It was one of those ridiculously beautiful days at the ballpark. The rich blue of the sky reflected off the still water of the surrounding bay, and the gentle breeze sent diamonds of light scattering across McCovey Cove. Everyone seemed intent on having a good time.
Everyone except Alana.
She wished she were anywhere but there. But Jackie had played the girlfriend card hard and had phoned, texted and emailed every day since their disastrous boat outing. She’d even managed to get Alex to leave her a message, although her cousin wasn’t nearly as persuasive as Jackie. It’d been five days since she’d seen Matt, but it felt like an age. Jackie had even insisted that Alana meet her at her place in the headlands and ride in Jackie's truck to the stadium.
It was the second annual day at the park benefitting the California Marine Mammal Center. Alana thought of it as Jackie’s center, but Jackie reminded her that they had a paid staff of twenty, six hundred dedicated volunteers, and satellite rescue centers up and down the coast. Jackie had met and fallen in love with Alex when he’d volunteered at the Center. Alana envied the great relationship they had. Both pursued their careers and respected each other’s pursuits, but one look at them and she knew that their love came first.
The Giants’ mascot walked over to them and jiggled the belly of his seal costume in Alana’s face. When she didn’t laugh, he handed her an orange and black baseball cap. She started to tuck it in her purse but to the mascot’s delight, Jackie snatched it from her and plunked it on Alana’s head.
“I’ve been to more baseball games since you married Alex than I’ve been to in my whole life,” Alana said, trying to lighten up.
“Me too,” Jackie said with a laugh. “I’m actually beginning to understand what happens out there. It may take me a decade or so, but I’m amazed at the nuance, the layers of complexity. I once did the calculations of the positions of the bases and the distances. How anyone ever figured out how to set them just right to make the game so challenging is a mystery to me.”
“And the glute factor,” Alana added, lowering her sunglasses and winking over the top. “Let’s not forget the glutes.”
“I’m more of a biceps girl myself,” Jackie said with a light toss of her head. “So, where’s Marcel?”
“He hates baseball. Doesn’t like any sort of competition unless it involves champagne. He’s up at Ferrer. Turns out California champagne can lure even a Frenchman. He’ll be back this afternoon.”
Jackie fished in her purse and came up with a fat envelope.
“Thought you’d enjoy these. Alex is turning into quite the photographer.”
Alana flipped through the photos from the Boys and Girls gala at the ranch. She had the lurking suspicion that they’d been culled from a much larger collection. Most of the shots were of her laughing with Matt, dancing with Matt, greeting guests in the reception line with Matt. The last photo stopped her. She was looking at someone off camera. Matt was looking at her. The look in his eye was nothing short of adoring.
“I’m getting the distinct impression that you set this whole thing up, Jackie.”
“I always blame Alex for such things.”
Alana turned toward the field. Alex was taking batting practice. Matt was fielding grounders at short. He looked up and their gaze met. Alana looked away.
“This was a bad idea,” Alana said, pulling the baseball cap down and slouching into her seat. “It’s making me feel worse.”
“Got to feel worse sometimes before you feel better.”
“Thanks, Dr. Brandon. Does that philosophy work for seals too?”
“Still working on their linguistic skills. As soon as I can tell them, I’ll let you know.”
“The thing with Matt is over. I screwed it up, maybe on purpose. You were there. You saw what happened. It can’t go anywhere—I just can’t do the stepmother thing. It wouldn’t be fair to anybody.’
“Does he have a say?”
“Look, I like him too much to just sleep with him. Way too much. And I’m pretty sure he’s not wired for casual. The bigger problem is, after being with him, I might not be wired for casual anymore either.”
“And just maybe you’re not as ill-suited to be in a relationship as you think.”
“You don’t know my history,” Alana said with a shrug. “Someday when we have a gallon of merlot and some straws, I’ll fill you in.”
“You have a good heart, Alana. The rest comes. Life surprises us all.”
How good her heart was, she didn’t know, but it sure felt raw. And letting Matt Darrington slip inside it was one of the worst moves of her life.
“I’m over surprises, Jackie. I’m starting to consider getting a master’s degree in boring.”
Jackie laughed. “Uh-huh. Right after the Mad Hatter invites us all to tea.”