Playing The Hot Corner

Pas De Cheval – Panic At The Disco

October.
The only thing about Oregon: No matter where you are, if it’s winter, you get dumped on with snow. At least it was moderately warm (compared to Minnesota’s winters, anything is considered warm). I collapsed on my dorm bed with my jeans that were soaked halfway up my calf, sighing.

“Have fun walking to get coffee?” Courtney, one of my roommates, asked, barely glancing up from her book.

“Hush. The mocha was almost worth it.”

“I WANT TO GO LIVE WITH RENE DESCARTES!” my other roommate, Kaitlyn, yelled as she burst into the room. Apparently she just got back from her super in-depth philosophy class.

“So…in the ground?”

“Not what I meant, silly,” she said, setting her bag by her bed and coming to sit on mine with me. “He’s just my soul mate, pretty much.”

“We know. You’ve said this before,” I said, changing into a pair of (Joe’s) old sweatpants and sitting back down.

“Heard from your boy lately?” Courtney asked, sitting up on her own bed and looking over at me. For the briefest second, Joe’s face flashed into my mind. Then I automatically reverted to Charlie.

“Not today, no. Actually, not yesterday, either.” I paused, then added under my breath, “Better than the two months Joseph has been ignoring me.”

“Huh? Who’s Joseph?” Kaitlyn asked. I should have known she was too close not to hear me. The subject of Joe hadn’t really come up before, and my roommates didn’t know anything about him.

“My best friend from Minnesota. He…we kinda haven’t talked to each other in a long time because of his job, I guess.”

“You miss him,” Courtney said, not asking but telling me.

“Yeah. These are actually his sweats,” I said as if tha tactually related to what we were talking about.

“I want to see a picture of this kid.”

I pulled out my iPod touch and scrolled through the pictures until I found the one I used as my wallpaper: Joe and me on an empty baseball field our junior year in a tight hug, big smiles on our faces. I wore a grey v-neck and Joe was wearing his purple Raiders hat with a black t-shirt. We looked more like brother and sister or boyfriend and girlfriend rather than best friends.

“He’s cute,” Kaitlyn said, angling the iPod closer to her.

“That’s my Joe,” I said, not able to say much more.

My phone vibrated, and I snatched it up, as if looking at pictures of Joe could magically make him call me. I actually didn’t know the number on the screen.

“What does he do?” Courtney asked as I got up from the bed.

“He plays for the Twins.”

Their jaws dropped. “That’s why you’re such a big fan!”

“That and I played baseball and was an all-star on my Varsity team. Excuse me for one second.” I flipped open the phone, ignoring their confused looks. “Hello?”

“Miss Parker?”

“That would be me.”

“My name is Dave Mueller. I’m here with someone you might know and we would like to talk to you about something we should have done a long time ago.”

“Do you mind not playing games with me, then?” I asked. This guy was a teeny bit creepy, the way he was talking.

“I’m from the Minnesota Twins baseball club. Ron Gardenhire and I would like to talk to you about your career.”

I stood frozen. “Are you kidding?”

“Not in the slightest. We’re prepared to come visit you in Oregon on our next break and talk to you about what we should have done a long time ago.”

“How do you know who I am? Where I am? That I’m even the same Jesse Parker that played for the Raiders?”

The phone shuffled a little, like it was changing hands. “Jesse? I know this is very sudden, but my name is Ron Gardenhire. I talked to your coach, Kevin, and last spring, I was asking for you to go with Joe Mauer to the draft. He then gave me a vital piece of information: that you were female. We immediately stepped off, scared of what the League would do if they found out. Now, we’ve decided that we made the wrong decision before. If at all possible, I would like to have you in the starting lineup for next season.”

It was like a dream come true. I could barely catch my breath.

“So you’re willing to risk being found out to have me on your team?”

“I certainly am. Looking at what you’ve done with your game and your skills over the years, I wonder now why I hesitated before.”

“So…you’re going to come out here and talk to me, or am I coming home? Cause I can do that too. I’m actually kind of fed up with not playing year-round anymore.”

Gardenhire chuckled. “You can do that if you want.”

“What?” Kaitlyn said behind me. “You’re going home?”

“One second, Kaitlyn,” I whispered loudly. “And when I get back, how can I contact you?”

“This number. Did it come up on your caller ID?”

“Yeah.”

“All right. If you get back within the next week, I have a break through the last week of October. We could meet one day that week.”

“You’re still working?”

“I work all year for the ball club. There are way too many things to be done,” said the always curt Gardenhire.

“Okay. I think I can be home by then.”

“Good. I’m expecting a call from you when you get back in the state.”

“You’ve got it, Mr. Gardenhire.”

“I’ll let you get back to your studies, then, if you still want to.”

“Not so sure about that.”

Gardenhire laughed aloud then, and after we said our goodbyes, I shut the phone, completely stunned.

“I’m going home,” I said, numb. But in a good way. Now I think I knew how Joe felt when he got the call that day in his backyard.

“What? Why?”

“That was the Twins manager and scout. They want me to play.”

“No way. You couldn’t have been that good!” Kaitlyn gasped, obviously joking.

“Oh, thanks, Kaitlyn. Yeah, I was.” I stared at my phone, wanting so bad to call Joe just to see if he’d answer. Instead, I sent a text to my father.

Coming home soon – few days, tops. Contacted by a Twins scout, they want me playing and maybe starting next season. I’ll tell you more when I get home.

“You know…” I said, already going over and getting a bag ready. “If you guys really don’t want to leave me, you can come with. There’s room at my parent’s place for you to stay for a while if you want. I can introduce you to Charlie, and maybe even Joe if I ever see that dumb boy again.” I was kind of ranting now – I was way too excited for my own good.

“Where’s my suitcase?!” Courtney suddenly yelled, almost toppling off her bed in her rush. Kaitlyn just started searching around in her section of the room, throwing clothes on her bed.

“I’m taking that as a yes.”