Free The Doctor's Undoing by Gina Wilkins Page B

chip. “It’s great. I’ll eat an extra helping of veggies at lunch tomorrow to make up for the indulgence.”
    â€œAnd I’ll eat salad tomorrow,” she joked in return. “Because I am definitely having cotton candy before I leave here tonight.”
    A blast of organ music and a stir of reaction from the crowd signaled the beginning of the minor league baseball game. The clatter of inflatable plastic “thunder sticks” blended with the cacophony of other sounds, and while it was noisy, Haley found the atmosphere oddly relaxing. Probably because it was so different from her usual routines.
    It really was a beautiful early evening. Far on the other side of the park, beyond right field, children frolicked on the grassy berms and climbed on playground equipment. Families and company groups milled beneath rented picnic pavilions. She couldn’t see the Arkansas River flowing on the other side of the park, but the Little Rock skyline on the far side of the river provided the backdrop for the game. Old warehouses and newskyscrapers were stacked like plastic building blocks against the darkening blue sky. Because their seats faced west, Haley was glad she’d thought to wear her sunglasses against the glare of the setting sun. Ron had slipped on a pair of aviators, but quite a few of the people surrounding them were squinting and shading their eyes with their hands, including the giggly teenage girls sitting on Haley’s right.
    Vendors in red-and-white striped shirts and bulging red cash aprons climbed the steps hawking peanuts, popcorn, Cracker Jacks, cotton candy and cold beer. Someone dressed as the team mascot, Shelley, a bucktoothed brown horse in a Travelers jersey and cap, worked the crowd, posing with excited children and making them laugh with his antics.
    Both Haley and Ron were entertained by a little boy in the row directly in front of them. Blond and blue-eyed, he might have been two years old. He looked adorable in his tiny baseball cap and jersey, and he held a soft toddler-sized catcher’s mitt that he swung enthusiastically, hitting both his indulgent parents in the head more than once. He liked to stand backward in his seat, flirting with Haley. She flirted in return, making him grin and bounce. Ron also teased the boy, eliciting musical laughs.
    Ron was good with kids, Haley noted. It was no wonder he was doing so well on the peds rotation so far. He liked seniors and toddlers, he’d said. Both groups adored him.
    The home team scored a home run late in the third inning, and the crowd erupted in cheers. Their hands empty now, Haley and Ron joined the celebration, standing to clap and high-five as two runners crossed home plate, bringing the score to 3–1. They laughed together at the between-inning antics on the field—mascot races, potato-sack races, dizzy-bat races. The sun went down and the park lights blazed, and she and Ron removed their dark glasses. He knew much more about the game than she did, and he patiently answered herquestions about rules and strategy. There were no awkward pauses, for which she was grateful. She was simply enjoying this outing with him.
    By the sixth inning, Ron decided he was ready for his next course of ballpark food. He debated between a funnel cake and a soft pretzel, while Haley flagged down a vendor and pointed to a cone of pink cotton candy. She rationalized the purchase by reminding herself that the treat was mostly air, and probably the lowest calories of the choices, despite the lack of nutritional value.
    â€œCan I bring you something to drink?” Ron asked as he stood to go fetch his own dessert, having finally decided on the funnel cake.
    â€œNo, thanks, I still have part of my bottled water.”
    He nodded. “Okay, be right back. Don’t run off with any hot ballplayers while I’m gone.”
    â€œWell, darn, take all the fun out of the evening, why don’t you?” she joked in