Page 97 of My Life with the Walter Boys
“Are you going to ignore me for the rest of the day? Because I can be quite annoying if I want to.” Isaac started poking me repetitively in the cheek.
Pushing his hand away, I answered. “I sure can. Now be quiet. Alex is up.”
All three of us fell silent and watched as Alex hit a grounder. It rolled right between two infielders, and he made it to second base before they could get the ball.
“Go, Alex!” I shouted excitedly, jumping up and down.
“Oh, Alex!” Isaac squealed in a girly voice. “You’re so damn sexy that I was making out in the closet with your older brother!”
Danny choked on air as he tried not to laugh. I spun around and whacked Isaac on the shoulder again.
“Dang, Jackie! You’re going to bruise my delicate skin,” he complained, rubbing the sore spot.
“Good,” I said and sat back down to watch the next hitter.
Danny’s phone rang. “Hey, Dad,” he said in greeting. “Right now?” He paused. “Okay, I’ll be there in a few.” He clicked his phone shut and turned to us. “I have to go pick Zack and Benny up from their soccer game.”
At this, I frowned. There were still four innings left. Danny had driven us, so how would we get home if he left?
“I’m coming too,” Isaac said and stood up.
“But what about the rest of the game?” I asked.
“You can stay if you want,” Isaac suggested. “Alex rode his bike here. He can give you a ride home on the pegs.”
***
“You did great today,” I told Alex when he found me after the game was over. His team had won by three runs.
He pulled me into a hug. “Thanks, Jackie. I’m really glad you came.”
“You’re all sweaty,” I squealed, trying to squirm away. He was going to ruin my shirt.
“You don’t like that?” he asked with a laugh, locking his arms tightly behind my back.
“No! Alex, let go,” I said, but gave in with a laugh.
Clouds had rolled in near the end of the game, covering the hot sun, but the air was still humid, making our bodies stick together.
“Where’d everyone go?” he asked, letting his arms hang loose.
“Danny had to pick Zack and Benny up. I wanted to stay, so I was hoping you could give me a ride home on your bike. You’re not too tired, are you?”
“A little,” he said, slinging his arm over my shoulder. “But it will be my pleasure.”
We made it about halfway home when it started to pour. Alex pulled off the road and onto a gravel pathway that led to a small, rundown pavilion as lightning flashed across the sky. I jumped off the back of the bike and ran under the overhang to get out of the rain. Taking a ponytail holder off my wrist, I pulled my damp hair out of my face. After leaning his bike up against the brick wall, Alex pulled out his phone and called home. He had a quick conversation with someone and then sat down on an old wooden picnic table that was covered in graffiti.
“Someone is coming to get us,” he said.
I nodded, looking out over a grassy clearing. “What is this place?” I asked.
There was a boarded-up concessions stand, and beyond the structure was a grassy meadow with a large section that was flat and brown. It looked like a dried-up pond.
“It used to be an outdoor ice-skating rink during the winter months,” Alex said, following my gaze out to what must have been the ice patch. Alex took one of my hands and rubbed my skin gently with his thumb. “Ever been skating before?”
It was a harmless question, yet I still felt a sudden jab at my heart.
“Yeah,” I said slowly. “My family had this tradition where we’d go to the rink at Rockefeller Center on my mom’s birthday. I don’t remember how it started since my mom wasn’t very good, but we did it every year.”
