Lupe Throws Like A Girl

Lupe hated playing Rummikub, but residents at the Villa loved it. In order to avoid visiting with Mr. Ramirez, Lupe sat next to Penny as she played the game with the silver-haired ladies. The older women were so used to the game they were able to keep a conversation going without even pausing to count up their tiles.

“You know, you young girls are not the first females to play softball. When I was young, we had a woman softball player named Dot. What was her last name?” The woman turned to her friends with better memories. “You remember—she played lots of sports.”

“You’re thinking of Billie Jean King.” The woman across the table lay down three tiles at a time and spoke with great self-confidence.

“We know who she is, but she played tennis, not softball.” Penny winked at Lupe.

“No, this woman played softball—Dot something. It was before the war,” the older woman said.

“Which war?” Penny kept the conversation going, all the while sneaking Lupe sly smiles.

“Well, World War II, of course. How old do you think we are, dear? Wait a minute . . . Wilkinson, that was her name!” The Villa resident smiled as she regained her memory.

A woman working on a puzzle in the same room had overheard the entire conversation. She raised her voice and called out to the Rummikub players.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake, we have a book about Dot Wilkinson in our library. It’s right over there.” The puzzle player pointed to the far end of the game room, where a jumbled library overflowed with magazines and paperback novels. Lupe stood up and moved toward the shelves that she had previously overlooked.

“Oh, Lynn. How can you find anything on those shelves? Are you sure? Dot Wilkinson?” The Rummikub players never took their eyes off their tiles.

“Of course, I’m sure. I wrote that book.” The woman they knew as Alice, with short, cropped salt-and-pepper hair, stood next to the players with her arms crossed over her chest. She turned and followed Lupe to the bookshelves. “It’s right there, honey. It’s called Girls Play Ball, Too.”