The Good Guys embarked on their next road trip, this time to the mid Atlantic, and Midwest, a trip that would complete the first part of their schedule. They started the trip by winning two of three in Washington, before losing two of three in both Philadelphia, and Cincinnatti. They returned home, for a nine game homestand, that would begin the next round of their schedule, against the teams they had opened the season with.
While Mitch and Naomi seemed to have come to terms with their decision after the procedure, the ten days apart, and sleeping alone each night, with Mitch in his luxury hotel rooms on the road, and Naomi in the couple's extra king size bed, in their apartment overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Paradise Island, seemed to have a very negative effect on the couple, and their emotions. Each night they would talk on the phone after games, with Naomi waiting up until Mitch was settled in his hotel room, as she always did. Naomi felt empty, alone, and depressed, and Mitch felt somber, guilty, and angry. Clearly, while they both, at the time, thought that the decision they made, was the right one, and it had the approval of their family, the support of their therapist, and the understanding of their teammates, now, as days and weeks went by, there were second thoughts, and sullen reflection. Had they acted too hastily in arriving at the decision? Could they have logicially retired after that current season, kept the baby, and chosen other career paths, or, should they have allowed the baby to be born, and given it up for adoption? Those unanswered questions, and the irreversible deicison they made, haunted them, both subconsciously, and consciously, as the days went by on the calendar.
On Sunday night, when Mitch arrived home from Cincinnatti, the usual protocol was for him to come home, change clothes, and take the family out to a fine dinner. Mitch entered the apartment, his family milling around. He gave Naomi a tense greeting, with an extremely brief kiss, his face a mask of stone. After Mitch entered the apartment, he looked at his mail, then headed toward the bedroom, suitcase in hand, with the barefoot Naomi trailing behind him. "How was your trip?" She said, in a conversational tone. "Not great, four and five. You saw the outcome. It will be good to play in front of the home fans tomorrow" Mitch said, taking off his clothes. As Mitch went to find another outfit, he matter of factly said:" How are you?" Naomi, almost half jokingly, replied:" Oh, fine, same old usual, using my vibrator, thinking about what might have been, babies, that kind of stuff" She said, half joking and half serious. "I thought we said we weren't going to dwell on it. We made a decision, it's done!" Mitch said, firmly, slamming his wallet down. Mitch kept his head turned, unable to look at his wife of over 20 years. Naomi came up to him, and tried to turn his face toward her:" Look at you. It's written all over your face. You cant even look at me!" She exclaimed. Mitch sighed, and then said, in a very low tone of voice:" I feel like we are two teenagers, who got rid of a mistake,that we made in the back of a car on a Saturday night, instead of a responsible couple, lives in order, married for over two decades, three kids, and we just.. did this. We could have had a fourth kid. It wouldnt have been easy, but we could have managed it. We dont make as much as some baseball players, but we have more money than 90 plus percent of the populace" Mitch mused. "You cast the deciding vote, we agreed. You cant place blame now!" Naomi said, defensively. "Damnit, woman, I am not placing blame! Did I once say:" Naomi, this is your fault! No! I am expressing feelings that I have about a very serious matter that affects both of us, our lives, and our family. If I cant talk to you about this, who can I talk to? You're the only one. I went through it with you! You, woman! Only you!" Mitch said, his voice now rising into a shout. "You're feeling guilty. That's it. It's guilt" Naomi said, missing the true impact of Mitch's feelings. Mitch looked at her with look of disgust, and started to open the bedroom door, then thought better of it.
