"The Ole Ball Game" chap 7

Chapter 7

Jazzelle stood beside Keely, supporting her as she shook hands and hugged people who'd come to pay there last respects to Blaze. His parents stood on her other side, they had come to the hospital to see how Keely and the baby were. Somehow she'd expected them to be upset with Keely, but they'd been nothing but completely tuned into her needs. Things she needed for the baby. All in all, Jazzi was thankful for their support, because in the coming months her friend would need it. To her left, Daemyn stood with his arm around her waist, supporting her. It felt good to have him here again, yet she felt sorry for Keely having to see her other friends and herself with the ones they loved. Shaking her head, Jazzi surmised Keely wasn't exactly looking at their flirtaciousness, only at the fact that her love was gone.
Just as they thought the last of the mourners had come, one last woman scurried inside. Dark eyes assessed the casket and the cold body inside, then just as Jazzi expected her to turn and say that she was sorry for their loss, the woman laid herself over the casket and began to cry. With little reguard for the scene around her, she began to press kisses to Blaze's cold lips and face. Keely reeled backward and stared at the scene before her. Blaze's parents stared hard at the woman as if they wished to identify her. Jazzi who could no longer take their laid back approach walked forward, grabbed the woman by the arm and yanked her away from the casket. "Just who are you and what do you think you're doing here?"

"I'm Julie, Blaze's wife."

"Wife?" both of Blaze's parents reeled in shock, each taking a seat behind them.

"Yes, I supposed to be here earlier, but I couldn't get away from work. I'm sorry I've never met you before, Blaze said you were very busy people." Julie extended her free hand to the pale looking parents, while still squirming to get out of Jazzi's grip.

Daemyn stood and tugged on Jazzi's arm, "Let her go, honey, she has a lot of explaining to do."

"I should say so!" exclaimed Jazzi, letting the woman free, but keeping her pinned with a deadly glare.

"And you are? Blaze's sister?" Julie extended her hand toward Keely.

"Sister?" Keely's blue eyes were filled with tears and rage, Jazzi simply set her hand on top of Keely's hoping to comfort her long time best friend. "I am..was his fiance. I'm carrying his baby." A lone tear escaped from the corner of her eye, and Jazzi reached to wipe it away.

"His baby?!" the other woman seemed stricken and fell back into a chair.

Something about this situation had Jazzi reeling herself. How could Blaze do that to both of these women? Hadn't she known him better than that?

--
Daemyn wrapped an arm around Jazzelle's waist, escorting her toward the car. "Are you okay?" he whispered against her ear. She shook her head hard, dark hair flying in the breeze as she lay her head on his shoulder.

"I never thought he could do this. Never in a million years would I have thought he was married, Daemyn. I did this to Keely. Did you see her face? The hurt, oh Daemyn what have I done?" her voice broke and tears began to trickle down her cheeks in twin rivers.

"Here let's sit," he whispered, tugging her toward a bench, "It's not your fault. Keely is a big girl, and she should have found out that stuff before dating him. She knew him more closely than you did, Jazzi. How could she have missed his going to see his wife?" he rubbed her back gently, hoping to calm her and stop the tears. He hated seeing her cry.

His heart contracted painfully as she looked over at him, tears still pouring down her cheeks. "I set them up, Daemyn. I should have known better. Now she's having the man's baby and she's not even his true love. Never was. That's got to kill her. I know it would kill me." Her eyes had changed to that blue-green color he knew so well. She was past upset.

Seeing those eyes, hearing the words she'd just uttered he could hardly hold back a smile as he thought of something to say. With one hand, he cupped her cheek, with the other he dried her tears. "Jazzelle, you are my one true love. I just want you to know that." The whispered words hung in the air between them. Daemyn watched her eyes transform, yet tears still dripped from her eyes as she stared into his eyes.

Her hand slowly made it's way to his cheek, "You're mine as well. I love you, Daemyn."

Holding back his happiness was not an option, it seemed like forever hung between them as he leaned in to cover her lips with his own. Body full of the electric charge that came with kissing her, he felt like fireworks were going off inside of his heart. She was incredible.

"Jaz....oh...sorry." the words stopped him, and he painfully dragged himself away from Jazzelle.

