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

The desire to keep a spar of hope alive won out over hurt feelings. “If you come back this way, the welcome mat will be out,” I said.


And at that, we both had to laugh one last time.   10


After Val’s departure, I walked through the house, moping. Before her arrival, I hadn’t been bothered in the least by the quiet. I’d rather enjoyed it.


But now, bereft of her presence, the house seemed gloomy. Lonely.


I allowed myself the rest of the day to wallow in sadness. Listened to the Carpenters and Enya, my go-to artists when feeling melancholy.


The next morning, I went through the usual routines of preparing to leave for work, feeling the ache of loss as I noticed all the little missing details. No Valerie at the breakfast table, sleepy-eyed with her mug of coffee. No quiet chatter as we read out bits and pieces of the news that caught our attention, as we caught up on the world’s affairs on our tablets. No “have a great day” as I headed out the door.


Chapter 11