Summer Swing (18 page)

I laughed o
ut loud. “Does that mean naked?
Hen
ce the expression ‘stark naked.’
”

He nodded his head with a smile.

“
Well
I say ‘swimsuit’,” I informed him. “I don’t know what everyone else’s problem is.”

“Perhaps the interpretation hasn’t evolved for some,” he joked.

With a smile I asked, “W
hat are some of the
other
odd phrases or words you hear in the states?”

“Mmm,
well, there have been
quite a few. Let’s see… ‘Knock
up’?”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Mmhmm.
We
mean it as waking someone up from sleep.
You know, ‘Harlan, be a good lad and knock up your brother.’ ”

I laughed. “Well if she had said, ‘Harlan, be a good lad and go knock
around
your brother,’
you could have punched him a few times.”

With a smile he nodded his head. “I would have quite liked that on occasion.”

“Aw, but brotherly love. You’re here watching him play, right? You must like him at least a little. Which one is he, by the way? I looked at the roster last time and I didn’t see a Farrell on it.”

I actually had a
roster in my hand
,
and as I glanced it over, I still didn’t see it.

“Right there on first base,” he pointed.

“
Felix Allen?” I asked with surprise. I didn’t even have to look at the roster.

“Yes. Are you familiar with him?”

“Well, kind of,” I chuckled. “But only because Gage talks about how he has to pitch to him. I’m not going to divulge
his
secrets, though,
”
I added quickly.

He smiled. “Yes, my little brother has a nice swing, eh?”

“Yes,” I said, returning the smile. “So you have dif
ferent last names. Half brother
or adopted?”

“Actually I’m the one that was adopted. My father was in the military and died in
a training
accident
, and my mum, after she had moved in with her sister, died from cancer when I was five years old.
Fleta took me in like I was her own. She had even just married and was five months with child when my mum died.
She kept
my last name the same, though—r
espect for my mother and father.
”

“So what was your mom’s name? Your birth mother.”

“
Amelia.”

“And your father?”

“
Paul
.”

“
Paul
and Amelia Farrell—a
nd their little boy Harlan. Do you remember them much?”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t. It feels like I remember my mother because of a few pictures I have, but
my father died when I was just an infant
. But my aunt and uncle are fantastic parents
to me
, so I don’t feel like I’ve missed out on much.”

I nodded. “It sounds like
life has worked well for you. Now you’re a doctor and you drive a Porsche.”

He kind of
grunted
. “The car doesn’t define who I am. At least it shouldn’t.”

“You’re right. I guess it just says you have money.”

He was quiet for a few seconds and then he turned so he was facing me better. “So is that the problem? You can’t
find
an int
erest in someone that has money?
”

I was a little surprised by how serious he seemed.

“Uh, no, I di
dn’t know ther
e was a problem…
”

He gave me a look that either meant I wasn’t being truthful, or that I was completely clueless. “Ellie, do you know how completely smitten I am by you?”

I didn’t answer because I couldn’t, and I couldn’t answer because I was scared
to
.

“That night at the hospital—when you brought
Gage
in—I honestly
had to do my bes
t to pretend you weren’t there. Yes, I did feel a desire to ask you out or get your telephone number, but it felt inappropriate, being that you were with another fellow. But when you came back into the hospital…”

Oh gosh, Gage was right. I really had made Harlan believe I’d returned just for him.

“…I just hoped that you
had
felt what I felt.
I’m sorry for seeming so forward after that, but I just thought maybe you needed
me
to be.
”

“You asked if I was at least eighteen,” I scoffed.

“Oh my,” he replied, rubbing his forehead with his hand. “You completely caught me off guard. I hadn’t even considered that you weren’t even twenty-
one
, and so I guess I had to make sure I wasn’t hitting on a high school lass. It was my way of panicking, I suppose. I do apologize for sounding like such a pervert.”

I had to smile, and then it
led
to
a
chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

“Pervert. Say it again.”

“Pervert,” he said. B
ut it sounded more like “
puh-vuh
t
.”

I laughed out loud. “I’m sorry, it just sounds so funny with your accent.” I started laughing again, and then Harlan joined in. 

“It’s nice to know I can
say such a filthy
word and make it funny with just my accent,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” I replied, wiping the moisture from my eyes.

“Oh and to make you cry at the same time?”

“While you’re at it will you say
, ‘I watch the
telly
whilst lying on the settee’?”

“Oh for bloody sake.”

I laughe
d again. “No, will you just say ‘Bob’s your uncle’ for me?”

He only partially smiled, and I t
hought he wasn’t going to do it, b
ut
a bit louder
he came out with, “
What’s all this, then?
Pip
pip
, cheerio and all that rot.
Just watch the match
,
and Bob’s your uncle!”

I laughed, and some of the people around us chuckled as well. They may have even thought he was just making fun of the English.

We were both quiet for a few seconds. I shook my head with a smile, having thoroughly enjoyed his playfulness. But it hadn’t deterred him from the subject that had been on hand, and he studied me closely once more.

