Mayfield Titans

CHAPTER 61

GETTING SERIOUS

 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29

 

Aiden woke up feeling great. The high generated by the Titans’ big win over Kentburg still hadn’t worn off, even after a solid night’s sleep. He thought about hitting his snooze alarm, but he felt ready to meet what promised to be a very busy day.

 

“Good morning, Aiden,” Larry said as his son came down the stairs, dressed for school.

 

“Good morning, Pop. Thanks for getting the cereal out,” Aiden said.

 

“Wow, you’re remarkably chipper today.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Aiden groused as he shoved two pieces of bread into the toaster. Larry was about to retract his statement when Aiden broke out in laughter. “Gotcha,” he said.

 

Once Aiden had his Raisin Bran and milk in his bowl and his toast buttered, he sat at the kitchen table. “I’ve the busy day from hell today,” he told his Pop.

 

“And I bet you’re looking forward to every minute of it,” Larry told him.

 

“Not quite. I could do without the seven periods of school today, but then there is practice, although it should be quick because of tonight’s meeting, and dinner at the Bednarzyk’s so Sammy, Grant, and I can talk some since we won’t be able to make the Fourth Dimension meeting. After that there’s Baseball Club’s board meeting and finally the regular meeting which is going to be HUGE!”

 

“The election might just be the most important meeting of the year, and with a lot of the changes that have come up after Clyde Davidson’s legacy gift, it is even more important.”

 

“You’re having a quick practice, too, right?” Aiden asked his Pop.

 

“That’s my plan.”

 

“I wish there was a way to get a full practice in. I mean playing Kentburg was huge, but now we play the first-place team, and that is GIGANTIC!” Winton Middle School, with a 6-1 record, was a game ahead of Mayfield’s 5-2 record.

 

“Life is getting serious for you this week, that’s for sure. Do you think Jackson will be the new club president?” Larry asked, referring to Jackson Hallion, the current vice president.

 

“Since when hasn’t the vice president become the president the next year?” Aiden asked.

 

“It’s happened twice, so don’t count your votes before they’re cast. Speaking of votes, what do you think of the new voting system for electing the board members?” There would only be one ballot passed out for electing the student board members and one for the adult board members.

 

“That was passed by last year’s board for this year’s election, along with adding a fifth student board member. It will be a lot faster, but I don’t know if it will elect the five best board members.”

 

“Give it at least two years. I think it’s going to work out great.”

 

The way the five board members had been elected before was on five separate ballots, one ballot at a time. If somebody lost the first election, they could be nominated for any of the other ballots. This year, once the nominations for the board were closed (there was no limit on the number of nominees) the club secretary (in this case it was Peter Astor) would pass out ballots with five blank spaces. Members could vote for up to five nominees with the top five finishers being elected to the board. In the event of a tie, the nominees who tied would have a run-off election.

 

“Well, I hope I’m on the board for another year,” Aiden said.

 

“I have every confidence you will be. Talk about being serious, you’ve been totally serious about the Mayfield Baseball Club and have done some great work for Mayfield baseball.”

 

“Yeah, but I’m still a lowly seventh grader.”

 

“Eighth grader since that is what you will be when you serve on next year’s board. Okay, son, I’ve gotta go to keep from getting a dirty look from the boss. I’ll see you at the meeting.”

 

“Or after, since I heard a rumor you might give me ride home tonight.”

 

“If you’re one of the final five I just might do that,” Larry chuckled as he put his dishes into the dishwasher and left the kitchen.

 

After taking care of his own dishes, his teeth, and making his bed, Aiden left the house and sat in the little wooden shelter next to the driveway. The forecast was for a sunny day and the morning was living up to it.

 

After Mrs. Emerson stopped the school bus and pulled the lever that turned on the flashing lights and moved the stop sign out at a right angle to the side of the bus, Aiden looked both ways, crossed the street, and boarded the bus. He sat next to Kalie who congratulated him on the big win over Kentburg.

