Epilogue
Easton
Love. It’s fucking everywhere. I always had my teammates and Peeper’s to count on, but one by one, love has slipped through the cracks here too.
I grew up with parents who loved one another. Hell, they were the couple everyone talked about in our small Alaskan town. Their story is probably written somewhere in the Lake Starlight archives.
I’m a Bailey, and in Lake Starlight, that means something.
The problem is I’m now the problem child of my family.
I moved away, which is fine with them, but I have no interest in settling down, which none of my family understands.
Jesus, even my sister is settled with a kid.
If someone had bet on which of us would have been married with a kid first, most would have bet on me.
I’m not stupid like my teammates. I’m not saying love isn’t for me. I’m just saying it’s not for me right now. I only have a few more good years to play ball before some hot new shortstop comes for my spot. And I don’t plan on going down without a fight.
I can’t say love doesn’t look nice though.
I glance around the back room at Peeper’s.
First there was Hayes. He didn’t stand a chance. It was his first full year with us, so I don’t know who he was before coming to the Colts, but the rumors would suggest that he wasn’t looking for love. Now, he’s sitting here with four kids and a wife. What the hell?
Lake and Lincoln are arguing at the pinball game about whose turn it is.
“You two break it, and they’re paying.” Ruby points at Hayes and Leighton.
They both mumble sorrys. Everyone is a little afraid of Ruby.
“I told you two.” Leighton gets up to talk to them both while Hayes holds their new baby girl, Flora, named after the Flora Conservatory. She had to be named after a Chicago landmark.
The name thing is a long story, all of us were vying for the naming rights. I personally liked River for the Chicago River.
After them, the one man I thought would be my ride or die in bachelorhood fell. Who the hell saw Foster Davis settling down?
He used to walk into a room and make it smaller just by being in it. Now, he’s walking over to Callie as she places a dart in their eighteen-month-old Ellis’s hand.
“You can’t give her a dart,” he says.
“She wants to throw at the dartboard.” Callie tips her head to the side.
“And she’ll poke her eye out.” He takes the dart out of Ellis’s hand, and she cries.
Callie snickers at Leighton and Penelope.
“Fine.” He gives it back to Ellis.
Callie walks her up to the dartboard and presses it into the board with Foster’s help.
I remember Foster Davis in college. I remember him in the minors. I remember the younger version of him who would have made fun of the man he is today.
And last, my best friend on the team, Decker. I’m still not over the fact that we almost lost him as a teammate. The Colts wouldn’t have been the same without him.
Deep down, I always knew he was a believer in love. But he masked it well.
Decker and Penelope couldn’t get their shit together for so many years. Now look at him, sitting there with Penelope on one side and Hazel on the other, sneaking french fries to a golden retriever in a sports bar.
“Gentle, Sparkles,” he says, feeding the dog a fry from the Portillo’s they brought with them.
Did he even get a say in what they named their dog?
Love. Ugh.
They’re all happy. Even Decker and Foster have squashed whatever shit was coming between them.
From what Decker told me, therapy got them to where they are today.
It’s nice that we can all be in the same room without tension rising every time one of them says something to the other.
The other day, I overhead Foster talking about their mom moving to Chicago to be closer to Ellis and Hazel.
So, I’m alone on the single train now. And that’s fine because I have the Chipmunks, although I wish their offseason coincided with mine.
“Another round of chocolate milks?” Ruby comes in with a tray for the kids.
Is this really my life now?
Sadly, it is. I love my friends, but I feel a little left out.
That doesn’t mean I’m going to try to find someone to settle down with though.
I check my phone.
There’s a text.
I read it.
I put my phone in my pocket, and I look around the table one more time. Decker with his family. Foster with his. Hayes with his. The dog on the floor who’s already won Ruby over. Just look at the dog treat on the tray of chocolate milks.
I finish my beer and stand. “All right.” I grab my jacket off the back of the chair. “I’m out.”
Everyone looks at me, then at each other.
“Where are you going?” Decker asks.
“Out.”
“It’s eight thirty.” Foster frowns.
“I’m aware.”
“You never leave before eleven,” Hayes says.
“New chapter.” I slide my arms into the sleeves of my jacket, then walk over to the door.
The whole table is still watching me. They never mind their own business. I can’t fault them—I don’t either.
I stop right before I open the door and hear Ruby talking on the other side. “What the hell? This is a bar, not the safe haven baby box at the fire department.” A few seconds later she walks in with a baby carrier.
“Now they’re just being delivered by the stork? Slow down, guys. I’ll never catch up.” I laugh and look back at my friends.
They all have confused expressions on their faces—eyebrows drawn, downturned smiles, widened eyes.
“It was a joke. Excuse me, Rubes, I got somewhere to be.” I try to slide past her, but she thrusts the carrier at me. “Rubes?”
I peek my head in the carrier. The baby is cute. Dark hair with a slight auburn tint. From the blue clothes, I assume it’s a boy, but who really knows. “He’s cute.” I twist my body to get past her and through the door.
“This was just delivered for you.” She leaves me no choice but to grab the carrier in my arms.
“Funny, Rubes. Last thing I ordered from Uber Eats was Thai food, not a baby.”
The sound of chairs scraping across the floor echoes through the room, and suddenly all the women are huddled at my side.
“Oh, he is cute,” Leighton says.
“He has the most adorable little nose.” Callie taps it lightly with her index finger.
“And looks at his little lips moving as he sleeps.” Penelope reaches in and runs her finger down his arm.
“What’s going on, Rubes?” I look after her, but she’s already half out the door.
“A guy came in and said there was a delivery for someone here. Your name is on the letter.”
“Letter?” Callie reaches in and finds it sandwiched between the baby’s arm and the side of the carrier.
Sure enough, my name is on the envelope. And so there could be no mistake that it was meant for some other Easton, my jersey number is scribbled right next to my name.
“Holy shit,” Decker mumbles behind me.
I turn and place the baby carrier on the table, and everyone surrounds the little one.
“Can I hold it?” Monroe asks.
“Not now, sweetie,” Leighton says.
“What is this? A joke?” I look around, hoping someone else is connecting the dots differently than I am.
“I don’t think it’s a joke, Kodiak, I think you’re a dad.” Hayes reaches the same conclusion I have.
“Hey,” Callie says quickly, grabbing my arm. “Breathe.”
I try.
My ears start ringing.
The edges of my vision go fuzzy.
And I’m vaguely aware of more chairs skidding along the floor right before everything goes black.
Decker and Penelope's get a sweeter happily ever after and Easton Bailey is about to find himself in the kind of trouble even his charm can't fix.