"Keely, stay. I'm sorry, honey. Do you need a ride home?" Jazzi jumped up from her seat on the bench beside him, and raced to her friends side.

Keely shook her head hard, "I don't want to go home, maybe not ever. Could I stay at your place? I can't be alone tonight."

Jazzi nodded tugging her friend into a hug, "You're welcome for as long as you need."
Daemyn swallowed the lump in his throat, the love for her friends and family had him nearly tripping over his own feet. This woman was incredible. She turned to him, eyes assessing him.

"You ready?" her eyes caught his, the sincerity he saw there caught his breath.

"Yes ma'am."

--

Lidia sat on Jazzelle's couch watching her friends and their solemn faces. It was just like the old days, just the girls and Andre sitting around. All of them had been asked to come alone. Slowly, Keely began to speak, telling them what had happened. Lidia fastened her eyes on Keely and Jazzi, watching for any sign of a cruel joke, but none came.

"I got into the car with him, I wanted to give him a chance to make it up to me. He always went back to the, "I love you baby." But, right now I can't help but be unsettled when I hear those words in my thoughts." she rubbed her hands up and down her arms as if she'd caught a chill. "We were just driving down the street, I was trying to get him to tell me where he'd been instead of taking me to my doctor's appointment. He wouldn't speak to me. I thought maybe I'd done something for him to be mad at me for. Then it was like the gravity was turned off, we were kareening toward a tree, and he never swerved. He wasn't kidding! Blaze wanted to kill me, to kill us!" she rubbed a hand protectively over her mid-section. "When I woke up, Jazzi told me-told me about what had happened to him. I couldn't believe it." Keely errupted into sobs, laying her head against Jazzi's shoulder.

"There's more." Lidia said instinctively. There was trouble brewing and she could feel it. It was no time to joke, there was something dreadfully wrong with her good friend Keely.

"He's married to another woman. Or rather he was. Apparently the wife was putting pressure on him, trying to find out where he was all of the time. He didn't want to tell them about Keely or the baby." Jazzi supplied for them.

A hush fell over the room and the only thing they could hear were Keely's sniffles and sobs.

Lidia's mind ran fast and furiously, that lying, backstabbing....she was growling under her breath. If the man wasn't dead already she would've killed him with her own hands. "We're going to be here, Keely. We're going to make it through this and everything else." She lay a hand on Keely's shoulder and sighed. The way her sobs came one after the other, her friend's heart was broken.

"She's right, and we're going to be better for it." added Charity, walking toward them and sitting beside Jazzelle.

"This is what family is for." came Andre's voice as he crossed the room to pull them all into a sort of group hug.

"Thank you guys." said Keely, her face red and puffy from her tears, yet her eyes remained steady and thankful.

"No thanks needed, we love you and we're going to take care of you." said Jazzelle, her eyes filled with self-torment. Lidia made a note to talk to Jazzi later all by herself. There was something in those eyes that made Lidia want to cry herself.

Yet, she knew deep down that everything was going to work out for the better.

"The Ole' Ball Game" chap 6

Chapter 6

Jazzi sat straight up in bed, breathing heavy and holding her chest for fear that her dream had become a reality. Grabbing the phone beside her, she dialed Keely's number. It wasn't every night that she called someone to verify her dream, but it was so real she just couldn't deny it. After the sixth ring, she hung up and laid back. "Everything's fine." she whispered to herself in the expanse of her bedroom. Yet, she still couldn't convince herself that it was the truth. Just as she laid back on the bed, the phone began to ring. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the phone, "Hello."

"Jazzelle, we need your help down here, we're swamped. Two large crashes tonight." it was Howard from the Emergency Room and he was always straight to the point.

Before she could respond he'd hung up, sighing she threw the covers off and got dressed in a hurry. No chance in finding out how Keely was, instead she tossed her cell phone into her purse and hurriedly pulled on her shoes. Jogging through the house she grabbed a brush and a bottle of water, with a twist of the door knob she was in business and ready to rock. Jumping into the car, she stuck the key into the ignition and turned the car on before driving to the hospital. She pulled the car into the staff parking lot and showed her badge to Jim, the night time guard.

