Chapter 19: Cheatin’ Heart

Wednesday March 15
I came into the kitchen to find my dad going off on a rant.

“No, I don’t want tomatoes instead of hash browns. I want toast for breakfast, and I want bread and French fries with my hamburger. That doctor is crazy if he thinks I’m sticking to this diet.”

“He didn’t say no bread; he said you had to cut back. You need to make healthier choices,” Mom said in a surprisingly calm voice.

I swear, someone had to have slipped her something. Mom wasn’t the peacemaker in our family.

“The doctor’s nuts. He wants me to lose too much weight. I haven’t been that skinny since I was David’s age,” Dad complained.

“How much weight does your doctor want you to lose?” I asked.

“A little over forty pounds,” Dad admitted and then began to complain again. “I tried to tell him that I’ve already lost an inch on my waist since I’ve been working out. Muscle weighs more than fat, right?”

“Rob, he said it would help your heart,” Mom said.

“Hang on. I have an idea,” I said and walked out the back door, leaving my parents looking confused.

When I walked back in, I handed my dad a vest.

“Put this on and wear it this morning,” I said.

“Jesus, what do you have in this thing? Weights?” Dad asked.

“Yep. Bo Harrington gave it to me to wear for workouts. I put forty pounds in it so you can see what a difference it would make.”

“You’re such a good son,” Mom said.

That might have been a bridge too far. I gave Mom a ten for execution, but a one for content. Dad didn’t buy it for a minute.

“More like a pain in my...”

“Rob,” Mom warned.

“Put it on, and walk up to your room and back,” I challenged.

“If it’ll get me hash browns for breakfast,” Dad said as he put it on.

“Am I making hash browns?” Cassidy asked.

My mom and I both shook our heads ‘no.’

When Dad came back down the stairs, he was flushed. He took off the vest, sat down, and picked up the paper as he ignored Mom and me. Cassidy nodded and returned to cooking.

“What are you doing here?” I asked Cassidy. “I thought you were suspended.”

“Daddy forgot to go grocery shopping, so it was either come here to eat or go hungry.”

None of us were buying what she was selling.

“You forgot you were suspended,” I ventured.

“Don’t antagonize the cook,” Dad warned me.

“Why did we tell Melanie that she didn’t need to cook breakfast for us anymore?” I asked.

“Because I’m teaching Cassidy to cook,” Dad said.

It was more like my parents had adopted Cassidy.

Angie came strolling in and grabbed a coffee. It seemed lately that she had a permanent scowl on her face.

“Go help Peggy with your kids,” she said to me, and then turned to Cassidy. “I like my bacon crispy. None of that limp stuff.”

Her acid tongue burned my ears. While I was more than happy to help Peggy bring the boys down, hearing it from Angie pissed me off. I was about to tell her what I thought about ‘crispy’ bacon when my mom caught my attention. Mom’s expression conveyed her thoughts just fine. I kept my comments to myself and left to get my boys.

I’d noticed that Lisa had been missing in action today. She’d eaten lunch with her old crowd, which included Destiny Crown. I didn’t need Destiny filling Lisa’s head with her nonsense. So, at the end of the day, I was waiting out front when Lisa came out. When she saw me, she tried to go back inside, but I stopped her.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

From her look, I knew our days were numbered. She led me into the school, and we found an empty classroom so we could talk.

“Last night was wrong,” she said.

“You mean with Greg?” I asked. “All you had to say was ‘no.’”

She blushed.

“It wasn’t that,” she said and then bit her lip before she looked me in the eyes. “I didn’t want to say ‘no.’”

Now I was confused.

“What exactly is wrong, then?” I asked.

Lisa looked down at her hands, which she was wringing, before she answered.

“Since last spring, you’ve helped me fix my reputation. The running joke in this school had been whether you or I was the bigger slut. The truth of the matter is, it was never you that they thought that of. It was Bill Rogers and his friends who started the rumors, and everyone believed them. They all thought I was the bike of Lincoln High—just talk to Lisa and get a ride. If you wanted to look like you were no longer a virgin, you said you had been with me,” she said, getting emotional.

“I told everyone it wasn’t true,” I said to defend her.

