Kendra: Yeah, I’m sorry. This morning’s run was bad, and it made me question running the marathon.
Me: Bad runs happen…
Kendra: Just need to shake it off.
Bad runs happen, but she wasn’t telling me everything. Fuck, I looked at my schedule for the next few days, and there would be no time for me to talk to her between now and my trip to Florida for the beginning of Spring Training.
Me: Are you sure you can’t make it to Florida with me?
Her answer was a photo of her work calendar. No. Neither of us had a moment to spare.
Kendra: I’m also going to need to miss dinner tonight. Kelsey needs help with Crew.
I swallowed back a bit of disappointment. On the surface, it was normal for her to spend time with her sister, but something felt off. Ever since she left my apartment this morning. Something had changed.
THIRTY-NINE
kendra
Buryingmyself in work only provided a bit of relief. I ran through the interaction with Tucker, and his threat couldn’t have been louder.
Then, after the shower incident with Jonathan—the guilt bit into me as I realized I had used him. After seeing Tucker, it was like I needed the reminder that he couldn’t hurt me, that seeing him didn’t affect me. It did, though. And Jonathan felt it.
I rang my sister’s doorbell, and she opened the door with my nephew giggling in her arms. He leaned into me, and I grabbed him from her, burying my face in his neck and blowing raspberries until he squealed with delight.
“Hey, we were just heading upstairs to get his pajamas on. Come with me?”
I nodded and followed my sister through her home, remembering the first time I visited when only Sam lived here. Kelsey had added some warmth to the decor, and it had transitioned from a cold bachelor pad to an invitingfamily home. Crew’s toys littered the family room, and Kelsey had her romance novels scattered over the coffee table.
I carried Crew to his bedroom, now across the hall from the primary suite and adjoining nursery, which was now vacant. I knew Kelsey and Sam were trying for a second baby, and it hadn’t happened yet. A fact that had been highlighted by Kylie’s unplanned pregnancy and break-up with Luc. No, it was not something I planned to bring up unless she did first.
Crew helped me pick out his favorite dinosaur pajamas and accidentally bopped me in the head with his toy as I struggled with the snaps.
“Why the hell would they put these snaps on clothes for infants and toddlers? Do these designers ever think?”
“They think about as much as I did when I was in the store, and Crew was shouting ‘Dino!, Dino!’ Do you think I noticed the snaps? No, I was so happy he’d learned a new word, I would have bought anything.”
Kelsey and Lindy, one of the other WAGs had recently started a podcast together, which covered general topics related to motherhood but also followed what it was like to be a baseball wife. Lindy Griffen’s Instagram and TikTok following had helped the ratings explode. I had heard this same skit replied dozens of times when the post went viral.
“I heard some rumors about Elijah?—”
“Um.” I knew what Kelsey was asking, and yes, Elijah was a dirty pig on the road. In the meantime, Lindy had created a very public persona of the perfect family with a doting husband. On the surface, it looked like she had it all. I wasn’t sure how Elijah explained the Z-pack he broughtback to her from the team doctor when they diagnosed him with chlamydia. “What did Sam say?”
“Sam told me that this shit happens and WAGs don’t tell WAGs if their husband is cheating.”
“Sam is right. At the end of the day, if you told her what you thought was happening, it could throw off the balance of the team. And she probably knows.”
“I don’t think she does. And it makes me think…”
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about with Sam.”
She was quiet. “I didn’t either. Until I saw how prevalent it was.”
“The only thing you can do is talk to your husband about it. Communication.”
“Yeah, yeah. Sorry, last year I traveled with him for most of the time. It’s not sustainable for me to follow him wherever he goes, not with Crew, especially not once we have more kids.”
“Speaking of that, how is that going?”
