Chapter 10

Six female forms stepped out of the house as Brock's SUV pulled into the driveway – behind Merie's identical model.

The Fearsome Foursome (Jen, Susan, Melanie and Tara) were a little nervous about meeting Chastity Durant. In fact, they were more nervous about meeting Chastity than they were about meeting Randi Raver.

Randi was far more famous but Susan had assured everyone that, underneath, she was just a normal teenaged girl. Chastity was an unknown. They had seriously underestimated Chastity more than once. First they didn't realize how quickly she would carve out a niche in Brock's life – a niche that almost all of them once thought rightfully belonged to one of them.

Then they were completely blindsided when she and Brock had parted. The fact that she had hurt Brock meant she would have to go a long way to gain their favor. The same way Meredith Van Landingham would have to go out of her way before they would accept her again.

The moments after Brock left for the airport had been tense at his house. Meredith had done her best to act as though they were back in their teens. The group had put up with this for as long as they could. Still, everyone was surprised when it was Tara who snapped first.

"You don't get it," she said in a harsh voice. "You're not our friend, Merie. You were never my friend and after what you did to Brock, you might not ever be. You were gone. You had put yourself away and you didn't have to watch what you'd done to him. I know I don't have room to talk after what I did but I'm not going to stand here and let you pretend that everyone here is your best buddy."

"I'm not trying to pretend that," Meredith protested.

"Yes, you are," Tara said. The other girls had shared a look and decided to let Tara say what needed to be said. In the car on the way up, they had discussed the situation and had agreed that they wouldn't gang up on anyone – Brock or Meredith. They decided to hold firm to that resolve as much as they didn't want to.

"You sent him back to where he was when he got there," Tara continued. "You didn't even have the guts to tell him face to face. Then you were gone. Just flat, fucking gone, for years. For the last seven years, he has wondered about you. He has worried about you. But you didn't even have the decency to let him know that you were OK. You didn't have the decency to let him know that you hadn't committed suicide. You know that's what he thought, don't you?

"When your dad told him you were gone he thought that you'd killed yourself. Now you just show up here and act as though you didn't send his world crashing down on him again. We almost lost him. He had decided he was going to go live in a cabin in the woods and avoid people for the rest of his life. Can you imagine that, Meredith? I can't. I can't imagine what my life would be like without Brock Miller in it. So for his sake, we'll put up with you. For some ungodly reason he still thinks the world of you. So we'll put on our best face and hang around with you while we're out here. But if you think we're friends then you had best, by God, think again."

Meredith closed her eyes to stem the flow of tears. She didn't know why she was crying. She had expected nothing less. She not only had abandoned Brock but also the rest of the group.

"Merie, I know you did what you needed to do," Susan said, "but you didn't think about what it would do to the rest of us. Of all of us, I think I understand that reasoning best of all. We all need to get to know each other again. Once we do, it might go back to where we were before. It's not like we can flick a switch and just forgive you for leaving so abruptly. Just like you can't flick a switch and forgive us for the pain we put Brock through in the past. You see, that's the one thing that we all have in common. We all care about him. We all know exactly how fragile he is."

"I think you're wrong," Randi said. She had been leaning on the counter watching the byplay. Suddenly all eyes turned to her. "I don't think he's fragile. I think he maybe once was but not anymore. I think you've all probably had a hand in making sure he's better now. But he is better. I'm not saying his feelings can't get hurt or that he's immune to pain but he's not a little boy who needs to be protected from the big, bad world. I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the relationship he and I have doesn't really let me see the real him.

"Still, I don't think he lets Meredith hang out here because of some sense of nostalgia. I think he has come to genuinely like the person she has become. I know I like her. She's like a cool older sister, you know. But I also know that Brock has no trouble standing up for himself. I was right outside the second time Meredith showed up here. He told her a lot of what you just did. He said he can't let her insinuate herself into his life unless they were going to be equals.

"That means she doesn't show up unannounced and then leave like a thief. That means he can contact her when he wants to chat just as easily as she can contact him. I didn't really understand a lot of it until Meredith put it into context for me. I can understand why you're mad but I think you should try to understand that Meredith didn't hurt anyone on purpose. She did what she did because it was the only way she could come up with to save her sanity."

Meredith gave Randi a friendly smile but the other four didn't look as though they were happy with Randi's assessment.

