A League of Their Own. Matter of fact, she looks like Geena. She even has the same smile as Geena. But Jayden has freckles and Geena doesn’t.”
“Geena probably did, too, but the makeup covered them,” Novalene argued.
“Maybe so,” Diana agreed. “But I also think she would have been a writer, maybe of romance novels. She’s watching the game, but her eyes are also on Elijah. What was your major in college? Did you teach before you became a school counselor?”
“I majored in English, and I taught three years before I got offered the job of counselor,” she answered.
“Then I’m right about her being an author. She’s had heartache in her life, so she could touch a reader’s emotions.”
“Bingo! Give Diana a prize.” Jayden grinned. “She got pretty close. I’m not sure I could tell a story good enough for someone to read. I always thought I’d like to be an editor, but I’m a counselor and that’s probably what I’ll be until I retire.”
“Diana, how old are you?” Novalene asked.
“I turned gray before I was thirty, so you might think I’m older than I am. I don’t mind tellin’ you that fifty is in the rearview mirror for me—way too old to join the army now. But don’t ask me about my weight. Only me, my doctor, and God know that number. I threatened to make the nurse that weighs me once a year sign an affidavit in blood—hers not mine—that she would never utter that bit of information out loud, write it on any piece of paper other than the doctor’s notes, or even think it after I left the office,” Diana said.
“If you want to be a sniper, you should teach shooting classes instead of counseling kids,” Novalene told Diana.
“Another thing I wish I’d done was get married and have kids,” Diana said.
“It’s not too late for that,” Novalene told her. “Don’t wait until you’re sixty like me and too old to have kids. I regret that most about my life. Kids and grandkids would have been nice right about now. Maybe that’s why I love these mean little girls so damn much. They’re surrogates for what I don’t have.”
Diana shrugged. “I’ve thought about both of those, but . . .”
“But what? Have you looked into it?” Jayden asked when she paused.
“This really is group therapy.” Diana chuckled. “It’s your turn, Jayden. How old are you?”
“I was thirty-one last month,” Jayden admitted. “Thanks for thinking I look like a young Geena Davis, too. I always felt like an ugly duckling because I was tall and gangly, and there wasn’t a delicate thing about me.”
“Ugly ducklings often turn into beautiful swans,” Novalene declared. “You have a good heart, woman. You are strong. I saw a quote once that said something about us all needing to surrender to the beauty of revealing ourselves to ourselves, to realize that our beauty comes from within, not from without.”
“I saw that same one. The whole thing hangs on the wall in my office. Doing that is a daily battle for all of us, but most of all for these girls. Looks like our session is over.” Jayden pointed to eight girls and one handsome fellow walking away from the makeshift baseball field. “I bet they’re starving tonight, and speaking of that, I’d better hustle on over to the dining room and help Mary get the pizzas ready to serve.”
Everyone has a story, a daydream, or even a regret, she thought as she stood up. “Thanks for the visit. Novalene, I don’t think you should drive the second van to church next Sunday.”
The older woman chuckled as she got to her feet and headed over to the Moonbeam Cabin. “I doubt any of these girls would love Elvis like I do, anyway, and even as tough as they think they are, they’d be cryin’ their little eyes out for me to slow down once I got into my zone, as the kids these days say. Maybe that’s where I went wrong with Lauren. I should have taken her for a ride, and then she would have thought this place was right up there next to heaven. I’ll see y’all at supper in a few minutes.”
“Pizza, pasta, and pie with ice cream tonight,” Jayden said as she hurried across the yard, making it to the dining building in time for Elijah to open the door for her.
“Don’t get downwind from me or the girls,” he said. “All of us will be glad for showers tonight.”
“Looks