Page 16

16

CADE

I enter my river-view condo and drop my duffle bag onto the floor. I’ll deal with unpacking later. We have a day off tomorrow before the next series begins. I’m pretty beat up. I got hit by a pitch during yesterday’s game and trust me, you don’t want to know what a ninety-eight-mile-per-hour pitch on your ribcage feels like. X-rays were clear. No fractures, just bruised. At least that walk ended up with me scoring.

I still haven’t heard back from Georgia. I’m a little surprised. I know she’s busy between work, school and motherhood but still, an acknowledgement would have been nice. I’m excited to hear how August reacted to his bouncy house so I decide to give her another call.

I get a rush when I hear her voice. “Hello Cade.”

“Hi Georgia, did you miss me?”

“Congratulations on taking both series,” she replies, ignoring my question.

“Did you see me steal that homer away from Johnson? My glove was on fire!”

I hear a smile in her voice. “Yes, it was highway robbery. My heart was in my throat.”

“About killed myself hitting that wall but it was worth it. No pain, no glory.” I’m kind of bummed that she hasn’t mentioned my gift yet. I scratch my head. Maybe it wasn’t delivered.

“Did something show up there a couple days ago?” I ask.

“You mean the gargantuan inflatable skyscraper that takes up my entire front yard?” she says her voice saccharin sweet with that southern twang. Uh oh!

I do detect a smidgen of humor so I latch onto that. “You always did want to live in the city,” I say.

“August and Ava love it,” she says, her tone softening.

“That’s great! But not you?”

“I haven’t tried it out yet.”

“Why not? It’s a blast. What did August do when he first saw it?” I know in my eagerness I sound like the human version of a golden retriever but I can’t help it.

“He and Ava couldn’t wait to get in it. Ava had to practically drag him out of it. But we just can’t keep it up forever. It will kill off all the grass.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought about that. Look let Auggie enjoy it for a few weeks and I’ll look into donating it to the Children’s Hospital or some charity. It’s commercial grade.”

“You don’t say,” she says dryly.

“I get it. I may have overdone it a bit.”

“May have?”

“My buddy had one set up for his kid’s birthday party when I was playing out west. The kids went wild for it.”

“Oh. I wondered where you got the idea. That makes more sense. Did you ever think you could rent them?” she asks gently, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I guess I didn’t mess up too bad.

“Hey, I’m new at this. Enough of that, when can I see you both? We have a day off tomorrow.”

“We’ll get there, but first there’s something I need to address. Your mama paid me a little visit. Do you know anything about that?”

I sputter, “What? When? More importantly, why would she do that?”

“Guess.”

“She wanted to meet August?”

“Nope. She didn’t even try. She came to inform me that y’all would be meetin’ with your attorney to work out child custody arrangements. You sure you didn’t have a hand in it?”

“I swear I didn’t, Georgia. I’ll take care of this,” I say grimly. “I’m truly sorry about that.”

“Me too. Mama is furious. Wanted to call a family meetin’ to rally up the forces.”

“Geesh, last thing we need is for our families to stick their noses into our lives and complicate things even more. Especially Loretta. She’s a force of nature.” Dead silence greets my declaration and I immediately realize my mistake.

I clear my throat. “I mean you have to admit she is intimidating.”

“Unlike your mama who barged onto our property uninvited so she could threaten me?”

“Mom’s bark is worse than her bite.”

“As opposed to my mama? You’ve got a lot of nerve. My mom wouldn’t even think of trespassing to threaten someone!”

I scoff. “I remember some stories you told me, with pride, I might add, about your mom.”

“How dare you use my own words to crucify my mother!”

“I’m not trying to crucify your mom, I’m just saying she has done some pretty outrageous things, in my humble opinion.”

“Neither you nor your family would know humble if it bit you in the ass. Just like Mama says, y’all are full of yourselves.”

“Seriously? Are you calling me arrogant?”

“If the shoe fits.”

“Wow, really, Georgia?”

“Really, Cade. Are we done here?”

“When can I see my son?”

Her voice could forge metal. “I’ll have to check my calendar and get back to you.”

“I have a very tight schedule. We only get a handful of days off and we’re on the road half the month. If I wait until you cool off, whenever the hell that will be, I’ll be on the road again.”

“I guess you should have thought about that before you insulted my mama.”

“But it’s perfectly fine for you to insult me and my family, have I got that right?”

Silence.

“Georgia?”

“I’m here.”

“Well?”

“You say you’re off tomorrow?”

“Yep.”

“I work tomorrow at five. We can meet in the morning if that suits you.”

“Whenever you say. You call the shots.”

I hear her snort.

“How ‘bout you meet here at the house. You can test out your acquisition with August. I’ll see if Ava can watch August after your visit with him so we can have an adult talk.”

“What time?”

“Nine-thirty work for you?”

“I’ll be there. Geege, let’s not fight and for God’s sake we can’t let our parents get between us.”

I hear her blow out a breath. “I reckon.”

“Good. See you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Cade.”

She hangs up on my goodbye. I shake my head. Well, that didn’t go well. I immediately dial my mom.

“Hello dear, you made it home?” Mom answers.

Without a preamble, I dive right in. “Do you have any idea how far you’ve set me back with Georgia?”

“Set what back? You’re not a couple. You certainly don’t need her approval. You have rights as August’s father. I met with our attorney.”

