John watched his wife out of the corner of his eye. The decision to take his car was made on the spur of the moment and as he watched her shift again he mentally kicking himself for not suggesting they take her car. “It won’t be long now, Honey.” He reached over and patted her hand. “Next time, I’ll move my car out of the driveway and we’ll take yours.” She favored him with a smile.
Helena shifted again before finding a semi comfortable position, She had agreed to attend this game, not because she shared his love of the game, but as way to spend more time with him. Being parents of a young child limited the amount of “couple time” they shared so any opportunity that afforded them time alone was welcome.
The traffic began moving and soon John pulled the car swiftly into a parking slot. Helena let out a deep breath and closed her eyes as a Braxton Hicks contraction caused her stomach to tighten. John reached over and placed his palm on her stomach rubbing slow easy circles until she opened her eyes. “You okay?” He asked concerned.
She placed her hand on top of his; “I will be as soon as I can get out of this car.”
John patted her belly lightly and was rewarded with a shift kick. He smiled at Helena; even through he’d been through this before when she was pregnant with Tori, it still excited him to feel his child moving. “Well, that’s two votes for getting out of this car.” Helena laughed lightly.
“Stay right there, I’ll come over and help you.” John moved quickly out of the car and over to her door. He offered his hand to her and with his help she managed to crawl out of the car.
“That thing has to go.” She told him as they walked hand in hand toward the stadium.
“You’re kidding, right?” He stopped walking.
“No, I’m not kidding. It’s not practical to keep a car that small. There’s hardly room in it for two people. In another 2 months we are going to be a family of four.”
He squeezed her hand and smiled, hoping that she was only kidding. “We have your car for family trips.” They began walking again.
“I’m serious. We can’t keep that car. You’ll need a bigger car that will accommodate all of us. I mean, we certainly don’t need three cars. Our garage isn’t that big.”
“But I love that car!” He protested as he handed the tickets to the attendant at the gate. Silently, he hoped that she was just reacting to the moment, her pregnancy hormones were in high gear and her moods changed as quickly as the weather. Suddenly, he felt Helena pulls her hand from his. When he turned around, Helena had stopped dead in her tracks.
“More than you love me? You love that car more than me.” She said tearing up.
Her abrupt stop and the quiver in her voice caused John mentally to kick himself, ‘damn, here come the tears. I bet we miss the first pitch.’ John pulled his wife out of the crowd. Hugging her as best he could, he quietly said, “Helena, don’t…don’t get yourself all worked up.” He kissed her forehead before slowly pushing her back. “Hey, let’s not talk about cars tonight, okay? Let’s just spend this time together.” He hoped by stressing this was their special time together she would be able to gain control of her emotions.
Helena took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She knew he was right. “You’re right. We’ll talk about this later.” Giving him her best smile, she reached down and took his hand.
“Let’s go.” John suggested. They moved into the interior of the packed stadium looking for Rebecca Parker. Parker was entering her first year of graduate school education when she answered the Koenig’s ad for a nanny. Her bubbly personality and her interest in elementary education immediately caught the attention of John and Helena. They hired her immediately and she moved into one of the spare bedrooms soon afterwards. Rebecca was well suited for the Koenigs and their busy and ever changing schedules.
“There’s Rebecca.” Helena pointed out the young blonde woman standing in the box seats below waving to them. The former “Miss Teen America” stood tall in her faded blue jeans and white T-shirt. Parker was a natural beauty, the kind other women loved to hate. She hardy ever wore makeup and her toned slim body attracted the attention of males. However, unlike Melissa, Rebecca didn’t notice the effect she had on men.
John stood in awe of his surrounding when they reached their seats. “These seats are great!”
Rebecca reached out and helped Helena into the private box that bordered the first base dugout. “Take this chair, Dr. Koenig. I think it’s the most comfortable.” Parker moved out of the box and allowed John to sit next to his wife.
“Rebecca, I’m impressed.”
Rebecca smiled broadly, “Well, its not like I had a lot to do with it. These are the tickets they give to the player’s family.”
“I’m surprised a rookie can get these seats.” John responded, his eyes glued to the field as he watched the two teams warm up.
Rebecca’s boyfriend, Tripp Reynolds, was a rookie shortstop for the Houston Astros. Reynolds born into a very old and formal family was reared in the Northeast. His true name, William James Reynolds, III, seemed formal to his college beer drinking frat brothers. During one of their all night beer-swilling contest, Tripp tried staggering up the stairs to his bedroom and ended up falling three times. Thus he was dubbed with the name, Tripp. The name stuck with him throughout college and stayed with him even after the Astros drafted him. Rebecca understood little about baseball but she understood everything about Tripp.
