Not His Type (21 page)

Marcus picked up the phone from the night table. He
paced for a few moments to try to calm down before
making the call.

He dialed Ben.
“Hello?”
“Ben? It’s Marcus.”
Ben knew what he was calling about immediately. “I’ve

seen the paper, too, Marcus.”
“What the hell kind of crap is this?”
“The kind of crap that sells newspapers.”
“Well, I’m not standing for it. There is no way Cathy

did what they said.”
“I know, Marcus.”
“There has to be something we can do about it. Call

Martin.”
“I was going to suggest that we do just that. Martin’s a
big fan of yours. Maybe he can help get to the bottom of
it.”
“You know, those women were doing drugs in the
ladies’ room. Cathy heard them. Wait a minute. Martin
beefed up security at the club and I seem to remember there
was a security camera outside of the men’s room.”
“Yeah. So?”
“If there is a security camera outside the men’s room…”
Marcus began.
“There has to be one outside the ladies room.”
“Right.” He looked over at the clock. “It’s still early.
Give Martin a call and see if he can cue up the tapes from
last night. I know it’s Sunday morning but this is important. Tell him if he does this solid for me his nephews can
come to the stadium for batting practice before a game.”
“Good deal. I’ll get on it right away. By the way, how is
Cathy this morning?”
“Not good. She’s mortified, embarrassed and worried
about her children.”
Ben shook his head. “Poor thing.”
“I really want to make sure this is handled today. She’s
put up with so much in such a short period of time, I’m
amazed she’s still standing.”
“She certainly is a strong woman.”
“I know but even the strongest of women have a
breaking point and I’m afraid she’s nearing hers.”
“Don’t worry, Marcus. I’ll give Martin a call and get the
ball rolling.”
“Thanks, Ben. Keep me posted.”
He hung up the phone and walked back into the dining
room.
Cathy had her cell phone in her hand. As she stared at
the number pad she thought about all the big conversations
she’d had with her sons over the years. She’d had big talks
about school, language, choosing friends, drugs, lying and
sex. During the Lewinsky scandal the news had had more
sex than an R-rated film and Cathy had to explain what
oral sex was about ten years too soon. Now she had to call
them and somehow it seemed far worse than a few stains on
a blue dress.
Marcus entered the room. “Sweetie, did you make your
phone call yet?”
“Not yet. I will in a minute.”
“Okay. You can call from the bedroom if you like.”
“Thanks. I think I’ll do that.”
She went into the bedroom, bit the bullet and dialed. It
rang four times.
With a frog still in his throat, Alexander answered the
phone. “Hello?”
“Alex? It’s Mom.”
He was still groggy. “Mom, what time is it?”
“I know it’s early.”
He yawned. “What’s going on, Mom? You never call
this early on a Sunday morning.”
“I have to talk to you and your brother. Speaking of
Andrew, is he in his room?”
“I think so. What’s wrong, Mom?”
“Let me get your brother on the line and then we’ll
talk.”
“Okay.”
She pressed flash to get another line and dialed Andrew.
“Hello?” He was just a hair more awake than Alex.
“Hi Andrew. It’s Mom.”
“Oh hey, Mom.”
“Just hold for a second and I’ll patch your brother
through.”
She hit the flash button, “Alex?”
“Yeah, Mom, I’m here.”
“We’re both here now, Mom,” Andrew added.
“I know it’s not like me to call you so early on a Sunday
morning, but just so you know, there’s another item in the
gossip column today with my picture and a story about me
verbally accosting two women in the bathroom at Club Z.”
“What!” How could they print something like that?”
Alex asked.
“Simple. They had a couple of women who were willing
to tell a tall tale to sell papers.”
“You went to Club Z with Marcus Fox, right, Mom?”
Andrew asked.
“Yes. I did go to the bathroom and I saw the two
women from this story. I didn’t accost them verbally but I
did scare them enough to run out the bathroom when they
saw me.”
“What did they say, Mom?” Andrew pressed her.
“It’s not even worth mentioning.”
“Mom, don’t let it bother you. We know it’s not true.”
Cathy quietly took a deep breath. “I wouldn’t do
anything to embarrass you.”
“You could never embarrass us in a million years,
Mom.” Andrew said.
“Let’s see if you still feel that way when I break out the
baby pictures,” she joked.
They both groaned. “Not the baby pictures, Mom.”
She laughed. “I promise, no more baby pictures unless
of course you bring a girl home.”
“Oh, please don’t, Mom.” Alex pleaded.
“I’ll take it under advisement, okay?”
“Okay,” Alex agreed.
“I guess you can go back to sleep if you want.”
