Coatesville

Miranda and her father were one of just a few couples on the dance floor. They were both pretty good dancers, but they were mailing this one in. Halfway through the song, an exhausted Miranda pretty much collapsed against her father, who held her up as they swayed back and forth. Just like her mom, Jim though to himself.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been this tired.”

“It’s a good tired, right?”

“It’s a very good tired. It’s been amazing. I’ve just got no energy left.”

“Well, I appreciate you suffering through one more dance with your old man.”

“Oh, stop it with that old stuff.” She smiled at him.

They danced in companionable silence for a minute before Jim spoke softly into Miranda’s ear.

“Your mom and I are so proud of you. About everything. You know that, right?”

She pulled back a little so she could look at him, and he saw the emotion cross her face. “I know, dad. Thanks. For everything.”

He smiled at her as she leaned against him again. He was remembering another conversation. It hadn’t always been this way. His daughter had more than the usual dose of youthful rebelliousness. Jim could handle that, but she then had seemed to turn sullen and cynical, dated guys that Jim couldn’t stand, and teetered on the edge of flunking out of college. Jim wondered where the warmth and compassion that she got from her mother had disappeared to, and for a time they rarely spoke.

He even completely lost his temper with her once, the one and only time in his adult life he truly snapped. She was home for Thanksgiving, but it hadn’t been much of a fun family time. She seemed annoyed with the world and full of attitude. She was out late Saturday night and didn’t even have the courtesy to pretend she wasn’t hung over Sunday afternoon. Pam made a remark to her about it, and as Jim walked into the room, Miranda had sharply told Pam to get off her case. Jim, usually patient and controlled even when he was angry, erupted at his daughter. The afternoon wound up with a tearful Miranda hurriedly packing and leaving and Jim seeking reassurance form a shocked Pam that he hadn’t lost his daughter forever.

Even as he despaired, Pam had remained steady, reassuring Jim that she would be okay, that she’d come out the other side soon. And little by little, she did. The warmth returned to her voice, her grades picked up, she stopped acting vaguely pissed off at the world. She graduated from Penn State, albeit in five years, and when Jim and Pam arrived for her graduation, she shocked her dad by breaking into tears when she saw him.

“I’m sorry, daddy.” She hadn’t called him daddy in forever. He held her close, touched but baffled.

“Sweetheart, what in the world are you sorry for?”

She looked up at him, tears of emotion still flowing. “Just you know, the way I’ve…just for everything.”

He pulled her close, told her it was okay, that he was proud of her. After that, the bruises in their relationship had quickly healed.

The rough patch seemed a distant memory now as he danced with her. She reminded him so much of her mom, the curls in her hair, the warmth in her eyes, the way her voice got slower and softer when she was tired.

He had loved the past few months, watching her and Pam plan the wedding, seeing them work as a team. They had excited conversations about things he didn’t understand, and every now and then would unexpectedly ask his opinion. He sometimes couldn’t tell if they were teasing him or not. He really didn’t have a strong opinion about what color the napkins should be. “My job in this operation is to write the checks,” he would say.

“And you’re very good at it,” Pam replied.

The song ended, and he hugged Miranda tightly. “I love you, daddy.”

“Love you too, sweetheart.”

Derek approached and wrapped his arm around her, smiling warmly at Jim. Derek had always been alright by him. Jim knew a thing or two about real love, and could see from the first time he met him that Derek felt it for his daughter. They had never had to worry about his approval.

Jim strolled off the dance floor as Derek and Miranda started dancing. As he found a seat, he wondered with a slight twinge of anxiety how Pam was doing with Seth.

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The post game traffic was heavy as they made their way towards their hotel. “We’re splurging, Pam. The finest hotel in Omaha!” They didn’t care though. The excitement from the game was still surging through them, Pam talking excitedly, Jim grinning from ear-to-ear.

“I hope the Phillies’ scouts were there to see that,” said Jim as he inched forward in the rented Mercedes.

“What if the Mets draft him? What are you gonna do then? I will not have you rooting against my son, Jim Halpert.” Her voice was still raspy, a happy reminder of the game.

“Pam, this is a happy night. Are you trying to give me nightmares?”

“Maybe he’ll pitch for San Francisco. Or San Diego. Or Hawaii. And you‘ll take me to see every game he pitches.”

“Pam, Hawaii doesn’t have a team. We’ve been over this.”

“I know. You could take me there anyway, though.”

“I will Pam, I promised you. Right after I retire.”

“I don’t want to wait that long.”

Jim was silent, and Pam looked at him and saw that he was smiling slightly.

“You can’t even wait until September?”

Pam’s eyes lit up. “Wait, Jim…really?”

“Totally. Ranny finally graduated, Seth is probably set for life after that game, we’re in pretty good shape. And I’ve…I think I’ve about had enough. I’m tired of walking out the door every day. The only question is, are you gonna be able to stand having me around all the time?”

“It will be a heavy cross to bear, but I think I’ll manage.” Her voice sparkled with delight.

She took his hand. “When did you decide this, anyway?”

