Hiding Place

Every year after final exams, my best friend and I make the roughly forty-five minute drive down to San Jose from San Francisco for some much needed relaxation. Granted I would rather spend the time at the ballpark with my dad – who has sweet season tickets right on the third base line and doesn’t let me take advantage of them until I’m done school for the year– than have to watch some games on television, but it’s tradition.

A tradition as much as I might make a fuss about missing seeing the boys of summer live, I enjoy spending time with my best friend where neither of us have any major responsibilities than watching ball, drinking beer and having fun. It totally helps that my brother and his girlfriend live in San Jose and have no problem with us crashing at their place for two weeks. I kind of think Amelia likes having us around because we give her backup when she tries to get Marcus to do things.

“Are you sure you two will be okay? I mean I don’t want you to think I’m abandoning you but it’s girls’ night and I sort of forgot that you two were coming down this week. Please don’t be mad at me,” Amelia pleaded with Danielle and I who were lazing on the couch. We were both on our phones debating which sports bar to hit up tonight for the Giants game.

I shook my head, “Don’t worry about it. Danielle and I are going out to watch the Giants play. We’ll be fine, it’s the Giants you have to worry about…”

Danielle rolled her eyes. “What she means to say is go and have fun. Em has the spare key, I’ll probably take it from her depending on how the game goes and we’ll be fine. It’s not our first night out in San Jose.”

It was my turn to roll my eyes. This is where Danielle and I differed. If women could play professional baseball, I would so be there but unfortunately for me that dream was shattered when I was ten. Thankfully, I had some skill in other sports as well. In the summer time when I’m not kicking a ball around and having fun with my friends, I eat, sleep and breathe baseball. It’s a love passed on from my dad to my brother and me. My mom doesn’t quite understand it but she supports it. It’s something that unites our family in a way that I can’t explain. The only difference is dad is an Angels fan. Thank god they are in the American league.

Amelia took a deep breath, “You’re right. You two can handle it. Please no trouble. Emma, I told George the guy at the front desk downstairs that if he sees you and Danielle and you somehow lose the key again to let you guys into our place. Please don’t lose the key this time.” She had this pleading look on her face. It wasn’t my fault I lost it last year. The Giants got swept by the Dodgers when we were here. The fucking Dodgers.

“I can’t promise anything, but they are playing the Blue Jays so it should be an easier win for them. Man are they terrible this year,” I laughed mostly to myself. Amelia mostly knew the advanced-A circuit my brother played in and Danielle was mostly along for the ride with me. Soccer would always be number one in her heart while soccer was a close second for me.

That didn’t seem to reassure Amelia as she gave Danielle a look before picking up a bottle of wine and heading out the door. Danielle kicked me, “If we want to get a table at least in one of these places, we should probably head out. The first pitch is in what? Forty-five minutes?”

I swung my legs off the couch and looked at my watch before nodding. “Yeah you’re right we probably should. Are you at least going to wear the Giants shirt I got you for your birthday?” It was a long shot but I figured it was worth it to ask, I know she packed it with her.

“Only because you’re my best friend,” she smirked and went towards the room we were staying in. “Give me a couple minutes and I’ll be ready to go.”

---

4:05m on the dot and there was a pitcher of beer between the two of us with a plate of nachos on the way. To some, this may seem like a bit much for a Tuesday afternoon, but to me this was a perfect vacation – other than being at the park.

Danielle was pouring us each a glass of beer as she asked, “So tell me again. Why the Giants? Why not the A’s?” With the look she had on her face I could tell that this was just to push my buttons but I fell for it anyways, I always did.

“How can you continually ask me that every time we are in San Jose? You know the answer. I grew up bleeding orange and black.” She passed me my beer and I took a long drink of it.

She nodded as though she was expecting the answer. “So what if, completely hypothetical here, you meet a guy and he loves baseball too. What if he’s not a Giants fan? What if he’s an A’s fan?”

I knew my voice was going to be whiny but I had to put an end to this early. “Danielle, don’t make me want to drink so much I lose the key to let us back into Marcus’ house.”

“Can’t I at least get a little conversation while we’re here? This is a minimum three-hour event you’ve taken me to. Dear god do not let there be extra innings,” she looked up to the ceiling before taking a sip of her beer. “Can you at least indulge your inner girl just a little bit, for me?”

A sigh fell past my lips but my eyes stayed glued on the television. “I guess I can do that for you. You do put up with baseball and me in the summer time. When do I find out he’s an A’s fan?”

“Third date.”