“I know. The truth is, Bill was mad because I wouldn’t put out for him. Everyone assumed that because of how I dressed, I was easy. I knew that if I dated you, the rumors would stop, or more likely, just not be said out loud. Everyone assumes that you and I do stuff,” she said.

I shrugged because she was right, and there was no use denying it.

“The trouble is,” Lisa continued, “last night reminded me of what everyone said about me.”

“I still don’t get why you’re upset. You said you didn’t have a problem with what happened. Greg will never say anything, if that’s what you’re worried about,” I said.

“The problem is that I know,” she said and saw me blink because it made no sense to me. “I end up doing things with you that I’ve been denying I did. This has nothing to do with you except that you make me feel like I can do this kind of stuff. I’ve worked so hard to not be looked down on. I’m afraid they’ll know that I really am capable of doing everything they’ve accused me of.”

“So what? In a few years, they’ll all be doing the same if not worse.”

“That’s just it. In a few years, it might be acceptable. Until then, I need to hold on to what I’ve worked so hard to rehabilitate ... my reputation,” Lisa said.

“So, no more Greg or anything like that?” I asked to get clarification.

She got a pained look.

“I want to break up.”

Well, screw me sideways, I hadn’t seen that one coming. Lisa didn’t wait for me to say anything back. She just pushed past me and hustled out of the school.

When I entered the hall, Destiny was waiting for me.

“You okay?” she asked.

“I take it you knew?”

“Not for sure. I just wanted you to know that if you need to talk...”

“Thanks. I need to get to practice,” I said while thinking I would never be looking to Destiny for emotional support.

At baseball practice, everyone was walking on eggshells around me. Then it hit me: Destiny had told her brother, who, in turn, had told the team about Lisa and me. Never underestimate the speed at which the Lincoln grapevine could share news about a couple breaking up.

While we stretched before practice, my brother came over to check on me.

“You okay?” Phil asked me.

“I’m good,” I said.

I was surprised that I was. After all, I hadn’t been dumped in a few weeks, so I was due.

“To completely change the subject,” I said with a smile, “did you ever talk to Jill and get back together?”

“Not yet,” Phil admitted.

“I wonder what she wanted to talk to me about. Maybe I should give her a call.”

“Sometimes, I hate you.”

That made me chuckle.

“So, you’re really okay?” Phil asked.

“I’m fine,” I said. We were done stretching. “Call Jill.”

He nodded and left to join the pitchers. I was heading toward the outfield when I spotted Devin Range of Range Sports. He was talking to Moose and our trainers. Moose waved me over.

“Mr. Range has some equipment for the team,” Moose said.

“I heard a rumor that you’re getting drilled while batting.”

“Nine times so far. If it hadn’t been for your protective shirt, I would be out of action by now,” I said.

“We have something new we want you to try out. You know that material I showed you for the gloves?” Devin asked.

I nodded. You could punch a brick wall, and your hand would be okay. I loved them.

“We made shorts and undershirts out of the stuff,” he said, handing me a duffle bag from a stack he had for the rest of the team.

I pulled them out, and the shorts were similar to bicycle shorts in that they were formfitting and reached to your knees. They also had a pocket for a cup. The material was thicker than that of bicycle shorts, more like the wet suit I wore when surfing. The bag also held an elbow guard and a helmet with a chin guard.

“The helmet and elbow guard have a soft rubber shell with a hard-plastic interior that covers the same material that’s in your gloves and other gear. I’ve been told that you could be shot with a .22, and it would protect you,” Devin shared.

When he first showed me the gloves, he said the material was designed initially for military flak jackets.

The helmet and elbow guard appeared to utilize the same type of technology as my football helmet. The soft rubber acted like a car bumper to slow the ball, while the hard plastic stopped it. They designed the padding to disperse the impact over a much wider area to protect your brain. The chin guard would protect me from getting hit in the face like a facemask would in football. Most ballplayers didn’t use one because it might obstruct their view of a pitch. I saw the value, though, because I was being thrown at a lot. Getting a fastball in the face was one of the quickest ways to be put out of commission for the season.

“This is great,” I told Devin. “But why are you here? Sandy always just mailed us gear to try out.”

