Chapter 33: Lady Lucky

Saturday April 22
We were set to play our last game before next week’s Regionals. That would begin our quest to win eight straight games to win State, which was all but impossible to do in baseball. That was why they played best of five- and seven-game series in professional ball. Even the college World Series was a double-elimination format. At some point, Lady Luck would have to play a part in whether we would win it all.

I took Duke on my morning run, ate breakfast with my family, and did some reading for school. I had some time, so I pulled out my life goals. After talking to both my dad and Jeremy, the psychic, I felt I should reaffirm they were still important.

1. Financial Stability
a. Comfortable Life
b. Good Education

2. Physically Fit

3. Solid Moral Foundation
a. Religion / Faith
b. Man of Integrity (Man of my word)
c. No Gossip
d. Think before saying ‘yes’
e. Learn to say ‘no’

As I reviewed them, I could see that I was doing well with some goals, and with others, not so much. I had the first two taken care of to this point. By this time next year, I would have made three more movies and banked enough that I would be financially secure for the rest of my life. Added to that were my business interests, which were all showing a positive cash flow.

If I so desired, I could potentially retire before I was twenty and not work another day in my life. For me, though, that wouldn’t fly. I was the type of person who couldn’t imagine ever sitting at home or living a life of leisure like many trust-fund kids did. That didn’t fit goal number 6—’Make a Difference.’

I skipped over number 2 because, at this point, that was a given. I would keep it as a placeholder for when I got older. Not that it wasn’t important; I’d already lost a grandfather to heart problems, and my dad was working through his own cardiac issues. That alone was motivation enough.

The goal I was having the most problems with was number 3. Starting at the top, I hadn’t done much with the first component—’Religion / Faith.’ I’d been hit-or-miss on going to church, but that was only part of it. As they say, going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car. Faith is the key, but ‘faith’ is one of those words that people have a hard time understanding. I’d been told by some that faith in a religious context was simply superstition.

That comment made me reflect on what faith truly was. The dictionary definition was ‘unquestioning belief that does not require proof or evidence.’ For me, the short answer was that faith was taking God at His word.

I didn’t think God wanted us to blindly follow religious teachings or dogma with an unquestioning belief that did not require proof or evidence, as the dictionary said. Faith was accepting God’s word (His promises and His warnings) as fact and acting accordingly.

For me, it was a roadmap for living. I didn’t have to believe everything written in the Bible for it to fit into my life. People got hung up on taking the stories in the Bible too literally. We had to remember that the Bible was written by men, and which of us was perfect?

What I thought religion did for most people was to help them see beyond themselves. It was chock full of examples like ‘do unto others as you would have them to do unto you.’ Personally, I believed if more people thought more about those words and began to live by them, our world would be a better place.

If for no other reason, I would continue to go to church because I had kids. Thinking about what kind of men and women I wanted them to grow up to be, I envisioned them as loving, caring adults who thought of more than just themselves. I felt religion and faith could help with that.

The next part, ‘Man of Integrity,’ was a work in progress. If you wanted to be a leader, people had to be able to trust your word. The saying ‘actions speak louder than words’ was spot on. I had to keep reminding myself that a promise once made should be a promise kept.

This was another one of those guideline types of goals. It didn’t mean that you never backed out of a promise. Sometimes circumstances changed, and you couldn’t follow through on a promise. Or you might be in a situation where you decided not to follow through because the consequences would be dire for those involved. That came with a big ‘but’: but it had to be for a damned good reason, and you should explain why you changed your mind.

That led to the next three on my list, which I was having the hardest time with: ‘No Gossip,’ ‘Thinking before saying “yes,”’ and ‘Learning to say “no.”’

‘No Gossip’ was hard. We all wanted to hear and share dirt. I was guilty of this one and knew it. The reason I’d added it was because I thought about how people perceived a gossip. First of all, not very flatteringly. Yes, we loved to listen to the stories. But if you took a step back, you had to ask yourself—would you trust the person telling stories with a confidence? Or would you worry they would share what you said with others?

