Page 26 of Dare to Live
The umpires got into position as the first batter approached the plate.
I angled my head at Nan. “Not sure.”Tomorrow if it were up to me.
“My husband and I keep wondering when Lacey will get pregnant and how that will work for the team.”
I found it interesting that Nan and her husband were thinking along those lines, and I was happy to hear that at least one of the players was already considering the possibility.
“What does Steve think of Lacey getting pregnant during the season?” Not that his opinion mattered, but if some of the team had been talking about it, I was curious what they thought.
She fiddled with a chain around her neck as her red lips parted into a smile. “Steven and I agree that whenever Lacey gets pregnant, she should still be allowed to play up until she can’t. She’s in great shape. So physically, it’s doable. I know women athletes like runners who get pregnant and still play their sport.”
I sighed quietly. As much as the Sea Dogs might be onboard to support Lacey with a pregnancy, it would be interesting to see how they would actually react. Maybe Lacey was right. Maybe the team wouldn’t re-sign her after she gave birth. As much as I would like to think the organization would support Lacey, baseball was all about the bottom line. If Lacey couldn’t play, then they would lose money.
Nan waved her fan in front of her. The weather was humid, and the night air was dead with no breeze. “If you time it right, you could have the baby in the off-season. Then she’s ready to go when spring training rolls around.”
I grinned because Nan had a plan for us all figured out. “Have you shared any of this with Lacey?” Lacey had had dinner with Nan and her husband on occasion. Maybe hearing those thoughts from someone other than me would give my wife some hope that she could have baseball and a family.
Nan nodded. “I think Lacey is afraid to go down that path. She shared with me that she’s concerned the team will drop her. But they can’t. If she’s under contract, she’s locked in, and besides, with the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, no company or team can just end her contract without a good enough reason.”
I recalled that when Lacey had tried out for the Dodgers right after college, one of the scouts had told me that very thing. And while the laws were in place, my wife was afraid the team would use some excuse to let her go.
I glanced out at Lacey, who was winding up her pitch. When she released the ball, the batter swung and missed.
A group of young girls sitting off to our left shouted Lacey’s name, cheering her on.
“It doesn’t matter where we go. Everyone loves her,” Nan said.
I wasn’t surprised. Lacey was becoming an icon in the industry and forging a new path for girls of all ages.
“We do want kids, so I’m hoping we can get there one day,” I said to Nan as if she were my counselor.
She patted my leg. “You will.”
I knew we would. The question was when.
We settled in to watch the game. Lacey struck out the first batter in four pitches. She wiped the sweat from her brow with the sleeve of her uniform. She circled the mound, dug her foot into the dirt, glanced around the field, and shook her head. Her shoulders hunched. Then she stilled, lowered her head, and puffed out her cheeks.
A boulder dropped into my stomach. Something was wrong.
“Is she okay?” Nan asked.
“She wasn’t feeling well this morning,” I said almost to myself.
“It’s probably the humidity. It’s been awful the last few days,” Nan added.
True.I was hoping the game would end now so we could get back to the air-conditioned hotel room.
She cocked her leg and released the ball. The pitch flew over the umpire’s head. The ball hit the backstop with a thud.
For the second time that day, her tryouts in high school flashed like lightning in front of me.
I stiffened, swallowed the sand in my throat, and prayed she wasn’t about to puke. She’d puked during her tryouts with the Dodgers, mainly because of nerves. Surely she didn’t have any nerves now. She’d been playing the game with the same team for two years.
Steve jogged out to the mound to hand her the ball. They exchanged some words, then he resumed his position behind home plate.
The batter stepped into the box, readied his stance, and waited for Lacey to pitch.
Lacey settled in, taking inventory of the field and the runner at first base. She eyed the batter, home plate, and the catcher. As she wound up to release the ball, her body became a rag doll.