“Cora wanted to visit her sister and mother. Plus, I couldn’t pass up my chance to see my nephew.”

Cora was Pam’s sister and married to Devin.

“Coby is about big enough for a four-wheeler,” I suggested.

Devin chuckled and left me to baseball. I would have to pay Pam to work on him. I was sure my mom would be okay with a four-wheeler. It wasn’t a motorcycle, after all.

When I got home, Mom told me that Pam had picked up Coby, and he was staying the night with her. She also said I’d gotten a package.

Duke was watching Little David. I didn’t think twice about the irony of that. Of late, he might actually be a better babysitter than I was if my having lost Coby in my apartment once was any indication. At least Duke would come to get someone if it looked like a little one was up to no good. He was the ultimate tattletale.

That allowed Peggy to do her homework at the kitchen table while Melanie cooked.

I opened my package. Inside, it had t-shirts for my J-drama, College First. It had been airing weekly on Netflix on Friday nights. I’d gotten an email saying last week’s show had been the number two downloaded program, right behind a superhero movie that had just been released. Asian TV shows were a big hit on Netflix.

I put the t-shirts on the table. Peggy grabbed one and ran her palm over the Japanese characters.

“What’s this shirt say?”

“It says girls are stupid. Throw rocks at them.”

“David,” Mom warned.

“I’ll take this one,” Peggy said.

“I want the pink one,” Melanie said.

Mom handed it to her and gave me a look that dared me to take it back. Not that I was going to because there were about twenty of them. I found a note that suggested I wear the t-shirts when I might run into the press. The letter told me that the t-shirts said ‘College First’ and then had different tag lines like ‘First Kiss.’

I had the women all put their new shirts on, and I put one on myself. I took a selfie with them so I could send it to my castmates. Of course, they would ‘leak’ it to the various Japanese fan sites. Melanie had me send the picture to her so she could forward it to her reporter friend in Chicago. I then texted it to Frank so he could work his magic with my social media.

“This promoting my show is exhausting,” I complained as I rubbed my thumb, sore from all the texting I’d just done.

Haters are going to hate. No one had any sympathy for me.

Friday March 17
After second period, I was called to the office. I was a bit confused when I found my brother there, looking distressed.

“Is it Dad?” I asked, thinking the worst.

“No, but I need to tell you something. Let’s find somewhere we can talk in private.”

The lady at the desk let us use the principal’s office. When the door closed, Greg began to pace.

“What’s got you so worked up?” I asked.

“Angie,” Greg all but spat out.

Oh, boy. I didn’t want to be in the middle of this.

“What does this have to do with me?” I asked.

Greg looked at the ceiling, and you could feel the anguish roll off him in waves of despair.

“When I think it can’t get any worse...” he trailed off.

“Just tell me.”

“She wants money to go away. If I pay her, she’ll sign documents to give me the kids, and we’ll never see her again,” he said in a rush.

“Is that what you want?”

“If you asked me yesterday, I would have said ‘no.’ Even if our marriage is over, I want the kids to have their mother in their life. I could’ve even sucked it up and not been a dick when I saw her. I mean, seriously, plenty of people figure it out,” Greg said.

“What happened to change your mind?” I asked and then had a thought. “And why does this concern me? Do you need me to write a check to make her leave? Because if you do, I would be willing to write one. I’m not feeling quite as charitable as you are towards her being in my niece and nephews’ lives.”

“You might not be willing to help me out after I tell you what made me come here,” Greg said to worry me.

“Did she take more money?” I asked.

“Probably,” he said and waved his hand dismissively. Then he handed me an opened envelope. “I received this in the mail this morning.”

I looked at it, and it was from Planned Parenthood.

“Did she... ?” I asked, jumping to conclusions.

“Just read it,” Greg said and wouldn’t look at me.

It said that Angie had tested positive for both gonorrhea and chlamydia. And, since she reported that Greg was one of her sexual partners, he should get tested immediately. He was asked to provide them with a list of all his sexual partners so they could be notified.

I won’t repeat what I was thinking. Let’s just say it wasn’t kind towards my sister-in-law and her cheatin’ heart. Then it dawned on me why Greg was here.

