Batting Order by Mike Lupica

Author:Mike Lupica
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

TWENTY-TWO

Right before Matt was ready to turn out his lights and go to bed, his mom came into his room.

“We need to convene a family meeting,” she said.

Matt felt himself smile.

“I don’t think you have to take attendance,” he said. “Everybody seems to be here.”

“Well then, I guess we can start,” she said.

“Sometimes,” Matt said to her, “I forget which one of us acts more like a twelve-year-old.”

“Got me there,” she said.

“What’s up?” he said.

“I don’t have to do this,” she said. “Be your assistant coach.”

“You’re not just my assistant coach, Mom,” he said. “Pretty sure you’d be everybody’s.”

“But I’m not everybody’s mom.”

“Lucky for me,” he said.

She smiled.

“Mom,” he said, “you probably should have coached Little League way before this.”

“It’s different for a woman,” she said. “And trust me, not just in baseball.”

Matt sat up.

“I can tell how much you want to do this,” he said. “We all saw how much fun you had tonight. Heck, you practically said yes to Sarge before he even finished asking you to do it.”

“You’re sure you want me to do this?”

“I want you to do this because I can see you want to do this,” Matt said. “And just the guys in the infield know they all got a little better tonight, in about fifteen minutes.”

“What about Ben?” she said.

Matt grinned.

“This is turning into a talk, isn’t it?”

“Sometimes I can’t help myself,” she said.

“Ben will be fine,” Matt said. “It’s his dad I always worry about, Mom.”

“Same,” she said.

“He seems pretty set in his ways,” Matt said.

“And maybe not just about baseball,” his mom said. “When he said ‘softball’ tonight you know what he was really saying was ‘girls’ softball.’ ”

Matt didn’t mention what he’d said about Ben being struck out by a girl.

“Seems to me,” his mom continued, “that he’s pretty stuck on how he thinks guys are supposed to act.”

“Not sure I understand,” Matt said.

“All the old stuff about how if guys don’t act strong, that must mean they’re weak, or soft,” she said. She grinned. “That they’re acting like girls.”

She put air quotes around “girls.”

“But you’re the strongest person I know,” Matt said to her.

She got up off the end of the bed and then leaned down and kissed him on top of his head.

“Thanks, pal,” she said.

“You think that toe-tapping thing might make Ben a better hitter?” he said.

“Yup.”

“Think he’ll actually try it?”

“Hope so,” she said.

She shrugged and said, “But only if his dad lets him.”

“Think that will happen?” Matt said.

“Only if he thinks it’s a guy thing,” she said.

She didn’t make “guy thing” sound like a good thing.

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