Marlee scurried to pick them up and fumbled to find the right key. Susie urged her on silently. "Nice game, Marlee," a cheerful voice said right behind them. Susie jumped and almost laughed out of sheer panic.

The four friends slowly turned around to face Bree. "Thanks," Marlee said. "Did you, uh, have a game today?"

"Yeah, we had a home game against Mohawk." Bree looked smug.

"We pounded them." "Mercy rule?"

"Yeah, I pitched."

Susie shot a sidelong glance at Marlee, willing her to end the conversation before it even got started. Something dawned on her. Southbridge was a hell of a long way from Elmhurst. After her game, Bree must have broken the sound barrier getting there. Where did she find time to change into her form-fitting shorts and tight tank top? Her outfit was obviously designed to turn a certain blonde pitcher's head.

Sam exchanged a knowing glance with Susie. She must have figured it out, too.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Sam interrupted. "We haven't met. I'm Sam."

Bree looked startled, as if she hadn't realized there were other people around. "Oh, uh, I'm Bree. I pitch for Southbridge."

"I love your outfit," Sam said.

Susie clamped her lips together trying not to laugh.

Sam took a step closer, putting herself between Marlee and Bree. She pointed to the girl's snug tank top. "Is that wickaway fabric?"

"Yeah, it's supposed to pull the perspiration away from your skin." Bree looked desperate as she tried to see past Sam.

Marlee, meanwhile, had taken that opportunity to casually unlock the sliding door of the van and toss her gear inside. Susie tossed hers next to Marlee's and then climbed in. On her way to the passenger seat, she reached over and unlocked Marlee's driver's side door. It looked like they might have to invoke Plan C after all.

Lisa, who had been standing next to Sam, said, "Where'd you get your tank? Think they have my size?" Lisa rose up to her full amazon height. If that didn't make Bree back down, Susie didn't know what would.

"I got it online, I think," Bree said impatiently. With a snort, she brushed past Sam and was on Marlee in a flash. "So, uh, think you can give some pitching pointers sometime?"

Bree's cheeks turned a bright shade of crimson, and Susie almost began to feel sorry for the girl.

"Yeah," Marlee said in a way that Susie knew she was weakening, too. "I guess maybe I could show you some stuff the next time we play you guys."

"Tuesday," Bree said so quickly that Sam actually laughed out loud. "Okay," Marlee gave in. She gestured toward Lisa in introduction. "I don't think you've met my catcher. This is Lisa."

"Hey," Bree said with disinterest and the barest of nods.

"Hey," Lisa mimicked. The look on her face clearly showed that she wasn't amused by Bree's lack of manners.

"Lisa just got back from a hand injury, so she can't catch for us."

"That's okay. We don't need a catcher." Bree seemed undeterred in her quest to get Marlee alone.

"Oh." Marlee turned around to roll her eyes in frustration at Susie. Clearly Marlee knew it was time for Plan C. She turned back toward Bree and said, "We'll use your catcher, okay?" She looked over Bree's head and said to Lisa and Sam. "Hey, you guys? We gotta get going. We don't want to be late." Marlee opened her car door and climbed in the driver's seat.

Sam's eyes grew wide in confusion. They hadn't discussed what they were doing after the game. "Ah, yes. Okay," Sam agreed. "C'mon, Lisa. We don't want to be late."

"Where are you guys going?" Bree's hand was now on Marlee's open door.

The look on Susie's face probably matched the look of disbelief on both Sam's and Lisa's. The girl was relentless.

Marlee didn't answer right away, so Susie leaned over and said. "We're going somewhere to be alone so we can make out."

Bree took a step back, clearly not knowing how to respond, but she'd let go of the door, and Marlee slammed it shut. She rolled her window down a few inches and sputtered, "Sorry, but we really have to go." She started the van.

"See ya." Bree's voice held so much disappointment, that Susie almost felt rotten that they were dissing her.

Marlee yanked the gear shifter into drive and squealed her way out of the parking lot.

"Dios mio," Susie said with a laugh, "she's pushy."

"Dog with a bone, man." Marlee shook her head. "She's, like, crazy or something."

