swirling currents helped him uncover what he needed to know, if he just sat and gave it time to tell.

That was the last time he saw Sylvie until she came back into his life this week.

* * *

“So why did she leave?”Baptiste asked.

“I eventually got an answer from Paw. He told me it was Marvin’s idea. He wanted them to go live in Jefferson and even though she seemed reluctant, that’s where they went.”

“She had no say?”

“Seems she’s never had much say with that motherfucker,” Gator said.

“You wonder why women stay with assholes like that when they’d be better off alone than having their life dictated to them,” Baptiste said.

“Fucked if I know. I guess you can’t know unless you’re living that life…but she’da been better off if she’d never met the asshole. The thing is…baseball was everything to her. People who knew her said she could outhit any guy in the Baby Cakes any day of the week. If she was a guy she would have been in the Major League. Instead, she’s with a major asshole…probably the only times she’s ever struck out.”

4

Baptiste glancedover Gator’s shoulder and drawled out a casual “Hey, man.”

“Baptiste,” Gator heard the voice behind him reply.

“Gator, this is my friend Bruno,” Baptiste said.

Gator turned slowly to face the voice, and as he looked at the tall muscular man with the crooked nose, he recognized the familiar face of the childhood friend he hadn't seen in years.

Without thinking, Gator jumped to his feet and gave him a hug.

Bruno chuckled, clearly taken aback by the sudden show of affection.

“You two know each other?” Baptiste asked, confused.

Bruno laughed. “See this bend in my nose?” he said.

“Really? You’re Bruno the bully?” Baptiste asked Bruno.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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