“The only difference between your job and mine is which side of the plate we’re on. You’re on the road every bit as much as I am! You face constant stress. You’ve had to learn how to handle it without hurting your kids. Fans know who you are. Considering you still have all your hair and look like you could break their spin instructors in half, I’m gonna assume women find you attractive. What egregious sin have I committed that I’m not even allowed totalkto your daughter?”
“You’re brash, thoughtless, and arrogant. You came into the League guns blazing, no deference to the people who blazed the trail before you. All you cared about was yourself. You wanted to make sure no one could possibly overlook you. I know theprofile. Guys who act the way you act on the field don’t turn it off when the game is over and the cameras are off; they turn it up.”
“How I act on the field?” My voice is too loud, but I can’t stop myself. “I’m a good teammate! I work harder and train harder than every person out there.”
“Because it servesyou! Because it adds dollar signs to your paycheck and followers to your TikTok! Do you have any idea what it’s like to sacrifice whatyouwant for someone else? To put their needs in front of yours? That’s not you. You swing for the bleachers every time. You need constant attention. You put yourself first because all you care about is being seen.”
“I care about being seen because I care about whoseesme,” I growl. His assessment is so unjust, it makes my lip curl and my eyes sting. “You don’t know the first thing about me.”
“I know what I’ve seen and what you’ve said.”
“Now I get it,” I say, a jaded laugh slipping out of my throat. “Your precious pride won’t allow another person a single mistake. You think because you have ultimate say on the field, you have ultimate say in the lives of the people around you. You think because you’re a good ump—and you are; you’re the best—that you know everything and know what’s right for everyone. But there’s no pitch camera in the real world to hold you accountable. There’s no association that can train you or correct you when you overstep.”
His nostrils flare. “I took a red-eye to see my daughter.”
“Yeah, and you did it foryou, not for her.”
Bruce looks like I punched him. “What are you talking about?”
The tone sounds. “It’s the closing session. Excuse me.” I step out from around him, bumping into the Christmas tree and knocking off an ornament. I pick it up and hang it back on the branch. And then I walk off.
When he says my name again, I don’t turn. And when I see Liesel in the closing session I don’t sit by her. I do text her, though.
Cooper
Sorry for giving you a wide berth. I don’t want to make trouble for you.
I put my phone away, but then it vibrates in my pocket. I shouldn’t pull it out and check. I really shouldn’t.
But I do.
Liesel
I get it.
There. I explained myself and she said she understands. That’s all that’s required. We’re on the same page, and the chapter is now over.
I hold my phone between my hands, pretending to pay attention. Pretending like I care about the rest of the world when all I really want is to know what’s on the next page.
Cooper
When’s your flight?
Liesel
9 AM on Blue Horizon. Yours?
Cooper
9:26am on JetWays
Liesel
Are you working Friday?
Cooper
Marty says I am, so yes. You?
