Chapter 32

Tara was cleaning up the kitchen when Brock came back in the house.

"Quite the domestic," Brock said. Tara knew he was kidding. She hated to clean. In fact, she had a maid service for her downtown apartment.

"Up yours, Hotshot," Tara responded.

"Seriously, I can take care of this," Brock said. "I'm sure you have other things to be doing."

"Not a one," Tara replied.

"Really?" Brock asked.

"I'm doing research for a couple of analysis pieces I'm taping on Friday," she said. "Outside of that I'm good. Both schools are off this week and both play cupcakes next week. But guess what? I'm going to be in the booth for a nationally telecast game the Saturday after Thanksgiving, UCLA and USC."

"Wow!" Brock said. "That's fantastic. I'm sorry I didn't get to listen to your debut. I guess I sort of lost track of the days."

"It's OK," Tara said.

"It's not," Brock replied. "It was important to you. You're important to me. Therefore it is important to me. Jen could tell us which mathematical property that relates to but I can't. You know A equals B; B equals C; thus A equals C."

"I'm not too worried about it," Tara joked. "But thanks. I know I was busy last week but I wasn't too busy that I couldn't have at least called."

"You didn't want to put up with me," Brock said. "I can understand that. Still, I have no excuse. I promise I won't miss the next one. Are we good?"

"We're good," Tara said. "You seem, I don't know, you seem more at ease than when I saw you a week ago."

"I finally got my chance to be angry," Brock explained, continuing with what had been bothering him since the incident at the ballpark.

"So, how's Zack doing?" he asked casually after he finished his explanation.

"Good," Tara said.

"So it's a good thing you're not affiliated with the Dodgers anymore," he said.

"Maybe," Tara admitted. As an employee of the station that had the rights to the Dodgers broadcasts, Tara had been forbidden to date any player of the organization. Now that she was with a new network, those rules were gone. "We're not that far along. We talk to each other and send e-mails. He's a really nice guy."

"I thought so," Brock said. "I was hoping he could go fishing with J.C., Sam and me next week."

"He might be able to," Tara pointed out. "They're shutting him down at 45 innings. He pitched a bunch there at the end of the season and they want to let him rest."

"He was a horse in Game 2 against the Phillies," Brock said. "What did he wind up going, five and a third or something?"

"Five-and-a-third innings, 78 pitches, no earned runs and only three hits allowed," Tara replied. "He saved the bullpen, not that it mattered."

"It could have," Brock said. "We voted him a full playoff share, you know."

"I do know," Tara said with a laugh. "I'm a reporter. I have sources."

"He told you," Brock said, elbowing Tara gently.

"Well, yeah," she admitted, elbowing him back. "You ever think of going into broadcasting? You know, when you retire."

"God, no," Brock said. "The happiest day of my life was when SportsNet hired you to do the on-field interviews. I could chat with you like we're doing now. Before you showed up, I was terrible."

"What do you plan to do once, you know, it's over?" Tara wondered. "Have you thought about it much?"

"I plan to fill my bathtub full of all the money I've made and roll around in it for the next five years," Brock said with a smile. "Actually, I haven't considered it. My degree will be worthless by then. I guess I'll start to figure it out when the end comes near. If it happened today, I'd design computer games or work in the IT department of some company. I'm not really hurting for money, you know. But I've found I'm really bored."

"Yeah," Tara said. "So you don't plan to be like that guy from the White Sox and hang on until you're 43?"

Brock shrugged.

"I hope not," he said. "That guy is still really good. I mean, he's won 10 or 11 Gold Gloves. To me, he's a Hall of Famer even if he has hung on a season or two too long. No, I hope that I'll recognize it when my skills start to erode. I don't want to become a journeyman utility infielder. I'd love to spend my whole career with one team. So if I start to slow down, I hope someone will pull me aside and let me know it's time to move on."

"It's going to be tough to let it go," Tara remarked.

"Oh, yeah," Brock agreed. "But it happens to all of us. Al is a season or two from moving to left field. Josh is going to have start playing some first base in a season or two. Guerra might look like he's 12 but he's in his mid-30s. He's been playing pro ball for 18 seasons, if you can believe it. I noticed toward the end of the season that he was wearing down. I think I got charged with a couple of errors because he was too slow getting to the bag and the ball sailed into the outfield."

"Want to hear a rumor confirmed through an anonymous source?" Tara asked with raised eyebrows.

