Unforgettable

Thank you both for getting us off to a good start. I know money was always tight
—I remember you celebrating every mortgage payment—but you gave us more
security that you can imagine. Singing while doing the supper dishes, Dad’s
corny jokes and his energy. It worked! I still sing, Mom! We all do.
But no song emerged then. Her throat closed, her voice faded and her tears
flowed. It didn’t matter. She took another breath and collapsed onto the sofa.
“Mom…Dad…I need to tell you something important.” She inhaled again. “I’ve
met someone. He-he’s special. We’ve had a rough patch, but this guy — Doug
Collins — he doesn’t give up. More important, I think he understands me. And
my fear of letting go. I promise you that we’ll always be the Delaney family, but
I have a feeling we’re all going in different directions. And that scares me. I-I
just had to tell you.”
She hugged her stomach and let her tears flow. And she could just hear how her
dad might advise her.
Everyone is scared, Jennifer. You’re not alone. Courage requires a leap of faith,
but happiness requires taking that leap with the right partner. Is this Doug the
one?
A weight lifted. She sat up straighter and listened harder. Her parents were only a
conversation away. Maybe that’s why Lisa had filled journals in the beginning.
To communicate, to understand. To be more in touch with them…or with
herself.  Yes! That must be it. Maybe that’s why Doug wrote plays. He was
always trying to make sense of a complicated, messy world. Always trying to
find hope in dark places.
Finance was much easier.
She walked closer to the portraits again. If talking to her folks helped her to face
her fears, she’d go to them a million times, and never chat with another shrink
again. Which she hadn’t done in several years.

---

“I know you’re out there somewhere…”  she sang softly, as the Moody Blues’
lyrics came into her head. Maybe she and Emily had more in common than she’d
realized. She’d have to listen more closely the next time her sister played
Amazing Grace.
##
“It’s a wonderful night for a baseball game.” Jen paused in their walk toward
Fenway Park and pointed upward. “A clear sky, perfect temperature and …”
“…and we’re together,” finished Doug, clasping her hand. “Let’s get moving,
and I’ll tell you a story about the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball.”
There wasn’t much about Fenway he could tell her that she didn’t already know.
The Green Monster, The Triangle, The Lone Red Seat. And Neil Diamond’s
Sweet Caroline  in the middle of the eighth inning every single game.
“You’ve got a story for everything,” she said, “but I’ve been here many times—
whenever Andy and Brian ‘allowed’ me to take them!”
Holding hands with Doug felt so right, joking around felt right, too. With her
free hand, Jen reached up to brush that stubborn lock of hair from the man’s
eyes. He snatched her palm and covered it with kisses.
“That makes it official,” he said. “We’re finally on a real date. No interruptions.”
“Yeah. Just you and me…and thousands of others.”
This time he stopped walking and pulled her close. “I love you like this, Jen. So
relaxed, so joking, so pretty. I knew we could find it again.”
She put her finger across his mouth. “No words. Just let the evening play out.”
But she squeezed his hand and felt herself smile.
They continued strolling to the entrance on Jersey Street. “See how the park
blends into the neighborhood. All the buildings are similar,” said Doug,
gesturing toward the surrounding streets.
“Yes. It’s a real city ballpark and a very small one.”

---

“That’s for sure. Can’t even hold forty thousand fans. So, here’s the story: In
1984, Roger Clemens arrived in Boston for the first time and took a taxi to the
park.” He paused and looked at her. “You do know who Roger Clemens is, don’t
you?”
Laughing, she nodded. “Pitcher.”
“But when the cab arrived, Clemens argued with the driver. Told him Fenway
Park was a baseball stadium and this building was nothing but a warehouse!”
“Really?” she asked with a chuckle. “Okay, I hadn’t heard that one.”
“Want to hear the ending?”
How could she let him down? “Of course, I want the ending.”
“The driver told him to look up. And when he did, Clemens saw the stadium
light towers and knew he was in the right place.”