Foul Pole by Tina Gallagher
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Leo
“You want another one?” Trey yelled from inside his condo.
“Sure.”
He came out carrying two bottles of lager, handed one to me, and settled into the
other chair out here on the balcony. I stared out at the setting sun shimmering on the water. It was seventy-five and sunny here in St. Pete today and Scranton got six inches of snow dumped on it this morning.
Thankfully I’d hired a guy to plow my driveway and shovel the sidewalks for the whole season. He texted me pictures earlier so I know he’d actually done the job and it’s clear for Anjannette.
I took a long draw on my bottle and mentally chuckled. That’s what I was doing in between sessions today. Checking texts from the plow guy and worrying about Anjannette driving in the snow.
As if he read my mind, Trey said. “It’s gonna be a weird year.”
I looked over and saluted him with my bottle.
“That is a true statement.”
Pitchers and catchers reported two days ago and that’s exactly when Trey and I both arrived in St. Pete. Other years, I’d often come down a few days early just to chill and enjoy the sun. But this year I booked the latest flight possible the night before. I actually thought about taking the earliest flight the day of, but didn’t want to risk a delayed or canceled flight and get here late. That wouldn’t be a good way to start the season.
“But you looked good today. How’s your back feel?”
“Great. The yoga really helped. I’m glad Max suggested it. Even though it kicked my ass at first, it was a pretty easy solution to the problem. I’m glad I stuck with it. Of course, now I just need to make sure I keep up the practice. I may have to get Clay to call me for motivation. Or better yet, do Zoom classes with me.”
“Speaking of calls, my father called before.”
“Seriously?”
Trey and his father always had a rocky relationship but when Connery "Reg" Reginald Youngman II talked shit about Nori last year, that was it. Trey told him, in no uncertain terms, that he was done with him.
“Yeah.” He set his empty bottle on the table between us. “Apparently someone told him about the wedding and he was pissed because he didn’t put his game face on fast enough and it was pretty obvious he didn’t know anything about it.”
“So what’d you say?”
“I reminded him of our last conversation and asked why the fuck he thinks I’d give a shit about the fact that he was embarrassed in front of one of his asshole friends and I hung up then blocked his number.”
“That’s definitely a healthier reaction than what you used to do.”
“That is a true statement,” he said, throwing my words back at me. “Speaking of parents, how’s your mom been since the wedding? She’s not bugging you to put a ring on Anjannette’s finger, is she?”
“No, she’s actually been pretty mellow about our relationship since she met her on Thanksgiving. She’s welcomed Anjannette into the family fold with open arms, but even at your wedding, she didn’t make one comment about me being next.”
“Maybe she’s just happy one of her kids is in a committed relationship.”
“Maybe.”
“Although, with the way Angie was dancing with Clay at the wedding, there may be another Marakis off the market soon.”
“Nope.” I shook my head and finished my beer in one long gulp. “I’m not going there. I have no idea what’s going on and I’m not gonna ask.”
“It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if they got together.”
“No it wouldn’t. But just like I don’t share mine, I don’t want to know details about my sisters’ dating lives.”
Trey’s cell chimed and he looked over at me and smiled.
“You know what that text means? It’s time to FaceTime my wife.”
“At least we can be grateful for technology,” I said as we made our way inside. “Cell phones and FaceTime are a definite upgrade from long-distance phone calls once a week like the old-timers had.”
I left Trey’s condo and took the short walk down the hallway to mine. Anjannette won’t be done with classes for another two hours. I grabbed my yoga mat and scrolled to the routines Clay had texted me. Maybe focusing on downward dogs and deep breaths will help settle this feeling of discontent I haven’t been able to shake all day.
Anjannette
I lookedat the sign I hung on the wall yesterday to let students know the studio will be closed for a week wondering, not for the first time, if I’m sliding back into bad habits. But Keera is so psyched about going to St. Pete in a couple weeks, there’s no way I could rescind the offer. Especially since she got official word that the rumor about her company making cutbacks is true and her last day of work is this Friday.
The only other option would be for her to go to St. Pete while I stay behind to run the studio, but that would be more than a little weird.
“What’s wrong?” she said from behind me.
“Nothing.”
I turned to face her and flashed a forced smile.
“Don’t nothing me. You’ve been mopey for three days.
“You know me. I just think too much.”
Her eyes shifted over to the sign then back to me.
“Closing the studio for a week to take your best friend in the whole world to St. Pete for spring training is not a sign of backsliding.”
“Maybe not, but combined with the fact that I just packed ninety percent of my furniture into a storage unit and moved into Leo’s house, it just might be.”
Well, I hadn’t done the actual packing or moving this time because Leo hired a company to do it for me, but the end result is the same.
“Oh honey, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize moving your stuff would be such a trigger. I would have been there for you more through the process.”
“You just found out that you’re losing your job and you’re gonna be there for me? God, I am pathetic.”
She wrapped her arm around my shoulders and squeezed me tight against her side.
“You’re not pathetic. You’ve just had some bad experiences that have left you scarred.” Releasing me, she turned and looked me in the eye. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize how bad things were with Travis. I would have been there to help.”
“You were going through your own shit with Brian.” I shook my head. “We’re quite a pair, huh?”
“The important thing is that we’re here for each other now and we’ve learned from our mistakes.”
I shifted my eyes toward the sign then back to her.
“That’s debatable right now.”
“Leo is one of the best guys I’ve ever met. He’d never treat you the way Travis did.”
“The thing is, this isn’t about Leo or Travis or any of the other guys I got lost in through the years. It’s about me. And I have to make sure I don’t go down that rabbit hole again.”
“Don’t you see how just saying that shows how much you’ve changed?”
I closed my eyes and shook my head.
“I’m not sure it’s that cut and dried.”
“You took three whole years to work on yourself. You’re not the same person you were back then. Please take my word on that and stop worrying.”
“Okay,” I said, looking at the poster again. “But you can trust this is going to come up again.”
“And I’ll be here telling you the same thing.”
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close for a big hug.
“Thank you for being the best friend in the world.”
She pulled back and smiled.
“I’m not done cheering you up yet.” She walked over to the iPad and scrolled through a
playlist. “I know this is your happy song. We’re going to dance to it over and over again until you’re out of your funk.”
I wrapped my hand around the closest pole and lost myself to the beat of Peanut Butter Jelly by Galantis. Keera is right about the fact that it’s my happy song. I’m just not totally convinced she’s right about everything else, as much as I might want her to be.