After the warm up period the team headed toward the dugout. Tripp looked up into the stands and waved to Rebecca and the Koenigs. When the team was in town, Reynolds would often visit Rebecca at the Koenigs. During those visits, he’d struck up a friendship with John. They would often spend time sitting on the back deck swapping baseball stories.
Soon the first pitch was thrown and the game began. By the bottom of the seventh, the Astros were behind 4 to 2 and the fans were growing restless. The Astros had an outstanding record in their division and their fans always expected them to win. Tripp walked out of the dugout and stood in the on deck circle. With two men on and one out, the other team had decided to change pitchers and there was a lull in the action while the new pitcher warmed up. Unable to resist, John eased out of the box and down to the fence where Tripp stood waiting. With amusement, Helena and Rebecca watched their animated conversation.
“What do you think those two are taking about?” Helena asked gleefully.
Rebecca chuckled, “Not us, that’s for sure.”
Helena shook her head ruefully; “I have a feeling John Koenig’s down there offering his ‘professional’ advice on this new guy.” She pointed to the tall dark Latino pitcher.
Laughingly Rebecca replied, “And look at Tripp’s face. You’d think the safety of the universe hung in the balance. Such intensity…and it’s only a sport.”
“Well, I guess to them all this is a big deal.” Helena smiled at her.
They watched John return to his seat as Tripp headed out to the plate. When John approached the box, he saw two smiling faces.
‘What?” He asked as he sat down.
Helena only patted him on the arm. “Nothing, dear.”
With the count 2 and 1, Tripp stepped out of the batter’s box and looked in John’s direction. He tipped his hat and smiled. John smiled back. The next pitch was a fast ball and Tripp swung the bat with all his might. The ball flew off the bat and headed toward the outfield. John stood up and watched the ball as it narrowly clearing the wall behind centerfield. The crowd went wild with excitement. John and Rebecca were jumping up and down cheering as Tripp rounded third and headed home. The noise was deadening as they shouted their approval. The Astros hung on to their lead and when the final out was called the fans shouted and chanted Tripp’s name.
As the hordes of fans headed to the parking lot, John, Helena and Rebecca waited for Tripp. Thirty minutes later, a clean and smiling Reynolds emerged from the dressing room. Before he leaned over and kissed Rebecca’s cheek, Reynolds handed John a Astros baseball cap. “The coach wanted you to have this. Thanks for that information on Jose.”
“Anytime.” John replied as he held the cap. “Come on you two, let’s go out and celebrate.”
Helena watched as Rebecca tensed. Tripp pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of the head. With Reynolds game schedule, Helena knew they probably wanted to be alone. She also knew John would have Tripp out for hours reliving their conversation during the break. She decided to intervene. Softly she said, “I’m sorry guys but I’m tired, I really don’t think I could stay awake much longer. Helena could almost see the relief in Rebecca’s face. She could also see the disappointment in John’s.
“We can get together another time.” Reynolds offered.
“How about tomorrow?” Helena countered.
Tripp looked at Rebecca. She smiled. “That’s will be great. We don’t have a game tomorrow.”
A disappointed John Koenig extended his hand. “Tomorrow it is.”
Helena moved passed her husband with a groan. “Oh, I dread that ride back.”
“Why?” Rebecca asked.
“Because we came in John’s car.”
An astonished Rebecca looked at Helena. “I bet that was uncomfortable.”
“Very.”
“Hey, you want to use my SUV?” Tripp offered. “It’s right out front. We can drop your car off after we grab some food.”
John considered this conversation. He knew that his first concern should be the comfort of his pregnant wife, however, no one had ever driven his prized Corvette. He looked at Helena. Their earlier conversation regarding his car echoed in his head. Was this another attempt by his wife to separate him from his car? He’s prized vintage Corvette, the first car he bought after graduating from Astronaut school. Memories of the day he pulled her off the car lot came rushing back to him. She was so clean, so shiny. She drove like a charm and cornered like she was glued to the road. Clearly he was in a tight spot.
“John?” Helena’s voice brought him back to the present.
“Where’s your car?” He asked, trying to stall for time.
