Chapter 14: Family

Saturday April 19, 2014 – Freshman Year

Spring Break was finally here. Today we had a baseball tournament, and then freedom for a week. Tomorrow was Easter Sunday. We were the host family because everyone wanted to see Mom, now that she was cancer free. Grandma Dawson and Uncle John arrived last night. Today Uncle Jim, Mom's brother, and his family were arriving. Mom had gone last night to pick up her parents, Grandma and Grandpa Felton.

Today's tournament was being held at the park Dad used to supervise. They had four baseball and two softball diamonds. The tournament was being played on the four baseball fields. Dad had reserved two of the pavilions next to the baseball fields. One was for the family and the other was for Lincoln's baseball teams. Mrs. Sullivan and the boosters were going to be manning that venue.

The tournament had drawn sixteen teams. It was an open tournament so they were mixing both JV and varsity in the same tournament. We got one of the early games that started at nine in the morning. Dad, Greg, and Uncle John were taking me to the park so they could clean the pavilion grills, and wipe down the picnic tables. Angie had also cut up a bunch of oranges and mixed up a five gallon drink cooler of Gatorade for the baseball teams.

When we got to the park, we saw Mrs. Sullivan was there with a big cargo van with a grill attached to the back. She and her husband would have a cookout at the dealership about once a month to attract customers. They also rented out the cooker at a great rate. Apparently, it was good advertising.

Washington also had an early game and I saw their bus pull up. I got Ty and the guys to help unload the van and set up. They ate all my oranges. With everyone's help, we got everything setup in about ten minutes. I was sitting with the Washington team around the picnic tables when Eve showed up.

Eve and I had been getting closer over the last couple of weeks. After Harper stayed at my apartment, Mom and Dad had lifted my ban on girls. Mom said she would rather know where I was than force me to sneak around. Eve had been taking advantage of my freedom to the point the other girls were bitching. Eve had been on the road Saturday nights, so for the last two weeks Beth and Suzanne had been my dates. I was pretty sure Jim was going to need therapy before high school was over. Eve was actually going to be my date tonight because tomorrow was Easter.

I knew something was up because the Washington players suddenly got quiet. I turned around to see Eve and Cassidy come sauntering up. They both had a little extra wiggle in their butts. I got up to say hello and Cassidy pulled me down and gave me a kiss. Eve repeated the hello but with a little more heat.

"Well, hello, ladies," I said with a grin.

"Hello, David," they said in unison.

I introduced them to the Washington team. Eventually the conversation turned to the trip to Kentucky.

"How many guys have you gotten commitments from?" I asked Ty.

"Right now, my Dad and one of the assistant coaches are going to chaperone. We have sixteen guys that have signed up. I think I can get four or five more if they can come up with the money. How many do you have coming from Lincoln?"

"So far I have fourteen guys, and my Dad and Coach Hope. I talked to Don Berta and he has reserved forty slots for us."

Don was the recruiting coordinator for Kentucky.

"Do we want to open it up to some other schools and see if we can fill them?" Ty asked.

Mrs. Sullivan had walked over and had been listening to us.

"Is money an issue for some of the guys?" Mrs. Sullivan asked.

"Washington has about four or five guys and we have about the same that don't have the funds to go. If they did, we would fill our slots with just our two schools," I told her.

"How much is it?" she asked.

I told her.

"If they would be willing to come to the dealership and work a couple of weekends, I would pay for their trip, and a little extra for spending money. We have to do our annual parts inventory, and we have several projects that we have been putting off. If they are willing, we could use the help."

"Some of us could use the extra spending money. Could you use more guys?" Ty asked.

"I have enough work for all forty of you for two to three weekends if you want."

I pulled out my phone and looked at my calendar.

"The only weekend I can do it is May 24 and May 25. The next weekend is my brother's wedding," I said, then looked at Ty. "Could you be there over the next weekend to keep an eye on things?"

"I can actually be there for both weekends," Ty told me.

"That weekend is Memorial Day weekend. Are you sure you want to do it then?" Mrs. Sullivan asked.

