B is for Baseball, C is for Co Ed

by Tabitha12

By Mary and Amanda. Candy makes a stand for equality among the sexes in the year 1974 when she wants to join the new baseball league. A sport participated in previously by only the boys and young men the town of Schooner Bay. A From This Day On Story.

This story takes place in the From This Day On GAMM Universe, after Redeeming the Day (1973) but before When the Stars Come Out (1976)

The characters from The Ghost and Mrs. Muir — Daniel Gregg, Carolyn, Candy and Jonathan Muir, Martha Grant, Ed Peavey, Claymore Gregg, etcetera, belong to 20th Century Fox, David Gerber productions, and/or Josephine Leslie (R. A. Dick). Charles Dashire, Dr, Lynne Avery, Sean O'Casey, Adam Pierce and Fontenot belong to Mary and Amanda.

No infringement is intended, no profit is made and all characters will be returned unharmed from whence they came. This story is for enjoyment only. All characters, plots, story lines and development of GAMM characters in the From This Day On Universe belong to the authors, Amanda and Mary, and may not be used or changed without express written permission.

'B' is for Baseball; 'C' is for Co-ed

By Mary and Amanda

Late February, 1974

So absorbed were they in their game that the three young people failed to notice the lanky man leaning against the stone gate, watching them, a wistful expression on his pale face. After one strike, Candy scored a hit off her brother's expert pitch and took off running, calling out, "And don't you dare pop to try and tag me, Tristan Matthews!"

"Wouldn't dream of it," the handsome ghost replied easily as he loped after the ball. "But, if you make it to home before I run it down, I get to… what's the term, Claymore? Do a little ghostie?"

The two Muir children then noticed their landlord observing them.

"Hi, Claymore," Jonathan greeted the disconcerted man.

"I didn't mean to interrupt your game," Claymore apologized. "I just wanted to come by and drop off this mail of your mother's that got misdirected to my box. I didn't open it, I swear! I… I just guess that, you know, sometimes stuff for Gull Cottage comes my way because I own it, instead of here, where it belongs."

"You're babbling," a new voice announced a second before Captain Daniel Gregg appeared inches away from Claymore.

"AAACWGH! DON'T DO THAT!" his 'nephew' demanded.

"Don't babble, then. If you are going to wear the name of Gregg, be aware that Greggs do not babble," the seaman's spirit frowned as he plucked a handful of envelopes from the other man's shaking hand. "It all appears to be junk," he commented.

"That's for Mrs. Muir to decide," Claymore huffed. "But, yeah, it did look that way."

"You've performed your errand; be on your way," Daniel commanded.

"Sheesh, can't a guy stop by and have a friendly chat?" Claymore's frown deepened. "I really hate it that those two kids are growing up," he added out of the blue as his gaze drifted back toward the game that had fizzled.

"Mind if I ask why?" Tristan asked. "I do believe it's a quite natural, normal phenomena, that I, for one, favor, especially considering the alternative."

"Well, it's just Jon I mind aging. He's gotten too old for The Oysters, and now the team is just… pitiful," Claymore lamented.

"Too bad there's not a league for after Little League," Tristan opined. "Or, is there?"

"Not yet, not here," Claymore began, his voice taking on an edge. "But, I was thinking, why couldn't there be a team for older kids? And, Jonathan could be one of the founding, and star, players!" He looked rueful. "I'd say you ALL could be, but you know what you are…" he glanced at Tristan, "And, Candy's… well, a girl."

"You were going along just great there, Clay, even fantastically," Tristan smiled, and it was NOT a reassuring smile. "Then, you just HAD to keep talking. What's wrong with me being a "you-know-what," to put it in your terminology, or Candy being a girl? I happen to think that's quite a good thing."

The Captain scowled, torn between the desire to defend his 'daughter,' the instinct to agree with Claymore (as unlikely as that was to happen) and the profound urge to avoid yet another battle of the sexes on his ship. Yet, it was difficult to change his old-fashioned views. He'd held them for over a century.

"I'm not saying I would object!" Claymore protested loudly. "But, it wouldn't be only me influencing things. There are the other players to consider, and the sponsors, and… and… Coach Peavey."

"But, Candy's a great player! I have a hard time striking her out," Jon argued.

"And, Jonathan is an excellent pitcher," the Captain reminded Claymore, daring him to contradict the statement.

"The best the Oysters ever had, yeah," Claymore agreed readily. "But, Candy IS a girl!"

"I've played with the guys for years," Candy rolled her eyes. She really wasn't sure that she wanted to be on this new team, but being told she could NOT be was infuriating.

"On your own time, for fun," the nervous man countered. "But, this would be serious business. The Oysters aren't an official Little League team; they're too young. If we did this, it'd be a Junior Little League team, Schooner Bay's first! We can't blow it by having a… female player." Turning to the Captain, he implored, "Tell her. You never let a woman on any of YOUR ships, I bet. Well, there was that one stowaway…"

"Baseball is hardly seamanship," the spirit scowled. "And we will not discuss the stowaway!"

Recalling the unfortunate remarks he had made to Carolyn Muir about "sharing a bird and a bottle, va-va-va-voom," and "see you later, baby," when she had published the 'ghostwritten' account of that incident, Claymore paled slightly and nodded. "Er… yeah, you have a point."

"And, why can't Tris be on the team if he's a good player?" Candy asked, placing her hands on her hips as she glared at Claymore.

"Well, he's a…"

"People have seen me around town," the youngest ghost interjected. "But, not too many really know me, and I while I have managed adopt a face that could be anywhere from your age to seventeen, depending on how you look at me. We do not want my 'life,' as it is now, to come under close scrutiny, Candy. It might, if I were to participate in this." He smiled. "Thank you for wanting me to, though."

"YOU do seem to be good," Claymore admitted. "Of course, you probably use your powers, and it wouldn't be fair, I suppose, if you joined up." Now that he thought about having a ghost on the team, the notion appealed to him. "Maybe you could come up with a good cover story? I bet Adam would help you. Or, Mrs. Muir is a writer. She could invent something really cool."

"I DO NOT use my powers when we play," Tristan snapped.

"I can vouch for that," the Captain added. "There have been no power fluctuations in his direction since the game began. I may have had a scoundrel or two in my crew while I was alive. It was unavoidable, really. But, my present crew is free of cheaters, liars, or other scurvy dogs."

Scruffy, from his perch on the sidelines, yapped in protest.

"I said, scurvy dog; you are an admirable canine," Daniel informed the pooch.

"Not to mention a fair catcher," Tristan drawled, leaning one arm on a pocket of air.

"There is NO way I'm having a dog on the team," Claymore insisted. "Not even Old Spooky there can make me do that." The terrier yapped again. "Uh… sorry, about that."

Raising one brow, the Captain asked, "Oh, really?"

"Well, ah… I'm just thinking about the dog. He's gotten kind of… ancient… in dog years, you know?" Claymore said, thinking quickly, for once.

Scruffy let out a small growl.

"Careful, you're just digging yourself in deeper," Candy advised sagely.

"Uh, yeah, how can I get out of this conversation?" Claymore yanked at his necktie.

"You might consider simply leaving the mail and then making a… hmm… It is too late to make a graceful exit, but it could be considered almost so, if you hurry," the Captain suggested smoothly.

"That's not a bad idea," his 'nephew' agreed, bobbing his head. "Look, Jon, think about it. Schooner Bay could use a good Junior League team, and you'd be fantastic."

Before he could follow up on the notion, Gull Cottage's door opened and Carolyn Muir stepped out. "I saw you pull up, Claymore, and have been waiting for you to knock. But, it looks like you're leaving?"

"Uh, well, the Captain has the mail I was bringing, and really, that's the only reason I came," he stammered.

Her green eyes cut to the two ghosts, who were trying hard to seem totally innocent.

"Why don't you come inside for some coffee, or something?" she offered.

"You sure I won't get in more trouble?" Claymore asked quickly. "I like it better when nobody is mad at me."

"I'll grant you diplomatic immunity, at least for a little while," she promised.

"Can you really do that?" he whispered, his eyes darting around for any ghosts listening in.

With a small smile, Carolyn nodded. "Yes."

Claymore wiped his brow. "In that case, I'd like that very much!"

"Then come right in."

When they reached the living room, Claymore plunked down on the sofa and stared at his hostess. "So you really think Jonathan would be willing to be a starter for a new league?"

Blinking, the widow asked, "What? This is the first I've heard of it, but you'd have to ask him."

"I did, but he thinks I need to ask Candy to be on it, too."

"And you don't want to?" she shrewdly deduced.

"She's a girl!" Claymore protested.

"Clever of you to notice," Carolyn smiled.

"We've never had a co-ed team in Schooner Bay..." Claymore dithered.

"It could be time we did. After all, I ran for president of the town council not all that long ago, and a woman had never done that before, either."

"And Carolyn would have defeated you, had she not decided to be gracious and let you have the blasted office again," Daniel announced, materializing into view.

Shoving his glasses up on his nose, Claymore frowned and stated; "We'll never know that for sure."

"I did a straw ballot. She had you beat by twenty-five votes," the Captain answered smugly.

"YOU did a count!? That's… that's… election tampering!"

"Not if I didn't break open a ballot box," Daniel Gregg answered. "All you had to do was perform a tally of the citizens at the time, and I did. Not as Daniel Gregg, though."

Carolyn looked startled. "Daniel! I never knew that!"

"You didn't need to know at the time, my dear. Besides, I didn't want to make you more nervous than you already were."

"Do I need to call Adam?" Tris asked, appearing near the ceiling.

"What for?" Claymore asked, easily distracted.

"If you're going to charge Captain Gregg with voter fraud, he'll need a good lawyer."

Claymore shook his head. "You guys have to quit picking on me. I'm not that bad. Besides, if it was only twenty-five votes, there would have been a recount, or run off, or something."

"Hey, that's all in the past," Carolyn interjected. "And, really, it is not among my favorite memories, exactly. Let's get back to the subject at hand."

Her landlord shook his head. "There isn't one."

"Of course there is; you letting Candy at least have a shot at being on the new team, if you can get one together, that is," Tristan reminded him as he levitated to the ceiling.

"WILL YOU STOP THAT!!!" the lanky man shouted. "You guys keep doing that to me!"

"What? Coming into the house? It's my blasted house," Daniel reminded him. "And, Tristan is welcome to visit as often as he wishes."

"No..." Claymore waved an arm. "Floating… and… popping... I'm tired of it… It makes me jump, you just do it to scare me, and I don't feel like being scared today."

"We simply arrived. There was no premeditated… scaring going on," Tristan defended himself.

"Maybe not," Claymore admitted, grudgingly, "But you guys do it, and it does scare a person sometimes."

"Especially you?" Tris grinned.

"Be fair, Tris. Of the few humans who know about us, he's the only one that gets startled," Daniel sounded amused.

"You've been spooking me since I was twelve, Captain," Claymore maintained. "You just like doing it."

"You do make such astonishing faces and noises."

"So you admit it. You DO SO do it just to frighten me."

"No, but it is a great side benefit," Captain Gregg grinned.

The man scowled. "And, there's nothing I can do to scare you… EVER! You… bullies!"

"It was an accident that I frightened you," Tristan promised, holding up one hand.

"This time," Claymore huffed.

