Chances Are Read online

  “Thanks.” Maya smiled. “I really appreciate that.”

  “It’s not a problem.” He gave a departing wave. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Looks like you’re making friends already.” The elevator doors slid open, and Kari stepped inside. “It’s nice to know you’ll have someone who can help you out if you need it.”

  “Yeah.” The word was barely louder than a whisper.

  Kari looked over at her friend and noticed the white-knuckled grip she had on her suitcase. Kari wondered how she would feel if she was about to move into a place on her own, not knowing anyone, while facing a life-threatening illness. Then the simple fact hit her: she couldn’t begin to imagine it.

  * * *

  Maya followed Kari down the L-shaped hallway and into the apartment. Immediately, she felt like a trespasser. The curtains to the windows across the room were open, with the Washington Monument visible in the distance.

  Two long couches dominated the living room, and a large television hung over the fireplace. The kitchen was small and compact, tucked away from the rest of the living area, but the stainless-steel appliances appeared new. The entire apartment appeared to have been recently remodeled, but everything about it felt masculine, right down to the rack of baseball bats hanging on the wall and the lingering scent of aftershave in the air.

  “Are you sure this is okay with your brother?” Maya asked from the edge of the living area.

  “It’s fine.” Kari reached out and grabbed Maya’s arm, pulling her farther inside. “Come on. My brother won’t even notice you’re here, much less care. Last time I talked to him, he was so wrapped up in his girlfriend that he barely remembered my name.”

  Maya let herself get pulled into the room. Curious, she crossed to the window, her heart lifting a little when she noticed the trees lining the street below, their leaves alive with fall colors. She loved this time of year.

  “I’ll show you around.” Kari led the way to the cluster of doors on the far side of the room.

  She opened the first door on the right to reveal a combination bathroom and laundry room. The large bedroom beside it held only a full-size bed and a dresser, and simple blinds covered the windows, with a glass door opening onto a balcony.

  “This is your room.” Kari set Maya’s suitcase down inside the door.

  “I didn’t expect the guest room to be so big,” Maya said, putting her smaller bag inside as well.

  “The bedrooms are both around the same size, but my brother’s room has the walk-in closet and private bath.”

  “There are two bathrooms?”

  Kari nodded. “Ben wanted to make sure that when we came to visit he wouldn’t have to wait for the bathroom.”

  “I’m surprised he even bothered with a two-bedroom. I would have thought it would be more economical to just put your family up in a hotel when you came to visit.”

  “Ben likes the idea of having friends and family stay with him. Of course, after his success last season, he’s pretty much changed his tune and only lets family stay here now.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “A bunch of his high school buddies crashed here when he first got called up, and one of them made a copy of his house key. They came back when he was on the road and decided to stay here without asking. The apartment manager got complaints about the noise when their party got too loud, and when Ben got back a few days later, his place was trashed. He decided it was one thing to give free game tickets to his friends, but it was too much to open his home to them.”

  Uneasiness settled over Maya again. “Then why is he letting me stay here?”

  “You’re the exception.” Kari smirked as she crossed the hall to Ben’s bedroom. “Besides, it’s not like he’s even here right now, and you certainly aren’t asking for tickets to his games.”

  Maya looked around Ben’s room and once again felt like a trespasser. One of Ben’s jerseys was mounted in a large shadow box that hung on the wall, along with several framed photographs. Maya stepped closer to look, recognizing one as the day Ben was drafted. Others were of him with various celebrities—an actress from a recent hit movie, the host from one of the night shows, the starting quarterback from the Redskins.

  “It looks like your brother gets around.”

  “Yeah.” Kari nodded. “After spending the last couple of years in the minor leagues, he’s been enjoying the attention of being a star on his team.”

  “He’s done well for himself,” Maya said with a touch of regret hanging in her voice.

  “Hey, don’t start thinking like that.”

  “Like what?”

  Kari cocked her head to one side. “I know you, remember? I know how hard it was on you when you had to stop playing tennis.”

  Maya shrugged. “That’s all behind me now. There’s no use dwelling on what might have been.”

  “Maybe not, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s got to hurt,” Kari told her. “Besides, you never know—you might start playing again after you get through these treatments.”

  “At this point, I’ll be glad to make it to my twenty-first birthday.”

  “You’re already twenty,” Kari said pointedly. “Don’t you think you might want to aim a little higher than that?”

  Pain started at the base of Maya’s skull. She put a hand against the wall and closed her eyes to help her brace against it. She bit back the moan that tried to escape, but she couldn’t keep the sheen of sweat from appearing on her brow.

  When the worst of the pain subsided, she opened her eyes to see Kari waiting patiently. “Are you due for another pain killer?”

  She nearly shook her head before she spoke, but then she remembered how much the movement would hurt. “Not for another hour or so.”

  “Come on. Let’s go into the living room. You can get comfortable while I figure out something for lunch.”

  “You don’t have to wait on me, you know.”

  “I know, but you might as well let me since I’m only here for a couple days.” She waited for Maya to sit down on the couch before heading into the kitchen. She opened one cabinet after another and let out a sigh. “Well, so much for my brother leaving any food here. I guess we can just order out or pick something up on our way to your appointment.”

