From the first time she picked up a softball bat, Kayla has loved team games of any stripe. Now in her mid-forties, though, she is starting to come to the bitter realization that like all good things, her involvement in team sports must come to an end one day, whether she’s ready or not. When her broomball teammates start making noises about this being their final season together, Kayla sets her sights on capturing the league championship. What better way to remind them of how much fun it can be to win? The prospect of snagging the league title seems brighter with the addition of a new player, Val, who Kayla would like to get to know better. That is, if her meddlesome ex Abby will stay out of the picture long enough. Will winning the championship be enough to bring Kayla’s teammates back for one more season? If not, what can she do about it?

Curtain Call

But she’d already started a conversation with Dora. And she studiously avoided me through the duration of the meal.   5


As the season continued, a pattern emerged. Judith, schooled by long habit at the parts manufacturing facility where she worked as a classroom instructor, was usually the first to arrive. Due to car trouble, she’d once arrived late to work, and been forced into a frenzied last-minute scramble to get everything ready for a problem-solving workshop she taught. It had thrown her off for the entire session—not an experience she cared to repeat. She felt the same about her sporting endeavors. Leaving herself plenty of time to get ready and get her head into the game made for better play, as far as she was concerned.


Chapter 6