"Fine, have it your way. However, it IS natural to pop, if one is a ghost, and so, anyone who lives near one should be aware that a ghost could land in close proximity at any moment."

"Now, you DO sound like Adam."

"He's a good influence," Tris shrugged.

"And, I'm sure he'll have something to say when I tell him that the Junior Oysters…" Carolyn began.

Holding up a finger, Claymore corrected her, "Not the Junior Oysters; for one thing, this team will be older than the original one, but the Clams." Then, what she was saying hit him. "No!"

"…When I tell him that the CLAMS discriminate against girls," Carolyn finished.

"What makes you think the other would be team members would go for the idea?" Claymore queried.

"For one thing, Candy still has friends… boys, who play baseball. They know how good she is in non-league games," she answered.

"But the key words here are non-league," the landlord protested. "The pressure and so on could adversely affect her game."

Someone snorted behind him.

"You must be jesting, Clay," came a pronounced Irish brogue. "Candy acts even MORE efficiently in a crisis."

Another incoherent squawk burst out of Claymore. "STOP doing that! You know, baseball players are as superstitious as… as sailors! The guys might feel jinxed, like you fellows would with a woman on board the 'ship'."

"Claymore..." Carolyn tapped her foot. "...haven't you ever heard of Women's Lib?"

"And barring that, discrimination," Sean O'Casey added. "Couldn't help but overhear, and pop in to put in my two cents. But I suppose the important thing is what does CANDY want; to play, or not?"

"She didn't really say," Claymore replied, fidgeting. "Just didn't like being told no."

"Maybe it is time someone asked her?" Tris opined. "Otherwise, this conversation, at least regarding her, is rather moot. That is, until some other female asks why THEY can't try out. Candy can't be the only possible candidate in Schooner Bay; her friend, Tricia, for instance?"

Throwing his hands in the air, Claymore exclaimed, "We can't go around inviting every…Tammy, Joan, and Harriet onto the team!"

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "So this... team is going to be exclusive? You are asking for trouble, if not a lawsuit."

Claymore paled. "You mean... would Candy do that?"

"It is within the realm of possibility that someone would," the spirit smiled. "And, how often must I remind you, we are not sailors. We are SEAMEN."

"Did I call you a sailor?"

"Yes," three voices flatly replied.

"Well it was just a slip. Other people do, but you never yell at them, and I have never been able to figure out the difference anyway. Maybe if you explain it to me I can remember better."

"But no one else calls us sailors," Tristan argued.

"Whoever does IS corrected," Sean added.

"Sailor is a term only used by ignorant landlubbers," Daniel explained, "Unless it is used to refer to low-class rogues not worthy of the title 'seaman'."

"Oh." Claymore scratched his head. "That's all there is to it? Seaman is just a classier way of saying sailors?"

Carolyn shook her head. "No, Claymore. Being a SEAMAN is a profession… something that can take years to become. A sailor is more like... like... like the men in Maiden Voyage, who went after the girl."

There was a flash of amusement in Sean's eyes as he nodded, "Aye… like that."

"Or, pretty-boy types who only play at sailing," the Captain said gruffly. "Fair-weather dandies."

"In ice-cream jackets," Carolyn giggled, remembering Daniel's antics with one Blair Thompson. "I would say that is a fair statement. But we are getting off the track. Candy is where, at the moment? Outside?"

Tristan nodded. "That's where she and Jon were when I popped in to see how it was going in here."

"Do you think she sincerely wants to join the new league?" Claymore asked.

"I think she might like to have the chance," was all he would say.

"Well, I guess I don't really mind," Claymore shrugged. "I like Candy, always have, she's a good kid, but what about everyone else?"

"If other girls try out and are the best players, let them be on the team," Carolyn answered simply.

Claymore shook his head. "That's easier said than done. What about… say... Jane Shoemaker?"

"Can't see her playing, frankly," Dash remarked.

Ignoring that, Claymore forged ahead doggedly; "What if it comes down to a decision between, for instance, Candy and Donald, or Candy and Danny?"

"Choose the most worthy player," the Captain ordered, with it implicit in his tone who he thought that would prove to be.

"Easy for you to say," Claymore sighed. "Don't take this the wrong way, Uncle, but you may live in the same town as that... that... sea-witch, but you don't have to deal with her. She and her husband both have a lot of pull. And it's not just because I handle all of Mr. Shoemaker's insurance business. The problem is, I DO want a good team, and Candy could be a great player… I know that. I'm caught between the Devil and the deep blue sea, but whether you believe it or not, I want to do what is right."

"See that you continue to feel that way."

"I'll try," Claymore gulped. "I guess I should go see if Candy is truly interested? Or maybe I could watch Jon, Candy and Tris play for a while… audition her, a little more, ya know?"

"This conversation started with you watching us," Tris countered.

"Yeah, but I wasn't thinking about her in connection with being in the league then. Teams have to have sponsors. A female player is something new and that could make them leery. If we don't get backing, we can't have a team. Or, like I said, if guys don't want a girl "jinxing" them, they won't play, either. So, there's stuff to consider beyond talent."

"Well, she still needs to be asked," Carolyn interjected emphatically.

"Yeah, but I thought I would see her play first," Claymore insisted. "That's only fair to me. I WILL be the manager, after all."

"It'd be better done when she's fresh, though, wouldn't it?" Sean inquired. "Besides, if she doesn't want to be on the team, then why would you want to waste your valuable time with a useless audition?"

"Time is money, Claymore," Carolyn pointed out.

"True," he began and then he broke off to send a glare around the room. "You just want to get rid of me."

Raising one brow, the Captain calmly replied, "Not at all, Claymore. If I wished to do that, or rather, if I chose to do that, I would hardly be subtle."

Recalling his many and varied abrupt exits from Gull Cottage over the years, the landlord had to agree. "All right, but I still don't think much of this idea, really. It'll be a tough sell, and while Candy may be a great player, the overall good of the team… all aspects of the team… has to be my first consideration. I can't play favorites."

"No one suggested you should," Carolyn frowned. "Why would having a great player adversely affect the team?"

Looking much put-upon, her landlord sighed. "I explained this already. Sponsors, superstitions about girls, money… Better one potential participant not play than lose a whole team."

"Maybe the best thing to do now is simply ask Candy," Tris pointed out, "However, may I say… I plan on trying out, and I AM on her side."

Now, Claymore looked ill. "You're a ghost, and you did say it'd cause a lot of problems."

"Ah, yes, but..." Tris waved a finger, "…If you aren't going to discriminate against girls, you shouldn't against ghosts, either."

"You said it; you've not drawn much attention to yourself up until now. Why mess that up?" Claymore asked.

"It all sounds like too much fun to miss," Tris answered, sneaking a glance at his Captain. "Besides, if Candy does get any flack, there should be someone on the team that is siding with her completely."

"She'll have her brother," Claymore argued.

"True, but..." Tris scratched his ear. "But she deserves more. Stop arguing with me, Clay."

"We've still got the cart ahead of the horse," Carolyn reminded them quietly.

"Am I the horse?" Candy asked from the doorway. Jonathan was right behind her.

"No, but you're riding it," Sean quipped.

The girl shook her head as she came into the room. "I'm not sure what you mean, but whatever you mean, I've decided that I want to try out for the team."

Claymore let out a long-suffering sigh. Against all hope, he'd wanted to believe she would opt not to do this to him. "You sure, Candy? It'll take time. Aren't you getting busier with your school work these days? And… working for Ed Peavey sometimes?"

"Yeah, but other kids play and have more regular jobs and do their schoolwork."

"Yeah, Claymore," Jonathan put in. "Besides, if you don't let her try out, I won't be trying out either. And I mean that."

"And, it's just a try-out," Carolyn said. "There are no guarantees about who'll make it."

"Candy'll be great, and you know it," Claymore sighed and threw up his hands. "Okay. Fine. Try out, Candy. Who knows? Maybe the other Schooner Bayites wont be is stodgy and uptight as I think, and even if they are, you guys can throw a scare into them, huh? I mean, you do it when you think I need a lesson. You've admitted it."

"Keep it up, and you'll need a remedial one," Daniel growled.

"Hey!" the landlord protested, "I SAID she could try out! Heck, I'm for everyone trying out and getting it over with; girls, ghosts, housewives, consulting detectives, everyone! The more, the merrier."

More than one person thought they'd believe that when they saw it, but Sean O'Casey frowned. "Consulting detectives, Claymore?"

"I've been reading Sherlock Holmes lately. Just... popped out."

Candy frowned. "I don't think Sherlock would play baseball."

"Never mind," Claymore sighed and stood. "My sarcasm is lost on you guys."

"Your humor must just be too sophisticated," the Captain remarked dryly.

The plain man's face lit up. "Right! That's it exactly! Thank you, Captain Gregg!"

Inwardly, Carolyn grinned. Now, that really was sarcasm being lost on someone! Gregory Peck the Second strikes again!

The seaman rolled his eyes. "Maybe you should get busy putting together a possible roster, Claymore. That, and getting the word out... that's the term, isn't it?"

"I'll be putting an ad in the Beacon," the lanky man nodded. He shot the ghost a suspicious look. "I trust it won't get tampered with?"

"Me?" the spirit gave him a hurt look as Candy giggled, remembering Claymore's 'crazy cottage.' "Now, why would I do that?"

"I gave up trying to figure YOU out ages ago," Claymore huffed.

"I am not going to tamper with your ad, you oaf," Daniel retorted. "No ad, no tryouts, no team, remember?"

"Oh, right."

"So when ARE tryouts?" Candy and Jonathan asked, more or less together.

"Aye, we need to start really practicing," Tris added.

"Er… well… I haven't decided, yet," Claymore replied nervously.

"Why not?" everyone in the room asked at once.

"Uh, well, for openers, I figured maybe I would wait and see how much interest there was," he answered. "Like it or not, if only Candy, Jonathan, and Tris are interested, that isn't enough people for a team, ya know."

"Isn't that part of the purpose for tryouts?" Carolyn asked.

"Well, yeah, but if not enough kids say they want to try out, there's no sense having them," Claymore protested.

"He's right, Mom," Jonathan spoke up; "You have to sign up FOR tryouts first, not just show up... AND say what positions you are interested in; pitcher, catcher, fielder, etcetera."

"I see."

"So..." I guess the best thing I can say for now is practice, practice, practice?" Claymore asked, as he put down his coffee cup and stood up.

"We will."

"Good," the man nodded. "Thanks for wanting to play, you guys, and I mean that... most of my ideas are treated like a joke, or with lukewarm interest, at best, like the theater I wanted to get started a few years ago; one great show and then... nothing. Well, maybe some day I can get another production going! Maybe this will go better. Thanks for the coffee, Mrs. Muir."

"You're welcome, Claymore."

XXX

The matter seemed to be resolved, at least for now, so Carolyn filed it in her mind as something she did not need to be concerned about any longer. She should have known better.

A few days later, as the latest PTA meeting adjourned, Carolyn found herself faced by Darlene Hassenhammer and Jane Shoemaker. As usual, Jane's face looked as if she'd been eating raw lemons, while Darlene simply looked content and superior. For some reason, she seemed to have added an "I told you so" expression on her face.

