"All Over Again" (continued) "Coach?" Coach Zelnick's door was rarely ever closed--Jeff had thought for a moment about walking right in, but something stopped him, and he simply knocked on the door. From inside the room, he heard muted whispers and the sound of a chair scraping the ground, and then Coach's gravelly, sandpaper voice rang out, "Uh, just a minute, son..." The door swung open a few seconds later, revealing a young blonde who quickly reached up a hand to touch up her tousled pin-curls. Jeff pretended not to notice that the buttons on her blouse were one hole off, though it was all he could do not to burst out in laughter. Ladies Man Zelnick, at it again, he thought, biting his lip to keep from grinning like a cat who had cornered a mouse. "Miss Cornell, thank you for bringing those files over," Coach said in his customary nothing-could-be-wrong manner. He added a chuckle for good measure. "I don't know where my mind is these days... My wife always tells me if my head weren't attached to my body, well, I'd probably leave that in the dugout too." "Oh, it was no bother," the blonde answered--a little too sweetly, Jeff thought, and again he bit his lip. "Please do let me know if you... need more files, Coach Zelnick..." "I sure will, young lady." Coach held the door open and gestured for Jeff to come in. "Miss Cornell was kind enough to return some papers I had left out in the dugout earlier," he said, though they both knew that by now, Jeff needed no explanation. Still, both men felt the need to look the other way when it came to Coach's indiscretions. And besides, the man had been a good friend to him--almost like a father, in fact--that Jeff found it a little easier to forgive his weakness for the ladies. "What can I do for you son?" Jeff cleared his throat. He wasn't even sure what he was doing here, really, but something had led him here anyway. "Coach," he stammered, "I... I need your advice." "Don't swing at the first pitch." Jeff laughed. "I'm just teasing, son," Coach said, patting Jeff on the shoulder. "It's no secret your bat has been hot ever since you got called up, so I know you can't be here for baseball advice. And I know that you and your sweet young bride have been happy as can be, so I know it can't be women troubles... Can it?" "Oh no, sir!" Jeff smiled, a little embarrassed at how quickly he answered the question. "I mean, things have been perfect with Ginger, sir. No women problems in the least." "Good," Coach said with a knowing grin. "I know she's been busy planning your second wedding, and I wondered for a second. But I know that there's uh... no 'tension' this time around, is there, son?" Jeff could feel his entire face grow hot. "N-no, sir, no tension anymore. There, uh, hasn't been in a while." "Well then, how can I help you?" Coach grabbed a chair and set it down before him, motioning Jeff to sit, then he walked behind his desk to ease into his chair. Jeff reluctantly took a seat. Guess there's no way out of this now, he thought. I'm going to have to tell him. "Coach, I... Well, something's been puzzling me lately and I'm not really sure if I'm imagining things or if I really am... or if there's really something going on." "What is it?" "My brother's come back into town for the wedding. And I could swear that something's not right with him. He's... well, he's been different." "Different in what way?" "We've always been very close sir. We tell each other everything--well, a-almost everything. And ever since he's come back, he's just been very quiet. I just get this sense that he's sore at me for some reason, but I can't think of why." "Have you noticed this before?" Jeff shook his head. "No, I mean, he's been the best brother a guy could have. He's always looked out for me, especially when... After our father passed on, he... he's always made sure to take care of me." "I can see why this change in him would bother you then." "Ginger says I'm overreacting," Jeff said. "But... I know my brother, Coach. And he's not like this. Something's wrong." "Son, I think you should talk to him then. Let me tell you a story." Jeff straightened in his chair. I sure hope no one dies in this one... "Back when I was a rookie, there were these two teammates of mine--best friends. Tony Emerson and George Frank. They did everything together: roomed together on the road, went out to eat together, even went out to meet with ladies together." Jeff quelled the instinct to laugh. "Then, one day, out of the blue, Tony stops talking to George. No warning of any kind, just out and out stops talking to him. He asks to switch rooms with me so I'll be the one who'll room with George. No one on the team can figure it out." Jeff was almost afraid to ask, but he did it anyway. "What happened?" "Tony had spied George making time with a lady that he was sweet on. George had no idea that Tony had ever been out with her, but it made no never mind to Tony. As far as he was concerned, George had betrayed him." "Good Lord..." "Well, weeks go by, and the tensions mount... Then, one day at a practice, things come to a head. Tony--he was a pitcher, you see--he hits George while he's up at bat. George accuses him of hitting him on purpose, but Tony denies it. George gets all worked up now, and they get into it right in front of the entire team. Tony eventually blurts out that George is stepping out with his lady, and then, the