Righting A Wrong

"I do not..." Penny snapped back.

"Josh! Quit digging in your nose and get on second base!" Russell yelled.

A few of the boys, including Josh laughed and Josh trotted out to second base, slapping his hand into his glove.

"Come on; trading you to Coach Duvalier," Russell said to Manny.

"Good!" Manny sneered at Russell.

Penny fell into step as Russell and Manny trotted out to where Coach Troy lounged.

"Hey, Coach!" Russell yelled, startling the man.

"What, dude?" Troy said, and then frowned at the sight of Penny Richards. "Aw, geez, not her again."

"Got a trade, if you're interested," Russell said. "Manny here; he pitched for the Lions last year, and your kid, Lucas Richards over three."

"Him?" Troy asked, pointing to a scrawny boy that sat dejectedly on a bench, kicking at the ground.

"Yeah, him," Russell agreed.

"You got it!" Troy agreed. "Take the mom too, huh?"

"Nope, leaving the mom with you, dude," Russell smirked as Penny scowled at Troy.

"Come on Honey," Penny said, embarrassing the boy by fussing over him. "You're on Coach Jones' team now, okay?"

"Mom, please!" Lucas whined, trying to push her away.

"Good luck, dude; that bitch has been up my ass since we started," Troy hissed to Russell. "And kid can't play for shit; ought to see him try to throw the ball."

"So Lucas, you're a Lefty?" Russell asked as Lucas trotted to keep up with him.

"No," both Penny and Lucas said, both obviously confused.

"Then why..." Russell asked. "Your glove's on the wrong hand, then."

"He's right handed," Penny said. "So I got him a right handed glove."

"Hey, Scottie; going to the movies?" Russell yelled at his third baseman.

"No," Scottie answered, ceasing his scratching of his rear end.

"Then why you picking your seat?" Russell asked.

"Shut up!" Scottie demanded as the other boys laughed at him.

"Okay, Lucas, here, put this glove on," Russell said, handing the boy a left handed glove.

"Okay," Lucas said.

"But how's he supposed to catch?" Penny questioned.

"Look lady, I thought we had a deal," Russell sighed.

"But how's he..." Penny demanded.

"Okay, lady, you left or right handed?" Russell asked.

"Right handed," Penny said.

"Okay, here," Russell said, handing her a baseball. "Throw it to me when I say, okay?"

He backed up about twenty feet, and then said "Okay."

She managed to throw the ball; he still had to step over a few feet to catch it.

"Now," he said, walking up and handing the ball to her. "With your left hand, throw it to me when I say."

She managed a very weak, very wobbly throw that Russell had to step up quickly in order to catch it.

"Now you see?" Russell asked. "Go get your kid a left handed glove, all right? Use some of the money I'm paying my ex-wife."

She colored slightly and pursed her lips tightly but nodded and walked away.

"Okay um, Michael Two get over here," Russell called out.

"Yeah, Coach?" Michael Two said, trotting to where Russell and Lucas stood.

"Michael, this is Lucas. Need you to practice with him, just throwing the ball back and forth, all right?"

"Sure, Coach," Michael agreed.

"Why's he call you..." Lucas asked.

"'Cause we got two Michaels; he's one and I'm two," Michael smiled.

"Why they don't just call you Mike and him Michael?" Lucas asked and dropped the ball.

"'Cause my name's not Mike," Michael said, not smiling.

They tossed the ball back and forth, Lucas dropping more than he managed to catch.

"How's he doing?" Russell asked as he came over.

"Doing all right," Michael magnanimously said. "Could use a little more practice though."

"All right, and everybody, give me two around the bases and that's it!" Russell yelled and the sixteen boys all ran around the bases twice then ran to the parking lot, or to the concession stand.

"Thank you," Penny said as Russell wearily walked to his truck.

"Uh huh; you going to stay off my ass now?" Russell asked.

EMERGENCY TRAINING

Melissa did not understand that Russell wouldn't be bringing the baby around, at least for a little while, until the divorce and custody battle were decided. For the first three weeks that Russell lived at home, she was mad at him and sullenly refused to talk to him. After three weeks she couldn't remember why she was mad at him and reverted to loving and adoring him with all the ease of a child.

Kenneth Prejean's nose was out of joint that Russell decided to retain Sonny Lambert to handle his divorce. Martha lied and told her boss that she had tried to persuade Russell differently.

"Kids, huh? Tell them one thing, even if it's good for them, they do the exact opposite," Martha harrumphed.