"Crazy in love," Susie teased.

"I know, but even though she's annoying as hell, I kind of feel bad for her." Marlee turned on to the main road.

"Me, too." Susie checked to make sure Sam and Lisa were following them.

"I mean, like, when I fell for you, I fell pretty hard. What if you'd blown me off like that?" Marlee glanced at Susie with puppy dog eyes.

"I see what you mean, Jelly Bean." Susie thought about it for a minute. "But you were giving her all the hints she needed to know that you weren't interested."

"I need a two-by-four."

"Okay," Susie said slowly, "I'll bite. A two-by-four?"

Marlee laughed. "I never told you that story?"

Susie shook her head.

"It's a story my dad told me once. Do you want to hear it?"

"Yeah."

"There are two farmers."

"Okay."

"The first farmer sells a donkey to the second farmer, and says, 'This donkey is great. He'll plow all your fields. He just keeps going and going. Just say, Hyah! and he'll plow all day. Say, Whoa and he'll stop.' The second farmer says, 'Great. I'll take him.' So the next morning, the second farmer gets the donkey ready to plow his field. He says, 'Hyah!', but the donkey doesn't move. He says, 'Hyah!' again, but the donkey still doesn't budge. He keeps at it for almost an hour, when the first farmer comes along and asks, 'How's the plowing going?' The second farmer says, 'Plowing? This is the laziest donkey in the world. He hasn't moved an inch. I want my money back.' The first farmer says, 'Have you said, Hyah?' The second farmer says, 'Yes! For an hour.' The first farmer says, 'Oh, I forgot to tell you.' He picks up a two-by-four, whacks the donkey in between the eyes, and says, 'Hyah!' The donkey takes off plowing the field, and the first farmer says, 'You just have to get his attention first.'"

Susie burst out laughing. "That's crazy. Not to mention abusive to animals." Susie laughed again as she reheard the punch line in her head.

Marlee laughed with her, until they were both giggling out of control. Breathless, Marlee pulled the van down a neighborhood street and pulled over to the side. She put the van in park and when she finally caught her breath, looked around. "I have no idea where we are."

"Me, neither. So," Susie chuckled again, "what does a two-by-four have to do with Bree?"

"Bree won't take any of our hints, so somehow we have to get her attention for when we implement Plan D."

"What's Plan D?"

"I have no idea."

Susie burst out laughing again, and Marlee joined her.

Lisa and Sam appeared at the driver's side window so suddenly that Marlee and Susie jumped causing them to howl even louder.

"What are you guys laughing about?" Sam bugged out her eyes.

Susie caught her breath long enough to say, "Dios mio. It's way too long to repeat right now, but, uh, we have no idea where we are."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Well, I do. At least Bree didn't follow us, so that's a good sign."

"Thank goodness." Marlee sighed in relief, but then grabbed her stomach. "Oh, man, I'm starving."

"Me, too," Sam said. "I know a good diner in Elmhurst. Let's get lunch there."

"Sounds good to me." Susie realized she was hungry, too. "We can come up with Plan D while we're there."

"Plan D?" Lisa asked.

Susie and Marlee started laughing again, and Susie said, "We, uh, haven't worked out all the details, but so far it involves a donkey and a two-by-four."

SAM PULLED THE Sebring into Susie's driveway and popped the trunk. They sat for a moment talking in the dark car, the sun having set at least an hour earlier.

"Dios mio, I have so much fun with you guys," Susie said. "My stomach hurts from laughing so much."

"Oh, me, too. I'm so glad Marlee's looking for a new car tomorrow with her mom."

"That's just 'cuz you want Marlee to be able to drive Lisa here to East Valley."

"So?" Sam said with a smile. "A girl can want, can't she?"

Susie waggled her eyebrows. "Yeah, but I'm gonna miss her mother's van. It's nice and roomy."

"I bet." Sam smacked the console in between them. "You don't know how many times I've wanted to rip this thing out."

Susie nodded. Every time she and Marlee were alone in her little Toyota, it had been uncomfortable and cramped. "Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime my friend. I hope Coach starts you on Tuesday."