"Sure, why not? Don't you have a big sale that weekend?" I asked as she nodded. "Some of the guys could man the grill and free up your people. I'm sure there are several things we could do to help out if you get busy."

We all had big smiles on our faces. We now had a full bus and Mrs. Sullivan had some extra help.

We drew St. John's 'A' squad in the first round. They had four teams in the tournament. The week before, they had seeded the teams. We suspected that the tournament organizers wanted to draw attention to the tournament and put us together. Surprising me not at all, I ran into my buddy at the local paper, Jeff Delahey.

"Hey, Jeff, it must be a slow news day if you're covering our JV game."

"I'm hoping you'ld tackle someone. Could you do that for me today?" he teased me.

"Last time I got a three game suspension. They might kick me off the team if I did it again."

"Come on, I need you to do something I can write about."

"How about I hit a couple of their batters and start a big brawl. I have terrible control of my fastball. I really don't know why they let me pitch."

"That's the spirit. Any scoop?" he asked.

"You might go talk to Mrs. Sullivan over at the pavilion. The booster club is working on a few things to improve the facilities at Lincoln. She might even feed you if you say nice things about me."

"Don't push your luck. Anything else?"

"Hmmm, I get better looking every day?"

"Don't say that around my granddaughter. She thinks you're the bomb."

"Go harass St. John's. They are rumored to have some D1 talent. You can ask them if they plan on losing to a JV team, again. Maybe that'll get them all riled up."

"Can I quote you on that?"

"Heck no! Coach would kill me. I trust you to start your own trouble without my help."

"Alright. I'll let you get ready. I'll be back after you beat them, and you can give me five minutes on how lucky you are to be alive, and how good they were."

"Sounds like a plan."

He just shook his head and went to cause trouble with St. John.

Coach Haskins had us gather around to give us the game plan.

"How you feeling, Justin?" he asked.

"Good, Coach."

"Today, we are going to play them straight up. Justin, we are going to ride your arm as long as we can, and then bring in David. I want you to keep the innings short, so don't try to strike them out. Get them to ground out so we keep your pitch count low.

"When we're batting, I want you to take the first pitch. We have worked on being selective, and everyone's batting average is up. I want them to have to work you into the count. They are not going to pull their pitcher because no one is deep enough for the whole tournament.

"Don't be surprised if they get up on us. We'll pick it up in the later innings. Keep sharp and keep your head in the game. Hustle every chance you get, and be aggressive on the base paths. Picking up an extra base here and there will be the difference in this one."

I brought them all in and we put our gloves together, "ONE, TWO, THREE ... GO DAWGS!"

Eve was leading off again. We were the visiting team because we were the lower seed. Rusty was pitching, so this was going to be interesting. Eve had embarrassed him the last time we played. Eve was one of the players that had taken to the coaching. She was getting good at battling a pitcher. She worked the count to three and two and then hit six straight foul balls. Rusty tried to get her out with a big sweeping curve ball, but put it in the dirt a foot in front of the plate.

Eve hustled to first and the catcher was still tracking down the ball. It had rolled behind the umpire's heel and he didn't see it. Eve was half way to second when he found it. He didn't even bother to try and throw her out.

Kelly was up next and was crowding the plate. Rusty decided to push him back and clipped him.

"Oh, man! I'm so sorry!"

Both teams had been warned before the game that we would be kicked out of the tournament if we started throwing at each other. The umpire went straight to the mound after gesturing for their coach.

"If you hit one more, you're gone. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir. It was an accident, sir," Rusty told the ump.

"I know, son, but you have a little history to overcome. I'm giving you fair warning."

Jeff was up next. He was probably our most improved hitter. He crowded the plate knowing that Rusty wasn't coming inside. It was all Jeff could do not to swing at the first pitch. It was a fastball right down the middle. Jeff did his job in making him work, but Rusty blew a fastball by him to get the strikeout.

Wolf was up and I was in the on deck circle. Rusty threw another fastball right down the middle. Coach motioned me over.

"I want you to hit the first pitch out of the park. He knows we are taking the first pitch."