"Hello, ladies," Carolyn smiled, then deftly added, "I would love to stay and chat, but I did promise to get a report on the minutes typed up for Mark to go in this week's Beacon, so if you will just excuse me..."

"I suppose we can chat at the tryouts, for the Clams," Jane frostily suggested.

"Yes, perhaps we can," Mrs. Muir nodded. "I suppose both Danny and Donny will be trying out?"

"Of course."

"But, PENNY will NOT be," Darlene chimed in. "She never had an unfortunate tomboy stage to try and grow out of. I'm SO very sorry that Candy has apparently… backslid? There had been signs of improvement, I know. It must be a trial for you, dear."

Carolyn bit her tongue and mentally counted to ten slowly in Latin before saying anything. At nine, her favorite ghost popped in.

"You tell that... that... witch… harpy I'll send her to Lourdes on a broomstick if she doesn't stop her.." he broke off for a moment, infuriated. While that might've been a satisfying response, Carolyn did not find it much more helpful than having Daniel say things she wanted to respond to, while he was invisible! "Carolyn... Madam, TELL this... this fish-faced know-it-all that she hasn't the slightest idea what she is talking about! Candy hasn't backslid! There is nothing wrong with doing what you are good at!"

With a slight nod, Carolyn acknowledged his advice and then lifted her chin defiantly as she met the other women's gazes. "I'm quite pleased that my daughter is secure enough in her femininity to use ALL her talents, even the ones that are not considered especially… girly."

"You... you don't mind her suiting up and playing with boys? Almost young MEN?" Jane inquired with a sneer. "I definitely don't consider THAT proper!"

"I'm sure she will not be sharing a locker room with them," Carolyn replied tightly.

"You expect Claymore Gregg and Coach Peavey to make special arrangements, just for your daughter?" Darlene asked.

"He blasted well better!" Daniel fumed, "Whatever she needs, that quivering squid and the cherry pie eater will provide!"

"If the team turns out to be co-ed I am sure that the arrangements won't be considered 'special'," Carolyn said firmly.

"I doubt any of the young ladies in Schooner Bay will want to participate, except to cheer for their boyfriends. Of course, Candy hasn't had one yet, has she?" Darlene smiled… too sweetly.

Thunder cracked.

"I think it's a shame that some girls are in such a hurry to grow up," Carolyn answered; her voice icy. "As for me, I am glad that my daughter isn't afraid to participate in something she enjoys, rather that knuckle under to old-fashioned, un-liberated ideas. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to be moving along. I just remembered; I'm sitting in on the town council meeting this week with Claymore, I still have my notes to type, and then I need to go home and put a hem in Candy's uniform." Before either of her antagonists could formulate a response, she turned on her heel and left.

XXX

Carolyn reached her car and took a seat inside. After making sure that the car windows were all closed tight, she shouted at the top of her lungs: DAMN AND BLAST OVER-STARCHED. MEDDLESOME, BUSYBODY, BLASTED IMPOSSIBLE DIMWITS!!!"

"Strong language, my dear," a voice remarked, seconds before the Captain became visible to her eyes alone.

"They deserve that and a lot more," Carolyn growled, as she started the car, put it in gear and pulled away from the curb. "How can anyone be so unenlightened? These are the 1970's, for Pete's sake!"

The ghost could not legitimately say much on that subject, since many of his opinions tended to be rather old-fashioned. However, he had managed to amend them, to a degree, where it was warranted. "Whatever Candy did would be wrong in their eyes, I believe."

As if she could read her ghost's mind, Carolyn retorted, "You aren't having qualms about Candy wanting to play on the team with Jon, are you, Daniel?" Carolyn carefully kept her eyes on the road.

After a moment's hesitation, he replied, "No, my dear. I have seen all three of the women in my afterlife perform in tasks that would have been restricted to my sex in my day, and ably, but never lost an ounce of their feminine charms. And, I must admit, she is a far superior batter than Jon."

Carolyn smiled. "Yes, but he still wins out in the pitching department, even Candy says so." Holding onto the wheel with her left hand, she reached toward him with her right. "I hope you are solid right now, because the only thing I can do at the moment is hold your hand."

"I really do need to go to the council meeting later this afternoon, after I get this other stuff done. Care to keep me company?"

Though it sounded like an exercise in ennui, the spirit nodded. "Yes, my dear. I even promise to refrain from comment; mostly, at least." He squeezed the hand she held out to him.

"I give you permission to thunder, if Claymore gets too long-winded," Carolyn winked, wishing she could kiss her Captain right then and there.

"Then, I suggest taking your umbrella inside with you," he smirked.

"I will," she grinned. "I do hope that the meeting stays away from any talk about baseball. It's not on the agenda, and I don't want to get started again at the moment."

"It certainly does not belong on the town council's discussion list," the Captain scowled. "However, I have found statements such as that can have little meaning if someone is determined to discuss a matter. Furthermore, agendas are little more than guidelines quite often, and quite subject to changing on a whim."

"True," Carolyn nodded. "I remember how fast everyone became embroiled in the great Adams/Franklin debates and yet how thoroughly everyone ignored poor Billy Lemoyne and his family until it was almost too late." A small tear slipped down her cheek as she remembered the sad death of the little boy that had been such good buddies with Jon, albeit for a short time. "I do hope that Candy's other friends try out and stick up for her." Carolyn's voice trembled.

"Tris will, and Jonathan, also. And didn't she say her friend Tricia is trying out, along with her old volleyball pals?" He frowned, having been made intensely uncomfortable by the hint of tears.

With a wobbly smile, Carolyn nodded. "Mothers just have to worry."

"I know, but... Blast it, dear lady, I wish there was something more I could do..."

"But, in this case, there is not," she admitted. "It's enough, Daniel; that you want to."

He didn't concur. Actions counted more than intentions, at least as Daniel Gregg measured himself. "You are quite certain I cannot unleash torrents of spectral fury, the likes of which has not been seen in some time, upon those two flitter-brained, starchy, blatherskites?"

"Tempting as it might be, no," Carolyn replied. "I don't understand why they would even CARE if Candy wants to play baseball."

"I'm sure Candy is a far superior player to either Shoemaker boy. The other one is just being a toady," the Captain mused. "Penny would not be caught dead," he flinched slightly, "playing the game. However, Jane's approval, no matter what, right or wrong, matters to Darlene, for some odd reason, I suspect. What's more, some people live to deal out misery, on general principles."

"That is definitely true of Jane," Carolyn nodded as she pulled into a parking place in front of the Beacon. "Honestly, Daniel, I don't think she has ever forgotten Jonathan winning the essay contest over Danny, or besting him in front of everyone at the Oyster tryouts way back when... The second is especially silly, because they both ended up playing on the team, anyway."

"Jonathan has struck both of her sons out, from time to time… in practice."

"But that's the way baseball works!" Carolyn protested. "Danny's gotten a home run or two when Jonathan has pitched, and you don't hear me sulking and saying Danny shouldn't be allowed to play."

"But Candy is more of a threat, because of her sex," Daniel pointed out. "And, my dear, your mind is far more logical and fair than Jane's."

Carolyn shook her head in amusement. "Thank you, love. You know, Candy would be laughing at both of us... she says that Adam, Quentin, and Steve still look on her as "one of the boys." I doubt strongly if they are having a problem with this."

"Or, they might surprise us and not be at all pleased with the notion. Competitive games can bring out the worst in people."

Carolyn gave him a look. "You really think her gang is going to have a problem with this? I can't see why... they have been playing together since our first summer here."

He shrugged. "I merely advised you so you, and she, can be prepared if they do. Now, unless we want to contribute to rumors about you being barmy, it might be time for you to move along, my dear. No matter how much I might wish otherwise."

"I have a key to the office," Carolyn smiled. "If Mark isn't there, you could keep me company... or better yet, you can alter your appearance and make yourself visible. Be my latest flame, Terrance Hilliard, and give the hens something else to chatter about!"

"They will find something, no matter what I do."

"True," Carolyn nodded, reaching for the car door handle. "Still, it could be interesting.

"You are coming to the meeting with me, even if it's only invisibly?"

A kiss brushed her cheek. "I am getting an impression from home that I am needed there. Do not worry, my dear. It does not feel like a major event, just one that needs supervision."

"I could skip the meeting, I suppose, claim there was an emergency … "

"No need, as I said, it feels minor, and I will prevent it from becoming major, I promise."

"Very well," she said quietly, as she reached the door to the newspaper office, which, as she suspected, was locked. "But if you want me, you know where I'll be."

"Oh, it's not a question of "if," my darling." Then, he was gone.

XXX

As the Captain neared home, he could feel a disturbance there. Sure enough, Martha Grant was attempting to referee between Claymore and Tristan, who were involved in a heated argument as he popped onto the main deck, a.k.a., the living room.

"What's going on here?" the seaman asked the white-haired lady.

"Claymore made a special trip all the way out here, figuring Gull Cottage was the most likely place for Tristan to be, just to let him know he can't be on the team, or even try out. He EVEN got Norrie to be President Pro-tem for today's council meeting so he could do so." Looking disgusted, she added unnecessarily, "Tris took it poorly."

"I cannot blame him. Why may he not?" he asked.

Throughout the exchange, neither combatant had looked up, but now Claymore turned and announced triumphantly, "He's too old!"

"Well, yes, but in matters regarding public appearances, our ostensible ages are what count," his uncle informed the nerd. "Therefore, Tristan purports to be eighteen, not one hundred and… never mind."

"Eighteen is too old. He can't play," Claymore smugly countered, thrilled to win for once.

"I don't have a birth certificate. Just don't ask, and we can assume I'll squeak in under the bar," Tristan suggested testily. He was bound and determined to be there for Candy, just in case she needed moral support.

"SOMEONE will ask, and you do NOT have any paperwork. We'll have to see some for you to be on the team," Claymore retorted, poking a finger at the youngest spook.

"Watch that finger if you want to keep it," Tristan snapped.

Immediately, the offending digit was retracted.

"Much as I hate to admit it, Claymore has a point," Martha cut in. "Ed has already had to turn away David and Darryl Post; you know, Michael's older twin brothers? They aren't eighteen yet, but will be before the season starts. And Tris, you really do look at least eighteen most of the time."

"I am NOT abandoning Candy!" Tris protested. "I promised I would be there." Turning to his commander, he appealed, "Captain, a man has to keep his word. If I hadn't known that before signing on, watching you would have taught me that."

"You can't bend the rules, Claymore?" the seaman asked.

The landlord shook his head. "No, and not even YOU can bully me into it. Not my idea! It is official League guidelines for this sort of thing that count. I'm beginning to think my idea is cursed anyway."

"Why?" a trio of voices asked.

"Ed Peavey called me right before I realized that Tris was too old to play, and said what with his hardware/fix-it business, and being on the town council, and working with Josh Maxwell on revamping the movie house, he just wasn't going to have time to coach the Oysters and the Clams both... so I have no Clam coach. I dunno whether I can do it all… I really don't. So this idea may get pitched overboard before it has a chance to sail; or something like that."

"I don't think a cherry pie would change Ed's mind, either," Martha chimed in before anyone could suggest it.

"Blast!" three voices answered.

"One can only do so much," Daniel added, rubbing his chin. "And Ed is only human, after all."

"Yeah. Everyone needs superpowers like you guys have," Claymore lamented. "Only, without that… you know… er… dying part."

