Lisa tossed her mask aside and stood as close to Sam as she dared. “Oh, I wish I could kiss you right now.”
Sam smiled. “Me, too, but actually we came on a peace-seeking mission.”
Susie looked at Marlee. “
Hola, mi vida.
”
“Hi, yourself.”
“
Felice cumpleaños
.”
“Thanks. Do I look mature now that I’m seventeen?”
Lisa smacked Marlee on the arm. “It’s your birthday? I can’t believe I forgot. Happy birthday. And no, you don’t look mature at all. Never have.”
“Oh, thanks a lot.”
Sam and Susie laughed, and then Susie said to Marlee, “Christy wants to know if she can talk to you.” She pointed to the bleachers where Christy sat watching them.
“Now?”
Susie sighed. “I know the timing is wrong, and I told Christy to wait until after the game, but she said she probably won’t be staying.”
Marlee looked at Lisa as if silently asking her what she should do.
Lisa shrugged. “We have time. Look, Overton Corners Hornets just got here.” The big touring bus idled in the lot, and the purple and yellow uniformed players made their way toward the visitors’ dugout.
Marlee shrugged and turned back toward Susie. “I guess it’s okay.”
Susie smiled. “You’re the best.” She waved for Christy to come over.
Lisa picked up her mask. “I’ll see you in the dugout, Marlee.”
“No,” Susie said, “Christy wants all of us here.”
Lisa raised an eyebrow. “Okay.” She moved closer to Sam and bumped hips. Sam bumped back and smiled.
Christy made her way along the outfield fence and stood next to Susie. Lisa couldn’t believe how pale Christy looked. Christy was a big girl, strong and built like an ox, but at the moment she looked small and deflated.
“Hey guys,” Christy said.
Marlee nodded. “Hey.”
“How are you?” Christy gestured to Marlee’s head.
Marlee put a hand to her head. “I’m good. It was only a slight concussion.”
Christy blinked back some tears. “I’m sorry, Marlee. Look, I’m an ass, okay? I had my priorities, like, way wrong, and I totally took it out on you.”
“That’s okay.”
Christy smiled. “Actually, it’s not okay, but thanks for saying so. I’ve been seeing a shrink now for about three weeks, and she says I need to take stock of the good things I have in my life and make sure I don’t muck those up even further.”
Susie laughed. “Your therapist told you not to ‘muck’ things up?”
“Well, those are my words, not hers.” Christy looked at Marlee and Lisa. “Anyway, I realized all you guys from Clarksonville were some of the good things I had in my life. So, I’m sorry I took that for granted and then made you the focus of my anger. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me someday.”
Marlee smiled. “I think I just did.”
Christy took a deep breath and let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Marlee. I can see why Susie likes you so much.”
“
Ay caramba, mi amiga por fin esta cogiendo cabeza
.”
“Damn straight I’m finally right in the head. What’s your excuse?” Christy said with a laugh to Susie. “Okay, I’m gonna get going. And, hey, kick some Hornet butt today, okay?”
“We’ll try,” Marlee said. “See ya.”
“Say hi to Jeri for me.” Christy walked back toward the bleachers.
“Okay,” Marlee called after her. “We will.”
Lisa waited until Christy was out of earshot and said, “That took a lot of courage, you guys.” Lisa caught the sad expression in Sam’s eyes.
“Oh, man,” Marlee said, “I feel so bad for her.”
Everyone nodded and Susie said, “Thank you so much, mi vida. I told her you would understand.”
Marlee shrugged. “I can’t imagine being in her shoes. Her shrink sounds really good.”
Susie nodded. “She is. I had to go to one of Christy’s sessions.” She pointed toward the bleachers and said to Sam, “C’mon, we’d better let these Cougars finish their warm up. They’ve got some Hornet butts to kick.”
Lisa and Marlee waved. “I’ll talk to you after the game,” Lisa said to Sam.
“Same.” Sam smiled, and then she and Susie turned toward the bleachers. As they walked away, Sam said to Susie, “Do hornets even have butts?”
Lisa and Marlee laughed.
“Oh, man,” Marlee twirled her arm in a circle, “let’s run through a few more pitches. I gotta get my head back into the game.”
“You got it.” Lisa put on her discarded mask and squatted. She pounded her mitt with a fist. “Fire it in here, Marlee. We’ll take ‘em down one Hornet at a time.”