This was one I wanted to work on.

The next two went hand-in-hand. ‘Thinking before saying “yes”’ was an extension of being a man of integrity who kept his promises. When you made a promise, it should be done in a manner where you don’t have to go back on your word, if possible. That meant I had to think through what I was committing to, be it something simple like agreeing to hang out with friends, or something big like adopting Dave.

The flip side was to fight my people-pleasing need. If I wasn’t willing to say ‘yes,’ I had to man up and say ‘no.’ This was the goal I struggled most with. I realized I would often justify my failure to say ‘no’ by telling myself it was instead a ‘no regrets’ situation. I would have to come up with better ways to evaluate circumstances and stick closer to my more critical internal goals.

Even now, from the outside, some people might think that I procrastinated on big decisions. In reality, it would be much easier to either agree to do something or reject it.

A good example was my struggle with where to go to school. Two considerations made me push off that decision until the end. The first was that once I made the decision, I planned to follow through with it. The second was that I wanted to weigh all my options first.

After reviewing it, I concluded I was satisfied with my new outlook on decision-making. If a decision didn’t need to be made on the spot, I could only benefit from taking the time to think it through. The only potential downside I could see was that sometimes when people procrastinate, they wind up letting decisions be made for them through inertia or circumstance. I could honestly say I didn’t have that problem, though.

Of the final goals, I was okay with ‘A Healthy Sex Life,’ ‘Make a Difference,’ and ‘Be a Great Dad.’ The one that gave me heartburn was ‘No Regrets.’ I felt I’d warped that one a bit. It was initially put on the list to push me to move forward, to live life to its fullest. I didn’t want to look back and say, ‘I wish I’d done... ‘

I’d written it with my mom’s cancer in mind. It was a reminder that we only have so many days on this earth, and we should live life to the fullest. It didn’t mean that I should jump at every crazy opportunity that came my way. Living a life of no regrets didn’t mean I should live one with no responsibilities, as my father had pointed out.

In practice, that meant I probably should no longer volunteer to test out any of Devin’s toys or slip into a pop star’s dressing room. I had people who counted on me to use good judgment. It was that whole ‘becoming a better man’ concept my dad saddled me with. I decided to leave ‘No Regrets’ on the list. But I would have to be conscientious when I invoked that one to make sure I was doing the right thing. I didn’t want to be using it as a crutch to allow me to do adventurously stupid stuff.

I realized that anytime I proposed to use this life goal as the basis for a decision, I needed to pause and step back. That way, I could make sure I wasn’t using it to justify ignoring one of my other life goals.

Today’s game, our last home baseball game before the playoffs, was senior day. As in football, all the seniors would be introduced along with their parents before the game.

We’d gotten the SUV repaired after the accident, so now that we had an extra car, the Demon was free for Manaia to drive me in. Cassidy had come over for breakfast but announced she had other plans today. I’d sent Brook a text to find out what our girl was up to. In a way, I was acting like Tami used to do to me. I justified my prying on the basis of wanting to make sure Cassidy was okay.

The real reason for my spying was I suspected she’d met someone yesterday. After the water-balloon fight, we’d dried off by going to the beer tent and dancing. I couldn’t remember if I’d seen Cassidy or not.

Another excuse I could use was that she was my prom date. I had a history of having to find a partner for that dance at the last minute. I’d said ‘yes’ to Cassidy in part so I had it locked down.

After I reasoned all that out, I didn’t feel guilty about texting Brook. I gave myself a self-satisfied smile. Problem solved.

We were playing Pekin today. It was near-perfect spring baseball weather. A warm front had come through, and it was supposed to be in the mid-70s at game time. Birds were chirping, and teenage girls were running around in shorts. All reasons to love playing baseball.

As we warmed up, I spotted Tami in the stands. She’d come home for the weekend. Lexi was still here, and she joined Tami. They’d gotten to know each other a little while planning Senior Skip Day. It was funny how Lexi gravitated to people in my life who would do her the most good. If I were thinking in mercenary terms, that behavior might bother me.

