Short Story
“One day I’m gonna go where my momma used to live and stay there forever,” I told Jimmy.
“Well, Anna, where did she live?” he asked, turning his head toward me. I thought for a moment, trying to remember the exact words Momma used to tell me.
Puzzled, I replied, “Momma used to live near a lake, a big one, too. She said that the gulls would always come ‘round and never let her have some sleep.” Jimmy smiled and kept twirling his baseball bat around.
A customer came into the store and walked straight up to the counter. “Is your father here? I came to pick up my son’s helmet and gloves.”
Jimmy nodded and quickly scampered off to the back of the store where his daddy made the baseball items. Jimmy and his daddy were always talking about baseball, no matter where they were. Jimmy’s daddy used to be a professional baseball player a long time ago, but he had to stop playing because of an injury to his shoulder. He told me that all the baseball players have shoulder pains and injuries, but he found out that his shoulder had serious damage too late to be fixed. So, Jimmy decided that he would grow up and become a professional baseball player just like his daddy. His momma wasn’t too proud of him or his daddy, so she kissed the top of Jimmy’s head goodbye, tossed her diamond ring into the drain and ran off with another man.
Mr. Fletcher came from the back room and handed the customer that items and took the money from him. The cash register chimed as Jimmy caught my attention. He motioned for me to come outside with him. It was a warm, dry afternoon in the big city. You could hear the cars honking and the bicycle locks fitting into place. “Do you know where the house used to be?” Jimmy questioned.
I shook my head, “No, but there used to be a lighthouse. It used to shine across the entire lake and cast long, gangly shadows at the evening. Don’t that seem a little scary, Jimmy? Especially when the light would strike the tall flag that danced in the wind. It would cast a long tall shadow over the lake and when you’re swimming right under that shadow and look up to see something dark over you, it’s scary, Jimmy. I think Ol’ Pete would like it there, though. There’d more room for him to run ‘round on the grass that stretches for miles and miles! Wouldn’t you like that Ol’ Pete?” I scratched the old Labrador’s head.
“I guess it would be scary, but it’s not as scary as losing the World Series. Now that would be extreme!” Jimmy’s eyes widened and shook his head at the thought.
I rolled my eyes, “Don’t you ever talk about anything besides baseball?” Shrugging his shoulders he sat down in the short, brown grass.
“Can you talk like the normal people around here, instead of talking funny?” Jimmy raised an eyebrow. Knowing that he had a fair advantage, I let it go. “Do you think it’s nice and quiet there?”
“Probably, Momma says there ain’t a lot of people living there.”
Jimmy crossed his legs and faced me. “Besides what your mom says, what do you think it’s like there?”
“Me? Well, I think what my momma tells me is right,” I sneaked a peek at him. He was well into thought. He was pulling at the weeds and scrunching his nose. “Whatcha thinking about?”
“Maybe she is right. How are we going to know for sure, though? Aren’t you a bit curious?” he looked up at me and threw the weeds to the side, “Just imagine getting away from the city and going to open fields and playing baseball all day!”
“Jimmy! Now, you can’t just go on talking about where my momma used to live and bring in baseball! That’d be a total train wreck! You’d be ruining the whole place,” I glared over at him. Who was he to bring in baseball to where my momma grew up? This was the place she lived her whole life, where she was born, where she was married, where she had me and where she died. He had no right bringing in some sport to a sacred place.
“Anna, let’s go there together,” his eyes sparkled with a hint of appreciation.
“Go there? Well, I don’t even remember where it is!” My cheeks flushed.
Jimmy stood up and pulled my arm, “Wouldn’t your dad know where it is? Surely he would remember where he got married.” Jimmy began whispering about how the fields would be large, open and green. He was on the topic of pitching when I tapped his shoulder.
“What if I don’t want you to go there?”
He squinted his cow eyes at me. “Why wouldn’t you want me to go there with you? I thought you were telling me the story about the house so you would show me some time soon.”
I looked down at my feet, “Yeah, but you just can’t bring anything related to baseball there. You have to promise me you won’t say or do anything about it.”
“Deal,” Jimmy stuck out his hand after a minute.
Daddy knew exactly where it was. He told me on the ride there, when he was sure that Jimmy was sleeping that he’d been waiting for me to ask him to take me to Momma’s house one day. Daddy said that it was about time I got to know Momma a bit more and how she used to live. When Momma was still around, she’d tell me about herself and Daddy when they were little kids. My favorite was when she’d tell me about the time where Daddy had just moved into the area and talked funny all the time. She said that all the boys would make fun of him because he didn’t sound like any of them and since he was different, but Momma being the strong woman she was, went right up to those boys and made one go home with a blown up nose. That was the day that Momma and Daddy were always together. They’d sneak up the lighthouse and see the entire lake from up there, and go swimming on the hot, sticky summer evenings. Then, Daddy had asked Momma to marry him on the dock. Before Momma could reply, Daddy tripped over a fishing pole and tumbled into the lake, dropping the ring. The ring sparkled all the way down to the murky bottom below, becoming invisible by the green-black waters that swallowed it. Momma giggled and told him that the ring falling into the lake wasn’t gonna change her answer.
When we arrived to Momma’s house, the sun was setting a golden aura on top of the lake, bristling against it, like frosting. The gulls picked up the jumping fish and fought over the bones. Daddy told Jimmy and I to run along to the dock since he had some business to take care of before I should see Momma. He wanted to make her presentable and clear off the brush that toppled over her sacred mount.
Ol’ Pete ran off the dock and splashed into the golden blue water, rippling small rolls of water that hit against the dock and shore. Jimmy followed after him, but stopped short at the edge. “Look, Anna! There’s fish here in the water! You never see these fish in the big city.”
Full of pride and hubris I told him, “I told you, you’d want to come and see my momma’s house! Momma told me that when I’m old enough I could have her house and everything that goes along with it.”
Ol’ Pete came, shaking off the cool water off his fair-haired body, and sat down behind Jimmy and me. I handed Jimmy, who was still staring at the large fish, a fishing pole and took one for my own. “I bet I can beat the number of fish you can catch,” I smirked.
Accepting my challenge, Jimmy pulled the pole back and used his pitcher skills and flung the pole over his head, slamming into the water with the small worm squiggling with the water. I threw the pole into the water and waited for the fish to bite. Jimmy kneeled down on one knee, fixed his hat, and patiently began to wait. The gulls enviously squawked at us for stealing their meals. The lighthouse I realized was turned off at the moment and so were the houses around the edge of the lake. Even so, the sun gleamed through the tress, hitting the right places and blending in with the auburn trees. In the distance, I heard Daddy calling my name and Jimmy’s, too, to come and pay our respects to Momma for allowing us to come here and enjoy the air. I realized then, that no matter where you live in the world, your home will always be your safety area, the base where you can slide, run, or jump to, without having to worry about being striked out.
(Source: nothingbutadreamer)