"Thank God you're here!" exclaimed Sherry, one of the resident's on call tonight.

"Well, yes I'm here." she smiled and tossed her stuff in the locker before walking toward the desk. "What've we got?"

"We've got two car accidents," Sherry handed her a file, "Female. Twenty-six years old, she and her boyfriend crashed into a tree. The boyfriend DOA. She's three months pregnant. Shook up, in shock but needs to be looked over."

Sighing, Jazzi nodded and looked at the chart. As soon as she flipped open the file the name written in bold handwriting across the top of it made her feel woosy. "Oh my..." Pushing open the door to exam one she nearly passed out. Keely. The dream, it all was coming back to her. Blaze was dead? Keely and the baby were in trouble according to her file. There laid one of her best friends, pale, fragile and sleeping. Bruises littered her face from hitting the windshield. The windshield had cracked, but luckily it had stayed in tact. Now there was just a few things to deal with. For one, Keely's arm needed to be splinted, two the baby needed to be monitored, and three someone needed to tell Keely about Blaze.

Swallowing hard, Jazzi walked toward the bed and stared down at her friend trying her best not to cry. She needed to tell someone that she was closely related to Keely, she really couldn't work on her. But everything compelled her to stay close to her friend. Just as she was about to walk out, Keely's eyes fluttered open.

"Jazzi?"

"Hi hunny, yeah it's me. How do you feel?" she walked closer to the bed and sat in the chair beside her.

"I have a headache..what happened? Where's Blaze?" Keely's blue eyes were cloudy with confusion, and automatically her hand came protectively across her stomach.

"You were in an accident. Do you remember that?"

Keely nodded slowly, "Jazzi..tell me..what happened?"

"Blaze hit a tree..I'm so sorry Keely, but he's gone. We're monitoring the baby, right now everything is fine. You have a concussion, and a few bruises, other than that. You're fine. Probably be in here a few days. I'll see what I can do...Do you need anything?"

Instead of answering, her friend closed her eyes and sighed, "I'd like to have things back to the way they were before he swerved toward that tree. What was he doing, Jazzi? Why did he want to kill me, to kill us? Now he's gone, but I can't help but hate him!"

Sighing herself, Jazzi scooted closer and wrapped her friend in a hug, "I know, honey, it'll be okay. I promise, everything will be okay."

--

Daemyn sat on the porch of his apartment looking out at the dark midnight sky. He'd tried to sleep, but never could close his eyes and achieve the results he wished for. Instead, he reached for his cell phone and sighed as it rang. "Hello?"

"Daemyn?" the scared sounding voice was none other than Jazzelle Douglass.

"Jazzelle? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," then she sighed, "Everything."

"What is it?" he sat up and wished he could hug her. The sound of fear and confusion in her voice made his heart hurt.

"It's Keely. She got into an accident, Blaze hit a tree. He died, Daemyn. He's gone, and he tried to kill Keely and the baby. I don't know what to do, what to say to her. I'm in shock myself and we all know that isn't helping anyone. I need you." she sighed as she finished her speal.

He couldn't help but sigh himself, why could nothing be good for a whole week? Something always seemed to happen to spoil what good there was left in the world. Instead of moaning anymore to himself, he scooted the phone closer too his cheek. "I'll be there in a few hours. Stay where you are. Have you called Lidia or Charity?"

Daemyn could almost envision her eyes a blue-teal color from her worry and the tears that undoubtedly pooled in her eyes. The picture in his mind disturbed him, and he stood to his feet, walking into his house to grab a few things to prepare for the journey back to New York.

"No, but I plan on calling them as soon as I hang up from you. I think it's too late though, they may be sleeping." her voice conveyed the worry and undoubted hate for her friends boyfriend who'd nearly taken away one of her closest friends.

"Okay, well I'm on my way. I'll make my way straight to the hospital. Don't worry so much, Jazzi, everything will work out. Rely on God, honey." How he wished he could touch her as he heard her sigh of disappointment as she hung up the phone. With a head full of thoughts of Jazzelle and her friends, he climbed into his car and headed back in the way he'd come just days before.

