Gerri Hill: One Summer Night

There were ten softball fields here. She headed to field number three, where their team was playing. She spotted Betsy and Janis and made her way through the crowd to them, excusing herself as she bumped into people with her chair and cooler.

"You came!" Betsy exclaimed, standing up and making room for her.

"I told you I would," Johanna said, forcing a smile. She was already crabby as she felt sweat trickle between her shoulder blades.

"Yes, but you're late. It started a half hour ago."

Johanna shrugged, opened her chair and shoved her cooler under it. "Hello, Janis. Hot enough for you?"

Janis laughed at Jo's usual comment and introduced her to the others sitting with them.

"This is Kerry and Shea," she said, pointing to two older women sitting next to her. "I'm sure you've heard me mention them."

3

"Yes," Jo said and smiled.

"And that's Lucy.” She motioned toward a younger woman who looked up and smiled, then turned her attention back to the game.

"Lucy works with Deb," Janis explained.

"I haven’t seen Deb in ages,” she said, plopping uncer-emoniously into her chair, her eyes closed against the heat.

"God, I could be sitting in the water right now," she murmured.

"Oh, give me a break," Betsy said. "It's not that hot."

"Ninety-five and June's not even half over. What's August going to be like?"

"One hundred, like always," she said. Reaching under Johanna's chair, she took a beer from the ice and handed it to her. "Here, cool off."

"Thanks.” Jo twisted the top off the bottle, drank nearly half of it, then rubbed the cold bottle on her face. "Oh, that's so good, " she sighed.

"Yeah."

"So, what's the score?" she asked.

"We're up by one," Janis replied and yelled at Cindy to get a hit.

Betsy and Janis had never played softball. In fact, Jo doubted Janis had ever played any sport. Nevertheless, they made every softball game, and Betsy jokingly referred to themselves as the team’s mascot. They made an odd duo.

Janis, short and pudgy. Betsy, tall and thin, with a head full of red curls. But they were the happiest couple Jo had ever met, still going strong after thirteen years.

Jo turned her attention to the game. She knew nearly everyone on the team. Not that she made that many games, but they had been playing together for years, and since they were all friends of Betsy's, she had been out with them before. A few of the regular members couldn't make the 4

tournament, and Jo knew Christy had come in from San Antonio to play.

"Is Kay playing?" Johanna asked. Kay was a friend of hers from college who she had introduced to Betsy years ago.

"She's playing second today," Betsy said. "Christy brought someone along with her from San Antonio to play third.”

Christy was Betsy's cousin and, despite that, they were good friends. Betsy looked at her and frowned. "Didn’t you bring a cap?"

"No," she said, squinting her blue eyes against the sun.

"I left without sunscreen, too. Do you have any?"

"I do," Janis offered, reaching into her bag for the sunblock. "God, it's hell getting old. Isn't it?"

Johanna flicked her a wry glance and opened the tube.

"I mean, remember when we would stay out for hours and not even think about wrinkles?"

"Skin cancer, Janis," Jo told her. "Not wrinkles."

"There was no such thing as sunscreen when we were young. I'm sure the damage is already done."

"What do you mean, when we were young?" Betsy asked with a laugh.

"I'm nearly forty, if you'll remember. My days of youth are past."

"You've been nearly forty for three years," Jo teased.

"Yeah, well, this time, it's for real," she said.

Betsy winked at Johanna. "Three more months," she said quietly. "That's how long we'll have to listen to it."

Cindy smacked a fly ball out to center field and the inning was over. Jo spotted Kay as she headed to second base and waved at her.

"I haven't seen Kay in a while," she said.

"Well, if you would come out with us more, you would,"

Betsy retorted.

5

"You know I don't go to the bar during the semester."

"Everyone knows you're gay. What's the big deal?"

"I just would hate to run into one of my students there."

The players ran to their positions, and her eyes followed a woman she didn't know. The woman was tall and lean and very tan. Jo watched as she jogged to third base. Pulling her cap off, the stranger ran her fingers through her short, dark hair, brushing it away from her face. She was very dark, one of those people who had a tan no matter what time of year it was, one of those people Johanna had always been jealous of. She had to work at her tan, being so blonde and blue-eyed.

The woman pulled the cap back on her head and kicked dirt with her foot. She pounded her glove with her hand, and then crouched in the ready position while Johanna stared at her. God, she's cute, she thought.

"That's Kelly Sambino," Betsy said, following her gaze.

"Who?" Jo asked innocently.

"Third base."

"Oh.” She pulled her eyes away, embarrassed. She had never been one to stare.

Sharon, the pitcher, was the youngest member of the team, not yet thirty, and she turned around, making sure her teammates were ready before tossing the first pitch. Johanna watched as it sailed high, then slid her eyes back to third base. The woman yelled something to Sharon, then moved in a little closer on the infield. The next pitch was hit high to the outfield, and the left fielder moved under it, caught it effortlessly and then threw it back to the infield.

Johanna sat back in her chair to watch Sharon pitch but couldn't keep her gaze off third for long. Her eyes followed the ball bouncing up the third base line. Kelly Sambino charged it, picked it up smoothly and fired it to first base.

The runner was out by three steps. Jo smiled as Kelly turned 6

and walked back to third base. The next hitter flied out, and Jo’s eyes followed the dark woman as she jogged back to the dugout, accepting congratulations from her teammates.

Johanna couldn't see her in the dugout so she purposely kept her eyes on the field. Kay was the first to bat, and Jo cheered her on when the first pitch was hit over the shortstop's head into the outfield. Then her breath caught as Kelly Sambino walked confidently to the plate, taking a few practice swings before stepping into the batter's box.

"Come on, Kelly," Kay yelled from first base.

"She hit a home run her first time up," Janis said.

"Really?” Jo murmured, trying to sound nonchalant, all the while watching intently as Kelly waited for the first pitch. It was low, and she stepped back and took another practice swing. Johanna saw the muscles in Kelly’s arms stand out as she clutched the bat. She strained to hear as Kelly spoke to the catcher, smiling briefly before turning her attention back to the pitcher. The next pitch was perfect, and Kelly sent it flying to the outfield. The left fielder turned and ran toward the fence but the ball sailed over her head.

Kay was already rounding third. Kelly ran past second base and raced for third, diving headfirst to the bag, just beating the throw.

Jo found herself cheering along with the rest of the crowd, watching with interest as Kelly stood up and dusted off her pants and shirt, her hands moving over her breasts and stomach absently as she grinned, teeth white against her tan. Johanna stared at her, unable to look away as Kelly chatted with the player from the other team, all the while a smile firmly in place, as if she was surprised at her hit.

"She's quite a player," Betsy said. "Christy said she used to play college ball in California."

Jo nodded and again forced herself to look away. It was becoming embarrassing, the way she was staring. It was so 7