Say You'll Be Mine by Julia Amante

Author:Julia Amante [Amante, Julia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781455504695
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Nick stopped the truck in the parking lot of a mini-golf park with batting cages. Adelmo hadn’t spoken since they’d left the school. “Come on,” Nick said, and got out of the truck.

Adelmo looked around in confusion, but he got out too.

“Ever play baseball in Argentina?”

“No.”

“Well, these are batting cages. Helps you work on your swing and connect with the ball.” Three of the four cages were taken. Behind them were sounds of bats popping the balls into the air and occasionally hitting the chain-link fence.

Adelmo stood awkwardly beside the truck, gazing at the batting cages with a frown on his bruised and cut face.

Nick’s heart went out to the boy. “Let’s give it a try.”

Adelmo dragged along behind him without any enthusiasm. Nick paid for their tickets; then he chose a cage. He handed Adelmo a bat, but he shook his head.

“I’ll teach you how.”

“No,” Adelmo said firmly.

Nick shrugged. Putting on a helmet and taking the bat, he went in himself. The balls began to shoot out at him and he started to hit them. One. Five. Fifteen. Thirty. “I never got to play Little League when I was a kid, because my mom didn’t have money. But when I got older, I liked to come here and hit balls. Made me feel better.” He stepped aside and looked back at Adelmo. “Stupid, huh?”

“No, I like to kick my soccer ball. After, you feel like really tired, but not so angry.”

Nick understood that feeling exactly. That release of tension. That drained feeling one got after a good cry. Swinging his bat at the balls produced that same feeling. And he guessed that kicking the soccer ball did too.

“Soccer ball, huh? That works too.” He grinned. “Interested in playing? On a team, I mean?”

“I don’t know.”

Balls kept shooting, and Nick ignored them. “I can sign you up.”

“Why?”

Nick stopped the balls from shooting out and slapping the cushioned backrest, and placed a hand on the chain-link fence. He gazed at Adelmo through it. “Why not? You like to play.”

“What do you care?”

“I guess I want to try to make you happy.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “Because I can. And you need a friend.” He winked. “And so do I.”

Adelmo blinked and wiped his eyes with the backs of his hands. “Let me try that.”

Nick changed the speed of the pitches and handed Adelmo a bat. He showed him how to stand and indicated when to swing. The first pitch came and it flew too quickly. Adelmo swung and missed.

“Wow, that was fast.” Adelmo’s mood seemed to lift. He repositioned himself and focused on the next ball. Again he swung and missed. Adelmo cussed and waited, even more determined. This time he caught a corner of the ball and fouled it to the side, but at least he hit it. With a proud grin, he glanced at Nick.

“Way to go, buddy. Do it again.” Nick watched Adelmo with a lump in his throat. He’d failed a lot in his life, but he wasn’t going to fail this kid.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.