“Quit checking out the girls and get ready,” Coach Haskins said, scaring the crap out of me.

I’d been distracted, and he was suddenly behind me. I jumped like Duke does when you grab his butt when he’s goofing around, and you wanted to get his attention.

“Got a minute?” I asked.

“For you? Never.”

I ignored my coach’s snide remark.

“I wanted to ask if you and Moose would like to go to a Cubs game tomorrow. I got a message telling me I could have two tickets if I wanted them. If you do, they’re on me for all the help you’ve been.”

Both men had coached me during my time with Team USA. When I received the text from Bill Carl, I immediately thought of them. I was spending the day with my brother and his rug-rats at the lake, so I wasn’t going to use them. My backup plan would be to give them to either Tim and Wolf or Tami. The Cubs were playing Cincinnati, Tami’s favorite team.

“It’s a little last-minute...” Coach Haskins quibbled.

“Please. You and Moose have no life outside of baseball,” I teased.

“Keep it up, and you’ll be sitting on the bench next to me.”

We both knew that would never happen for my last home game. The fans would lynch him. I’d hate to see the horrible mistake at his next haircut. I think he knew those guys were not beyond exacting some revenge.

“The tickets will be waiting for you at the Will Call window.”

“Thanks, David. Are you going to give us some cash so we can buy a beer or three?”

“Cassidy hangs onto all my cash. Go ask her for it,” I shot back.

Everyone knew that Cassidy would never give up any money. The sad part was, if she did hold my cash, she wouldn’t give it to me, either. He shook his head and left me to get ready.

They had a nice pregame presentation. All the parents of the seniors showed up wearing their sons’ baseball jerseys. We had all arranged to have orange and blue carnations to give to our mothers.

I was introduced last, and Moose said some kind words about me and all my accomplishments. He shared that I’d been named Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year for our state. I was the first to have ever won the award in two sports in the same year for our state. Then the unexpected happened: they announced that the school was retiring my number.

Lexi had arranged for a display box with my photo, jersey, and all my awards and achievements. Like my football display box, it would be hung next to the trophy case in the Field House.

It was finally time to play ball. Pekin was up to bat, and we had Phil on the mound. Moose was treating this as a warm-up for the state playoffs that would begin next week. He wanted to get everyone some playing time and give other teams something to think about.

To that end, he pulled me into shallow center field to, in effect, act as an extra infielder for their leadoff hitter. The report on their batter was that he was a weak-hitting freshman who was fast on the base paths. We’d been warned to watch for the kid to bunt. Both Ty, at third, and Wolf, at first, crept forward so they could charge the plate if he did bunt.

When Phil started his motion towards home, Brock, at second, moved to cover first base. I charged forward to take Brock’s vacated spot on the diamond.

The hitter squared up to bunt and then pulled his bat back so he could swat Phil’s pitch. It would have been a good play if I hadn’t moved to where Brock had been because he hit it right to where our second baseman had just moved from.

I quickly scooped it up and fired to first for the out. In my pulled-up position, I fielded another ball from the next batter that would have been a base hit. Phil managed to strike out the third Pekin player to end the top half of the inning.

When I came up in our half of the first, Ty was on third with Wolf at first and one out. The crowd reacted to my name being announced as I stepped into the box. I went through my ritual as I dug in to hit. I visualized my hitting steps and settled my mind so I could drop into the zone where it was just the pitcher and me.

All the crowd noise faded from my perception as my focus narrowed in on the ball as it came out of the pitcher’s hand. It was a fastball down the center of the plate and rising. I straightened my knees so I could get the right level for the head of my bat as I ripped it through the zone.

I heard the satisfying crack of the bat as the ball rocketed up the middle of the field. I winced when the ball hit the pitcher square in the solar plexus. It sounded like a sledgehammer hitting wet cement. The poor kid collapsed as I ran to first.

Ty scored, and Wolf made it to third. The umpire called time, even though the ball hadn’t been fielded yet. The safety of the pitcher was paramount. The crowd became unnervingly quiet as the training staff from both Lincoln and Pekin rushed onto the field.

