Chapter 2 - Molly

“Slug bug!” Peyton cried as she punched me in the arm. She then immediately went back to singing Miley Cyrus’s ‘Party in the USA’ song at the top of her lungs. I was impressed she knew all the words. “What song is next?” the adorable little girl asked.

“Mom, I have an important question,” Camden asked while the car was actually quiet for the first time since we left.

“And I might have an important answer,” Penelope replied as she maneuvered her car into the left lane to pass a semi truck.

“Well, since we’re in a bug now, do people slug each other when we pass?”

“I’m sure they do, bud,” Penelope replied with a smile. She turned to me and said, ”I”m not sure if that was an important question or not but at least I had an answer.” She loved her light blue older model Volkswagen Beetle. She had just purchased it with her last paycheck from the diner and the money she had been saving. Her kids even chipped in their swear jar money, which I thought was the sweetest gesture.

“This car has a lot more room than I thought it would,” I said as I pulled out her MP3 player and looked for a good road trip song. The MP3 player was hooked up to a cassette tape adapter that fit in the older car’s radio. I didn’t even know they still existed.

“Are you sure I can’t just check the score of the game?” I asked as I scrolled through the songs she had.

“No!” Penelope said with a stern look at me. “Don’t even turn your phone on, ma’am. It will make you want to call him, and we all agreed you would tell him in person.”

“Well, can I check with your phone?”

“Same reason,” Pen said with a shake of her head. “You know his number is in my phone. The temptation will be too high. We’re going to continue listening to songs on the MP3 player and enjoy this road trip. We’re almost there, Molly.”

I sighed and knew she was right. I really wanted to call Tyler, but I wanted to tell him in person more. “Oh, ‘Life is a Highway’ by Rascal Flatts. That’s a perfect road trip song!” I said.

“This is from the movie Cars!” Camden called out. “I think I’m going to get out the cars from Cooper and play with them.”

“His name isn’t Cooper!” Peyton whined. “His name is CJ!”

Penelope and I looked at each other, and I had to laugh. Cooper sure had made an impression on both of them.

“We have to turn around, Mom! I left CJ’s thank you letter at your work!” Peyton said as she threw everything out of her bag onto the floor of the beetle, obviously searching for her note to her new best friend.

“Honey, we can get it when we get back,” Penelope explained.

“It’s important, Mom! Ugh!” Peyton groaned. “I’m bored. How much longer?”

“I could tell you the exact time if your mom would let me turn on my phone,” I said as I turned in my seat to look at the little girl.

“Oh my gosh, you’re as bad as the kids!” Penelope said with a roll of her eyes. “Get out the map, Molly.”

The only place we had been able to find a paper map of Indiana and Illinois was at a rest stop in the middle of Indiana. When we asked several gas station attendants if they had a map, they all looked at us like we were crazy.

“What town did we just pass?” I asked as I opened up the map. “And what highway are we on?” It had been forever since I had read a paper map. I was really glad my Papaw had taught me how.

“Um, we’re on Highway 74, and we’re just outside of Indianapolis. Oakville, Illinois is 82 miles away, according to that sign,” Penelope said.

“82 miles? Crap! It’s already 7:05, and we’ve got over an hour left to drive. We’re going to miss most of his game. Tyler’s gotta be freaking out that I haven’t called. He knows we went to the doctor today, and I should have called him by now.”

“Molly, stop,” Penelope said and put her hand on my shoulder. “You forget, Illinois is an hour behind Indiana and Ohio. So it’s only 6:05 there. By the time we get there and find the stadium, it will be around 7:45, so we won’t have missed too much. And yes, your man is probably freaking out, but do you know how happy he’s going to be when he sees you in person? It will all be worth it.”

I took a deep breath and nodded at my friend. “Ok, you’re right. No more freaking out.”

“Mom, I’m hungry,” Penelope said from the back seat.

“I am, too,” Camden called out.

“Ok, we’ll get there around eight after we stop for dinner. I could use a coffee, too,” Penelope said. I never realized how much coffee my friend drank until recently. “It looks like there are a lot of fast-food places to choose from at the next exit for Whitesburg.”

After we went through the drive-thru, which took longer than I wanted, we were on the road again eating our greasy, delicious food.Penelope sighed heavily into her coffee cup with a huge grin on her face.

“So, there is a game my Papaw taught me when we would go on roadtrips together. Do you guys want to play?” I asked as I turned around to look at the two children in the backseat.

“Yes!” They both chorused.

“I will start with A, and we’ll go around the car in a circle. I’ll look around, outside, or inside the car for a written word that starts with the letter A. Then Peyton will go and look for the letter B.”

“And I’ll look for the letter C. Just like in my name!” Camden said, very excited.

