Page 11 of Small Town CEO Grump

“So he’s a middle infielder, too?” Ryan asked, motioning towards Tyler and second base.

“Yes,” I said slowly, confused as to how Ryan knew which one was my son.

“I met Tyler before the game,” he said, almost as if reading my mind.

“Oh!” I said, “That makes sense.”

“Yes, the coach introduced me to the whole team, and Tyler came up and shook my hand and said ‘Hello, Sir. I’m Tyler.’ I knew he had to be your son since he looks just like you.”

I smiled. “I can picture him saying that. When Tyler was just three years old my dad taught him how to properly greet someone, and he has been doing it ever since. It was absolutely hilarious to watch a little three year old walk up to someone and shake hands and call them Sir or Ma’am.”

Ryan laughed. “I can imagine.”

We settled back and watched the game. Tyler made a good play, and I beamed with pride.

“He knows what he’s doing out there,” Ryan said.

I nodded. “Yeah, not only does he play, but he also watches a ton of baseball.”

“I can tell.”

When Tyler came up for his first at bat, I sat up nervously on the edge of my seat. I had pitched to him countless times, and I knew he could hit, but this was a completely new situation for him.

I was thrilled when he swung and connected, sending the ball into deep center field. He easily got to second, and smiled over at me with a grin that completely melted my heart and brought tears to my eyes.

“That was awesome,” Ryan said. “He clearly loves the game, and he loves his Mama.”

I couldn’t speak because I didn’t want to start crying. I just smiled, nodded, and blinked back the tears. I knew Tyler would do just fine playing at this level.

The game went by quickly, and we won handily. Ryan and I packed up our chairs, and he smiled down at me.

“That was a great game,” he said. “Your son is very talented, and I can see that you worked with him a lot. Great job.”

I was taken aback by his compliment, and I didn’t know quite how to respond. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to want a response.

We stood and waited for the team to come off the field, and I could see all of the parents watching both of us, trying to figure out what was going on, but I did not go and talk to any of them. I wasn’t in the mood for chitchat.

Finally Tyler came off the field. He made a beeline for me and hugged me. I loved that he was not ashamed to hug me in public, and I hoped that it would never change.

“Excellent job, Bubba,” I said. “How did it feel?”

“It was great!” Tyler said. “I had so much fun.”

Ryan had stepped away a bit while I was talking to Tyler, but now he walked up to him.

“Great job out there, Tyler,” Ryan said, shaking Tyler’s hand.

“Thank you, Sir,” Tyler said. He turned towards me. “Mom, this is my coach's friend.”

I smiled. “I know. But remember what I told you the other day about the man who is coming to work in our office? This is him.”

Tyler’s eyes widened. “The one from New York?”

I nodded.

Tyler turned to Ryan. “Have you seen the Yankees play?”

Ryan chuckled, clearly amused and caught off-guard by the question. “Why yes, I have. Several times.”

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