unthinkable happened." Jeff blinked a few times in disbelief. He could almost hear the words that were going to come out of Coach's mouth in the next moment. "Harry Duggan overheard the heated exchange and realized that the young lady they were both fighting over was his fiancee. He walked over to both of them calmly, and then he turned into one of the most frightening beasts I've ever seen in my life. He went after those two like a maniac. It took five men to pull him off those poor fellas. Tony ended up in the hospital for a week with a concussion, and George was in traction for a month." "Good Lord." "Son--talk to your brother." Ginger hadn't banned him from the living room outright when her bridesmaids arrived to try on the dresses for tomorrow, but Jeff knew that when she had told him, "Ladies only, honey--you understand," she had meant it. And if he had any doubts she meant it, his sister's "Yeah, no gents, see?" follow-up made it crystal clear for him. "Fine," Jeff told them, pretending it was no skin off his nose, "Hank and Charlie and I will just have our own bachelor party in here then." He made sure to give Ginger a wicked grin just to get a rise out of her, but she knew him too well and called his bluff. "Oh good, you'll have fun then," she said, then gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "We won't take too long, don't worry. I told Mother we'd pick her and Dad up at 7:30 to go to the Roadhouse, so that gives us about an hour and a half to do our girl's thing, and you boys can amuse yourselves in here." Jeff tried not to roll his eyes, but Charlie did it for him. "Dames--they sure are screwy," he muttered, just out of earshot of Ginger--or so they both thought. "I heard that, Mr. Hailey," she said turning back to look at him just as she was about to step out of the kitchen. Her voice slipped into the sassy-sweet tone that drove Jeff wild. "I'll make sure not to tell your wife you said that." Charlie took his hand off Jeff's shoulder and straightened. "I didn't say anything," he said, raising his hands defensively, "and they can't pin anything on me." "Mmm hmm..." Ginger smirked and walked back out. When she had left, Hank, Charlie, and Jeff sat down at the table--their eyes still in the direction of the living room where the intermittent fits of giggles were hard to ignore--and Charlie pushed forward a deck of cards. "Well how else are we going to kill an hour and a half waiting for them?" he said, when met by the blank stares from Jeff and Hank. "I don't know, I'd rather go watch what they're doing," Jeff said. "Mutt, they're trying on dresses, how interesting can that be?" "And you don't think for one second they're talking about us?" Charlie wrinkled his forehead. "Like... in what way?" Jeff shrugged and turned to Hank. "What do you think they're doing in there?" The sound of raucous laughter drifted into the kitchen once more. Jeff turned his head instinctively in its direction, and it was all he could do not to get up and open the door up a crack just to take a peek at what was going on. "If you want to win a hand tonight, I suggest you keep your nose in here, slugger," Hank said. Jeff grinned sheepishly and looked back at Charlie and Hank. "Sorry," he said. "I just thought I heard someone in there say my name said, that's all." Charlie snickered and began to deal out the cards. "Boy, are you a lost cause," he said. "A word of advice, Mutt: being apart from your wife for an hour and a half isn't going to kill you." "Oh and you're one to talk, Hailey." "What is that supposed to mean?" "I see the way you are with Gina." "And?" "And 'puppy dog' doesn't even begin to describe it." Hank burst out in laughter beside him. "He is right, Charlie," he said. "See, I'm not the only one who notices it," Jeff said, just wanting to turn the screws a little tighter. "Can we just play cards?" Charlie said. Jeff tried to concentrate with the cards in his hand, but the voices in the living room kept distracting him. Finally, he sighed and put his cards down. "D'ya mind if we don't do this right now?" he said. "He must have a bad hand," Hank said to Charlie. "Would you cut it out? I just... I wanted to get your opinion on something." "What is it, Mutt?" "Well, I..." Jeff looked once more towards the living room, making sure the voices weren't getting louder, or heading in their direction. "I wanted to get your opinion on something I'm going to give Ginger tomorrow." Charlie flinched. "Aww, geez, we don't have to know the details!" "Oh, shove off, Charlie! I meant..." He lowered his voice, just for good measure and went on, "I meant I'm giving Ginger a gift. For our anniversary." "Oh." Charlie gave Hank a mischievous grin. "Well, what is it then?" Jeff smiled nervously, and reached in his pocket to pull out the small velvet box that he'd been keeping in there for half the day now. "I told Ginger I had an early practice today," he said, "but actually I left early because I went to the jeweler's first to pick this up." Hank took the box and opened it. Jeff swore he saw Charlie's jaw get pulled to the floor when he saw the diamond ring inside. "Well?" "Well, if I know Ginger, she'll start crying." "Yeah? I m-mean, you think it's nice?" "Nice? I think it's aces, Mutt. It's a gorgeous ring, even a caveman like me can admit that." Jeff closed the box and slipped it back in his pocket. "Things happened so quickly last