I got concerned when I saw he wasn’t moving. Then his body went into survival mode, and he took in a deep breath. You could see the relief on the trainers’ faces. I went over and looked over their shoulders as his eyes fluttered open.

“Crap!” he said as he touched his chest.

I knew exactly how he felt.

“That might have left a mark,” I commented.

He gave me a ‘go to hell’ look. I knew he would be okay, so I trotted back to first.

Pekin hadn’t had anyone warming up in the bullpen, so the umpire gave them time to get a pitcher ready.

The game went according to plan. We were aggressive when Pekin inserted their replacement pitcher. He wasn’t nearly as good as their original starter, nor were the next two they trotted out. After Pekin batted in the top of the fifth, the game was called with us leading 13–0.

As we finished up, Tim and Wolf stopped me.

“We want to go to Monical’s to celebrate. What do you think?” Wolf asked.

“Let me do my autograph signing, and I’ll meet you there.”

The good thing about a home game was that our crowd knew the postgame drill. Everyone who wanted an autograph began to line up. It looked like I would be there for a while, so I jumped in and got started.

Lexi and Tami joined me on the field with Manaia. He had a box of pre-signed baseball cards; I had new ones this year. The three of them handed the cards out to the people who just wanted a souvenir.

My dad came to the fence.

“Hey, we’re all going to Monical’s afterward,” I shared with him.

“I was just going to tell you that we reserved the banquet room there. We’ll see you in a few.”

With my three helpers, we cleared the crowd so I could go take a shower.

Once I was dressed, I found Moose and Coach Haskins waiting for me.

“We wanted to share something with you before you take off,” Moose said.

They both had their poker faces on, so I assumed it wasn’t anything terrible. If it had been, Moose’s face would have let me know; he didn’t usually hide his displeasure very well. I did a Dawson and stared at them.

“When the season ends, we’re both retiring,” Moose said.

I didn’t know what to say.

“That means we want to go out by winning state,” Coach Haskins explained.

“Good,” I said. “We all want the same thing. I say we make that happen.”

It was funny to watch their reaction as I hugged them both.

“I can’t thank you two enough,” I said.

“Yeah, well ... you’re welcome,” Coach Haskins said.

“Now, go have fun...” Moose stated.

“ ... just not too much fun,” I responded, mimicking Moose’s voice.

“Get out of here,” Moose grumped.

Monical’s was packed with well-wishers, the team, and their families. Monical’s was not prepared for our onslaught because it wasn’t yet dinnertime when their full crew came in, so they were shorthanded. I caught the manager’s eye.

“Why don’t you make an assortment of pitchers of soda, and I’ll send some guys up to take it back to the banquet room. Take care of the front of the house first, then come see me about our order,” I suggested.

When I got to the back, I sent Phil, Roc, and Yuri to get the drinks. I figured that when they were seniors, they could put the younger guys to work.

I whistled to get everyone’s attention. The conversation stopped, and all eyes were on me.

“Seniors, we need to show our appreciation and go talk to all our fans.”

“Oh, crap. He wants us to go from table to table like he always does,” Ty complained.

“Did you know that I usually get a piece of pizza from each table I stop to talk to?” I asked to sweeten the deal.

“What are we waiting for?” Wolf asked.

I didn’t appreciate that they shoved me out of the way so they could get started.

Dad came up next to me, and we watched as the guys started talking to people. Honestly, they already knew most of them because they were our neighbors. A lot of them were kids we went to school with and their families.

“This is a good test run for them doing meet-and-greets,” Dad said, referring to the crowd.

“Want to go with me?” I asked.

“No, I think you’ve got this now,” he said and left me to it.

Tami spent her time reacquainting herself with her former classmates. I found Lexi sitting in a corner, taking it all in.

“This a little different from what you remember?” I asked.

She chuckled.

“Honestly, my classmates would think they landed in the middle of Hicksville. I’ve seen more pickup trucks this weekend than probably my whole life in LA. And the way people dress here ... my classmates would be appalled that everyone doesn’t have on the latest designer’s clothes and at the total lack of makeup.

