What a Shortstop Does Ch. 25-28

"When do you have to be out there?" Jen asked.

"In a month. They want me there at the beginning of April to have the program set up before training camps."

Jen nodded, "I probably won't stay here. Can't really afford it without you and I've always wanted to be closer to downtown anyway."

"Plus you wouldn't have me to trim the hedges," Sarah smiled.

"I really hate those hedges."

Sarah chuckled, "Me too.

_ _

Extricating their lives from each other was fairly easy once they started. Both women had seemed to know that this wasn't a forever relationship. Their schedules too different, their personalities too similar. They hadn't joined anything, in fact, the only thing they bought together was their bed. Which was going to stay in Houston with Jen. She had a new apartment by the first week of March and Sarah helped move the furniture.

In the second week of March, things got more complicated. The country began shutting down.

Any flight Sarah tried to book for April flashed with cancellation warnings. Jen's hearings were all suspended and her meetings moved to virtual. Sarah's work with the Astros was all wrapped up and she'd said goodbye to all her coworkers through video chat, with promises to visit when things calmed down. They bought soap and masks and stocked up on groceries. Sarah had to stay at Jen's apartment for a week when her first flights were cancelled. It was a little strange, crashing on her own couch in a new apartment while her ex-girlfriend slept in the next room, but they made it work.

After the initial confusion of closing then the reopening of their offices, Sarah heard from HR for the Jets and they worked out her salary and moving incentives. The team was still willing to pay their staff until a more certain call could be made about the fall season. So, with the new pay, Sarah opted to just buy out her lease on her Jeep and drive home until she was needed in New York. Jen kissed her goodbye and gave her a hollow promise to visit soon.

Sarah had everything she needed crammed into her Jeep or, like her bikes, strapped to the back. Not knowing what would be open throughout the country, she had a cooler of food and plenty of water. Luckily, most rest stops and truck stops were still functional.

Her parents were thrilled to have her for a few weeks. Sarah thought they were going a little nuts to be so worried about her, but she supposed it was sweet. They spent nights playing board games and days clearing out the garage and Sarah's old room, and completely moving her mother's charity online to keep it going.

"But really, Sarah, are you okay? I know how much you liked Jen." Her mom's eyes searched her face.

"Yeah, mom. It sucked, still does, but we both knew that wasn't forever. We're too much alike."

"Yes, you're both workaholics. Are you sure you need to go to New York next week? Things are bad there."

"I know, Mom, but I'll be going straight to my apartment and only going into work which is cleaned better than probably every other part of the city. Plus, everything is closed now, so the spread will slow."

They weren't convinced, but her parents couldn't really say anything else. That night, Sarah climbed into her old bed and scrolled through her phone. She liked several cute Finn pictures and one of Tara and Kate wearing matching masks in the colors of the lesbian flag. Her heart picked up speed as she saw who else liked that photo. Ro. She didn't think, just clicked on her profile.

Instantly, the profile picture filled her screen. It was Ro, but more beautiful than she'd known her. Somehow aging more than half a decade had made Ro look more confident, happier. In the picture her dark curls fell down around her shoulders and her face was split in a full laugh, all her teeth on display. Sarah's heart caught in her throat. She kept scrolling.

There were more pictures of Ro in different costumes, arms around various cast members. She had lots of photos on stage, taken by professionals. There were some older ones of her on the cruise ship, looking tan and tired. And there were videos. Sarah stopped on one of Ro in a plain gray dress, hair half up, standing alone in a pink spotlight. She hit play.

An acoustic version of the familiar song surprised Sarah. She'd heard it a hundred times on the radio, but this was calm, slower. Ro began to dance. It was a mix of ballet and modern. She was barefoot and the camera followed her through her movements around the stage rather than just a front view like an audience would see. It focused on an arm, a pointed foot, her neck, then zoomed out and caught a leap. The camera was all over her, intimately. Sarah's breathing stopped.

Oh, I'm good at keepin' my distance,

I know that you're the feelin' I'm missing.

You know that I hate to admit it,

But everything means nothin' if I can't have you.

The lyrics pulled on her. She'd never really listened to them in their fast-paced pop song before, but here, with Ro moving through and to them, they had more meaning.

I'm trying to move on

Forget you, but I hold on.

