Disclaimer: My name, "Who's The Boss?", "The Circle Game": One of these things belongs to me - Guess which one!
10...
It was at the bottom of the second to last box that he found the records. Tony slipped the vinyl out of the thin wrapper and laughed at his discovery. Joni Mitchell, Peter, Paul & Mary, Jimi Hendrix... If there was ever anything he and Marie had disagreed on, it was music. He was a friend of the classics – the crooners and the doo-woppers; she sampled everything in between rock and folk music, listening to whatever suited her mood at the time. Somehow, they'd never been able to reach a compromise. He hated her music and she was reduced to yawns at his.
Yesterday a child came out to wonder
Caught a dragonfly inside a jar
Fearful when the sky was full of thunder
And tearful at the falling star...
The record skipped and hissed as the needle passed over a scratch. Tony settled down amidst the boxes and let the words and notes wash over him, releasing another flood of memories. It was like one of those old home movies, oddly colored and full of jumps from one scene to the next. For a moment he sees baby Samantha hanging out in the dresser drawer they had fashioned for a crib. She was so tiny and perfect, despite of the long nights of impatient crying and diaper changes. Then suddenly she's two, laughing and running around the ball diamond while he and Marie walk behind holding hands, talking and dreaming about what the future has in store.
...Words like, when you're older, must appease him
And promises of someday make his dreams...
He sees Marie the mother, carefully bandaging and kissing scraped knees. He sees her hands on her hips as she looks at them both reproachfully after they've messed up her carefully cleaned kitchen trying to bake her a cake. He sees Samantha's laughing face as her holds her high in the air above him; the look of tenderness and joy in Marie's eyes as she watches the homecoming scene. The good years, the golden years, where all he had ever dreamed was coming true.
...And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game...
"Please Mommy? Please?" Samantha's dark brown eyes looked up pleadingly at her mother.
"Yeah Mommy, please?" I added jokingly, pulling Sam into my lap.
She tried to hold the stern look on her face, but began to crumble at the sight of the two of us staring up at her with identical expressions. I could see the smile threatening to break through and grinned. "She's gonna give in," I whispered to Sam.
"I'm not Micelli! I said no playing ball inside an' I meant it." Even as she spoke the dimple in her right cheek began to show.
"Please Mommy? I'm careful."
"Please Mommy? It's a foam ball and bat. We won't do any damage, honest! I'll put away anythin' that's breakable."
"Tony!"
"What? She wants to play ball."
"It's January and she's four. You want to play ball."
"Yeah, but she's my girl! Come on, just this once?" I flashed her my most winning smile.
She sighed and shook her head at us. There was no saying no to our father/daughter tag team. "All right! Go on! Just don't break anything!"
I grabbed Sam and tossed her on my shoulders. "See? Told ya so!" I crowed to my little girl. Catching Marie as she turned on her heel toward the kitchen, I pulled her closer. "Love ya." She tried to wiggle out of my grasp, but I only held on tighter, pressing a playful kiss against her cheek.
"You..." She moved her head to face me better and I caught her lips with mine.
"Daddy!" Whined Sam impatiently, breaking up the moment.
Marie swatted me playfully with the dishcloth and headed for the kitchen. "No breakage!" she called over her shoulder with a grin.
...And they tell him,
Take your time; it won't be long now,
Till you drag your feet to slow the circles down
And the seasons they go round and round...
"The game's tied at 2-2 and Micelli's up at bat. Micelli Sr. takes the ball and throws, Micelli Jr. hits it, and it's a home run! I picked up Sam and ran her around the 'bases' of the living room, our voices drowning out the sound of the phone ringing in the other room.
"Wheee!" screamed Samantha.
"Wheee!" I cheered in response, collapsing us both down on the couch.
"Tony!" Marie called from the kitchen.
"Uh-oh!" I whispered to Sam, causing her to break out in giggles.
Marie appeared in the doorway, hand covering the mouthpiece of the phone and motioned to me impatiently. "Tony."
"What? We'll be quiet."
"No. Tony, the phone's for you. It sounds important."
"Oh yeah? What? Philly got a new girlfriend or somethin'?"
She shook her head forcefully and held out the phone.
"Okay, okay. I'm comin'." I rolled over and placed Sam down gently on the floor. Giving Marie a puzzled look, I took the phone from her. "Tony here."
I thought at first it must be a joke. No way was this happening. One of the guys was playing a prank, right? I looked at Marie and saw that she was dead serious, with a large dose of excitement hiding behind those deep, dark eyes. The GM of the St. Louis Cardinals was calling me. Me. Tony Micelli. And he was offering me a job. Playing ball. Playing second base. With the Card's. Not happening. No, not a chance.
But it was.
...So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty
Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true
There'll be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty
Before the last revolving years is through.
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
The Circle Game – Joni Mitchell