“You’re new. Are you the girlfriend or the nanny… or both?” Her tone, fake as her hair, drips in condescension.
And here I thought these types of women were extinct. The kind that somehow still derive pleasure from another woman’s discomfort instead of opting to play on the same team.
Unluckily for her, she caught me at a moment when I’m with Anna. Any other time, and I may have cowered and just moved it along, but I’ll be damned if I let Anna see that. She deserves to see better role modeling.
Which is also why I am trying to desperately filter through all the bad words I shouldn’t be using in front of a five-year-old.
“Excuse me. I think the words you were looking for sound a little bit like ‘hi, my name is blank. What is yours?’ Maybe even add in a ‘nice to meet you and welcome’ if you’re feeling truly wild.” I give her my scary Dominican mom smile, the one that taunts “just wait until we get home.”
I can sense Anna paying very close attention to us, even though she hasn’t abandoned her quest for food.
Shock flashes across the newcomer’s slightly paralyzed face, but she recovers quickly. “My apologies. Where are my manners? I’m Lexi. My fiancé is number fifteen on the opposing team.” A jersey number, not a name. Dear God, put me down right about now. “I know this is the Monarch pitcher’s daughter, and we’ve never seen anyone besides her grandmother bring her to a game. It’s why we’re all so curious.”
I look around and see that most of the other women are waiting with bated breath for my response. I swear one of them is ready to live report this interaction to gossip blog sites as I speak. Which reminds me of where I am and why I should be keeping a low profile instead of bringing this Stepford wife wannabe down a peg.
“Of course. Well, Lexi, nice to meet you. I’m Isa and this is Anna. And if curious minds must know, I’m her nanny.” I barely grit out that last part, since they are entitled to none of it.
“And my bestie,” Anna chirps in between bites.
“So nice to meet you, Liza.”
“Isa.”
“Right. That must be nice, being a nanny for a Monarch. How did you manage to get such a gig? My sister would love to get an opportunity to work for one of the top guys on the team. Where did you apply? And you must come to more games and tell us allabout working for Mateo. You must have so many juicy stories to tell.”
I swear the woman has fangs. Or poorly made veneers.
Either way, I’ve seen and heard more than enough.
“Thanks for the warm welcome, truly. But Anna and I just stopped by quickly to fuel up before we head down to our seats.”
She plasters on a disgusted face. “As in down there? With all the fans?”
“Yep, we are definitely one with the people around here.” I nudge Anna out of her seat. Luckily, she’s been glued to our interaction and isn’t giving me any pushback.
“But there’s no open bar down there,” a woman behind me shrieks.
“And you might get hit by a foul ball,” another exclaims.
“One could only hope,” I mutter under my breath. “Sorry, ladies. We’ll have to catch up another time. I gotta get this little gal down to her father. Until next time!” I lift Anna’s hand and force her to wave as I shamefully use her little body as a human shield and back us out of the suite.
Once we’re out and safe from the firing line, I hear Charlie chuckle by the door.
“Lasted longer than I thought you would.”
I point a threatening finger in his direction. “You knew.”
He shrugs, keeping his hands behind his back as he scans our surroundings. “It’s my job to know where all the threats are, Isabella. But I figured you could handle the piranhas on your own.” I can see he’s trying to suppress a smirk.
I lower my voice as I lean in close. “Next pancake party, no pancakes for you, sir.” I take out the tickets that Daisy left for us and remind myself to send her a lightly threatening text later for not giving me a better warning either. What better way to start a friendship, right? “Now please lead us out of the lion’s den.” I give him the tickets, and he smiles slightly as he takes them.
I was so determined to get as far away from those women that I momentarily forgot where I was running to.
As we step deeper into the stadium seats, the infectious energy starts to rub off on me. From the crowd-pleasing music to the smell of stadium food and beer. I take a moment to look out into the stands and spot couples, families, and buddies in an array of New York Monarchs gear, all gathered together to enjoy this incredible sport of baseball.
I spot so many father-daughter dates, and my mind can’t help but flash back to the countless games I attended with my dad and how those games are some of my most cherished memories.
I thought walking back into a space like this would send me into a tailspin, thinking of every terrible word this world spoke of me. Instead, I find myself getting nostalgic about all the things I missed.
