Curveball Read online

  “It’s me,” Wes told her. “Were you sleeping? It’s 9 AM. Who’s got Molly?”

  “Take it easy, Dad,” Izzy yawned. “I was up with her at 6 and fed her and changed her and played with her. She went back down to sleep about an hour ago, so Grandma said I could leave her out in the living room in the bassinet there. She’s fine. I was exhausted. How’s Kris?”

  “She’s doing alright,” Wes said, feeling disarmed. “She has some pain, obviously, but the doctor said she is doing okay. They are hoping she’ll be out in a day or two.”

  “That’s good to hear. Can we come up to visit her?”

  “I don’t think they’ll let you bring Molly onto the floor, but you can come up if you like. I’m sure she would appreciate it. Check and see if Grandpa is planning to come back and come with him. Just let me know when to expect you.”

  “Got it,” Izzy replied. “I’ll send you a text when we are leaving. Is it okay if I go back to sleep for a bit? It’s been a long couple of days.”

  “Sure, honey,” Wes said to her. “You okay?”

  “I’m good,” Izzy fibbed. “Go take care of Kris. Give her a hug and kiss for me.”

  “Will do,” Wes told his daughter. “See you later.”

  No sooner had Wes hung up when he saw that his phone was ringing again. He expected it to be his father checking in, but he was surprised when he saw that it was Tom Killian, the President and General Manager of the Washington Wild Things, the independent baseball team Wes had played for last season. Wes stared down at the phone ringing, hesitant to answer it. He hadn’t expected the team to call him with any information about a potential contract until after the new year. A call now indicated something was up, and bad vibes shot through Wes’ mind over it. Finally, after four or five rings, Wes sighed and pressed the answer button.

  “Hello,” he said as professionally as he could.

  “Wes? Hi, it’s Tom Killian from the Wild Things. How are you?”

  “I’m okay, Tom. How are you doing?”

  “Oh, you know, trying to get things organized for next season. There is never a dull moment, I guess, even around the holidays. We’re ramping up for Christmas and trying to sell some ticket packages, you know, the usual stuff.”

  Wes sensed Tom was evasive with what he wanted to say, and Wes had little patience for any of it right now. He would rather find out bluntly if the team didn’t want him back next year so he could make his plans one way or the other.

  “Tom, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m here at the hospital with Kristin. She had some surgery last night, and I need to get back to her, so…”

  “Oh, geez, Wes, I’m sorry I had no idea. I hope she’s okay. Let me get right to the point. I’m sure you saw the news that the Frontier League and the Can-Am League have merged, so we have five more teams that we will play against for the coming season. It should be exciting, with new audiences opening up the potential for the league and all, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it…”

  “Tom!” Wes said emphatically. “Please, just get to the point. If you guys don’t want me back next year, I understand. I know you took a chance on me, and I appreciate it. I had fun and put up some good numbers, so I’m sure I can latch on somewhere else if I want to.”

  Tom was silent for a moment.

  “Wes, it’s not that we don’t want you back. You were great for us last year. You played well, brought crowds to the game, and did everything we asked and more. That being said, we have made some changes that I wanted you to be aware of.”

  Here it comes, Wes thought. He had heard this conversation when he was cut from the Pirates.

  “John Clines, our manager last year, just took a job in the Cardinals organization as one of their low minors managers. As you can guess, that leaves us in kind of a bind as we are planning out the roster for next year. I’m trying to get a manager in place as quickly as I can, and that’s when I thought of you.”

  “Thought of me for what? I probably know a few guys that I can recommend to you if you want someone new for the job. Let me call you after I get home…”

  Tom interrupted Wes right away.

  “No, Wes, you misunderstand me. I don’t want recommendations. I want to know if you want the job.”

  Now it was Wes’ turn to be silent.

  “Wes? You still there?” Tom asked, feeling like the cell signal might have been lost.

  “I’m still here, Tom. You want me to manage? I don’t have any experience like that. Why would you want me? I… I think of myself still as a player.”

  “Well, we can certainly talk more about that. Maybe we can work something out where you could be our player/manager. Yeah, the fans would love that! It’s got a lot of possibilities, Wes. The players respect you greatly. We’re working to have a lot of the same guys back from last season, and some new additions to boost up our weak areas, so I think we’ll have a good core for you to work with. So, what do you think?”

  Wes’s mind churned with all kinds of ideas. In a perfect world, he would be back in the majors playing for someone, but the chances of that got slimmer and slimmer with each passing day. Staying home and just being a husband and father had great appeal to him as well, and even though he had never considered managing in the past, it created new opportunities for him. It might also open a different path to get back into the majors.

  “Can I think about it a bit, Tom?” Wes answered. “My plate is kind of full right now with Kristin and the baby and all.”