“Mom, how could you?” I huff out a breath. “Things were going just too damn good.”

“Don’t be dramatic. Do you want your son growing up in a trailer while you live in your luxury condo?”

“A trailer is perfectly fine,” I say through gritted teeth. “August seems to be one of the most well-adjusted and happiest kids I’ve ever met. She’s doing something right.”

“Too soon to tell.”

“I don’t even recognize you right now. What in the hell did Georgia ever do to you?”

“Besides stealing the first two years of my grandson’s life from me? Isn’t that enough?”

“That was my fault. What was she supposed to do? I think it was incredibly brave to keep the child and try and raise him as a single mom. Besides that, what about before August? You never liked her back when we were dating.”

“And she proved my point. She’s selfish. She not only robbed us, she robbed August as well.”

“Mom please help me to understand what the actual hell is going on here?”

She sniffs. “What do you mean?”

“There is something I’m not getting here. Georgia and I only dated for five months or so. You met her what… a half dozen times?”

“And don’t forget her obnoxious family. Remember when we were invited to that hog roast?”

“I remember. We had a good time.”

“It was okay until Loretta had a little too much bourbon and decided I needed a makeover! In reality, it’s probably not so much Georgia as it is Loretta. That woman is vile. But the apple never falls far from the tree.”

“Now Mom, as I recall it, she only offered to do your hair for free, I didn’t see that as an insult.”

“First, she insulted my hairstyle and color then she practically called me a snob! She said my color was too brassy, that the blonde needed more highlights, it washed me out and the cut made my face look too round. I go to the finest salon in the city! Like she’d know more about color and style than my James does.”

I stifle a laugh. “She has been doing hair for a long time.”

“There you go taking her side again.”

“I’m not taking sides just stating a fact. What was the snob part?”

“Well after she’d insulted my hair she made some comment about my fancy car. You know, she acts like she’s the only person that has ever had to work for a living. My parents worked hard and we barely scraped by when I was growing up. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth, either.”

“Look at the bright side, you have that in common.”

“Oh brother,” she says and I can picture her eyes rolling.

“Mom, I need you to call Georgia and apologize for interfering.”

“Over my dead body! I am not backing down. Your father and I agree on this. You’re going to trust her and take her word on a handshake? What if you argue and she decides to use August to get to you? She could withhold him from seeing you on a whim.”

“She’d never do that, Mom.”

“How do you know? Like you said you only dated for five months. How well do you really know her?”

“I just know,” I say quietly.

“We’ll discuss this when you’re fresh, but I want you to think long and hard about it. You are no longer in the minors making forty thousand a year. You’re a successful MLB player making seven figures. You have to protect yourself, not only financially but concerning your time with August. What happens when you want to take a family vacation and she says no? With nothing more than a handshake you have no real say. What about the off-season? Will you get joint custody or will she think crumbs are enough? It won’t be easy for her to share her son. She’s had him all to herself for the last eighteen months.”

I’m feeling some doubt creep in. What if she does limit my time to a few hours here and there? I want much more than that.

Mom continues, “You can’t be so trusting. Leaving everything loose and casual will only cost you, not her. What if she starts seeing someone? You think they’ll want you in their lives?”

Jealousy rips through me like a lit fuse. “I’m sure she’ll be reasonable,” I say, sounding unconvincing, even to myself.

“Are you?”

“She’s given me no reason to doubt her.”

“Yet. Listen, honey, just promise me you’ll think about it. The lawyer stressed to us that it wouldn’t be prudent to leave this up to blind faith and a handshake. You need an enforceable legal agreement.”

I step out onto my balcony while Mom drones on. My apartment is dope. I have a gorgeous view of the Ohio River and cityscape. The river is a commercial waterway and bustling with river traffic. I absently watch a large cargo ship meander towards the bridge as I listen to Mom lecture me on the other end.

From my sixth-floor vantage point, I can see the minor league ballfield where I cut my teeth and the green space of the waterfront park area, where they hold concerts and festivals during warmer months. The view from my balcony is dope. It’s a killer mix of natural beauty and the city skyline. The riverbank has parks, trees and walking paths, and some mornings I jog along the river at dawn. The sunrise reflecting on the water is amazing. My favorite though, is the skyline at night when the bridge and buildings are all lit up.

“Honey, I know you must be exhausted. Settle in for the night and put this on the back burner. Sleep on it… it will still be there in the morning.”

“I’m meeting Auggie and Georgia at nine-thirty tomorrow morning. I’ll call you afterward. I’ll see if I can set up a time for you and Dad to meet your grandson.”

“Thank you. You do know I only want what’s best for you, and of course August.”

“I know. I’m too tired to think right now. I’m going to order a pizza and watch some baseball. Fingers crossed the team breathing down our backs loses tonight.”

“That sounds like a plan. Love you.”

“Love you too, Mom.” I hang up, my worry overtaking my exhaustion. Are Mom and Dad right that I’m being way too na?ve here? I mean, it does make sense to have some kind of legal agreement in place. Doesn’t it? It’s not a betrayal or anything against Georgia. I mean, after all, she didn’t have my best interests at heart all this time and I need to make sure I get to be a big part of my son’s life from now on.

An hour later I’m crashed on my couch feet propped on my coffee table, eating pizza in front of my sixty-five-inch flat screen. The St. Louis Archers are ahead by two runs in the seventh but the Redhawks are good at rallying. All I can say is, go Archers!