"So long as it doesn't get me into trouble," Brock replied.

"They're going to shop Cerutti around at the Winter Meetings," Tara confided.

"Cardozo's ready," Brock said. "He really crushed the ball in September. Besides, Cerutti's an asshole."

"He really is," Tara confirmed. "But I think they're going to give Josh first chance to win the starting job."

"Oh, hell," Brock muttered. "They're not thinking of starting Courson behind the plate, are they? He's a good catcher but he can't hit worth a shit."

"Yeah, I always wondered why he even bothered to carry a bat with him," Tara said. "It would be easier for him to stand and watch three pitches with his hands empty. Hell, he could even keep his gear on. It's not like there is a chance in hell of him getting on base. But no, they're going to keep him as a backup. He'll probably catch once a week and do some late-inning work. The rumor is that Baltimore is trying to move Sanchez or Wellstone. Both could be starters and they've got another kid in Double-A that's supposed to be the shit."

Brock considered the possibility.

"It would probably cost Cardozo to get him though," Tara added. "I know he's your buddy."

"It's a high cost," Brock said. "But not for a good catcher. I hope they're not planning to showcase Zack."

"Not that I've heard," Tara said with a frown. "I think they're going to groom him to take over the closer's role. Stimson hits arbitration next year. I've never agreed with a high-priced closer. Even the worst closer succeeds 80 percent of the time. Stimson isn't much higher than that. It's the difference between 88 wins or 90 for a good team. Still, he's going to want $10 million a season. I figure the Dodgers will non-tender him."

Brock smiled and nodded.

"You know, if you'd fart or belch a couple of times it would be just like hanging out with one of the guys," he joked.

"And if I took my shirt off, it would be just like hanging out with the girls," Tara rejoined.

"OK," Brock said with a big smile.

"You missed your chance, Champ," Tara said. "Tara's Titties are off limits to all attached boyfriends. So, things are going to be OK with Meredith?"

Brock sighed and shrugged.

"I don't know," he said.

"So you weren't really convinced that nothing happened Saturday," she said.

"Oh, no," Brock corrected. "I'm positive that she didn't screw anyone else. It's like I told Zoe, I trust her. I think she proved me right by coming here and telling me face to face."

"So what is it?" Tara pressed. "You're not worried that she'll do drugs again, are you?"

"No, that's not it either," Brock answered. "It's complicated."

"So use big words when you tell me," Tara said with a grin. "I promise to be impressed."

Randi's frequent journeys to join Brock and Meredith in bed were a secret. She lived next door and would simply slip through the back gate and enter the house. No one knew that she came over almost every night Meredith was there – almost always with Meredith's invitation.

"We have some other issues we need to resolve," Brock said. "I can't really go into them. It's not that I don't trust you. It's just, well, it involves someone else."

Tara's face lit in a huge grin.

"You're nailing Randi, too!" she said. "I knew you did her good after the Emmys but I thought that was, you know, a one-time thing."

"It hasn't worked out that way," Brock said.

"And Meredith wants it to end?" Tara asked. "I can't see that. She and Randi are tight."

"Yes they are," Brock said with an exaggerated leer.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Tara said, blushing and shaking her head.

"I knew what you meant," Brock said. "And, no, Meredith doesn't want it to end. I do. I'd like Meredith all to myself."

"You're hitting them at the same time!" Tara said. "Oh, this is too good. You dog. I wondered why Meredith gave a little smirk when I mentioned Susan and I doing you. It's because she and Randi just stepped right in. You aren't missing a thing."

"I'm missing time alone with someone I love," Brock pointed out.

"Oh," Tara said. "So, it's like, all the time?"

Brock nodded.

"Don't say anything," he pleaded. "I mean, if it was anyone but Randi, I probably wouldn't care. But you know how things like this take on a life of their own."

"I won't say anything," Tara assured him. "So Randi is like, I don't know, with you guys."

"Every night Meredith spends here, Randi does too," Brock said. "When Meredith doesn't stay over, neither does Randi. Twice I have been with each of them alone. Even then, the other came over to spend the night with us."

"And you're complaining," Tara said. "I think I better burp or fart just so one of us is acting like a guy."

"It's not like that," Brock protested. "It's just, look, I like Randi. I really do. When I agreed to this, I didn't really expect it to last for four months. When she came back from tour, I figured she would move on. Nope. In fact, she is here more frequently than before. We're going to have to sit down and figure this out before it causes things to come to an end between Meredith and me."

