I promise.” Sucker. I hated myself for promising her even that much, knowing that I’d likely never fulfill it.
The sound of sniffling almost muffled the fervent “God bless you, Jesse.” What was it with everyone God- blessing me lately? I couldn’t help but think if God was going to bless me, it would have happened already.
Walking out onto the patio, I realized, if he existed, he’d already given me all the blessings I could ever want. My two girls glanced up at the sound of the door and treated me to identical smiles. Annabelle looked so much like her mother, except for her coloring, which came from my Scottish roots. They had the same cute nose, the same willowy build. Maybe Anna would have my height, but other than that, she was her mommy through and through. They were like a pair of angels alighting on the grass.
“Daddy!” Annabelle launched herself at my knees, and I bit back a wince. I was not limping, dammit. And if I said it enough times, it would come true. While I’m at it, I would like five million dollars, the new video game console, and a Harley.
Mira had that speculative look on her face as she watched me, so when she got within arm’s reach, I grabbed her around the waist to pull her close and kiss her soundly. “Jesse…” She chuckled softly as she pulled away, giving me a smile that promised “later.” She didn’t, however, ask me anything about my leg. Mission accomplished.
“Rosaline wants to talk to you.” I handed the phone off and snatched Anna up when she started her chant, “I wanna talk on the phone; I wanna talk on the phone!”
“Nope, button, you stay with me. Mommy wants to talk on the phone in peace.” Mira gave me a grateful look as she disappeared inside. “So, what were you and Mommy playing?”
“Baseball!” Annabelle wriggled to get down and was off like a shot the moment her sneakered feet touched the grass. “You throw the ball!”
With visions of funniest home video clips running through my head, I was relieved to find they were using a sponge ball and bat instead of something that could do actual damage.
I tossed it to Anna a few times, and she nearly spun herself dizzy trying to whack at it with the oversized bat. She didn’t care if she hit the ball. Chasing it when she missed was just as much fun. Her giggle floated in the air, bright as the sun as she romped around the yard in the cool spring dew.
This was what baseball was supposed to be, I thought; playing for the fun of it, for the thrill of the game. It shouldn’t be about the money, about the endorsement deals, and the multimillion-dollar contracts. Seeing the current state of the game I adored made me sad. I had to wonder, if Nelson Kidd had been in his prime sixty years ago, when baseball was played just because it was baseball, would he have sold his soul to gain a few more years of playtime?
“Daddy, chase me!” The redheaded little imp abandoned her baseball game with the fickleness of childhood, and I grudgingly gave chase, gratified to feel my sore muscles loosen up under the exercise. My right leg, though… I’d pulled something, or twisted the wrong thingy or… something. It hurt-a lot.
Finally, I flopped onto the warm bricks of the patio with a groan. “That’s it, button, you defeated Daddy.” Her little face fell. “Hey, why don’t you practice that kata I taught you? Let me see how well you remember it.”
She perked up immediately and took a few moments to find just the right place in the yard to perform. Her face solemn with concentration, she bowed from the waist and I returned the gesture.
At five, her movements lacked grace, and maybe she didn’t flow from stance to stance as I did, but darned if she didn’t get every movement just as I’d taught her. It was a dance to her, something fun she did with her daddy. I’d wait until she was older to show her how to use each movement to defend herself. What, you think any daughter of mine wouldn’t know how to knock a boy on his ass? Yeah right.
She ended the series with a punch and her sharp little “Kyai!” yell, then bowed to me again. I applauded loudly. “Well done, button! You looked real good out there!”
With a running leap, she landed with both knees in the middle of my stomach, and only my expecting it saved me from injury. “Oof! What’d I tell you about jumping on people?”
“You said it was funny when I did it to Uncle Will.”
Oops. Speaking of which, I needed to call him and reserve his services for two weeks from now. “Here, lemme up, button. I need to call Uncle Will, now that you mention it.”
“Can I talk on the phone?” She followed me inside, jumping at my hip like a miniature kangaroo.
“Maybe in a minute, okay?” Mira’s voice was soft and muffled in the rear of the house, and I heard her shut the door to her little sanctuary. Mira had tried to explain to me once that being the wives of men in dangerous professions-policemen, soldiers, demon hunters-created a unique bond amongst women. I hoped whatever she was saying was some comfort to Rosaline.
Anna tugged on my pants. “Can I have a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast?” The innocence shining from my daughter’s tiny face was picturesque. And I guarantee you she wouldn’t have asked her mother. That’s my girl.
I thought for a moment (and it was a short moment), weighing the pros of indulging my daughter against the cons of getting scolded by my wife. Finally, I shrugged. “Yeah, why not.” It was always much easier to ask forgiveness than permission.
So, as I dialed the phone to call my best friend, I, Jesse Dawson, samurai, demon slayer, and champion of lost souls, made two of the world’s best peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
16
“Dude! I was just about to call you! It’s like ESPN!”
“ESP, you dork. And, creepy.”
“Like, totally.”
I had to chuckle around my mouthful of peanut butter sandwich. Will always made me laugh. Despite having grown up in rural Missouri like the rest of us, he still managed to sound like a born-and-bred Californian surfer. You’d never guess he was a bespectacled gaming nut, and like me, part of the long-haired club. The man was also a trained EMT and brilliant in his own right. “So, what did you want?”
“Dude… you called me.”
Sometimes, it’s like trying to talk to Ivan. “Yes… but you said you were going to call me, so what did you want?”
“Oh… um…” He whispered to someone in the background. “What did I want?”
Anna wandered off into the house with her sandwich, cheerfully dripping a trail of grape jelly behind her. I wet a rag down and started mopping the purple spots off the kitchen floor while I waited for Will’s brain to catch up with the rest of him.
“Oh! I remember!” Congratulations, Will. “Marty and I both got the day off, and we wanted to see if you wanted to hit the ball game today. Arizona’s in town. We could see Nelson Kidd pitch.”
My stomach roiled unhappily at the thought of watching Nelson Kidd pitch. “I don’t know… I’m supposed to be shopping for my mom’s birthday, and Mira’s had Annabelle at the shop every day this week, and she’s not feeling real good.”
“Dude… come on… It’s Nelson Kidd. You have those tickets just sitting around. You may as well use them.”
The hazard of having season tickets is that everyone knows you have them and wants to use them. Granted, they’re not the greatest seats. I don’t rate a skybox or anything, but seats are seats.
“Let me ask Mira, and I’ll call you back.” I heard a chorus of “whipped” in the background as I tossed the rag into the sink. I’d have to pummel Marty later. He was married, too. He of all people should appreciate the things it took to keep a household peaceful. “Shut up, asshole. I’ll call you back.” I hung up on Will’s laughter.
“Mommy, Daddy said a bad word!”
Aw crap. Never underestimate the range of hearing on the modern child. “Tattletale!” I followed Anna’s shrieking giggles to the bathroom, where Mira patiently scrubbed her breakfast off her face.
My wife raised one brow at me. “Peanut butter and jelly?”
“Pure protein. And I used the whole wheat bread!” I leaned against the doorjamb, watching them.
“Who was on the phone?”
“It was nothing important. Will and Marty wanted to know if I wanted to go to the ball game this