The Only One for Me(50)

“I drove over here, didn’t I?” Eric walked around Chris. “Corra, baby, I need to talk to you.”

“Eric, go home,” Corra said over her shoulder before opening the front door and rushing inside.

Chris pulled out his cell phone. He couldn’t let Eric drive in his condition.

“Who you calling, the police?” Eric asked, looking back at Chris.

“No, a cab. You’re drunk.”

“The hell I am. So what I had a few beers. Then I come over here to see how my boy is and nobody’s home.” Eric sat down on the step and pointed at Chris. “But, once they showed up I knew you’d be with them. Know how I knew that?”

Chris didn’t answer him.

“Because you’re a thief. You always have been. You stole everything that ever mattered from me. You really want to be me.”

Chris stepped over into the grass and looked up at Corra standing in the doorway. She’d walked out just in time to hear Eric ranting. The door made a squeak and Eric turned around. When he saw Corra he stumbled to his feet.

“Baby, look. I’ve been trying to show you that I’m a changed man. I can take care of you and the kids again. Just give me a little—”

Chris turned away and gave the cab company instructions on how to get there, then hung up. He wasn’t going anywhere until Eric was off Corra’s property.

“Are you kidding?” Corra’s voice rose several octaves as if she’d forgotten it was after one in the morning. “You just showed me how much you want to be a father, by deserting your son. He was scared to death. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Eric started up the steps again. “I’m, I’m, sorry. I was coming back.” He stopped and pointed at Chris. “I was looking for him. He done something to Jamie. He ain’t never had no asthma before. Not until he took him to the field. And where were you? Why did you leave Jamie with him? I’m his father, not him.”

Corra walked to the top of the steps and lowered her voice. “In the last couple of months, Chris has been more of a father to them than you have. Don’t play the good father with me. I had to hunt your ass down just so they would know you were alive.”

Chris hoped the cab would get here soon. He hated to see this play out on the front porch like this, but then he didn’t want Jamie to witness any of it either. Until the cab arrived he realized he had to defuse the situation. He walked up on the porch and tried to ease Corra back into the house.

“Corra, come on, it’s late. You can have this discussion another time. Jamie’s inside alone and a cab is on the way to pick Eric up.” To his surprise she backed up with him until she was standing inside the storm door.

“So you’re gonna let this asshole take my family from me? Take my kids from me?” Eric pleaded as he stepped up onto the porch.

Chris hated to see him try to gain sympathy from Corra. “Man, why don’t you go sit in your car until the cab comes.” He tried to take Eric by the arm and usher him down the steps, but he pulled away from him and stood with his shoulders back, defiantly.

“You are not gonna take my son away from me.”

“I’m not trying to take Jamie or Katie from you. But I do love them and their mother. I want what’s best for them. Look, man, I know you’re hurting, you don’t want your son to see you out here behaving this way. When the cab comes, go home, sleep it off, tomorrow you can sit down and explain what happened to Corra.” Tell her why the hell you left your only son alone at the hospital.

“Just let you have them, huh? Like you took my baseball career away from me.”

Chris’s head snapped back as if he had been struck.





Chapter 24

“Eric, I didn’t take anything from you. You got hurt junior year when you collided into me on the field, it was an accident. Then you quit coming to practice. You expected the coach to keep you on the team when you weren’t showing up? You weren’t going to qualify for a sports scholarship because you needed to be more responsible. You need to man up and finally face the facts.”

Chris knew he’d hit a nerve when Eric lumbered up his shoulders and neck as if he was ready to throw a punch. Why had he let Eric goad him? This was the last man Chris wanted to get into a fight with.

No matter how much liquor Eric had ingested, Chris knew he’d never throw a punch. Weakness was another of Eric’s flaws.

Corra opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. “What the hell are you two doing?”

Having her attention gave Eric more courage. “That’s bullshit, man. You took the one thing from me that I wanted more than anything. That hit you gave me on the field was intentional, and it sidelined me. You weren’t better than me. You never have been.”