He walked around the room, silent for a minute, and then said:" Did I say guilt? Please stop fucking putting words in my mouth that I did not say! I feel sad, and unsure, and upset. Guilt? Maybe. I dont know. All I do know, is that this abortion, this thing that we thought was going to be something we could decide definitively together, do, and then put behind us, cant be put behind us so easily. I thought I could, but I cant. It is going to take time, and, if we cant discuss this, and support each other, without arguing, we are in serious trouble, in our marriage, and our lives. I only went through it with you. It affects you and me, and only you and me!" Mitch said, infatically. Just then, oldest daughter Erin knocked at the door:" Are you guys going to fight all night, or are we going to go eat? Erin asked. The couple knew they had to put on a brave face for their children, so they put aside their argument, for the time being, and went out to dinner. When they got home, they undressed for bed. Sex was not an issue, as there was still four weeks until they could do that. As they lied in bed, not cuddling, and saying almost nothing, Mitch suddenly blurted out. " Maybe we need to do something permanent. We have three kids, so maybe I should get a vascestomy, or you should have your tubes tied. I fucking hate Condoms, Nai, and you dont like them either. This way, it is permanent, and we wont be worrying if you got pregnant again" Mitch said. Naomi, lying on her pillow next to him, stared at the ceiling and said:" We'll see. I cant think of that now. We have gone through enough in the last month, to last us a lifetime" Naomi replied. Although they turned out the lights, it was a good long time before either of them got to sleep. Forgetting sex, they had no warmth, or physical support, which was another problem.
The next night, after a quiet day, the Good Guys opened their homestand, at the ballpark, against the Mets. Kate Hudson was on the mound, and pitched brilliantly, allowing no runs and five hits to the powerful Mets offense, as the Good Guys prevailed, 2-0. That night, after dinner with the team, Mitch tried to promote physical contact with Naomi, as the couple got home:" Would you like a foot massage?" He offered. "No thank you. I dont want a foot massage, or for you to smell my feet, or to be tickled" Naomi said, removing her shoes, and curling her bare feet under her. "Okay, fine, so in addition to this hell, I cant touch my wife, either. Do you want me to go to the guest room, or to a hotel?" Mitch said, escalating the issue. "Did I say I did? If I wanted you to go to the guest room, or a hotel, I'd have thrown you out. After over two decades, I'm not shy when I want you out of my sight, Mitchell" Naomi said, very testily. "Then what do you want, Naomi? Tell me" Mitch said. "Time, Mitchell. Time to deal with this, emotionally, without being Naomi the foot massagee, and Naomi the ticklee, and Naomi the ladder girl. I just need all that shit shelved for now. I am not saying never. I cant say never to you, but just now. I dont know if that means tomorrow, next week, or in a month from now, but just not now." Naomi said. "I feel like you are shutting me out, and like you dont love me" Mitch said. "I do love you, Mitchell. I always have, from the time I was a young girl, and I always will. I just need time to sort this out. I need to do it alone, you need to do it alone, and we need to do it together, and with the shrink. I cant have sex for several more weeks anyway. Hopefully by then, we will have sorted it all out. Just bear with me. In the meantime, if you need pleasure, well, I'm not stupid, married men can do that for themselves" Naomi said, putting an end to the physical issue.
The next night, with the couple still in limbo, the Good Guys played game two of their series at the park against the Mets. Gil Bellows was on the mound, and he allowed three runs in seven innings, but got little run support, falling, 3-1. The next night, Charlize Theron pitched a three hit shutout, prevailing, 4-0.
Thursday was an off day. The couple attended a double session of counseling, feeling they needed to discuss all issues. Things were still very tense, and it would be a while before progress was made. That night, Mitch was lying in bed, watching Naomi undress. As she took off her bra, and he stared at her beautiful naked body, her bare breasts, and her still firm, slim figure, his breath caught in his throat:" God, you are so beautiful" He said, almost breathlessly. "Control yourself, Romeo, because the flattery is going to get you nowhere, it cant" Naomi quipped. "Great, I cant even tell my wife of two plus decades that she looks beautiful. Fine, tell you what, you are ugly, okay, you disgust me. You happy now?!" Mitch said, sarcastically, his voice rising. "Hey, dont get defensive with me, buddy. You dont have to be insulting. All I said is that we cant do anything, medically, and we have issues to deal with" Naomi replied. "Fine, I know that, but all I said is that you look pretty. That's all, end of story!" Mitch said, justifying himself. "You know full well that if you could have medically, you'd want me with my legs in the air, humping me" Naomi said. "Maybe, but the medical isnt the only story. We have so many issues to deal with. Honestly, with as much as we love each other, we may be able to get past this, but, it might never feel the same again. There might always be a , tug, I dont know" Mitch replied, honestly, and not in anger. "I dont know. I honestly dont know. Only time will tell that" Naomi said, sadly, and also, not in anger.
