Page 51

Kelsey

M y dad was more excited than I expected to go to the game.

He’d never been to a game in New York before, and the rivalry between Boston and the Bronx was one of the biggest in baseball.

Sam had already left for the stadium when Dad arrived at the hotel.

We had checked in for him in advance, and his room was ready.

“Hey guys,” Dad said as Crew and I greeted him. He took the baby from my arms, and Crew giggled and nuzzled into his arms.

“How was the train?”

“Uneventful. This place is fantastic. You’ll get used to living like this, won’t you?”

“What are you asking, Dad?” My father never asked direct questions, but I always understood when there was a more significant motive behind his questions or statements.

“Are you two together?” he asked as we made our way through the hotel to the large glass elevators, which offered a prime view of the city skyline.

“We are.”

Dad sighed, “I figured that would happen. I won’t say I don’t have reservations, but it’s not because of anything I’ve seen in him. It’s this guy I worry about,” he said with a nod towards Crew and a kiss on the top of his head.

The elevator stopped, and the doors opened to the correct floor. I led my father to his room, explaining that our rooms connected and that I had already set Crew’s bassinet up for him.

“We have late dinner reservations, and Sam wanted to go out for drinks afterward.”

“Are you planning to have a drink?”

“Probably. But I doubt I’ll have more than one. I left you plenty of breast milk in the refrigerator. I’ll pump when I get home and dump it out.”

My mother had breastfed all three of us, and Dad was not at all squeamish about talking about pumping or breast milk.

I was lucky to have such a supportive and involved father; he had been disappointed with my surprise pregnancy for less than twenty-four hours before he jumped head-first into being a grandfather.

“I picked up a new book to read to him tonight, though, with my luck, he’ll go right to sleep.

” Dad had been buying a new book every week and made it a point to read to Crew every night he watched him.

He swore that his reading to me when I was a baby was key to my love of reading.

“Whatever happened with work the other night? How come you didn’t need me to babysit? ”

I looked down at my feet, “I got fired when I asked for more time off.”

“Shit, what are you going to do?” Concern was etched on his face, along with judgment, as we headed toward our luxury hotel suites.

“Whelp, I’ve got a meeting with the higher-ups in the Minutemen organization. I’ve been working on a plan for a local non-profit with one of the other team wives.”

“Is that an income?” His concern was evident as he squeezed Crew just a little tighter.

“Not yet, but moving home is a giant weight off my chest. I figured I could drive Uber, but Sam isn’t comfortable with that. Sam is generous, but our worlds are so different, Dad.”

“I don’t want the stress of losing your job to push you into a relationship you aren’t ready to have.”

“All this,” I said, gesturing to the luxury hotel room, “it’s a lot. But Sam is much more real than anyone I’ve ever met.”

“You’ve never been one to get stars in your eyes. I’ve said this before, but I’ll be there to help you no matter what happens. I can’t offer you luxury homes, but you and Crew will always have a roof over your head. No questions asked.”

“You and Mom aren’t ready for your kids to grow up,” I joked. Since the day we left the house, they had been trying to encourage us to move back home.

“Yeah, well, I loved being a dad. Since you guys left the house, it’s like I lost that part of my identity,” he said sadly.

“Maybe you and Mom should take advantage of the time by yourself? Travel. See the world.”

“That’s the plan,” he said before getting quiet.

“Mom’s promotion was great for her, but it set back your plans together.”

“I’ve been working on a surprise trip to Paris for our anniversary. She thinks I’m planning two weeks in Maine, and she’s making things incredibly difficult. She doesn’t want to ask for the time off from work, and I don’t want to book things if she can’t get the time off.”

“Let me know if you think I can do anything to help. Do you need to shower and change before we head to the game?”

“Just change, give me ten minutes. Oh, are you eating ballpark garbage with me tonight?”

“Ugh, I wish. I need to save some appetite for a fancy dinner later. But if you need someone to take a couple of chicken fingers off your hands, I got you.”