The Stars Will Shine by Eva Carrigan

Author:Eva Carrigan [Carrigan, Eva]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eva Carrigan
Published: 2015-06-17T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Of all things I could be doing this Saturday evening, I’m at a ballpark about to watch tater tots knock around a baseball.

Oh, who am I kidding, my eyes aren’t going to be on anyone but Aiden.

Maybe I’m worse than those twelve-year-old girls, who currently have their faces pressed to the fence as they look longingly in Aiden’s direction. All three of them are clad in vibrant dresses to stand out in the crowd.

When I find a place in the first dinky metal stands I come across, I watch him, too. He’s dressed in black workout shorts and a white tee-shirt, and he wears a green baseball cap on his head, the same one all the kids on his team are wearing. His hair curls slightly out from under the edges of the cap, the bill of which shades his focused face as he stands at third base, doing some sort of weird-ass motion with his hands and face, aimed at the little boy about to bat.

The boy nods and takes his place in the batter’s box, subsequently propping his bat on his shoulder. When the pitcher winds up, the boy lifts his bat for the ready, swings it forward, and slams the ball far into the outfield, right between left and center field. He takes off at a full-out sprint, and so do the other two runners already on base, all three of their faces scrunched in determination. When the lead runner rounds third and makes it all the way home, cheers erupt from the parents in the stands around me, which verifies I chose the correct side to sit on.

By the last inning, the score is tied. Our team is up to bat with bases loaded and two outs, and I’m on the edge of my seat, holding my breath like every single parent around me, despite the fact that I don’t have a freaking kid playing.

“C’mon Tony!” I shout along with everybody else. “Eye on the ball, Tony! You got this!” Our crowd rises to its feet in anticipation, like this game is the MLB World Series championship or something.

Little Tony steps right up to the plate, as confident as ever, and knocks the ball hard into the ground, a bouncing grounder that the shortstop fails to stop. The ball rolls to the outfield, and our runner on third darts home. He slides in, even though he doesn’t need to, which sends up a giant dust plume from which he emerges, triumphant.

Our stands go wild as the umpire calls the game.

“Aiden!” call the girls from the shop, in unison, as they bounce on their feet at the fence. “Aiden!”

Aiden’s head turns toward their voices, and when he sees them, he gives a small smile and a wave, and they practically faint with bliss. Shaking my head, I laugh out loud at the exchange.

When Tony runs toward the dugout, Aiden intercepts him, throws him frontward over his shoulder, and proceeds to run around with him, whooping and hollering and giving the kid a noogie.

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