The Braves came to town on Friday night. Neve Campbell was the starter. She pitched a credible game, allowing only three runs in six innings. The Good Guy offense came through, with ten hits, and five runs, in a 5-3 win. Rachel Leigh Cook pitched on Saturday night. The Good Guys played a ragged game, committing four errors, and allowing five unearned runs, in a 7-4 defeat. Kate Hudson opposed John Smoltz on a beautiful, sunny, 87 degree afternoon, in front of a sellout. Both pitchers were razor sharp that day, firing eight scoreless innings each, with Kate punching out twelve Braves, and Smoltz ringing up ten Good Guys. In the ninth, of a scoreless tie, Mitch whacked a long homerun, over the right field wall, for a 1-0 Good Guy victory.
Houston visited Paradise on Monday, in the last series of the homestand. Gil Bellows pitched on Monday night, and again didnt get many runs, but this time made it stand up, allowing two runs in eight innings, and getting credit for a 3-2 win. Charlize Theron pitched on Tuesday night, and got hit around, allowing five runs in six innings, of a 5-4 loss. Neve Campbell took the mound, on a hot, dry, 91 degree Wednesday, in front of a sellout. Neve got hit very hard that day, departing in a 5-5 tie after six innings. In the eighth, Center Fielder Burns came up with two men on, and whacked a long homer over the center field wall, to give the Good Guys a three run lead. The bullpen did the rest in the ninth, as the team came away with an 8-5 Paradise win, that completed a fine six and three homestand. It was tense times off the field, and that could well be expected, maybe for a while more, but, on field, it was business as usual.
In the meantime, the team held its Saturday night tickle party, following the loss to Atlanta. The featured lee would be red hot 19 year old actress Evan Rachel Wood, star of such movies as "Running With Scissors". The red hot girl with the beautiful tummy, was tied hands and feet to the bed, in a string bikini, in the middle of the fetish club. Third baseman Michael began the tickle on Evan's neck with fingers, as her head moved, and the giggles began:HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHEEHEEHE! NO! Moving down, Catcher Barney was next, tickling the long haired beauty on her underarms, sides, ribs, and belly with fingers, as she squeaked, and squealed:HEHEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE! OMG! Working down, Center Fielder Ed Burns was next, tickling Evan on her hips, inner thighs, and behind her knees with fingers, as her legs bucked, and more squeals erupted:HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE! NOOO! Finally, Mitch positioned himself at his favorite spot, the soles of Evan's soft feet. He attacked her feet with fingers, feathers, ice, and an electric toothbrush, over her soles and toes. Evan went beserk, wiggling her toes every which way, and squealing with giggles, begging for mercy:HEHEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE! OMG PLEASEEEE! MY FEEET ARE SOOO TICKLISH! I GIVE UP! IAM GOING TO WET MYSELF! NOOOOOOO! HEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH! Finally, the tickle ended,and the beauty was untied.
On Thursday night, Naomi drove Mitch, in relative silence, to Nassau International Airport, so that he could make the team plane to New York. When they got to the terminal, they embraced. "Be safe. Days go off the calendar. We will keep working at it. We have things to come through, but Iam still here, and I will be here waiting for you when you get back" Naomi said.
So, it had been a most difficult homestand filled with tension, emotion, and unertainity. Clearly, although the abortion procedure was over, serious feelings remained, both about the procedure itself, and in Mitch and Naomi's relationship. Now came a ten day road trip. Would the time apart cause them to reflect, and be drawn closer together, to deal with their situation together, or would they be torn further apart? Those answers to come in the next segment of the Tickle Team From Paradise Island.
