Bowling Dreams & Cheap Wine

Chapter 13

Dianna is out for the season. So are her two teeth.

"She could use some meals," Lisa pulls out a chair at our table. "She said it's been fish sticks every night."

"I'm planning to bring her a casserole this week." Dianna and I spoke briefly and we've texted every day. She said that trying to be a mom with a broken wrist is like watching her 2nd grader typing. It's painful. She can't do anything about it and she's overwhelmed. Her sixteen-year-old is doing her own laundry so that's a positive. Her husband said that sex with a broken wrist would still be fun so...I focus on Dianna's plight and not anyone at Lane 3. I don't know why Tara is so hateful towards me, but her words still hurt. She doesn't know me. I wouldn't bring her a casserole.

"I don't blame Dianna for not wanting to see anyone," Steph comments with sigh. 

None of us say anything because we all feel bad. Anyone of us could be in her shoes. 

The music starts. Paul begins the set list with Bye Bye Bye. It's going to be a late 90's boy band kind of night, I can feel it.

Paul comes over with our bucket of alcohol. "Good evening ladies." He grins as he sets down the bucket. "You're awfully quiet tonight."

"Just one of those weeks," Lisa says and grabs for her mini bottle.

Paul makes eye contact with each of us like he wants to say more. His gaze stops on Tamara and a cute smile curls at his lips. "Everyone have a good time tonight, okay? It's just bowling."

When he leaves, Tamara jumps right in, but I get the feeling she doesn't want us to comment on the sweet way Paul looks at her. "We've all seen the scoreboard."

We nod dismally.

Tamara straightens and pushes her hair hard over her shoulder. "What are we going to do about it?"

I sigh a heavy breath. "All things considering? Maybe we should just throw in the towel."

"What?" Lisa says, shaking her head hard. "No."

"We don't have Dianna." Not that she was a bowling powerhouse, but... "I liked Sunday nights before the bet. Now there's pressure. Do we really care if Tara wins?"

"Whoa-whoa." Steph hits her hand on the table. "Where's this coming from?"

"Nate might have sent me that text, but Tara kissed him. On his doorstep. So I could see." There, I feel a little better.

They stop talking. Lisa cranes her face forward. "What? When?"

I explain to them about Raj dropping me off and how Nate had knocked on my door. I tell them about what Tara had said by the scoreboard. By the end, tears are streaming down my face because I'm about to get my period and my hormones are running the show and the song ends and Bye Bye Bye starts up again.

"Didn't we just hear that song?" Steph says.

Tamara gets up. She walks around to the keyboard and enters our names in the scoreboard. She does this quietly with a stern face, eyeing each of us and making us shrink in our seats. When she comes back, she sits down. "We're not quitting. No one's walking out."

I face Tamara. "We're down one player...we score in single digits. And, I'm still not certain we score the 10th frame correctly."

"Then we'll learn." Tamara grabs the wine glass from Lisa. "Wait here a second."

"What's she doing?" Steph says, making a move to stash the mini bottle in her purse.

I haven't opened my wine. I'm not sure I can drink for a long time.