"I spend more time with Brock than any of you," Randi pointed out. "I see him almost every day and I talk to him almost every day when he's on the road. You may think I'm full of it but I'm around him enough to know that none of you is blameless when it comes to Brock. I also know that each of you also played a big role in helping him find the person he's become."

"I guess you're right," Jen said, surprising everyone by being rational. "I think some of it is because I was just as hurt as Brock was when Meredith disappeared. We were friends, Merie, but I guess we weren't close enough friends for you to come to us when you needed help."

"We weren't," Meredith said. "The truth is, I wasn't even close enough with Brock to go to him for help. Looking back, I wish I would have done things differently. I'm sure all of us feel that way. If I would have thought of how this would affect him, I probably would have. But at the time, all I could focus on was me. Brock and I have started to come to terms with how things were. We both know things probably won't ever go back to what we once had. So we're trying to become something new. I hope we can all try that – for Brock's sake as much as anything else.

"That's why I'm determined to be nice to Chastity when she arrives. I got a firsthand look at him right after they split up. That's what made me put away my fears and talk to him. In some ways, Randi is correct. He is stronger than we give him credit for. In other ways, he still fears that everyone he cares about will eventually abandon him. I know I'm to blame for part of that. But outside of Melanie, we all had a hand it."

"I had a hand in it, too," Melanie said softly. "When I finally figured out that he and I weren't going to be together, I ran off and got married just to spite him. It was stupid and I know it. Hell, I knew it then. I relished the look on his face when I told everyone. So I guess we're all in the same boat."

"Not me," Randi said brightly to try to lighten the mood.

"No, you're in the opposite boat," Meredith said with a slight smile. "You're the one he wishes would go away."

Randi's smile wavered slightly but Susan put her arm around her.

"Don't worry, we've all been in that boat, too," she said. "It won't be long before you're just as indispensable to Brock as we are."

Randi raced to the vehicle when she saw J.C. Michaels exit the backseat. The others hung back, four of them wondering who the stranger was.

"J.C.!" Randi screamed as she gave the startled man a hug. The girl had grown quite a bit in the nine months since he'd seen her.

"Hi, Randi," he said, giving her a small hug and then pulling away. He knew photographers hung out in parked cars at the gate with their long lenses trained on the house. He didn't see any when they arrived but the last thing he wanted was to be viewed as a predator.

Brock picked up both J.C. and Chastity's suitcases to carry to the house.

"I can get that," J.C. insisted, hoping to break away from Randi's embrace.

"Not until you get your shoulder looked at," Brock said softly so as not to be overheard. He stopped on his way into the house to give all the women stationed there a kiss on the cheek. It did not go unnoticed that Meredith got one, too.

"Folks, this is J.C. Michaels," he said. "He is the guy who actually owns this house. He's in L.A. for a while so he's going to stay here, too."

"My Dad and I were big fans when you were here," Meredith said, extending her hand. "We were really sad when they traded you – except when we found out who they got in return."

J.C. laughed and chatted with Meredith about some of the games he'd played while with the Dodgers.

The group was still trying to figure out the sleeping arrangements when Brock's cell phone chirped. He glanced at it to see it was Al Perez who had called.

"Hey, Al," Brock said brightly. The buzz of activity at his house reminded him of how nice it was to have friends around.

"Hi, Brock," Al responded. "Esmi and I were planning a late supper over here and I thought I would call and invite you and Chastity out. You did get her from the airport, didn't you?"

"I got her," Brock assured Al. "But I picked up a straggler, too. J.C. Michaels is here – along with a half dozen of my friends from out of town. So I think a late supper is probably out of the question. Do you guys want to come over to say hi to J.C.? I think we're just going to order in some food and hang out for a while."

"J.C. is in town?" Al asked. "Is he just stopping in on his way to San Diego?"

"I'll let him tell you why he's here if he wants to," Brock replied. "I'm not sure he wants anyone to know. I hope you understand."

Al understood completely without Brock saying a word. There was some sort of medical problem that J.C. wanted looked at without the Indians – or the media – finding out.

"Let's plan a blowout tomorrow afternoon at my place," Al said. "Invite whoever you want."

"Why don't we do it here?" Brock asked. "You can bring the kids and they can swim. Plus, well, I know they're big fans of Chastity and Randi. We'll fire up the grill and that way Esmi won't have to clean up stuff while you're in San Diego for the game."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate that and I'm sure the kids would love to swim – not to mention spend time with people in the posters over their beds," Al answered. "What should we bring?"

