The ride wasn't as terrible as it was last week.

When Emily's father moved to New Jersey, he had arranged to work an earlier shift so that he could miss both the morning and afternoon rush hours. This allowed them to avoid most of the beach traffic as they drove south along Route Nine.

Plus she didn't have to answer too many intrusive questions because John Sr. was never one to meddle much in her personal life.

I assume it is because he prefers that people don't snoop into his life either...

So they chatted about nothing of consequence for the hour and a half ride and Emily was able to turn her mind from worrying about her troubles back in the city to the anticipation of new experiences in the suburbs.

When they turned onto the cul-de-sac, John and his friends were nowhere to be seen, but Evan was putting his baseball bag into his trunk and had most of his uniform on. Emily realized he was about to leave for his game.

Perfect timing...

Evan turned to look at her father's car as they pulled into the driveway but he didn't see her because he was getting behind the wheel of his own car. Desperate to reveal herself before he drove away, Emily leapt out before her father stopped completely and ran over to Evan's car.

He was looking down to plug his phone into the charger when she knocked on his window. He picked up his head up at the sound and his face transmuted from annoyance to confusion to pleasure. It reminded Emily of party last weekend when he had just as quickly shifted through emotions.

I like how transparent he usually is... How I can tell what he's thinking, even if he doesn't tell me... I have a hard time reading most people and maybe that was what bothered me when he was pitching... He became inscrutable and it seemed against his nature...

Emily also marveled at how quickly he processed through his feelings. She learned about Freud's model of the psyche when her class read 'Jane Eyre' in school last year. Both the novel and the theory had fascinated her.

I imagine that inside of Evan's mind there's a little baseball pitcher and catcher... The catcher is his id, suggesting all of his instinctual drives like pitches... While his super-ego is the pitcher, shaking off most of the catcher's suggestions and trying to make him the most perfect Evan he can be... And then once the ball is thrown it becomes his ego, the more realistic public display of the teamwork between his pitcher and catcher... Of course because he's a knuckleballer his pitches take some time to reach their final destination as they float over the different emotions and he tests them out...

She would have to tell him about her idea about her vision of the "Inside Out" movie in his head later on, because right then she was glad to be swept into his arms. 

"What are you doing here? I thought you had plans? Why didn't you tell me? When did you decide?"

Evan peppered her with a little kiss in between each question as he nearly squeezed the life out of her.

"Are you going to give me a chance to answer any of your questions?"

Emily laughed. He put her down and sat back in his car but didn't shut the door.

"Actually no. I have to go now or I'm going to be late to warm-ups and then I won't start."

Despite his words, Evan got back out and lifted her to kiss her again. "Why don't you come with me?"

Emily shook her head. "I can't. I've really got to do my laundry or I'll have nothing to wear later on to Samantha's party. Besides I'll just be a distraction to you. Go on before you're late."

She gently pushed him back toward his car. Evan frowned.

"Ok but only because I don't have enough time to argue with you!"

He climbed back into the seat. This time Emily stepped back and he shut the door. She leaned through the window to kiss him once more.

"Good luck! Or break a leg or whatever you say in baseball."