[legendsport]

December 11, 1935: Chicago, IL:

Dan Barrell was tinkering with the radiator in the living room when the doorbell rang.

Gladys' head popped into view from the kitchen. "Can you get that before the noise wakes up Mikey?" she asked.

Dan stood up and dusted his hands on his pants. He nodded at his wife and walked into the entry way. He peered through the sidelight and was briefly taken aback, then swung the door open.

"Bobby? What in the world are you doing here?" he asked.

"Ain't you glad to see me, Dan?" his brother asked with a wide grin.

"Well... sure, but I thought you were back home."

Bobby shrugged. "Sure, I was home. But I had something I wanted to do here in Chicago, and now that you've moved here..." he trailed off and looked... sheepish? Dan couldn't rememeber the last time Bobby looked sheepish. Probably not since he and Harry had been up to some shenanigans back on the farm and were trying to avoid Alice's temper.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

Dan snapped out of his reverie. Shaking his head, he stood back and said, "Yeah, come on in. Gladys is in the kitchen and Mikey's upstairs asleep."

Bobby came in, shivering. "Lord it is cold here," he said.

Dan chuckled and nodded. "That it is. Welcome to Chicago, Bob," he said with a light chuckle.

Dan and Gladys had just moved here after the Kings' season had ended in September.

"Speaking of which, how are you liking it here?" Bobby asked.

Dan shrugged and lowered his voice. "Oh, it's fine. Gladys wanted to be closer to her family, and it really doesn't matter where I live when it's the offseason, you know," Bobby nodded - he did know. "And we got a good deal too," he added with a smirk.

Indeed they had, having purchased the house from Jack. Jack had kept it after he moved back to Toronto, renting it out in his absence. He was glad to have Danny take it off his hands though, noting that he wasn't much of a real estate mogul, no matter how much advice Rollie gave him.

Gladys appeared in the hall. She was now visibly pregnant, a change from the last time Bobby had seen her, back in New York when they'd dinner while his Keystones were in town to play the Gothams in August.

"Why Bob! This is certainly a surprise," she said and came over. Bobby pecked her on the cheek and grabbed her hands. "Everything going well?" he asked.

Gladys nodded and gushed, "Oh yes, everything's just peachy. Although I can't wait to meet this little guy, or gal."

"Hopefully a girl this time," Dan said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Bah, either one is fine, so long as the baby's healthy," Gladys said.

Then she narrowed her eyes and gave Bobby a penetrating look. "So... you're here because of that girl, aren't you?" she asked.

Bobby's eyes popped wide-open. Dan's too.

"Oh, close your mouths you two. You look like fish," Gladys said. "You can't show up here and think you're going to sneak one past me, Bobby Barrell."

"Uh, I guess not," Bobby said, that sheepish look back on his face.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Danny asked his wife.

She shook her head at him. "You have eyes, don't you? Haven't you seen the way he looks at... what's her name again?" she asked Bobby.

"Uh... Annette," Bobby said in a near whisper. "Annette O'Boyle."

Danny's face was screwed up in confusion for a moment longer then his eyes widened and he asked, "Isn't that the girl that Betsy ran against?"

"Yes," Gladys said.

Dan looked alarmed. "Uh, Bob. Have you uh, talked to Tommy lately?" he asked.

Now Bobby looked confused. "No. I thought he stayed in Brooklyn. Something about getting flying lessons for James or some such."

Dan nodded. "Yes, that's true. He did stay in Brooklyn. For a while." He paused and then added, "Until Claudia ran him off. She's not really a fan of the idea of James learning to be a pilot."

Bobby shook his head, still confused. "So?"

Dan clamped a hand on Bobby's shoulder, "Tommy's here. In Chicago."

Bobby was still plainly confused, "Here? Why?"

A look of realization crossed her face and Gladys shook her head. "For the same reason as you are, apparently."

