Page 27 of Batter Up!

“I knew it was going to be positive,” I said quietly as Meadow and Penelope each picked up a different test and saw the same results.

“Molly, don’t cry,” Meadow whispered and pulled me into a hug. I hadn’t even realized tears were streaming down my face.

“You’re not alone,” Penelope declared as she came over and joined our group hug. “I’ve done this twice and all alone. We’ve got this together.”

“I’m so lucky to have you guys.” I said with a long sigh. I placed my hand on my still-flat belly.

“You know what,” Meadow said as she sat up. “I think you two should make some of the most popular menu items, and I’ll take pictures of you guys while you work. Then, I’ll work my magic, and you’ll have both candid shots and professional photos on your walls.”

“I love that idea,” I replied, thankful for the distraction.

“And then we can eat the items after you’re done taking pictures,” Penelope remarked with a huge grin on her face and stood up to go downstairs.

“My thoughts exactly!” Meadow said as she stood up as well and linked arms with Penelope. “By the way, blueberry bread better be on your list of items to make.”

“You know what, I think you’re my new best friend,” Pen said and had me standing quickly.

“Hello! What about me?” I asked as I watched them walk away without me.

“Come on, Moll. We can all three be best friends!” Meadow exclaimed and linked her arm with mine.

“You two are stuck with me now,” Penelope announced as we made our way down the stairs.

“We definitely need a best friend group name,” Meadow said with a raise of her eyebrow.”

“Peanut, Butter, and Jelly,” I suggested.

“Hmm,” Penelope thought, with a twist of her lips, “Maybe. We will need to think about this more.

“I know it’s cliche and not very original, but this has to be a sign!” Meadow said once we all entered the main kitchen. She held up a case of 3 Musketeers bars with a huge grin on her face.

I had to laugh, and it felt good after all the crying I had done that day. “Those were my Papaw’s favorite candy bars, and I was going to try to make 3 Musketeers brownies and cupcakes to honor him.”

“I think we found our nickname,” Penelope said as she tore open one of the candy bars, broke it into three, and gave us each a piece.

Heckling has its place in sports as it provides an outlet for fans to fully immerse themselves in the game while supporting their teams from the sidelines.

“I have never been so happy to see this crappy apartment,” Hayden exclaimed as our bus pulled up to the stadium.

“I don’t know. At least the last motel had a microwave and mini fridge,” Antonio groaned from behind us.

“And roaches,” outfielder Trent Brooks added while visibly shuttering.

“At least we’ll have our own fans and won’t be booed,” our DH, Jude Fox, said with a heavy sigh. “That shit sucked.”

“Yeah, it fucking did,” Cooper said as he barreled past all of us to get off the bus. Cooper had not pitched well at all against the Seymour Pelicans. He had several wild pitches and even hit two of their players; one had been hit in the head and had to leave the game. The crowd had actually thrown food at him. It was horrible, and I felt so bad for him.

After winning our first two games, including the home opener, we lost the third game 13-5. I’m not saying it was only Cooper’s fault, but coach had our back up catcher, Neil Endicott, catch the game, and Cooper was mad about it. He wanted me to catch for him since we had been practicing together. Cooper let his feelings explode all over the mound, and it was bad.

“Let him calm down. He’ll be okay.” Hayden said, knowing I was worried about our friend.

“I think we should go down and see if that bakery is open. I have been craving that cake!” Trent said.

“Oh, yeah. Let’s go.” I said. I could use something sweet to take my mind off the long road trip. “Maybe a Raptor cupcake will cheer up Cooper.”

As the group of us walked to the bakery, we definitely drew attention and even a few local kids asked for autographs. I signed my very first autograph to a little boy who told me he just started playing 8u baseball and wanted to be a catcher. I felt my chest puff out with pride and told him if he ever wanted catcher tips to ask me.

“That was so cool!” Jude exclaimed. “I hope signing autographs never gets old. I don’t ever want to be an entitled asshole.”

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