Native Affairs

“That’s not an answer,” Marilyn said.

Je

Marilyn was instantly alert. “That ballplayer? The Indian who just came to the Freedom this year?”

“That’s the one.”

Marilyn nodded slowly. “I saw him on the news when he signed his contract. He looked like Atahualpa come to life, all gleaming teeth and magnificent bone structure. Is he that picturesque in person, too?”

“More so.”

Marilyn’s hand froze in the act of reaching for the sugar bowl. “Oh-oh. I don’t like this. You’ve got that Bob Delaney look on your face again, Jen, and you know what that means.”

“I know what that means,” Je

“Did anything happen?” Marilyn asked, worried.

“Oh, no, of course not, I just met the man. But he’s going to be around all year, and I have a feeling I’m in for a long siege.”

Marilyn filled a teaspoon with sugar and then sifted some of it back into the bowl before adding the rest to her cup. “Has he asked you out yet?”

“No. I thought that he was on the verge of doing so yesterday, but he seemed to decide against it.”

“Uh-huh. You’re sure you weren’t giving off negative vibrations at the time?”

Je

“Then,” Marilyn supplied. “But what about the rest of the day?”

“Well, I did give him a bit of a hard time at lunch,” Je

“I’ll bet you did,” Marilyn said. “Can you wonder that the poor guy is confused?”

“The poor guy,’ as you put it, is probably working on the third edition of his little black book right now, and is hardly lamenting his lack of success with me. Judging by the reaction of Dolores and the other women I’ve seen in his presence, they drop like flies at an encouraging word.”

Marilyn nodded sagely. “It seems to me I’ve heard this song before,” she said. “As I recall, you said the same thing about Bob Delaney.”

Je

“Take it one step at a time,” Marilyn advised, standing and turning on the oven to preheat it for the roast. “If he’s interested, he’ll let you know.”

“If he’s interested! I don’t know if I’m interested.”

Marilyn favored her with a knowing look. “Ask me. I’ll tell you. It’s written all over your face.”

Je

“Be careful, Jen,” Marilyn said seriously. “Don’t set yourself up for another fall.”

“Don’t worry,” Je

She meant it.

* * * *

Je

The Friday afternoon before the benefit game, Je

It was a beautiful drive along the Philadelphia main line, and Je

Je

She was the only woman in sight. Usually her appearance occasioned a few wolf whistles and catcalls, but the players were too absorbed in their practice to notice her arrival. She sat quietly and watched the various drills going on, which included her favorite, the “stomp” drill. During this exercise the team members ran in place as fast as possible, drumming their feet on the ground, and never failed to remind her of a crowd of oversized babies having a simultaneous tantrum.

After a few minutes they split up, and Je

Lee was wearing the bottom part of an old uniform, complete with pads, and an ancient, ragged T-shirt, dampened now under the arms and in the hollow of his back from his exertions. Je

When the head coach blew his whistle and the team members filed slowly off the field, Je

She managed to find all but one of the players she needed to see. Roy O’Grady told her that the missing man had been taken to a specialist for an examination for a possible torn ligament, but would be back by the end of the practice. Frustrated, Je

This idea was abandoned when she couldn’t get her car to start All she heard when she turned the ignition key was an ominous grinding noise.

Sighing, she walked back to the field and asked where there was a phone that she might use. She was directed inside the administration building of the college, where there was a pay phone in the lobby.

Je

It took her three tries before she could get a garage to send a mechanic out to her location, and then she waited thirty minutes for him to arrive.