Chapter 35
LANEY
It’s official. I’m not ready for the summer heat.
A benefit of Utah is that the humidity level is low.
We’ve been in several states in the Midwest, and now we’re on the East Coast, where they’re in an early heat wave.
I’ve already worn a couple of skirts I brought on the trip and had to resort to wearing black slacks.
With two more games before we head home, I’ll need to do some shopping after this game so I won’t have to do laundry.
The team played well, but a minor error in the last inning cost us a run, and we lost four to three.
I get back on the bus, sitting toward the front. Jessa is already zoned in on her computer, flipping back and forth between her spreadsheets and the various websites she uses to upload content.
“Hey,” I say, leaning back against the seat.
“It’s hot out there, huh?” Jessa says with a quick smile.
“Way too hot. Want to go shopping with me?” I ask, giving her a crazy grin.
She frowns. “I would love to, but I’m flying out tonight.”
“What do you mean? I thought you were here as long as the team is.”
She closes her laptop and turns to me. “Nick quit this morning. So we’re going to have to interview more people for the team. My boss is anxious to get it filled as soon as possible because of the increase in visibility since we started doing more social media posts.”
Sadness fills me, but I know what that’s like.
“I get it. Do you need a buddy to get to the airport?”
She laughs. “I appreciate it. I’ll just take a rideshare to get there. But I’ll see you at home in a few days.”
“Why did Nick quit? Didn’t he just start?” I ask.
“I haven’t gotten all the details yet, but I think his thought process was that he’d be promoted within a month or two. And he didn’t do as well with the schedule and posting.”
“Gotcha.”
“Do you need to send anything home with me?” she asks.
I shake my head. “Unless you want to take my laundry home.”
“I draw the line at dirty clothes, Zelinski,” Jessa says, grinning at me.
The hotel isn’t far from the ballpark, and instead of heading up to the room, I start walking toward a few stores I want to try.
My phone rings.
“Hey, Grammie.”
“Hello, Laney dear. How did your game go today?”
“They lost by one. What are you up to? How are the animals?”
“They’re good. We’re watching the lacrosse game.”
I stop walking and wait for further explanation on that. “You found a lacrosse game on the TV?”
There’s way too much background noise for that, but it could be several things.
“No, we got tickets to see the Lancers play. Grandpa is acting like this is the greatest day of his life, when he knows marrying me should be.”
I chuckle, trying to put together the pieces on this. “What made you decide to go?”
“To be honest, I enjoyed the little party as much as Grandpa did. We wanted to see this in action. Your friend Burton is playing again.”
Hearing that from my grandmother and not from him is like a slice to the chest, but I can’t do anything about it. Well, I could, but I’m not forcing a relationship on anyone. Life is too short to do that.
“Well, I hope they do well.” I pause, wondering if there’s a specific reason why she called.
“Have you checked the Furever Homes app in a while?” she asks.
I grin. “Yes. Did you see the thread of the cute puppies? They’re so little.”
“Yes, I told Grandpa we need another dog around the house. He surprised me with one this morning.”
“Grandpa picked you up a dog? Without you seeing it?”
“I know it’s hard to believe, but sometimes he doesn’t mess things up.”
I laugh harder than I have in a while. “I’m excited to meet the puppy. Are you sure you’re ready to have another animal?”
“What’s one more when you live in a zoo?”
“That’s true,” I say. My cheeks hurt from laughing and smiling so hard. Leave it to Grammie to turn a meh day around. “Any other news?”
“No, I just wanted to check in on you. Make sure you’re hydrating while you’re there. We saw on the weather that the temperature and humidity are high.”
“They are off the charts right now. I’m heading to a store to buy something that’s not pants.”
“Good idea. Oh, intermission is over, so I’ve got to go. Love you!”
The phone clicks, and I laugh that she called it intermission in a lacrosse game. And the fact that my grandfather bought her a puppy because she thought it was so cute.
Someday I’ll find my someone. Hopefully he’ll be like my grandpa.
I push away the thought that in many ways, Burton is like him. That ship is far from shore right now, and I can’t worry about it.
My main goal is to find something comfortable for the next two games and go from there.