Chapter Three / On Account of Rain
"I love listening to the sound of the rain," she said.
"I know."
"How long has it been raining?"
"For awhile now."
"I'm glad it's raining."
"Why can't they play when it rains?"
"They're worried about lightning," Stanton explained. "The players are alone out there, in a big field. They could get struck, maybe even killed."
"So what happens with the game?" she asked.
"They stopped play after seven innings; the game was official. The good part of that is that I didn't have to write that long of a story."
"No. The good part is tonight. A nice dinner out, and a real movie, and no baseball. We don't get to do that often enough."
"No, we don't. Not nearly often enough."
"If you got a regular job, we could do this every evening."
"Not every evening. Not like this. Nobody could keep up that kind of pace. We'd wear each other to a frazzle in six weeks."
"I'd kind of like to take that chance."
"Do you think we could do this again, soon?"
"Next time it rains, sure."
"I may not want to wait that long."
"Let's see. If you roll over, I can look at my calendar."
"Not a chance, Stanton. I like it here."
"Mmmmm, so do I, come to think of it. Next off-day is Monday, but the team leaves for Baltimore that morning. After that, I think it's the second Thursday in August, the 9th. Less than two weeks from now."
"Don't they play some of these games in the daytime?"
"Not home games, Alice. Not in August in Missouri, they don't. Too hot. They don't have a day game until after Labor Day, I don't think."
"And you have to work Labor Day."
"I'll be in Chicago."
"Danny, this is serious."
"I know."
"I want us to spend more time together."
"I know."
"When does this baseball season end, anyway?"
"The World Series. Last week in October."
"Will that be here in Kansas City?"
Stanton tried not to laugh, unsuccessfully. "No."
"Are you laughing at me?"
"No, Alice, no. Swear to God. But they won't be playing the World Series here, I know that. They play the World Series in the home parks of the league winners. It was New York and San Francisco last year."
"This is ridiculous."
"No, it's just the way they do it. You see…"
Alice balled up her fist and hit Stanton in the shoulder. Hard. "Ouch!" he said, not altogether playfully.
"I never get to see you anymore."
"It's not you, it's the schedule. There were more off-days in May and June. Plus, the team has to make up some of the games that were rained out in Chicago and Cleveland. Blame the commissioner. Everyone else does."
"Danny… you know, this is not OK. This is not what couples do. Real couples spend time together, talk together, go out together. They kiss, they hold each other, they make love."
"We do all those things. We just did."
"Not often enough."
"You're right, not often enough."
"We should do something about that."
"Right."
"You should do something about that."
"Right."
"Danny, I'm serious. We can't just see each other when it rains."
"We could move to Seattle. But they have a roof on their stadium, so that wouldn't help much."
Alice hit him again.
"Ouch! Stop it! Seriously!"
"I am trying to be serious."
"Jesus Christ, Alice. I can be serious. Just… stop hitting me, that's all."
"You must have a low threshold for pain, Stanton. I didn't hit you that hard."
"Oh, great."
"I could have hit you a lot harder."
"Look, just… what is it?"
"If you don't know, I'm not about to tell you."
"I have a crummy job. I know that. I have to travel a lot, and work nights."
"Go on."
"And as a result, we don't get to spend much time together."
"Good."
"Which, in turn, causes you to question my level of commitment to you."
"That's good. Say, you're not as dumb as you look."
"Thanks."
"Leaving unanswered the big question."
"Yeah?"
"What are you going to do about it?"
"Alice, my schedule is what my schedule is. It'll be that way until after the baseball season is over."
"But what are you going to do about it?"
"I can't make you any promises."
"You always say that, Danny."
"I know, but I say it because it's true."
"This is not helping."
"Wait."
"Wait? Wait for what? Wait for the World Series?"
"No, just wait. I have an idea."
"Great. You have an idea."
"I just remembered. What do you have going on Saturday? Any plans?"
"I was going to sit at home and wait for you to call me, of course. What do you think?"
"There is a day game coming up. Two of them. Saturday and Sunday in Tampa. You could fly down first thing Saturday morning and get us a hotel room. We can walk on the beach at night, go shopping, go out to eat, have fun, even."
"I don't like seafood."
"I know a steak place. Look, it doesn't matter what we eat. I just thought it would be fun."
"Fun to spend time together, you mean?"
"That's exactly what I mean."
"What do I do when you're at the ballpark?"
"Up to you. Go see a movie or something. Go to a spa. Or you could even go to the ballpark; people have been known to have fun at baseball games."
"I've heard that from somewhere."
"Look. You don't have to make a decision today. I'll call you Thursday night, after the ballgame in Baltimore. You can get us a room on the beach, in Clearwater, maybe, and I can meet you at the airport Saturday morning. We'll go to the beach, eat lunch, and we'll have dinner after the game, and maybe go out and have fun later."
"You're sure about this."
"Never been more sure about anything in my life. Anyway, it beats sitting around here and waiting for it to rain again."
"Florida. Sounds nice."
"Yeah?"
"Sounds warm."
"Yeah."
"And sunny."
"Yeah."
"And… kind of inviting."
"Inviting. That's a good word. I like that. Inviting."
"Yeah."
They lay there a while longer, listening to the sound of the rain.
"Danny?"
"Yeah?"
"If I go with you to Florida, can we see a baseball game?"
"Sure, sweetheart. Anything you like."
"But before we go, you have to explain baseball to me again."
"Oh, sure. Baseball. Nine players on each side, plus the designated hitter."
"No, not like that."
"Huh?"
"Explain it to me the way you did that time."
"Hmmm?"
"Remember?"
"Baseball."
"Yeah. Baseball." She moved a little closer.
"Oh. OK. Baseball. You see… baseball starts with the pitcher."
"Go on."
"The pitcher… stands here. And he stands tall, you see, like this. And he walks around this round area… which is called the pitcher's mound. Then… he throws the ball, which goes all the way down here, to the batter."
"Talk about the pitcher some more."
"See, the batter, is here. But he moves around. He goes over to first base, which is… right about here… and then to second… and then all the way over to third… and comes back to where he started."
"That's not where you started."
"Right. And then… the ball goes back to the pitcher… and it all starts over again. Sometimes the pitcher makes a quick move to first… but then the ball comes back to the mound… nice and slow."
"And then they change sides."
"Yes. They change sides. And the ball goes over here… to this other pitcher… and he's over here… and in the course of the game, you just go back and forth, with one pitcher getting the ball, and then the pitcher on the other side getting the ball."
"And then what happens?"
"And then, sometimes, if you're very lucky, you score."
© Curtis D. Edmonds, 2004, all rights reserved
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