  “I get that Wes, I really do,” Tom replied. “The problem I have is that I need you to decide soon if you can. If you aren’t interested, I need to get some candidates in here fast so I can do interviews and such. Word is already out that John is gone. The Cardinals had a press release this morning.”

  “I promise I will get back to you within the next day or two. I just need to think about it, talk to Kristin, and see what is going on with her.”

  “Fair enough,” Tom told him. “I’ll give you a call on Monday or Tuesday to see where we are at. Give my best to Kristin. I hope everything is okay.”

  “Thanks, Tom. I’ll talk to you soon,” Wes told him before hanging up.

  Wes stood frozen for a moment, looking at his phone. The call was completely unexpected, at least in the manner it had played out. Being a player/manager might give Wes a chance to do something not done very often in baseball anymore, and it could give him greater visibility. It also meant more responsibility that could keep him away from home, something he wasn’t sure he wanted to do again. He had already missed so much of Izzy’s life growing up; it didn’t seem fair to do the same thing to Molly.

  Wes knew one thing for sure – he had to talk to Kristin about all of this and hash it out. The problems he had caused last year when he was looking to play again were enough of a strain on their relationship, and he had no desire to put her through that once more.

  While he stared at his phone, two text messages blinked in. The first was from Izzy to let him know that she was on her way to the hospital with Wyatt. The second was from Kristin.

  You coming back? That must be some breakfast. They want to try and get me out of bed for a little walking, and I thought you could help me.

  Wes walked to the elevators and pressed the up button. The doors swooshed open, and a small crowd filed out while others crammed in with Wes to go up to the various floors. Wes pressed “3” and waited as the room slowly glided up, buying him a few more seconds to figure out what he would say to Kristin.

  7

  Kristin sat on the edge of the bed and waited for Wes to get back to the room. Gloria had assisted her, first with the removal of the catheter that was in place (something Kristin didn’t relish experiencing again after going through it when Molly was born), and then with sitting up and getting to the edge of the bed. Gloria tightened the ties on the back of Kristin’s gown and waited with her.

  “Feeling okay?” Gloria asked. “Getting this far is a good first step.”

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sp; Kristin looked as her feet dangled off the side of the bed. She wiggled her toes in the blue hospital socks with the rubber grips on them. She always hated these socks and couldn’t wait to get out of them and back into her own clothes and be in her house.

  “I’m okay,” Kristin answered anxiously.

  “I’m here,” Wes stated as he came through the door and spied Kristin sitting up.

  “Boy, you really are ready to get moving,” Wes told her as he moved to where she sat on the bed.

  “The faster I move, the faster I go home,” Kristin stated as she flashed a smile to Gloria.

  “Okay, let’s do this,” Gloria said. She and Wes stood on opposite sides of Kristin and helped her off the bed until her feet were on the floor. Kristin wobbled a bit at first, and Wes gripped her elbow to hold her tightly.

  “Nice start, Kristin,” Gloria glowed. “You got your feet under you? You let me know when you are ready to move.”

  Kristin turned to the nurse and nodded and shuffled forward a bit. It had only been about twelve hours or so since she had been off her feet, so her muscles were there, but she still felt weak and scared. Kristin also noticed the tightness in her side where the surgical scar started, and it made moving more challenging.

  Slow, deliberate steps led Kristin and her keepers towards the door of the room and then out into the hallway. Each move gave her more confidence, and before she knew it, Gloria had let go of her right side, leaving just Wes right next to her.

  “Try to do a couple of laps around the nurses’ station,” Gloria told Kristin as Kristin walked away. “Then, head back to your bed, and we can do some more later.”

  “Hey, you’re doing great,” Wes told her. “You feel okay?”

  They had reached the first turn in the hallway, and Kristin kept moving, holding onto the IV pole with her right hand as Wes stayed next to her on the left.

  “I feel fine,” she told him. “But it’s a little drafty in the back of my gown.”

  Wes glanced down and saw the bottom ties of the gown had loosened.

  “Hold on a second,” Wes told Kristin as he moved behind her. He retied the gown so that it covered her previously exposed bottom.

  “As cute as it looked, I can see why you would want that closed,” Wes smiled.

  Kristin blushed at the thought of flashing anyone that had been behind her, but she also giggled at Wes.

  “I’m glad you still like it,” Kristin remarked as she moved again.

  “Of course, I still like it,” Wes told her. “Why wouldn’t I? You’re beautiful.”

  “I sure don’t feel that way right now,” Kristin lamented. “I still have twenty pounds of baby weight, scars, and I feel a mess right now, not to mention I’m barely clothed. It’s not much to look at.”

  “It’s all I want to look at,” Wes told her as he took her hand in his. The two continued walking down the hall, back towards her room.

  The couple returned to Kristin’s hospital room, and Wes helped maneuver Kristin back to where she could get into bed on her own.