"Just show up," Brock said. "It will be my treat this time."

He turned to the group after he'd closed his phone.

"If no one has other plans, I'm hosting a picnic tomorrow for my friends and for Al and Esmi and their kids," Brock announced.

"Cool!" Randi said. "Can I invite my Mom over?"

"Of course," Brock answered. "Meredith, would Sam like to spend the afternoon with Al and J.C.? I know you've said he was really appreciative of their talents."

Meredith considered her reply. Brock had accepted Sam's reasons for cutting off contact without explanation but she knew it hurt him that a man he'd considered a friend would push him away so easily. She knew it would hurt him more if he understood that it was her mother who had insisted that Sam cut off contact with Brock as a condition of their attempted reconciliation.

"I'll call and ask him," she decided. She had long known it was stupid of her mother to insist that Sam avoid Brock. She knew her father genuinely liked Brock. Jean had never quite gotten over the scene at the hospital many years before.

"Your Mom is invited, too, if you want," Brock put in.

"No, she's not," Meredith said. "This is a pleasant gathering of former and future friends. My mother falls into neither category."

"Your choice," Brock said and returned to his task of arranging sleeping assignments.

"Hey, Brock," J.C. said. "Where did you put my stuff? My contacts are drying out and I need my solution."

"Master bedroom," Brock said without looking up from his list.

J.C. laughed.

"I don't mind sharing quarters with you but I think you can find someone better to snuggle up to," he said.

Brock looked up questioningly before what J.C. said settled into his brain.

"No, you're in there alone," he said. "Or, well, you and someone else if they decide they want to share. I'm on the couch."

"It's your house now, Brock," J.C. said. "I'm just visiting. The couch is fine."

"Not until you get that $12 million body part checked out," Brock insisted. "I know you're still using the same type mattress in Cleveland because Stan called to check the manufacturer. If everything is good, we might switch up tomorrow night. By the way, the keys to my car are on the shelf. Do you need me to go with you in the morning?"

"I'm good but thanks," J.C. said. "I mean it. Thanks for everything. I admit I was a little surprised that you were still in town for the break. Most folks go home for a while. Then I remembered what I knew about you. This could have been really weird, you know. But it's not. Your friends act like they've known me all their lives and you've been really nice about having me crash your reunion."

"We're all glad to have you here," Brock said sincerely. "I've been looking forward to getting to know you for a while. Stan Balsam said we have a lot in common. Al says you're one of the nicest people he ever met."

Despite his itching eyes, J.C. sat down across from Brock.

"How are you getting along with some of the others?" he asked. J.C. had not developed more than one or two friendships in his time in Los Angeles. He just hadn't fit in. In Cleveland, it was completely different. It was nothing to have half the team over to his rented townhouse for a video game tournament or just to drink a beer and watch a movie.

Brock shrugged. He was in the same situation as J.C. had been. Outside of Al Perez, he had no other close friends on the team. The team's catcher was a nice guy who had gone out of his way to be nice to the rookie. The team's first baseman was the same way. But he wasn't really close to them.

A few players went out of their way to ignore Brock. He had harsh words with the third baseman at the opening of Spring Training and the man hadn't spoken to him since. Brock didn't have to wipe away tears when he thought about being snubbed.

A few other players seemed nice but they had nothing in common. He didn't enjoy the same activities and their personalities were far different. It was much the same with the coaching staff. The Dodgers were a veteran team and the coaching staff had little interaction with the players.

"Al and I hang out," Brock said. "The rest of them, not so much. It's a mutual thing. They're all in their late 20s and early 30s. I'm the youngest guy on the team by almost three years. A couple of them made overtures at the start of the season about going to clubs and stuff. That's not really my thing. The others are married and want to spend time with their family. I've developed a relatively solitary life over the past few years."

J.C. laughed and glanced around at the group of women who were looking through a stack of magazines that Randi had brought over and laughing uproariously every few minutes.

"Yeah, I can see that," he joked. "It will get better in the next couple of months. Right now, they're bringing rookies up for a day or a week and then sending them down. Once the trade deadline deals shake out, there will be a couple of other younger guys up here. Those guys will look to you for how to interact with the veteran players. Al is a great guy, really solid. He is the one who helped me learn my way out here. Josh Hart and Wade Watson are solid, too. Cesar and Milton are pretty decent once you get to know them. I just, well, I just never really got into the life out here. I tried but things are a lot different here than what I'm used to.