--

Keely sat staring out into the blackness of night, her heart felt that dark at this moment. Here she was a single mother by circumstance, his fault, the circumstance that the man she'd once loved created. Cringing, she felt the slight flutter of her baby's foot against her stomach's wall. Somehow, she couldn't exactly be happy about the tiny miracle she carried inside of her. Instead it reminded her of everything she'd lost in a few minutes of terror. Why, oh why had she trusted her heart to someone again? The flutter came again, though she tried to ignore it.

"Couldn't you sit still for a few minutes so I can be alone with my thoughts?" she spoke to the little baby inside of her, yet still her child persisted.

Her child.

The words hit home, tears burned her eyes as she laid a hand against her stomach where the kicks persisted. "I'm so sorry, baby." she whispered, her throat constricted with the tears that were about to fall. "You did nothing wrong, innocent little baby of mine." Sighing, she let the tears fall and wrapped both arms around her middle in efforts to hug the little one in her womb. Looking out to the starry heavens, she saw the hope that lingered there. It may be far away, but there was still hope for her and for her baby. "We will make it, no matter what anyone says." she persisted, hugging the slight bump in her stomach which showed the life that resided there tighter. No matter what Blaze had tried, she'd keep going. Her gaze captured the stars and what existed behind them, she bit down hard on her lip. Was there a heaven and hell? If so, where was Blaze tonight? As she sat here re-living what hell on earth was made of, she wondered if the once proclaimed love of her life was enduring the real thing. Her heart gave a wild thump for him, yet her baby's tiny kicks persisted taking her thoughts off of the betrayl she'd endured and gave her hope for her future.

"Keely?" the soft voice was none other than Jazzelle's, and she turned slightly to see her friend entering the room.

She smiled tearfully at her friend, "Thanks for being her, Jazzi, and for calling everyone. I'm just not in the right mind to do so..." her voice faded away as she turned her gaze back to the window. If she was going to survive, she had to stop worrying so much, and stop letting things bother her. She had to pull herself together, be the Keely she used to be before Blaze. For herself, for her family, her friends, but also for the little life she now was responsible for.

"The Ole' Ball Game"chap 5

Chapter 5

Spotlights swung in the room as the happy couple emerged into the dining hall, Jazzelle couldn't help but wipe at her eyes when the dj announced T.C. and Bethanie
for the first time in public. Everything was changing, and somehow that made her happy and sad at the same time.

Lidia thwacked her on the back, "It's okay, Jazzi, I'm sure they'll stop playing country music sooner or later."

"Later.."sighed Charity from across the table, "Much later."

Jazzi laughed and wiped at her eyes feigned crying in light of the music selection, "I'm trying so hard to adjust, y'all, but I just can't."

"Oh shut up and dance!" shouted Altan above the sounds of merriment from the dance floor.

Shaking her head, she stood and walked across the dance floor narrowly escaping a slew of people who'd taken to a conga line, Jazzi waved to Bethanie and T.C.
"I just wanted to come and say congratulations, and that we'll miss you all." She did her best to smile, yet tears began to burn at the back of her eyes as Bethanie's
tears slipped down her cheeks.

"Thank you, Jazzi, for everything." she whispered, pulling her into a hug.

"You're worth it." she winked at T.C. and talked for a few minutes to Shadow and Shiloh who looked ready for a nap. When she managed to escape, she crept toward the door hoping no one would follow her this time. For some reason she couldn't get alone at this reception. Not enough time to think about anything. Sighing, she let the door close softly behind her, and walked out to where you could see the entire city. Street lights twinkled off of windows on the buildings making it look like a thousand stars lit the city. The darkness was welcome after the harsh lighting in the church and then the reception hall. Her polite smile had long since warn off and she felt like crying her eyes out. Inside that hall sat everything she'd worked so hard to achieve, yet everything she hated. Change.

A hand snaked around her waist, and Jazzi nearly jumped out of her skin. Turning swiftly, she came face to face and most definitely within kissing range of Daemyn.

"Hi." he whispered, a smile stretched his face.

Eyes widening she watched him and then omitted a breathless, "Hi" of her own.

