Bette tried to hurry down the aisle, grimacing as her legs brushed against the knees of several people. “Excuse me… sorry, excuse me… sorry…” She groaned inwardly. Why did their seats have to be in the middle of the row?

Finally she was there, Tina and Angie were sitting there enjoying themselves, and her empty seat was still there. Bette sank into it gratefully, then passed Tina the hot dog she’d gone to get.

“Hey, you okay?” Tina asked.

“I’m fine. Did I miss anything?”

Tina laughed. “You must know how this game is, even if you don’t like sports. And anyway, I don’t think you would be able to understand it if I explained to you what happened.”

“I already know the rules,” Bette muttered. She’d learned them, once upon a time, in an effort to impress her father.

“Want a bite of this?” Tina waved the hot dog tantalizingly, pulling Bette out of her thoughts.

Bette felt her face start tingling with nausea. “Absolutely not.”

Tina nudged Angie. “Look baby, your mama’s face is green.”

Angie looked up at her other mother with wondering eyes, then began giggling.

Tina took a large bite of her hot dog and winked at Bette. “Mmm, this is good. You sure you don’t want a bite?”

“Yes, Tina, I’m sure.” It was bad enough she’d had to carry that thing in her hand. She’d had to hold her breath as she carried it back to their seats; the smell of the amalgamation of meats made her ill. Bette looked down with distaste at the tray of nachos, cheese congealing, that was in Angie’s lap. She hadn’t been crazy about giving their daughter junk food, but Tina had insisted that eating crap was part of the whole “going to a baseball game” experience. The little girl was chowing down on M&M’s at the moment. She had on a brand-new Yankees hat and so did Tina, purchased on their way into the stadium. Bette had passed on the merchandise. She would never wear it again, anyway, even if the Philadelphian in her instinctively wanted to side with any rival of the Mets.

They had been given tickets to this particular game as a welcome gift from Tina’s boss. Bette didn’t want to go, but Tina had convinced her to come, with a whole spiel about how all New Yorkers had to see a game from at least one of the four major league sports. Bette had reluctantly decided to come along, against her professional sports-hating instincts. She found baseball to be the most boring of all, but a small part of her had to admit that the general air of excitement humming all around her was fun. And the fact that Angie and Tina were there made it all the more bearable.