Ghosts (A Christian Yelich Story)

Chapter One Hundred Seven: #Goals

"How did you deal with this?" I asked Shaw as we ate a small meal in the visiting clubhouse. "This is the first time ever that I don't want to be here. I don't want to play baseball tonight. I just want to be at home."

"I just told myself I'm here to support them. That I'm playing for them. It helped a little, but it was still really hard at first. It'll get better. Annie will be able to come to some games on the road soon, and you'll appreciate that time together. It'll be fun. Every day will be an adventure."

I sighed heavily. "This feels wrong, man."

"I know, dude, but you can't not be here. Annie knows that."

I nodded. "She was so cool about me leaving; on the other hand, I basically had a mental breakdown. Do you think she was secretly happy to get rid of me?" I joked.

Shaw laughed. "Dude, who wouldn't be happy to get rid of you, you lanky weirdo? In all seriousness, I'm sure she was upset, but she didn't want you to feel worse than you already do. She didn't want to impact your game."

My phone went off, and I whipped it out of my pocket immediately. Annie had sent me three pictures: one of Hannah holding Eloise, one of Marco and Polo intensely staring at Eloise like she's a delicious hamburger, and another of Eloise on her tummy.

Annie: We're practicing tummy time with Nanny Drew! She loves it.

Annie: We both miss you a lot.

Annie: We're going to Delaney family breakfast tomorrow morning, so all my siblings can meet her.

Christian: I wish I was with you all. I love you. Give Eloise a million kisses for me.

Annie: I love you too! I'll take care of all the kisses. Now go win your game!

Christian: Bossy!

Annie: We have to put our baby through college, so you can't be a loser, obviously.

Christian: She's going to win a full ride via a softball scholarship, dummy.

Annie: Fathers and their expectations. I'm just aiming for no drug addiction and not a sociopath, so #goals.

Christian: I think we'll do better than that.

Annie: Yeah, I'm actually thinking Supreme Court justice if we're being honest.

Christian: There we go.

I smiled at my phone, but Shaw woke me up from my daze. "We should get to the cage."

"Can I suffocate you with baby pictures while we're there?"

"I mean, that's what I was expecting. I'm so proud of you, bro."

"What? Why?" I asked him in confusion.

"For growing up a bit. You're doing a really good job with this dad thing, and you seem genuinely happy. I'm glad this all happened for you; I think Annie complements you completely. I thought you'd end up with someone . . . super boring. You proved me wrong."

"Boring? Why?"

"Because the girls I saw you hit on and hook up with before Annie were really pretty, but total drags. Insufferable, actually. Now you have really pretty and not a drag. She's also probably richer than you, which is nuts."

"Thanks, I think?"

Shaw just smirked. "You're welcome!"

***

I got home from the road trip after midnight, and I wasn't sure if anyone would be awake when I entered the apartment. Andrew was on the couch reading a parenting book. "Hey," I greeted him.

"Hey," he responded. "Welcome back!"

"How's the book?" I asked. "Should I read it?"

Andrew sighed. "Honestly, I don't know if these books really help. They sort of get you trapped inside of your own head. They emphasize the process over actually loving the kid. I think you're better off just winging it." He stood up and put the book in his backpack. "I'm just reading it so I don't get fired. You can't be fired from the role of dad."

I laughed. "That's a fair point. Are you headed out?"

"Yeah, I figured you'd want some alone time with your family."

"Thanks for all the help. I think Annie was right to hire someone. I was worried at first, but I'm glad we have you. Take the day off tomorrow. I don't have a game, so enjoy the city or whatever."

"Awesome, thanks. Hannah told me she wants to take me out on the lake, so we'll see if that happens."

"Are you two . . . like . . . a thing?"

Andrew just shrugged, and I couldn't help but smirk. "I mean, she's a catch."

"She's way more extroverted than me, but I'm into it. Have a good night."

"You too!" God, I was so happy to be home. As soon as Andrew left, I made my way to our bedroom. Annie was sound asleep, but I heard her voice when I crawled into bed. 

"Christian!" she said quietly, but excitedly. "You're home." As she spoke, she turned around to face me. "I'm so happy you're here. I mean, Andrew is amazing, but he's not future-husband-level amazing."

I smiled and kissed her forehead. "How is everything?"

"So good! She's going to wake up in approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. Andrew and I have her schedule down . . . We think."

"I'll get up with her, so you can sleep." I kissed her lips this time.

"Really? You'd do that?"

"Absolutely. I need to see her tiny little face."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

I couldn't believe I was going to have it this good forever.