(It had been Martha that told Russell that Kenneth's track record was less than impressive.)

Sonny's track record wasn't much to brag about; at least when it came to Russell's case.

Even his mother in law was very little help.

"Ain't shit can be done," she shrugged. "Stupid bitch's gone cuckoo for cocoa puffs, know what I mean?"

Robert and Martha dipped into their very meager nest egg and loaned Russell the money for the legal fees. For his part, Russell paid them one hundred a week for room and board. This went up another twenty five dollars when he switched over to the landfill.

"Aw, fucking great, Garland Hebert sighed. "The Green Queen's back."

"Who?" Russell asked, watching the monitor as a middle aged woman with long gray blond hair that hadn't seen a brush in a while walked with great purpose toward the fence.

"And wait until you smell her," Garland threw in, nudging Russell toward the door.

"You're not coming Russell asked.

"Someone's got to be here to let the cop's in.," Garland snickered.

Garland's warning was merited; the woman stunk horribly. Her clothing was a simple knee length shift that had been hand-woven. Her filthy feet were bare, even though it was twenty degrees outside.

She screamed obscenities at Russell, screamed about how King was poisoning the Earth, how big government and giant corporations were robbing the souls of the people.

"We got it from here," a smiling police officer said, brandishing a key for the handcuffs. "Hi Darlene; how's it going? Where's Eddie tonight?"

"Stay away from me!" Darlene screamed, trying to pull away, but her handcuffed wrist prevented her from moving. "Where's the television cameras?"

"They're not coming," the police officer said, unlocking the handcuffs from the chain link fence.

"They're not coming? Don't they care?" Darlene protested. "Don't they care that this place is destroying the planet? Don't they care that..."

"Going to need your name for the report," the other police officer said as Darlene was led toward the police car.

"Darlene Delacroix," Garland Hebert said when Russell came back to the warm building. "Her and her boyfriend, some jerk-off ecologist, used to be some big-wig professor at U.L.D. like to come protest every now and them. First few times they done that, Performance Twelve news came out, made a big deal out of it, and even got some ass holes from the E.P.A. out here."

"Damn it's cold out there!" Russell complained.

"E.P.A. don't find nothing, Performance Twelve figures out that the two of them are just nut-bags, don't even bother sending no one out now," Garland went on.

"She didn't even have shoes on her feet," Russell said.

"Worse in the summer," Garland said, blowing on his cup of coffee. "Summer? They don't wear nothing. Nothing like trying to keep them from chaining themselves to the fence with saggy old boos and a hairy sack hanging in front of you."

"Good God," Russell shuddered at the thought.

"Now you see why we get paid the big bucks?" Garland laughed.

On a night off, Russell agreed to watch Melissa so that his parents could get out and enjoy a night in Lafayette.

"Hey, y'all want, stay over, huh?" Russell teased them. "Y'all can get all loud and stuff; I hear Ramada Inn's got some nice rooms."

"Shut up boy," his father growled at him.

"Hush you," his mother chided him.

"We'll call if anything comes up," Robert promised.

At two o'clock in the morning, a ringing telephone let Russell know that he needed to come to University Medical Center in Lafayette.

In an effort to escape the Lafayette Police, a car-jacker had run a red light. Unfortunately, he slammed into Robert and Martha. The car-jacker was dead before the Jones' car stopped rolling. Robert and Martha passed away before Russell and a very fussy Melissa could arrive at the hospital.

Gordon King gave Russell two weeks off to handle the funeral and sent a very elaborate floral arrangement.

Kenneth Prejean informed Russell that Martha and Robert had made a will; the will stated that the proceeds of their estate was to go to the long term care of Melissa.

"What's that mean?" Russell numbly asked.

"Well, um, it means," Kenneth said, "Martha and Robert set it up with Pine Grove; Melissa will be cared for by..."

"But I'm her brother; I can take care of her," Russell protested.

"Son, I'm sure you can," Kenneth intoned, taking perverse gratification from Russell's consternation.

He had not forgiven Russell for not hiring him to handle the divorce and custody.

"But the will is pretty straightforward; the house is to be sold and all..." Kenneth droned on.

A screaming, crying Melissa was forced into Pine Grove Assisted Living Center and Russell was forced to find an apartment. The apartment complex had definitely seen better days, but it was affordable and, according to Garland's friend at the Kimble Police Department, was a relatively low-crime zone.

The only apartment available was a two bedroom apartment but the landlord shrugged and said, "Tell you what; these normally go for five fifty; how about four fifty?"

