Revelation; Part Two

Or what I like to call the “Second ‘S’ in the Trifecta.”

With the first ‘S’ being Sushi, the second ‘S’ is Softball.

The second relationship turned bad was with a guy who I met through The Bird. He worked in a completely different department that had nothing to do with me, so our job paths never crossed. I actually met him through a friend I worked with in my department.

At first, he was charming, and sweet with his cheesy one-liners. He always wanted to spend time with me and have me meet his friends. This was a big change from Matt, and I was thrilled. One day, he asked if I would come by and watch the company softball game in Central Park. Being a silly girl, I did. And when they got there, apparently they needed one more girl to meet the co-ed quota. When asked to play, I was giddy, wanting to please him and show that I’m not just a silly girl, but a girl with coordination.

Since that day, I played softball on the company team. It was so much fun, forming a new circle of friends at the company to hang out with and get to know. But as things in the relationship turned sour with his charm turning sour, I was reluctant to give up the game.

Then he left the company.

We were still dating at the time in which he left The Bird, but I knew things weren’t on a great track. He compromised friendships with people he’d known for years because of me, and while it should have been flattering, it was only uncomfortable. He became selfish and demanding, and I tried to be as easy-going and compliant as possible, as is my normal M.O.

Finally things kind of hit the fan when we went away camping/rafting with a group of friends. I had told him I’ve been camping pretty much since birth, but I don’t think he fully grasped what that meant.

It meant that, as a girl, I was completely capable of setting up my tent by myself, building and starting a successful camp fire, and help others figure out things in the camp, too, when asked for help. Unfortunately, this didn’t sit well with his ego, and he became quite nasty and demeaning to me all weekend long. It quickly turned from fun with friends, to grudgingly going to sleep at night because I had to lie next to him.

Shortly after that, we agreed to stop dating. We did better as friends and we would keep it that way. I went on to continue playing softball with The Bird, and even played on his own team he set up to play in the league. The friendship was rocky for a while, and now we don’t even talk due to other circumstances, but the time I had with him on softball was always fun.

Now, even at my new company, I am still playing softball. I practically rejoiced when I found out WKL&B had a team, I was so excited. So, I play and only improve my game as the years and seasons pass, and I have him to thank for that. That one day that I came to just watch, and ended up playing, because I was a silly girl who wanted to impress a guy!