Page 156 of Home Field Advantage
“We don’t need to get into it now, but I might want to talk about it later. But it’s the date on the calendar. It’s a hard day for me,” he says, his voice somber, and I know it’s something bigger than a conversation in the dugout between innings.
I clasp a hand on his shoulder. “Later then. We can grab a drink at Seven Stools. I’m here for whatever you want to talk about.”
“I appreciate that.”
The first batter hits the pitch Archie throws, and his brother Austin takes him out at first. Archie then throws a strikeout. I lean forward, placing my hands on my thighs as I watch the opposing team’s best hitter come to bat.
One more out.
That’s all we need for these kids to win this.
Archie’s first pitch, the batter swings, and I swear time slows. I feel like I’m back at the Staghorns stadium and watching us lose our chance at a championship title. That’s not what this is, I remind myself. These are just kids.
The ball flies through the sky into the outfield.
Gabe and Sammy, with her glitter shoes, run with their gloves stretched out in front of them, hoping to catch the ball. My jaw hangs open when I see Sage also running. Time stills even more. Tucker grabs my forearm as he watches, too, and any sound from the crowd is gone as I watch the ball fall directly into my daughter’s glove.
She looks down to see if it’s there, and turns to face me with a proud smile on her face, lifting the glove and ball in her hand.
Then the sound in my ears roars to life again.
Tucker is jumping up and down beside me before running toward the kids. They all pile on Sage, screaming and cheering. Poppy and April jump up and down, yelling louder than anyone.
We won.
We fucking won.
This might be a small town little league game with folding chairs, juice boxes, and paper scoreboards, but it feels like we just won the championship game under the bright lights of a sold out stadium.
My body finally reacts to the win, and I toss my baseball hat to the grass and run as fast as I can across the field to Sage. I dive into the rumble of kids and lift my daughter onto my shoulders. The kids all chant her name around me as I walk her to the crowd.
“You did it, Sage!” Poppy says.
“I’m so proud of you, baby,” April adds, giving her hands a tight squeeze over my head.
“Amazing catch, Sage!” Nathan adds.
“I did it! I caught the ball!”
“Yes, you did, bug. And we won the game because of it.” I tell her, setting her down next to us. “I’m so proud of you.”
“I wanted this for you, Daddy. You’re the best coach in all the land and deserved a big win.”
“I agree,” the kids chime in around us, rattling off their agreement at different times.
“The best!” Tucker adds with a fist to the air.
“This win deserves ice cream,” Sage says.
“Did someone say snacks?” Ethan chimes in.
“All the snacks, dude,” Tucker says, clapping a hand on his shoulder.
We all break out in laughter as the kids run off into the dugout to grab their things.
“I’ll go help her,” April says, leaving Poppy and me alone.
I step closer to her, cupping her face in my hands, and press a kiss to her lips before she can say anything more. As always, she melts into me, andGod,I’ll never get used to it.