Chuckling, he took advantage of the situation and pressed his lips against her's. Fireworks seemed to explode around her, a satisfied sigh crossed her lips as he smiled at her. "Wow," she hissed smiling back at him.

"Yeah, wow." he laughed again and tilted his head, "So why are you standing all alone out here? Seems to me that the party is inside."

"I don't know..I'm not enjoying all of the flirting at my table, nor am I enjoying thinking about all of the changes that are happening. It's too much, too fast Daemyn. What am I going to do without my friends?" in one breath she'd let out all of her anxietys and fears to the man she'd only known a few months.

He sighed and pulled her close, "You're not losing them, and everything changes Jazzelle. From what I hear, you're the one who pushed for those changes. Listen to them in there they are happy. Seems to me the change was for the best."

"What if it wasn't though..what if in a few months they stop being so happy? What if I lose them all? What if I lose you?" she looked into his eyes and nearly lost her breath with the emotion she saw in those brown depths.

"You're not losing anyone or anything. You're gaining, new friends, new family, and most importantly new love."

His sincerity took her breath away, and made her long to have a lasting love like she knew her friends had found with a little help. Somehow she couldn't help but hope that that lasting love was with the man she stood in front of today.

--

Daemyn stuffed the last box into the moving van and sighed as he watched Jazzelle discreetly wipe tears from her eyes. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

She sighed, "Yes eventually. I hate that you're leaving so soon. I'll miss you." Slowly she walked toward him and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder.

Rubbing her back, he sighed feeling helpless, "I'll be back, and we'll talk every night. Remember?"

She nodded against him, yet her tears still wet his shirt.

"I really should get going." he hated having to just leave like this, but the date he'd be moving back had moved up on account of his work. What needed to be done, needed to be done.

As if in physical pain, Jazzelle slowly straighten and pulled herself away from him. He kissed her one last time, before climbing into the van and starting it. He honestly felt like crying himself as he drove away and watched her stand in front of his apartment crying her eyes out. Sighing he vowed to call her as soon as possible, and try to make it back sooner rather than later. There was something incredibly special about that woman, and he so wanted to make her his forever.

--

The darkness enveloped the street and Keely paced on her front porch worrying indefinitely. Where was Blaze? He was supposed to pick her up two hours ago for a doctors appointment. Now, it was far past her appointment, but he'd called a half hour ago to say he'd take her out to dinner. A late dinner at that, apparently. Her stomach growled alerting her to just how late it was, and to how hungry she was. Which only served as further reminder that Blaze was no where to be seen.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity the car pulled up and he waved smiling the smile she couldn't resist. Instead of asking questions, she simply got into the car.

"Hi love." he smiled sweetly and leaned over to kiss her.

"Where have you been?" she asked, pushing him away with the strength she hadn't worried away.

"You know, out." he said with a shrug as if he didn't care he'd nearly worried her to death.

"No, I don't know. I had a doctor's appointment today Blaze..I had things to do. And you just blew me off, as usual. What's wrong with you lately?" worried she stared at him, hoping he'd straighten himself out. Instead, she watched horrified as he sped toward a tree on the edge of the road, "BLAZE!" she screeched.

But, she didn't see him straighten the wheel and fix it like he had in the past when he'd been joking with her. This time they sped into the tree, and her entire world went black. Her last thoughts were of her unborn baby, and if he or she could survive the impact they'd just incurred. Delirious with shock, she hummed the last few strains of a lullaby her mother had sung her as a child until she could no longer hum.

"The Ole Ball Game" chap 4

Chapter 4

Jazzi sighed, "You really don't have to walk me up to my door. It's fine. You didn't have to follow me home either, I'm quite capable of..."

Just as she was about to continue her rant, his finger came to her lips to silence her.

"I know that I didn't have to, I wanted to." he smiled, "Can we sit on your porch swing?"

Nodding slowly, she watched as he walked up onto her porch, instead of standing and staring like a mindless idiot, she walked up after him.
"It really isn't anything special, but I love sitting out here to think or pray."

Together they sat in the silence that surrounded her apartment, until she began to get sleepy and laid her head on his shoulder. Half waiting
for him to ask her to move, she waited, listening as he began to hum softly.