“We’re done. I cannot date an Oakland Athletics fan. I may as well say yes to dating a Yankee and no one wants that. Only Yankee fans like other Yankee fans,” I shuddered at the thought. Someone who doesn’t like the Giants yet likes a team that’s within an hour of San Francisco? Are they crazy?

Danielle leaned on the table clearly amused by my answer. “What if it doesn’t come up until like four months into your relationship and you’re in love with the guy?”

I shook my head and laughed. “That’s cute, you think baseball wouldn’t come up for four months with me?”

She threw her hands up in the air, “You’re right. Who am I kidding with that one? Why can’t you love soccer like I do?”

“I do love soccer, just not as much as you do. Soccer wasn’t my first love. Baseball was and still is. God I sound like that movie Fever Pitch right now. Good luck to me finding a guy, right?”

Our nachos got delivered to the table just as the Jays got the second out of the top of the first inning. I groaned and started to pick at the nachos in frustration. Whenever I watch the Giants and things aren’t going so great, I start to pick at things.

“Good timing for the nachos,” Danielle laughed before taking another sip of her beer. “I’m kidding. You’ll find someone; you just have to find someone who balances out your love for baseball. Who knows, maybe you’ll find someone and end up loving him more than baseball that it won’t matter to you as much.”

I nearly choked on my beer. “Let me get this straight. You think there’s a chance I’ll meet someone who I will end up loving more than a sport I’ve loved for twenty-one years or my entire existence?”

She flicked a jalapeno at me. “Yes, of course I do. As much as you don’t want to admit it Em, that guy is out there. I’m sure he’ll love baseball – probably not as much as you because I don’t think that’s possible – but he will. And he’ll have other qualities that just trump baseball. Qualities that baseball can’t give you, you know?”

Danielle leaned back against the back of her chair and smiled triumphantly at me. Deep down I knew she was right and part of me – a very small part at this point – hoped that I would find this person. But there are certain things that a sports team can offer you that a relationship just can’t and vice versa.

Not very many of our teammates understand my love for baseball, more specifically the Giants, but I think it’s because they don’t have something equivalent to it. They don’t have that one thing that is so beyond the individual that just envelops you and takes over your entire summer every year – or other seasons in the cases of other sports. Yeah there’s heartbreak, jubilation and disappointment but it’s not permanent. There’s always next year. Relationships with people aren’t like that.

People come and go and they may break your heart in the process. It’s all a risk when you let someone in like that but sport, not so much. They may break your heart but they will be back next year.

“Half an inning down,” Danielle’s voice pulled me from my thoughts as I watched the replay of the Jays getting the last out of the inning. “That only took half an hour. Why must your love be so slow?”

I laughed. “Stop complaining, baseball isn’t just a game. It’s an experience. You’d get that if you came to a game with me.” For almost three full years now, Danielle and I have been best friends and not once has she gone to a Giants game with me in the summer. She would rather drive the just over forty-five minutes and go to an Earthquakes game with some of the other girls on our team.

She raised an eyebrow at me, “Go to a ‘Quakes game and maybe I will.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Maybe, do you want it to be?”

I shook my head smirking the entire time, “You’re just trying to take advantage of my competitiveness.”

Danielle feigned innocence. “What? Me? Never. The ‘Quakes do have a home game this Saturday and we’re still here. Just saying.” She flicked another jalapeno at me. “Seriously why didn’t we say no jalapenos?”

For some reason I decided to indulge this idea knowing full well that the Giants would be in the middle of a four game series against the Rockies this weekend. Danielle went on to explain that the ‘Quakes were playing Colorado and that the game was at seven-thirty that night which meant we could go for dinner before the game. She also added that several of the girls from our team that were still in San Francisco would probably come down for the game also.

Our server came by in the midst of Danielle’s attempt at convincing me to attend an Earthquakes soccer game over watching the Giants and offered us a second pitcher of beer. I hadn’t even realized that the two of us drained the first and it was only halfway through the second inning with the Jays up two to nothing.

“Okay I just texted Nikki, Tess, Sara and Jill and they would all be down for the game on Saturday, so does that mean you’re in too?”

“I’ll think about it,” was all I could muster. With the expectant look on her face that I would immediately agree because four of our teammates said they would drive down to go to the game kind of surprised me. But between the two of us, Danielle was the more social one. Everyone loved Danielle and it wouldn’t surprise me if she were named captain of the team next year with our captain of the last two years, Anna, having just completed her fourth year.

She grinned. “That’s all I can ask of you.”

---

Two more pitchers of beer, two burgers and fries and a shot of tequila later the Jays were up eleven to two at the top of the ninth inning with two out. Basically, this was any Giants fan’s nightmare.