“French toast is on the breakfast menu once a week and
it’s today.”
“In which hall?”
“MJ,” Andrew answered.
“You’re going to walk all the way over there from your
dorm? That must be some French toast.” Cathy was
shocked.
“It’s not as good as yours but we have to settle for it
until we’re home for the holidays,” Andrew said.
She smiled. “When you come home for the holiday in
November I’ll make it for you.”
“Are you okay now, Mom?” Alex asked.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Now go on and get
dressed before you miss breakfast. I’ll talk to you both later.
Have a good one.”
“All right, Mom.”
Cathy wondered how she managed to have such great
kids. She thanked God every day for them.
Marcus walked into the bedroom.
“Did you talk to your kids?”
“I did. Since I told them before they could read about
it in the paper, everything will be fine.”
“How did they take it?”
“Pretty well. They know that kind of behavior is not my
style.”
“I know that’s a relief for you.”
“It is.” She sighed.
“I spoke with my agent and we got the ball rolling to
get a retraction.”
She gave him a weak smile.
“Honey, we’re taking care of it, I promise.”
“I know you are. I’ve just got a little headache, that’s
all.”
“Do you need an Advil or something?”
“Not right now. I think it’s more of a tension headache
than anything else. Maybe a hot shower will help.”
“That sounds like a good idea. Let me know if you need
anything.”
“I will.”
Once in the bathroom Cathy was on autopilot. She
turned on the water in the shower, adjusted the temperature and stepped into the shower. As soon as the water hit
her she broke down crying. She’d put on a brave face for
Marcus, E.D. and the kids; she didn’t want them to see or
hear her cry. A part of her wanted to go back home, crawl
into bed, pull the covers up over her head and hide. The
other part of her wanted to stay and face the music to prove
she could rise above this mess. She closed her eyes and
hoped the water would wash the tears down the drain.
Unbeknownst to Cathy, Marcus was standing in the
bathroom doorway. He watched her shoulders cave in
under the weight of all the week’s events including this
morning’s. His precious porcelain doll was about to break.
Suddenly Cathy felt a hand caress her neck and shoulders. She was so far in her head she hadn’t heard Marcus
come in. She half expected him to say something but he
didn’t. He just held her tight. There was no need for words,
even those three little words she’d wanted to hear this
morning. Somehow he knew Cathy just needed to be held.
Marcus turned her around to face him, and he shut the
water off. Cathy slowly opened her eyes as he wiped the
water from her face. He kissed her tenderly and she felt safe
for the first time that day.

With her bag already packed, Cathy watched Marcus
pack. She was impressed with how brief his routine was.
“I just can’t believe how quickly and neatly you pack
your suitcase. It takes me a week just to figure out what I’m
going to pack.”
He chuckled. “It’s taken years of practice.”
“I bet.”
“So have you heard from anyone else today?” he asked.
“I’m sure I have.” She looked away.
He looked confused. “You don’t know for sure?”
“I turned my phone off.”
“I can understand why you turned it off, but what if
your family was trying to reach you?”
“I can call them later.”
“I know you spoke with your kids. Now do me a favor
and call your sister.” He handed her the phone.
“All right, since you put it that way.”
She dialed her cell phone.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Anna, it’s me.”
“Cathy! I’ve been trying to reach you since early this
morning.”
“I had my phone off.”
“That was a silly thing to do. You could have at least
called this morning.” Anna was perturbed.
“I assume you read the paper so you know why my
phone was off. I called Andrew and Alex.”
“So you headed the bull off at the pass.”
“It’s not like I had a choice in the matter. I didn’t want
them to hear about it from anyone else.”
“I hear that.”
“The boys were good about it. Still, I think I may take
a trip up there before parents’ day next month.”
“Just to be sure, right?”
“It can’t hurt.”
“Are you coming back tonight?”
“Mm hmm. The Yankees are on the road this week.”
“Oh yeah. That’s right. Where are they going?”
“Baltimore and Tampa. They’ll be back at the stadium
next Monday.”
“Oh, okay. Before you ask, I stocked up on yeast and
flour.”
“Good. That was my next question. You got more than
five pounds of flour, right?”
“What do you think?”
Cathy shook her head. “Good, I need as much dough
therapy as I can get.”
“I’ll be sure to stay out of your way.”
“Good idea.”
“I guess we’ll talk in more detail when you’re not in the
same room with Marcus.”
“That’s the idea.” She sighed. “I have to get going.
Louis will be here soon. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Later.”
As soon as Cathy hung up, Marcus looked at her
strangely. “Dough therapy? What’s that?”