“For fuck’s sake!” I yelled.

Greg’s diseased cock had been in my ex-girlfriend’s mouth. The only saving grace was that I hadn’t kissed her afterward. Then I kicked myself for being so selfish. How would I ever tell Lisa that she might have contracted an STI?

I got my phone out.

“What are you doing?” Greg asked.

“Calling Mom. If anyone knows what to do in this situation, it’s her.”

“It’s your funeral. I’m out,” Greg said and left me.

It would be an understatement to say that telling my mom wasn’t the most pleasant task I’d ever undertaken. Three things were made clear to me. I should expect a long talk when she and my dad got me alone; I was to go get tested... today; and I was to tell Lisa.

This taught me the valuable lesson not to call my ‘mommy’—her words—next time. Greg had been right to bail when I made the ill-considered decision to involve my mother. I had no one to blame but myself, and I should have known better. I was a little pissed at my brother for not finding the courage to talk to Lisa himself. He was the one, even if it was unwittingly, who had brought the STIs to the party.

I knew Lisa’s class schedule, so I walked to her classroom and pulled her out of her history class. When I got her in the hall, I just told her.

“Greg got a letter that Angie has tested positive for both gonorrhea and chlamydia.”

Her face turned bright red, and her eyes filled up with tears. She slugged me in the chest and then ran for the bathroom. That could have gone better. When I was forced to have my talk with my parents, I would have to remember to ask how you kept from getting punched when delivering that kind of news.

After school, I drove to the clinic to get tested. Afterward, I went ‘straight home.’ I found a note from my mom saying that I was grounded until further notice, and I was to babysit all the little ones with Greg tonight. She and Dad were going out.

I wasn’t quite sure why I was grounded and not Greg, but I wasn’t about to ask.

Instead, I opened the refrigerator to see what Melanie had left us for dinner. I smiled when I saw the kid-friendly menu of cheeseburger cups made in a cupcake pan. There were also cheesy broccoli tots, the healthy version of tater tots—with enough ketchup, they weren’t as bad as they sounded. Both were accompanied by instructions to put them in the oven to bake. For dessert, we were having apple sauce.

As I finished putting dinner into the oven, Duke let me know that someone was here. I looked out the back door and saw that both Greg and Peggy had pulled up with carloads of kids. I ran out to help get them out of their car seats and bring them inside.

Dawson was my little chatterbox, as if he had something to say about everything today. I think he simply needed his dad’s attention. Greg’s horde wasn’t as animated as usual. I could tell they didn’t understand why their mom was missing in action.

After we got the kids inside, Peggy took me aside. I looked deep into her green eyes. They were playful, like she wanted to laugh, and she was just waiting for the joke.

“Rumor on the street is that you’re single again.”

I was surprised that she’d only now discovered that fact. I hadn’t really advertised it, but I would have assumed Pam or my mom would have let Peggy know. Then again, Pam wasn’t really one to spread gossip.

“I may have sworn off women for now.”

“I don’t believe that for a moment,” Peggy said.

“Maybe I’ll just do what Lexi suggested and find hookups instead of trying to date anyone right now. In a couple of months, I’ll be off to do my James Bond movie. I don’t see the point in starting anything now,” I explained.

She shrugged.

“That actually makes sense.”

“What are you doing tonight?” I asked.

“The cross-country team is going to a party.”

“Looking for your own hookup?” I teased.

“Who knows?” she said and then got serious. “I hear Mitch showed up. What did he want?”

“He claimed he wanted to see Little David. I gave him a couple hundred dollars, and he went away.”

She didn’t look happy.

“He turned out to be a huge mistake. I can’t believe he would show up asking for money. If anything, he could at least show an interest in his son.”

“I hope I’ve made it clear that I think of Little David as my son. If you’re worried about his future, I would be willing to put it in writing, so you know it’s not just words.”

I’d already created a trust for him, but wanted Peggy to know without a doubt how I felt about the little guy.

“How would that work?” Peggy asked.

“I don’t really know, but I’m sure we could ask my lawyers, and they would have some ideas. Why don’t you ask Scarlet to investigate it for us?” I suggested.

“Okay, but I’m not looking to give up custody or anything.”

