Marco was now obviously upset, but he had no one to blame but himself. He needed to get the next few guys out if he wanted to get out of the jam. But, on the next pitch he hit the batter in the head with a fastball, and after the sickening thud, the batter dropped straight to the ground. Gasps shot up from people around the stadium and everyone stood up to see if the batter was going to be okay. The coaches from Baltimore came running out to check on the player. Marco just stood there on the mound, watching, making no sign that he was in the slightest bit concerned.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a text from April.
Oh my god was what it said.
Please tell me the kids weren’t watching...
No, they didn’t see it.
The manager of the Rays walked out to check on the batter, who had been lying motionless for a few minutes and was finally starting to stir. After the manager was sure the player was okay, he walked out to the mound to talk to Marco, who still hadn’t moved or shown any remorse or worry about the player’s wellbeing. The conversation between the two looked pretty heated, but because no one had been warming up in the bullpen when Marco hit him, there was no one to bring in. Someone had begun to throw, but probably wouldn’t be ready in time to face the next batter.
The crowd clapped when the batter finally got to his feet with the help of the trainers and was led to the dugout. A different player came off the bench to run the bases for him, and the next batter came to the plate, now with runners on first and third base.
There were still no outs and I could tell Marco was fuming. He checked both of the runners, and then seemed to come out of his body with the pitch, throwing it as hard as his angry body would let him. If it had been a few years before, a fastball from Marco thrown with that much effort probably would have blown right by the batter. But, he was older, and his pitches were slower, so when the batter saw the fastball coming, he swung mightily. The crack of the ball hitting the bat was the sound every batter wanted to hear when they came up to hit. Everyone on the field turned and watched as the ball sailed deep into the bleachers for a three-run home run. It was one of the furthest balls I had ever seen hit, and the Rays were now losing 11-9. Marco had allowed five runs without getting a single out.
The manager came out quickly and gestured toward the bullpen for the next pitcher to come in. The boos were deafening now as Marco walked off the field. I was surprised such a small crowd could make such a loud noise. He took his glove off his right hand, chucked it into the crowd, and then with both hands flipped off the people in attendance. It wasn’t a quick flip either. He stood there for five to ten seconds just saluting the crowd that was now somehow booing him even more loudly. A couple of the Rays’ players bounced out of the dugout and practically pushed Marco down the steps, and when he was out of sight, the boos finally began to die down.
April was married to this piece of shit. In my head I hoped that things would be okay for her, but I knew in my heart a woman like her couldn’t survive long in a marriage to a person like this. There was a difference between being fiery and competitive, and just being an awful person with deep-rooted issues. Marco was beyond awful.
I texted April.
I hope your kids didn’t get to see that either...
See what? she quickly replied.
You mean you didn’t see what just happened?
No. They went to commercial.
Oh, god.
Luke, what happened?
I’m sure you’ll hear about it.
Fuck. Luke, what happened?
No sense in not telling her.
He gave the crowd a two-handed, one finger salute.
He what??
Yeah...flipped off the crowd. For like ten seconds.
Oh my god, she replied. Then she said, He humiliates himself, his family, and he doesn’t care.
I’m sorry April...
I didn’t need to stay for the end of the game, nor did I care to. I had only come with the hopes of seeing Marco get hit around, but I hadn’t expected anything like this.
I felt sick to my stomach as I drove home.
Maybe the reason West was in April’s classroom today was so that you couldn’t have the talk with her that you had planned, I thought to myself. Maybe some powers outside of your control kept you from doing it because you are the one who can rescue her from the hell she lives in.
I think I had stopped believing in fate, in destiny, in anything after I found out Carrie only had a few months left to live. I felt so strongly when I was younger that we were high-school sweethearts who were going to live life together, always be happy and never have anything go wrong. People are naive when they are young, and I knew I had been the epitome of that. But, still part of me had sat and considered all the things that had happened to even bring Carrie and me into each other’s lives, and then I felt like it had to be fate.