I nodded and stretched and got ready to bat. Wolf also struck out. Rusty was getting into a groove. He was going to be hard to beat now that he had settled in. I took my normal stance. Rusty again threw it right down the middle daring me to hit it. I could tell by the ping of the bat that I got all of it. Rusty's head snapped around as he watched the towering shot go down the first base line. I was rounding first when the other umpire made one of the worst calls I have ever seen. He had been near second base and called it a foul ball.

I think Eve was more pissed than I was. I went back to back and picked up my bat. With my head down, I said softly to the home plate umpire, "Are you going to overrule him?"

He called time and got the other ump to have a talk. After a few minutes, the home plate umpire signaled a home run. As I rounded the bases, Rusty winked at me.

"That is all your getting, today, Dawson," he challenged me.

"We'll see, Rusty," I shot back.

At least he was smiling.

By the time we came up in the seventh inning, both pitchers were struggling. They had battled back and the score was 3 – 2. I was up first and I winked at Rusty to tell him that game was on. He gave me a tight smile.

I crowded the plate to give him something to think about. I guess he figured what the heck and knocked me down. The ball hit the grip and bounced foul. The ump was going to throw him out, but I jumped up.

"He missed me. It hit the bat."

"I thought it grazed you son."

"No, sir."

Rusty tipped his hat at me to say thanks. Coach Haskins was shaking his head. I guess I looked at it as being just a game. If this meant something I would have let the ump make his call and let the chips fall where they may. I also wanted to have a reputation as an honest player. I already caught a break by not showing up the ump earlier. If I had thrown a fit, he never would have talked to the other umpire about the home run ball.

I crowded the plate again daring Rusty to pitch inside. He did it again and I went down in the dirt. He gave me an evil smile. I dusted myself off and did it again. He just shook his head at me. This time I smiled at him. He was getting behind in the count. He threw a nice changeup to the outside enticing me to swing at it. Two weeks ago I would have, but Coach Haskins had been working us hard to recognize the strike zone. Rusty had to throw me a strike this time.

I settled into my normal stance and waited for the pitch. Rusty shook off his catcher twice. I was guessing that meant he wanted to throw his big curve. I still had a hard time hitting a curve, but I was much better if I knew it was coming. If it was a fastball I was dead, but it began to break. I crushed it and sent a towering shot to center field.

At first. I was afraid I had hit it too high. As I jogged down the first baseline, I was yelling at the baseball.

"Get out! Get out!"

I saw the ball get caught by a young kid, who was ten yard past the fence. I did a fist pump and rounded the bags making 4 – 2. That is how the game ended. This time St. John were better sports and I sent them over to our tent to get some food and drinks. I was met there by Jeff and gave him my five minute canned speech.

"You're killing me David," Jeff moaned. "Give me something."

"What, I get better looking each day isn't doing it for you?" I teased him. "How about this? Coach Haskins has made us a much better team by helping us learn how to have effective at bats. The more pitches you see, the more you know what the pitcher will do. A great example was Eve Holliday's first-at-bat. She ran the count full and then fought off several pitches. That helped the whole team see what kind of pitches the opposing pitcher was bringing. That single at bat set the tone for the rest of the game."

Jeff clapped and I gave him a little bow. Rusty came up and knocked my hat off in good fun.

"Now ask this one if he has ever seen a more towering shot than I put on him," I told Jeff.

"Why don't you do the interview," Jeff teased me.

"Okay, you getting this?" I asked Jeff and he nodded. "Rusty, blah, blah, blah, you suck. Any comments?"

"You know, David, I'm just lucky to be here..."

Jeff threw his note pad at us as we laughed at him.

"You two are not going to come off well in tomorrow's paper."

At least he was smiling.

I went to the family pavilion to see who was there. Uncle Jim and Aunt Tanya were there with their daughters Julie and Elizabeth. The girls were twelve and ten. I always felt bad for Elizabeth because Julie ignored her. Not that Julie was mean; she just didn't make time to hang out with her sister. The girls ran up to me and I bent down to bring them both into a hug. Elizabeth wrinkled her nose.

"You stink."

"He's a boy," Julie told her sister.