 

“Same to you. Only your win keeps you undefeated and we have two losses,” Aiden responded.

 

“But if you win on Friday, you’re tied for first, so it’s all good.”

 

“This week is a serious baseball week.”

 

“Not to mention a big test week with the chapter test on Friday.”

 

“I’m not real worried about that test,” Aiden said, hoping he didn’t sound like he was bragging. The subject of the chapter had been astronomy, a topic Aiden enjoyed. He had no qualms about the test, feeling an hour or so of reviewing the book and the notes he took in class, was all he needed to do well on the test.

 

“I’m thinking of having a Saturday night campout with Brittany in a couple of weeks,” Kalie said. “Since you have a tent you hardly ever use, this will give you a chance to use it. I’ll see if Gordy wants to do it.”

 

“We have the Southwest League Jamboree that weekend,” Aiden pointed out.

 

“That’s next weekend. We have a softball jamboree the same weekend. I was talking about the weekend after that, on the sixteenth.”

 

“Oh, well then I’ll ask Gordy.” Aiden would have preferred to ask Nolan, but he understood why Kalie wanted Gordy to go—it was so she and Gordy could share her tent while Brittany slept with Aiden in his tent. Aiden also understood that things would be getting sexual in just one of the two tents. He thought the campout would make more sense if he let Miles use his tent so he could sleep with Brittany since the two had a sexual history. But Aiden thought of Gordy as his best friend and decided he wanted to be available if things didn’t work out.

 

The school day moved surprisingly fast. After Mr. Donovan announced the previous day’s baseball and softball scores, Aiden and the rest of the Titans reveled in congratulations they received from their fellow students and from the staff.

 

At lunch, the Titan boys were already talking up the big game against the Winton Wildcats on Friday. The varsity baseball game would be at Mayfield Middle School and the girl’s JV game was slated to be played at the Mayfield Parks sports complex. The baseball varsity players were encouraging their friends to fill the bleachers at the middle school’s baseball field.

 

Coach Ecklund had a shorter than usual practice scheduled. He stressed that the players needed to make the time as productive as possible to put them into a winning frame of mind on Friday. Both the varsity and JV players complied, and the practice was a crisp one, accomplishing a lot of fundamental work in a short time.

 

At the end of practice Coach Ecklund praised the team’s hard work and announced the starting battery. The declaration that Scott and Mac would comprise the starting battery surprised nobody. The coach said he would announce the rest of the starting lineup before the next day’s practice.

 

After practice, Aiden rode the after-school activity bus to the Bednarzyk residence, which was about a mile from the middle school. Grant sat next to him over the short distance.

 

“What do you think Sammy will want to talk about?” Grant asked Aiden.

 

“Whatever we want to talk about,” Aiden replied.

 

“And what’s that?”

 

“Baseball.”

 

“For real? I thought it would be about the stuff we talk about at Fourth Dimension since none of us can go tonight.”

 

“I think he wants to be available if we need him. And that means if you have something you really want to talk to him about, then don’t worry about baseball. Go ahead and talk about it.”

 

When they arrived at their destination, Sammy was outside waiting for them.

 

“My pop must have run a pretty fast practice,” Aiden said after he stepped off the bus.

 

“He did, but it was a good one. I don’t have to tell you what a slavedriver your dad is,” Sammy grinned.

 

“Like I don’t already know that.”

 

“I think your dad is nice,” Grant said. “He lets you have really fun parties.”

 

“Better to be naked than drunk, right Aiden?” Sammy said.

 

Grant was the one who answered the question. “I like naked.”

 

By then, they were in the house. Grant and Aiden set their backpacks and equipment bags on the floor in the foyer and followed Sammy into the sunroom. They said hello to Sammy’s mother and commented on how good the cooking dinner smelled and asked what they were having.

 

She thanked them, told them it was meat loaf, mashed potatoes, and carrots, before returning to the kitchen.

 

“We don’t have much time to talk, so if you guys have anything you want to talk about, speak up,” Sammy said.