“I’m not sure my classmates have ever experienced the ‘real world,’” Lexi shared after thinking it over for a moment.

“Last year, when I was heading to LA, Halle James packed my bags for me. She made sure I didn’t take my jeans and t-shirts for fear that I wouldn’t dress nice enough to be seen with her,” I admitted.

“Trust me. LA girls don’t care what you’re wearing,” Lexi said, giving me a leer.

As much as I wanted to see where that was going, I spotted Destiny walking up to us.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she said hesitantly.

Lexi and I just looked at her.

“Uhm ... I was wondering if you could tell me about Damion,” she finally got out.

“Who’s Damion?” Lexi asked.

“The guy I was talking to from Wesleyan.”

“The tall, good-looking black man?” Lexi asked.

“He makes me lose my mind,” Destiny confessed as she blushed at the memory. “All I can think about is doing ... uhm.”

Destiny stopped her babbling when she saw the amused looks on both our faces.

“Never mind,” she said, then twirled around and ran smack into Phil.

He was carrying a glass of soda, which drenched them both.

“What the...” Phil complained.

Destiny was bright red now and pushed Phil out of the way and stormed off.

“What did I do?” Phil asked.

“Guys have been asking that question as long as there have been guys,” I said, to give my sage advice.

He mumbled something and turned to leave.

“I heard that!” I called after him.

Lexi chuckled when Phil blushed. That line had been used on me all my life, and I strongly suspected my mom didn’t really hear what I mumbled. As a kid, I was convinced that she did.

“Kids these days,” I grumped.

“You’re going to be a great dad,” Lexi predicted.

“My little brother is good practice,” I agreed. “Now, where were we before Destiny rudely interrupted us?”

“We were talking about how badly you dress.”

“I don’t think that’s exactly right. I remember it differently,” I teased.

“Just think about how much more appealing you would be if you just dressed the part,” Lexi shot back.

“Thank you,” Mom said. Maybe she really did have super hearing. “When he was a freshman, he took much better care in how he dressed. He just doesn’t put in the effort he once did.” Then she turned to me. “I was talking to Greg, and he said you might be a lost cause. He worries because he says that since Brook dumped you, you’ve let yourself go.”

My mom was stirring the pot.

“There’s a good chance you had your last conversation with Greg. I hope you said goodbye. His life is about to end.”

“David, your brother just worries about you,” Mom said.

“I really like your mom,” Lexi said when she saw how my mom could twist me into knots.

“Hang around long enough, and she’ll do the same to you,” I warned Lexi. “I have stuff to do.”

I got up to leave.

“Is he always so sensitive?” Lexi asked my mom.

“You have no idea. There was one time...”

Maybe I should have stopped that little gabfest, but I knew my mom wanted to get to know Lexi better since she would be with me when I was away shooting movies. I was sure that before Mom was done, Lexi would be a willing spy for her. I suspected that was one of the reasons my mom and Tami bonded.

Sunday April 23
Manaia dropped me at Greg’s since all the parking spots were full. I knocked on the door, and it flew open. Standing there in a one-piece swimsuit and cowboy boots was Mac, my niece. She had a scowl on her face with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Why didn’t you invite me to your party?”

“Where’s your dad and your brothers?” I asked.

She pursed her lips, and her eyebrows came together. Oh, hell, were we about to have a meltdown before we even left for the day?

“It’s rude to have a party and not invite me,” she persisted.

“It was more of an adult party,” I tried.

“Mama said it was during the day. Adult parties are at night.”

Frick! I was being bested by a three-year-old. Maybe we could lock her in a closet so the boys could all have a play day without any annoying girls around.

“Go get your dad,” I said.

“You’re rude. Mama says you’re mean. She says you’re a bad boy, and you should have to go stand in the time-out corner,” Mac decided.

“I don’t need a time-out. You keep it up, and your mama might need one.”

“Mac, who’s at the door?” Greg called.