“Right out front. We can walk you to it.” Tripp and Rebecca moved in the direction of the fence. John was trapped. He had no choice but to hand the keys to his precious car over to the boyfriend of his baby-sitter. He could feel a headache coming on as they neared the parking lot.
Reynolds bright red SUV was parked in the reserved parking slots and it didn’t take long for them to reach his car. He pulled the keys out of his pocket and unlocked the doors. As he helped Helena into her side of the car, she whispered to him. “Don’t let anything happened to that car. I’ll never hear the end of it if something does happen.”
John handed the keys to the Corvette to Rebecca before climbing into the SUV. “See you at home.” He said quietly.
The ride from the stadium to the Koenig house was a quiet one. Helena could tell by John’s expression that he wasn’t happy. His firm jaw was set and locked; she knew that look too well from all their time on Alpha. He was deep in thought and remained that way until they pulled into the driveway and parked. When he turned the car off, neither one moved. Helena sat watching her husband. He sat in the driver’s seat staring at the steering wheel.
"You really love that car, don’t you?"
John exhaled deeply, “If I answer that question honestly, I’ll be in big trouble.” He pulled the keys from the ignition and got out of the car. Silently, he helped her out of the car and inside the house. Once inside he paid the baby-sitter and retired to their bedroom.
Helena stood in her kitchen alone thinking about what he’d said in the car. How could he love that silly car? The door opened and she heard Tripp and Rebecca quietly enter. They were surprised to find Helena awake.
“Wow! Dr. Koenig. That car is great! I can’t believe what a dream she is.” Helena noted that Reynolds seemed to be glowing from his excitement.
"I can see why Mr. Koenig loves that car so much. She’s awesome!" The sound of his youthful voice so filled with wonder made Helena smile.
Suddenly, Helena’s mind was flooded with memories. She recalled the time John found a set of original wheel covers for his car. She’d never seen anyone so happy about 4 pieces of molded metal. He seemed to float on airs for days afterwards. Images of him painstakingly polishing his car rushed through her mind. He’d spend hours working until he had it exactly right. His expression of complete fulfillment and pride when he was finished. A few times he’d even called her out of the house to show her his handy work.
She realized at that moment why John loved that car so much. It kept him young and it made him happy. It was the way he relaxed. It was his freedom from responsibility. He could take the top off and shoot down the interstate with the wind blowing through his hair with no worries.
“I guess that car is pretty awesome.” She reached to gently squeeze Tripp’s arm. “Good night.” She said quietly and headed for her bedroom.
The room was dark and she could barely make out the outline of her husband’s body in their bed. She slipped into the bathroom and changed her cloths. As she pulled John’s shirt over her swollen belly, she felt the baby moving inside her. An intense need to be near him pushed her back into the bedroom. She crawled into bed beside him pressing her belly against his back. As if on que, the baby kicked against his back.
John rolled over to face his wife. “Baby’s kicking huh?”
Helena reached for his hand and placed it on her stomach. The baby kicked once more. “John, I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For insisting that you get rid of your car, for agreeing to use Tripp’s car….”
“Shh… you’re right. We are going to need a bigger car…”
“No. There’s no way we are getting rid of that car.” Her tone was firm but quiet.
John smiled. ‘Hormones.’ He thought.
Helena knew immediately what he was thinking. “No, it’s not hormones this time.”
They both share a soft chuckle.
“We’ll find a way to fit in another family car. Maybe you can move your golf cart out of the garage. I don’t know…it’ll be fine.”
“You sure?” John felt the baby moving inside his wife.
“Yes.” She whispered.
He could tell she was exhausted. “Close your eyes.” He slowly began to move his hand around her stomach. After a few minutes her breathing changed and he knew that she was asleep. He leaned over and kissed her softly on the forehead.
In the distance, he heard the door open and close. Quietly, he walked through the darkness of his house out to the garage. He opened the door and noticed the garage door was up. Outside in the driveway he could make out the outline of his precious car. An overwhelming need to check on her washed through his body. He moved quickly toward her stopping only when he heard the soft sounds of a radio and …kissing. Under the brightly shinning stars, he saw Tripp and Rebecca sitting his car kissing. Their hands were everywhere and they were very involved with one another.
Reassured that his car was in one piece, a smiling John Koenig returned to his bed. He sat down on the bed beside his wife watching as she slept, holding his child within her. He thought about the two young people out in his car, kissing and loving one another. One day when his kids were grown and their time was once again their own, he’d love Helena like that…under the stars…in his car.
Maureen J. Long
May, 2001