Chapter Ten
Luckiest Girl Alive
THE UMPIRE PULLED a ball out of the pouch at her waist. “Home team, take the field.” She tossed the ball to Marlee.
Lisa threw on her mask and adjusted her chest protector one last time. “Okay, number three, just warming up now.”
Marlee threw her five warm up pitches, and Lisa threw the ball down to second base. She purposely lobbed the ball to make the Hornets think she couldn’t throw very well.
The first Hornet batter that stepped into the box was left handed, so Lisa called down to Julie at first base, “Watch for the slap.” Julie nodded.
Marlee threw four pitches and quickly got behind in the count 3-1 on the first batter of the game.
“C’mon, Marlee. No lead off walks,” Lisa mumbled to herself. “They always bite us in the end.” She put her mitt closer to the middle of the zone. The batter swung at the pitch and popped up to Johnna at shortstop.
“One down,” Lisa called. “One-two-three inning. C’mon, Cougars.”
The next two batters grounded out and struck out in turn to end the top half of the first inning. Lisa tossed the ball back to the pitching circle and jogged off the field. A tall man with black hair and mustache said, “Way to go, Lisa.”
She looked at him and said, “Thanks.” He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t place him. His black leather jacket was cool, though. Maybe he was one of her teammates’ dads, or maybe he went to the First Presbyterian church where her family went. Whatever. She didn’t have time to think about it.
She recognized a lot of familiar Cougar fans in the packed bleachers. Her own family was there and Marlee’s mom, too. Even Coach Spears’s roommate sat near the dugout. Lisa had no idea who most of the other two hundred or so people were. Apparently, a state playoff game was a big honking deal in the North Country.
Lisa called, “C’mon, Jeri. Just get on base.”
Jeri adjusted her helmet and stepped into the batter’s box. She smacked the first pitch into left field. The left fielder overthrew her cutoff, so Jeri took off and waltzed into second safely.
“Way to go, Jeri,” Lisa yelled and took off her shin guards. It looked like she’d be getting up that inning.
Lisa snuck a peek at Sam in the bleachers. Her golden hair framed her face in the late afternoon sunlight. Lisa’s heart sped up. Sam turned, and her face brightened when she realized that Lisa was looking at her. Sam threw her two enthusiastic thumbs up. When Lisa took a deep breath and blew out an exaggerated sigh, Sam clenched both fists in a “you can do it” gesture. Lisa nodded and looked back toward the game.
Julie stepped into the batter’s box.
“C’mon, Julie,” Lisa yelled.
Julie slapped the ball to the second baseman whose only play was to first. Jeri had been running on the pitch and reached third easily, so with only one out, the Cougars had a runner on third base.
Lisa took her practice swings in the on-deck circle while Johnna, the Cougars’ shortstop, took her turn at bat. Johnna swung and missed at a rise ball out of the zone. Lisa cringed. The scouting report from Coach Spears’s roommate said that the Hornet pitcher’s big money pitch was the rise. Unfortunately, Johnna popped up the next rise ball to the third baseman for the second out of the inning.
Lisa stepped up to bat and worked the pitcher to a two and one count. The fourth pitch looked good, so she swung and sent it whizzing past the pitcher into center field. Jeri scored, and Lisa pumped a fist from where she stood on first base. The big number one lit up on the scoreboard under the Cougars’ runs column.
“C’mon, Marlee,” Lisa called from first base. “Get me over. Nothing big. Just a little single.”
Marlee hit a hard grounder, but the third baseman fielded the one-hopper and threw her out easily at first to end the inning.
Lisa jogged back into the dugout. She said to Marlee, “At least we scored first, eh?”
Marlee blew out a sigh. “Yeah. Hey, let’s stick with the fastball-curve combo, okay?”
Lisa nodded and threw on her gear. Kerry, the backup pitcher, helped strap on Lisa’s shin guards.
The Hornets’ behemoth number four batter led off the inning. Lisa remembered the scouting report and set up on the outside of the plate. The batter swung and missed, so Lisa set up outside again. Another swing and a miss. Strike two. The batter then moved closer to the plate so Lisa changed the strategy and set up inside. The ball hit the inside corner for strike three and the first out of the second inning. Lisa loved scouting reports.
“Nice one, Marlee. A few more like that. C’mon number three.” Lisa yelled.
“C’mon number three,” Lisa’s father echoed from the stands.
Lisa smiled. Like father, like daughter.