Everything means nothing,

Everything means nothing, babe.

I'm trying to move on,

Forget you, but I hold on.

Everything means nothing if I can't have you, no.

The pink spotlight faded to green as Ro's movements slowed and lengthened. She ended in a soft arabesque, her right hand extended directly toward the camera as the rest of her faded away into the green. The date on the video was from this year.

Sarah's heart started up again at double speed, maybe to make up for completely stopping during the video. Hungrily, she dove through the rest of Ro's pictures. Surprisingly, there were a few of them together, from ages ago, that she'd forgotten about. She stalked the people who most often came up in Ro's recent photos and looked for more of Ro on their pages.

Her stalking earned her plenty of information. She learned Ro's current company in New York and that she lived in the city, most likely in Brooklyn. She saw a couple videos of Ro dancing at bigger Irish festivals. Each new video of Ro felt like a lightning bolt to Sarah's gut. There wasn't any relationship status listed, her hopeful heart kept whispering. And while there were occasional photos of Ro kissing someone's cheek or hugging a fellow costumed performer, she didn't see anything to tell her heart to shut up.

She watched the gray dress video again.

The little direct message button was right there. Fuck. Sarah dropped her phone on the bed and lept off it. She paced around her room, running her hands over the fuzz of her undercut. She thought she was over this, over her. Hadn't she proven that with the string of women she'd run through her bedroom over the past seven years? And what about Jen? She'd actually had a semi-successful relationship. The thing with Ro was in her past. Back with her long, blonde hair and her highlighter fashion sense.

But then, why did just her picture make Sarah feel like this?

Fuck it, she thought. I'm moving to New York, she's an old friend. It wouldn't be weird to message and ask to catch up. She grabbed her phone and hit the message button, she typed out a simple hello with an explanation that she'd accepted a job in NYC and heard Ro was there and would she like to catch up sometime? The logical part of Sarah's brain reminded her that most restaurants were closed and people weren't supposed to be gathering, but her pounding heart told her brain to shut the hell up.

She hit send. And waited.

Chapter 26: Another Date

Roisin paused outside the restaurant to check her hair in the reflection of the windows. The notices posted on the inside of the glass made it hard to see her head. Big signs with pictures of masks and seating capacity limits. She tucked one unruly curl back into the knot at the base of her head and took a deep breath. The breeze tousled her a bit, but she managed not to slip off her heels as she tipped into the fenced area outside the restaurant. It was late June, but it felt like a storm was brewing tonight. She was grateful for the walled patio area that provided a buffer to the wind. The hostess booth stood just outside the gate and a chipper, young woman greeted her.

"Welcome to La Salle's! Walk-in or reservation?"

"I'm actually meeting someone, I think it's under Golding?" Roisin unwound her decorative scarf and opened her jacket. The hostess looked down at the tablet in front of her. She had to adjust her mask to see over it as she tilted her head.

"Yup, looks like they are here already. Right this way!" The woman turned and led Roisin to the far side of the patio, past a few spaced out tables, to where a handsome blonde sat.

If Roisin didn't know who she was meeting, she might not have recognized her. She was the same height, obviously, but the build and clothing was more masculine. She wore a white button down shirt with navy slacks and jacket. It was cut for a woman, but this woman's muscles pulled at the fabric of the shoulders especially, giving a more androgynous look to the suit. A brown belt and shoes completed the well-dressed look.

"You cut your hair." Seriously, Roisin? That's what you lead with after seven years??

Sarah ran her hand through the shorn sides of her undercut, the longer parts on top falling to the side as she tilted her head, "Yeah, yeah I did."

"It looks nice," Roisin smiled, then remembered Sarah couldn't really see her mouth in the green mask she was wearing.

"Thanks, you look great. I'd give you a hug, but, uh-"

"I'll still hug you, Sarah. Besides, you guys are getting tested, what, every day now?"

Sarah chuckled, "Yeah, just about."

"Oh, unless, you're worried about me hugging you?" Roisin realized while she could be reasonably sure Sarah was not infected, Sarah had no assurances Roisin would be.

"Not worried, come here," Sarah leaned forward and pulled Roisin into a tight hug. "It's good to see you, Ro."

"You too, Sar."

Once they were seated, the waiter came and told them they could remove their masks. He took their drink order and sped away through the nearly empty patio.