“I cannot believe it. I seriously, cannot believe it. This should have been a total bounce back game for Cain. I mean it’s the Toronto Blue Jays they have been absolute shit this year with all their injuries and they may have the potential but these are the San Francisco Giants the reigning World Series Champions. You don’t get beat by nine fucking runs,” I ran my hands over my face and took a sip of the beer that was left in my glass.

Danielle was quiet as she usually was during my rants about the Giants, but as usual, I tried to get her involved. “And did you see the errors that they made? Thank god Posey at least was on his game otherwise that game probably would have been a no hitter.”

She shook her head. She knew of my not so secret crush on Buster Posey. It’s strictly a baseball crush although the guy isn’t terrible to look at either. She finished off her beer and slid her glass to the side of the table.

“Basically you just had to witness a complete and utter, full on team collapse by the Giants. I apologize on their behalf Danielle, they should have destroyed the Blue Jays.”

“You do realize that the Jays are considered to be World Series contenders this year, right? So I wonder if you even know what you’re talking about seeing as the Jays just destroyed the Giants,” some guy from the table behind me decided to turn around and beak me and my team.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from going to baseball games with my dad and my brother, it’s that you don’t argue baseball with one of us. I found myself sitting up straighter before I turned to let this guy know what I thought.

I put a fake smile on my face before starting, “Oh really? That’s cute. You must be from Canada down here on vacation. Every team in the majors is considered to be a contender for the World Series at the beginning of the season so keep telling yourself that. When August rolls around, the Jays will be in the same place they are now – the basement of the AL east.”

He laughed. “Okay now that’s cute. Oh, I’m sorry what year is it? 2013? Oh so the Giants won’t be winning the World Series this year seeing as they can only do it when it’s an even year. I guess they won’t ever be back to back champions in this lifetime.”

I couldn’t stop my eyes from rolling if I tried. “Wow you sure got me there. What’s that? The Jays haven’t made the playoffs since 1993? When they last won the World Series? Can you even name the winning pitcher from the final game of that series? Or were you too young like I assume you’re too young to even be in this place.”

He picked up his beer and took a sip of it while laughing. “It’s adorable really that you think you can chirp me like this. Try putting the Giants in the Jays division and let’s see how competitive they are. Do the Giants have a divisional opponent who goes out and buys the competition because they can’t defeat them on their own? I don’t think so, I’m pretty sure that’s just the Jays. To answer your question, it was Duane Ward on October 23, 1993.” He picked up his beer again and took a sip right in front of me this time. “By the way, I was four.”

Before I could add another word in, Danielle grabbed my arm and announced that it was time to go. I looped my bag over my shoulder while shooting daggers at the guy in the table behind me. He had a content smirk on his face that he won the argument, but really, it didn’t get finished.

Danielle felt the need to practically usher me out of the bar and into the cool but humid air of San Jose. I shook my head; “I was fine you didn’t have to pull me out of that situation.”

“Em, Emma, look at me, you were arguing with a professional athlete. I needed to get you out of there before either of you did something you would regret. Besides, we can’t have our star midfielder getting suspended by her own team because of something she did in the offseason.”

Danielle was right. She usually was. I didn’t need to go into my senior year at San Francisco State University with a suspension because I got into a heated argument with some guy about the San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays. It wasn’t worth it. I couldn’t do that to my team or my own reputation. Plus the last thing the Giants fan base needed was some crazy woman beaking fans of other teams – the Dodgers are and always will be the exception to this.

“Wait, you said professional athlete? Who was that guy? Despite what he may say, he cannot be older than eighteen, nineteen tops,” I shook my head but took a deep breath in attempts to calm myself down for our fifteen minute walk back to Amelia and Marcus’ condo.

Danielle laughed. “You really need to expand your horizons beyond baseball Em.”

“Just tell me who he is!”

She put her hands up in front of her, “Don’t hate me for telling you this but this is just what I hear about the guy.”

My gaze was directed up at the sky, “Okay I promise I won’t hate you. How could I hate you Danielle?”

“That was Logan Couture, one of the star centres for the San Jose Sharks. You know the hockey team that just swept the Vancouver Canucks to get into the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs?”

I stared at Danielle with a blank look on my face. How the hell did she know all that and since when did she know about hockey?

She gave me a light shove, “Man we gotta get you to stop watching just the MLB network and an actual sports network that shows all sports and not just baseball.” Danielle laughed. “I still can’t believe you argued with Logan Couture about baseball of all things. He better not be there tomorrow.”

Part of me hoped he would be there tomorrow just so I could rub a Giants victory in his face because he certainly didn’t get to do that to me tonight.