“So is that
a closed subject matter?” he asked softly. “My interest in you means nothing and it’s going to remain that way?”

I quietly sighed. “I don’t know what to tell you, Harlan. My heart is with Gage right now, so I’m not even in the position to consider how you feel about me and what it means. It’s just not even an option.”

“Take that off of the table—just your relationship with Gage—and tell me what you think of me otherwise.”

“If I wasn’t with Gage?”

He nodded.

“Then yes, I’m sure I would consider a date with you. Harlan, you’re a nice guy and I—”

“Oh my,” he sighed.

“That’s not what I meant. That doesn’t mean anything other than ‘yes, I do like you, but I can only be friends with you right
now.’ I’m in a very good relationship
at the moment
, and that’s where my focus is.”

“Very good?”

“Very,
very
good.”

He nodded
, and he seemed to be thinking about that for a
bit
. But then
his attention drifted to the game again, and so did mine. Felix was the first batter up in the top of the
fourth
, and Gage was on the mound to face him. It was kind of an uncomfortable few minutes for me because I didn’t even feel like I could cheer for Gage
since Harlan’s brother was at the plate
, but of course I was hoping for an out. I’m sure Harlan was hoping
Felix
would easily blast a homer off of Gage, but he didn’t say anything either. Felix did hit a fly ball to center field, but it was caught for out number one. The score was still 0-0.

“I’m sorry if I’ve made you uncomfortable,” Harlan finally said. “I just wanted you to know how I feel without any wonder on your part.”

I slowly nodded. “Okay. Thank you for your honesty.”

His smile confused me. I wasn’t sure if it meant “yeah, but it didn’t do me any good,” or “you don’t even know what you’re missing.” I guess it didn’t matter either way because I
was in love with
Gage, and Harlan was just going to have to
accept
that.

By eight o’clock I was getting a little cold. The sun had disappeared over the trees, and even though it was July, the night was a little chilly to me. I pu
t my sweatshirt on to keep warm
and watched Gage take the mound in the sixth inning.

When the count was at 1-and-
2 for the second batter, I notice
d Wyatt enter the stands. I was
surprised to see him because he’d been helping his dad build a deck and wasn’t planning on being at the game. I thought maybe he’d changed his mind and come anyway, but the look on his face made me question that, and then he walked right into the
Bears
dugout. Gage threw one more pitch and struck out the batter, and then he seem
ed to notice Wyatt
. Time was called, and Coach Baxter made a motion to the bullpen at the same time he walked to the mound. It was strange, and I knew something wasn’t right.

Gage came off the field immediately, passed Coach Baxter, and seemed to go straight to Wyatt in the dugout, even though I couldn’t see him. The crowd was buzzing around me and I hadn’t even realized I’d stood up. I could barely see Gage’s head below the roof of the dugout, but I could see that he’d put both hands on top of his head and just held them there for a second.

I couldn’t take it anymore—I knew something was wrong—and I left the bleachers to go to the dugout myself.
But by then
Wyatt and Gage were already leaving the park, and I had to jog to catch up to them in the parking lot.

“Gage, what happened?”

He barely glanced back at me
as he quickly walked with Wyatt, but then he seemed to
rethink his choice and he slowed just slightly so he could talk to me. He was still on the move and I could tell he was crying. “My, uh, parents were in an accident on their way up here,” I barely heard him say. My heart dropped when we’d stopped at Wyatt’s truck and Gage threw his bag in the back. “My dad didn’t make it.”
 

“Oh
my gosh
,” I whispered
, putting
a
hand over my mouth
.

“My mom is barely hanging on. We’re uh…”

He only shook his head
and swallowed
,
so
I wrapped my arms around him as my own tears started to fall.
“Let me come with you, Gage.”

He kissed the top of my head but said, “No, I’m just- I’m just gonna go with Wyatt…” He pulled away to look at me for a moment and my heart was breaking for him. He kissed me on the lips and moved to the truck. “I’ll call you, Ellie.”

I stepped away to let the truck pass, and I could feel my shoulders slump instantly. I don’t know how long I stood there before I noticed Harlan standing some distance away. He had my things in his hands as he cautiously approached me.

“Family emergency?” he asked softly.

I nodded. “His dad died,” I mumbled. I was truly upset by that, but I was also upset because I couldn’t be with Gage. I understood he still needed time to process everything, but I guess it just kind of hurt.

Harlan scratched the side of his head as he thought for a moment. “Where do his parents live?”

“Uh, down in Medford. But they were on their way up here to see the game and… They were in a car accident, I guess. His dad didn’t make it, and his mom is barely alive.”

“
‘
Barely alive
’
meaning they’re trying to
keep
her alive or—”

“I don’t know, Harlan,” I said rat
her harshly.
Taking a deep breath I added,
“I’m sorry, I just—
”

“No, it’s okay,” he replied.
We both stood there in silence for a few seconds before he asked,
“Is there a
hospital you’d like me to call
?”