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“Estelle!”
Everyone at the table called her something different at the same time.
“WHAT?” She threw her fork down on her plate. “I just want to know! You are always on this ‘women are the best’ kick. You self-identify as a feminist. Isn’t that code for lesbian? If you are, that’s fine. At least we will know!”
“Estelle, that’s enough,” my father said. “She is grown and what she does in or outside of her bedroom is her business.”
“Wendell, I…”
“Stop it. I’m serious,” my father replied sternly.
The room was so quiet you could hear a mouse pee on cotton. I wanted to finish my dinner but had totally lost my appetite, which was rare for me. I shuffled my food around my plate for a while.
“For the record, I am a feminist. That doesn’t mean that I believe women are superior or that I have negative views of men. It certainly isn’t code for lesbianism. It means that I am an advocate of women’s rights, period. I like men. I love men actually, but I am in a position now where men are sometimes intimidated by my status or they are just clowns. I would rather focus my attention on something I can control. If I meet someone, fine. If I don’t, fine. I’m okay with Averie.”
“You should be, Vee. We, your mother and I, are proud of you.”
“Thank you, Daddy.” I stood from the table. “I’m gonna go ahead and get back downtown. Kenzie, I will text you the app to unlock the door.”
“Averie, you don’t have to leave,” my father said.
“Yeah, I do. I have a big meeting in the morning with Mr. Valentine, and I need to get some rest.”
I grabbed my plate and glass to clean them before I left. My mother stood and blocked my path.
“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
“It’s all good, Mommy.” I kissed her cheek. “I will see you later.”
I waved to the rest of the room. I quickly cleaned my dishes, and the rest of the dishes that were in the sink before making my way to my car.
I’ve always loved my mother, but she had a way of talking too much and saying things she couldn’t take back. She knows when she’s gone too far because my father usually steps in and shuts her down, but not before she’s already said something she couldn’t take back.
Samuel
“What’s the plan for the rookies? Who are we looking at? Are we trading for another pitcher or are you confident Salias will make it back from Tommy John’s surgery?”
I was sitting at a conference table with my business partners. I was part owner of a Major League Baseball team, the Charlotte Stars. I purchased a portion of the team a few years ago when the original owner passed away, and her family put the team up for sale. There were four owners. I had the second largest ownership percentage of the team. I’d been considering making a move to change that in the near future. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the majority owner or what he was doing for the team, but I thought I could bring in a group to do a better job.
I believe when Theodore, the current majority owner asked me to be a part of the investment group, he underestimated how much I was able to actually bring to the table. I underestimated how lucrative an MLB team could be. Now I wish I would have invested more and ultimately took the other two owners out of the picture. I was working on it.
“We are looking at calling up one of the shortstops who has had a phenomenal couple of seasons. We are in negotiations with Wesley Phillips and his people on a new contract.”
“Is Phillips worth the money?” Orville, one of the other owners, asked.
Clearly, he hadn’t been keeping up with the team. Which is another reason why I was planning on buying them out. Wesley Phillips was arguably one of the best center fielders to ever play the game. His batting average has stayed above a .300 which was almost unheard of. He was a team leader and motivator. I was willing to offer him whatever he wanted to remain on the team. Losing him would be detrimental.
“I feel like Phillips, and his agent are stalling,” Theodore stated.
“Would you like for me to speak with him?” I’ve had an excellent rapport with Wesley. I could probably find out why his is holding out.”
“I would appreciate it a lot, Samuel. He’s not really giving us a reason for his hesitancy, so maybe he will let you in.”
“I will see what I can do.”
I typed out a text to Raymond:
I need a face to face with Wesley as soon as he is available. Preferably before I leave town tomorrow