Tara and Brock shared a few more beers and she decided to accept his hospitality and spend the night. They shared breakfast before she went back to her apartment to shower and change clothes.

"So, you're doing nothing for the next few days?" Brock asked.

"Not a lot, no," Tara replied. Then she smiled. "And you're not either. We can do nothing together. We've always done nothing well."

"We have," Brock replied. "Uh, I was thinking, I haven't really been out of the house much in the past couple of months. Once I figure out when Meredith is heading back to work with Randi, let's go out for dinner and maybe find something fun to do afterward."

"Sounds great!" Tara said. "We'll figure it out later. Still, I need to get going. Call me later and let me know if you want to do something tonight. I understand if Meredith is still here so I won't wait by the phone. But I was getting a little bored, too."

She left and waved to Meredith at the gate. Meredith waved back and continued to Brock's house. He saw her coming and waited outside.

"How's Tara doing?" Meredith asked after she gave Brock a hug.

"She's well," he answered. "She had a booth gig last week and it went well. She's going to doing a national telecast of UCLA-USC in a couple of weeks."

"That's really great!" Meredith replied.

"She spent the night," Brock told Meredith.

"Well, duh!" Meredith answered with a laugh. "I didn't figure she drove back out to share breakfast with you."

"I didn't want you to think I was hiding anything," he said. "She's interested in Zack Duffy."

"I know she is," Meredith assured him. "Even if she wasn't, I don't worry about you. I never did and I never will. You can have a houseful of naked bimbos in here and I know you won't do anything because you've promised me you won't. You're not the one who screwed up, Brock. You don't have to justify yourself."

"Well, neither do you," he said.

"Yes, I do," Meredith rebutted. "Last weekend, well, I don't want to go into it. You know what I did. Even I don't know why I did it. But it's done and I hope we can move past it. There will be no repeat. I promise you that. I've promised my Dad that and I've promised Randi that."

"So you've spoken to Randi?" Brock asked.

"I figured she would have called you this morning," Meredith said. "Well, I guess she was getting things set up in Providence. She said everything is really organized in D.C. So I can stay here a couple of days and just meet her in Jacksonville on Thursday. If you want me to, that is."

"Of course I do," Brock replied.

"So, we've got my stupidity out of the way," Meredith said. "But I got the impression that you wanted to talk about other things, too. I also promise to make sure I'm considering your needs when I'm worried about other people. It was really wrong of me. Is that all?"

Brock sighed.

"There is one other thing that has been bothering me," he said.

Meredith turned to face him on the couch they shared.

"Tell me what it is," she urged. "If I can fix it, I will."

"It's not that easy to fix," he admitted. "It's, well, I think we need to spend more time alone together."

"We were together almost every day for a month," Meredith pointed out.

"Not really," Brock said. "There was always someone else here."

Meredith figured out where Brock was headed.

"Oh," she said. "I, huh, are you saying you want to exclude Randi?"

"Not exclude her," Brock said. "But lessen her role in our lives. I know she's your friend but, well, it's you that I'd rather spend time with."

Meredith looked away.

"You're right," she said. "It's not that easy. Brock, I guess I should just say this. I love Randi."

"I know," he said. "I love her, too."

"No, Brock," Meredith said. "I mean, I love her. Just like I love you. Not as much, at least not yet, but I love her. And she loves you. I mean, she really loves you. Plus, well, I think she loves me, too."

Brock closed his eyes for a moment. This was not the answer he had expected.

"I don't think of her like that," he said.

"Not yet," Meredith added hopefully. "I know you really care for her. And I think you love her like that at least a little."

"So you guys have been, uh, getting closer on tour?" he asked.

"As in having sex?" Meredith asked. "No. Not at all. I've kind of wanted to at least play around some. But she said that we have a duty to you. You and she don't do things when I'm not around. She's not going to do things with me when you're not around. That's what I mean, Brock. She is completely in love with you. That's mostly why she was mad at me for staying in New York. That's totally why she was mad at me for Halloween night. She was completely pissed that I would flirt with someone when you weren't there. I was hoping that we might, well, I wanted to keep her with us always. I think that's what she wants, too."

"I'm not sure it's what I want," Brock admitted. "I thought this was just short-term, until she found someone she wanted to be with."