"So," Ro sighed as she finally had a glass of wine in hand, "How are you doing with, uh- well all of this?" She gestured vaguely around the outdoor dining area.

"I'm fine. It's good to be having a season, even if it's a short one. I'm lucky to be with a team that paid our salaries while we were in lockdown. Carly and David had a hard time when both of their schools closed and their jobs weren't guaranteed. How have you been?"

Ro thought about her own financial situation, "I'm doing alright. A major donor for the company set up a fund to cover our rent and utilities. Me and my three roommates have picked up odd jobs and some online work to make up the rest."

"You live with three roommates?" Sarah laughed, "In a New York apartment?!"

"That's the only way we can afford the New York apartment, Sarah." Ro rolled her eyes. "Where do you live, Miss NFL hot shot?"

"I think the title you're looking for is torture specalist. I've heard it enough times."

"Do they really call you that?" Ro was laughing.

"Some of them. Ah, but most pro athletes take recovery very seriously. They know it's going to hurt and keep at it." Sarah had a gleam in her eye talking about her clients. Ro could see she was really loving the work.

"Any of them hit on you?"

Sarah laughed, a deep chesty sound that did things to Ro. She missed that laugh more than she'd realized. "Not since I got this haircut!"

The meal came and went and still the two women talked on about their current lives. Sarah mentioned her parents were retiring soon and Ro gushed about Shay and Becky's twin boys who were in the threenager stage. As they worked their way through the rest of a bottle of wine, Ro found herself casually asking the question she was most curious about.

"So, where's Jen tonight?" She knew enough about Sarah's life from Tara and Kate and the little social media snooping to have heard of Jen.

Sarah paused with her wine glass partway to her mouth. She lowered it and gave Ro a funny look. "Jen's still in Houston."

"Oh, is she coming up later?"

Sarah looked nervously around the half empty patio, running her hand around the back of her neck, fidgeting. "Um, uh, Ro..."

"What?" Ro's eyes locked on Sarah's as she let her hand drop to the table.

"Jen and I broke up."

"Oh."

"It was a while ago. I, uh- I thought you knew that."

Ro's heart was leaping out of her chest. She was sure its beating could be seen through her dress. "No, I hadn't heard that..." What did this mean then? She thought this was two friends catching up, but Sarah was single. Did she think this was a date? Did Ro want this to be a date? That one was easy, of course she did. Ro wanted Sarah. Since the moment she'd said she was coming to New York, all Ro could think about was having Sarah back.

That first message she got announcing her ex girlfriend's transfer to the big city had made Ro's heart do backflips. She spent a full hour crafting her response, with the help of a few highly amused roommates. Then she'd stalked what few photos of Sarah there were online. Mostly from David and Carly's wedding, a few of her with her cousins, and some by the "Jen" that Sarah was tagged in. Unfortunately, with the way things happened with quarantine, they couldn't get together right away. Ro was ecstatic when restaurants could have outdoor seating open just so she could have a chance to meet up with Sarah.

The awkward silence that fell over their table was punctuated by a loud laugh from the other corner of the patio. It seemed to jog Sarah into explaining her suddenly revealed single status. "Yeah, Jen wasn't ready for a cross-country move. I knew I wanted to be back on the east coast eventually, it just happened sooner than we were thinking." Sarah shrugged.

Ro couldn't manage a response. Sarah was single and living in New York. Don't read too much into it, Roisin, she thought. But trying to warn her heart to tread lightly was difficult. Especially when Sarah ran her hand through her hair and smiled at her over the table like that.

"So, besides everything being closed, wearing a mask all day, and not being able to visit anyone, how are you liking NYC?" she recovered.

Sarah laughed again and Ro smiled at the sound.

"It's great. The city that never sleeps is currently staying home and watching Netflix. I enjoy it. The parks are pretty great, I love my apartment. No hedges in sight."

"Hedges?" Ro asked, sipping her wine.

"Oh, the house we lived at in Houston had a yard and it was all cute, but it had this row of hedges out front that needed trimming every damn week. I hated it," Sarah looked sheepishly at her.

Ro giggled, "Okay, no hedges is a good thing, got it."

