Rounding Third (31 page)

    
“We’re leaving,” she said.

    
“I told you about Josh months ago,” he said, “When Bob called me for legal
advice.”

    
“You said a friend of Bobby’s, not a boyfriend!”

    
“Same difference.” He got up and extended his hand to Josh. “Hi, I’m Dave
Jackson. And I believe you’ve met my wife, Karen.”

    
“Nice to meet you,” Josh said, taking the offered hand.

    
“And how are you doing, Bobby?” The man offered his hand again.

    
“Fine and you?”

    
Jackson turned to his wife. “Are you going to calm down?”

    
She was still clutching the doorknob. “I just get so tired of this. Every time
you turn on the TV or open a newspaper, there is gay this and gay that. I never
expected to see it in this house.”
     “Frankly, Karen, neither did we,” Marilyn said, “But
now that it’s here, the world hasn’t ended. In fact our world has sort of
expanded. We didn’t lose a son, we gained one.”

    
Meg came downstairs. She said her hellos to the Jacksons then turned to her
mother. “Dinner smells great. When do we eat?”

    
“We’re going out to grab something,” Rob said. “We can leave the adults alone
to talk.”

    
“What?” His mother stood up.

    
“The atmosphere here isn’t really conducive to digesting food. We’ll go out,”
he said.

    
“What about the lasagna?” Meg asked.

    
“We’ll have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. It’s better the day after, anyway,
when it gets a little crusty on top.”

    
“What about...?”

    
“Come along, Megan,” Rob said firmly.

She followed him and Josh through the
kitchen. Josh got into Mr. Wardell’s SUV next to Rob. “I didn’t want to say
anything inside, but after what happened last time we went out...”

    
Rob nodded. “There’s a new pizza place in Strongsville.”

    
“That’s a bit of drive.”

    
“That’s the point--to get the hell out of this town.”

    
“Are you guys going to tell me what’s going on?” the female voice in the
backseat demanded as they drove off.

           
*                     
*                     
*                     
*                     
*
    

The first warm day of spring found Edward
DeLallo standing next to the teacher with a pass. Rob got up and followed
Edward out. “How’s it going?” Edward asked as they walked the deserted halls of
the school while the morning announcements leaked out of each door they passed.

    
“Good and you?”

    
“Okay. I haven’t been slammed into a locker in months.”

    
Rob laughed. “Me neither. Makes life almost dull, doesn’t it?”

    
“You and Josh still together?”

    
“Yeah.”

    
“He’s a lucky guy,” Edward said. “I know this is bad, but I keep hoping you
guys will break up so I can date you. I hope you’re not offended.”

    
“I’m flattered. But Josh and I are still together. He sleeps in my bed every
night.”

    
“That lucky bastard.”

    
“I’ll tell him you think so. Thanks, bye.”

           
Edward kept walking past Hudson’s
homeroom. The coach came out into the hall. “Wardell, you weren’t at practice
yesterday,” Hudson said by way of greeting.

    
“I’m not going to be on the team this year.”

    
“Why not?”

    
“I’m busy working at Greiner’s and with school and stuff. I never played
anyway.”

    
“You would this year for sure. We’re short a lot of guys. Beechler, Rydell,
Renko and Acosta graduated and we’re minus Schlagel. Taylor, Poulan, Brickman
and the rest didn’t come out. Of course I made it clear I didn’t want them.
We’ll have lots of holes. And a pretty lousy team. I’d love to have you back.
In fact I was going to make you captain.”

“Captain?”

“You’re one of the most experienced guys I’d
have and you are more of a leader than you think.”   

“I’m not that good.”
     “Do you think I forgot that you saved Schlagel’s
no-hitter? The team needs you and I’d like to have you back. You’ve got a good
head for the game. You’d make a great coach.”

    
Rob smiled. “I was never really that into it, Coach. I only stuck with it last
year to be near Josh.”

    
Hudson smiled. “Please think about it. I really could use you.”

    
“Thanks Coach, I will, but I doubt it’ll happen.”

    
“That’s too bad. You look like you’ve put on a few inches and a few pounds
since last year.”

“We both know I couldn’t play college ball
anywhere anyway. And somehow it doesn’t seem right without Josh.”

    
“I understand. Speaking of which, I need to talk to him. Will he be around this
evening if I stop by?”

    
“He’s working tonight. Tomorrow would be better.”

    
“Okay. One more thing, Wardell. Of all of the lousy Coach Hudson imitations
I’ve heard over the years, yours was the best.”

                       
*                     
*                     
*                     
*                     
*
   

    
“What did Coach Hudson want?” Rob asked as he entered what was still Josh’s
room although he rarely slept there.

    
“He wants to try to get me a baseball scholarship. Says he knows some people.”

    
“Awesome.”

    
“I told him no.”

    
“Why? With your arm, there are lots of schools that would pay you to go there.”

    
“I’m out of shape.”

    
“You’re looking at your personal trainer. I’ll work you back into shape so
fast, I’ll make your sorry ass sweat...”

    
Josh smiled. “You really think I can do this?”

    
“I know you can. I’m gonna make you.”

         
*                     
*                     
*                     
*                     
*
   

    
Rob knocked on the door of Hudson’s homeroom and motioned the teacher into the
hall. Hudson smiled when Rob told him he had changed Josh’s mind.