“You know how you use the batting cage and driving
range to de-stress.”
“Yes.”
“Bread dough lets me work out my frustrations.
Hauling off and hitting the person that pissed me off in the
first place is a felony. At least my method results in some of
the best bread you’ve ever had.”
He laughed. “Is that your sense of humor peeking
through?”
“I guess it is.” She shrugged her shoulders.
Marcus’s cell phone rang. He checked the caller ID.
“Oh, honey, I have to take this call. Will you excuse
me?”
“Sure.” Cathy stretched out on the bed and savored her
last few moments of luxury.

“What’s the word, Ben?”
“I contacted Martin and met him over at the club’s
office to go over the videotapes. The tape showed one of the
club’s waitresses going into the bathroom before Cathy.
Martin contacted her and it turns out that she heard everything. So we called the paper so she could give her statement.”
A weight lifted off Marcus’ chest. “That’s fantastic,
Ben.”
“The paper is printing a large retraction in tomorrow’s
edition. You know you owe Martin big for this, right?”
Marcus was overjoyed. “Not a problem. Tell him when
I get off the road just bring his nephews to the stadium. I’ll
hook them up.”
“Done deal.”
“Thanks again for doing this, Ben. It will be music to
Cathy’s ears.”
“What are agents for?”
“Good. See you over at the stadium.”
“Later, man.”
Marcus couldn’t wait to tell Cathy but just as he entered
the room the intercom buzzed.
“Mr. Fox?”
“Yes?”
“Your car is here.”
“Thank you. We’ll be right down.”
Cathy checked around the room to see if she’d forgotten
anything.
“Okay, honey. Louis is downstairs. I’ll take your bag.”
“Thanks.”
They left the apartment and got into the waiting car.
Louis closed the door.
“Honey, I have some good news for you.”
“As long as it’s not about car insurance, I’m all ears,” she
joked.
He laughed. “It’s not about car insurance. That was a
good one Cathy.”
“Actually it was a little lame but I’m trying to keep my
sense of humor.”
“Try no more. The paper is going to print a retraction
in tomorrow’s edition and it’s going to be a great big,
obvious retraction.”
Cathy was elated. “Thank you so much. How did you
do it?” She hugged him.
“Ben got on it and we found out there was another
woman in the bathroom who heard the whole thing. She
gave her statement to the paper today.”
Cathy was stunned. “How did they know there was
another woman in the ladies’ room?”
“From the security cameras near the ladies room. We
just asked the owner of the club to review it and bingo, a
waitress went in before you and came out after you.”
“I had no idea.”
“You can still sue. They shouldn’t have printed it
without confirmation.” He brushed her hair out of her
face. “It’s nice to see that cloud lift.”
“It’s nice to have it lifted.”
“Good.” He leaned forward. “Louis, we have a little
time. Can you take the scenic route?”
“Absolutely.”
“Thanks.” He rolled the glass between Louis and the
backseat up.
“The scenic route?”
Marcus unbuttoned the top of his shirt. “Yes, the scenic
route.”
Cathy grew nervous. “Ah, Marcus, what are you
doing?”
He kissed her. “What do you think I’m doing?”
“I don’t know. I’m just a poor girl from Long Island.”
He laughed. “You know that’s what I love about you;
you are refreshingly honest and virginal.”
“What you love about me?” she asked pointedly.
His mind was on one track and could not be derailed.
He was kissing her neck.
“Virginal? I have two children.”
“I know. But in a way your lack of…”
She interrupted him. “My lack of sexual experience or
track record, for that matter, makes me like a virgin
touched for the very first time.”
“Yeah, sounds good to me.” His neck kisses intensified.
“Stop, Marcus. That’s my weak spot.”
“I know.”
She whispered, “Louis is in the front seat.”
“He can’t hear a thing once I roll the window up.”
“Oh.”
“You know, I am so very glad you wore a skirt.” He had
unbuttoned and unzipped her skirt without batting an
eyelash.
“Marcus,” she weakly protested.
“I’m not going to see you until Friday. I have to wait all
the way to the end of the week. ” He kissed her again. “I
need something to tide me over.”
“A steady handshake won’t do?”
“Not at all.”
Cathy slid down the seat. “Marcus, I’ve never done this
before.”
He hovered over her. “That’s okay, baby. I promise I’ll
be gentle.”
She didn’t have a chance to say another word. Cathy
finally found out what it was like to make love in the backseat of a car, an experience usually reserved for horny
teenagers. She might not be a teenager, and it wasn’t your
average backseat, but it was worth the wait. By the time
they got to the stadium, the only scenery Cathy had
enjoyed was the limousine ceiling, but as far as she was
concerned, it was a better view than the Grand Canyon.