Russell put his bed in one bedroom and Melissa's bed in the other. Pine Grove, while ecstatic that Russell was willing to have his sister come see him for overnight stays, did ask him to wait at least one month before signing her out for a visit.

"Please, let her get accustomed to us, get used to our schedule, then come get her for a visit, okay?" Amanda Marcoloni, the Head Administrator of Pine Grove begged.

Russell agreed, especially after Amanda showed him the facilities, outlined the program Melissa would be following.

"We're well aware she will never be able to fully care for herself," Amanda said gently. "But there are certain things she can learn to do for herself."

Lisa's attorney also demanded that the proceeds from the sale of his parents home be included in the judgment. Kenneth dragged his feet in sending over the copy of the will so Russell had several weeks of Lisa barraging him with phone calls, demanding her share of the money.

It never occurred to Russell to have Sonny file a restraining order.

"Hey boy, you like dogs?" Garland asked Russell when he returned to work.

"Yeah, love them," Russell admitted.

"Sister bought one; guard dog actually, then come to find out youngest one's allergic to dogs," Garland said, blowing on his ever-present cup of coffee.

"How much she want for it?" Russell asked.

"Thing cost her eight hundred, like I said, thing's a trained guard dog," Garland shrugged.

"Don't have that kind of money; fucking divorce's bleeding me dry," Russell said.

"But she's desperate to get rid of it, get it in a good home," Garland went on. "So, pick it up tomorrow morning, huh?"

Sandra Hebert showed Russell the commands that the dog had been taught and demonstrated them for him, then gave him a hug, a thirty pound bag of dry dog food, and sent Russell on his way with a one hundred and one pound Labrador retriever named Cookie.

Cookie had three passions; sleeping, eating, and running. Russell was grateful to have the big lumbering beast next to him as he ran alongside Highway 52 but was less than thrilled that Cookie seemed to enjoy slobbering all over Russell's bed.

"Damned animal," Russell yelled, discovering that his pillow was damp with spittle.

"Woof!" was Cookie's response.

"Mangy beast," Russell muttered, then tried to shove the dog off of the bed.

Cookie thought Russell was playing and thus began a bit of a wrestling match. Russell was impressed with both Cookie's skills, and with Cookie's control. The dog had Russell's forearm in its jaws, snarling ferociously, but there was only the slightest of pressure from the dog's teeth. But, when Russell tried to pull his arm free, the pressure increased slightly, holding Russell in place.

"Drop it," he laughed and Cookie immediately let go of Russell's arm and gave him a huge, sloppy kiss, directly on the mouth.

So, Russell bought a new pillow.

Sonny had managed to have a supervised visitation scheduled; Mrs. Anderson of St. Elizabeth Parish Children Protective Services first came and inspected and approved of Russell's apartment.

"I do not like dogs," she firmly said to Russell.

"It's a guard dog; I got it specifically to protect Katy when she's here," Russell lied.

"As I said, I do not like dogs, but that doesn't mean I don't think the child will be fine here," she continued. "Looks like you've got everything in order."

Katy loved Cookie; seemed to be happier to see the lumbering beast than to see her father.

Mrs. Anderson sat in the living room while Russell and Katy sat at the kitchen table and scribbled in coloring books, then ate bowls of Spaghettios.

Mrs. Anderson followed behind as Russell and Katy took Cookie on a walk around the block. She nodded agreement as Russell showed her that Cookie was so well trained that even Katy could hold onto her leash by herself.

Mrs. Anderson recommended that the 'With Supervision' clause be lifted from Russell Jones' visitation.

Lisa Jones did not approve of this, lied to her attorney that Katy was terrified of Cookie (the dog outweigh Katy by fifty pounds) and managed to keep Russell from seeing his daughter for another five months.

FIRST GAME

Sergeant Elise Richards, no relation to Penny Richards, donned the heavy chest protector, slipped the mask on, then trotted out to home plate.

"Fifty bucks for a couple hours work," Darren, her husband had smiled.

Moments later, Elise was grateful to Darren; he had advised her to bring plenty of water. The dark cap absorbed heat, the chest protector was heavy and hot, and the foam rubber of the mask was sticking to her face.

The two coaches met, shook hands, then flipped the coin to see who would be 'Visitors' and who would be 'Home' for the game.

"All right Bears!" Russell yelled as he sent out the defense. "Let's hear a big Bear roar!"

"Play ball!" Elise yelled over the half-hearted 'Roar' of the Bears.