Her eyes began to close, even though she fought it with all she had. She could not fight the knowledge that he was the one. Maybe others
would doubt she could know so soon, however she couldn't. Looking up at him, into the eyes that made her tingle on the inside, made her smile.
Smile like she never had before, because something in those eyes told her he'd be here forever. "Do you think we could do this more often?" the whispered
words hung between them in the night air swirling until she thought they could swirl no more. He wasn't answering. What was wrong?

Daemyn's brown eyes closed tight, "I have to tell you something, Jazzi. I didn't want to tell you because I was having such a good time, but..you need to know."

Sighing, she sat up "I figured something couldn't be right."

"I'm only here in New York for six months. I don't live here all of the time, Jazzelle. I would now that I've found you, but I need to go back." he paused, sighing.
"I spent most of my six months chasing you, and now I've got to go back next month without knowing how things would turn out between us. Are you willing
to see how things would work out with a long distance relationship?" his hand came to clasp her's.

Slowly, she seemed to grasp what he was saying. He was leaving next month, going who knows where. The only guy she'd actually cared enough about to date.
"I suppose we could. I don't really want to see anyone else." she whispered, feeling like her heart was being ripped out of her chest.

"Really?" his eyes sparkled like the stars that now lit the sky.

She felt her smile returning, "Really. Can you come over tomorrow night? I'll make dinner, we can watch some movies?" Feeling somewhat needy, she pressed her
head against his shoulder again.

"Yeah, of course." she could sense he was happy, and somehow that freed her mind. Closing her eyes once more, she drifted off to sleep with the sound of his humming and heart beat her lullaby.

--

Looking at his watch, Daemyn sighed, he really should wake her up and get home. However, the feel of her in his arms and her sweet breath on his cheek made him
want to sit on the porch swing for the rest of his life. Instead, he touched her back, "Jazzelle." he breathed softly, hoping not to scare her.

"Hum?" she mumbled, turning to look up at him.

"It's time for me to leave, honey." he knew she wouldn't appreciate sleeping there all night long, at least not in the morning when her back bothered her from the wood
that would surely cut into her.

"Oh..I'm so sorry. I don't know what possessed me to...ah.." her cheeks turned the color of a tomato as she tried to cover up her embarrassment.

"It's fine, I enjoyed myself." he smiled and leaned over kissing her cheek softly.

"Are you sure you don't secretly hate me for falling asleep in the middle of our conversation?" her eyes had turned a deep green color as she stared at him, wide-eyed.

"I could never hate you Jazzelle. Just the opposite in fact. Now I'd better get going before I'm tempted to stay." he smiled again and kissed her other cheek.

"Thank you for such a lovely evening, Daemyn. I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked as she walked toward her front door and clasped the door knob between her hands.

He nodded, "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

When the door closed behind her, he sighed. That woman did something to his insides that no one else could. Warmth flowed through his body, and he felt like he was
walking on cloud nine. He despised the thought of leaving New York next month, but he'd take something new with him. The relationship with Jazzelle Douglass.
He had a feeling that he'd carry that with him for the rest of his life.

--

Bethanie worriedly chomped on her fingernails as she watched the scenery pass by her window on the way to Jazzi's apartment.

"Stop worrying, their all going to keep in touch with you." T.C. reached for her hand, tugging it out of her mouth.

"But...I hate leaving them, T.C. Their my family." just as she uttered the words they came to a stop in front of Jazzi's house.

T.C. smiled and smoothed his hand over the ring he'd placed on her finger only moments before. "We'll make do. We'll come back every weekend if we have to.
This is our dream, baby. We need to make it a reality."

She nodded, "You're right. Let's do this."

Linking her hand with his, Bethanie walked up the steps to Jazzelle's front porch and knocked on the screen door. "Yoo hoo, anyone home?"

"Coming!" Jazzi's voice beckoned from the inside, "Well, well, well, how unexpected. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"This." Bethanie announced, feeling as if her face would fall off from the smile that held there.

