Chapter 19: Eddie

When I got back to our room after my (second) breakfast in the motel lobby, me and Dave went off for one of my favorite on-the-road pastimes, miniature golf! Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, of all the stops on the Carolina League schedule, was the only place that was a real tourist town, with lots of amusements. They had a nice beach, too, and sometimes when we were there Dave and I would hang out and watch the girls in their bikinis. That was fun, and some of those girls -- man, they were wearing skimpy outfits! But miniature golf was neat, too, and there was a really nice course there, right off the beach road.

"Emmy called," Dave told me when we'd gotten our putters and were all set for the first hole.

"She OK?" I said, figuring Dave was just making small talk.

"She's good. She wants to buy a house."

"Probably, the neighbors complained, all that hollering she was doing when we were in her apartment. Maybe the landlord's throwing her out."

"Very funny." Dave said. But I knew he didn't mind, if I kidded him about Emily, when it was just him and me there to hear it.

Dave made his shot, almost holing it out right from the little rubber-thingie, there, at the start, but the ball didn't quite go in. He tapped in for a two, and I got a par three.

"She wants us to move there, too," he said, after a long silence.

"Move where?"

"To Arlington -- right across from D.C. Same town she's living in now. She's been looking at houses."

"So we'd be living close to her place?"

"So we'd be in her place -- living there. With her."

"Wow! But isn't that a long way from Bowie?"

"Not really," Dave said. I mean, it's kinda... inconvenient... to Bowie, because Bowie's on the other side of Washington, D.C. But Bowie's actually closer to D.C. than it is to Baltimore. So it would be, y'know, not so bad."

"And I'd go to school there?"

"Yep. And you wouldn't change schools, even if I do get assigned to Bowie. You'd stay right there."

"But. When the baseball season starts, and school lets out? Would I still travel with you, like now?"

"Probably not, Eddie. Stu Little spoke to me about you recently. About your traveling with the club. He said he'd heard from the Oriole brass about it. They asked him to pass on to me that this would be the only year you could travel with the team. Didn't matter, if I stayed in Frederick, or moved on up to Bowie. Wherever I went in the Organization, they wanted us to know we couldn't do this anymore, after this season. They won't be doing it anymore in Frederick, either, for any other player, in the future."

"Gee."

"Yeah."

"So. Are we gonna do it?... Live with Emily?"

"I don't know."

"Have we got enough money -- to do that?"

"Not even close. That's the point. We couldn't pay our way. It would be mostly Emily, paying the freight. We'd be basically living off her, like she was our Mom -- both of us's Mom."

"But she could afford it, right? I mean, she's, like, rich, right?"

"Yes, I guess she can afford it. But it's... you know. It's kind-of humiliating, Eddie, to just have to depend on somebody, like that."

"It's not like it would be forever! You're gonna be in the Big Leagues! You'll have lots of money, too, someday!"

"Maybe. But, meanwhile, it would all be on Emmy."

"So you think it's humiliating?... For you to have to get help from Emily? Even if she loves you?"

"It's just hard to, you know, accept help, like that. I mean,... when you're... the guy."

"What about me? I accept help from you, all the time. Should I be that way too?... Humiliated? I gotta have help from my brother, just to survive. It would be a lot easier for you, if I wasn't a drag on you, everything you tried to do."

"You are not a drag on me, Eddie," Dave said, quite sternly. And then, he kinda sputtered out, laughing, and said, "You ain't heavy, Eddie -- you're my brother!"

"What would happen to Patsy?" I asked him.

"Patsy? Patsy Fischer? Jesus, Eddie! All the questions you could ask -- about where we'd live, and the schools, and maybe how I felt about all this... all the questions, and you are worried about Patsy! She's a big girl. She won't become a street person. She can take care of herself!"

"So that's it? We'd... Emily would... leave Patsy?"

"Actually, maybe not. Emmy wanted to show me a house she's found, and she wanted to talk about maybe Patsy's living there, too -- at least while she's still a student. Patsy would pay a little rent, maybe, but she'd mostly get a rent break in exchange for helping to keep an eye on you."

"We could save money," I told Dave. "Emily could get a smaller house, with fewer bedrooms, and me and Patsy could sleep together!"

"In your dreams, Squirt," Dave said.

Well, he knew I was just kidding. Actually, I was only "just kidding" because I knew they'd never buy it... But if they ever did want to get a smaller place, I sure as hell was willing to double up on the bedrooms!

Gosh, the more I heard about this house-in-Arlington idea, the more I liked it! I wouldn't be switching schools all the time, and when Dave went to Florida in February, I'd be right there, with Emily.

And maybe, Patsy.

Hot dog! I knew that Patsy Fischer was a grown-up woman and I was just a kid, and all. And I knew the chances I'd ever get with her, that way, were pretty much slim-to-none. But one thing I was pretty sure Dave didn't know was that there were some other -- whatchacallit -- "side benefits" for me, being around Patsy.

She was an incredible girl! There was something a little bit wrong with her, I think. At least, some people would think it was wrong.

Me? I thought it was wonderful!

See, Patsy was kind-of an exhibitionist.

Maybe it didn't mean I was ever going to get to have sex with her. I knew it didn't -- necessarily -- mean that. But, hey, who cares? I mean, for me, just looking was awful nice! I still remembered that accidental peek I'd gotten, of Emily's bosoms, up at the ballpark in Frederick. That had been thrilling!