Panic pumps through my veins, but I remind myself that Rose and I are solid. This is just a breather, that’s all.
“You were lucky to get a flight change so quickly on the same day.”
Rose’s lips curve in a cordial smile as she gives me a nod.
The elevator doors open, and the team bus is out front with the engine running. There’s no time to do any of the things I want to do, including try and change her mind.
I give her a quick hug, and as I go in for a kiss, we’re bumped by a rush of people trying to catch the shuttle to the airport.
“I need to get on that shuttle,” Rose says.
The bus driver for the team bus honks the horn at me, and it seems there’s no time for a long, heartfelt goodbye.
Giving her a quick kiss, I give in to feeling angry and turn away and get on the bus, not bothering to watch her go. It was underhanded of her to make such a big decision about our marriage without talking to me about it first.
6
Rose
My parents are happy I’ve come home to visit, but they won’t stop asking why I’m all alone, why Brody didn’t come with me. My mother means well, but her worry is only making me feel worse. “There are lots of women who hang around athletes and even the best of men can stray. Is that what happened?” she asks.
I shake my head and barely resist rolling my eyes. “It’s not like that with me and Brody. I simply needed a break from all the traveling.”
My parents nod along, but I can tell they don’t believe me.
What was I thinking coming home without warning? Of course they’re going to think the worst.
I reassure them the best I can and go to unpack some of my things in my old bedroom which my parents have converted into a guest bedroom slash craft room.
My mom insists that I go with her to a special double-feature starring Ryan Reynolds, who my mother thinks is, in her words, “wonderfully attractive.”
“I don’t think so, Mom. I thought I would just hang out with you two today. Get in some rest.”
“You’re not going to mope, Rose. It’s obvious you’re stressed, and if you’re not going to talk to me about what’s going on, then you are at least going to do something to get your mind off things.” My mom has her hand on her hip as if she’s daring me to disagree with her.
I try to argue with her, but she won’t take no for an answer. With my mom being so pushy, I don’t notice my phone needed charging and it dies on the way to the movies before I can check my messages.
Brody
Since I’m on the bus with the guys I decide that leaving her a voice message telling her how much I disagree with this decision she’s made for both of us is a bad idea. Everyone here doesn’t need to know our business. And quite frankly, I don’t want them to know that my wife just dropped a bombshell on me and has gone home to her parents for a while. Instead, I write and delete a dozen different text messages, not sure what to say.
Finally, I decide on what I want to say and send her a text message. I love you and I’ll talk to you on the phone when I get to the hotel in Seattle.
By the time I peel myself out of the seat on the bus, I’m doing my best to bounce back. It’s going to be a quick short break and maybe it really is for the best. I can nail down the endorsements I want to do and get in some extra training sessions between games. Since Rose won’t be along I won’t have to worry about making sure to take her out. Maybe I’ll get some extra sleep, and that could pay off during the games, too.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
The next time I see her, she’ll have missed me so much that she’ll admit the break was a silly idea, and she’ll be back by my side. My mind goes a hundred miles an hour, trying my best to make this idea of hers sound better than it actually does.
I check into the hotel and drop my bag off in the room. I try her phone, but it goes to voice mail. She’s probably still traveling and doesn’t have her phone on. I pace the room, unsure what to do, but I know that the way my thoughts are going I can’t just stay here and torment myself. I decide to shoot the breeze with some of the guys in the poolroom in the VIP lounge of the hotel.
I quickly realize that I’m not in the mood to hang out with the guys who are talking nothing but easy women and the money they drop impressing some of them. The women they are talking about makes me appreciate what I have with Rose even more, and my mind goes to her. She doesn’t care about money or even the idea that I could be a big-time pitcher in the major leagues. She’s thrifty and doesn’t spend money freely. The one time I bought her a big diamond necklace with a bonus I got, she took it back and instead put the money in a special savings account for our future home.
After a couple games of pool and avoiding the gold-digging women on the prowl in the VIP lounge, I return to my hotel room. I realize there’s no escaping my thoughts of my wife.
There are no messages left for me with the hotel, and Rose didn’t even respond to my text message.
I call her, fully confident that I can smooth things over with her. I’m surprised when my call goes to voicemail. I don’t leave a message, figuring that she’s in the restroom. I shower and climb into the empty bed in my boxers. It’s been an hour at least since I tried her, and though it’s odd she didn’t try to call me back, I try her phone again.
This time when it goes to voicemail, I’m back to angry. “Rose, you pulling this running away crap is really immature and selfish. You owe me a huge apology. As you know, I have to be up early. Goodnight, Rose.”
As soon as I hang up, I regret it. Anger is not going to bring her back to me. Even though I’m hurt by the way she’s handled this, I know that if we could just talk, we could work this out. Unless she’s not telling me something. She told me it was just a break, but could it be more? Could she really be wanting out? Does she plan to leave me?
It only takes pulling the blankets up and rolling toward the spot where Rose is supposed to be to know that I’m not going to have a restful night.
7
Rose
The double feature ended close to midnight.
While Ryan Reynolds was indeed wonderfully attractive, I was really feeling all the exhaustion from travel and my chaotic emotions about leaving Brody to be on the road without me. With my mother driving like she was in an endless school zone all the way home, by the time I managed to assure my parents I wasn’t hungry and just wanted to sleep, it was after two in the morning.
I dig out my phone charger from my luggage, and though I know I’d feel better if I had a shower, I’m just too tired. I pick one of Brody’s T-shirts he gave me back in college to sleep in and wish it still held his scent.
Lying down in the full-size bed, I watch my phone, waiting for the screen to light up and the phone to turn on, which it will do once it gets enough of a charge for me to check my messages. I’m so tired, however, that I fall asleep before the phone gets enough charge for me to see I’ve missed messages and calls.
When I wake up, it’s after eleven in the morning. I smile, realizing I haven’t slept so deeply and well since… well, since the last time I was in a bed I could call my own. The downside of sleeping so hard has to be the morning breath and lingering sluggishness.