I tickled them both and they ran screaming from me. Greg scooped up Elizabeth and tossed her to me.

"You torture this one and I'll get the other one," he said as he play chased Julie.

I flipped her upside down and her shirt exposed her tummy. I gave her a raspberry.

"Let me down! I'm going to pee!" she squealed.

I set her down and she ran off. Julie had Greg down and was tickling him with Angie and Beth's help.

Aunt Tanya came up and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, good looking. Someone grew up."

"Yes, ma'am, it happens."

"That it does. When do you play next?" she asked me.

"In about an hour or so I would guess. Last time I checked, the second game on our next field is going fast. Are you going to stay and watch?"

"Elizabeth wouldn't miss it. Julie wants to go to the mall with Angie and Beth."

"Elizabeth can be our bat girl if she wants. That way you can do what you want this afternoon. I promise to bring her home in one piece."

"That would make her trip. She idolizes you. She told me she wanted to be a photographer so she could take your pictures."

I snorted.

"She has no idea how much work it is to make me look good."

I grabbed a chicken sandwich, some potato salad and kicked back and relaxed until Jim came and told me we were warming up. I scooped up Elizabeth and threw her over my shoulder and took her with me. She swatted my butt.

"Let me ride on your shoulders."

I flipped her over and she got situated and she stole my baseball cap.

"You want to hang out with me or go shopping with your sister?"

She got very serious.

"You would let me hang out with you?"

"Of course I would."

"But I don't know how to play baseball."

"That's okay. I have a very important job of you if you think you can do it."

"I'll try my best, but sometimes I mess up."

"You'll do fine. If you do mess up, remember that I love you, and I'll make sure it's okay."

She squeezed my head.

"David, can you call me El? All my friends do, and I would like you to, also."

"Sure thing."

I found my team getting ready to warm up. I went up to Coaches Haskins and Hope.

"I would like to ask that we take on a bat girl. This is my cousin El and she is hanging out with me today."

"El, have you ever been a bat girl, before?" Coach Haskins asked her.

"No, sir, but I told David I would try my hardest. He said that if I messed up he would help me fix it."

"I think with that kind of attitude you will do just fine. What do you think, Coach Hope?"

"I think she has the job. David, why don't you show her what to do?"

I explained to her that safety was first. When there was live action, she was to stay in the dugout. I showed her where the bats were and how we kept them separated so the players could find the right bat. I told her when she was supposed to go get the bat and how to pick up our stuff after our at bat.

I took her over and introduced her to the home plate umpire. He showed her where he kept extra baseballs and that he might ask her to bring him some. He had a separate bucket for the used balls.

We were playing Washington. Ty came up to me.

"I see you have a new bat girl. Are you dating this one?"

"Funny. She's my cousin. Why isn't your little brother your bat boy?"

"Good idea, but I don't have time to show him what to do."

"Introduce him to El and she will teach him."

While I warmed up, El and Jeb, Ty's middle brother, talked about how to do their job. I saw her take him to the umpire who patiently showed them what to do with the balls. I heard him reinforcing the safety rules. Turns out, Jeb was a little traitor. He decided to sit with El so they could talk. They were thick as thieves before the game started.

Cassidy found a couple of Lincoln baseball caps for the kids. Ty about had a stroke when Jeb showed it off to him. Jeb laughed at him because he knew that Ty was all bark and no bite.

We got to be the home team because our bracket was the higher seed. We took the field first and Mike was pitching. It was a pitching duel 'till the third inning. In the top of the third, Mike made a mistake and gave up a two run homer. They scored two more single runs and were up 4 – 0.

We had two on and two outs in the fourth when I came up to bat. Their pitcher promptly hit me square in the back. It hurt. I was contemplating kicking his ass, when I saw him holding his arm. He was in as much pain as I was.

"Crap! I heard it pop!" he explained to his coach.

I went to grab my bat, and found El and Jeb staring at me with big eyes.

"Are you okay, David," Jeb asked.

"That looked like it hurt," El said.

I almost said no shit but caught myself.

"It does sting a little bit. I'll be okay."