Cathy pulled herself together as they got closer to the
stadium.
Marcus kissed her neck again.
“You are amazing.”
“So are you.”
“You’re very limber and flexible.”
She raised her eyebrow. “You have yoga and pilates to
thank for that.”
“Thank you.”
She giggled and gave Marcus a squeeze. “I can’t believe
you’re not going to be here.”
“Neither can I.”
“Do you feel like you’re all set and tided over until
Friday?”
“Yes and no.”
“I beg your pardon?” she said.
“Yes, I have been tided over.” He kissed her hand. “And
no, I could never get enough of you.”
“You scared me for a minute.”
He laughed. “Don’t worry, you know I’m going to call
you.”
“There’s email and instant messaging, too.”
“Hopefully next week will go by quickly, until you
come to Tampa of course.” He winked.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Marcus rolled the window back down. They kissed
until it bordered on making out. Louis cleared his throat to
get their attention.
“Excuse me, Mr. Fox, but we’re here.”
They quickly regained their composure. “Thanks,
Louis.” Marcus helped her out of the car.
He put his arms around her. “I don’t want to go.”
“That’s sweet, honey, but this is what you love to do for
a living. Have a good game.”
“Thanks, sweetie.”
They nearly made out again while Melvin patiently
stood waiting. Cathy reluctantly pulled away.
“I don’t want you to be late.”
“Okay. I will definitely talk to you later.”
Cathy watched him as he walked away. Then something
told her to turn around. There were a couple of photographers just shooting away.
“Don’t they ever get tired?”
Melvin laughed. “Never.”
“I think you’re right about that, Melvin.”
“He’s definitely right about that,” Ben added.
“Mr. Bradford. How are you?”
“I’m very good, thanks. And you?”
“Much better and I hear that much of the credit
belongs to you.”
“I do what I can.” He turned to Melvin. “I can take her
from here, Melvin.”
“All right then. Enjoy the game, Ms. Chambers.”
“Thanks, Melvin.”
“How about we walk and talk?” Ben asked.
“Sure.”
“So how are you really, Cathy?”
“I’m good. None the worse for wear.”
“That’s good to hear. It’s been rather eventful, to say the
least.”
“Eventful is the word I’d use too.”
He chuckled. “You and Marcus have only been seeing
each other for a short time but I can see how much he cares
for you.”
She smiled. “The feeling is mutual.”
He looked at her. “You’re different for him.”
“I know. I’m not exactly a small woman.”
“No, no, no. Your being different has nothing to do
with your size at all.”
“Oh.”
“You’re the first woman I’ve seen in a long time who is
interested in Marcus the man and not Marcus the celebrity
ball player.”
“It’s hard not to be interested in the man Marcus is. I
think he’s wonderful.”
Ben smiled. “I can see that. By the way, in light of this
morning’s paper, security will escort you to the car after the
game. Louis will be waiting for you.”
“Terrific. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
They were at the suite.
“Well this is me. Would you like to join me?” Cathy
asked.
“Thank you, but I can’t. There’s a seat for me down
there.”
“Okay. It was nice talking to you.”
“Same here. I know we will see more of each other.”
“From your mouth.” She grinned as she entered the
suite.
Just before she sat down she decided to take advantage
of the suite’s bar service.
“What can I get you, miss?”
“A club soda with a twist, please.”
“That’s not a drink,” the woman behind her
announced. “You don’t want anything stronger, honey?”
She had a heavy Southern accent.
Cathy took a closer look. She was a tall, blond, voluptuous woman. “No, I don’t.”
“Neither do I. I was just pulling your leg. Hey, Mr.
Bartender, could you make that two club sodas?” she joked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Lord, I hate it when they call me ma’am.”
The bartender served two club sodas. He even put a
little umbrella in them.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you kindly, sir.” She put her hand out. “I’m
Phyllis La Fontaine. My friends call me Fil.” She spelled it
for Cathy.
Cathy shook her hand. “I’m Catherine Chambers. My
friends call me Cathy.”
“Nice to meet you, Cathy.”
“Same here.”
“Let’s just you and me get to know each other before
the game starts.”
“Sure.”
They sat down.
“You know, I don’t know how religious you are, but I
believe God sent me here today for a reason.”
Cathy was immediately wary. She had no intention of
indulging any more heebie jeebie people. She’d had enough
of that.
“I can see you’re skeptical. You see, my husband and I
were supposed to go to yesterday’s game but everything got
fouled up. So we had to switch to today’s game.”
Cathy was still wary. “I see.”
