The freakiness of losing my feet was one thing, but losing the private part of me was another. That had disappeared earlier, but it was still traumatic. Jack laughed at me when I told him I had no idea what was going on down there. He promised to keep an eye on it for me. How comforting.
The sound of someone shuffling to the seat next to me stopped me from feeling sorry for myself. I turned to see a girl I didn’t recognize. The poor thing, she looked terrified.
“Hi,” she said softly, her long brown hair falling in front of her brown eyes as she directed her gaze toward the field in front of us.
“Hi. You must be new.” I hesitated, wondering if this girl was actually the girlfriend of someone on the team, or just a weekend fling. I’d seen enough girls come and go over the years that I finally understood why the other wives tended to keep their distance, but it still didn’t explain the outright nastiness once they knew the girl belonged to one of the players. There was no acceptable reason for that kind of behavior.
She nodded. “My boyfriend just got called up from the Salt Lake City team.”
“What position does he play?” I hoped he wasn’t a pitcher. Don’t ask me why, since I knew the team’s roster carried more pitchers than any other position on the team. I think it boiled down to my being scared for Jack. The whole thing with the Mets had scarred me. I’d learned the hard way how disposable and replaceable the players were once they no longer fit the team’s long-term goals.
“He’s a catcher,” she said, and I recognized the pride beaming in her eyes.
“How long have you guys been dating?” I asked. She looked so young. A lot younger than I knew I looked when Jack was called up.
“A few years. We’re high school sweethearts.” A breath escaped as she glanced down at my belly. “And you? Who’s your husband?”
“Oh, I’m Cassie,” I answered, extending my hand toward hers. She grabbed it for a firm shake. “Jack Carter’s my husband. And he did this to me.” I looked down at my monstrosity with chagrin as she giggled.
“I’m Shawna. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Cassie? Cassie!” Ashley’s voice interrupted our conversation and I turned my sunglass-covered face toward hers.
“Yeah?”
“Why don’t you come sit next to me,” she said coyly, patting the empty seat to her right.
“I’m okay, thanks,” I told her. “I probably won’t stay the whole game.” I’d stopped sitting for Jack’s entire games as soon as it got too uncomfortable to stay in those chairs for almost three hours. A few times I’d snuck downstairs into the tunnels, where it was cool, to wait for Jack. Even if the weather hadn’t warmed up entirely, this baby kept me plenty heated.
“Are you going to switch seats?” Shawna asked.
“Nah. I’m fine right here. A word of advice—don’t take it personally if the other wives don’t go out of their way to play nice at first. It’s just what they do until your boyfriend has paid his dues to the team.” I wanted to warn her that the other women wouldn’t be as kind as I was. And since she and her boyfriend had been together since they were kids, I feared she wouldn’t be strong enough to handle it.
She glanced past me at the rows of other women and shrugged. “I’ve dealt with worse. The girls that tried to come on to Bryce while he was playing in the minor leagues were disgusting. They were relentless and disrespectful. At least these women aren’t trying to take him away from me.”
I nodded in understanding. “Oh, Shawna, you have no idea. Remind me one day to tell you our story. But not now. I’m way too tired.”
She flashed a pretty smile at me. “I’ll hold you to that.”
During the seventh inning stretch, I stood up and walked around the stadium. My aching feet were no match for my lower back; I needed to walk it off. Heading down the stairs, I marched through the concrete hallway toward the locker room. Hoping that Jack would shower quickly and not leaving me standing out here for long, I rubbed my back and concentrated on breathing. Robert, the security guard, sat on a metal folding chair, watching me.
“Any day now, right, Mrs. Carter?” he asked as he removed his ball cap and scratched the top of his balding head.
“With any luck,” I said, smiling.
He nodded. “Well, you look fantastic. Absolutely glowing.”
“Thank you, Robert. That’s kind of you to say.” I continued to smile, but doubted his words. I knew I looked like a freaking cow, and who knew what my feet looked like since I’d lost them.
The quiet tunnel became noisy as the rest of the wives and girlfriends started to file in around me. A moment later, Jack burst through the doors and headed right for me.
“Hello, Kitten,” he purred in my ear before falling to his knees and kissing my belly. “Hello, baby.” He had started doing this after every game and I loved it; we didn’t care who watched.
“Did you shower? The other wives just got here.”
“No need, since I didn’t play today, and I know how uncomfortable you are. I don’t want you sitting out here waiting for me when I can shower at home.”
“Thank you,” I said with relief, sincerely happy with his thoughtfulness.
“Anything for my girl. And my boy.” He smiled, his dimples appearing. “How are you feeling?”
“My back hurts, but otherwise I’m okay.”
He grabbed my hand in his and I waddled a step behind him. Yes, I waddled; my new form of locomotion could no longer be considered walking. Once we entered the parking lot, Jack slowed his pace before popping the trunk of our black BMW and unlocking the doors. He opened the passenger door for me and helped me inside before tossing his bag into the back of the car.