The air was thick, and she was silently hating the fact she'd ever let her son play baseball. Why did he have to pick a sport played outside? Granted, she couldn't deny she, too, loved baseball, but days like this made her hate the sport. People just shouldn't be made to sit and roast in the hot sun, especially on an overly humid, sunny Southern California day. It wasn't right.

She sat up straighter when she saw Ricky step up to the plate. Oh, he'd gotten so tall lately, she almost didn't recognize him. Her baby was growing up before her eyes. First pitch, and she took a deep breath. Ball to the outside. She let her breath out and watched again. "Come on, Ricky," she called to him, hoping he might hear her. She knew her son, though, and when he was up to bat, he was focused and tuned out everything else.

The second pitch sailed by him, and she knew it was a strike before she heard it called. That was okay; Ricky was old enough now he had a certain pitch he liked. She watched him again as he stepped out of the box and took a couple swings. He looked so much like her brother. She started to chuckle, thinking that if she hadn't been present, she wouldn't have known by looking at Ricky that Jack had contributed anything to him. He looked nothing like Jack, and it only seemed even more comical that Jack hadn't contributed much to Ricky since he'd been born either. Her mind began to wander. Emily was a little more like Jack, but she looked more like Sharon. Clapping pulled her back to her son, and she smiled when she saw him step back in, ready for the next pitch.

He swung, and she heard the bat and ball collide. She stood, and she started to clap when she saw Ricky was going to pull a single out of his time at bat. He'd gotten on base, but she wasn't sure if his team could still pull out the win. They were down by two; it was the bottom of the ninth inning, and they already had an out. The next batter took his position. Kevin, if Sharon remembered correctly. She knew some of the guys on Ricky's team, but not all. She had scolded herself for not knowing all of them. It was his school team, and she should know the guys. Kevin took a swing at the first pitch, and he made contact as well. The ball dropped right behind first base. Ricky had a good lead off, and he was fast, so the play was made at first, and Kevin was tagged out. Ricky still made it to second. She chuckled as she looked to him. He'd slid in knowing the play could have easily gone to second since he was the lead runner. He was now covered in dirt, and Sharon just sighed knowing she would have laundry to do.

The next batter, Sharon couldn't remember his name, came up. She heard a couple of people cheer for Jason, so she made a mental note to herself to remember that name. He took three pitches, two balls and a strike, before he made contact. This time, he hit it right to the shortstop. Ricky was tagged out, and the game ended. Sharon let out a disappointed sigh, as she saw her son's team lose the game.

She knew it would take the guys a few minutes to pack up their things. She stood in the grass near the dugout while she waited. Sharon looked around at the other parents, other families. Many were there with spouses and other children. She was alone. Emily was in college, and Jack, well, she had her suspicions regarding Jack. She was pretty sure he was in Vegas, most likely tangled up with some sort of "Lady of the Night" if she were to really speculate. She'd been legally separated from him now for over 15 years, since Ricky was just a toddler, and while she knew she should completely cut her ties with him, she just couldn't. Yes, she had her reasons, many of them. Her family believed it was completely due to her beliefs. They weren't all wrong, but she had other reasons, reasons she couldn't even explain to them. Deep down, she wasn't sure if she'd come to terms with all the reasons herself.

"Hi, Mom," she heard as she was daydreaming. She looked up to find her 16-year-old son walking toward her. He was still covered in dirt. The field had been dusty; it was LA, and it hadn't rained in quite some time.

"Sorry you lost," she gave him a small smile. He nodded and shrugged.

"Thanks. Tough loss. I thought we were going to pull out a win there right at the end."

"I was hopeful too," she smiled. "You had two nice hits today." Ricky nodded his thanks as he glanced around to his team. They were all filing out of the dugout and finding their own families. The other team was doing the same thing, as players in red jerseys started to walk by. Ricky had on a gray jersey today. His school played a lot of other local LA schools. He loved playing baseball and had since Sharon's brother had gotten him his first baseball mitt when he was five.