 

“Aiden wants to talk about baseball,” Grant told him.

 

“Nice game yesterday, you guys.” Sammy shifted his gaze directly to Grant. “Anything you want to talk about?” he asked.

 

“Do you think I’ll ever find out what happened to Alex?” Grant asked.

 

“Only if he wants you to find out.”

 

“I don’t think he does.”

 

“So, unless he shows up in Mayfield, which ain’t gonna happen, you will probably never know,” Sammy said.

 

“So how do I make my amends for turning my back on him the day he left?”

 

“Did you ask your alcohol counselor that question?” Sammy had no intention of getting dragged into the middle of something Grant and Grant’s counselor were discussing without knowing what his counselor said. That was a piece of advice Sammy’s father had given him.

 

“He said I should make my amends in my prayers until I quit hating myself for what I did.”

 

“Do you really hate yourself?”

 

“No, but I keep feeling bad about not doing what I should have done.”

 

“Like not being perfect you mean?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Remember what we read before every meeting where it talks about claiming progress and not perfection. Do you feel better after you pray about your amends?”

 

“I only did it a couple of times,” Grant said meekly.

 

“And?”

 

“Maybe I should say it every day?”

 

“That would be a good start.”

 

Grant nodded and looked at Aiden as if to say it was time to talk about baseball.

 

“What about you, Aiden, what do you have to say?”

 

“All I have to say is I’m hungry and that you’re getting really smart about this being a sponsor stuff,” Aiden replied.

 

“It’s because I have a good sponsor plus I have a good dad plus, like you, I talk to Marty sometimes.”

 

The conversation ended when George Bednarzyk entered the room. “I hate to break up your serious chat, boys, but it’s time to wash up and get seated in the dining room for dinner.”

 

“Did you see that?” Sammy asked Aiden and Grant after his father left the sunroom. “I say something nice about him and then he breaks up our chat. Oh well, I hoped I helped you some Grant. I’m sure I didn’t say anything you didn’t already know, but it never hurts to be reminded.”

 

“The best thing you reminded me of was to ask for help with my amends every night,” Grant said.

 

“That would add to your good start.”

 

The boys washed up in the rec room restroom and then sat at the table for dinner. The meat loaf dinner was as good as it smelled, and the warm apple pie ala mode was the perfect ending. The main dinner conversation was baseball. The Titans’ big week, the Mustangs being in contention in the Seamount High School league, the Mariners being a game up in the American League West, and Marty being mentioned as an early Rookie of the Year contender. The Bednarzyks were a baseball family and loved talking the sport.

 

After dinner, George drove the boys to the town recreation center for the board meeting. Grant reminded everyone that he wasn’t a board member, to which Sammy replied that any club member could sit in on a board meeting, and even make comments or ask questions, they just couldn’t vote on any issues.

 

“I don’t think we’ll have much to discuss today,” Sammy said. “It’s the last meeting for Mark and everyone else would have to be either elected to a new position or re-elected to their old one. So, I figure any real business for the board will wait until the May meeting.”

 

Sammy had the situation figured out. Mark Elder called the board meeting to order on time. Jackson Hallion, the club’s vice president, took roll, which was part of his job description. All the board members were present. Peter Astor then read the minutes of the previous board meeting, which were approved. David Fitzgerald presented his treasurer’s report, which was also approved. Mark then reminded everyone that the board had two outstanding resolutions to act on. Since neither issue was one that needed an immediate decision, he asked the board members to give their consensus to postpone discussing the issues until the May meeting and let the incoming board deal with them.

 

“I do want to bring up something, first,” Ben Cook said.

 

“And what would that be?” Mark asked bit impatiently.

 

“I’m concerned about the new voting system. I’m worried about it opening the door to individuals who don’t have the best interests of Mayfield baseball at heart. I won’t mention any names, but I’m sure you all know who I am talking about.”