The next Hornet batter fouled off a couple of pitches before striking out on Marlee’s change-up. Two outs with no runners on. Five Hornets had gotten up to bat, and none of them had gotten on base. Lisa kicked herself mentally for even thinking about a perfect game for Marlee.
The next batter slapped a high-chopper to Corrie at second base. She fielded the ball cleanly, but the batter beat out the throw for a base hit.
“That’s okay,” Lisa called to her team. “We’ll get the next one.”
And it really is okay, because now no one, including me, is thinking about perfect games or no-hitters anymore.
Lisa squatted behind the plate and flashed the sign for fastball. Marlee launched the pitch, and the runner on first took off for second base. Lisa bolted up, grabbed the ball, and rifled it down to Johnna waiting on second base. The runner was too fast, though, and slid in safely.
Lisa growled and readjusted her face mask. She hated when runners stole bases on her watch.
That will not happen again, she vowed silently.
Marlee threw another fastball, and the batter walloped a line shot past Corrie into right-center field. The runner on second came all the way around to score and tied up the game 1-1.
Things didn’t get better for the Cougars as the inning progressed, because the Hornets scored another run to take the lead by a score of 1-2 with two outs.
“Time,” Lisa called and ran out to Marlee in the pitcher’s circle. She covered her mouth with her mitt. “Hey, it’s okay. They only scored two—”
“Only?”
“C’mon. We can get those back in a flash.”
Marlee covered her own mouth with her glove. “Why do we cover our faces like this?” She moved her glove around.
“I don’t know.” Lisa shrugged. “So the other team can’t read our lips?” Lisa laughed. “Anyway, they’ve got two outs already, and the last batter in the order is up. I think it’s time to unveil the rise.”
“And maybe the screw.”
Lisa jogged back toward home and said over her shoulder, “Maybe, but probably not.”
Just before she reached the plate, the dark-haired man with the mustache and leather jacket said, “You’re doing great, Lisa.”
She didn’t acknowledge him, but again wondered who he was. Maybe he was one of those bigwigs Coach Spears said might come to the game. She gulped. Maybe he was a college scout. Was he scouting her? No, she was only a sophomore. He was probably scouting Marlee. She didn’t have time to wonder about it as she settled back behind the plate.
She put her mitt on the inside corner. The Hornets’ right fielder swung hard, but fouled the ball back into Lisa’s unprotected hand.
“Mother f—” Lisa groaned and fell to her knees. Lightning bolts shot through her hand. She clutched it and rocked back and forth as the pain pulsed harder. Her hand was starting to swell already.
She finally caught her breath, and then felt a hand on her back.
Coach Spears leaned down. “Let me see.”
Lisa blew out a sigh and held up her hand, but pulled it back out of reach. “It was just a foul ball. It’s fine.”
“Just let me see.” Coach Spears grabbed Lisa’s forearm and pulled the hand to her. Lisa bit her lip as Coach felt all around. “It doesn’t feel broken. Let me put some freeze spray on that, and we’ll see how it feels.” She turned toward the dugout and motioned for someone to bring the medical kit.
The spray was arctic cold, but happily lessened the pain.
Coach Spears looked at the umpire. “Can she throw a couple?”
The umpire nodded and handed Lisa a ball. A sharp pain shot through the right side of her hand as she took the ball, but she did her best to ignore it. She tossed the ball tentatively to Marlee trying to use all her fingers except the pinky. The pain wasn’t as sharp when she did that. The icy spray must have worked. Marlee tossed the ball back, and this time Lisa threw it all the way down to second base.
“It’s a little stiff from the icy spray, but I think I’m okay.”
“You sure?”
Lisa nodded and put her mask back on as if to end the conversation.
“All right, but you let me know the minute it doesn’t feel right.”
Lisa nodded again.
“Play ball.” The umpire invited the batter back in the box.
Watching Lisa get hurt must have rattled Marlee because she walked that batter and then hit the next one with a pitch to load the bases.
Lisa’s hand pulsed. She desperately wanted to get this last out and get some ice on her swelling hand. “Just one more you guys, c’mon.”
Unfortunately for Lisa’s hand, the next batter dinked a single on the left field line scoring another Hornet run. The Cougars finally stopped the hemorrhaging when Marlee struck the last batter out on three pitches. At the end of the second inning, the Hornets were ahead by a score of 1-3.
Lisa ran into the dugout. “Hey, Sarah.” Sarah was the backup catcher who usually only went in if the backup pitcher Kerry was in the game.