year, I never got a chance to give her an engagement ring," he said. "But it didn't seem right to me that she didn't have one." He turned to Hank, who hadn't said a word. "What do you think, Hank?" Hank looked back at him blankly and nodded. "It's nice, slugger." He cleared his throat and got up, opening the refrigerator and grabbing a bottle of beer. Charlie shrugged at Jeff. Leave him be, he mouthed. "Listen, if we're not going to play cards," Hank said, "I think I'll go sit out on the porch for a while and get some fresh air. Come get me when we're ready to leave." "Sure." The screen door slammed shut behind him and Jeff leaned back in his seat and looked at Charlie. "He's been like that ever since he got back," Jeff said softly. "I don't... I don't know what to say to him." Charlie returned his eyes to Jeff. "Ah, I don't think it's anything to worry about," he said. "I guess it's just all of this wedding business. It can't be easy for him, you know?" Jeff nodded and absent-mindedly began to shuffle the cards. "The last thing I want is to bring up bad memories for him," he said, "but I just thought... I mean, this is a big day for me and Ginger, and I just thought having him here to share something happy would be good for him too." "He'll be all right," Charlie said, then he let out a sigh as another wave of laughter rang out from the living room. "That's it!" he said, "I have to know what's going on in there!" "But I thought you said-" "Mutt, if they are talking about us like you said, don't you want to know what they're saying?" Charlie tiptoed to the door and opened it an inch. Jeff came up behind him and looked out. Sure enough, the girls were giddy as can be. Linda, Judy, and Gina were dressed in the bridesmaids dresses that Gina had made and Ginger herself had hand-picked, after seeing a picture of a Hollywood starlet's wedding in one of her dog-eared movie magazines. Charlie turned to Jeff and beamed. "Gina looks good in the dress, huh? She was worried about it when Ginger first asked her to be a bridesmaid." Jeff nodded. "Ginger wasn't going to take no for an answer, though, even if Gina is six months pregnant." He spied Judy in the far corner inspecting herself in the mirror, running a hand down the butter cream yellow taffeta. Ginger stood next to her--Jeff could see the excitement bubbling just underneath and he was amazed at the restraint she was able to show. "Well?" she finally said. Judy turned back to Ginger, arching an eyebrow in her ever so cool manner, then slipping on her cat-like grin. "Well, Ginger, I'd say I'm awfully glad you picked one hell of a seamstress, because normally I would never be caught dead in one of these things." She looked back at Gina, who was off to the side, sharing a laugh with Linda about something Jeff couldn't quite hear. "Gina, it's gorgeous. You did an amazing job!" Gina blushed noticeably. "Oh, is not me you should thank, Judy," she said. "Is Ginger... Ginger pick the design, I only sew them..." "Oh hush, Gina," Ginger said, quickly coming to her side. "All I did was hand you some magazine with a picture circled on one of the pages! You're the one who put it all together!" "You all look beautiful," Anne said. "Don't you think so, Mikey?" Michael giggled in her arms and clapped his hands together. "Pity," he said, "pity..." Judy looked back at Anne with a bewildered look. "He means 'pretty'," Anne explained. "He has a bit of trouble with his 'r's." "Which is why he can't say my name," Ginger said, walking over and taking him into her arms. Jeff had to admit, the sight of his wife so at ease with his little brother never failed to make him think of little shortstops in the not so distant future. "Ginger... You can say it, Ginger..." Anne laughed. "It won't be long before you have one of your own calling you mama," she said, and then added quickly, after Ginger blushed deeply, "Not that there's any rush, of course." Jeff and Charlie both failed to hold their laughter in--and immediately suffered the consequences. "Jeff!" Linda walked over to them, her dress rustling softly on the ground, and she yanked the door wide. "And how long have you two been standing there?" Ginger giggled and came over, taking Jeff by the hand and pulling him out into the living room with them. "Oh, Linda, don't be so hard on him. It's not the first time he's done this after all." "What? Jeff, you-" Ginger smiled at her, then turned back to Jeff. "Don't think I didn't know you were sneaking a peek at me and Linda all those years, buster," she said. "I never-" Jeff started to protest, but Ginger's look froze him in his spot. "Well, all right, once in a while, I'd happen to overhear some conversations..." "Mmm hmm... It's okay, honey, I forgive you." She reached up on her toes and gave him a long, lingering kiss. "Why slugger, I never knew you were a peeping tom," Judy said, unable to resist the easy jab. "Me neither," Charlie added. Jeff gave them both a smirk and kissed Ginger again. Anne smiled at the both of them when they parted. "You know, I don't know what took all of us so long to see that you're both perfect for each other." "Well, I guess we just decided to take the scenic route," Ginger said, and then she tugged on Jeff's tie to pull him towards her for another kiss. And in that moment, Jeff felt like the luckiest man in the world. 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