“When we were planning this trip, and I was having to worry about missing meetings and covering all my bases, and I don’t know…I just thought is it really worth it? How great would it be if we could just go anywhere anytime and I could just putter around the house and drive you crazy all the time. And I talked to Ken about it and he ran the numbers and they looked okay. And…”

He paused. “I know, I’m sorry. I should have talked to you. I guess I kinda wanted to surprise you and not get your hopes up if it didn’t seem like a good idea.”

“Well, you should have discussed it with me, Mister. You owe me big time.” Her mock indignation couldn’t hide her happiness. “I guess, maybe, two weeks in Hawaii will get you off the hook though.”

“Two weeks, huh?” I guess we can swing it. We can always borrow a few bucks from Seth.”

“How much is he gonna get now do you think?”

“I don’t know. I’m worried I’ll jinx it if I’m too optimistic. And of course he never wants to talk about it. His coach told me he’s pretty sure he’ll go in the first round, though, and that was before tonight. If he goes mid-first round…five or six million, maybe?”

“You should have pitched. Much better pay than sales, and you could have retired a long time ago.”

“But how would I have met you if I was a pitcher?”

“Good point. Good thing for me you just wanted to sell paper.”

“Well, I was always in it for the chicks, of course.”

“Chicks?” She looked at him pointedly.

“Well, chick.”

“That’s more like it.”

They fell into contented silence for a few minutes, and then Pam spoke casually. “When you talked to Ran, did she say anything about this new guy?”

Jim looked a little wary. “No…I thought she had said she wasn’t dating. Did she say something to you?”

Pam looked a little sheepish. “Yeah…she seems pretty excited, actually. I think she’s a little afraid to mention it to you. You don’t exactly have a track record of giving her much approval in that area.”

Jim was silent for a moment. “I know. It’s just…you know I don’t want to be that dad, who automatically hates everyone his daughter dates. It’s just…I want her to be happy, you know? And that’s been hard to see, sometimes.”

“Jim, I know. You know I haven’t always cared for her choices either. I mean…c’mon. Pierced eyebrow Russ? It’s just…she sounded really excited this time. And she’s changed a lot. Remember how sweet she was at graduation? Maybe she’s ready, now. I don’t know. Just give it a chance, okay?

Jim took a breath. “Okay. I will. She is different. You were right, about her coming through whatever that was that was going on with her.”

“Of course I was right. Haven’t you learned in twenty-five years that I’m always right?” She shot him a challenging smile.

He paused for a moment, trying to decide just what to do with that comment. “I guess I’m a little slow. Maybe one of these days I’ll figure it out.”

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June 24, 2036

Seth cut loose a fastball, but it sailed high for ball four and the batter trotted to first to load the bases. He was struggling, pitching through a sore shoulder, just trying to keep his team in the game. The game was tied at three in the fifth inning with two out. He had labored all night and knew he wouldn’t be pitching the sixth, but if he could just get one more out then he could leave the game with some dignity. Maybe they would say, “He didn’t have his good stuff, but he battled and kept his team in the game.” Every game now was big. He could be called up to the major leagues any day to make his debut.

The count went to 2-2, and he knew his best curve would send the big dumb lefty slugger he was facing back to the dugout. His curve hadn’t been breaking very well, so he focused on snapping it off hard. He made the pitch and the batter swung and missed for strike three, but Seth never saw it. A lighting bolt of pain flashed through his shoulder as he released the ball, and for a brief moment, he thought he would go to the ground. He recovered and tried to compose himself, tried to be nonchalant, but it was no use. The trainer and his manager were already looking at him with great concern, and the pain was like nothing he had ever felt before.

He made it to the dugout, but he could tell by the looks he got that his poker face wasn’t fooling anyone. He felt dizzy, and just when the pain started to ease another bolt would shoot through him. His teammates looked concerned, and a little shaken. The trainer ushered him towards the clubhouse, and his thoughts turned sickeningly towards the future. Would he miss his next start? Would he be out for weeks? For months? Would he ever pitch again? Strangely, Ran’s wedding crossed his mind. Would they let him fly out for it? He hated the thought of missing it, and especially hated the thought of everyone at the wedding worrying about him when they should be focused on Ran.

His thoughts were interrupted by the trainer asking him questions. He realized he needed to pull himself together or it would seem like an even bigger deal. “It’s been a little sore, nothing special though…yeah, curveball, tried to snap it off a little extra. Stupid, I know…yeah, I won’t lie to you, it hurts, kinda sharp and throbbing.”

He hated it, every bit of it. He had never been seriously hurt and maybe he even looked down a bit on those teammates who always seem to be suffering from this or that, missing their starts, blaming their bad pitching on injuries. He always took the mound when it was his turn. And he hated being fussed over and answering questions and seeing people look worried and sorry for him.

He wished he could just take a bunch of Advil and go to sleep and wake up in the morning and have it just be a little sore. Instead, the trainer kept asking him more questions and talking about MRIs and swelling and ice and muscles and joints and this and that and just wouldn’t fucking shut up. And then for some reason, almost to his embarrassment, he thought that he really just wanted to talk to his mom.