Susie rolled her eyes. "Aay, I hope so. Riding the pine sucks." She stepped out of the car and grabbed her softball bag from the open trunk. She slammed the trunk shut and walked to the driver's side window. "If my car's not fixed by Tuesday, can you pick me up for the game? The last thing I want to do is ask Isabella to drive me."

"I hear you," Sam said with a grin. "I'll plan on it."

They said their goodbyes, and Sam backed her car out of the driveway and then drove away .

Susie ran up to her room for a quick shower and then afterward gathered up her dirty laundry. Out of habit, she scooped up her keys and put them in her pocket. Heading toward the main house, she stopped and patted her beloved little car on the hood.

"Tomorrow we're gonna get you fixed, girl."

Susie whistled happily as she took off her crocs in the mudroom and headed into the house. She nodded at the Virgin Mary and then headed to the basement to dump her uniform and a few other things in the washing machine. She bounced back up the stairs thinking about the amazing afternoon she'd just spent with her friends. She couldn't help the smile that burst on her face when she thought about the time she'd spent alone with Marlee after the trip to the diner. They'd stumbled on a nicely secluded park in Elmhurst. Sam and Lisa were in Sam's car a few parking spots away, but they could have been miles away for all Susie knew.

She headed back up the basement stairs. "Abuelita? Mami? Is there any dessert left? Flan maybe?" A girl could hope.

Her mother came in the kitchen. "Aay, no, sorry. Tu hermano polished off the last of the besitos de coco. Your father won't even get any, and he should be home any minute now."

Susie stuck out her lower lip as if pouting. She wasn't overly fond of coconut kiss cookies anyway, and she really didn't mind that her brother had eaten her share. He was entitled to it ever since his academy award ankle sprain performance in the driveway the weekend before. Come to think of it, though, he'd kind of been milking the sprained ankle a bit too long. It might be time for him to have a miraculous recovery.

"I'll need your help for tomorrow's dinner," her mother said.

"Sure." Sunday dinner was usually a big deal in the Torres household.

"Senora Rodriguez is coming over."

Susie cringed. "And Robbie, too?"

"Si, claro." Her mother smiled. "Y Roberto, tambien."

Susie groaned audibly.

"Susana, why the face? Roberto is a nice boy. He's home for a week from medical school."

Susie groaned again, but this time inwardly. Her mother had to work in the medical school thing. "I don't like him like that, Mami." Somehow she needed to get her mother to listen to her. To do that, she'd need one of Marlee's two-by-fours.

"You need to think about your future, Susana. Y Roberto es puertorriqueno, mmm?" She singsonged the fact that he was Puerto Rican as if that would change Susie's mind.

"Are you, like, planning my wedding or something?" The words popped out of her mouth before she could stop them. She held her breath hoping she hadn't just set off a landmine.

"You need to start thinking of these things early." Her mother waved a dismissive hand. "All your nonsense about geology."

Before she could stop herself, Susie blurted, "I'm going to college, Mami, to study geology. And I might actually have a big wedding, but probably not in a church."

Her mother stared at her with sharp eyes. "Don't say such things." She turned her back and busied herself putting dishes away in the cupboard.

Quietly Susie said to her mother's turned back, "I won't be getting married at St. Catherine's," she looked down at the kitchen floor for a moment gathering her courage, "and I think you know why."

Her mother smacked the counter top with the palm of her hand. Susie jumped at the sound. Her mother spun around, eyes blazing. She poked the air and spat, "It's not natural." She looked like she wanted to add something else, but fled the kitchen instead, leaving Susie's ears ringing with the accusation.

Her father chose that untimely moment to enter the kitchen having just gotten home from his business trip. The master bedroom door slammed shut upstairs. He looked toward the stairs and then back at Susie with a confused expression.

"What'd I miss?"

Susie fled the kitchen not wanting to break out crying in front of her father. She ran out of the house without stopping to put her crocs on in the mudroom. Not knowing what to do or where to go, she flung herself into her car. She turned the key and felt vindicated when the engine roared to life. Maybe she could drive far enough away so her mother didn't have to look at her unnatural daughter ever again. Maybe she'd drive to California. Maybe Christy needed a roommate.