HI Folks! Well, here's another chapter in the life William's little baseball career in NYC. William and Louisa go out on their date and things seem to go fine. However, after the next ball game that William pitches, he hears of two things that spark his curiosity. It has been a few weeks since he received a letter from Eliza so that he is still pondering this in his mind as well as the two new things.
I will be closing following this Chapter with Chapter 5. So stay tuned for developments and end soon! Thank you for reading an commenting Love-Carebearmaxi
A New Sport
Chapter 4 – Feminine Company
William and Louisa walked to the restaurant which was a bit more upscale than what William had patronized since coming to New York. Most of the time he ate whatever Mrs. Wallace was serving the lads that night. Good thing that William was an active man because he was sure his trousers of his new suits would have to be let out. The thought of Mrs. Wallace's cooking briefly reminded William of Ivy's when he was recuperating after the gunshot wound at Eliza's house.
"So, have you been to Keene's Steakhouse yet, William?" Louisa inquired as she walked next to her tall companion.
"No, I haven't," William answered. "I don't have much time for eating out nor the income."
Conversation dried up for a small while as they walked the last block to Keene's. As they walked from the Johnson home where William called for Louisa and thus beginning their walk to the restaurant, William noticed that Louisa may resemble Eliza quite a bit, but she did not chatter like Eliza did. Maybe, William thought, it was because we always had things in common to talk about like our cases, Henry, my frustrations working at Scotland Yard, or Eliza's difficulties establishing a female detective agency in a man's professional world.
"How long has it been since you were in Scotland?" Louisa asked.
"I haven't been there since I was 19."
"Why did you leave?"
William sniffed back and looked up into the sky. The late summer day was turning into a beautiful non humid late summer night.
"I made my exit from the workhouse. I had been there since I was 10."
Louisa looked up at him and she said, "I apologize. Matt hasn't told me one bit about you. I asked but he didn't volunteer."
"That's because Matt doesn't know that much about me either. I keep to myself for the most part because I am to return to London in April," William volunteered.
"I'm sorry. I understand. You do not want to get to attached to people. Your time here seems to be frustrating to you."
They stopped two feet from the front door of the chop house when William turned to face Louisa and said, "No. I apologize. I'm glad to be here. I'm glad to work with the men and meet their families. I want to thank you for getting me out of my room."
Louisa smiled. William noticed the resemblance between Eliza and Louisa. Very blonde hair curled and pinned around her head. Louisa wore small tendrils which dropped in front of her ears on each side. Her eyes were large and very blue. Her smile was wide and welcoming. Louisa's teeth were not quite as straight as Eliza's, but that factor was nothing as her smile was still warm and winsome, nonetheless. William found Louisa's manner friendly and open, and he was warming to it.
They arrived at the restaurant. They entered and sat at a table near the window. As it was early evening the sun was setting causing a bit of glare. Louisa shielded her eyes when she had to look at William.
"The sun is in your eyes. I'll pull this shade down," William said rising and found the cord at the end of the window he loosened the slack and adjusted the shade. The Maitre'd walked over and apologized and lit the small oil lamp that sat in the middle of the small table. The dim light illuminated Louisa's smooth alabaster skin. William was still thinking of Eliza as he looked at her. He had to keep reminding himself that Eliza was in London. Working.
They ordered and waited for their food. The ambiance of the restaurant reminded William of Gilbert's or even Arabella's. The thought of Arabella again brought back that uncomfortable memory of that night when Arabella confirmed that William was in love with Eliza. Also making sure William knew that Eliza would never share a life with him because she had her own ambitions.
Well, Arabella, I think you are wrong in that. However, I wish Eliza would come to visit as she has promised and prove you wrong.
"William? William," Louisa said bringing William back to the present.
"I apologize again. I was just thinking how much this place reminds of one in London."
"Did you frequent it a lot with your lady back in London?" Louisa asked as she ran a finger around the rim of her water glass. If the motion made any sound one could not hear it in the din of the dining room.
The sky had grown dark and the streetlamps had been lit.
William said, "Yes, but let me clarify about my "lady." Eliza and I met when we were both teens. To make a long story short, I came here to see if she really wanted to have a life together or just be a professional woman."
"That's right. My brother mentioned she was a lady PI," Louisa said.
William nodded and then said, "So, I don't anything about you except that you are a phenomenal female baseball player."
Louisa smiled and lowered her eyes in an almost blush which really reminded William of Eliza. However, the next words she said he definitely knew Louisa Johnson was not Eliza Scarlet.
"You're damn right! However, females are relegated to playing softball which is not soft in anyway."