The ring seemed to weigh her entire hand down, what T.C. had been thinking when he bought it was far beyond anything she could imagine. He'd
had Shiloh and Shadow bring it to her door step this very morning. It had taken until now for all of the festivities to die down. Along with the ring, he'd
brought all of them to see the new home he'd purchased. A ranch home a few states over, beautiful land, trees, cattle. Her heart seemed to thud to a
stop thinking about that. She'd be moving far away from the family and friends she knew to start her new life. But a wonderful life it would be, she realized
as she stared into T.C.'s eyes.

"Oh my!" exclaimed Jazzi, leaning over to inspect the ring further. "So any idea when the big day will be?"

"As soon as possible, so we can move to the ranch." said T.C. finally speaking.

"What ranch?" Jazzi's smile haulted as she took in their now pale faces.

"We're moving, Jazzi. As soon as we get married...." A clog the entire size of Texas seemed shoved into her throat as she watched Jazzi transform from a
happy individual to a sobbing one.

"You're leaving." her voice was flat as she stared at the two of them.

They nodded in unison.

"I see...well.." she seemed to pause to collect herself. "We'll have an incredible time planning the wedding and the good-bye party. I won't let you leave without
a party." she smiled emotionally before hugging Bethanie. "Nothing will change between us. I'll make sure of it."

"The Ole Ball Game"chap 3

Chapter 3

The summer breeze tickled the wind chime Jazzi had set on her porch, the tingling only serving to make her
more nervous. Keely had called early this morning to say she needed to tell her something important. Since
seven o'clock, Jazzelle had been sitting on her front porch staring into the expanse before her house and wondering
just what that important thing could be. The trees swayed in the breeze, the soft buzz of bumble bees whizzed by her head, yet
her focus was still one of her best friends. Finally, Keely's car pulled into the drive way. With a sigh of relief
Jazzi watched her climb from the driver's side and nearly skip to the porch.

"I couldn't wait to get here and tell you. Blaze doesn't even know yet, but I had to tell someone!" Keely hugged Jazzi as she took the
seat beside her on the porch.

"I can't wait either. What is it, Keely?" she asked, fully knowing she was pushing Keely to tell her. She had a right though,
calling and waking her up at seven in the morning only to make her wait all afternoon to find out.

Keely bit her lip then shrieked, "I'm pregnant, Jazzi."

"Pregnant?" Jazzi shrieked with her friend before pulling her into a hug. "Oh that's exciting! So exciting. You HAVE GOT to tell Blaze right away."

"I know, I know, but I wanted to wait until he got home from work and tell him. Then I couldn't wait any longer, so I had to come and tell you." Keely
smiled wide and tried to sit still in her seat.

"Well, this is simply going to be the most spoiled child in the history of spoiled children. First in our group to have a baby!" Jazzi exclaimed,
secretly envious of her friend. She was the one, after all, who was the eldest of the women in their group. Yet, everyone else seemed to pass
her by like she was standing still. What was she doing about it? Nothing. That's right, nothing.

"I know, I know. Wait until everyone else finds out! I can't wait." Keely exclaimed, just as she was about to open her mouth to say more, her cell
phone began to ring in her purse. "One sec., Jazzi."

Jazzelle nodded.

Keely smiled as she answered, "Oh yeah, hi baby. Yeah I'll be right there." After she'd finished talking, she hung up her cell phone and dropped
it back into her purse. "Blaze has a lunch break, so I'm going to go tell him. I cracked and left a message on his cell phone." her friend smiled
sheepishly and shrugged.

"Well go! Go and tell the man already." she smiled at her friend and hugged her again. "I'll start working on a baby shower. It might take me nine months
to get it to be good enough."

Keely chuckled, "Yeah, right. I'll see you later. Give me a call and let me know how it goes with Daemyn. Before long, I'll be planning a baby shower
for you all."

"Oh shush." she called after Keely.

Long after Keely had gone, Jazzi sat on the porch staring into the distance. Her heart pounded with the loneliness she felt, it coursed through her blood stream
alerting every unhappy pore of her body. Why was it that every one else found it so easy to fall into love, yet she sat here dragging her feet? The alarm on
her watch alerted her it was time to get ready for her date with Daemyn, her heart gave a leap. Something about this man was different. The question was,
was it time to stop dragging her feet? Only time would tell.