"Thanks, Claymore," Tris grinned. "I think!" Blast... This is frustrating, you know it?"

"What is?" a voice asked from the doorway.

"Oh, hullo, Jon," Tris replied, "Where's Candy?"

"Stopped at the library, I think," the boy answered. "She had to return a book, and then she would be coming after me… we rode our bikes this morning, remember? Now what's frustrating?"

Briefly, the rest of the crew explained the newest problem.

"The answer seems simple to me," Jon shrugged.

There was a moment of silence and then Claymore burst out with, "So, share it, already!"

"Can't you guys guess a little first?" the boy grinned, "It's so obvious!"

"Might I ask WHICH problem you have solved, Jon?" Tris asked. "We did mention two, after all; mine with age and Claymore's with coaching."

"Both!" he smiled. "Of course you two might have to bend a little..."

"Depends on what it is I'd have to bend about," the ghost allowed.

"And I guess it depends on how important the Clams are to you, also," Jon shrugged. "Since Tris can't morph himself and suddenly show up in Schooner Bay as a guy my age without someone wondering about his parents and who he is, and all that and Claymore needs a coach, why doesn't TRIS coach the team? That way he could be a part of things, and hang around with me and Candy, but it gets Claymore off the hook, too… and you would be a great coach, Tris."

"People still might ask questions about who he is and so on," Martha pointed out. "He hasn't really gotten involved in community life, even if he's been seen around a bit."

"He could be 'visiting' from a neighboring town," Jon insisted, "like Midvale or Skeldale, or Keystone. And he could change his appearance, you know, like Captain Gregg does when he takes Mom out on a date anywhere near Schooner Bay."

"Or Fontenot, simply because he can't stand wearing the same face too long," the Captain drawled.

"Right!" said Jonathan, "And I really don't think you are going to hear too many arguments about it."

"Hey!" Claymore yelped. "Is that a comment about my coaching skills?"

"No, about Tristan's," Jonathan stated.

"Still sounds like you are complaining about mine," the older man grumbled.

"So does this mean you won't take me on as a coach?" Tris asked, glancing at his Captain and then back at the landlord. "I'm willing... I think it's a great idea."

"It's not completely my decision," Claymore admitted. "I do have to run it by Ed."

"Why?" Martha asked, "He knows he can't coach. And whatever we cook up, he doesn't know Tris is a ghost, so that doesn't enter into it, either."

"It's a process… Protocol… Courtesy," he grumbled. "But even if Ed doesn't mind, I still get dibs on picking the colors and design for the team sweatshirts."

"That would be the "whatever is on sale" shade?" the Captain inquired smoothly.

"There is NOTHING wrong with being thrifty," Claymore protested indignantly. "It's… it's a virtue."

"Unless you overdo it, then it's just stingy," Martha chimed in. "You WILL get color-fast dyes in the uniforms and sweatshirts! I do not want to find an entire load of clothes suddenly the same color as whatever crustacean you call the team's outfits."

"Sheesh. One little mistake, and a guy gets grief forever and a day." Huffily, he drew himself up. "And, I did pay for replacement clothes for you. Thank goodness it was a light load."

"Only after we explained your obligations as landlord and as the one who fubared things," Captain Gregg corrected him.

"After you haunted me for the night, you mean," Claymore sniffed. "You're lucky I didn't call the police on you."

"Hard to do that with a ghost; I could just vanish, and they would say you are having a nightmare," the Captain answered.

"Yeah. That's one reason I didn't do it."

"Wise plan."

"I'm glad nobody else decided to yell at me about it, though."

"The Captain did it well enough," Tris grinned.

"You can say that again."

"We're getting off-track," Martha announced.

"Yeah," Jonathan agreed. "Any more reasons my idea won't work? It'd keep everyone happy."

"Will Candy go for it, do you think?" Claymore asked.

Shrugging elaborately, Jon answered, "Probably, I don't know. Hard to tell with girls."

"Did I hear someone disparaging women?" Carolyn's voice was heard from the doorway.

"Yeah," Candy said, entering the room also. "What are you railing at us about now when we aren't here to defend ourselves, Jon?"

"I'm not! Just said I can't read your mind."

"And what can't you read my mind about?"

Briefly, the spirits outlined their problems with both Tris and Ed and Jon's solution.

"Only problem is I can't say I like the idea about fudging about being a student, Tris," Candy frowned. "I know you guys have to, to an extent, but someone could check... call the high school you say you are from..."

Looking almost embarrassed, Tris sighed before saying, "I have, actually, been in a class or two daily. You know, filling in the gaps in my education."

Candy's eyebrows went up. "Schooner Bay High school isn't that big, but I have never seen you there, Tris; not in the halls, the lunchroom, a class... anywhere."

"I WAS invisible for the classes I attended here in town, but I also visibly attend the high school in Skeldale, as well as the community college, off and on."

"So if anyone were to call the John Adams High in Skeldale and check on you..."

"I'm listed there as 'Peter Daker,' who has permission to audit whatever classes he likes."

"How'd you get in for that without paperwork?" Claymore demanded. "Or money?"

"By being very charming, and unassuming," Tris answered, morphing himself into a tall, gangly, studious type that bore a resemblance to a dark blonde Clark Kent. "I said that I had had to leave high school unexpectedly the year before and never graduated, and that my parents had my birth certificate, but they had been delayed in Outer Mongolia, where they had been traveling as missionaries, and I would get them my papers as soon as I could. I've been meaning to talk to Adam about that. Anyway, the principal and registrar were nice about it: as the school had a drop in enrollment, due to the brand new high school being built seven miles away, and really, as long as I wasn't being graded on anything, that I could attend any classes I wished, and welcome. I just couldn't participate in after-school activities, drama club, speech team, or any sports. And why would I need money? I don't have to eat… and kept pretty much to myself, nobody I wanted to date, or anything. I was there to learn and improve my mind. All I needed was a notebook, and paper and pens… Mrs. Muir gave me those, though she didn't know quite why I wanted them… until NOW, anyway and the school issued textbooks."

"I wondered if you were thinking about taking up writing, also, and were too shy to show us anything," Carolyn smiled.

"I'm wise enough to know where my talents lay, Ma'am," he smiled, showing how charming he could be indeed. "And, it is not writing. I'm just glad to tell you a tale or two from my past, now and again."

"Well, why can't you be visible, as Peter, if not as YOU, at SBJSH?" Candy asked, slightly indignantly. "It'd be SO COOL. I'd be glad to be your best friend, and everything."

"But, my dear girl, you ARE my best friend. That'd be no sham. However, Schooner Bay is smaller than Skeldale, and it is harder to fake things in smaller towns."

Looking very smug, Claymore chimed in, "My point exactly!"

"What's your point, exactly?" Carolyn asked.

"HE does not have paperwork and it's hard to fake stuff here, so even if he morphs into a younger face, putting him on the Abalones team would not work."

"The what?" Martha asked.

"It's a kind of shellfish, a very expensive kind, but quite tasty, even better than frog's legs," Claymore elucidated. "Now, I wish I had asked for some. I bet you'd cook them just right, Martha."

"Don't even think of re-injuring yourself on the premises and Martha will not be preparing any of those for you, under any circumstances," the Captain growled.

Claymore looked crestfallen.

"And, I know what they are, but how did the Clams turn into them?" Martha added.

"Evolution?" Jon asked.

"Sounds more like magic. Prince into frog, humble clam into abalone," Tristan mused. "What they're really good for is making jewelry. Remember those cameos that were for sale in a coastal market we visited once, Captain?"

"Indeed I do."

"My question never got answered," Martha reminded them.

"Abalone sounded classier," Claymore shrugged.

Candy wrinkled her nose. "Why does the name have to be seafood related anyway?"

"Because, Schooner Bay's economy is, or at least was historically, related to maritime enterprises," Claymore stammered.

"Still sounds sissy and babyish," Candy went on. "Why can't we be the Buccaneers, or Black Pirates, or swashbucklers, or something like that?"

"Criminals?" Claymore looked horrified.

"Not everyone who swashed and buckled was a criminal," Martha said quickly.

"MOST of them," he insisted with a sniff.

"Well maybe not one of those, but we ought to be able to think of a better name than the Abalones," Jon frowned. "Heck, I never liked the Oysters for a name."

"And what, pray tell, is wrong with it?" Claymore demanded.

"Same thing that is wrong with Clams and Abalones… too fishy. I'd rather be a member of a team like the Bulldogs, or the Vikings, or Noble Knights or Daniel Gregg's... something or other. THAT would be the coolest."

"No, no, no, no. Sports teams are never named after a person," Claymore shook his head vehemently.

"Soooo..." Candy said, and paused. "If we stop bugging you about the team name, will you let Tris coach?"

"How do I know he knows enough about coaching to do it?"

"Claymore..." the Captain growled, and outside there was thunder. "My crewmen are not in the habit for volunteering for things they can't deliver on."

"Still, just because he thinks he can does not mean he can."

"Maybe you would like to forget the idea all together?" Jon asked, "Or I will. If Tris isn't coach, or Mister Peavey, I don't think I will bother playing."

"Me either," Candy chimed in.

For a moment, Claymore looked tempted. If Candy refused to play, one problem was nipped in the proverbial bud; however, he couldn't bear to lose the best pitcher he'd ever had.

"I guess I could give Tris a tryout as coach," he grumbled. "But if I don't like... that is, if we don't get along, he goes and I will have to find time to manage AND coach the team."

"I suppose that's fair," Tristan frowned, almost, but not quite making the statement a question.

"You'll do great, Tris," both kids said together.

Daniel scowled at Claymore. "I feel sure you will, lad."

"Even at the getting along with Claymore part?" Martha pointedly asked.

"TRISTAN and Claymore have to get along," the Captain said mildly, rubbing his jaw.

"Does that mean that if he can't get along with Tris, Claymore has to give up being manager, too?" Jonathan asked.

"I hadn't thought of that, but yes, that seems fair," Captain Gregg smiled slowly.

"HEY, it's MY team!" Claymore yelped.

"So you want what is best for it, right, Claymore?" Carolyn asked. "It sounds like that is Tris, as coach."

"IF he knows what he's doing and if he can get along with the team, not just with me. After all, I'm very, very easy to get along with. But, kids, present company excepted, of course, can be… well, you know..."

"Like Danny Shoemaker?" Tris' eyebrows went up, and he morphed back to his usual look. "Claymore, I have had a hundred and some-odd years of handling difficult people, and there is NOTHING Jane can hold over my head, so don't worry."

"You have met Mrs. Shoemaker, right? She can make something out of nothing better than anyone I ever met," the scarecrow of a man grumbled.

"I haven't met her as Peter Daker, but I am aware of how difficult she can be from talking to this clan," the ghost motioned toward the Captain, Carolyn, Martha and the kids. "Give me a chance, Claymore; besides, with Ed out of the running, who else do you have? I'll do a good job, and you do know me. It's not like you would have to work with a stranger."

"I wouldn't anyway. I bet I know every one in this town," Claymore countered.

"Knowing them and knowing them well enough to work with them are two different things," Tris sighed. "Are you just trying to be difficult? I want to help, here."

"Well, you must admit, you have been pretty mean to me, at times," Claymore reminded him, though he shot a glare at his uncle.

