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Lee walks away, and takes a seat on the first set of bleachers.
I hear Brodie’s truck pull in, and he darts out of the truck and into the dugout.
“I’m here!”
He rushes past me and onto the field. “Girls, it’s game day. Are you ready? Do you have any questions before we start?”
A couple girls ask which position they are going to be playing today. Once they are informed, they are excited and ready to play.
Lee is giving him the stink eye from the bleachers, and Brodie can take care of himself, but there shouldn’t be any hostility. It’s insane how this is playing out, and now I wonder if Lee only broke up with me, to see if I would come back to him. So, when he found out about Brodie and me, it pissed him off.
The girls start running drills until the umpire calls the start of the game.
“So, how is it going?” he asks, arms crossed.
“Amazing. The girls are ready. Today should be a good first game,” I reply.
“I meant with Lee being here. He won’t stop staring. We can’t have drama here,” he says.
I nod, and peer over my shoulder at Lee. It’s one thing to have a vendetta against us, but if he causes a scene, both of us could be removed from coaching and the girls would have to forfeit the entire season. Surely, he’s not dumb enough to pull anything.
The umpire hollers at us, and the four coaches stand around him. We get to bat first, and the girls start getting their helmets and bats ready. I post the line-up on a dry-erase board and erase the names as they bat so it’s easier for the girls to keep track.
Sherrie goes up to bat, and she gets two strikes, but on the third ball, she knocks it good, and it goes straight past the pitcher, the second baseman and into the outfield.
“Go, baby, go!” I yell.
She drops the bat, and gets to first base, and Brodie is telling her to run. So, she takes off and just barely makes it to second base before they tag her.
“Safe!”
The rest of the game went smoothly, and our girls paid attention and played well. Game is almost over, and we are tied. We have one girl left to bat, and if she hits the ball and brings the runner on third home, then we will win the game.
“I’m nervous!” Kaylin says, before walking out of the dugout. “It’s all riding on me. That’s too much pressure.”
I put my hands on her shoulders. “You just go out there and do your best. I promise none of us are going to be mad. You’ve got this.”
Kaylin steps up to the plate, and gets into her stance. She looks at her mom, and nods to the umpire that she is ready. The ball goes toward her and without hesitation she knocks it into the outfield. She takes off running and makes it to first, but the runner from third slides to home.
The umpire yells. “That’s the game folks.”
All the girls start jumping up and down. They have worked hard, and it’s amazing to win, but it’s not required.
Sherrie runs up and hugs me, and then Brodie. “You guys are the best coaches ever.”
I don’t turn around to see Lee’s reaction because I know it’s probably shitty.
“You girls won the game, not us. Let’s celebrate!” he yells, going into the dugout, and opening the cooler filled with ice cream pops. “You are all winners in my book, regardless.”
After the girls eat their ice cream, and start to file out of the parking lot with their parents, Lee is still sitting on the bleachers. Can he not at least come over here and tell his daughter good game? He isn’t acting like a child. Most of the parents have left, so I approach him, keeping my voice low.
“Your daughter is ready to go. Don’t you think you should congratulate her?”
She stands up, and gets close to me. “I don’t want to be anywhere near the two of you right now. So, better if I keep my distance, tell her I’ll be in the car.”
The way he is acting isn’t going to hurt me, but it will affect his relationship with Sherrie and he can’t blame that on me.
I will not let him ruin my day.