 

“The membership voted for the new system over a year ago to streamline the voting,” Mark said. “There is no way that vote can be changed now, so the issue is closed. If one of those ‘individuals’, as you call them, gets elected to the board, then everybody can work to teach them how the club does things.” Mark saw Aiden had raised his hand and recognized him.

 

“I would like to say that some of those ‘individuals’ might be good choices because they might be working to be better people.” Aiden had Mac in mind who had changed so much since the start of seventh grade.

 

“Good point,” Mark said.

 

The board then agreed to postpone discussing the resolutions and Mark went on to discuss the election procedure. He adjourned the meeting twenty minutes before the general meeting was slated to start and the board members plus three observers filed out of the conference room and into the big meeting room.

 

Aiden was pleased to see a big crowd of ballplayers when the meeting started. It looked like the efforts of the membership committee were paying off. The election of new officers was probably a drawing card as well.

 

The elections were conducted from the top down. While the procedure appeared to be anticlimactic, it allowed someone who lost out when running for a position on the executive board to still be able to run for the regular board. The executive board elections were not by rank—the winner had to have a majority of the votes cast or there would be a runoff between the top two finishers.

 

Vice president Jackson Hallion and David Fitzgerald, the treasurer, were nominated for president. Jackson won handily, garnering seventy-five percent of the vote. Only the winner was announced; the number of votes received by each candidate was not.

 

Sammy Bednarzyk, who served on the board, and Andy Hoffman, who, while not a board member, had become active in Club committee work, faced off for the vice president position. The election was a close one with Sammy getting fifty-three percent of the vote. As much as Aiden liked Sammy, he would have had no problem with Andy winning. He hoped that Andy would run for the board and finish in the top five.

 

Peter Astor ran unopposed for re-election to the secretary position. He loved being the club’s secretary, a fact everyone knew. It was tough enough to find somebody who even liked being secretary—the obvious consensus of the membership was to let him have it. When it became apparent that Peter did not have an opponent, he was elected by voice vote. David Fitzgerald was opposed for the treasurer position by Jeff Swenson. David was re-elected with 62% of the vote.

 

The adult board positions had to be filled next. Adult members had a two-term limit. Ben Cook and James Hallion had both served two terms on the board and had to step aside. As with the student board ballot, the new bylaws called for one ballot for all contested positions. Having only served one term, Gordy’s father, Aaron Lansing, would be running for a second term. While only the players could nominate and vote for student candidates, any adults in the audience who were parents or guardians of players, could participate in the adult member election.

 

There were three nominees for the two positions: Grant’s father, Darryl Foster, Bob Jackson, the owner of Bob’s Burger Barn, and the twin’s mother, Leslie Hazen. Bob Jackson was voted in both by those who loved his burgers and by those adults who liked having someone with business acumen serving on the board. Many of the voters liked both. In a big surprise, Leslie Hazen became the first female to serve on the board. While many player’s fathers had been board members, Leslie was obviously the first mother to become one. Ironically, Leslie ran as a show of support for her two sons and as a message to mothers to get involved in their son’s baseball life, not because she expected to win. Still, she was prepared to be an active board member.

 

The time had arrived for the final election, the player board members. Two of the four returning student board members were nominated for another term. Anthony Jefferson had announced that he would not be running for re-election—he was eyeing a position in student government and didn’t want to spread himself thin, which happened the past year when he served as junior class president. Sammy had been elected the new vice president, leaving his position vacant as well.  There were ten nominees in all for the five positions: Aiden, Trent, Gordy (who was nominated by Aiden), Mac, Andy Hoffman, Jeff Swenson, Scott Keller, Barry, Lenny (who was nominated by Riley), and incoming sophomore Trey Gaines.

 

The winners were announced by Mark Elder. The announced grade was the one the board member would be entering in the fall. “All I can say is, you guys nominated an outstanding slate of candidates and elected five great board members.” He didn’t mention his surprise that four of the five winners were currently middle school students, although three of them would be moving up to high school after the school year ended. “They are, in alphabetical order: freshman Mackenzie Dixon (hearing Mac’s name brought a collective gasp from the audience), freshman Trent Hallion, junior Andy Hoffman, freshman Scott Keller, and eighth grader Aiden Miller.”

