~ Chapter Thirty One ~

September dawned, and the pennant race began in earnest.  The Mariners were two games out of first place, closing in on the division leading Oakland Athletics.  They had one goal in mind - take first place, and hold onto it.  If one was to analyze the stats, it would appear that the Mariners were poised to run the A's into the dust.  Howie was leading the league in batting average, and was second in both home runs and RBI's.  AJ had a career high total of 39 saves, solely because the year before, his personal stats had been severely limited by Tampa Bay's win-loss record.  Nick was making up for his slow start with a second half that matched his rookie of the year prowess, tearing the cover off the ball.

More importantly, the Mariners were together as a team mentally.  The little differences and confrontations that had taken place in the first half of the season were gone, in the clubhouse and off the field.  The Mariners were ready and waiting to overtake Oakland. 

The Athletics, however, were holding their own, winning just as many games as the Mariners did.  It was going to be a close race for the last month.  It was just a matter of which team cracked first.

~*~

Stacy  shoved her hands deeper into the pockets of her coat and scrunched her neck down behind the collar.  September had been a nice month weatherwise, until that afternoon, when a storm front had moved in and now drizzle was falling.  The roof had been closed over the field, but it didn't block the wind whipping in from the waterfront.  It was going to be a miserable night to watch a baseball game.

This was the first game Stacy had been to this homestand.  She had been putting in overtime at work.  It was one of the disadvantages of working for a private company.  They had agendas, and right now everything was revolving around a conference being held in Minneapolis next month.  Stacy had been mandatorily ‘invited' to travel to the Twin Cities and present the results she and her co-workers had found regarding proteins.  If it went well, she was looking at a promotion, something that occurred rarely to females in the line of work she was in.  If it didn't go well - she might as well go back to school and become a doctor.

"I lost her again."  Felicia announced, slipping into her seat and glancing over her shoulder at the aisleway.  "She was there thirty seconds ago - I turn around, she's gone.  I swear, that woman is ten times worse than Alex."

"Who?"  Stacy was confused.  She hadn't talked to Felicia in the last few days, partly because she had been incredibly busy, and partly because Felicia hadn't been feeling well the last week or so.  Stacy didn't know if that was just because of her pregnancy, or if it was more serious, but whatever it was, Felicia looked fine tonight.  Even at seven months pregnant, she still managed to look incredibly put together and beautiful.

"His mother."  Felicia checked one last time.  "She'll show up eventually.  Her son inherited her shopping skills - I have a feeling she got distracted.  Wait and see - she'll show up in the middle of the third inning and blame me for not keeping track of her."

Clattering, followed by loud shouting, sounded from the aisleway. 

"Karen and Becky must be here."  Stacy didn't even have to look.  Destruction and chaos seemed to follow Karen wherever she went, much in the same way it followed Nick.  Nick was similar to having a St. Bernard running amok through Stacy's little apartment.  If he hadn't already knocked it over  or broken it, it was bound to happen soon.  The motor skills that allowed him to hit a ball traveling at ninety miles an hour were conspicuously absent off the field. 

"Felicia!  Stacy!"  Becky squealed, charging down the aisle, her shiny black patent leather shoes clicking on the cement.   "You came tonight!"  She flung both arms around Stacy, squeezing her waist as hard as she could, her face smushed up against Stacy's coat, then turned to give Felicia a hug too, sighing as she pulled away.  "I can't give you a good hug anymore.  That baby gets in the way." 

Felicia laughed.  "You're not the only person complaining about that." 

Two of the pitchers wives, both dressed in expensive brands Stacy didn't pay any attention to, slipped back into the seats below Stacy, one of them wrinkling her perfectly sculpted nose in Karen's general direction.  "God, I don't believe that.  Her husband isn't even playing anymore, and she still comes.  Why?"  She said it to her friend, but just loud enough that Karen could hear it. 

"Excuse me."  Felicia interrupted, startling Stacy.  She had been expecting Karen to lash right back at them, not quiet, little Felicia.  "Some of us are actually here because we enjoy watching the team."

"Okay."  The pitcher's wife said disinterestedly, slightly taken aback that Felicia, who didn't usually socialize in their little group, but still looked the part, had spoken up. 

"Thank you!"  Karen said, patting Felicia enthusiastically on the shoulder.  "I have a feeling that went over better than ‘up yours, b----.'"  She mouthed the last three words, partly so Becky wouldn't hear, and partly so the women wouldn't hear.

"Oh, how cute!"  Becky said in delight.  She was sitting in the seat next to Felicia, her legs sticking straight out in front of her, studiously going through Felicia's bag in search of the lipstick tube.  She held up a small stuffed rabbit.  "Why is that in there?"

"Where did you find that?"  Felicia said in surprise. 

"In there."  Becky pointed, before diving into the bag one last time and emerging triumphantly with the small gold tube. 

"Alex must have stuck it in there."  Felicia decided, putting the little rabbit in her coat pocket.  "That was sweet of him." 

"Why?"  Stacy asked.  AJ had his little quirks, but as far as she knew, stuffed animals weren't one of them.

"Did you ever read ‘The Velveteen Rabbit?'" Felicia inquired.  Stacy shook her head.

"I read it!"  Becky shouted.  "Well, actually, I didn't really read it, Mommy read it to me."

"Well, that was what Alex proposed with."  Felicia explained softly.

Becky wrinkled her nose, clearly not understanding.

"Oh my God!"  Karen shrieked, clearly understanding.  "The part about being real?"

"Yeah."

"What part?  What did it say?"  Stacy interrupted, tired of being lost in the conversation.

"It's when the Rabbit is asking the Skin Horse about becoming a Real Toy."  Felicia explained.  "And the Skin Horse tells him, ‘It's when a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become Real... It takes a long time.  That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.  Generally, by the time you're Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby.  But these things don't matter at all, because once you're Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.'"

"That is so sweet."  Karen sighed. 

"It was one of his better moments."  Felicia agreed. 

It didn't surprise Stacy at all.  The entire quote summed up the perfect relationship that AJ and Felicia had.  It could have been annoying, if they weren't so incredibly cute together.