Coach inserted Jim as a pinch hitter. He had been hitting some huge shots in practice. Washington had the same problem we all had, not enough pitching. They had to run out their first baseman. He was big but had no breaking ball. Jim figured him out quickly and hit a grand slam that tied the game. We tagged on four more runs before they finally got an out. Washington went down in order in the top of the fifth. When it was time for us to bat again, their coach came out and forfeited the game. Their pitcher had tightened up during the time he was on the bench, and no one else wanted to try their hand at pitching.

This meant we were in the final four. I put Jeb and El on my shoulders and had them high five the Washington's players as we did the handshake. Ty rescued Jeb so they could go home.

We were playing St. John's 'C' squad. They had taken out our varsity squad in the first round. I found Rusty and his Dad hanging around our bull pen. Coach had Bert penciled in to pitch, but he had no control in warm-ups.

"So guys, what can you tell me about your 'C' team?"

"They will eat this kid alive," Rusty said.

"They are a lot like you guys in that they will sit on the first pitch. This guy doesn't have enough power and has no alternative pitches. They might score twenty on you," Mr. Fog offered.

"What about their pitcher? He any good?" I asked.

Rusty shrugged.

"He does some spot middle relief. You might put twenty on him," Mr. Fog told me.

I walked over and took the ball from Bert. He was relieved. After I threw about ten fastballs and had loosened up, I threw my new pitch. The two seam fastball. Unlike the straight trajectory of the four seam, this pitch had some movement on it. I threw four of them when I suddenly found Rusty and his Dad standing next to me.

"You have a tell, when you throw that pitch," Rusty said.

"Yeah, you hold your glove different," Mr. Fog told me.

I threw a couple of each and they showed me what I was doing. Sure enough, I was dropping my glove when I threw anything but the four seam. They also showed me how to get more out of my legs. It made the motion easier and felt more natural. Before we knew it, it was game time. We were the home team again.

When I went to warm-up, I only showed the four seam pitch. I was also intentionally wild. Everyone expected to be seeing the worst pitcher in this game. It was announced that I was the reliever. Their first batter settled in and I threw my changeup as the first pitch. His eyes lit up so I next threw the four seam and blew it past him. He was ready for my third pitch, but I threw the two seam. Well I thought it was. I actually had spread my fingers out a little bit and with more rotation. It became a split fingered fast ball. It was like the ball danced up to the plate and then fell off the table.

I struck out the side and we came up. We put two on them. The second inning was more of the first. They couldn't touch my new pitch. Tim was doing a good job of mixing up my pitches. Well actually Coach Haskins was. He was signaling in the pitches to Tim.

By the top of the seventh inning, we had a huge crowd. No one wanted to get near me on the bench because I had a perfect game going with 21 up and 21 down. We were now up 8 – 0. St. John's was starting to make contact as I tired. Luckily they seemed to be hitting it right at someone. I was worried because in JV ball we only played seven innings. I had never pitched this much. Because this was the final-four (the semi-final) of an open tournament, we had to go nine innings.

In the ninth inning, before I went out, El stopped me.

"They say this is the big one. I know you can do it," she said and reached up and gave me a hug.

It was really weird. The place was so quiet you could hear a pin drop when I got ready to pitch. You could actually hear the ball as it tore through the air and then popped into the glove.

"Strike One!" the umpire yelled.

The crowd would then burst into excitement and then quiet down. Before I knew it I had struck out two batters on six pitches. St. John had sent in a pinch hitter for their final out. The kid looked determined. I got into my stance and settled. I wound up and threw my hardest four seam ball of the day. I heard the unmistakable sound of ball hitting a metal bat and the crowd gasped. I felt it hit me and I quickly looked around for the ball and I heard the crowd erupt and the St. John player threw his helmet on the ground. I looked down, and the ball was in my glove!

Next thing I knew, Wolf had me in a bear hug crushing the life out of me. He stumbled and then my team was piling on me. Coach Hope came to my rescue and pulled me out of the pile. The stands were emptying onto the field. I found El and grabbed her and put her on my shoulders so she wouldn't get hurt. The cover of the Sunday paper was of her with her arms raised and me with a huge grin on my face.