"Thanks for coming to my game. I know you probably were busy at work," he told her as he continued putting his bag back together. Ricky had a habit of throwing all his gear into his bag in a jumbled mess and then wanting to stop and repack before leaving the field. He was doing that now. Sharon had once asked him why he didn't just pack it correctly before leaving the dugout, and he'd just shrugged with no real answer. She speculated it was a nervous habit, in that, Ricky just wanted to get out of the dugout, away from the game and the loss, and once he did that, he could refocus and settle himself down. She understood that, not that she'd ever suggest to Ricky that he was doing anything like that. By now, she knew his habit, so she stood and watched as he started to repack his bag.

"I'm very glad I could see your game. You are more important than work, always," she told him. He looked up, and she smiled at him. He nodded and smiled back. "Besides, it does me good to get outside, even if it's this hot and humid. I should have planned my wardrobe better," she chuckled, glancing down to her gray blouse, black pencil skirt, and black heels. She had her black suit jacket in her hand. It was clear she had come from work, but anyone looking at her might have wondered if she had ever been to a baseball game. She certainly wasn't dressed for it, but she just hadn't thought about the intense heat when she planned her day. Yes, she looked out of place for high school baseball, but all that didn't matter; she'd made it to her son's game. That was all that mattered.

"Sorry, I'm almost done here," Ricky said as he continued to pack up his bag. "I know it's hot."

Sharon just nodded and looked around the field. She had put her sunglasses back on to block out some of the intense sun.

"Sharon, is that you?" she heard. Sharon froze, knowing that voice, and she spun around. She almost ran into him as she caught her breath.

"Andy?" she asked. She pulled her glasses up on her head, hoping that a bit of clarity might help. The joke really was on Sharon, though, because her sunglasses were prescription ones, and while they annoyed her at times, she did need them to see things. She looked at the man in front of her, two men actually. She hadn't seen him in a very long time. She glanced down to Ricky. He'd stopped packing his bag and was still on his knee, but he was now looking up to the person who had called his mom by her first name.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "You live in LA?"

She nodded, and she could tell Ricky had stood now and was next to her. "Yes," she said as she gained her composure. "I've lived in LA for over 20 years now. What are you doing here?"

"Ahh, I moved here recently," he nodded. "This is my son, Nate," he gestured to the young man.

"Nate, nice to meet you," Sharon nodded to him. She turned toward Ricky, "This is my son, Ricky." The two boys nodded to each other; they had been on opposing teams, so it was probably the best they would do.

Andy looked to Ricky and nodded to him, "Were you the one who just slid into second?" Andy chuckled. "You kicked up quite the dust cloud," he smiled as he gestured to Ricky's uniform. "I can see you are taking some of the field home with you."

"Yeah, just part of playing baseball," he nodded. He looked to his mom, but she wasn't offering any more of a greeting or explanation.

"I'm surprised to hear you moved here," Sharon told Andy.

He nodded, "I did it for my kids."

Sharon returned the nod, not sure she completely understood what he was saying, but she wasn't sure what more to say. "Ahh, well, we should go," she gestured to Ricky. "Nice to see you," she nodded to him.

He nodded once, "Same. I'm guessing you are doing well?" he gestured to her attire. "I mean, at work?"

"I am. We should go. Nice to meet you, Nate," she nodded. She turned to Ricky and noted he was curious about the encounter. "Ricky, are you all packed up now?" He nodded and grabbed his bag. He slung it over his shoulder and turned back to Sharon. "Take care, Andy," she nodded and again offered a quick nod as she gestured for Ricky to head toward the car.

"Mom, who was that guy?" Ricky asked once they had moved away from Andy and his son. She turned slightly, hoping he hadn't followed her. He had gotten stopped by another parent from his son's team and was busy talking. She turned back to Ricky to answer him, "Someone from college, before I met your dad."

"Wow, really?" Ricky asked. "And, you haven't seen him since?"

"No, I didn't expect to ever see him again," she sighed. "It was a long time ago. Anyway, let's go. I know you are hungry."

"You didn't want to catch up with him?" Ricky asked.

"No," Sharon offered a small smile. "I want to leave the past in the past."