“My sister works there.” Her foot tapped the ground like she needed to put the request in order.
“I’d love to meet her and your entire family.”
She nodded and said, “Okay. Olivia is my youngest sister, so starting with her might be okay. We can go together.”
Perfect. School started in the morning and training wasn’t till late this afternoon. We had time to talk, and we needed to do that. We went down the stairs together. “Give me a minute to eat and we’ll head out, in my car.”
“Pour me a coffee?” I asked.
“Sure.” She took out two glasses.
Jeremy’s laugh was on his face, but he turned toward the window as he finished his plate.
I took a seat beside him and tossed a waffle on my plate and one for Georgie. I buttered mine up and waited for her. As she sat at the table with us, my phone rang. I saw my agent’s number and stood. Georgie had been an analyst, so she understood numbers mattered, and we’d talk about my own transition soon.
For privacy, I went onto the screened porch and noticed that some of her neighbors jogged the street. They slowed and stared at me, so I waved but didn’t go inside as Phil asked, “What’s going on?”
The neighbors moved and I took a seat on her swing. “Good. Some things might be changing for me.”
“Okay.” He needed to understand about Jeremy and Georgie now, but he continued, “The season is winding down and we’re looking at a few offers to weigh. We need to sit down when you get back to Tulsa as money is just one of the benefits to discuss.”
“Yeah, we do have to talk.”
Georgie had a fear of health care and her analysis of her son’s future was what she’d voiced. I could handle Jeremy’s insurance now, and if she married me, she’d also be on my plan. The thought hit me as the best deal I could broker. We satisfy our lust and ensure my reputation stays clean for the contract negotiations. I let the thought grow in my head and said, “Include health care in the list of items discussed.”
“Are you worried about something?” Phil asked.
I laughed. I was at the top of my game and had enough money in the bank to never worry again if something did, but I shook my head and glanced behind me.
Health was all she’d said she’d feared. It was a starting point for negotiations. Georgie and Jeremy seemed like a dream package as I said, “About my health, no.”
“Don’t scare me like this, Michael.”
Right. I picked at my hair and twirled the small piece as I whispered the truth, “I… I have a son I just found out about. I want to ensure he has health insurance.”
“Children’s health. Got it. That’s usually standard with union contracts anyhow.” He said it like it was a relief. “And, a good family life might be good for your image. People still whisper about the hooker who released a book. You are talking about the boy in the Pirates gear and the woman you kissed yesterday?”
I turned and watched as Georgie sipped her coffee and her cheeks brightened as I said, “Yes. I want to marry her, if she’ll have me.”
“I’ll assure the owners the game interruption was a bleep, and you’re asking her to marry you. It will assuage some of the press asking questions.”
“Georgie is a keeper.”
“And you’re sure the boy is your son?”
“Yes.” I then said, “One question.”
“What’s that?”
“How’s the Pittsburgh offer?”
While my team showed no loyalty to me, the people at the table hopefully would. I needed us all on the same page. Those brown eyes had never left my mind, but then my stomach twisted when he said, “Not one I’m looking at seriously, as it’s lower than the others.”
There went that thought. I was all about the money now. I nodded and realized sentiment didn’t get the best contracts when I said, “Okay. Good to know.”
I was about to say goodbye when Phil asked me, “Do you want me to see if they’ll up the offer as you’d like to be a Pirate?”
If I was closer to my son, then maybe life would be easier than asking Georgie to pick up and move with me.
She’d probably say no, and she’d be right. I couldn’t offer forever when I was on the road a lot. But I asked quietly, “Do you think they’d budge?”
“If you showed interest, maybe. Your son wearing their uniform might be seen as a good thing to their franchise.”
We wouldn’t get it if we didn’t ask, right? I nodded at myself and stared at the two new people in my life that somehow needed to fit in, beyond just an amazing fuck that I knew she was.
I said with heat in my face, “Get me a reasonable number from them and maybe we’ll discuss it.”
“Good because I thought we were both about the money.”
“Oh, we are.” I was loyal to my friends on the team, but the team wasn’t loyal to me. Money mattered now. I said my “Goodbyes”.
Phil’s calls were good for the bus or plane rides, but he wasn’t what kept me up at night from memories.
That was all the woman in the next room, with my son that I needed to help today.
I came back and scarfed down my waffle. Once I finished, I asked the others, “You ready to head to school?”
Georgie fixed herself a second cup, or maybe third, as I wasn’t counting when I'd been on the phone. “This coffee is perfect.” She gulped it down and said, “You made it and it’s better than mine by far. I’ve no idea how you managed this.”
Jeremy stared at me like he said without words "tell the truth". I tugged at my collar and stood as I said, “I can’t lie to you.”
“What?”
I took
