"Probably not. I never said he played well, just that he played." I sassed. "Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot."63
"And your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him." He said it as an assumption again, like he knew me. Like he knew what I was thinking.
But he didn't. I raised my chin a fraction. "No, she did not send me here," I clarified. "I sent myself."
His eyebrows knit together like he didn't understand. "I don't understand," he admitted, and he seemed unnecessarily frustrated by that fact.
I sighed. Why didn't he understand? He continued to stare at me with obvious curiosity.
"She stayed with me at first, but she missed him. It made her unhappy... so I decided it was time to spend some quality time with Chuck." My voice was glum by the time I finished, but I hope he wouldn't pick up on the fact that I wasn't happy.
"But now you're unhappy," he pointed out.
"And?" I challenged.
"That doesn't seem fair." He shrugged, but his eyes were still intensely on me.
I laughed without humor. "Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair." Hadn't anyone ever told him? Who was this guy?
"I believe I have heard that somewhere before," he agreed dryly. His mood had visibly dropped. Had I dropped it? Had I popped it?
"So that's all," I insisted, wondering why he was still staring at me, like he was waiting for something. Why was he always looking at me?
His gaze became appraising. "You put on a good show," he said slowly. "But I'd be willing to bet five dollars that you're suffering more than you let anyone see." I reached into my pocket as though I was going to pull out five dollars, but surprised myself by losing the will to make this sarcastic gesture.
I grimaced at him, also resisting the impulse to stick out my tongue like a five-year-old, and looked away.
63. As a ball player, Phil's job requires him to be very active.