Page 33 of The Double Play

She shrugs. “I’ve dealt with my fair share of creeps in Nashville. Stands to reason I’d have to deal with them in New York.”

Willow and Jason laugh, but my stomach turns as I think about Hazel alone on the streets with no one to protect her.

“Daddy, those guys smelled weird,” June says, wrinkling her nose.

Hazel laughs and glances up at me. “I think they smoked cigarettes.”

“Say no to drugs!” June shouts at an entirely too loud decibel. A few passersby give us odd looks.

“Where did you learn that?” I ask June.

“These people came by our school and taught us about drugs and strangers,” June answers.

I run a hand over my beard. “I didn’t know they did that in kindergarten, but okay.”

“It was for the whole school. There were a billion trillion people there, and the boys smelled very sweaty from recess,” she says, eliciting more laughs from my friends.

“Thank you for sharing,” Hazel says through her laughter. “How about we go get a cookie now?”

“Cookie! I want chocolate chip.”

I breathe easier knowing they’re safe and the conversation has shifted away from drugs. I don’t think I have the mental capacity to deal with that right now.

We continue our walk, and this time, I stand next to Hazel while Jason bookends the group next to Willow. June skips happily in the middle, making up a song about cookies.

“I think this is the place,” Willow says as we come across a baby blue storefront. There’s a scalloped awning over top and a sign above that readsThe Little Lovely Caféin cursive script. I hold the door open as everyone walks inside.

The scent of sugar and freshly brewed coffee wraps around us. There are lit glass cases filled with pastries, and a woman with dark brown skin and blue braids greets us with a smile.

“Welcome in, let me know if you have any questions.”

Everyone except June murmurs a form of acknowledgment. My daughter is too busy sticking her tiny nose to the glass to say anything. I take her by the shoulders and gently pull her back.

“Don’t lean on the glass, okay?” I say and she nods.

“The cookies are the biggest I’ve ever seen,” she says in awestruck wonder.

Her tone isn’t without cause though. The cookies are huge, and they’d probably hide June’s entire face if she held one up.

“You might want some caffeine to be able to handle the sugar rush that’s about to occur,” Willow says with a laugh.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Hazel says.

“Order whatever you like,” I tell Hazel.

“Are you sure?” she asks. “I know it wasn’t planned for me to come along today.”

“I invited you. I’m not going to have you pay.”

She places a hand on my arm, catching me off guard. “Thank you, and thank you for inviting me and for protecting us from those men–” Moisture gathers in her green eyes like dew on spring grass. “Goodness, I’m a sap today. You must think I’m ridiculous.” She lets out a laugh and swipes beneath her eyes.

“I don’t think that.”

Her gaze catches mine again. I read the question in her eyes, but I don’t have a response for her. Not one that wouldn’t put both June and me in danger of getting hurt. So I break our moment with reality. “We should probably order and get going. I don’t want to be late to the stadium.” She nods, then steps up to the counter and orders a chocolate chip cookie for June, one for herself, and then a strawberry matcha latté. I decline to get anything so that there’s nothing heavy on my stomach before the game tonight. In the end, Jason pays for everyone, so my conversation with Hazel didn’t matter after all. At least, that’s what I’m going to tell myself.

Jason pauses in the doorway as I hold it for everyone to exit. “I’ll leave things alone,” he says in a low voice so the others can’t hear. “But just let me say one more thing: don’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.”

I can’t help the chuckle that escapes me at his cheesy quote. He saunters off to throw his arm around his wife. She shoves him away as he tries to steal a bite of her croissant. In spite of my aversion to marriage, it looks good on him. He’s happier than I’ve ever seen him, and he’s always been an upbeat guy. Sure, it’s made him extra annoying, but…I guess it’s all right if he’s happy.

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