Dan nodded sadly. Bobby closed his eyes and sighed. "Oh brother," he said.

"Yes, literally," Gladys said.

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An hour later, Bobby Barrell was walking across the campus of Whitney College, a piece of paper in hand.

He stopped, confused. There were a lot of buildings here and they all looked the same. Bobby thought it was probably a good thing he skipped college. It was easier hitting 35 homers for the Keystones than slogging through some boring class for a semester. And it was so dang cold here. The wind never stopped blowing. Why on earth would anyone go to school here?

A co-ed stopped next to him. She eyed him for a second and he looked up. She was cute and looking at him like she knew him somehow. But he was a man on a mission. He never thought he'd have his own brother as a rival for the affections of a girl, but brother or not, Bobby Barrell wasn't going down without a fight.

"You need some help?" the girl asked.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so," Bobby admitted. He showed the paper to the girl. "I'm looking for Grover Hall."

"Oh, I can show you," the girl said brightly. "I live there myself. Are you visiting someone?" she asked.

"Yes indeed," Bobby said with a smile.

The girl's smile dimmed a bit, but she gamely stuck out a hand and said, "I'm Lucy," she said, then quickly added, "Lucy Traynor," as Bobby shook her hand, doing his best to go lightly at it. Years of swinging bats had given him a grip that could probably break every bone in the girl's hand. She was on the smallish side, with bright green eyes and auburn hair pinned neatly under a hat. Bobby had no idea what kind of hat (women's fashion wasn't something he thought about much). It was boxy, but it looked good on her.

"I'm Bobby," he said, and then taking his cue from her, added, "Bobby Barrell."

"Bobby Barrell you say?" she asked, and gave a small nod, as if to herself.

"Uh, yep, that's what I said."

"The baseball player?"

Now Bobby got it and he grinned despite himself. He still wasn't completely used to people knowing who he was - outside of Philadelphia at least.

"Yes, that's me," he said, trying to sound humble.

"Wow," she said and stared open-mouthed. "Do you know that you're my favorite ballplayer?"

"What? You're joking," he said.

She had a serious look on her face. "No, not at all. I'm not a Chicago girl, you know," she said proudly.

"Oh no?" Bobby asked.

"No, I am from Frankford." This too was said proudly.

Bobby decided to have a little fun with her. "Really? That's in Philadelphia, isn't it?"

Lucy gave him a skeptical look. "Yes, it's in Philadelphia. You've been playing for the Keystones for five years, you should know where Frankford is," she said, her hands on her hips.

Bobby laughed at the serious look on her face, "Oh, I know where it is. I have an apartment on Frankford Avenue."

She slapped his arm playfully, "You were putting me on! That's not nice," she scolded, but there was a happy light in her eyes.

"I've been to so many games. I meant it when I said you're my favorite. Better than that old Rankin Kellogg. He never smiles, you know," she said.

"Oh Rank's ok. He's just real business-like, I guess you'd say." Then he quickly added, "And he's not that old."

"He looks like a sourpuss, and he's over thirty," she said firmly.

"Sourpuss or not, that fellow can flat-out hit," Bobby pointed out.

"That's true," Lucy offered in return. "But you did hit 33 home runs this year and..."

Bobby cut her off, saying, "And Rankin hit 45."

She shook her head at him and then eyed the piece of paper Bobby held in his hand. "Say, don't you have someone to meet over at Grover Hall?"

Bobby crumpled the paper. "I'd say I have met someone from Grover Hall, and I'm enjoying her company quite a bit."

Lucy beamed at him and blushed. Bobby thought she was about the cutest thing he'd ever seen. "How about you and me go find some lunch?" he asked and stuck out an arm.

She hooked her arm through his and said, "I have a class in an hour, so no dawdling, Mr. Pro Baseball Player."

"I'll do my best," Bobby said with a smile.

"So... what kind of hat is that?" he asked as they turned around and headed off-campus.

.