 

Lenny yelled out, “TITAN POWER”, which brought out a loud yell from the middle school baseball players. Every varsity and JV player on the Titan roster was at the meeting, and those numbers, coupled with the fact that a large number of players on the teams participated actively in the club, was enough to elect four Titans to the five positions. Andy had procured the most votes, followed by Scott, Trent, Aiden, and Mac, who finished one vote ahead of Jeff Swenson.

 

It was now time for the ritual signaling the end of the old board’s term and the start of the new board’s term. Mark stood in his usual spot behind the table that seated the executive board. He rapped his gavel on the table to get the attention and quiet of the audience. He made his final speech a short one, thanking his fellow board members, the club’s two staff members, George Bednarzyk, the club’s administrator, Seth McCall, the financial officer, and all the players who showed up for the meetings and volunteered to work on the various committees and fund raisers. He then asked Jackson Hallion to stand next to him and handed him the gavel, symbolizing the change of leadership for the upcoming year.

 

James Hallion, one of the outgoing adult board members, then came forward and presented Mark with a plaque and a personalized polished wood gavel. He thanked Mark for his great leadership and for showing that a group of kids could successfully operate their own organization. Mark had turned eighteen two days earlier and felt that the trophy, the gavel, and the plaudits had been better than anything he had received for his birthday. In his first act as the president of the Mayfield Baseball Club, Jackson said he wanted to meet with the board members once the tables and chairs were put away and the room was cleared. He then banged the gavel and adjourned the meeting.

 

Aiden quickly sought out Mac and found him chatting with Zane Davidson. Mac was obviously not enjoying what Zane was saying.  Aiden decided to step into the middle of whatever was going on. “Hey, congrats on your election, Mac. I think everybody believes in the new Mac, Mac the catcher and the team player.”

 

“A couple of adults, like Ben Cook, don’t,” Mac said.

 

“And some of Mac’s party friends don’t like it either,” Zane growled. “I was just telling him how he sold out his friends so assholes like you and Trent Hallion would like him.”

 

“All I can say is that Mac is my friend and he’s earned being my friend,” Aiden retorted. “Come on Mac, let’s help out with stacking the chairs.”

 

Aiden and Mac turned their backs on Zane. “Thanks for saving me,” Mac told Aiden. “I was thinking of punching the asswaffle out, which would probably have ended my time on the board the same day it started. He said it was time I quit being a little kid and grow up and get drunk—like tonight.”

 

“And what did you say?” Aiden asked, although he could imagine what Mac’s answer might have been.

 

“I told him to go fuck himself,” Mac grinned.

 

“That’s what I thought you probably said,” Aiden nodded.

 

“Hey, congrats on getting on the board, Mac,” Trent said as they approached a group putting chairs into the racks. “It’s great that Aiden, Scott, and me will be pitching to you—Mayfield Baseball Club members all.”

 

“That is so right,” Scott said as he brought four folding chairs. “Great job, Mac. We’re all proud of you.”

 

“I guess I’ve got no choice but to be good now,” Mac said.

 

“And with us as your friends, it shouldn’t be tough at all,” Trent said.

 

“I’ve never had so many good friends.”

 

“See what happens when you become a good teammate?”

 

“I love being a good teammate. And I bet being a good teammate means going to get some chairs for the rack.”

 

“Come with me,” Scott said. “You, too, Aiden. We have to show our gratitude for the free rent the city gives us for our meetings.”

 

The four Titan battery members walked to where other players were folding chairs to be carried to the chair racks. It was all part of being great teammates.

 

Jackson’s meeting with the board members was to set a day and time for the new board to meet and set an agenda for the May meeting and a schedule for the summer. One of Peter’s jobs as secretary was to reserve meeting space from the Parks office. He pulled a notebook out of his Club briefcase. The notebook contained the information he needed, which was what days space was available.

