“Get off my woman, young man.”
“Now I know where I get it from,” I said with a chuckle.
“Get what?” he said innocently.
“The desire to piss all over my property,” I informed him with half a grin.
“I do not want to piss all over your grandmother, Jack,” he started to say before Gran cut him off.
“A woman can only take so much. If either of you need me, I’ll be with the outnumbered gender in the kitchen, where we belong.” She sauntered over toward the girls.
“Kitten, did you hear that? Get your ass in the kitchen where you belong!” I hollered and she scowled at me.
“Bad word!” echoed from the two tiny mouths in the pool.
“I’m sorry,” I shouted at them before jumping back in.
The ladies didn’t disappear for long before they were all demanding we leave the pool and come get ready for dinner. They promised that we could swim after dinner, but we needed to eat first.
Our dining room table was set for eight and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this relaxed and genuinely happy. Cassie set down separate bowls filled with pasta and spaghetti in the center of the table, before asking everyone what they wanted to drink. Melissa added a basket filled with garlic bread to the mix, and Gran followed carrying a huge salad.
I loved these women. Even Fun-Size.
Cassie steered Chance toward one of the middle seats and pulled back the other middle seat across the table for Coby. Coby sat in some sort of booster chair thing, while Chance grabbed a stack of books from his room. I laughed as he carried them down, stacked them neatly on top of his chair, and then couldn’t get up.
“Help me please,” he asked in his raspy little voice.
I lifted him up and placed him firmly on the mountain of books. “He won’t fall?” I asked no one in particular.
“He might,” Cassie answered.
“I’m not gonna fall,” Chance insisted as I scooted his chair closer to the table.
Gran and Gramps sat at the head of the table while my son sat between my wife and me. I was forced to stare at my brother’s ugly mug throughout the whole meal.
“It was really nice of you to have us all here for dinner,” Gran said in our direction. “Thank you for inviting us.”
“Yeah. I love coming here for meals. Especially if Gran’s cooking,” Melissa added, taking a huge bite of bread.
Cassie leaned forward to give me an encouraging look, and I nodded.
“Well,” I began, “we wanted you all here because I have some news. And I wanted to share it with everyone at the same time.”
All eyes focused on me as the room went silent. Even the boys stopped fidgeting for a second. “I’ve officially decided that this will be my last season playing baseball.”
Suddenly, several voices all rang out at once, each trying to talk over the other. Cassie raised her arms in the air to quiet them down. “Let him finish.”
I looked around and scrunched my face before clarifying, “I was finished.”
Dean’s fork clanged against his plate. “But what about all the offers? You won’t even consider them?” He suddenly turned from a brother to an agent.
“It’s not about the offers,” I said, then my tone turned firm. “I’ve made up my mind.”
“But these are major league, starting rotation offers, Jack. Really solid contracts.”
“I don’t care, Dean.”
Melissa reached over Coby and settled her hand on top of Dean’s arm. It seemed to bring him back to reality and remind him who he was; my brother, not my agent.
“Why now?” Gramps asked, and I felt it was a fair question.
“Honestly? Because I think if I spend any more time playing, I’ll lose it. I’ll lose it all. The love I have for the game. The respect I have for the office that runs it. I’m tired of all the bullshit that goes on behind the scenes.”
“Bad word, Daddy!” Chance yelled.
Coby giggled. “Bad word, Unckie Jack!”
“Sorry, guys.” I really needed to watch my language around the boys. This was going to be an adjustment.
Shaking off my mental list of things to do once I retired from ball, I continued. “But I’m mostly tired of not being around. These past five years have been the hardest ones for me. I might be a success on the baseball field, but I’ve felt like a failure at home.”
“Jack.” Cassie pushed her chair back and wrapped her arms around me from behind. She planted a kiss on the side of my head. “Nothing about you is a failure, do you hear me?”
I wanted to believe her, but I knew it sucked handling everything alone. Whether she wanted to admit it or not. “I appreciate you saying that, Kitten. I do. But it’s hard not to feel like one.”