  “I’d say that went pretty well,” Wes told her as he leaned in to give her a kiss.

  Kristin smiled and felt invigorated and accomplished.

  “Now, what do I do with the rest of the day?” Kristin asked. “Sitting around in this bed all day is not going to cut it.”

  “Well, Izzy and my dad are on their way here so they can see you,” Wes started.

  “Are they bringing Molly?” Kristin asked, hopefully.

  “Honey, they won’t allow her in the rooms. She’s too young, and there are too many risks involved.”

  Disappointment engulfed Kristin’s face.

  “I think this is the longest I have gone without seeing her,” she told Wes, “and I don’t like it.”

  “You know, you’re going to have to resign yourself to not picking her up or anything up for a while,” Wes told her. “You don’t want to cause problems.”

  “I know, I know,” Kristin answered. “It’s a good thing it happened when it did, I guess. At least you’ll be home to take care of us both.”

  Kristin noticed a change in Wes’s expression before he sat at the foot of the bed.

  “I have to tell you something,” Wes said seriously.

  “What is it?” Kristin prepared herself, sitting up straight in the bed.

  “Tom Killian called me while I was downstairs getting coffee.”

  “Tom from the Wild Things? Is it about a contract for next season? You know, it’s okay with me either way if you do or don’t play next season. It still gives us a few months before training starts, right?”

  “It was about next year, sort of,” Wes told her. “You remember John Clines, the manager?”

  Kristin nodded as she listened.

  “Well, John got a job with the St. Louis Cardinals organization, so he’s gone. Tom’s looking for a new manager, and he asked me if I wanted the job.”

  Kristin considered the statement for a moment and then beamed.

  “That’s wonderful, Wes! It will be great for you. It’s a new career opportunity, and even though you will be traveling some, you’ll be around us more often. Did you give him an answer?”

  “I didn’t, not yet,” Wes answered. “Kris, there’s more to it than you might realize. The league has expanded, so there are more teams now, including New York, New Jersey, and Canada. And as the manager, I would have to spend more time doing things with the team. There are more responsibilities. I would have to start doing work right away.”

  “Oh,” Kristin said softly.

  “The timing of it all sucks,” Wes said as he rose from the bed and paced the floor. “I’m going to have to tell Tom I can’t do it, not now.”

  “If you turn the job down, will they still want you as a player next season?” Kristin asked.

  “I got the impression from Tom that it was this or nothing else.”

  Kristin and Wes just stared at each other without saying a word.

  “Wes, if this is the best opportunity for you, and you want to do it, then you should. You know we can make it work. We did it last year.”

  “I know, but last year we didn’t have a newborn to take care of, you weren’t recovering from anything like this, Izzy wasn’t graduating from high school, we weren’t planning a wedding – there are a lot of things going on right now that I should be here for.”

  “Even though it may not look like it at this moment, I’m a lot stronger than you think, Wes. Sure, this is going to slow me down for a bit, but I’ll be back on my feet and taking care of things. Maybe I can give up my job and…”

  “No,” Wes said emphatically. “You love your job just as much as I love mine, and I would never ask or expect you to do that, not again. It’s not fair to you. The easiest solution is for me to just move on.”

  “Move on from what?”

  Wes and Kristin both turned quickly towards the door. Izzy and Wyatt both stood there, Izzy holding a small duffle bag and Wyatt with some flowers.

  Izzy moved over to Kristin and gave her a hug, making sure not to squeeze her too tightly.

  “I brought you a few things from home that I thought you might want – toiletries, some crosswords, a hairbrush, and some clothes. It’s just sweats and t-shirts, and a nightshirt and some underwear,” Izzy told her, handing Kristin the bag.

  “I never thought I would be so happy to have underwear,” Kristin told Izzy.

  “So, what do you have to move on from, Dad?” Izzy asked as she turned to her father.

  “Yeah,” Wyatt reiterated as he kissed Kristin’s cheek and put the flowers on the small nightstand next to her bed.

  “Okay, I guess we’re going to get into this now,” Wes stated. “The Wild Things offered me their manager’s job this morning, but I don’t know that it’s the right time to take it and be away from home so much. So, it might be time for me to move on from baseball.”

  “Haven’t we been down this road before?” Izzy said.

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sp; “Hey, don’t be smart,” Wes admonished.

  “All I’m saying is that you thought you were ready to be done once, and you weren’t, and you were miserable and made us miserable. I just want you to be sure you are ready to be done, Dad. Besides, why is now any different than before?”

  “Why? Because we have Molly, Kris is recovering, we’re planning a wedding, you’re trying to decide about college, or at least that’s what I’m told…”

  “Do we have to get into this argument again, right now, Dad?” Izzy said, steadily raising her voice.