 

After all the available dates were read and members’ schedules were dealt with it was decided to have the board meeting Wednesday, May seventh, and the next general meeting on May twentieth. Peter said he would call the Parks office the next day to reserve the necessary space. Jackson thanked everyone for helping clean up and said he looked forward to seeing them all together next week.

 

<THURSDAY, APRIL 30>

 

When word got around the school that Mac had been elected to the Mayfield Baseball Club board, he became a semi-celebrity for the day. Mac’s reputation had always been one of a party boy punk who hung around with the rest of the party boy punks. Mac’s surprise election sent a message to students and faculty that Mackenzie Dixon was no longer that boy and that he had been accepted as not only a baseball jock but as someone who could be trusted.

 

“That happened awfully fast,” Mr. Donovan, the middle school principal told Coach Ecklund as the two men met in Donvan’s office. “It seems like yesterday when we fought the contract battle.”

 

“You have to remember that the boys on this year’s Titans are an extraordinary group of boys,” Dean Ecklund said. “I haven’t seen a team like this since back in the days of Marty, Eric, Noah, the Corcoran twins—I could go on. Not only are they good players and great citizens, the things they are doing off the field are starting to carry over to their play on the field. I think this group has a great future before it.”

 

“I think we all forget that peer pressure isn’t always negative,” the principal said.

“Exactly. The major force behind Mac’s accepting responsibility for himself and making that turnaround would be his teammates—Trent Hallion, Scott Keller, Barry Bender, Aiden Miller, Max Robinson, just to name a few.”

 

“Barry Bender. Another success story, although his turnaround took a little longer. And speaking of on the field, do you think the boys will be ready for the big game tomorrow?”

 

“My challenge right now is to make sure they don’t get too up,” Dean laughed. “Unlike football and basketball, baseball requires a great deal of emotional control and kids this age can easily get carried away. Too much emotion and suddenly you have everybody swinging at pitches well out of the strike zone and overthrowing the ball. My challenge for today’s practice is to remind them they need to outplay Winton, not out holler them.”

 

“Good luck on that,” Donovan said. “Telling a group of pubescent boys who are overflowing with testosterone to get a grip on their emotions…well, good luck.”

 

“Thanks Mel, I will certainly need it,” Dean Ecklund said.

 

At lunch, Trent and Scott took Mac aside and asked him what it was like to be a sudden celebrity. “The babes seem to think I must have grown a giant cock,” Mac giggled. “They’re all over me.”

 

“Don’t let it go your head,” Scott told him.

“Hey, you and I are on the line tomorrow. I’ve got to be at my best to catch you. And I’m going to tell you something I haven’t told anybody else. After I told my dad last night about me being on the board, he gave me a hug and said he was proud of me. My dad never does that and I, you gotta swear not to tell anybody…,” Mac looked at Trent and Scott, who nodded, and went on. “…but I cried when I went to bed last night, I was so happy. And tomorrow my dad will be at my game. It was like, yesterday, he brought a lawyer to school and almost messed up my playing.”

 

“Mac.” Trent said quietly.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I all but hated your ass when we came to your house. I knew you would never sign that “No Matter What” agreement and you not only signed it but you, like, became a whole different person.” Trent wrapped his arms around Mac and gave him a long hard hug, not caring who was watching. “Yeah, I hated you then, but guess what?”

 

“What?”

 

“I love you, bro. I love you as a teammate and a friend. I just plain love you,” Trent told Mac, a boy he had had no respect for as little as six weeks ago.

 

For the second time in the last twenty-four hours, Mackenzie Dixon, one-time middle school party boy, had to deal with tears dripping down his cheeks, only this time it was in public. Maybe the most surprising thing for him was that he didn’t care who saw it happen. There was no way he was going to let everybody’s acclaim get to his head. He was in a place he thought he had been incapable of reaching and it was now a place he never wanted to leave.