  “I can go to the grocery store in a little bit,” Maya offered. “I don’t always do very well eating restaurant food.”

  “Oh, that’s right.” Kari grabbed her purse off the counter and fished out a small notepad and pen. She plopped down on the couch opposite Maya. “Help me make a list, and I’ll go out now.”

  “Are you sure? After I take my next set of pills, I can go with you.”

  Kari shook her head. “You need food to take with your pills. Besides, this will give you a chance to rest a bit. Your appointment isn’t until two. It’s only eleven now.”

  Unable to argue with her logic, Maya nodded. They put together a basic grocery list, and then Kari left for the store.

  As soon as Maya was alone, she curled her legs up under her on the couch and closed her eyes against the next wave of pain.

  Chapter 3

  “You’re going to play baseball with a bunch of eight-year-olds and their dads instead of coming with me to a party that will be crawling with movie stars?” Ben didn’t miss the disbelief in Heather’s voice. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  “I promised my cousin David that I’d help with his son’s practices while I’m here.” Ben wasn’t sure he could explain how much he was looking forward to the Little-League practice. He had to admit he enjoyed being recognized when he was out and about in town, but there was nothing better than hanging out with a bunch of adoring kids, especially ones who shared his love of baseball.

  “Can’t you miss it just this once?” Heather asked with an artful toss of her long black hair. She sidled up to Ben and slipped her arms around his waist. “Parties like this don’t happen every day.”

  “From what I’ve heard, these parties te
nd to last all night,” Ben countered. He acknowledged to himself that he was tempted. After just finishing his rookie year as a major leaguer, he certainly hadn’t expected to be included in what was clearly an A-list event. In fact, he could hardly believe his life right now was real.

  At only twenty-three years old, he was already a shoe-in to start next year at second base, money was plentiful, and he had a girlfriend who had already graced the cover of a magazine. It might have only been a small, local advertisement circular, but who was he to argue about whether the advertisement had made her a star?

  One thing was certain: the stars would be out in Malibu tonight. But Ben knew that if he wanted his own star to continue to rise on the baseball diamond, he couldn’t afford to get sidetracked. He really was looking forward to the Little-League practice, but that wasn’t the only reason for his decision. He had a job to do, and that included following his workout schedule to the letter, right down to the 5:00 a.m. start time. When he went back to DC, he wanted to prove he was more than the guy who had made the last out in the play-offs.

  He wasn’t sure he was ready for this kind of party anyway. He’d heard the rumors. The drugs and drinking. The complete lack of morals. He might not always be the best about religious stuff, but he knew he didn’t want the kind of temptation and pressure he would likely have to deal with at the party.

  Besides, he had a reputation to protect. Throughout his childhood, his parents had taken him to church every week and taught him good Christian values. As a teenager, he had made the conscious choice to live by certain standards—standards that would prevent him from having any skeletons left behind to haunt him later. When he had been drafted right out of high school, the one thing he had promised his parents was that he would always strive to be the kind of person kids could look up to. He wasn’t about to break that promise after only one year in the majors.

  “Oh, come on. It’ll be fun.” Heather gave him a little pout. “I thought now that the season was over we were going to have more time to spend together.”

  “We are spending more time together,” he insisted. “We went out to dinner last night. We were out at the beach this afternoon.”

  “And we can go to this amazing party tonight,” Heather finished for him.

  “Look, if you want to go to the party that bad, then go,” Ben said, not really expecting her to agree.

  Ben could tell she was disappointed and annoyed when she said, “That would be weird if I went by myself.”

  He shifted so his hands were loosely around her waist. “Then stay here. After I finish with the kids’ practice, we can hang out, maybe catch a movie.”

  “You want to go to a movie instead of to the party?” she asked sarcastically.

  Now irritation rippled through him. “Like I said, if you want to go to the party so bad, then go.” He waved at the kitchen table. “The invitation is over there. It’ll get you in.”

  Her entire countenance changed in an instant. The irritation was gone, and he saw a glimpse of the girl he had fallen for nearly six months before. Her voice was all honey and sugar now. “Are you sure?”

  Ben hesitated. He considered convincing her not to go, already worried that she was getting too caught up in the world he had landed in.

  When he and Heather had met, she had been a breath of fresh air. He had been halfway through his first road trip when they had crossed paths in a restaurant in LA while he and the team were waiting for a table after their game. She had been so at ease with everyone that he’d forgotten to be in awe of the players he now called teammates. She and her friend had joined them that evening, and over the next few weeks, they had started talking and texting often.

  Girlfriends had always been easy to come by for him, but now he was beginning to wonder if she was as interested in him personally as she was in his social status. Early on, he hadn’t really cared one way or the other. As a rookie, it was easier to have someone calling herself his girlfriend than to have others constantly offering to take the title. Maybe now that the season was over, he needed to reconsider the reasons he and Heather were together and decide what he really wanted in a girlfriend.

