Page 141 of Running Home to You
She nearly drifted into the same daze from their walk. A place where only they existed. Only Abby existed, because only Abby looked at her with such reverence. While the long winter away had cooled her in some ways and took a minute for Kate to get used to, that had never changed.
“Welcome to the third annual alumni game!” Mick shouted from the pitching circle. Kate and Abby and the others gathered around. “A few ground rules for all you washed-up jocks. No pulled hamstrings or torn ACLs. If you’re questioning whether you’re fast enough, trust me, you’re not.” The assembly of aging softball players chuckled. “Don’t try to be a hero out there. Losers are on permanent gear duty and picking up the winners’ tab at Sunny’s. Okay, those are the only rules. Let’s play ball!”
While her last game was nearly a decade behind her, Kate took the field like she never missed a day. She felt the freedom of not yet having everything she wanted, but carrying nothing she didn’t. And as she looked at Abby, she wondered if this was what she always knew, even back then.
“What?” Abby asked in the dugout as she put on her batting gloves.
Kate shook her head. “Nothing.”
“Good. Don’t fuck up out there.” Abby winked.
“Me? The pressure’s on you,Hanmagaru.”
Abby hitched her jaw. “Don’t call me that.”
But it was too late, as the rest of the dugout broke into chants of Abby’s nickname from Japan, imitating her commercial, pulling it up on their phones. She chuckled as Abby rolled her eyes and blushed.
Kate hit in the leadoff spot, just like always. She faked a bunt, then popped a flawless, out-of-reach blooper over Madison Quong’s head. And as always, after Kate got on base, Abby knocked her in. She couldn’t quite pull it over the fence anymore, but connected ona perfect line, the ball springing from the barrel to the outfield, still one of the most beautiful swings Kate had ever seen.
Kate scored, but Abby got held up on her way to second base as Jenna Crosby and Izzy Palamino tackled her to the dirt. The game devolved almost entirely into shenanigans, jokes, cheating, cheap tricks, howling laughter when Mick tripped rounding the bases and when T.K. swung so hard she fell over. That’s what happened when at least a third of them had pins in their knees, others with kids at home, some not picking up a bat since graduation.
In the field, Kate and Abby took turns playing second and shortstop. Abby coasted, barely seemed to try. Kate couldn’t decide if she looked younger now or back then. In two years, she’d become healthier, brighter, the shadows no longer rooting beneath her eyes.
“So, I have a question,” Abby said to her.
It was the bottom of the final inning. Abby stood at shortstop, hat on backward, the sleeves of another baggy T-shirt rolled up to reveal the biceps she kept no less toned than she had as a professional player. Kate dug in at second base, just like old times, though without the expectations of an actual game, she let herself chat through the last outs.
“What?”
“The dating thing,” Abby said. “What’s that about?”
“What do you mean?”
Abby kicked the dirt. “Well, I mean, is it serious? Are you seeing anyone now?”
Kate cleared her throat, heat climbing from her chest to her neck. Dating had been an interesting experience at best, but uneventful. Charlotte Pruitt ran with a group of powerful women, many of whom were queer, who she gladly introduced Kate to, but she’d yet to find a connection despite a few promising dates. Marcus Watterson tried a completely opposite approach, thrusting her into gay bars and dating apps, but they had never worked before and didn’t now. Kate, frankly, wasn’t that invested, especially over the last few months, knowing that Abby might be at the alumni game.
“We should probably finish the game,” she said.
“I think we got some time.” Abby shrugged as Courtney Seaborn swung and missed. “So, you going to answer my question? Do you have a girlfriend? Boyfriend?”
Kate sighed and rolled her eyes, but the blush didn’t leave her cheeks. “No one serious.”
“Why not?”
“Well, I’m a bit of a workaholic. What about you?”
“Alcoholic, remember?” Abby drifted over to Kate with a grin. “Recovering, of course. All things are possible through our lord and savior.”
Kate couldn’t help but chuckle and shoved her. “Go back to shortstop.”
“Same old Cruz!” Courtney yelled from home plate. “Still flirting with Hutch!”
“Same old Seaborn! Still not funny!” Abby shouted back.
“Shut up and go back so I can hit!”
“This is more important than the fly ball you’re going to hit to left center!”