I grinned and loved their enthusiasm.

“And Mommy will look for D,” Peyton said.

“You’re going to be a great mom,” Penelope said, and my heart warmed at her praise.

“Thank you. I sure hope so. I’m scared to death but excited.”

“Very normal feelings,” Pen said.

“Less talking, more playing!” Peyton said impatiently. “Molly - what is your letter A item?”

I looked around the car and didn’t see anything with the letter A, and then I looked outside and saw the perfect sign. “Look, the next exit says the town Arnold is to the right! How perfect!”

“And here is a B on our Burger Barn bag!” Peyton held up the bag proudly.

“Does the letter have to be the first word, or can it be the second?” Camden asked.

“What do you mean?” Pen asked.

“Well, that sign says Arnold Creek, so can I use the C in Creek as my word?” Camden asked as we went over the bridge of the small creek below us.

I looked at Penelope and shrugged, “It’s our game. We can make our own rules. I say if it’s the first letter of a word, it should count.”

“Sweet! Then it’s your turn, Mom.”

We played the game, and before we knew it, we were driving past the ”Welcome to Illinois” sign, and Oakville was the first exit.

“Oh, crap! I didn’t realize it was going to come up this fast,” I cried out as I tried to pull the map open as quickly as possible. “There is a reason technology has evolved to something better than paper maps.”

Penelope just laughed at me. “I didn’t realize it was going to come so fast either. I’ll go to the next Oakville exit, and we can stop at a gas station and see where we need to go.”

“Pen, please let me turn on my phone. His game has already started. I don’t want to miss more,” I practically whined.

Penelope just rolled her eyes at me. “Molly, he’s already playing. It’s not like he can stop mid-game and talk to you. You won’t be able to talk to him until after the game anyway, so just chill.”

I sighed, “You’re right. Ok. Let’s stop at the gas station.”

“Mommy is always right,” Peyton retorted with a giggle.

“Always,” Camden emphasized.

“I’ve got some very smart kids,” Pen said as she pulled off the exit and into the first gas station.

I had circled the stadium the Oakville Bobcats played at on the map and found where the gas station was. It took us longer than it probably should have, but soon, we had our route mapped out, and on a separate piece of paper, I made note of where to turn and in what direction.

“So, this is what people had to do before Google?” Camden asked.

“Yes,” Pen and I both said at the same time.

“Thank goodness for Google!” Camden said. “This is taking forever.”

Soon, we were back on the road and heading for Trinity Field, home of the Bobcats. We found a parking spot and went to the ticket booth, but it was dark and there was no one there. We headed around to the front gate and found it open with a few workers milling around.

“Hi, we were wanting to buy tickets for tonight”s game, and there was no one in the booth,” I explained as I flagged down a worker.

The girl looked at her watch and looked at us with wide eyes. “You do know the game started a while ago, right? It’s almost the seventh inning.”

“We know, but we’re willing to pay the full price. We’re the ones who are late,” I offered.

“Just let them come on in, Melissa,” another woman said. “Go ahead, and just sit in any empty seats you can find.”

“Thank you so much,” Penelope said.

“A free game? Yes!” Camden said with a raise of his fist. “Does that mean I can buy some popcorn since we didn’t have to buy a ticket?”

“Yes, it does,” Penelope said. “What do you want, Peyton?”

“Twizzlers!” Peyton cried out.

“Go ahead, and find us seats,” Penelope said. “I know you’re anxious to see your man. Do you want anything from the concession stand?”

“Maybe some nachos and a bottle of water, please,” I said as I headed to the seating area. “Thanks, Pen.”

I walked down the stairs towards the field and was glad to find an open section right behind home plate. I smiled as I saw Tyler walking towards the plate, and I admired him as he squatted down into position as the opponent’s batter walked up after his warm up swings. The first pitch by the Lightning pitcher I didn’t recognize went in the dirt. It was not like Tyler at all to miss catching a ball. Something was definitely off with him.

“We want a catcher, not a belly scratcher!” I called out as I got close to the fence that separated the fans from the players. It only went around the home plate area and a small wall divided the field from the rest of the stadium.

I was shocked when Ty stood up right as the pitcher was about to throw the next pitch. The home plate umpire said something to him, but Tyler wasn’t paying attention as he looked around frantically. Tyler’s manager yelled something, too, but he continued to look around.

“I’m sorry for distracting him!” I called out, and a few fans looked at me, wondering what was going on.

My husband made eye contact with me, and before I knew what was happening, he threw his catcher’s mask on the ground and was running towards me. He hopped over the small wall at the edge of the field and rushed for me. I found my feet running on their own towards him. I had never seen him do this in a game, and I had just seen him not that long ago. We had gone a lot longer without seeing each other before, and he would usually only give me a wink or blow a kiss during the game. Something was definitely off with him.

