Our second date was pretty casual. You need to chat and get to know each other pretty early on because you need to decide if you’re going to invest the time and effort required to build something. And you need to find out if the instincts that led you to ask her out in the first place were any good and you can’t do that at a movie or at the Chancellors Room, which was a – the – five-star restaurant in town.
My instincts, as usual, were trusty. Angel was funny and pleasant and boy, she has always been the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. Her black hair was straight – sometimes, maybe usually, it’s curly – and she was wearing blue jeans and a black sweater, a classic combination I’ve always liked.
So I told her about my life. I was born in a small town and still owned a house there, the house I grew up in. My parents are dead and I rent it out, though I charge a pretty high rent to keep the riff-raff out and it is not always occupied.
I spent some time in the Navy and when I got out went to umpire school. Like most athletic kids, I wanted to be a pro ballplayer when I grew up, but I only had average talent, and I started umpiring little league and other youth sports to earn some cash in high school. I wasn’t very good back then, but I showed up every day and appeared confident, even when I wasn’t, that was half the battle. Most of the battle, actually.
I really liked the Navy, I was a yeoman and I had a knack for pushing paper and could’ve passed a nice career there, but I found out about umpire school and was hooked from the start, so I got out of the Navy after four years.
I had to explain to her about umpire school. It’s where you go if you want to be a major league baseball umpire. There are a couple of them, both in Florida and both starting in January. It’s five weeks long and they start from scratch, presuming you’ve never umpired before. It was pretty confusing the first couple of weeks, but I was willing to work and take instruction and that is half of what they are looking for, and I was one of the top graduates.
After that, they send you to an evaluation program with the top students from the other umpire school and then they pick the ones they want to start in the minor leagues. You start at the lowest level and you work your way up and, generally, one or two from each class will make the major leagues.
I came close. Made it to Triple-A, which is the level right below the big leagues. Spent three years in the International League and then I got released. I still remember the phone call. It came a couple of weeks before the holidays and the head of umpire development for baseball called and said I was no longer a prospect for the major leagues and that I would have to find something else to do next summer.
Oh well. Sure, I wanted to make the big leagues, but I went to umpire school to learn the trade and I learned my lessons well and worked hard and become really good, as good as I could get, really, and that was satisfying.
And that’s what I do now. I officiate for a living. I’m pretty good, and I do college and high school sports and I even still do pro ball as a replacement when someone gets sick or injured. I also run the officials’ association in town. That and a modest income from my folk’s estate keep me from having to get a real job.
I’d never bothered to get married, either. I told Angel that I had come close once and really close another time, but each time something inside said no, this is not what you should be doing with your life right now. I had dreams to chase and I figured when my time came to die I’d better be able to tell myself I went and chased those dreams, instead of taking a flier on them. I mean, I’m hardly a philosopher or anything like that, but what else what I put here for if not try some things and see what I got?
Angel laughed when I told her I’d had a couple of engagements and asked if I was looking to get married now. Even though she laughed I could tell she was serious and I told her yes, I was ready for a good marriage. She tried to be nonchalant about it, but her body language said she was relieved.
Honestly? I was relieved, too. It was only our second date and I was twice her age, but I was relieved she appeared to be open to something permanent, too.
She asked when I’d moved to town and I told her in my early 20’s. I was still in pro ball and always went back to the family home in the off-season but I had gotten tired of small-town life and was ready for someplace new. My season had ended somewhere in Texas and I was driving home and I wasn’t taking the most direct route because I didn’t really want to go home. I had stopped here for a couple of days cause it’s pretty here and the hotel I was staying at was hiring. I’m not one to believe in fate too much, but it seemed like a sign to me, so I talked to the manager, a really cute woman who liked me. I told her I was a professional baseball umpire and, like some people, she thought it was as mysterious as if I’d’ve said “spy” and she said we’d worry about me leaving next spring next spring and the next thing I know I was working the front desk there.
The manager really liked me and she let me stay at the hotel for the week or so it took me to find a place to live and I’ve been in town ever since.
After I told her this she asked me when this was and we did some reckoning and while I don’t recall the exact date I moved here, it was within a week or so of the day she was born.
I thought this might scare her. Age differences aren’t for everybody. In theory, they might be. I mean, what guy my age wouldn’t want a woman half his age, especially a really foxy one? Hubba-hubba. I spent more than one night on the road in the sack with an older woman, usually one who was married and bored. But when it comes down to actually building something meaningful, some common interests, like your 20’s are helpful.
Her manners were perfect! She told me she couldn’t decide between some fish dish or the beef stew – she’d been here many times and liked this place a lot – and I forget what I ended up ordering for her. I’m just glad she has a good appetite and wasn’t afraid to order a good meal.
It was a great second date. I’ve had a lot of second dates over the years and am supremely qualified to make this judgment. My instincts about her were right – I knew we’d be a good couple and the second date confirmed it.
Chapter 1: Angel
Chapter 2: Angel
The Angel and The Captain Homepage