William broke into a large smile as the waiter brought their food.
"I'm anxious to hear what the differences are."
"I don't want to bore you with those details."
"No," William said emphatically. "You wouldn't bore me at all."
"Ok then. Before I get started, though, I hear you're to pitch tomorrow. Can I warm you up?"
"What do you mean warm me up?" William was a little dismayed as he was not sure what she meant.
"Catch your warmup pitches?" Louisa clarified.
"Oh," William laughed. "Of course. Do they allow you to do that?"
"Oh yes. I've done it before. I just haven't done it this season so far as my mother frowns on it and lectures me that I will never find a husband in that fashion."
"So, you defy her and do it anyway," William chuckled as he spooned some mashed potatoes into his mouth. He wiped his face as some dripped onto his beard.
"Yes, I do. I love the game! I love being able to do something that only a handful of women can do well."
Louisa looked out the window and then gazed at William.
"I wonder what you look like without your beard. How long as it been since you were clean shaven?" Louisa asked eventually.
"I don't know. I think once it started growing I never shaved again. I keep it trimmed, but I wouldn't shave it entirely off. I wouldn't recognize myself."
"Does Eliza like your beard?" Louisa asked playfully.
"I don't really know. It never comes up in conversation. We've never talked about things like that."
Louisa placed a strawberry in her mouth and chewed slowly rolling her eyes at William.
"I'm having a hard time thinking that you are as good a ball player as your brother or as you tell me. So, I would not mind you catching me tomorrow afternoon." William smiled and took a big sip of his wine.
"I'm gathering that Eliza is not a sports girl."
"No, but she has other attributes."
"Ok," Louisa said nodding her head in challenge mode.
William found he enjoyed Louisa's company. She was very forward but she was not headstrong or stubborn as Eliza always was even in their more personal conversations.
Finally, after spending four hours at the same table laughing and exchanging information, William finally walked Louisa home.
"Is your father going to be upset with you? It's way past 10 pm," William asked. He found with this date that most of the women he had dated in the past no longer lived with their parents.
"No. I'm 25 and not married. Anytime I go on a date with any man, my father jumps for joy. You see I am the youngest and after I get married and move out Mom and Dad are moving to Florida."
"Why is that?"
"My mother has relatives from Mexico and she would like to be nearer to them. Plus the weather is always warm all year around and no snow."
They stood at the front door to her house. William had his hands in his pockets and looked at the top of Louisa's hair bathed in moonlight. Louisa looked up at William and standing on her tiptoes kissed William on the cheek. Then her lips moved and found William's.
When Louisa pulled back, she said, "I know I should not have done that because you have your lady in London, but damn, I have been wanting to do that since I first saw you. I'm not apologizing."
"No, I wouldn't expect you, too," William said thinking of Eliza back in London knowing that his heart was irrevocably intertwined with hers.
"Thank you for the company. I enjoyed it. I look forward to having you warm me up," William said. He waiting until she unlocked her door and entered her house safely. He watched as Louisa turned around in the doorway to look at him.
"Goodnight, William. I, too, had a lovely time."
William simply bowed his head and then waiting until her door closed and then he walked back to his room at the boarding house.
The next afternoon William donned his uniform, grabbed his glove, and ventured out to the ball field. It was about two hours before game time. Luckily it was his day off and after a fitful night he finally fell asleep in the middle of the night.
When he woke in the morning around 10 am, the mail had already arrived as Mrs. Wallace slipped a letter under his door. It looked like nothing from London except a letter from Fitzroy. William spent most of the late summer day washing and ironing his shirts. Mrs. Wallace had been kind enough to allow him to wash his own clothes in her washing machine located in her basement. William washed clothes all day which allowed him time to prepare for pitching both mentally and physically.
By the time he had taken the mound for his warmup tosses, he almost missed Louisa crouching behind home plate with a mask and chest protector on as well as a pair of her brother uniform trousers.
"Louisa, is that you?" Wiliam asked bending down to see who was in the mask. At first he did not believe that she would actually do it. However, here she was punching her glove and telling him to throw one in.
"You didn't think I would be here, did you?" Louisa asked. Her voice was a little muffled by the mask as well as a breeze that had stirred.
William had to nod his head.
"Yes, I really did not think that a woman like you would actually be on the field."
Louisa took off her mask for a moment and stood up to her full 5'4" height. She slowly walked to the mound and joined William on the hill.
"Well, obviously, you were wrong, sir. So why don't you just get your pretty little self together and pitch me your fastball."
William scowled at Louisa and said, "Really? After last night, this is how you talk to me?"