  His cell phone rang, and his sister’s name illuminated the screen. He nearly ignored her call so he could finish his conversation with Heather but then remembered that Kari was in DC this weekend.

  “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to get this.” Ben hit the talk button. “Hey, Kari. What’s up? Did you get into my place okay?”

  “Yeah. I’m just heading to the store right now to pick up some groceries. I didn’t expect the cupboards to be completely bare. You were just here a couple weeks ago.”

  “Sorry. The cleaning lady probably threw everything out.”

  “Ben, there wasn’t even a can of soup in your place.”

  He heard the sarcasm in his sister’s voice, and his mood lifted a little. “I usually ate out or ordered in.”

  “Wait,” Kari said, taking a step back in the conversation. “You have a cleaning lady?”

  “I did,” Ben told her. “She came in once a month while I was there, and I asked her to do another cleaning after I left.”

  “Is she going to show up unexpectedly while we’re here?”

  “No,” Ben said. “I’m not planning on having anyone come in until I get back in April. So that means you need to clean up after yourself.”

  “Don’t I always?” she asked sweetly.

  “No, you don’t,” he said without hesitation. “If I come back to my place and find dirty dishes all over the apartment, I’m going to have to hurt you.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Kari said and changed the subject once more. “So when are you coming back to DC?”

  “I don’t know. I report for spring training in February, but I’ll probably go straight to Florida. Most likely, I won’t make it back to DC until late March when the team comes back to get ready for opening day.”

  “You know, if you can score me a ticket, maybe I’ll come for the season opener.”

  “You’ll still be in school.”

  “Yeah, but I can take a day or two off. Besides, I’d love for my friend Maya to see you play.”

  “I suppose you want me to get her a ticket too.”

  “You do make the big bucks.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.” Ben chuckled. He hung up the phone and tried to remember the last time he had laughed. He looked over at Heather, who now held the party invitation in her hand and was staring at it raptly. They certainly hadn’t laughed together since he’d moved to Los Angeles two weeks ago.

  Heather held up the invitation. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?”

  “I’m sure.” He didn’t draw her closer when she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. Instead, he found himself relieved when she crossed the room and the door closed behind her.

  Why was it that he was annoyed with Heather because she wanted to take advantage of an invitation he didn’t want anyway, yet he didn’t mind the fact that his sister had asked for an extra ticket for her friend? Feeling used but surprisingly liberated by the prospect of having a free evening, he headed for his room to get ready for Little-League practice.

  * * *

  Kari hung up with her brother and grinned. That was almost too easy, she thought to herself. She still considered the idea of having Maya move into her brother’s apartment to be inspired. She also knew Maya would never agree to live there unless she believed she had Ben’s permission. Kari wasn’t about to risk the possibility that her brother might say no. After all, what was the likelihood that he would agree to let someone he’d only met once move into his apartment for the next three to six months, even with his sister’s prodding?

  She’d keep this arrangement a secret from both of them. It would never hurt Ben, and it could only help Maya. She had to keep them both in the dark to give Maya a fighting chance.

  Pocketing her phone, Kari headed into the local market and grabbed a basket. She considered for a moment what t
o make for dinner, quickly adjusting her idea of what was appetizing to what Maya would be able to eat. The only things on Maya’s list were vegetable broth and saltine crackers. After watching her go through chemo and radiation over the past few months, Kari could understand why those two items were the staples of her menu. But she also knew Maya was wasting away and needed to expand her diet to keep from losing any more weight.

  Fifteen minutes later, she paid for the things Maya had asked for, as well as a deli sandwich for herself and a few other items that would last them through the weekend. She hated that she couldn’t stay longer to make sure Maya would be okay, but she couldn’t afford to fall behind in her classes.

  With the groceries in hand, she made her way back to her brother’s apartment to find Maya curled up on the couch, sound asleep. Kari’s heart ached when she saw the too-pale skin stretched over hollow cheeks and the clothes that were now several sizes too big. Maya looked almost childlike . . . and so dreadfully alone.

  Maya hadn’t told her much about her family, except that she and her grandmother had converted to Christianity before moving to the United States. When she had pressed for more information, Maya had refused to discuss it, always insisting she couldn’t fully explain the cultural differences between her childhood and her life now. Kari surmised that something in her past had been unpleasant enough for her or her parents to have cut off all contact, but whatever it was, Maya refused to talk about it.

  They had been halfway through their senior year before Kari had realized Maya had never invited her to her house. Sensing Maya didn’t have much support at home, it had been natural for Kari to include her in many of her family events. Going to college together had been yet another step along their budding friendship. When they had decided to room together during their freshman year, Kari realized for the first time that she hadn’t ever seen anyone from Maya’s past reach out to her in any way.

  Kari had thought things would change between Maya and her family after Maya found out about the cancer, but as far as Kari knew, she hadn’t even told them about the disease or the possibility that her life could be cut short. Kari couldn’t imagine what it would be like to not have her family to lean on. Sure, her brother could be obnoxious sometimes and her older sister was forever stealing her shoes, but she didn’t doubt for a minute that if she needed something, they would be there for her.