The End
While Mitch and Naomi seemed to have come to terms with their decision after the procedure, the ten days apart, and sleeping alone each night, with Mitch in his luxury hotel rooms on the road, and Naomi in the couple's extra king size bed, in their apartment overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Paradise Island, seemed to have a very negative effect on the couple, and their emotions. Each night they would talk on the phone after games, with Naomi waiting up until Mitch was settled in his hotel room, as she always did. Naomi felt empty, alone, and depressed, and Mitch felt somber, guilty, and angry. Clearly, while they both, at the time, thought that the decision they made, was the right one, and it had the approval of their family, the support of their therapist, and the understanding of their teammates, now, as days and weeks went by, there were second thoughts, and sullen reflection. Had they acted too hastily in arriving at the decision? Could they have logicially retired after that current season, kept the baby, and chosen other career paths, or, should they have allowed the baby to be born, and given it up for adoption? Those unanswered questions, and the irreversible deicison they made, haunted them, both subconsciously, and consciously, as the days went by on the calendar.
On Sunday night, when Mitch arrived home from Cincinnatti, the usual protocol was for him to come home, change clothes, and take the family out to a fine dinner. Mitch entered the apartment, his family milling around. He gave Naomi a tense greeting, with an extremely brief kiss, his face a mask of stone. After Mitch entered the apartment, he looked at his mail, then headed toward the bedroom, suitcase in hand, with the barefoot Naomi trailing behind him. "How was your trip?" She said, in a conversational tone. "Not great, four and five. You saw the outcome. It will be good to play in front of the home fans tomorrow" Mitch said, taking off his clothes. As Mitch went to find another outfit, he matter of factly said:" How are you?" Naomi, almost half jokingly, replied:" Oh, fine, same old usual, using my vibrator, thinking about what might have been, babies, that kind of stuff" She said, half joking and half serious. "I thought we said we weren't going to dwell on it. We made a decision, it's done!" Mitch said, firmly, slamming his wallet down. Mitch kept his head turned, unable to look at his wife of over 20 years. Naomi came up to him, and tried to turn his face toward her:" Look at you. It's written all over your face. You cant even look at me!" She exclaimed. Mitch sighed, and then said, in a very low tone of voice:" I feel like we are two teenagers, who got rid of a mistake,that we made in the back of a car on a Saturday night, instead of a responsible couple, lives in order, married for over two decades, three kids, and we just.. did this. We could have had a fourth kid. It wouldnt have been easy, but we could have managed it. We dont make as much as some baseball players, but we have more money than 90 plus percent of the populace" Mitch mused. "You cast the deciding vote, we agreed. You cant place blame now!" Naomi said, defensively. "Damnit, woman, I am not placing blame! Did I once say:" Naomi, this is your fault! No! I am expressing feelings that I have about a very serious matter that affects both of us, our lives, and our family. If I cant talk to you about this, who can I talk to? You're the only one. I went through it with you! You, woman! Only you!" Mitch said, his voice now rising into a shout. "You're feeling guilty. That's it. It's guilt" Naomi said, missing the true impact of Mitch's feelings. Mitch looked at her with look of disgust, and started to open the bedroom door, then thought better of it.