I smiled.

“I would never ask you to.”

Peggy left to change clothes when the oven timer started buzzing.

One-year-olds will eat anything one day and not like anything the next. Today, Carol decided she would rather feed Duke than eat. I’d given up on making my hound mind when the kids were at the table. At least it was easier than having to pick up the food that hit the floor. It was funny how your perspective changed once you had kids.

Kyle and Mac balked at cheesy broccoli tots until Greg made them out as a treat and scarfed down a handful. When he reached to eat theirs, they decided they might be okay. That was all Nate needed to convince him to eat his tots, too. Mine were too young to know that tots shouldn’t be green.

Greg and I counted ourselves lucky that we survived the next few hours with only a couple of meltdowns. We finally got mine worn out and put to bed. I put Duke in charge of watching them and came back downstairs. Greg’s kids were watching a cartoon movie on TV. We weren’t going to be written up as model parents anytime soon with a dog and the TV in charge.

“My test results came back negative for any sexually transmitted infections,” Greg said.

I said a bad word. If I’d been smart, I would’ve waited to find out before telling my mom and Lisa. Perhaps I was the ‘stupid boy’ everyone claimed me to be. I sent a text to Lisa to let her know. I guess I wasn’t surprised when I didn’t get a response back.

“What do you plan to do?” I asked.

Greg sighed.

“I’m more than a little overwhelmed with raising three kids on my own, going to school, and running a business without Angie. It isn’t so bad during the week because I can drop them off at daycare, but the weekends are a bear. When it was the two of us, we could trade off watching them. I hate to say it, but I would almost be willing to forgive her just so I could have some free time.”

In my case, I only had to take on that responsibility for an evening or afternoon at most. I couldn’t imagine what Greg was going through.

“So, you might not get divorced?” I asked.

“Hell, no. That ship has sailed. Angie has made it clear she is moving on without us.”

“Any idea who the other guy is?”

He just shook his head ‘no.’

I felt terrible for my brother, but I knew better than to get into the middle of whatever it was he was going through. If he needed my help, he would let me know, I was sure. I think all he really needed tonight was someone to listen to him.

Saturday March 18
Today was our annual baseball tournament. The last three years, we’d played all the games at the park. My dad used to be in charge of Parks and Recreation for our town. They had baseball fields that were used by Little League, Pony League, and American Legion teams during the summer. This year, we were also going to play games at our high school field because we were better set up for crowds.

My dad always arranged to rent one of the pavilions to act as a place for everyone to gather. This year, my grandmother had claimed all the pavilions for the fund-raising event they had planned. They were going after funds for the city, the school, and the Booster Club, all at the same time. They’d organized a festival to be held at the park and had arranged to have a band and fireworks after the game.

I was in the kitchen, making a five-gallon container of Gatorade while Cassidy cut up oranges for the team.

“Do you think we should date?” Cassidy asked.

A thousand words jumbled into my throat, catching just short of my lips.

“I thought you wanted to wait,” I said to deflect.

“We could call it a practice run before we do it for real.”

“Well, I’d sort of decided I didn’t want a girlfriend right now.”

“I’m not talking about being your girlfriend. I’m just tired of not going out and, um ... other things,” she said and blushed.

“What about your dad?” I asked.

“It’s none of his business who I date.”

Oh, Lord! I could just see little Carol at Cassidy’s age, trying that with me. Cassidy read my doubt.

“If you asked him, he would be okay with it.”

“You want me to go talk to your dad about us going out on dates and other stuff?” I asked as I hid my smile.

“You might leave out the ‘other stuff,’” Cassidy suggested.

She had a point.

“Plus, I need a Prom date,” Cassidy said, flooring me.

I hadn’t really thought about Prom yet.

“What about Pam?” I asked since I’d assumed that she would go with me as a friend.

“She can find her own date. I asked first.”

“Do I get a say in this?”

What was I thinking? Cassidy gave me a menacing look.

“Oops, my bad,” I backtracked. “I would love to go to Prom with you.”

“Good,” Cassidy said, perking up. “Now, all you have to do is tell Daddy.”

“Before I do that, why don’t you lay out what you mean by dating?” I asked.