"Me?" Tris looked wounded. "Never! Teasing you occasionally only means we... like you. Isn't that right, Captain?" He turned to Daniel for support.

"Don't exaggerate, lad," the seaman winked.

"Well he isn't as bad as he used to be…"

"I think I better say yes while I am ahead," Claymore shrugged.

"See? You are getting wiser," Carolyn teased.

"Now, don't YOU start!"

"Wasn't that a compliment?" Candy frowned.

"No. It means you think I wasn't smart before."

"I believe you can only add an "er" to something that one had to begin with," the Captain began to lecture. "Something can only become more in a quantity if there was something there to begin with. To say you were not before would not require adding an "er" to the end of the word, just the word itself."

Claymore frowned, trying to piece that together in his mind. "Oh. So, you think I am smart?"

"At least not a complete idiot," the ghost answered gruffly.

The man began to beam. "Coming from you, that's high praise."

"Ahem. So, Claymore, when are the tryouts and what does an assistant coach need to do to get ready for them?" Tristan deftly tried to get back on a topic more important than debating Claymore's relative merits.

"And, are you going to let me try out?" Candy chimed in. "And Tricia? Dunno what other girls want to, yet, if any."

"Not to mention, treat her fairly DURING the process," Carolyn amended. "Don't let her try out to humor us, then automatically dismiss Candy for being a girl."

Behind his glasses, Claymore's eyes got wide. "Who? Moi? If she tries out, then she'll be considered the same as every other potential… Cl… er… Aba… Calamari!"

"Octopus?" Martha rolled her eyes.

"Well, you have to admit, octopi would make great baseball players, if they could play baseball, that is," Claymore justified himself.

"That name sounds better than Clams or Abalone," Jon put in. "And… an octopus on our sweatshirts would be cool... I mean, one tentacle could hold a bat, another, a catcher's mitt, another..."

"We get the idea," Daniel smiled. The image was an amusing one.

"And we could keep a little one in a tank as a mascot," Candy suggested.

"And I don't cook those either," Martha added.

"My mind isn't always on dinner," Claymore pouted. "Though I do need to be getting back into town, now that we have a few things sorted out... It is getting toward that time of the evening, unless you want me to stay and go over things with Tris. Then it would be NICE to invite me for dinner..."

"I was thinking of leftovers tonight," Martha said pointedly.

"So what? Your leftovers are way better than food at the diner, or the frozen pot-pies I buy," Claymore said brightly. "I can't even get Admiral Schnedaker's clam chowder to taste the way you can, Martha."

"What's to know?" Carolyn looked bewildered. "Even I know how to make that. Use one can of milk to one can of chowder."

"You're supposed to use milk? I thought you used water." He frowned. "Would the powdered kind work?"

"Not well," Martha shook her head. "Claymore, you are hopeless. Why don't you want to buy real milk?"

"It goes bad so fast that it's a waste of money. Besides, water's almost free, and you'd think it'd work, since clams live in water."

"Yes, Claymore, the clams DID, but... oh, never mind. Forget it." Martha looked disgusted. "It's a wonder you haven't starved to death."

"Does that mean I can stay for dinner? Tris and I really should talk a bit, if we are going to work together."

"You know, it's really not proper for us to be discussing managerial things in front of the players," Tristan very seriously informed him. "Perhaps we should go to Norrie's and have a dinner meeting? Of course, as this was your idea, you would pay."

"The lad has you there, dear boy," Daniel chuckled. Score one for Tristan Matthews.

"B-b-but… YOU don't need food!"

"Yes, but I enjoy it; and you did mention wanting dinner."

"It would distract us from business."

"Never. Besides, it would be good for a few of the town-folk to get used to seeing 'Peter Daker'." Tris morphed back into the unfamiliar. but likeable face. "You could introduce me around. Come on... you could write it off as a business meal."

"It's not business; the baseball stuff is a hobby, so it wouldn't count," Claymore grumbled.

"Oh, come on, Clay! You know and I both know that you are writing off your league expenses as a charitable contribution... helping out kids and all that."

Sighing, he gave way. "Okay, but, not Norrie's, the diner; it's cheaper and if we sit at the lunch counter, there's no tipping issue."

"As long as someone waits on you, they should be tipped SOMETHING," Tris protested. "You WILL tip tonight, or we will get started off on a bad foot."

"You're worse than he is," the tightwad sulked.

"Who?" Tris asked innocently.

"Captain Spooky."

"I don't think you ought to call him that, Clay." Tris scratched his head.

"I KNOW he shouldn't," Carolyn put in.

"Right!" echoed Candy and Jonathan.

Thunder rumbled.

"You ready to get going, Tris? I mean, Peter?" Claymore asked quickly.

With a grin, Tris gestured to the door. "Lead on, MacDuff."

As the two men left, Carolyn looked after them.

"Tris will be able to keep him in line." She turned to her daughter. "So, you don't know what other girls might be trying out for the team? Surely, even in a town the size of Schooner Bay, a few others might."

"I think a lot of them are scared guys won't like them if they play," Candy frowned. "And a lot don't understand the game, anyway, I don't think..."

"Yeah, but didn't you have to play baseball in Girls Phys-Ed?" Jon asked seriously, "Just like basketball and volleyball? We guys did."

"Do you understand everything they teach in every class?" she countered.

"You don't have to get grumpy about it! I know nobody is good at everything. I just meant that if all the girls in your Phys-Ed class had to play baseball that some girls besides you and Tricia might like it enough to want to try out. You never considered that? I mean not Penny Hassenhammer, but SOME other girls, maybe."

"If anything, they might think of it as a way to meet guys," Martha pointed out.

"I believe this is a ball team, not a lonely hearts club," Daniel frowned.

"Maybe not, but that idea is not unheard of, Carolyn giggled. "I joined the chess club in high school because there was a boy I was had a thing for at the time, and he was a chess nut."

"Did it work?" Candy asked.

"Not really, but he was a good chess player, and I learned to be fairly adept also before the end of the year. But no... He never gave me a tumble."

"What happened to him?" Daniel couldn't help but be curious.

Mrs. Muir shrugged. "No idea. Lost track of him after that, and I doubt I'd know him if I saw him, now."

"Really?" the ghost gave his beloved a look. "You are a good chess player…"

"Really," she smiled at her ghost and put a gentle hand on his arm. "Chess was all he was interested in."

The seaman shook his head in consternation. "My dear, though I am grateful that your… crush… resulted in giving me an able chess opponent, I am forced to say that you fell for an idiot."

"He was strictly book-smart," Carolyn admitted.

"And, I don't need to meet the guys; I know them already," Candy put in. "So do all of the other girls. Maybe they'd meet players on the other team, but it'd be awkward to go out with someone you're trying to beat."

"And, you are still too young to date," the Captain reminded her.

"Yes, Captain Dad." Candy wanted to roll her eyes, but, her grin and the affection in her tone would ruin the effect.

"Still, other girls MIGHT try out," Carolyn went on. "You won't really know until you get there. Things happen, and not always things caused by a well-meaning spirit," she added, looking up at her ghost.

"Emphasis on the well-meaning," he smiled.

"I remember what happened with you, Jon, and the Oysters," Candy grinned reminiscently. "I wish I had had a camera for some of those plays you helped him with when he was trying out for the team the first time, Captain! But I could tell when you stopped and he was doing it himself."

"You have my oath not to meddle, Candy; You, too, Jonathan. Neither of you need any ghostly help to play ball."

"Thanks, Captain Dad. I appreciate it."

"Me, too," put in her brother, "Still, it would be fun to see the PTA ladies' faces if we were out-of-this-world spectacular... but Sean and Dash have to promise, too. You won't get around us that way."

"My dear children, excuse me, offspring of my heart, as I said, you don't need my meddling, just my support."

"Yes, but if they start making rude remarks, can you poof off Darlene Hassenhammer's hairpiece or Jane Shoemaker's ugly hat?" Martha asked.

"At the very least."

"Good!" Candy nodded. "And Mom can tell Mr. Smead and Mr. Duncan to "scuttle that bilge," again, if they get obnoxious, too."

Her mother turned beet red. "I didn't know you heard me say that, Candy! It wasn't very polite of me."

"It wasn't very polite of them, either," Candy shrugged. "Parents get so strange when they are watching their kids play sports!"

"Yeah," Jon nodded his head, "Y'know Captain, I never told you, but when you used your powers to help me do better and give me confidence that day with the Oysters, I... I felt so much like your son it was all I could do not to say anything to you about it after. What you did was what any dad would have done for their kid if they could."

"Yeah, I felt like that after you messed with Mark Helmore's head," Candy affirmed.

"Well, I..." Daniel "harrumphed" having been caught in the act of being "sweet."

"...Make a great dad," Carolyn concluded.

"I couldn't do it if I didn't know and love such good children," the spirit choked out.

"Dads have to have kids to be dads," Candy logically stated.

"Right," Jonathan echoed, and both Muir's reached for his outstretched hands.

"I hate to interrupt this tender moment, but I need to get dinner started," Martha cut in. "Could I get at least one of you kids to help me and one of you to set the table?"

With good grace, the two went to her assistance.

"They are wonderful children," Daniel said softly, staring after them. "Just like their beautiful mother."

"Or… Dad." Her eyes focused on him.

"Thank you, my love!" The seaman enveloped his lady in a sweet embrace.

XXX

As the time of the tryouts approached, it was difficult to know who was the most tense; Candy, Tristan, or Claymore. Jonathan was an old hand at this, but it was rather new to Candy, and she felt the added burden of being a pioneer, as it were. Tristan was confident about the kids, but he'd never attempted to pull off being a totally different person, other than being a slightly younger, modern Tristan Matthews. And, his surety that Candy would do well did not eliminate all his worry for her and how it might hurt the girl if she failed. Claymore was simply terrified because this was a big deal to him and he did not like the notion at all of defying conventions to let the team have girls as well as boys on it. He had even suggested just having a team for girls, but it was doubtful that there were enough young ladies interested to warrant that.

The evening before the auditions happened to be on a Friday, and Mrs. Muir had invited the bachelors in their extended pseudo-family over for a meal. It did not take long to see that Claymore was nervous; he barely touched his food, a rare thing indeed.

"Something wrong with the stir-fry, old son?" Lord Charles Dashire inquired, raising one brow.

"I'm sure it's lovely," Claymore answered, poking his fork around among the vegetables and meat chunks. "I'm just not in the mood to eat."

"Call Dr. Lynne," Jonathan teased.

"I'm not sick, yet!" the landlord protested.

"What's wrong, then?" Sean asked.

"It's this whole letting girls on the team thing. I just know it's a bad idea. I'll either get a ton of flack, there won't be sponsors, or we'll lose and be laughing-stocks."

"You are not backing out now," Daniel warned.

"Oh, let him," Adam Pierce, their mortal, lawyer friend advised. "Then, I can file a discrimination suit and Candy can own the team and… oh… forty percent of Clay's assets. I need something interesting to do, besides."

The nervous man turned a pale green. "You wouldn't!"

"I might have to," Adam answered. "I would be setting a GOOD precedent… No discrimination. I wouldn't have to follow through, but it would be public enough to know that Candy and any other girls mean business."

"And RUIN ME!" Claymore cried.