Penny sat in the stands and yelled encouragements to her son, playing left outfield; embarrassing the boy to no end. She glared over her shoulder at her ex-husband, Darryl Richards and the very young looking girl that Darryl fawned over.

Darryl seemed much more interested to the young girl than to his own son. Penny noticed that the girl had an incredibly large chest, magnified by the simple white tank top she wore. She looked down at her own chest, also sheathed in white tank top which did not magnify her own thirty four B chest.

The girl had blonde hair, cut short, wore too much make-up, like a child that had stumbled upon her mother's make-up tray, and even chewed gum.

"Good God, Darryl, really?" Penny scoffed under her breath. "Where'd you find this one? Kindergarten?"

The Bears did manage to beat the Cougars, 2 to 1 And Lucas was highly embarrassed when his mother bounded down the bleacher's steps and hugged him, praising him effusively in front of his smirking teammates.

Darryl did not introduce his companion, just grunted that Lucas needed to work on that batting of his.

If his mother's attention embarrassed him, Lucas's father's off-handed comment devastated him.

Troy and Russell watched as Penny led the boy away. Russell did admire Penny's slightly large ass, displayed in denim shorts, and then noticed how Lucas's head hung low.

"Man, would just love to spank that ass; would have to shove my dick in her mouth shut her up, though," Troy hissed to Russell.

"That is a nice one; too bad she's a total bitch," Russell agreed.

His dad had spent quite a few Saturdays in their backyard, showing Russell how to throw a football, how to catch a baseball, how to dribble a basketball. Robert Jones had shown Russell how to hold the bat, how to shoot the hoop. And when Melissa would come outside, demanding to be a part of whatever they were doing, Robert and Russell would try to teach her too. Any success she had was highly praised and any failure was encouraged.

"God, I miss my dad," Russell admitted to his childhood pal.

"Bet you do," Troy agreed, putting a manly arm over Russell's shoulders.

"Who was that girl with your dad?" Penny asked when a dejected Lucas buckled up in the car seat.

"Ethel; she and her mom live by Dad," Lucas mumbled.

"Are they...?" Penny started, and then clammed up.

She often chided her own clients about using their children as double-agents, making the children spy on the other parent.

"They're getting married in a couple of months," Lucas volunteered.

"The mom? Or Ethel?" Penny asked.

"Ethel; her mom's like old; she's at least forty," Lucas scoffed.

Penny wanted to laugh; Darryl was forty three.

"Please spit out that gum," Darryl said to Ethel as he drove his BMW Z4.

"Oh, okay," Ethel said, cowering slightly.

"Lucas did pretty good today," she offered.

"Struck out both times he got up there," Darryl reminded her.

She did not remind him that almost all of the boys had struck out.

Penny watched as Lucas took his bat and glove into the backyard. After she went to the bathroom (she would have to be in extremely dire need to ever use a public facility) she looked out the window and watched as Lucas 'practiced' hitting imaginary balls.

"God damn you, Darryl Richards," she cursed under her breath. "God damn you to Hell."

She then pulled out her cell phone, scrolled through to Coach Jones' phone number and pushed 'Send.'

Russell could have just explained to her why a right handed person wore a glove on their left hand, but instead, he showed her. He made her throw the ball; made sure she learned the lesson.

Penny watched Russell worked with each boy, treating them all as if they were important. Yes, he teased them, he called them booger eaters and other names, but he was never malicious.

Instead of lounging on a bench like that Coach Troy, Russell was on his feet, next to them, showing them what he wanted, how to do something.

"Yes?" a male voice asked.

"Mr. Jones? This is Penny Richards," Penny snapped as she watched Lucas take another mighty swing.

"Aw fuck me! Russell snapped. "Look, lady! They all had equal playing time, all right?"

"That's not why I'm..." Penny said quickly.

She should have been prepared for his angry retort; his dislike of her had not diminished just because her son was on his team. But, she had to admit, it still stung a little.

"And he went up to bat twice, lady; everyone else got two, some got three times; it's just the way it goes, all right?" Russell snapped.

"Mr. Jones, I understand that," she hastened to assure him. "It's just that..."

She felt a tear trickle down her cheek as Lucas gave another mighty swing.

"Lucas?" she sniffed. "He's in the backyard right now, practicing. His dad, instead of saying 'good game' or 'we'll get them next time,' all he says is 'need to work on that batting' and I'm..."

The tears started in earnest now.

"Jesus Christ!" Russell yelled. "Damn it, Lady! Don't start with the crying!"

"I can't help it!" Penny yelled back. "I'm watching him just fall apart!"