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I launched my ball down the lane then backed away and watched all ten pins fall.
Instead of goingout to a more formal dinner after bowling like we’d originally planned, we decided to just stop into Poor Richard’s Pub, which sits right at the entrance to the bowling lanes. Keera took a sip of her beer then plunked the mug down on the table.
“I want a rematch.”
“You’re such a sore loser,” Anjannette said.
“That’s not true.”
“You literally say you want a rematch every time we come bowling and you lose.”
Keera opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. She seemed to think for a minute and instead of offering a rebuttal, took another sip of her beer. Judging by the look on her face, I’m guessing Anjannette isn’t exaggerating.
The waitress approached with our food and soon the table was covered with an assortment of platters and baskets of shareable appetizers.
We’d just filled our plates when a couple approached Leo. He stood and shook hands with the man then took a few steps away from the table as the three continued to talk. Anjannette started to eat and I glanced between my plate and Leo a couple times, wondering if I should wait for him to sit.
“You can eat,” she said, just loud enough for Keera and me to hear. “That can take a while.”
I picked up my fork and speared a chicken wing bite.
“I guess you’re used to interruptions like this.”
She nodded then gestured between Keera and me.
“It’s definitely better when we’re with people because he can just do his thing without worrying about leaving me. But honestly, he doesn’t get approached when we’re out as often as I thought he would.”
“That still boggles my mind,” Keera said. “Not only because he’s a pretty popular player, but also there aren’t many MLB players living in Scranton.”
“Do you follow baseball?” Anjannette asked me.
I shook my head as I chewed the mozzarella stick I just popped into my mouth.
“Not regularly. My dad is a sports reporter so I usually watch whatever he’s covering, but other than that, no.”
“Does he work for one of the local news stations?”
Before I could answer, Leo joined us again.
“Sorry about that.”
“Never apologize for being a nice guy,” Anjannette said, then leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Simon just mentioned that his dad is a sports reporter.”
Three sets of eyes turned back to me, so I answered the question Anjannette asked before Leo sat down.
“No, he works for ESPN. He mostly covers football now, but through the years, he’s done pretty much everything.” I lifted my mug and gestured toward Leo with it. “He interviewed you right when you got moved up to the Waves.”
He shifted his eyes from side to side as though he was thinking.
“John Parker?” I nodded. “Oh wow, he’s hand’s down one of my favorite reporters.”
“Yeah, he’s great at what he does.”
“I never even asked, what’s he doing now that he and your mom are traveling?” Keera asked.
“They’re both working remotely, but more part time than usual.”
I explained my parents’ excursion to Anjannette and Leo, which led to a discussion of our bucket list places to visit. Soon the appetizers were gone and our drinks empty.