--

Daemyn looked down at his watch and then back at the horizon again, it was nearly ten minutes past the time Jazzi had set for them to meet. Was she coming?
Sighing, he sat back and propped himself up on his elbows, keeping an eye on the happenings of the park. A family passed him, two little girls fighting over
a big beach ball ran past, then two teenagers who were aimlessly wandering the park. Yet, still no sign of Jazzelle. He should have known. Lidia and Charity
told him it might be this way, but he had hoped that she'd felt the connection to him that he had to her. Closing his eyes, he absorbed the sun's rays, enjoying the
warmth on his face, the breeze at his back. Then he felt it. The electrical current that zapped him everytime he stared into Jazzelle's eyes. The one that now traveled from his toes all the way to the top of his head and back down again.

"I've had a few guys stand me up, but never one fall asleep on me." the soft voice compelled him to open his eyes and stare up at her.

"I wasn't sleeping, I was merely wondering if you'd ever show up." he winked at her.

"Of course, I couldn't stand a good looking man up. Especially with my sisters on my hind parts about it." she smiled and sat down beside him.

Daemyn found himself chuckling at her and leaning closer, intrigued by the glimmer in her eye and the smile on her face. "Sounds like you've
had an interesting day."

Jazzelle nodded slowly, "They wouldn't leave me alone for a minute, 'Are you getting ready?' 'Are you sure you'll go?' I was about to cancel
just to get at them."

Laughing again, he looked toward the picnic basket that sat beside her, "So are you going to share what's in the basket or are you going
to leave me here in suspense?"

She shook her head, "Suspense."

He feigned being hurt and opened his mouth wide, "I'm shocked!"

They were laughing together now, and she opened the picnic basket. "I suppose I could share, everything but the dessert. I automatically claim
anything chocolate."

"I've heard you're something of a chocoholic." he winked again.

Jazzi nodded, "That I am, kind sir, that I am."

--

Lidia handed the binoculars to Altan, "See I told you their adorable together." she hissed.

"I think you are adorable..adorably insane, but adorable. We're hiding here in the bushes Lidia. The bushes! This is not fun, nor cute. Why? Why
in the name of the Lord and all things that are holy are we spying on your friend and her new date in the bushes?" he tossed the binoculars aside.

"Because she did it to all of us. I don't know. It's just fun, that's all. And since Charity is on her honeymoon, you're my new accomplis." she informed him, poking
him in the chest. "You are all I've got right now."

"Oh gee, that was the most romantic thing I've heard ever. Although, you look especially sexy in this light if I do say, and with leaves and twigs in your hair. I
can barely keep my hands off of you." he replied with a cocky smile as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Really now? I thought you'd come up with a new Ludia scheme. Say you like Ludia more because she doesn't crouch in bushes or have friends." she found herself
nearly cackling as he tugged her closer to himself.

"Your friend is going to notice laughing in the bushes."

She shrugged, "So what? C'mon we'll get out of the bushes if it means that much to you." With one hand she grabbed the binoculars, with the other she tugged his
hand.

"Oh no, now you've got me in these bushes..uh uh. I'm not getting out until I get a kiss." he tugged her back into the bushes, pressing his lips against her's.

Just as things were getting good, truly good, the branch holding their combined weight snapped, leaving them both rolling down a hill. The light blinded Lidia, until
she came face to face with Jazzi.

"Um hi." she ground out, tugging herself out of Altan's grip.

Jazzi smiled and reached for a twig that apparently stuck out of Lidia's hair, "Having fun at the park, Lidia?"

"I'd say so." piped up Daemyn from beside Jazzi as he watched Lidia and Altan get up from the ground.

"We were having a terrific time in the bushes until Ludia got jealous and snapped that there twig from under us." Altan feigned an accent as he chuckled and
removed more debris from Lidia's hair.

Lidia stomped on his foot, "Shut up. We are having a terrific time..what about you?" she raised an eyebrow and watched as Jazzi and Daemyn burst into laughter.
"I can see we're disturbing you, so you just call me when you're through here, Jazzi." Huffing, she grabbed Altan's hand and tugged him away from the picnic.

"I love it when you talk rough to me." he grinned and pulled her toward him again.

"Oh shut up, we're going home."