Chapter 6: The Home Stretch

"GO!" I yelled as I drew a bead on the rebound. Once I had control I spun quickly to the right and let fly with a floor length pass to Melissa, who had released and took it in for an easy layup.

We were playing pickup basketball at one of the local college gyms.

I had called Melissa as she was number five on the list not knowing what was going to happen next. After Janice I was a little worried. I was upset with the way I had just jumped into my 'sessions' with her.

During the call I mentioned I was getting ready to go to the Y to play some lunch-time hoops. She asked if I was willing to 'step up in class' a little, and said she usually played on a bigger court than the one at the Y. Naturally, I couldn't pass up a challenge like that.

There were two full-size courts, but we were playing on one of the four smaller courts that ran perpendicular to the big ones. Still, full court is full court and I love playing with others that are willing to run.

Melissa was certainly willing to run. She was also quick, a good ball handler and couldn't be left alone at the three point line. She obviously played often because the guys knew her and played her straight up.

The few times Melissa and I sat we chatted, getting to know each other. She was very easy to talk to and we agreed on a lot of things. After I admitted I had been leery of how things would go after Janice, Lissa admitted she had worried as well, but for another reason... she's gay!

She's living with her 'life partner, ' Angelina. Lissa admitted that Angie usually played basketball as well, but with the uncertainty of how things would go they decided Lissa should come alone. When I suggested taking both of them to the local Double A baseball game the next night she was all for it.

"Hey Ump, no wonder you're in the minors! You're blind! That was at least a mile outside!"

Angie and I grinned at each other after Lissa's leather-lunged torture of the poor underpaid man working behind the plate. Yes, he'd blown that call, but overall he wasn't that bad. After the outbust she cut him some slack, except for the time he was way out of position on a play at third. Angie and I joined her on that one, as it was pretty obvious that he wasn't keeping track of the situation. The other umpire, probably the more experienced of the two, talked to him after that play and he seemed to do better after that.

As for the game itself it was obvious the ladies knew their stuff and we all were commenting on the abilities of the pitchers and players and whether or not any of them had a chance to make it to the majors. As this was a team in an independent league with no affiliation to a big club the chances were slim.

Melissa Karanz. It had been four years since I had last seen her. She still had the long coal black hair that was currently in a pony tail and sticking out of the back of her baseball cap down to midway between her shoulders. Her eyes were almost as black and she could make them seem huge (think of those posters of little girls with oversized eyes or Puss 'N Boots in Shrek 2). She was 5-11 and skinny, wearing tight capri length jeans and a sweatshirt. She was very expressive with her hands, which were long and thin.

Meanwhile, Angelina Wooster was almost a Barbie doll lookalike, about 5-5, busty and blond with grey eyes. She also had her hair in a pony tail through her cap, wearing almost modest shorts but a shaped tank top.

We enjoyed all the between inning shenanigans, which included t-shirts being shot into the crowd (we didn't catch any), mascots doing their bits on top of the dugouts and obstacle course-type races including the 'put your head on a bat, spin for 30 seconds and then try to run in a straight line' game. Those two poor kids were still listing to the right long after the race was over.

The home team managed to hold on and win 7-6, and after the game there were fireworks. All in all a pretty good time. On the way out, they asked me if I could come over for dinner the next night. I quickly agreed.

Once I got home I realized that this was about the best thing that could have happened to me. Think about it. With each of the previous four women the experiences had revolved around sex, so much so that I was starting to think I'd entered the Twilight Zone - and it was one of those where you were waiting for the surprise ending that screwed you royally!

Instead, it appeared this time that I had already done my work four years ago. Melissa didn't hate men, but they held no sexual attraction for her. On the other hand, she hadn't committed to Angelina at the time because she wasn't sure whether a long term relationship with another woman would be that fulfilling.

Her night as 'Hildie' apparently touched her enough that she felt she needed to rethink her ideas about relationships. While she quit the escort service almost immediately, it was a year before she and Angie decided to commit to each other.

When I arrived at their home (a nice cottage in the suburbs), I was warmly welcomed, told to take my shoes off, guided to a very comfortable Laz-E-Boy and handed a drink. During the course of the evening I found out that they were equal partners in just about everything. It turned out Angie was into soccer as much as Lissa was into basketball and they each played the other's sport. As the evening went on it was obvious to me that they belonged together and I said so.

That got me some hugs and a couple of impish looks. One pillow fight later (I lost - big time!) we sat around catching our breath. I looked at each of them, smiled and said, "Thank you."

Lissa spoke up. "For beating you up in a pillow fight?"

"No, for bringing Hildie alive again." I started tearing up again. "Pillow fights happened at least once every couple of years. Hildie said it was so we always had good pillows to sleep on, since they got destroyed every time..."

After a group hug and some tissues, Angie asked a question I had been sort of avoiding lately. "What about Linda?"

I sighed. "I honestly don't know."

Lissa chipped in. "Why not?"

"Because," I said, "I realize now that I don't know her as well as I should."

"I'm curious," said Angie, "If you think that, why did you make the promise to her?"

"Probably due to a little guilt... plus, at the time it seemed a good way to test what my real feelings were for her."

"And?" prompted Lissa.

"And it was a cop out, by both of us."

"So now..." Angie queried.

"So now I go ahead and live up to the promise by meeting with Betsy."

Lissa wouldn't leave it alone. "And after Betsy?"

I shook my head. "I don't know."

"Bullshit!" they chimed in together. Angie contined, "You'll take the time to find out whether Linda and you are right together."

"And don't give us any crap about 'what if we aren't' and 'I don't want to hurt her' and shit along those lines," added Lissa. "'Cause that would be the ultimate cop out and be like throwing Hildie away. You got that!"