Chapter 19
“You look terrible.”
“Oh, thank you. That is what every brother wants to hear from his sister who was just in the hospital.”
Alfie settled back on his couch with his computer in front of him. He tried not to think about what Rhys might be doing right now. About the look in his eyes before he’d left the locker room.
“Well, I’m not a prude…”
Alfie did not want to think about that, either, so instead he focused on his family. That was all that mattered. It was all that could matter.
Marisa laughed. “I know Papi told you not to worry. You did not listen to him, did you? Is that why your team lost the game? I am fine, Alfredo.”
“It is not why we lost,” Alfie said. No, he couldn’t help thinking they lost because Rhys had not been out there.
The Sailors would have had less stolen bases if it had been Rhys instead of Oscar behind the plate.
Oscar was a decent catcher, but he didn’t have Rhys’s perception or arm.
“You were in the hospital. That tells me you are not fine.”
Marisa sighed. Before she could say anything, another square opened on the screen. His parents and Lucero sat there. “You did not have to call a meeting, Alfredo,” his father said, his voice as slow and steady as always. “I told you what you needed to know.”
Two more squares popped up. Rosa and Jen sitting together in one. Carmina, his third sister, in the other.
“We are all here now,” Lucero said. “Can we get this family meeting started? There’s still some light outside, and I need to practice my pitching.”
Their mother sent the youngest of them a quelling look. He slumped back in his chair, but he continued to work a baseball around in his fingers.
“What happened today?” Alfie asked. “Marisa, why were you taken to the hospital?”
She sighed, again, and leaned against her husband. “I told you, Alfredo. I got a little lightheaded when I stood up. It scared Eugenio.”
“You fainted,” Eugenio said, his voice grating through the computer’s microphone. “I did not panic over nothing.”
“Like I said, I stood up too fast. The doctor said it can happen. Especially when one of the babies is pushing on a nerve.”
So, Alfie had not misread that text earlier. Sure enough, even his father was beaming. The last time he’d seen that look on his face, Alfie thought it was when he’d been drafted. Even then he had not looked quite so proud.
“Babies?” Rosa was the only other one staring with her mouth open. “I did not even know you were pregnant.” Or that they had been trying. She and Eugenio had been married for nearly six months, but that did not mean anything.
“Neither did I.” Rosa crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“I know.” Alfie might have detected an apologetic note in Marisa’s voice. “I only wanted to tell Mami until we were out of the danger zone. If we lost this one too…”
She kept talking but all Alfie could hear in his head was static. If he’d had headphones on, he would have thought they were malfunctioning. No, that wasn’t the case. He had known nothing about the first pregnancy or a loss. No one had told him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
His thoughts, but in his sister’s voice. He looked at the image of Rosa on his screen and saw some of his own feelings reflected in her eyes.
“What were you going to do, Rosalita?” Marisa asked. “You were just getting into your last semester, and you had a lot going on.”
“You didn’t think you could tell me you were pregnant? Or that you’d had a miscarriage. Do you think I wouldn’t have cared?”
“That is not what I thought,” Marisa said, her own voice rising. “You are not here, though. What could you have done but be saddened by the loss?”
“I could have sent you more money,” Alfie said. “What do you need for this baby?”
“We do not need anything from you, Alfredo.” Marisa shifted her gaze slightly. “You gave us enough for the wedding. I know you’re sending money to Mami and Papi for Lucero’s school. Do you have money left over for yourself?”
“I do not need for much. My housing is covered, the team covers transportation.”
“What about your boy?” Carmina asked. “Don’t you want to take him out?”
“Carmina,” their mother scolded. “You should not tease him about Rhys.”
Alfie could feel fire spreading through his cheeks. “Rhys is only my friend. If he wants to go out, he can pay his own way.”
“Only a friend. Right. Rosalita has sent us pictures of the way you look at him.”
Alfie shifted his gaze to Rosa, the little traitor. Her own cheeks looked ruddy, and she wouldn’t look at her screen. “He’s a friend,” Alfie said again. “That’s it.”
“If you wanted—”
“I need to go.” Alfie interrupted his mother, even though he knew that was rude of him. He did not want to go through this again. He was grateful for the way his parents accepted their children the way they were, but he didn’t want to get into this right now.
Rhys was just a friend. It would stay that way. He just needed the willpower to stay away from him. Before he ended up ruining everything.