He walked around the room, silent for a minute, and then said:" Did I say guilt? Please stop fucking putting words in my mouth that I did not say! I feel sad, and unsure, and upset. Guilt? Maybe. I dont know. All I do know, is that this abortion, this thing that we thought was going to be something we could decide definitively together, do, and then put behind us, cant be put behind us so easily. I thought I could, but I cant. It is going to take time, and, if we cant discuss this, and support each other, without arguing, we are in serious trouble, in our marriage, and our lives. I only went through it with you. It affects you and me, and only you and me!" Mitch said, infatically. Just then, oldest daughter Erin knocked at the door:" Are you guys going to fight all night, or are we going to go eat? Erin asked. The couple knew they had to put on a brave face for their children, so they put aside their argument, for the time being, and went out to dinner. When they got home, they undressed for bed. Sex was not an issue, as there was still four weeks until they could do that. As they lied in bed, not cuddling, and saying almost nothing, Mitch suddenly blurted out. " Maybe we need to do something permanent. We have three kids, so maybe I should get a vascestomy, or you should have your tubes tied. I fucking hate Condoms, Nai, and you dont like them either. This way, it is permanent, and we wont be worrying if you got pregnant again" Mitch said. Naomi, lying on her pillow next to him, stared at the ceiling and said:" We'll see. I cant think of that now. We have gone through enough in the last month, to last us a lifetime" Naomi replied. Although they turned out the lights, it was a good long time before either of them got to sleep. Forgetting sex, they had no warmth, or physical support, which was another problem.
The next night, after a quiet day, the Good Guys opened their homestand, at the ballpark, against the Mets. Kate Hudson was on the mound, and pitched brilliantly, allowing no runs and five hits to the powerful Mets offense, as the Good Guys prevailed, 2-0. That night, after dinner with the team, Mitch tried to promote physical contact with Naomi, as the couple got home:" Would you like a foot massage?" He offered. "No thank you. I dont want a foot massage, or for you to smell my feet, or to be tickled" Naomi said, removing her shoes, and curling her bare feet under her. "Okay, fine, so in addition to this hell, I cant touch my wife, either. Do you want me to go to the guest room, or to a hotel?" Mitch said, escalating the issue. "Did I say I did? If I wanted you to go to the guest room, or a hotel, I'd have thrown you out. After over two decades, I'm not shy when I want you out of my sight, Mitchell" Naomi said, very testily. "Then what do you want, Naomi? Tell me" Mitch said. "Time, Mitchell. Time to deal with this, emotionally, without being Naomi the foot massagee, and Naomi the ticklee, and Naomi the ladder girl. I just need all that shit shelved for now. I am not saying never. I cant say never to you, but just now. I dont know if that means tomorrow, next week, or in a month from now, but just not now." Naomi said. "I feel like you are shutting me out, and like you dont love me" Mitch said. "I do love you, Mitchell. I always have, from the time I was a young girl, and I always will. I just need time to sort this out. I need to do it alone, you need to do it alone, and we need to do it together, and with the shrink. I cant have sex for several more weeks anyway. Hopefully by then, we will have sorted it all out. Just bear with me. In the meantime, if you need pleasure, well, I'm not stupid, married men can do that for themselves" Naomi said, putting an end to the physical issue.
The next night, with the couple still in limbo, the Good Guys played game two of their series at the park against the Mets. Gil Bellows was on the mound, and he allowed three runs in seven innings, but got little run support, falling, 3-1. The next night, Charlize Theron pitched a three hit shutout, prevailing, 4-0.
Thursday was an off day. The couple attended a double session of counseling, feeling they needed to discuss all issues. Things were still very tense, and it would be a while before progress was made. That night, Mitch was lying in bed, watching Naomi undress. As she took off her bra, and he stared at her beautiful naked body, her bare breasts, and her still firm, slim figure, his breath caught in his throat:" God, you are so beautiful" He said, almost breathlessly. "Control yourself, Romeo, because the flattery is going to get you nowhere, it cant" Naomi quipped. "Great, I cant even tell my wife of two plus decades that she looks beautiful. Fine, tell you what, you are ugly, okay, you disgust me. You happy now?!" Mitch said, sarcastically, his voice rising. "Hey, dont get defensive with me, buddy. You dont have to be insulting. All I said is that we cant do anything, medically, and we have issues to deal with" Naomi replied. "Fine, I know that, but all I said is that you look pretty. That's all, end of story!" Mitch said, justifying himself. "You know full well that if you could have medically, you'd want me with my legs in the air, humping me" Naomi said. "Maybe, but the medical isnt the only story. We have so many issues to deal with. Honestly, with as much as we love each other, we may be able to get past this, but, it might never feel the same again. There might always be a , tug, I dont know" Mitch replied, honestly, and not in anger. "I dont know. I honestly dont know. Only time will tell that" Naomi said, sadly, and also, not in anger.
