Read Online Out of Left Field: Marlee's Story by Barbara L. Clanton - Free Book Online

lawn-mowing season. How she wished she had a John Deere riding mower like Jeri’s family. Jeri’s dad let her ride it once, but after she had mowed the D’Amicos’ entire front lawn, she realized that Mr. D’Amico had tricked her into doing his chore. But she didn’t care. It had been fun.
    Marlee didn’t know how Jeri was going to function at the restaurant. She looked terrible when she left. When Bobby called, maybe she’d suggest a trip to the restaurant to see Jeri. Oh, but maybe not. Jeri might slip that she had a hangover. You don’t usually get hangovers researching calculus. And Jeri would probably be grounded by her parents after her no-show the night before anyway. Trying to keep track of the lies made Marlee very uneasy.
    Marlee herself had never had a hangover. She thought about her father every day, and the drunk driver who had killed him. No, drinking was of absolutely no interest to her since alcohol could kill and take dads away from their kids.
    Marlee unscrewed the mower’s gas cap and saw that the tank was near full. She choked the engine and pulled the starter rope as hard as she could. The engine sputtered, but didn’t catch. She tried a few more times, but couldn’t get the mower to catch. This was, after all, the first time she had tried to start the thing since the fall, so naturally it didn’t work. What would her dad do? She decided that he would not put the mower away and try to start it another day. No, he would probably clean the spark plug or something. Marlee removed the spark plug and remembered what her dad had said to look for. He had taught her all about spark plugs and choking the engine and sharpening the blade, even though her mother hadn’t been too keen on the idea.
    The spark plug looked oily. She cleaned it off with a rag she kept in the two-car garage and then checked the gap with the spacer her dad kept on his workbench. My workbench, she thought solemnly. The unattached two-car garage, situated at the end of the long driveway, had become mostly Marlee’s domain. Her mother apparently wanted nothing to do with it other than to park the minivan on the left side. The other side had become Marlee’s work area.
    She was about to give up when the mower finally roared to life in a puff of blue smoke. When she started to cough she realized she should have started the mower outside the garage and quickly cut the engine. She wheeled the mower outside and pulled the starter rope under the ancient oak tree near the garage. Her yank on the rope caused her to set the tire swing in motion. Her father had hung the old tire swing for her when she turned eight. The swing constantly reminded her of the short time she’d had with him. Beyond the tree, she and her father used to play catch. Marlee treasured the worn out spot where her Dad would catch for her. In fact, Marlee even put in an old pitcher’s rubber and a home plate Coach Spears had given her. She and Lisa sometimes practiced pitching there and Marlee always felt a little sad seeing Lisa stand where her dad used to.
    Marlee took a deep breath to clear her head of the memories and couldn’t help but notice the brilliant blue sky again. What a perfect day for softball. But Coach Spears never had practices on Saturday. She wanted to, but the school administration had halted all weekend activities at the school in an effort to save money. And that included softball. The only exception the school ever made was for make-up games due to rainouts or the occasional snow-out.
    Marlee cut the mower’s engine again and wheeled it back into the garage. She looked at her workbench with a sigh. She pulled her dad’s stool up to the bench and hopped on. With her left arm she swept the tools and debris off to one side. She grabbed an old piece of cardboard on the workbench and found a dull pencil in a jar with some nails. She wrote on the top of the piece of cardboard, “Brilliant Things to Say to Susie Torres, #7.” She wrote the