"Not if I withdraw the case before I win," Adam winked. "Besides, it wouldn't be just you, exactly; I suppose that would be too much; more likely I would file a suit against the city of Schooner Bay, proper. After all, they are sponsoring the team… at least partially, right? It is the Schooner Bay Calamaris, correct?"

"Sorta, but I'm the president of the town council, too!"

"Then you should realize your BEST option is to let Candy and whatever other girls want to try out to do so, treat them fairly, and realize all eyes will be on YOU."

"Well, if parents and other BOY players don't like it, don't blame me," Claymore sulked.

"I won't," the young lawyer shook his head. "But you can't knuckle under, Claymore. It's... very un-Gregg-like, and you do need to honor that name in this town, you know."

"Greggs do what is right, even if it garners criticism," the Captain sternly reminded him.

"Yeah, so you have told me, but you also keep telling me I am not REALLY a Gregg..."

"You have the name," Daniel intoned.

"Yeah, but..."

"Forget it, Clay, you are never going to win this argument," Sean O'Casey smiled.

A miserable sigh was his response.

"Schooner Bay is just going to have to get used to the idea of equality for women," Carolyn nodded. "Just because I withdrew from the election a few years ago and let you have your presidential seat on the council, doesn't mean either Candy or I plan on making a habit out of it," she winked. "I may just decide to run again."

The thunder was only slight, this time.

"Of course, what would be even better...?" Candy waxed enthusiastic, "…Would be a way for Captain Dad to be legal and then HE could be on the town council, too. Actually, if he were legal, it would be good for lots of things." She didn't see her mother blush bright pink.

"I'd attend those council meetings," Dash chortled.

"No fair," Claymore whined. "First you want me to stand up to everyone… face possible public ridicule and now you are trying to take one of my jobs away!"

"I didn't say I'd run for head, if I did, just the council," Carolyn pointed out thoughtfully.

"I wasn't worried about YOU, but I am about HIM," Claymore scowled and pointed toward Daniel Gregg. "Nobody would vote for me if HE could figure out a way to run."

Stroking his beard, the ghost remarked, "I did consider doing so, back when I was alive."

"See? What did I tell you? You're still out to get me."

"Not if you behave," Martha, who had been sitting quietly, knitting, observed. "And face it, Claymore, you have gotten away with, or tried to get away with a LOT of not quite kosher stuff since we have known you. Captain Gregg keeps you honest."

"What've I done that's been all that bad?" he demanded hotly.

"Breaking and entering into Gull Cottage is a good start," Daniel grinned.

"Oh, come on! I was twelve!"

"Juvenile delinquent," Candy and Jon said together, and Candy giggled.

"Actually, criminal tendencies often appear at quite a young age. Vandalism is a sure sign," Adam remarked in one of those impossible to tell if he was joking tones.

"And there was that SECOND time to switch barometers," Carolyn added.

"Seal-napping," Martha said darkly.

"Seals have no legal rights."

"Tell that to Aqua Land. They wanted us to free him, and you seal-napped him instead, using guile and trickery on ME," Martha went on. "You were as bad as Elvira Gulch taking Toto away from Dorothy."

"I didn't want to kill Algae, just… just give his life meaning. Performing is a noble calling, and potentially profitable. Hey, I could have pressed charges against you guys for breaking and entering into his tank at Norrie's, if you're going to throw that term around," Claymore tried to defend himself.

"As I understood the story," Tristan mused, "Mr. Seal wanted to retire, hence his frequent attempts to escape the stage life."

"Nonsense. He was in his prime," the landlord protested again.

"Maybe so, but he only performed to eat," Daniel said quietly. "His heart lay with his lady-seal-love, not being a draw at some amusement park."

"I always wished he would come back and see us, and bring his wife and pups," Candy smiled. "You know, like the end of Born Free when Joy and George Adamson get to see Elsa again and visit with her cubs."

"I imagine that kind of thing only happens on film," Dashire smiled sadly.

"Nope, it was a true story, remember?" Jon protested. "They acted it out on film, but it happened in real life."

"Maybe you WILL see Algae again some day," Sean O'Casey, whispered, and a shadow passed over his face.

"Sean, are you all right?" Candy asked, concerned.

With a bright smile, the Irishman replied, "Of course I am. Why?"

"You just looked... different all of a sudden; like something was bothering you."

"No... I'm fine." The Irishman slid a glance to his best friend and Captain.

"Besides, we were talking about the areas that Claymore needs improvement in," Daniel added briskly.

"Let me count the ways," Martha remarked dryly.

"No fair," Claymore sunk lower in his seat. "I was invited for dinner, not to get picked on. Besides, you haven't heard me complain, have you?"

"What would you have to complain about?" the Captain wondered.

"And, didn't I see that fellow from the… Rat Pack? The one who drinks; have a televised dinner solely to pick on some poor chap?" Dash asked.

Adam nodded. "A roast."

"Just goes to show you don't know everything, even if you guys are spooks," Claymore harrumphed, ignoring the pair. "Mrs. Shoemaker came by my office today."

An inadvertent moan escaped Carolyn's lips. "What did she want?"

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to find out," Claymore sighed. "I snuck out the back door and high-tailed it over to Norrie's. I thought I had escaped her, but she saw me, I guess, and cornered me, insisting that there was something in the rule book about girls not being able to play team sports on community leagues."

"So, what DOES the book say?" Adam asked logically.

"It just says PLAYERS and nothing about girls or boys," Claymore answered. "It just has what the rules are about uniforms, and ages, and etcetera."

"So, Jane is merely blowing hot air," Daniel declared the satisfaction.

"Yeah, but she could still make my... I mean OUR lives difficult," Claymore frowned. "I'm just not sure all this is worth it!"

"Claymore!" Daniel interjected, but the lanky man went on.

"Now, don't start with the fireworks, Uncle. I don't mean Candy, I mean Jane Shoemaker, putting up with her. She gives me a headache. I hate to lose her business, but my peace of mind is worth something, after all."

Profound silence fell. Finally, Dash asked, "Are you feeling all right, Clay? Had any bad news from that nice lady doctor?"

Cutting to the chase, Martha bluntly inquired, "Have you been imbibing?"

"Oh, you guys!" Claymore waved a hand. "Stop it! I can have feelings, just like everyone else! "No, the doctor hasn't said anything to me, and no, I haven't been drinking! Blast and bilge! I've been HERE for the last hour! Have you guys served me anything potable?"

"You just didn't sound like yourself," Carolyn explained.

"Hey, I can have good moments," Claymore started and then stopped. "You mean, about peace of mind, or blast and bilge?"

"Either," Adam quipped.

"Oh, well, your language is catching, just like Adam's counting, and Jane does tick me off. But I do like her business. One shouldn't have anything to do with the other, but it does."

"I don't suppose she plans to boycott us?" Tris asked hopefully.

"The team? Her, Danny, and Donald? I don't think so... but she did remind me about the business her husband gives me… but then she did the same thing when Jon and Danny were both trying out for the Oysters..."

"And Jonathan stuck Danny out!" Candy was quick to add.

"Please, don't do that to him tomorrow, Candy," Claymore entreated.

"I am going to do my best to get on the team," Candy replied simply. "And tackle whatever you ask me to do. But Jon's the pitcher, not me. My thing is home runs."

"Jane won't be happy if you're the better player," Claymore fretted.

"THAT IS HER PROBLEM," the Captain admonished.

"And the "her" he means would be Mrs. Shoemaker, not Candy," Dashire added. "Just want to be clear on that."

"Right, of course," Claymore gulped. Then, inspiration hit him. Turning toward Tristan, he announced, "Your first duty as head coach is to handle the… diplomatic relations, or would that be public relations? Whichever it is, you handle it… them… that. If someone gets unhappy, you deal with them."

"In other words, take Mrs. Troublemaker's flack, then, when she gripes at you about how I do so, you can blame me?"

"Well, yeah, kind of." Claymore had the grace to look somewhat abashed. "But, do NOT call her "Troublemaker," not to her face, anyhow."

Tris gave him a look. "I would never make a slip like that."

For half a second, Mr. Manager was reassured and then he blurted out, "Don't do it deliberately, either!"

"I promise not to," Tris paused, "Any other instructions?"

Claymore thought about it before replying. "Well, yeah. You can't seem to know the Muir kids, or anyone else. They haven't met 'Peter Daker,' right?"

Tris let out a sigh. "As much as I wish yes, if only to give the dragon lady something to think about, I suppose not. They do know YOU after all… and you are Carolyn's landlord of reasonably long standing..."

"Too long," Daniel muttered.

"...So I suppose that connection is enough for Jane to think about," he continued with a grin. "Now on the other hand, if she assumes that I MIGHT know you all, that isn't my fault."

"I don't think she will cause too much of a scene," Sean smiled. "Near as I have been able to figure out she considers herself a leader of the community... Would she make a spectacle of herself? Embarrass her, her sons, or her husband?"

"Good question," Carolyn nodded. "Still, she fussed enough about the Oysters a few years ago."

"Maybe she will refuse to let her son play?" Martha asked, "Or Danny and Donald will decide they don't want to be on a team with girls?"

"Or even just one?" Claymore muttered.

"You still think I am going to be the only one," Candy stated. "Well you are w-r-o-n-g… Wrong. Tricia is trying out and she is a great catcher and fielder. You should educate yourself a little more, Claymore."

"I have plenty of education! I even have a law degree!"

"Matchbook diplomas don't count," Adam said. "And I think Candy means about baseball... and the kids you plan on managing and/or coaching."

Candy nodded.

"You can't teach that; it's instinct," Claymore pontificated. "And, what's more, my law degree is legitimate."

Candy shook her head. "I don't know how you can say that." She looked at her 'Captain Dad.' "Do you understand what I am talking about?"

"I believe so."

"I knew you would." The girl turned back to Claymore. "I just meant that if you are going to coach, you need to not just learn about the game, but your players… What makes them tick and what they are good at. Like a long time ago when Jon figured out even if he wanted to be a great hitter, he was a better pitcher. A smart coach or manager might catch that even before the kid did. As for your law degree, you can talk to Adam about that. I dunno much about the law, but it seems interesting."

Claymore frowned and then said, "Your second assignment is to get to know the players, Mr. Daker."

"That won't do it," Jon cut in. Tris can't do it all. If you are gonna manage, you need to learn more, too, Claymore... not leave it all to him."

"I'm… delegating."

"Have it your way," Carolyn shrugged. "But Tris… I mean 'Peter,' will get the glory when the team succeeds, which it will with Candy and Jon as players, and you will miss out on the honor of hands-on managing the first co-ed league team in Maine."

"That's not the way it works, Mrs. Muir. Underlings do all the hard stuff, and their boss gets the credit… ask anyone in business," Claymore corrected her smugly.

Carolyn threw up her hands. "Sometimes I don't think you have learned ANYTHING!" She turned to her offspring. "Are you two SURE you want to go on with this?"

Firmly, Candy nodded. "Winners don't quit, Mom."

"And quitters don't win," Jon added. "Vince Lombardi, one of the top football coaches ever, said that."

"Okay," Carolyn nodded. "But Claymore, I think you need to rethink a few things."

"Oh, don't worry," the Captain grinned, and put an arm around his beloved's waist. "He will."

Claymore turned white and tried, but failed to speak.