“Unca David.”

“Well, let him in.”

I received a glare as she ran off to her bedroom, leaving the front door wide open.

I stepped in and found Greg helping Nate put on his t-shirt.

“Sounds like they saw their mother recently.”

“She picked up Mac from daycare and took her shopping for summer clothes,” Greg explained.

He gave me a look over Nate’s head that said we would talk about it later. I bent down and smiled at Nate.

“Come give your Unca David a hug, Little Man,” I said with my arms outstretched.

At least someone loved his uncle.

Somehow, I got stuck in the back, sitting next to my niece on the way to the lake. I found a container of Altoids in a cup holder. I figured that might serve as a peace offering.

“Want a mint?” I asked.

Mac looked at it and wrinkled her nose.

“Daddy says not to take candy from strangers. It might be drugs, and drugs are bad,” Mac said.

“And I’m a stranger?” I asked, amused.

“Mama says you’re strange,” Mac shared.

Angie was starting to get on my last nerve, and she wasn’t even here.

“If a stranger offers you drugs, don’t forget to thank them because drugs are expensive,” I patiently explained.

“David!” Greg warned from the front seat.

“You’re overreacting. Mac’s not dumb. She wouldn’t do anything stupid like actually taking drugs. I’m just teaching her to be polite and say thank you if they’re offered,” I said to Greg and then turned to Mac. “You’re not dumb, are you?”

She stuck her tongue out at me in response.

“She’s three,” Greg said. “Mac lives for doing silly things. It’s the mission statement of all three-year-olds—see silly, do silly. She doesn’t need you encouraging her.”

“She looks silly in her swimsuit and cowboy boots,” I observed.

“You need a time-out,” Mac huffed.

“Don’t worry. If your uncle continues to be goofy, that’s what will happen to him,” Greg promised.

Mac stuck her tongue out at me again and then had a self-satisfied grin because I’d got into trouble. I was the one smiling when she all but choked on the Altoid. They were curiously strong, after all. Both Nate and Kyle passed when they saw their sister throw a fit. I made a mental note that they needed to toughen up.

I got the efoil out of the back of the SUV and then put on my full wetsuit. I didn’t plan to freeze when I got wet today. Plus, I hadn’t mastered the art of stepping straight off the dock onto the efoil without getting wet in the process.

“Who wants to go first?” I asked as I put it into the water.

I was happy to see Nate raise his hand. I got into the water, and then Greg sat him down on the front of the board with his life jacket on.

“Now hold still while I get us going,” I told my nephew.

I got onto the back of the board. Nate’s eyes got big as I started the electric motor, and we lurched forward and popped up out of the water. I stood up and began to wind us around the lake. Nate wasn’t too sure about it all. He kept peeking over the edge because it looked like he was flying above the water.

I took him around the lake three times before I called to Greg.

“I’ll hand him to you the next time I come to the dock.”

When I got close again, I scooped up Nate and handed him to Greg. He was all smiles when he ended up in his dad’s arms. I let the efoil settle into the water with my legs straddling the board. When I got close to the dock, Kyle jumped off the dock for his turn. He was lucky his uncle was an athlete, or he would’ve ended up in the drink.

When we started around the lake, Kyle got brave and stood up with me. He had a death grip on my leg, but he was one up on his brother by standing. Once we got close to the dock, Kyle launched himself at his dad. Poor Greg all but fell into the water catching his elder son.

I had to grin because Mac still wore her cowboy boots. Once we got started, I helped her stand up, and then she mimicked me as I made my surfer moves to guide us. She was a natural. If I ever got her out to LA, I would be teaching her to surf before too long. I mean, hey, if dogs could do it...

Of course, Greg wanted a turn. I got off the board and held it steady as he stepped onto it. It might be a sign I was growing up because I didn’t tilt it to get him wet. He did that all by himself when he started the motor and promptly fell off the back.

“Damn!” he complained when he came to the surface.

“You owe the swear jar,” I said.

He gave me a look that promised my impending demise when all three of his little ones looked to see his response.