Married To Baseball

I Question It All The Time

Jailyn~

Game six in Milwaukee. There's a buzz in the air that I'm not sure we've ever felt before. Sure, in 2020, we had our first World Series win, then in 21, the Bucks won the finals, but something about this year feels different. It's almost like everyone knows that this year it's going to be us. We've been the team to beat all season, and the World Series has seemed to be no exception, given where we are today. Something in the air screams that this is our year. This is our game. 

Two outs in the top of the third with two runners on isn't the ideal scenario, but there's a lot of game left, regardless of what happens here. Brandon goes into his motion, and half a second later, the crack of a bat silences the immediate crowd around us. Alecia grabs onto me as we all but hold our breath, watching the ball fly deep out toward Christian. It's going to be damn close. Hitting the warning track, Christian takes a couple of steps further before leaping up against the wall, somehow saving three runs.  

"Oh my god!" I all but yell, Alecia and I hugging each other before high-fiving Cam, Colin, and every other friend and family member around completely elated over Christians' success. That's going to be the moment. That save is going to be the momentum shift. 

Settling back into our seats, the Red Sox retake the field while the Crew gets ready to reset the order. Getting runners on base hasn't been an issue for us yet today; actually using them seems to be a little more of a challenge. Then again, when hasn't it been for the Crew? 

Drawing a walk to lead off the inning, Garrett takes his base as the stadium erupts in chants of "MVP" as Christian takes the plate for his second at-bat of the game. No one can say he hasn't earned them again this year. Standing tall at the plate, Christian takes the first pitch low and outside for ball one as Garrett takes a big lead at first. 

The second pitch is an absolute meatball of a mistake on Kenley Jansen. As soon as it cracks off of Christian's bat, I know just as well as him that it's gone. "Atta way!" I scream out as my husband watches an absolute beauty fly out before hitting the scoreboard. The crowd's roar is deafening as he has one of the cleanest bat drops before taking his trot around the bases. Smacking the backrest of the seat in front of me, I cheer my husband on as loud as I can. This is his fucking game. 

"How the hell did you two meet?" Cam asks, shaking his head when the pandemonium dissipates.  

"I don't know," I laugh, taking a drink of my long island, "But I question it all the time." 

When the seventh inning rolls around, I check my phone and see a text and three missed calls from my dad. "Dad Cell: Call me ASAP if you get a chance. I know the timing is terrible, but I need you to call me as soon as you get this." What the hell? 

"Hey, I'll be right back," I say, scooting past Alecia to make my way to the concourse as the crowd Rolls out the Barrell. Before I get to the top of the steps, I'm holding my phone to my ear. There's only one ring before my dad picks up.

"How long will you be at the stadium tonight?" He asks, sounding almost frantic, not even greeting me before asking. 

"I don't," I start, unsure how to respond, "I don't know, it depends. What's going on?" 

"Do you think you'll be able to stay until I give you an all-clear?" He asks, only giving me more questions. "I don't know why I'm even calling you right now. I can just get some of Milwaukee in on it." 

"What's going on?" I ask again, feeling myself get flustered. "What the hell do you need to get Milwaukee in on?"

"Does the name Olivia Taylor ring a bell?" He asks, making my heart sink to my feet. Of all days for something to come up, today is it.

"I," I stop, unable to find the words to say right now as I lean my back against the wall. The World Series does save me from hoards of people on the concourse paying any attention to anything else but the game. "I don't, not like, I don't know," I stammer almost as a million scenarios run through my head. There's one that feels more obvious than others, given the urgency of this phone call. "Not personally. She's reached out to me a couple of times on Instagram because she was dating Nick."

My dad lets out a sigh, "Okay." 

"Can you tell me what's going on?" I ask again, pressing the subject. 

There's a little bit of commotion in the background before he replies quickly, "I've gotta go, but please just stay put until I tell you otherwise."

"How am I," I start but am cut off when the line goes dead. What the actual fuck is going on? Taking a moment, I look at my dad's contact card, lighting up the screen. Obviously, something happened, something bad that there's a concern for me leaving the stadium tonight. Maybe Nick finally snapped far enough for Olivia to go to the police. Lord knows he's not above threatening people who've got nothing to do with anything. He probably saw the messages between me and Olivia. Why else would my dad be this concerned, let alone involved in it? 

Running a hand through my hair, I glance out the window to the glow of the parking lot, the tailgates still going as strong as before the game. The juxtaposition of the phone call and the city's atmosphere, let alone the stadium right now, is insane. 

Given the current score being five to one, I can't let this affect me too much. I'm sure that I'll have a little bit of press post-game, and I can't let this shake me, not now, at least. 

Taking another moment to myself, I grab one last drink from the bar before heading back to my seat. Heading down the steps back to the row Christians' family and close friends are monopolizing. Slipping back past Alecia, I take my seat again as she rubs my arm, her excitement all but radiating off of her—nothing quite like a mom to ground you again. 

The guys have apparently been having an exciting inning. Bases are loaded with one out, leaving me the opportunity to make it back down without seeming like an ass due to a pitching change. Taking a sip of my drink, I take my phone out again as the time passes and pull open Safari. Tapping the search bar, I type out, 'Olivia Taylor.'

Given the number of people here, it takes a bit longer to load than usual before finally pulling up a couple of headlines. "22-year-old Oconomowoc native, Oliva Taylor, reported missing." Holy shit. Tapping on the article, once again, I have to wait for it to load before I'm able to read further. Skimming the basics of the article, she was reported missing two days ago, and the last anyone had known was that she was with Nick. Nick also hasn't been able to be contacted since, but no one has reported him missing. He is, however, suspect, and there's a search for him as well. 

At the end of the article, there's an update as of three minutes ago. "Update as of 9:12 pm October 29, 2024: Olivia Taylor's body was found at 3 am this morning per the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department." Holy fuck. My eyes go wide before even reading the second part of the update, even though his name is all but screaming at me to acknowledge it. The roar of the stadium stops, and all I can hear is the pounding of my heart in my ears. There's no telling if I'm even breathing anymore, as my entire body feels numb. This isn't real. "At this time, Nick Kelly is the prime and only suspect in this case. There is reason to believe that he is armed and dangerous. If you have any information about his whereabouts, do not approach, and please contact the Washington County Sheriff's Department." 

Holy fuck. Finding it in me to glance around, I know just how bad of a place this is for me to react. Staring towards the field, I lock my phone and try to refocus. Biting the inside of my cheek, I can't shake this. This is insane. While I never put it past him, I'd always thought he'd be caught before he could get to this point. Fuck. My eyes glance around slightly; I have to reel this in. Taking a breath, I focus on that. Just breathe, Jai. That's the first thing anyone around me is going to notice. I've just gotta keep that straight.