But no matter how much I beg the television, it doesn’t help. He’s unable to pull it together, and the coach ends up pulling him off the mound in the second inning. Brody’s performance is poor, to say the least.
Brody
I’m the first one out of the locker room after the game, but that doesn’t matter because Rose isn’t there to pick me up. I look at the exit door, almost as if I’m willing her to be there. But she’s not. She’s nowhere around. She’s at home in Forest Grove by now. I throw my bag over my shoulder and get on the team bus.
“You should take up boxing,” the bus driver says as he climbs aboard.
“What?” I ask.
He nods. “Yeah, it’ll help you focus. You looked anxious out there tonight.”
“Thanks,” I say and head to the back of the bus, not in the mood to carry on a conversation with the driver or hear any more pointers.
I call Rose, and she answers on the first ring. “Hey, Brody.”
With the phone clenched tightly in my hand, I ask her, “Did you see the game?”
She pauses for just a minute. “I did.”
“My head isn’t in the game when you’re angry with me.” And I hate the vulnerability in my voice, but even I can hear it. I shouldn’t blame her, and that’s not what I’m doing. But I want her to know how much our disagreement has affected me. She has to know that I love her and want her around. I just don’t understand what’s happening with us.
She sighs loudly into the phone. “I’m not angry with you. I’m angry with myself. I’m the one that lost sight of my own goals.” She pauses briefly before continuing in a soft voice. “You’re being too hard on yourself, Brody. You aren’t going to go out there and be perfect every time. Everyone is entitled to an off day. I’m sure the game tomorrow night will be better.”
I want to tell her that it won’t be better if she’s not with me, but the players are starting to board the bus, and my manager starts calling on the other line.
“I love you; I’ll call you later,” I rush and tell her.
“That’s okay, get some rest. You looked tired. I can tell when your eyes look puffy like that you’re not getting enough sleep. Besides, it’s pretty late—”
My manager is going to hang up if I don’t click over, and sometimes it’s hard to get the guy on the phone. “Okay, I gotta go. Love you, babe.”
I push the button to switch over, and Mike is there. Before he even says a word, I can hear the frustration in his sigh. “What happened to you out there today?”
“I had an off day. No big deal. I’ll be better tomorrow.”
“Well, you better be. The companies are watching, and they’re not going to hire an athlete that can’t even throw a strike.”
I roll my eyes. What happened to the guy that’s constantly kissing my ass? One bad day, and he’s turned into an asshole. “Got it, Mike. I’ll get it together.”
And then before he can answer me, I hit end on the phone and lay my head back, ready to get back to the hotel.
9
Rose
I admit to my dad the next day over breakfast that I don’t want to work in the big city under some big shot. “I’d rather be my own boss,” I tell him with more confidence than I feel.
My dad nods. “You never were one to enjoy taking orders.” He seems to think for a minute. “Since you got your degree in business, all you’ve gotta do now is figure out what kind of business you’d like to open so you can be your own boss.”
“Is that all?” I laugh at how simple he makes it sound.
After breakfast I help my dad reorganize his office, which is a mess of books. My father was a man who had a passion for learning and would keep on learning until the day he died, I’d bet.
“What do you enjoy doing?” he asks as I hand him another book to go on the shelf.
“I dunno,” I tell him.
Instead of putting the book up, he holds it to his chest. “Really, honey. If memory serves me right, I remember when you were growing up you were always designing stuff online. You’ve created websites, promotional images and all kinds of stuff like that. Do you still enjoy doing that?”
“Yeah, but Dad, I need something to make money. Not a hobby. Plus, everyone’s a designer these days.”
“That’s not true,” he says, shaking his head. “Well, yeah, the market is full of designers, but you would stand out. You always did. And you can’t tell me that people wouldn’t hire you. You have a gift for stuff like that.”
We finish putting up the books, and already my mind is spinning. I do love creating websites and other digital products, but almost everything I’ve done in the past, I’ve just done for free for friends. Could I make money doing it?
My phone rings, and instantly my thoughts go to Brody and wanting to run the idea by him. But after glancing at the caller ID, I see that it’s my friend Olivia. We met my freshmen year of college. She was a graduate student and about to start her residency as a veterinarian. We hit it off almost instantly, especially when we discovered that we were both from Forest Grove.
“Dad, I’ve got to take this,” I tell him as I walk out of his home office and down the hall to my bedroom.
“Hey Liv,” I answer.
“What’s going on?” she asks. She’s never one to beat around the bush. Always gets straight to the point.
But I play dumb with her, even though I know what she’s talking about. “What do you mean?” I ask innocently.
She snorts. “Really? Is that how we’re going to play this? Okay, well, your husband pitched in I don’t know how many games this week and he looks like a kid that’s lost his puppy with his sad eyes. Plus, the announcer even said something about you not being in the stands. So spill it.”
I lie back on my bed and barely contain my groan. Man, if people are noticing I’m not there, it’s going to make it even worse for Brody. I try to keep it simple when I explain it to Olivia, “I came home to see my parents.”
There’s a big pause on the phone, and I know before she even says anything she’s going to call me out.
“Okay, so you’ve been waiting to graduate so you could be with Brody. Now you can, and you go home to stay with your parents instead. Yeah, okay, sounds perfectly reasonable.”
Her words are dripping with sarcasm.
I take a deep breath. “I don’t know, Liv. I love Brody, but it was so hectic following him everywhere. I feel like I need to figure out what I want to do with my life. I mean, I can’t just not work and follow him around forever. Plus, you wouldn’t believe the women.”
“Brody wouldn’t cheat on you. He loves you,” she interrupts.
“I know that. I do. But it’s hard seeing all these young—"
“You’re young!”
“I mean women younger than me, throwing themselves at him. I just needed a break. I’m going to spend this time trying to find a job or something I want to do.”