The Braves came to town on Friday night. Neve Campbell was the starter. She pitched a credible game, allowing only three runs in six innings. The Good Guy offense came through, with ten hits, and five runs, in a 5-3 win. Rachel Leigh Cook pitched on Saturday night. The Good Guys played a ragged game, committing four errors, and allowing five unearned runs, in a 7-4 defeat. Kate Hudson opposed John Smoltz on a beautiful, sunny, 87 degree afternoon, in front of a sellout. Both pitchers were razor sharp that day, firing eight scoreless innings each, with Kate punching out twelve Braves, and Smoltz ringing up ten Good Guys. In the ninth, of a scoreless tie, Mitch whacked a long homerun, over the right field wall, for a 1-0 Good Guy victory.
Houston visited Paradise on Monday, in the last series of the homestand. Gil Bellows pitched on Monday night, and again didnt get many runs, but this time made it stand up, allowing two runs in eight innings, and getting credit for a 3-2 win. Charlize Theron pitched on Tuesday night, and got hit around, allowing five runs in six innings, of a 5-4 loss. Neve Campbell took the mound, on a hot, dry, 91 degree Wednesday, in front of a sellout. Neve got hit very hard that day, departing in a 5-5 tie after six innings. In the eighth, Center Fielder Burns came up with two men on, and whacked a long homer over the center field wall, to give the Good Guys a three run lead. The bullpen did the rest in the ninth, as the team came away with an 8-5 Paradise win, that completed a fine six and three homestand. It was tense times off the field, and that could well be expected, maybe for a while more, but, on field, it was business as usual.
In the meantime, the team held its Saturday night tickle party, following the loss to Atlanta. The featured lee would be red hot 19 year old actress Evan Rachel Wood, star of such movies as "Running With Scissors". The red hot girl with the beautiful tummy, was tied hands and feet to the bed, in a string bikini, in the middle of the fetish club. Third baseman Michael began the tickle on Evan's neck with fingers, as her head moved, and the giggles began:HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHEEHEEHE! NO! Moving down, Catcher Barney was next, tickling the long haired beauty on her underarms, sides, ribs, and belly with fingers, as she squeaked, and squealed:HEHEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE! OMG! Working down, Center Fielder Ed Burns was next, tickling Evan on her hips, inner thighs, and behind her knees with fingers, as her legs bucked, and more squeals erupted:HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE! NOOO! Finally, Mitch positioned himself at his favorite spot, the soles of Evan's soft feet. He attacked her feet with fingers, feathers, ice, and an electric toothbrush, over her soles and toes. Evan went beserk, wiggling her toes every which way, and squealing with giggles, begging for mercy:HEHEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE! OMG PLEASEEEE! MY FEEET ARE SOOO TICKLISH! I GIVE UP! IAM GOING TO WET MYSELF! NOOOOOOO! HEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH! Finally, the tickle ended,and the beauty was untied.
On Thursday night, Naomi drove Mitch, in relative silence, to Nassau International Airport, so that he could make the team plane to New York. When they got to the terminal, they embraced. "Be safe. Days go off the calendar. We will keep working at it. We have things to come through, but Iam still here, and I will be here waiting for you when you get back" Naomi said.
So, it had been a most difficult homestand filled with tension, emotion, and unertainity. Clearly, although the abortion procedure was over, serious feelings remained, both about the procedure itself, and in Mitch and Naomi's relationship. Now came a ten day road trip. Would the time apart cause them to reflect, and be drawn closer together, to deal with their situation together, or would they be torn further apart? Those answers to come in the next segment of the Tickle Team From Paradise Island.
The End
