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I say, smirking, "I think that advice was just specifically for you and that troublesome brain of yours, Bash." But he's not listening.
"And then he says, 'You gotta go out there and just do it. Eye on the ball. Don't think of the crowd watching. Don't think of your friends out here rooting for ya, or even the guys on the other team. It doesn't matter what team we're playin' for in the end, because we're all playin' the same game.'"
"Actually," I say, "that seems like some pretty sound advice."
"Yeah, exactly," he insists. "So that's what you need to do here, I think. Baseball is my mistress, and I focused on that ball, and I won the game. You just need to find the game that you're both playing. The fundamental thing that brings you both together."
In spite of myself, I smile. "Brett, you're a fucking genius."
Jumping out of my seat, I grab him by the shoulders and squeeze him in a brotherly hug. He holds me back, laughing and celebrating my new surge of inspiration.
But he's right. He's given me an idea about how to fix this.
Finally, I have my eye on the ball after all this time. And I don't plan to look away.
Not again.
CHAPTER26
Denise
All too soon, it's time for Sophia to head back to school.
I drive her to the airport, and once inside, I take her as far as security will permit me to go. The queue for the security check is already piling up. But I can't bear to see her off yet. Not until I've said goodbye.
Setting her suitcase down, Sophia turns to me and hugs me, laying her head against my chest just like she did as a baby.
On the drive over, I made a silent promise to save my tears for after she was gone. I've been upset enough since Tinsley's wedding, and I don't want our last moment together until who-knows-when to be a downer.
But holding Sophia like this after everything that has happened, after all, that I have lost, and knowing I problem won't see her until Christmas makes my eyes betray that promise.
I try to keep my sniffling hidden, but apparently, I fail.
"It's okay, Mom," Sophia says softly, stroking my back. "It'll all be okay."
I let out a small chuckle. "Since when did you become the adult in this relationship?"
Sophia snorts. "We're both adults, Mom. That means the comfort goes both ways now." Stepping back, she holds me at arm's length and looks directly into my eyes. "You gonna be alright without me here?"
"Of course," I reassure her, even with fresh tears sparkling in my eyes. "I'll be fine. You just concentrate on your classes, okay?"
"Okay. But I'll call you. More than I did last year. I think it'd be good for both of us."
I pull her in for a hug again, kissing the top of her head. "I'd love that, sweetie."
* * *
Still in theairport parking lot, I get a message on my phone as I sit down in my car. With a smile, I hurry to see it, sure that it's from my darling baby girl, already living up to her promise to keep more in touch.
To my surprise, it's a message from Brittany. I bite my lip, unsure if I should even acknowledge it. I've already blocked my brother's number from my phone. After his tenth phone call, none of which I could bring myself to answer, I had Sophia show me how to stop them from coming through. Now that I know how to do it, I should probably block Brittany's too.
I last saw Brittany in person a few days after the wedding. At her own request, she was coming to meet me at the Sugar Breeze to sign her resignation papers. I didn't even have to fire her. She decided to leave on her own after everything that had happened.
I still really don't know what to make of it. Was this another part of their diabolical plan? To have her abandon me at my lowest emotional point?
But as soon as I saw her through the window as she made her way to the front door, I knew that wasn't the case.
Stepping inside and catching sight of me, she paused, letting the door slowly shut itself behind her. And for a long moment, we stared at each other, recognizing a bit of ourselves in the other woman. She had the same circles beneath her eyes, the same flatness to her sloppily tied-up hair, the same absence of makeup.
