Epilogue
It was a beautiful day for a ball game. On the fifth anniversary of their meeting, Maddie found Carlton outside the bleachers at Wrigley Field. She had taken the day off and he had done the same. But this time Maddie couldn’t wear her Ernie Banks T-shirt or root for the Cubs. She wore a pinstripe Gray Sox jersey over the lucky, faded jeans she had worn five years ago.
Today was the opening of the Crosstown Classic—Cubs vs. Sox—and it promised to be a memorable one. Both teams held narrow division leads and needed the win. The game was a sell-out, and the buzz across the city was intense.
Maddie spotted Carlton, already in line, and ran toward him. So many memories washed over her. The first time she saw him. The woman in the floppy hat who convinced her to cut in line and sit with him. The whole spectacular day, even her tragic mistake at the Red Line “L” stop. She was glad that particular memory had lost its sting.
“Hey, stranger!” Maddie called out. “Mind if I join you?”
“The baseball gods have willed it!” Carlton answered, giving her a swinging hug and a kiss. “Mmm, it’s good to see you. I just got in from Iowa. Sorry I couldn’t make it sooner.”
Maddie waited in the line with Carlton, chatting, laughing, and soaking in the brilliant September sunlight. Savvy fans recognized Maddie as the Gray Sox owner and gave her good-natured shit, while requesting selfies and posting them with pithy captions. Trash-talking was a time-honored tradition of the bleachers, and Maddie was fully prepared. She had stayed up half the night thinking of potential barbs and comebacks.
Once inside, Maddie and Carlton found choice seats in right field. Not far from the seats they had picked the last time they were here together. But today was different. Maddie was hardly an anonymous fan anymore. Before long she was spotted by the TV and video board camera crews. She and Carlton became the Cubs-Sox couple to watch. The wind was blowing out, so the pitchers were screwed. The game was a barn burner, with an extravagant number of home runs and lead changes almost every inning.
“You’ve made so much progress in a short time,” Carlton said to Maddie. “I doubt there will be anything like what you did during this past off-season again.”
“Wrong! I want to do that every off-season as long as we need it! Tillie deserves a lot of credit. I used her proposal to get started. As soon as she finishes law school, I’m bringing her to Chicago.”
“Uh oh. I’d better warn the Cubs.”
“Hey, does it bother you being a celebrity this time around?” Maddie asked. “I’m still not used to being semi-famous. It’s weird, don’t you think?”
“Hell no! This is some high baseball drama! Who wouldn’t love it?” Carlton offered a high-five.
“Who wouldn’t love watching a game with you?” She returned the high-five with gusto.
“Nobody’s better at predicting pitching strategy. You’re even better than Steve Stone. It’s so hot. I always thought so. I was swooning the whole time during our first game.”
“That might change next season.”
“It will never change. You’ll always make me swoon.”
“Well, I hope so! But what I mean is, I might be predicting for another team.”
“No! Is someone trying to steal you away? Who?”
“The Cubs asked me to fill in for the big-league announcers during their breaks next year.”
Maddie hugged him from the side. “Oh, Carlton! You know what that means. They want you in the booth here at Wrigley. I knew this would happen.”
“You’re moving at light speed again, Maddie.”
“So? I’d bet a lot of money on it.”
Carlton laughed. “OK! I know better than to doubt you.”
The day rolled on and Maddie was grateful for every second. She loved walking around the patio, talking to fans from both teams, and bringing Chicago-style hotdogs back to Carlton. They did the goofy YMCA gestures again, and she had vivid memories of singing the song in the shower with him the first time they made love after her home run. She could tell he was thinking about it, too.
Finally, the Sox won a nail-biter. Their closer barely survived a bases-loaded threat in the ninth to clinch the game. Maddie felt a little bad jumping around and screaming for the Sox. But it was fun, and she had a blast sending festive texts and photos to the team, coaches and staff. Other Sox fans in the bleachers gravitated toward her, and they celebrated together while the Cubs fans groused and jeered.
The stadium emptied and Maddie locked arms with Carlton. They strolled to the place where they had their first kiss. An “L” train rumbled by, and Maddie stood with her arms around Carlton as the Cubs fans headed for the bars to drown their sorrows.
She sighed, feeling deliciously content. “Sorry, but I have to do this before it all disappears.” She kissed him and thought how nice it was that nothing was going to disappear this time.
He repeated his invitation from five years ago. “I don’t want this to end either. Could I interest you in …?”
“Going out for some Thai food?” she said, grinning.
“No.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out an unassuming gift box. “In marrying me.” He opened the box to reveal a small engagement ring—a solitary, round-cut diamond set in a band that looked like interlacing tree branches. “This was Charlotte’s ring. My dad gave it to her when they didn’t have any money, so it’s not fancy. If it weren’t for Mom, I wouldn’t have been here five years ago. So, I want you to have her ring.”
“Holy fucking shit!” Maddie had not expected this. But she knew immediately that it was right. Carlton had found the ideal moment, and she thought the ring was the loveliest thing she had ever seen.
“I take it that’s a Chicago-style ‘yes’?” Carlton asked.
She nodded shakily, and tears clouded her eyes. “Oh… Oh, help! I’m having a breakdown here.”
People around them took notice and started filming the scene on their phones and clapping.
Carlton took the ring out of the box and slipped it on Maddie’s finger.
“Charlotte’s ring!” Maddie held up her hand, and a jolt of happy electricity shot through her. “I’m never taking it off. I love it so much!”
The crowd around them had grown larger. Maddie was hugging all of them, and they were congratulating her and Carlton. It was a total lovefest.
Carlton took her and kissed her like the world was theirs, and it was. Out of the corner of her eye, Maddie noticed a crew of local reporters heading their way.
“We better leave,” she said. “But where to now? I wish all our friends could be here.”
“They are. They’re waiting at Anna’s Thai Kitchen.”
“Really? Oh, that’s too much. Esme, too? And Vinny and Herb?”
“Yes, and Tillie. Ed. Your parents. My dad and Rita. The Fabulous Fitzgerald Sisters.”
“No way! I thought they were in Europe. Or the International Space Station!”
“Well, they love a good time. And this is going to be a really good time. Nick’s coming, too. After his post-game duties.”
“You were pretty damned sure of yourself, weren’t you?” Maddie teased.
“Pretty damned sure! Ready to run?” He took Maddie’s hand and they ran out to Clark Street and hailed a cab before the reporters or anyone else could stop them.
***
Standing nearby, watching the whole scene unfold, was the busty woman in the floppy hat who had encouraged Maddie to sit with Carlton in the bleachers five years ago. She smiled. Her work was done. A Gray Sox fanboy was on his way to becoming a legend for the North Side team. A Cubbie fangirl was doing the same for the South Side team. They had switched allegiances and found their destinies.
The woman knew that this date in history—Maddie and Carlton’s engagement—would become a tradition in the Wrigley Field bleachers. A day for first dates, proposals, and all kinds of baseball romance. She knew because the baseball gods don’t look like wizened old guys in vintage baseball uniforms. They looked like her. A true fan.
So, take a chance. Buy a ticket. Sit in the cheap seats. Watch a game. You never know when a baseball god might find you. And grant you a wish that becomes a story.
END
RELATED ART
The beautiful bleachers and rooftops at Wrigley Field
Anna’s in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood, a cozy place for some great Thai food
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