Change Up Read online

  “It’s pretty challenging sometimes,” I said to her. “I know I have missed out on a lot of Izzy’s life, but I’ve tried my best to make up for it and be there for her when I could be.”

  The busboy came over and placed a basket of fresh bread on the table for us. I offered Kristin a piece, which she took, and then I took a piece myself.

  “So what about you?” I asked as I buttered the piece of warm bread. “How does a southern girl wind up in the middle of nowhere in Pennsylvania?”

  “How do you know I’m a southern girl?” she said to me with a smile as she took a small bite of bread.

  I laughed when she said this. “I’ve traveled around enough over the years to know accents pretty well. If I had to guess, I would say you are from Georgia, perhaps Southern Georgia, close to Alabama.”

  “That’s right,” she said, impressed with my answer. “I was raised in Augusta. I’ve always had a love of books since I was a little girl. I followed my passion, went to school for library sciences and got my degree. I found this job listed and thought it sounded like a good chance for me to see someplace new. I have to say, I really like Chandler… and I’m growing to like it more all the time.” Kristin smiled at me again.

  We kept up the small talk all through dinner, in between bites of fish, linguine, bread and more. We finished the bottle of wine with ease and then enjoyed Angelo’s famous tiramisu for dessert with espresso for me and cappuccino for her. We talked more about what it was like to play pro ball and be “famous”, what it was like for her to grow up with a sister since I never had siblings, and how it was dealing with teenagers today, both as a parent and a librarian.

  When the meal was done, I felt I had come to know Kristin pretty well, and had shared more about myself than I had with anyone else in a very long time. Angelo came with the check, and we could barely push ourselves away from the table we were so full. I paid the bill and thanked him for a wonderful meal, and he gave me a hug and proceeded to kiss Kristin on each cheek, saying how wonderful it was to have her.

  I took a look down at my watch and saw it was nearly eleven and that the restaurant had long cleared out of other patrons. We stepped out into the cool air of the night, and Kristin immediately tightened her shawl around herself. We stood in front of Angelo’s for a second, neither one of us sure as to what the next step should be.

  “It was a wonderful dinner Wes, thank you so much,” Kristin said to me kindly.

  I felt like she was ready to end the evening, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to do that just yet.

  “Can I… can I walk you home?” I said with a smile, pointing to her building just down the block.

  “That would be nice,” she said as we started to walk together. Eleven at night in Chandler may as well be two or three in the morning somewhere else. Nothing was going on right on Main Street, and it was just us walking on the street. You could hear the music from Rusty’s, the local bar two blocks over, echoing through the night.

  There was a light breeze along the street, and Kristin put her left arm around my right as we walked. We reached her apartment building all too quickly, and we looked at each other in front of the steps that led up to her apartment on the second floor.

  I turned to her and looked down into her eyes.

  “Thank you for coming out with me tonight,” I said to her. “I had a wonderful time with you.” I hesitated a second, and then slowly bent down to give her a light kiss. I felt her right hand go behind my head to hold the kiss there for a few seconds longer before we broke. I could see a sweet smile on her face as I slowly began to pull away. Before I could get too far, she pulled me back down for another kiss, this one deeper and longer than the last. I kissed her back passionately, wrapping my arms around her tightly.

  When we finally stopped kissing, Kristin seemed a bit out of breath. Her hands were pressed against my chest, and she held them there for a moment before she reached up and gave me another light kiss.

  “Wes…” she said breathlessly, “I better go in before…”

  “Before what?” I whispered as I kissed her again.

  “Before I don’t want you to go, and I don’t think either of us is ready for that just yet. I… I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about me.” Kristin kissed me again, and I put an arm around her waist. She then broke the kiss again. “You’re making this very difficult,” she said with a grin.

  “That’s the idea,” I said to her, grinning back at her as I went in for another kiss. She put her hands up to stop this time, giving me a quick peck on the cheek. She grabbed my cell phone from my jacket pocket and punched some information and then scampered up the steps to her apartment door.

  “Call me or text me tomorrow if you want,” she said to me as she leaned over the railing on the second floor. “I’m off on the weekends; maybe we can do something.” Kristin then unlocked her apartment door and went inside.

  I took the walk back to my car, glancing down at my phone to see that she entered her phone number with a smile emoticon next to it. I continued the walk to my car, and my phone buzzed with a text message. I had hopes that it was from Kristin, asking me to come back, but I saw it was from Izzy:

  Hope the date went well. See you in the morning. Love you.

  I opened my car, climbed in, and shut the door. I then quickly tapped a return message to Izzy:

  The date went nicely. We had a great time. Talk to you in the morning. Love you too.