"Have no fear," Tristan spoke up confidently. "As long as I'm there, as Peter, Tristan, or Tony, Jane and her toadies will fail in their endeavors."

"Who, pray tell, is Tony?" Dashire asked as Martha brought him a glass of iced tea. That was one nice thing about being a ghost; cocoa tasted good when it was warm, and ice cream and other warm weather food and drink could be enjoyed on a day when the thermometer would not get past the teens.

Tris shrugged and took a bite of celery before answering. "I considered that as a name instead of Peter; Anthony Webster or Shore one. But, for some reason, Peter won out, felt more like ME."

"Picking a new name can be a challenge," Daniel agreed. "The main thing is to choose something you can remember to answer to."

"Have you failed to reply when Carrie's spoken to you in public?" Sean chuckled.

"Sometimes it takes a few seconds longer than others," she grinned. "But, turnabout is fair. There's times he's talked to me, albeit invisibly, that I have not been able to speak to HIM."

Daniel smiled. "And I have to get used to answering to other alias's, as my face keeps changing as Carolyn's beau. But my favorites are "Darling" and "love." Carolyn flushed. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Just don't become a poodle on me," she teased.

"Who? Me?"

"Huh?" Jon frowned.

"Never mind: I'll explain it to you in a few years, lad."

"Adults always say that!"

"Sometimes it is the only thing TO say," Dash, who fathered seven children, remarked. "We need time to think, after all."

"So, Claymore..." Carolyn started. "Have you seen any on the other kids that are trying out? Are any of them any good?"

Delighted to be invited to talk, he opened his mouth and then shut it. "Well, I can't say, not in front of the…" his eyes shot to the kids, "…competition."

Candy lifted her shoulders, and dropped them again, "Hey, I know when I am not wanted... Jon, want to go outside and practice a little?"

"Sure," he agreed. "Tris?"

The ghost's eyes shifted to Claymore. "Would I be breaking any rules if I joined them?"

"Well… uh…"

"No," Adam and the Captain replied.

"Have fun," their mother tacked on.

"Cool!" the Muirs said together, and made a dash for the door.

"Watch those high-flying home runs!" Carolyn said fondly.

"How's that?" Adam asked.

"They have it in for windows here," Claymore said sourly.

"But it was Jon's first," Daniel pointed out. "Quite a hit."

"Mrs. Muir has QUITE a pitching arm herself," Claymore retorted.

"Oh?"

"Indeed," Daniel grinned. "It goes back to Elroy Applegate's first visit to Gull Cottage. I was unsuccessful at teaching him to be a "scary ghost," to use his words."

"He liked to break windows?"

"Oh no... But after I failed at coaching Elroy, Carolyn decided that if we couldn't teach him to be scarier, she would find someone that would cower at an angry termite."

"Claymore?"

"Aye."

"And before that, the kids had demolished one," Claymore griped.

"Jon's first home run," Carolyn explained. "Crash! Claymore was fixing that window when Elroy showed, up, so I decided the only way to get Claymore back any time soon was to break another window, which I did, and it was when Claymore was repairing that one that Elroy showed up and managed to scare him."

"Jon's never hit so well again," Claymore frowned.

"No, but his pitching more than makes up for it," Daniel said quietly. "You do agree, do you not?"

Claymore's head bobbed up and down. "Yes sir, SIR," he answered, and started to salute him. "Permission to abandon... I mean leave the ship? I want to be bushy-eyed and bright-tailed... I mean... you know, the other way around… for tryouts!"

Refraining from rolling his eyes or thundering, Daniel nodded, "Granted."

The scrawny man drew a sigh of relief, bid goodbye to the others. "Don't bother seeing me out, I know the way!"

Martha waited until he was gone before saying, "He certainly ought to know that by now."

"The pipsqueak was just looking for an easy exit," Daniel grinned. "So what is everyone else doing the rest of the evening?"

No one had any in particular, so they watched the youngest members of the crew practice, then Adam and the visiting ghosts departed, making an early evening of it so Candy and Jonathan could be ready for the next day.

XXX

Unfortunately, the barrister was not able to make the return trip the following afternoon to watch the tryouts. Adam had already been signed up to attend a workshop concerning updates in the law when Claymore had scheduled the event. Therefore, the Muirs had not been back at Gull Cottage ten minutes before the phone rang.

"Dash popped over with a play-by-play of the tryouts, and I don't have much use for hearsay," Adam began, "Dash loves the kids too much to be objective. You do, too, but you are the reporter/writer, so tell me about it, please."

With a small laugh, Carolyn replied, "It was almost a given that Jonathan would be the pitcher. I think only one or two other boys even tried out for the spot. And of course the weather cooperated; spring is definitely in the air."

"Noticed that… and I figured as much, and I am pleased for him, but there wasn't a potential lawsuit involved in his audition. How did Candy do, and were there other young ladies there? Did they get any flack from the guys?"

"Some of the boys did seem a bit… leery… about the idea of females on the team, but when the Shoemaker clan was so vocal about not wanting Candy or any other girl on the team, that won over the majority of the guys who had qualms. They figured if Jane and her brats did not want something, then it was worthwhile to want it." Mrs. Muir smiled, even though she knew he could not see it. "Of course, when Candy's scores were higher than the males who tried out for the same position, they had to think again about if they really wanted a girl on the team."

"Male pride can be a fragile thing, Carolyn."

"Which means what?" Carolyn bristled. "That Candy will only be welcome as long as she isn't QUITE as good as the guys? Does she have to underplay, in order to play?"

"I wouldn't advise doing that, no," Adam replied calmly. "Otherwise, they can say she is not as good as they are, proving all the naysayers right. I am merely pointing out a truth. Some guys may find it threatening to have a girl play better than they do"

"Jon doesn't. At least, I don't think he does. And on other levels, I think Daniel understands about me being, on paper, at least, the 'breadwinner' at Gull Cottage, even if he has co-authored a book with me."

"It was not to them that I referred, but to men and boys who have not learned better."

"Oh. Well, Candy, wasn't the only girl to try out, Adam."

"Really?" the attorney's voice brightened. "Who else?"

"Her friend, Tricia, for one. Candy was right. She's an excellent catcher, and fielder, and three others. Candy said they told her they wouldn't have, but she did and it gave them the courage to."

"Did all the girls who tried out make it?"

"Claymore isn't posting the official results until Monday, but right now, I would say that they have a good chance. My landlord isn't entirely stupid; co-ed means boys and girls with an 'S.' It might look a tad odd for just Candy to be on the team; a 'token' girl. Donald and Danny will most likely get a position, too, unfortunately, but you can't have everything."

"True. So what happens now?"

"We wait for official word from Claymore and Tris... I mean, 'Peter Daker' on Monday, and then go and support our kids at the games. That is, assuming they make it."

"I'm sure they will."

"They will if Claymore knows what is good for him!" Daniel Gregg, boomed, as he materialized, his voice loud enough for Adam to hear.

"Tell your gentleman-friend that threatening people is against the law," Adam said, dryly.

"I made no threat," the Captain maintained. "It was a promise."

"That would be against the law, too," Adam said, after a pause. "I trust Tris to keep old Claymore in line. So, when will the celebration party be?"

"That's Martha's department."

"As soon as possible, I say!" Daniel put in.

"Just tell me when, where, and what to bring."

"We will. Right now I am thinking maybe this coming Friday? The kids still have normal homework during the week and that will get us past their first practice, at least."

"Which you and your sea captain will be observing, of course?"

"Yes, if I can. I want to make sure Jane and her crew doesn't try anything."

"Just remember, don't do anything that invites prosecution."

"You always take the fun out of everything," Carolyn gave a mock pout over the phone.

"Just part of the job; and by the way, that sounds like something the Captain would say."

"Dash was right, this young man is smart," the ghost commented to his beloved, and held out his hand for the telephone, with a bow.

"Thanks, but I hope that wasn't a new thought," Adam quipped.

"I didn't realize you heard me, Adam," Daniel laughed into the phone. "But it is true. Every day you prove it more and more. You know, I almost wish Claymore or the others had raised more of a tempest. I would have loved to see you take Jane Shoemaker apart in a courtroom."

"That would have been fun. Guess I'll settle for watching some good games."

"We're looking forward to it," Daniel beamed. "Shall I let Carolyn know Saturday is acceptable, then?"

"Sure. I asked Carolyn; was I supposed to bring something?"

"I will ask Martha," the ghost promised.

"Do," Adam commented. "I hate arriving empty-handed. Give Carolyn my love, the kids my congratulations, and I will see you Saturday, then. Goodbye, Captain."

"Good bye, Adam."

XXX

"EEK!" Claymore squawked as Captain Gregg appeared in his office. When he recovered, the reedy man lashed out in annoyance, "WHY do you have to keep doing that? I hate it. And, what have I done now?"

Surprised, Daniel took a second to respond, then said, "Not a thing, dear boy; nothing for which you must be taken to task, at least. I merely wished to congratulate you on your good sense in putting both Muirs on the team and thank you for making them so happy."

"Well, they were the best for the spots," Claymore shrugged. "And, I like winning, so it was… logical."

"Not to mention the right thing to do," the ghost added, tweaking his ear. "That is something it usually takes more… prompting… to compel you to do."

"Well, like I said, winning is one of my favorite things."

"Hmm. Now, that is a most Gregg-like attitude," the seaman mused before vanishing.

XXX

Of course, not everyone in town was thrilled with having girls on the team. Some of those with qualms came around as the girls proved themselves to not be handicaps to the Calamaris. Others remained obstinately opposed to the notion, insisting that baseball was not a sport for girls at all, or if they must play, it should be on their own softball team. However, even with more asking around, there simply were not enough young ladies with interest in such a thing to be feasible, nor did any team exist to play against. Still, Claymore sweated each time they had a game, fearing that this would be when having a co-ed team turned into a mistake. All-in-all, though, Claymore Gregg was not unhappy about the decision he was almost forced into making. Despite the objections of Jane Shoemaker and some of her followers, about girls being permitted to play, the Calamaris had won four out of five of their first games, and the loss they did have only happened in overtime... the eleventh inning, in fact, and even the Pripet Pirates, the winning team, admitted that they were "darn lucky" to have pulled it off.

The following Saturday, the Calamaris knocked out their fifth win in a home-game against the Keystone Clippers. The kids, most of them, with the exclusion of Candy and Jon, who had waited behind with Claymore, had just departed for the locker rooms. The Captain, in his guise as Terrance Hilliard, Carolyn's beau and his crew were chatting for a moment, and debating where to go to eat, by way of a celebration when a tall, good-looking man of perhaps forty ambled toward the group of humans and ghosts in disguise. "Brilliant game," he noted.

"Thanks, Mister..." Candy grasped for a name, and realized she didn't know it. "...Thanks a lot!" she added, bending slightly to brush off some of the dirt she had collected on her pants, as she had slid home. "Uh... do I... do we know you?" she asked, glancing first at her mother, and then 'step-dad.'

"I don't know," the man chuckled. "I don't consider myself that "knowable," but you may have heard of me; I'm Leland Phillips. My friends call me Lee."

Candy and Jon shook their heads but Carolyn's mouth dropped open. "Lee Phillips? The owner of the Portland Press Herald? Maine's biggest newspaper? That Lee Phillips? It's a pleasure to meet you!"