Tyler stopped in front of me, and that’s when I noticed the tears streaming from his green eyes. “You’re ok? You’re really here? You are ok, right?” He asked as he took my face in his hands and began kissing me all over.

“Yes, I’m here. Of course, I’m okay,” I replied. I wiped away his tears with my thumbs as he pulled me even closer to him. He wrapped his strong arms around me, and I found my arms winding around his trim waist.

“I’m never letting you go again.” He pulled me as close as he could and held on tightly.

“Ty,” I called out with my face buried against his chest pads. “I can’t breathe.”

He pulled away slightly and leaned his forehead against mine. “How are you here?”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“Surprise me?” He seemed very confused by my answer. “I don’t understand.”

“Something happened at the doc-”

“STONE!” His manager interrupted our conversation. “I’m so happy your girl is okay, but you need to finish this inning. The batter wasn’t finished with his at-bat. Finish this inning, and then I’ll put Reid in so you can talk with your girl.”

Tyler looked at his coach with a nod. “Don’t you dare move,” he said to me.

“Ty, I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m going to sit right here behind your dugout, okay?”

He nodded but seemed very reluctant to let me go. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I said. “Go finish the inning and come back to me.”

He leaned down and gave me a deep, passionate kiss. The crowd around us cheered, and he hesitantly pulled away as he walked back towards the away team dugout and jumped over the half wall. I found an open row near the dugout and sat down. My heart was racing like crazy, wondering what would elicit a reaction like that from him.

“I can’t believe they are losing,” Penelope said as she sat down in the seat next to me. She handed me some nachos and a bottle of water.

“Something is going on with him,” I said to Pen. “He’s not himself. He was crying because I was here.”

“Crying?” Pen asked. “Why?”

“I’ve never seen a big baseball player cry,” Camden commented.

“I don’t know why,” I said. “His manager even said as soon as the inning is finished, he could come talk to me. So we’ll find out soon.”

“Maybe we should turn our phones on now,” Pen said with a shrug.

“You think?” I asked. “Shit! Mine is still in the car!”

“Ooohhh, Molly! You owe money in the swear jar,” Peyton said, with a mouthful of red vine candy.

“I will pay when I get some cash,” I said.

“I guess I left my phone in the car, too. I can go and get them,” Pen offered.

“Thanks, because I think he’d kill me if I left these seats.”

“Are you going to eat your nachos?” Camden asked as he eyed my cheese covered chips.

I wasn’t hungry anymore and just handed Cam my snack. Pen said she would be right back and told her kids to behave.

I anxiously watched as Tyler seemed more like himself, catching the pitches a lot better and helping the pitcher decide which pitch would work against the batter. Soon, the home team’s hitter struck out. The next batter hit a grounder right to Montgomery, and he threw it easily to first base, so there were now two outs. I didn’t notice any of the noise or people talking around me. All I could see was Ty, who seemed to be trying to hurry the inning along. He and the pitcher seemed to disagree on the next pitch to throw, but soon the pitcher raised his arms, kicked out his leg, and threw a fastball that flew right by the batter. Next was a beautiful curveball that had the batter groaning out loud. The next pitch easily struck out the third batter. Tyler jumped up and jogged quickly to the dugout. I saw him talking with his manager and removing his catcher gear. Soon, he was coming out of the dugout and popping over the wall and walking towards me.

“Hi, Ty!” Pen said as she was walking down the stairs with both of our phones in her hand.

He looked over at her, then down to her hand, and eyed the phones with a glare.

“Why didn’t you guys answer your phones?” he asked.

“I told Molly to turn our phones off, so she wasn’t tempted to call you. She wanted to tell you her news in person.”

Ty lifted his hat off his head and pulled at the brown strands of hair with his empty hand. “Ok, we’ll circle back to the news in a minute. You mean to tell me that your phones were turned off on purpose?”

I nodded as Pen handed me my phone. I pressed the buttons on the side to turn it on. “I told her you’d be upset and worried that I didn’t call you after the appointment.”

“I don’t know who is going to kill you both first. Me or Meadow,” Tyler responded. “So you have no clue what is going on?”

“No clue,” I said. “What’s going on, Ty?”

“Do you not have a radio in your car?” Tyler turned and asked Penelope instead of answering my question.

“We do, but Mommy said we couldn’t listen to it because Molly wanted to listen to your game. We had to use Mommy’s old music thingy only,” Camden answered for his mom.

“We used my MP3 player,” Pen explained, holding her hands up in surrender at the glare he gave her.