Their conversation went on until the bottle of wine was gone and the bill had come and been paid by Sarah. Both women fiddled with their masks and jackets, knowing it was time to leave. They stepped out onto the sidewalk together. The wind blew up around them, pushing Ro's skirt around as it danced away. A few more curls escaped and fell into her eyes as they heard a distant roll of thunder.

"Well, it's been great catching up," Ro began. She watched what she could see of Sarah's face fall a bit.

"Yeah," Sarah said, "I, uh, liked your cruise stories. Sounds like that was a wild time."

"It was! I've got a few more if you want to walk a bit?" Ro was grasping at straws, but she took a little encouragement from a look from Sarah.

"Sure, I actually live a few blocks away, if, uh, if you want to just come over for a bit?" Sarah looked nervous, "It looks like we're going to get rained on soon and I have wine and cookies," she added hastily.

Ro laughed, "I definitely need a cookie." She hooked her arm in Sarah's and felt her heart do a summersault. "Lead the way, Sar."

_ _

Sarah's apartment was a modest studio with high ceilings and modern style on the top floor of a three story building poised over a strip of shops. They stepped into the small lobby just as another clap of thunder shook the neighborhood. Sounds of rain crescendoed as they climbed the stairs to Sarah's floor and the patter of rain beat sharply above them as she unlocked her door.

"Home sweet home!" She let Ro enter first and took a second to calm her pounding heart that had been trying to leap through her ribcage since Ro held her arm in the street.

"Wow, it's really nice, Sarah!" Ro stepped out of her heels and wandered past the dining room/office on the left over to the big window at the back of the living room area. The window looked over the street below and gave a hazy view of the dark clouds rolling in the sky. Sarah set her keys on the counter in her little kitchen that occupied one quarter of the apartment. She'd set up two partitions, one across from the living room and the other butting up to the kitchen, to separate the corner where her bed sat. Off of the makeshift bedroom was a door to the closet and bathroom. The place was a bit sparse, but the exposed ductwork in the ceiling added a bit of visual interest.

"Thank you, it's not much, but I like it. You can take your mask off if you want." Sarah removed hers along with her shoes and padded into the kitchen. She grabbed two stemless wine glasses, the bottle of chardonnay, and a packet of Oreos she'd been hiding from herself. Ro was still looking out the window with her back to Sarah, watching the rain. Sarah had to take a deep breath and swallow as lightning lit up the glass behind Ro, highlighting her form and her wild curls escaping the knot.

"Oreos! I can't remember the last time I had one," Ro laughed as Sarah set up the snack on the coffee table.

"I know, I can't buy this stuff, but well, with nothing to do except work and sit at home, I needed a little cookie therapy." Sarah opened the wine and poured while Ro took a cookie out of the package and settled onto the opposite side of the couch.

Ro took a bite and sighed, "Mmm, that's some good therapy."

"So tell me about your roommates. Are they all in the same company as you?" Sarah hoped she sounded casual as she bit into a cookie too.

"Yep, all dancers. Kira and Anna are from California and Todd is from Maine. We're all trained in ballet, but have our own strengths. Anna actually did the cruise ship thing for a while too. Right now, Todd is teaching online dance classes, Kira is doing yoga in the park almost every morning, Anna got a job as a barista, and I'm a nanny. All doing what we can to make ends meet." She took another bite of cookie and picked up her wine.

"You're a nanny? How's that? I didn't know you liked kids."

"Oh, yeah. I prefer, like, elementary aged kids. I nanny for a six and eight year old. They are the coolest kids and so smart. Their mom is a dynamite attorney for the state, so she works late and travels around a lot. Even with the shut down and mostly working at home, she does crazy hours. I try to take the kids outside as much as I can to give her some quiet in the house."

"Do you know when you'll get back to dancing?"

Ro shrugged, "Who knows right now. Theaters aren't going to open for a while and we can only perform online so much. That doesn't net a lot of pay, but I've recorded a few videos this year that the company has posted."

"Yeah, uh, I saw the one of you dancing in the gray dress." Sarah blushed a little as she admitted to watching the video.

"Oh! What did you think? I thought they should have had the camera back up further, it was too close in some cuts."

"No, I liked that, it made it feel...like the camera was dancing with you." Her ears felt hot. She took a sip of wine to have something to do with her hands and keep her eyes off Ro's reaction.