From Bringston, With Love

Chapter 20: Moments

Right now, Damon is out on the field practicing alone. He's doing so in an effort to keep him distracted about his feelings for Simone, and his other recent losses. His season might be over, but he knows that his career isn't, so he's looking to the future. That's helping him stay optimistic. With his Cape Cod fitness test and interview both coming in the next two days, he knows that he has to keep pushing. Keena called him a few times but he didn't answer. After a while, she figured that she would find Damon on the field, so she goes to meet him where he's at. As, she walks onto the field, Damon spots her just as he's posting up on the mound. "Even star pitchers rest, Damon," she says.

"You know I gotta prepare for Cape Cod."

"Nothing is going to change in the next two days. You aren't going to magically become a better or different player by the time you have your interview or fitness test. You probably should be preparing for your interview anyway."

Damon waves Keena off. "Oh, I got that in the bag. Coach is giving me a mock interview tomorrow so I know what to expect."

Keena throws her hands up. "Okay, fine... Since you have everything under control, I guess you don't need me for anything."

Damon drops the ball he was about to throw back into the bucket. "Okay, fine. I'll clean this up and we can go do whatever you wanna do."

"How about we have dinner and invite all of your friends. After everything that happened this weekend, that might be nice."

"I can see what everyone else is doing, but imma tell you right now that Simone won't be there. She has some other stuff to do tonight."

"I guess it'll just be you and me then. Simone's the only one I really like anyway."

Damon gasps. "Ma!"

"Hey, I'm just saying. The rest of them are okay too, but you know that's my girl."

"I know what you're tryna do. I thought you were done meddling in my life."

Keena chuckles. "As your manager, yes... As your mom? NEVER! You, my boy, deserve nothing but the best, so I will always make sure you get it."

A little later, Simone, Tina and Amara are having dinner at Amara's. They prepared herb-roasted spatchcock chicken, roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes for dinner. Simone starts to plate her food while Amara pours her and Tina 2 glasses of red wine. Tina sits down at the table next to Simone. "So how are you feeling about everything with the team? Are you excited for the probate?"

"Actually, the team stuff is going okay. The coaches found a way for us to properly finish out season. We're gonna host an exhibition match next week! As far as I know, some other schools are already interested, so that's cool. And, I'm really excited for the probate. We've been running the steps into the ground. I really feel like they've been running me into the ground, but the finish line is near!"

"Well, I can't wait to see the show."

"Me either," Amara says. "I know how hard you have been working."

"I forgot to ask how Damon was doing? The teams whole loss got overshadowed by the accident. I'm sure he didn't really get a chance to feel his feelings."

"He seems to be doing okay about it. It was a tough loss but from what I can tell, they handled it like a team. Plus, Keena... his mom is here, so I think that's helping keep his spirits up about it."