  I sat for a moment before I turned the car on and tapped out one more text message, this one to the number Kristin left me:

  Thanks for a great night. I really needed it. You’re an amazing woman. Good night.

  My screen lit up with a reply shortly after:

  You’re not so bad yourself. Thank you for making me feel special. Good night.

  I started the car and began my short ride home, trying to figuring out what to do tomorrow and what would be next for me.

  14

  Kristin

  I threw myself onto the bed as soon as I got home, so pleased with how well things went with Wes. He proved to be such a wonderful man and was witty, charming and gentleman through and through. I felt like I would burst and had to talk to someone, and thankfully it wasn’t long until Karen sent me a text asking if I was still out on the date. I told her I was home, and my phone rang about five seconds later.

  “Hello?” I answered casually, pretending nothing important was going on.

  “Don’t hello me,” Karen said smartly.

  “Who is this?” I replied.

  “Kristin, you better start talking, or I’m coming over there right now,” Karen told me with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

  I proceeded to tell her all about my dinner with Wes, how the meal was at Angelo’s, and how much we talked so we could get to know each other more.

  “He’s a pretty incredible man, Karen,” I sighed into the phone as I got undressed and into my pajamas. “I could have talked to him all night long. He has lived a very interesting life and seen a lot of places, a lot more than a little Southern country girl like me.”

  “Are you sure you could have only talked to him all night long? Is all you two did was talk?” Karen asked, hoping for some juicier details.

  “Well, he did kiss me goodnight,” I said honestly.

  “Now we’re getting somewhere,” Karen said, anxious for specifics. “What else happened?”

  “That’s it,” I told her as I sat down on my bed. “We kissed a few times, and then I went into my apartment.”

  “Really?” Karen told me, disappointment in her voice.

  “Really, Karen. Did you honestly think I would do more than that the first time going out with him? That doesn’t speak to well of your opinion of me.”

  “I didn’t mean it that way,” Karen said with a hint of ruefulness in her voice. “I’m just surprised is all, I guess.”

  “Surprised at what?” I answered. “That I’m not jumping into bed with him right away?” I w
as enjoying giving her a hard time.

  “Not at you,” Karen said, exasperated. “I guess I figured he would at least make a move to see if he could do anything. I mean, he is a rich sports star.”

  “I think everyone thinks just because he has a lot of money and is a good-looking sports hero that they assume he is just bedding women left and right. He’s not like that Karen. He’s sweet, sensitive, very polite and very much the gentleman. It’s been a while since a guy has made me feel like a special woman, and he did that tonight, without having sex with me.”

  “Wow,” Karen said to me.

  ‘Wow, what?” I replied to her.

  “I think you’re falling hard for Wes Martin very fast,” Karen said to me.

  I thought about what she said for a moment as I laid back on my bed. I had never felt this emotional about any of the guys I had dated in the past. Granted, my dating history wasn’t very long, but I had a few what I would call serious boyfriends in college. But even thinking about them didn’t quite measure up to the way Wes made me feel, and we had only known each other for a day. All of a sudden, I felt a little scared.

  “I think you might be right Karen,” I said into the phone.

  We were both quiet for a moment before Karen said something.

  “Are you okay with that?” she asked me.

  “I’m not sure,” I said to her honestly. “There’s so much about Wes to like, and I feel like he swept me off my feet, but there’s a lot to be worried about too.”

  “Such as?” Karen questioned.

  “To start with, there’s his career. He could start playing for another team at any time and pack up and go. Where would that leave me? Second, he’s got a teenage daughter in his life. How is she going to feel if her father suddenly has a girlfriend? Or how will his parents feel? Then there’s the fact that he’s thirteen years older than me. He’s seen and experienced a lot more of life than I have. Maybe I’m not enough for him. Or maybe he just wants someone to have a fling with.”

  Thinking about all those things made me realize there really was a lot to worry about. Maybe my sister Lucy was right about everything. But there was still a part of me, a big part of me right now, that didn’t believe any of that. Spending those hours with Wes gave me the chance to get to see different sides of him that I didn’t think many people had the chance to see, and I really liked what I saw there.

  “You still there?” Karen said to me. I realized I had been quiet for a while.

  “I am,” I said to her, snapping out of my haze. “I guess I’m just tired. It’s been a long day; a wonderful day, but a long one.”

  “Do you think you’ll hear from him soon?” Karen asked.

  “Well, I gave him my cell number, and he texted me right after I got inside to say thank you for the date, so I think I will. At least I hope I will.”

  “I’m glad you had such a good time tonight, Kris,” Karen said with a yawn. “I should go. I’ve had an exciting night too you know.”

  “Oh yeah?” I said, perking up a little. “What did you do tonight?”

  “It was a big night. A man showed up at my door,” she said in a hushed tone.