“Just that. You take me out on Friday or Saturday night so I’m not stuck at home watching your J-drama with my dad.”

“You don’t like my TV show?” I asked, acting hurt.

“Not the point, ‘stupid boy.’ It’s the sitting at home part.”

“But you know me...”

“That you’ll hook up with random girls?” Cassidy asked.

I kept a neutral look on my face, unsure if I should admit that was what I was asking. Cassidy let me off the hook.

“This is why I said this would be a practice run. You’re not ready to commit, and I suspect that Pam, Lexi, or some other random girl will lead you astray. I’m not clingy like Brook was,” Cassidy said, throwing her best friend under the bus.

“Wow.”

“I love Brook like a sister, but she wasn’t confident about how you felt about her. Well, that’s not really true; more like she wasn’t confident that you might not get your head turned if someone better came along. I know for a fact that you love me. Maybe not in the ‘let’s get married’ kind of love, but you wouldn’t dump me over a random hookup. Plus, you know I would hurt you if you didn’t take me to Prom,” Cassidy explained patiently, as if the last part made all the sense in the world.

“All I have to do is talk to your dad, get his permission, take you on a date once a week, and be your arm candy at Prom?” I asked.

“And anything else I think up along the way,” Cassidy said to explain how this was going to work.

This was the weirdest way I’d ever decided to go out with someone.

“Deal,” I said, holding out my hand for Cassidy to shake it.

She had other ideas as she jumped into my arms and kissed me. Just as quick as it happened, she let me go and returned to cutting up oranges. What had I just agreed to?

Our first game was at the park. We were the number one seed, so we were facing the weakest team in the tournament, which happened to be Eastside. In football, they were probably our biggest rival. Baseball, not so much, because most of their football players played seven-on-seven during the spring to prepare for next year’s football season.

There were sixteen teams here today, so we had to start our game at nine in the morning. When Cassidy and I arrived at the park, all the vendors and attractions were busy getting ready. The public was told the event would kick off at noon and be open until ten tonight.

It was too early in the season for county fairs, so my grandmother had found a local man who did the summer circuit to set up for the weekend. That meant we would have rides and the rest of the typical fair attractions, including the food. I planned to take advantage and had corn dogs and deep-fried Snickers bars on my list for later today.

I put all that out of my mind to get ready for the game. Cassidy killed me sometimes. She was handing out orange slices to the guys. I noticed she was taking credit for bringing them.

Jeff Delahey, my favorite reporter, flagged me down before our game started.

“No camera crew?” I teased.

“The paper didn’t see the benefit of sending one.”

“I can’t say that I’m disappointed.”

“I bet. It has to get old having a camera shoved in your face all the time during the football season. Today, I’m back to being a newspaper reporter covering the tournament. I was hoping you would give me some sound bites so I can skip most of the baseball games and take my grandkids to the carnival,” Jeff said.

“You know most of my material. Just pick a few key phrases and recycle. Or I could tell you what a fine team Eastside is and, God willing, how we will prevail.”

“I’m good. Just don’t complain that I put words in your mouth when I write my article,” Jeff said. “On another note, tell me about your decision to attend Oklahoma over USC.”

“It was a closer call than you might expect. Both schools have a lot to offer, and I think we would have done well at either. It came down to early playing time for me. At Oklahoma, I should have a chance to compete as the starter my freshman year.”

“Isn’t that a lot to ask a true freshman to do, even with your obvious skills?” Jeff asked.

“It would be if I were enrolling in August. My advantage over a true freshman will be that I’ll get to both participate in spring ball and work out all summer with the team. I’ll also have Hayden Walsh on campus to learn from as he prepares for the NFL draft.”

“You expect he’ll leave early?”

“He was fifth in the Heisman voting last year with the numbers to back it up. I expect even more from him this coming year, and he might win that award this time. Only an injury could stop him from going pro. Even then, depending on the type of injury, I would expect he would enter the draft. The NFL is a quarterback’s league, and there are not enough players at Hayden’s level to go around. I guess that’s the long way of saying yes, Hayden will leave early,” I said.

“Do you still plan to play both football and baseball?” Jeff asked to stir the pot.