I put El down when the crowd left the field so we could do the post-game handshake. I gave El the ball and told her to keep it safe.

The day was almost perfect as far as baseball went. The only bad thing was that Richwood edged us out for the championship. We were out of pitching and they won 4 – 3.

After the game, Eve gave El and me a ride home. El was a little chatter box.

"So what are we doing tonight?" El asked.

Eve gave me an amused look. I was obviously on my own with this one.

"Well, I was planning on going on a date with Eve and two of our friends."

"Can I go?"

How do you tell a ten year old you want to go get laid? I guess you don't. Plus, I only see El about once a year. I looked at Eve and she nodded yes.

"Tell you what. The first part of the date is going to dinner. If your Mom says yes, you can go. The second part we are watching a scary movie. I know you don't want to stay up all night, so only the big kids will do that. Does that sound okay?"

"Do we get to dress up? Mom got me a pretty dress, but we have to be careful and not get it dirty."

"I think you need to show the dress to Eve, so she knows how dressed up she needs to get."

Eve shot daggers with her eyes. She was a jeans and t-shirt gal. She hated to wear a dress. We got home and El went to talk to her mom. I kissed Eve.

"Thank you."

"You owe me big for this."

"Yes ma'am. Do you have some ideas on how I can pay up," I said as I nuzzled her neck.

She shivered.

"Maybe one or two."

We walked into the kitchen to see El holding court. She showed everyone the ball I gave her. Wait, I said to protect. I guess I'll never see that ball again. She then told them that we were going on a date. Eve giggled and asked what she was doing tonight.

Julie was none too happy to hear her little sister was going on a date. She complained that she had to wait 'till she turned 16. El grabbed Eve and her mom's hand and pulled them to where they were staying tonight to show Eve her dress.

I went to Angie and asked her if they could take Julie to dinner so she didn't feel left out. She waved Greg over and asked him. They were planning on going to a party. I offered to pay for dinner for info on the party. It was one of Angie's friends from the junior college. I gave them some money but decided to pass on that party. Angie said there would be pot smoking and knew I tried to stay away from drugs.

I called Tracy to see if she knew of any parties. She always knew what was going on. Turned out Kim Sun's parents were away and she was having a little get together. Since my apartment was currently housing grandparents, this sounded like a nice place to get some alone time with Eve.

Eve met me at my place in a nice skirt and blouse. El had her hair fixed by her mom and she looked like a little princess in her pink dress. I had opted for jeans, black t-shirt and sports coat. I figured I could lose the jacket after dinner.

I almost laughed when Jim showed up in a suit and tie. He took one look at me gave me a dirty look. I had told him that we were going to the Blue Dragon. It is an upscale Asian place that Eve wanted to try. I could tell that we would be swinging by Jim's place to change before we went to the party.

When we got to Cassidy's house, Brad answered the door. I guess his visit to the big house had not made him any nicer. It could be that he blames me for bailing out half the party but not him. His father (and Coach) had grounded him for the rest of the school year.

I was completely unprepared when Cassidy was ready. She was in a nice dress and ready to go. I pulled her aside.

"Hey, after this we are going to a party. You might want to grab some jeans and a t-shirt. I don't think your dad will appreciate us coming back to change."

She went upstairs and brought a backpack with her. Everyone was ready so we loaded up and went to dinner.

The Blue Dragon was downtown and backed up to the park. We got lucky and were seated on the second floor overlooking the lake. El was being the perfect little lady. She kept watching Eve and following her lead. I reached out and held both of their hands.

"David, I've never had Chinese food before," El confided in me.

"Do you like noodles?" I asked her.

"You mean like pasta?"

"Yes."

"I love that. Do they have something like that?"

"Yes. Do you like peanut butter?"

She nodded yes.

"How about you try peanut butter chicken with noodles?"

I ended up ordering a bunch of different appetizers so everyone could try things. I was surprised that none of them had gone to Chinese places. Jim about killed himself on the spicy mustard he put on the eggrolls. I taught them how to use chopsticks. El and Cassidy were naturals. Let's just say that Jim is a work in progress and Eve made me feed her.