  “Really? Who was it? What did he want?”

  “He wanted $12.00 for the pizza and salad he brought me,” Karen told me. “After that, I watched a movie. It was more excitement than I could take. I’ll bet your date with Wes Martin can’t top that!”

  I laughed hard for a bit. “Thanks, Karen. Have a good night; I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Good night Kris,” she said as she hung up.

  I put my phone down on my nightstand and turned off the light. I lay in bed for a few minutes, pulling the covers up to my chin, thinking about my date with Wes.

  You’re all wound up. What have you gotten yourself into Kris? I asked myself.

  “Something good, I hope,” I whispered out loud.

  15

  Wes

  I made sure to set the alarm for myself so I would get up early in the morning. I wanted to start getting myself into more of a routine, even if it was a Saturday morning, in case this was going to be my life for a few weeks more, or even longer. The home service had come and brought food to stock the fridge for me, and I made sure to get up at around 6:30 so I could get in an early morning workout. I needed to make sure I stayed in the best shape possible in case I got the call from another team. I didn’t relish the idea of having to go to the minors for a few weeks to get myself in playing condition, but that could happen if the delays went on much longer.

  After my workout and shower, I put on a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt and threw one of my plaid button down shirts on over it. I put on my favorite boots, a pair I had picked up years ago when we were in Texas, grabbed my leather jacket, and then took a leisurely walk down the road to my parent's house.

  I knew at the very least that my father would be awake since he got up early to tend to the horses. Mom might still be asleep, depending on the kind of night she had, and I figured there was no way Izzy was awake this early on the weekend. If she didn’t have to get up to go to school, she was probably up late talking to her friends and thus would end up sleeping late.

  Sure enough, when I opened the front door, I could smell the familiar aroma of a fresh pot of coffee brewing in the kitchen. I walked over into the kitchen and saw Dad there, already dressed for the day and looking like he had already been out to the stables to do some work.

  “Good morning,” he said as he spied me out of the corner of his eye. “Want some coffee?”

  “That would be great, thanks, Dad,” I answered as I sat down at the table. Dad brought a mug over to me and then sat down in his chair at the table.

  “Mom and Izzy still asleep?” I asked. I could smell the dark roast of the coffee as I brought the mug up to my lips.

  “Yes,” Dad replied, sipping his own coffee. “Your mother was up and down a bit last night, so I think she’s sleeping in this morning. Izzy… well, I’m not sure how late she was up last night, but it was long after I went to bed.”

  I took another slow sip of the coffee. “Honestly, Dad… how’s Mom doing?” I had been worried about her since before I got home and needed to know what was going on for my own peace of mind.

  “Honestly?” Dad took another sip and put his mug down. “She’s doing a lot better than I thought she would. After the doctor told us about cancer coming back, I was pretty worried. I was preparing myself for the worst, and I thought your Mother would too. Thank God she’s stronger than I am with stuff like this. She’s approached this fight as tough as the last time, and the new treatment she is on seems to really be helping her. It takes a lot out of her, but she’s bouncing back pretty well, and the doctors are hopeful.”

  “I’m glad to hear that,” I said, feeling some relief. “You know if Mom needs anything, you should tell me. I know some people, and with some of the charity work I did in Pittsburgh, we can get her the best help…”

  “Wes,” Dad interrupted, “I know you can do all those things. Trust me, if we needed the help, I would have asked you already. I think the doctors here are doing fine with her.”

  “I’m just checking is all, Dad.”

  “I know, and I appreciate your concern, Wes. Your mother is a lot tougher than you think.” Dad put his coffee mug down on the table. “Now on to more important issues. How was your date last night?”

  “It went really well,” I told him, feeling proud of myself. “We had a nice time and got to know each other a bit. Kristin’s fantastic.”

  “I guess she made quite an impression on you,” Dad said to me.

  “She sure did. I think I am going to call her today and see if she wants to do something, maybe something with Izzy and me.”

  “What about you and Izzy?” I heard a groggy voice state. There was Izzy, standing in her pajamas, wiping her eyes.

  “What are you doing awake this early?” I asked with surprise.

  “I get up before this time every day
of the week, Dad,” she said to me. “I heard you out here and wanted to come and see you.” She came over and gave me a peck on the cheek and then walked to the refrigerator and grabbed the container of orange juice. After pouring herself a glass, she came back over and sat next to me. “So the date with Ms. Arthur went well?” she asked me.

  “Yes, it did, honey. We had a very nice time,” I answered as I watched Izzy drain her glass of orange juice in one fell swoop.

  “So what is it you were talking about for today?” Izzy asked me as she put her glass down.

  “I thought maybe you and I and Kristin could do something together. Maybe we can catch a movie or take a ride down to the mall.”