    
“He’s going to have to work hard for this to happen,” Hudson said.

    
“He knows. I’m going to kick his ass.”

    
“You would make a good coach,” Hudson smiled. “Where are you going to school
next year?”

    
“I don’t know yet. Money is a little tight these days, so I’m looking at state
schools. We looked at Ohio State last month. The size of it kinda scares me.”

    
“You could get lost in a crowd that size.”

    
“That might not be a bad thing,” Rob smiled. “Or, since it’s thirty times
bigger than this school there could be thirty times more Taylors and
Brickmans.”

    
“It still frustrates me that all those guys got was a small suspension. They
should have been expelled and prosecuted.”

    
“One thing I have already learned, Coach, is that life isn’t always fair. I was
so mad for so long, but what did that prove. I just have to put it behind me
and get on with my life. I just wish Josh could.”

    
“I do, too. You’ve grown a lot this past year, and I don’t just mean in inches.
You know there are scholarships for private schools. You’d be an asset to any
college.”

    
“I’m getting A’s this year, but overall my grades weren’t all that great.” Rob
was used to getting B’s so as not to draw attention to himself, but now that he
had the attention anyway he had decided to get straight A’s and did.

    
“There are other types of scholarships. Let me do some checking for you.” The
coach patted him on the shoulder. “Are you willing to learn to catch?”

    
“I can catch.”

    
“Behind the plate.”

    
           
*                     
*                     
*                     
*                     
*
   

    
Hudson met them as promised after regular baseball practice and for the first
time in his baseball career, Rob donned the tools of ignorance which Hudson had
borrowed from the school. The chest protector and mask and shin guards made it
hard to walk let alone squat or catch anything. The first day’s practice turned
out to be more coaching for Rob than for Josh.

As they walked off the field, Josh smiled. “I
had forgotten how much I missed throwing a baseball. I’ve never told anyone
this, but sometimes I would go out to a baseball diamond--didn’t matter which
one--and just lay on the pitcher’s mound with my head on the rubber and stare
at the clouds. The mound was the only place I felt at home and happy until I
moved in with your family.”

                       
*                     
*                     
*                     
*                     
*
   

    
Rob and Josh were already on the field with Josh stinging Rob’s hand with every
throw when Hudson walked up to home plate. He handed Rob some papers. Rob stood
from the crouch to look at them as the coach said, “It’s a scholarship application
for the Point Foundation. Ever hear of Oberlin College?”

    
“Yeah, sure.”

    
“Nice little school. Very open-minded. Check it out.”

    
Before Rob could thank him, Hudson trotted toward the mound. “I saw those last
three pitches, Schlagel. On every one you weren’t bringing your leg around. You
need to use your whole body...”

    
           
*                     
*                     
*                     
*                     
*
   

    
“The drive to Oberlin isn’t that bad,” Josh said as he drove back from the
campus tour with Rob. “You could commute if you had to.”

    
“I’d like to go away to school if I can. If the scholarship comes through, that
will cover most of my tuition so dad will just have to pay the rest and room
and board. Or student loans. Kind of ironic--a year ago I wasn’t gay and now
I’m applying for gay scholarships.”

    
“I have a feeling you’ll be president of the gay group or the student body in a
year or two.”

    
Rob smiled, “Yeah, right.”

“If Hudson comes through, I’ll end up at a
school with a good baseball program in Florida or Arizona or California. I
thought I couldn’t wait to get out of Ohio, but now that I might be leaving
soon, I realize how much I will miss it. Well not Ohio, just you and your
family.”    

42

Tickets to the Indians’ home opener were
always hard to come by, but against the rival Detroit Tigers were even more of
a challenge. Rob’s persistence had paid off and when he surprised Josh with the
tickets he thought Josh was going to knock in his teeth with the power of the
kiss.

Josh and Rob crossed the street toward the
stadium and started down the sidewalk. Horns blaring behind them caused the boys
to turn and see a man coming at them doing a broken field run through moving
traffic. “Josh! Josh!” the man was yelling.

Rob looked at Josh for some sort of an
explanation. The man grabbed Josh and held him by the shoulders to look at him
at close range. Rob tensed, not sure if he should be doing something to protect
Josh from the crazed intruder who asked, “My God, it really is you, isn’t it?”

“It’s me,” Josh said, surprised by the depth
of emotion coming his way. “Hi, Mr. Hood.”

“You’re alive!”

“Uh, yeah,” Josh said, confused.

Mr. Hood hugged him tightly then released him
to look at him again. “It’s really you! I’m so relieved you’re alive!”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because your father told me you were dead.”

“What?”

“Last fall. He told everyone at work you had
been killed in a motorcycle accident. He said your body was so badly mangled
they weren’t even going to have a funeral.”

“He what?” Josh began shaking.

“He said you were dead. We had the whole family
over to offer our condolences. Oh my God, I have to call Ellen and Katie. Katie
is going to be so happy...” Mr. Hood pulled out a cell phone.

Josh grabbed his hand. “He told you I was
dead?”

Mr. Hood let his hand with the cell phone in
it drop to his side. “He told me you were dead?” he said again, but now it was
a question not a statement.