Author's Note: I own nothing from "The Sandlot"

Wendy's Choice

Fashion photographer Anna Watts had a reputation for being cool in the fashion world. She allways knew how to handle certain situations, and due to that considerable style her career was rising. As she was looking over her new shots she sensed that something was off with Wendy, recent college graduate and her assistant for several months. For sometime they had been preparing to spend several months on a working trip to Paris. Ever since she announced the trip Wendy had been excited about going, but today she had somehow off. Now was the time, she pulled Wendy aside and said, "Wendy? Is everything alright? You've been acting strange all day."

Wendy replied, "I'm okay Miss Watts. Something happened to me which threw me off, I guess."

Anna prided herself on being a compassionate boss, and so replied, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Wendy said, "You know I would." They found a couple of chairs in the studio and sat down. Wendy started, "In order to understand you need to hear what happened the summer of six years ago. Around there was this elementary school kid who lived in my town. Michael Palledorous. His friends called him Squints because of these heavy glasses he wore. He had two interests as far as I can tell. Baseball because I saw him often playing baseball at a local sandlot field, and me."

Anna's eyebrows perked up, "You?"

"Yes, he had the most enormous crush on me. I did nothing to dissuade it. I found it extremely flattering, and I figured he was harmless, until IT happened."

"What happened?"

"Throughout high school, during the summer I worked as a lifeguard at the local pool. He and his friends stopped by the pool sometimes until that one day. For me it was business as usual, when I saw Michael on the diving board. I found it odd since I never saw him leave the shallow end of the pool before, but I figured he could handle it and he was only trying to impress me. He dove in. From his friends panicked actions, and the fact he was lying at the bottom of the pool, I figured I was wrong. I did my life-guarding duty. I dove in, pulled him to the surface and gave mouth to mouth. It seemed routine until His hands clamped onto the top of my head, and I felt his tongue down my mouth. He was faking it!"

Anna recoied, "Oh my, how did you react?"

Wendy exclaimed, "I was furious, of course! I yelled at him, and dragged him out of the pool area. He and all his friends were banned that day. But only a few seconds later, I saw him looking at me through the chain-link fence surrounding the pool, and it was around that time, the anger passed. In its place I felt.. impressed."

"Impressed?"

Wendy continued, "I don't know how else to describe it. I realized it was the gutsiest move I have ever heard of. He could have gotten beaten up and for what two seconds of bliss. With that, I couldn't help but smile at him as I realized how incredibly silly the whole situation was. After that, every time I saw him I couldn't help but smile."

Anna chuckled at it and said, "I take it what happened today involved him?"

Wendy nodded and replied, "We're currently near my hometown. I made a quick visit to see my parents. I stopped by the local pharmacy to pick up some makeup."

Anna smirked and said, "He was there."

Wendy continued, "Working the counter. When we recognized each other, I couldn't bring myself to be mad at him. He asked me if we could get caught up on our lives, and I found myself saying yes. He took a break from work, took two bottles of Pepsi from the pharmacy, and we went outside and sat on nearby bench. He told me he was having trouble deciding between going to college, and working at the pharmacy, since he was so good as his job, that he knew the pharmacy owner was soon retiring, and he thought he would give the pharmacy to him."

"Okay."

"The conversation ended with him asking to marry me."

Anna nearly fell out of her chair. "What?!!"

Wendy chuckled and replied, "He's impulsive around me. I clearly knew this already."

Anna composed herself and asked, "So how did you respond?"

Wendy exclaimed, "I didn't! I was so flabbergasted by the question that I ran away. As I did, he called out, 'That's not a no! The question is still available.' So, Miss Watts, my problem is this, how do I shut up the voice in my head telling me to find him and respond to the question in the affirmative?"

Anna patted Wendy on the shoulder and said, "Are you sure that's not what you want?"

Wendy replied with distinct lack of enthusiasm, "Yeah, of course."

"Say that one more time with even less feeling."

Wendy replied, "Well come on? You've given me the opportunity to travel the world! Why would I give that up for that kind of life?"

Anna then said, "If you don't like this guy then feel free to never talk to him again, but don't talk down on that kind of life. I've lived in my apartment for five years and I'm not totally unpacked yet. I live every day wondering what city I'm in when I wake up. I'm jealous whenever I visit my sister, her husband and her kids. They're happy. So few people in the world are really happy. Do what you think will make you happy girl. That's the only advice I think I can give you." With that the two women got up and returned to work.

As the day ended Wendy decided to go over to Squints home and Squints greeted her at the door with "Hello my love. Have you had dinner?"

Wendy looked around the dining room, and saw a candlelit dinner for two had been set up. She said slyly, "What do you expect to happen here, Squints?"

"I don't have a single damn clue. But if all this accomplishes is a goodbye kiss where there previously would be none, then it would be worth it."

As they sat down at the table, Wendy chuckled and said, "This is nuts. I have all these voices of my friends and family telling me that I should have not have come. That I should have nothing to do with you."

Squints took her cheek and said, "Never mind your friends and family. What do you want, Wendy? The only person who matters here is you." Wendy smiled and went in. After a kiss that seemed to never end, Squints asked, "Is that a yes?"

"It's a definite maybe."