"This is baseball. I am not coy, and I do not mince my words where baseball is concerned. I am not shy, Officer Wellington, in case you haven't noticed. So let's get on with it, shall we?"
"Yes, ma'am," William said taken aback by her tone and manner. Like she said, though, this is baseball. When people play this game it seems they take on a whole new persona. William thought and leaned in to see where Louisa had put the target.
William went through his windup which still felt strange to him. He let go of the ball.
Whomp! It landed at the target which Louisa had set up.
"Fast ball looks good, Will. Try a curve. Matt told me you were working on one. Let's see if it's improved since the last time," Louisa shouted at Will.
William nodded. He took a look at the grip on his ball and went into his windup.
Whomp! This pitch landed in Louisa's glove with little shift from her. She also stood up to throw the ball back to William and again told him it looked good.
William went through a few more pitches and then Louisa told him he was good to start. They returned to the dugout (bench) together. Louisa patted him on the back and kept up the pep talk. William did not know what to think of it.
Now she sounds like Eliza! William thought and smiled.
William enjoyed playing baseball, and his teammates thought he had such a wonderful innate ability and a calm demeanor that they thought the world of him. Again he had nothing planned after the game, he once again joined the lads in drinks and food at O'Malley's. This time they would be celebrating a win over the second place team in the NYPD Baseball standings.
Roger again sat down next to William.
"That was a great 6 innings you pitched, Will. I guess it didn't hurt having your new girlfriend catch you for warmup before and between innings."
"She's not my girlfriend, Roger," William protested. William gulped all the amber liquid in the glass. He had not drunk a lot of whisky since leaving London and becoming part of the baseball team. He had not been that frustrated as his work was hard and tiring. Since joining the baseball team, he did not want to spend too many days hungover with fatigue from the day's work or too much whisky of which occasionally William was still capable.
"Matt's sister is great. She was supposed to be married by now, but the guy left her standing at the altar."
William scowled and looked at Roger questioningly.
Roger looked surprised. "She didn't tell you? Wow, I thought that would be the first words out of her mouth."
"Then let's drop it. Like I said, she's not my girlfriend."
Roger turned from William to discuss the game with Coach Glen who sat on the other side of him. William ordered another round of whisky and proceeded to throw that down his gullet hastily.
Datsun, the newest member of the team, was a small oriental just emigrated from Japan. He spoke perfect English with barely an accent which compared to William's brogue meant Datsun sounded like a native speaker.
"Will?" Datsun inquired.
"Yes, Datsun," William said as the smaller man took the empty chair next to him.
"I just wanted to tell you pitched a great game. Also I was talking to a man after the game who asked me about you."
William, who was getting more agitated the longer he sat there, was thinking of getting back to his room as soon as possible to see if, maybe, a letter from Eliza had arrived late. It had been almost a month since he received her last letter and he was a bit worried since they had kept a good correspondence flow since the first couple of months of him living there.
"Who was the man?" William asked turning to look at Datsun.
"He said he was a scout for the Chicago Cubs. He asked me if I was interested in playing third base for a Major League Baseball team. I haven't been on the force a long time, but I have been thinking about it. They tell me I would be the first Japanese born player for a professional baseball team."
"So, how does this involve me?"
"He asked me about you because he thought you had a great arm. Thought you might be teachable at the major league level because you're new to the game."
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him where he could find you in case he wanted to talk with you in person."
William turned away and made his typical harrumph noise.
"I apologize, Will, if you didn't want to be bothered. I didn't know."
"Not your fault, Datsun. I'll handle it if he contacts me. You're not drinking, boy. What would you like?"
"The only alcohol I drink is usually saki."
"Isn't that wine made from rice?" William asked. He had at one time thought to travel to Japan, so he had done some research on the old country. He, of course, wanted to fit in as much as possible.
"Yes."
"Well, I know that's not the usual liquor you find in an Irish pub," William said smiling at the younger man.
"No, I know. What are you drinking? Whisky?"
"Yes, it's good here. Irish not Scottish but still good. I'll order another one for me and one for you."
Datsun nodded.
When the drinks game and shortly thereafter the communal plates of food, William and Datsun talked baseball and police work. For William the evening turned out better than he had anticipated when he first arrived. It seemed that since he had 'dated' Matt's sister once, William was now her 'boyfriend'.
William decided that night to broach the subject of being left at the altar with the young woman to whom it happened. He decided to ask her out after the next home game which was in a week.
There were not many games left as September loomed. The last games would be played immediately after USA's new holiday of Labor Day.
In the meantime, it could not hurt to hear what this scout had to say.