The other adults… ghosts and humans… looked unimpressed, except for Claymore, who was suddenly antzy. "You... Are you here to write an article against Candy being on the team?" he stammered. "I... I thought everything was settled... Everyone on the team likes her, and you can see how good she is, and I don't know why your paper wants to pick on a poor little girl anyway and..." Thunder rolled.

"I'm not little!" Candy protested. "I'm not tall, but I'm not a baby!"

Laughing, the man shook his head. "I never pick on girls or argue with success. Actually, I'm here because my son plays on the Portland Clams, and..."

"Portland Clams?" Claymore scratched his balding head. "We played them a couple of weeks ago. MY team was going to be the Clams, but I changed my mind. And the Calamaris... we won, too, fair and square, and..."

"I know that." The man held up his hand. "Actually, my son told me about this team… I couldn't make it to that game… and what great players you all were, and mentioned... Candy is it, being a member, and I thought it would make a good story. I was a good reporter before I ever owned a newspaper and I like to keep my hand in. Since my son didn't have a game today, I thought I would come and see the Calamaris play, and get a story at the same time."

"About us?" Candy gasped.

"Why, yes, unless you… or your parents have any objections..." He glanced instinctively toward Carolyn and 'Terrance Hilliard,' "…The other team member's parents or guardians, too, naturally."

"Your paper is reputable, so it's fine by me," Carolyn shrugged.

"And me," Daniel added, because it seemed to be expected that he would answer.

The newspaper owner/reporter turned to Tristan. "You are the coach, naturally, young man... I didn't quite catch your name...?"

"Tr... Peter Daker, sir," Tris stammered.

"Yeah, he's the assistant coach," Claymore cut in. "But I'm the Head Coach and Manager of this crew... I mean team. This is my brainchild!"

Martha almost choked.

"I see..." said the man, who had pulled out a small notebook and pen. He started to make notes. "Quite an inspiration, you electing to make the team co-ed; I understand it is a first for this area."

"Oh, yes..." Claymore preened. "I've had the idea for a while, now, but I had to talk the girls into it. I said to them, girls, I said, there is no reason you shouldn't play, if you want to, I mean, after all, this is the seventies, and there should be equality among the sexes." He paused, "Are you allowed to print that word?"

"What word?" Dash murmured, "Equality? I hope so!" What fool thing is he going to say next? He added, unheard by anyone, except his Captain.

"No-o-o," Claymore flinched, "Sexes." His voice dropped to a whisper as he glanced at the kids.

"No problem there," Mr. Phillips grinned. "Tell me; were there any objections to the girls joining this new team of yours?"

"Maybe a few," Tris put in. "But..." Claymore interrupted the ghost once more.

"But, we believe in progress, and by we, I mean me. I had a dream, a vision if you will, of guiding the best Junior League team in America, and to achieve that… that impossible dream, to reach that unreachable star, I was determined to recruit the finest players, no matter if they were male, female, canine, feline, Martian, ghost, or er… well, you get the idea."

Mr. Phillips was not alone in trying to keep a straight face during the grandiose speech. "Ah, I see."

"Yes, Claymore was all for it, once he got over HIS qualms," Dash muttered to Sean.

"And saw the results," the Irishman noted practically.

Daniel leaned over to add, "He had more reservations about what I might do to him if he persisted in denying Candy her chance."

"If he gets more pretentious, perhaps you should consider doing it anyway," Dash remarked, under his breath.

"What makes you think I'm not doing so already?"

"I think I would be; that's for sure."

"So, anyway..." Claymore was blathering on. "...I could see Candace, here, had talent... raw talent that only needed to be molded... shaped... and guided... and I really didn't care that she was a girl... I only wanted the best, and with coaching from me, she has become just that!"

"She already was!" Tris insisted.

"Thanks, T... Peter," Candy said quietly.

"But like all diamonds, our girl here needed a bit of polishing," Claymore droned on and Carolyn rolled her eyes.

"My dear, we really must stop this," Daniel whispered.

"It's irritating, but maybe we shouldn't," Carolyn said under her breath. "If we let him keep talking, there is no way he can EVER back out of letting girls play."

"A variation of giving him sufficient rope to hang himself," the Captain mused.

"Exactly! Besides; maybe he needs a moment in the sun?"

"I think he's had sunstroke!"

"Maybe so..." Carolyn laughed.

"Well, I think I have enough information here…" Mr. Phillips started to say.

"But I haven't told you about my early years' coaching!" Claymore stuttered. "Did you know that I also discovered Jonathan Muir? Our star pitcher?"

"I need to leave room to mention the players."

"The kids? Why? Oh! Well, I guess, yeah, that's a good idea. Candy, Jon, you two are right here. Mr. Phillips can start with you and I will sit with you in case you need any help answering questions."

"What about the other kids?" Candy frowned.

"Oh! I'll be there while they are interviewed, too," Claymore announced cheerfully.

"I do need to get their parents' permission to interview them all," the reporter said as he searched for an escape.

"I'm sure they'll approve," Carolyn smiled. "Candy, Jon, why don't you get cleaned up and meet 'Terrance' and me in about twenty minutes in the parking lot? We'll introduce Mr. Phillips to the other parents."

"And I am sure Mr. Gregg has a few things he needs to do... clean-up wise," Dash added. "Putting away the equipment and such?"

"That's Tr… Pete's job," was the airy reply.

"But I would like a few minutes to interview him, too..." Mr. Phillips protested.

"Which means Claymore can handle it," Daniel announced. "The manager of the Calamaris is amazing like that… nothing is beneath him."

Claymore frowned; was that an insult or compliment? "I'd rather stay here..." he stuttered.

"Kids interview better without adults around."

"And, there is quite a lot of equipment to store, plus, you'll want to clean up a bit yourself, before your picture is taken," Carolyn urged.

"But as manager, I should be here..."

"But then, how could Mr. Phillips focus on anything other than your… brilliance?" Carolyn essayed.

"Hmm. No dessert for two weeks for you, my love!" the Captain chuckled quietly, and then added, "Actually, Mr. … uhm … Gregg, the young ones will probably be less self-conscious without adults listening in, and give a better interview... and I will BE GLAD to help you," he added pointedly.

"YOU will?" Clay blinked.

"Why of course, dear boy," he paused, and then went on, "If we do it immediately."

"And of course I will be glad to help, also," Sean and Dash said almost at the same time.

"But... Oh, well," the lanky man shrugged, getting the ghost's hints at last. "I guess so."

"We know so," Sean laughed, and slapped the older man on the back. "Come on, boyo."

"I will see you shortly?" The Captain gave his love a look.

"Absolutely."

"Good."

XXX

Several days later, Gull Cottage's phone rang shortly before Martha was ready to put breakfast on the table. With a grimace, she turned off the burners and picked up the receiver. After greeting the caller, she turned to her employer and handed Mrs. Muir the device. "Mr. Finley for you."

Carolyn's brows lifted, but she took the phone. "Yes, Mark?"

A second later, she flinched away from the ear-piece. When she could manage it, she tried to force in a word or two. "Mark, the reason I haven't done a feature article on the co-ed team is because you have not assigned me to do one, and I hardly think the Portland paper running one counts as a "scoop." It's not like people in Schooner Bay will be driving there to get the news! We just did the piece announcing the line-up a few weeks ago. Yes, of course you know what was in your own publication, I did not mean to imply otherwise. I would love to read Mr. Phillips' take on the subject, though."

After a pause, she nodded. "Yes, I'll interview the entire team and coaches as soon as possible, though considering that I am the mother of two players and the coach is my landlord, there could be a conflict of interest angle. No, I'm not comfortable with the idea of simply running it under your name, Mark. We'll work something out."

As she hung up, her favorite ghost was scowling.

"What is wrong with the twit?"

"The Portland Press Herald scooped the Beacon on the Calamaris. So, he's not happy. I'm trying to figure out how to read the article without begging a copy of his Press or driving to Portland."

The Captain vanished, returning a couple of minutes later with the Portland Press Herald in hand. "Your wish is my command."

"It's so nice to have a ghost around the house..." Carolyn hummed.

"Smart-Alec," her ghost answered fondly. "The story is actually Mister Phillips' editorial for the week."

"Let me see, please." Carolyn scanned the paper quickly, "My goodness! It takes up almost a full page, with pictures!" She laughed. "Claymore must be in seventh heaven. That shot with him and the team looks really good."

"And I'm glad Tris managed to escape the photographer, considering we don't know if he can be photographed!" Daniel added.

"We need to find out; a family photo would be lovely."

"Aye, but a hole where there should be a Tristan would not be a good thing, love. And remember, I didn't photograph in the pictures you and the children took that Halloween, back in 1969, or when that oaf took photos when I tried to destroy his behemoth bulldozer."

"But it is possible that you might be, when in solid form."

"True. I suppose we could work on it. Perhaps with one of those new Polaroid Instamatics I have heard about. The pictures could develop… or not develop… at home."

She smiled. "It can't hurt to try. But love, those have been out for a while; since 1970."

"What have been?" Candy asked, coming into the room. "What's that?" she pointed. "The Beacon came out last Thursday."

Carolyn explained, then handed her daughter the paper.

"Cool!" Candy exclaimed after reading for a few minutes. "Look, Mom... she pointed to a place on the page. He mentions Jon being star pitcher, and Tricia as catcher and fielder and Allie being third base, and..."

"And you being the leader in getting females on the team to begin with," her "Captain Dad" said proudly.

"Oh, that..." Candy shrugged. "He didn't have to. Someone would have, sooner or later, even if I didn't."

"But, you actually did it," he countered.

"Yeah, I guess I did, Captain," she grinned, and her blue-green eyes twinkled. "I just hope it's not the last important thing I ever do!"

"Just one of the first, I'm certain."

The lady of Gull Cottage smiled. She had no doubts that her seaman was right.

"In the meantime, could you could give your poor mom an interview after school for our local press?" she suggested.

"Sure!" Candy nodded. "Jon and the other kids, too?"

"Yes, even Tris and Claymore."

"He'll like that. Claymore I mean. I hope you have all day to listen to him talk."

"There is a deadline."

"He WON'T like that," Candy giggled, "But he will the end results!"

By now, Jon had entered. "We could stay here and do the interview, instead of going to school."

"I don't think so, partner," Carolyn grinned. "Besides, I thought you liked school. No… actually, I think it will be better is I interview you all this afternoon… at practice."

"Had to try," the boy shrugged.

"And I had to answer, I'm a mom."

"And if she hadn't, I would have," the Captain put in.

"Because you're a dad," Candy grinned.

"Aye, my dear," the Captain said gruffly, looking a tad embarrassed. "Now don't you think you two should go eat breakfast, or something?"

Jonathan did not need to be told twice.

When both the Muir children had left the room, Carolyn turned back to her ghost.

"Darling, did you have anything to do with Mark wanting to do an interview, too?"

"Not at all," he promised. "He was wholly motivated by annoyance."

Carolyn drew a deep breath. "Well, as I see it, the matter of Candy founding a co-ed team, has been closed. What's your opinion, my love?"

"That we have two talented children who are getting due recognition."

"My thoughts exactly," Carolyn breathed a sigh of relief as she reached up and kissed her ghost on his handsome nose. "My thoughts exactly."

The End