She smiled. “Then I read about you in today’s gossip
column and I thought to myself that you might be in need
of someone to talk to. Now here I am in the same suite with
you.”
Cathy immediately got defensive. “If this is about
trying to get a story or some kind of dirt on me, I’m not
having it.”
“No. Not at all. I guess I’m not saying this as plainly as
I should. You see Cathy, twenty-three years ago I was you.”
She was jolted. “I beg your pardon?”
“I’m married to Jerry La Fontaine.”
“The Jerry La Fontaine who played for the Kansas City
Royals?”
“The one and only. You really know your baseball, don’t
you?”
“For as long as I can remember.”
“That’s why I said I think God sent me here today so I
could talk to you.”
Cathy relaxed slightly. “Maybe He did.”
“I wanted you to know that you’re not alone. As you
can see, I’m a big girl and I’ve been one all my life. Back
then they didn’t have as many nice stores to buy jeans, tops
and dresses for full-figured women. We had those blasted
catalogs with designs so frumpy your grandmother
wouldn’t be caught dead in one at her own funeral.”
Cathy laughed. She remembered the catalogs. “I know
that’s the truth.”
She smiled. “Seeing as I was always a pretty good seamstress I made all my own clothes. I would look at a regular
pattern, then I would cut it to fit me so I would be as fashionable as the next girl. Then one night I went out with a
group of friends and lo and behold who walked in but Jerry
La Fontaine. Well, I can tell you almost every woman in the
place went crazy. They strutted and shook their moneymakers and put tissue in their bras. Hell, they did everything they could, short of getting buck naked in front of
him.”
Cathy laughed. “I bet they did. If memory serves me he
was one hot ticket with the ladies.”
“Oh yes, he was. Women were prepared to do anything
to get his attention—every woman in the place but me. You
see, I was always the fat friend who came along to hold their
purses while they danced. I didn’t think I could get his
attention. So imagine my shock when he asked me to
dance, but I got un-shocked quickly and got right on my
feet. That dance led to us dating. It also led to a lot of ugliness.”
“Really?”
“People would say, ‘Jerry’s dating that fat chick,’ and he
got razzed about it by some teammates and other
ballplayers. It wasn’t easy for either of us.”
“I know how you feel.”
“Other women were always sniping at me, too. A lot of
them let me know in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t good
enough to be with such a dynamic and good looking man.”
“I know how that feels, too,” Cathy sighed.
“Even some of my friends would encourage me to lose
a few pounds. I knew they had good intentions, but you
and I both know the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
Cathy nodded her head. “You’ve got that right.”
“It was hard but I didn’t let it change me. Jerry saw
something in me he liked, regardless of my size. I had no
reason to go messing with a good thing. Now we’ve been
married for 23 years.”
“Twenty-three years. That’s really nice.”
“What I’m trying to say to you is this: For a lot of
people athletes are the closest thing to physical perfection
we have here on earth. Naturally they expect the physical
perfection to include their lives outside of sports. They’re
used to seeing professional athletes with their cookie cutter
girlfriends and wives.”
“You know, I never thought of it that way.”
“That’s why they give you such a hard time. You don’t
fit into the mold and they can’t understand what Marcus
sees in you. Just like they couldn’t figure out what Jerry saw
in fat old me.”
“You didn’t feel persecuted?”
“I know it feels like persecution but we’re not witches to
be burned at the stake honey, we’re fat girls.”
She winced. “Don’t say that.”
“Why not? When I say it I take hold of the power and
they can’t use it to hurt me.”
“You have a point there.”
“I know I do. I didn’t go to college or take psychology
but I believe in that whole self-fulfilling prophecy thing. To
me, if you act like you’re fat and don’t deserve anything
good to happen to you, then that is exactly what will
happen. It has nothing to do with the fates, other people or
even God. You will have shot your own self in the foot.
Only one person is to blame for that.”
“You know, Fil, I think you just might be the smartest
person I’ve ever met. Whatever brought us together today,
I’m glad it did.”
“Aren’t you sweet? It’s so funny. When I saw that
column this morning I said to Jerry, ‘I wish I could talk to
her. She must be feeling totally isolated.’ ”
“I was. Marcus is very supportive and understanding
but I don’t think he could ever really know.”
“It is something that comes over time. Do yourself a
favor and don’t freeze him out. I think he’s the kind that
can handle it. Anyone who plays for the Yankees comes
from good stock.” She looked over her shoulder. “Shh.
Don’t tell Jerry I said that, he might take issue.”
Cathy chuckled. “I won’t.”
“Good. Now I know this game is fixing to start, but I
hope I’ve been able to help.”