 

“Well, if we’re all done being lovey, lovey, I want to talk to my catcher,” Scott said.

 

“He’s my catcher, too,” Trent reminded him.

 

“Not tomorrow. Tomorrow he’s all mine because I intend on going seven.”

 

“Well, I’m hungry and I plan on sitting at the table to eat. You two have fun making up your signs for the game. And remember what I said, Mac, because I meant every word of it.”

 

“I’ll be quick because I’m hungry and I bet you are, too.” Mac nodded, wondering what Scott had to say that couldn’t wait until practice. “What I wanted to tell you has nothing to do with signs and pitches and everything to do with what Trent said and us being in synch tomorrow.”

 

While Mac was basking in the outpouring of love from his teammates, his stomach was telling him loud and clear that it was time to eat! He quietly waited for what Scott had to say.

 

“I just wanted to say that I never thought about a catcher as somebody I needed to trust. I just saw him as the guy who caught my pitches, maybe threw out a baserunner or two, and called my pitches. If I didn’t like what he called, then I shake him off until he calls for the pitch I want. I just want you to know that going into tomorrow’s game, I trust you to do a great job behind the plate and to work your buns off. And if I shake off a pitch or two, well, it doesn’t mean I don’t trust you, it means we have more to learn about each other and even then we won’t always agree on pitches.”

 

“Thanks, Scott, I appreciate your saying that,” Mac said.

 

“Oh, and to get us on the right foot tomorrow.” Scott stepped up to Mac and gave him his second long, tight lunch hug. “Now, let’s join the team and eat.”

 

A few members of the girls’ softball team were eating at a nearby table. “What’s with everybody hugging Mac?” Christy asked no one in particular.

 

“The boys must think they’re playing softball and are supposed to hug each other,” Kalie answered.

 

“The boys on that baseball team are all beyond weird,” Brittany said. Nobody argued with her.

 

<Lance and Grant>

 

As soon as Grant put his books into his locker, he headed for Lance’s locker hoping to catch him there and walk to lunch with him. He grinned when he saw Lance closing his locker door, his box lunch in his hand.

 

“Hey, Lance,” Grant called out.

 

“Grant,” Lance grinned. “What are you doing in sixth grade land?”

 

“I wanted to walk to lunch with you. I decided I’d slum it in the sixth-grade ghetto to do that with you.”

 

“For real? You’re one great you know what.” Grant understood that Lance was using “you know what” in place of boyfriend.

 

“I try,” Grant said as the boys hoofed it for the lunchroom. Lance knew that Grant was eating a school lunch and by going to the sixth-grade section first he would have a longer walk to the lunchroom and probably have to wait in line longer. Lance felt a wave of warmth as he thought about how special his boyfriend was. He wished they could hold hands on the way to lunch, but neither he nor Grant were ready to do that yet.

 

“Are we still good for after practice?” Grant asked.

 

“We got the moms to agree to it, so unless somebody changes their mind, then yeah, we’re good,” Lance replied.

 

After yesterday’s practice, Grant and Lance had decided to see what would happen if they made a wild request of their moms. In a sense they wanted to see how accepting their moms were of their budding friendship. What they decided was for Grant to ask his mother if Lance could come over for dinner after today’s practice and for Lance to ask his mother if it was okay.

 

As soon as the boys got home after practice, they did their asking. Both mothers complained about the short lead time. But Grant’s mother was so happy about Grant having a friend who was not only a teammate of his but who also was a good student and solid citizen. She decided to okay it if Grant agreed that Lance would have to leave for home at eight o’clock and he would complete all his homework. She felt it was time for Grant to learn how to be a responsible best friend.

 

Lance’s mother was used to sudden requests like Lance’s, and after getting in her obligatory complaints she gave her permission for Lance to go from practice to dinner at Grant’s. She knew Lance and Lenny were responsible boys, but she also knew they were pubescent boys with many of the accompanying foibles. She told Lance she would have to talk to Grant’s mother first. She got on the phone and after a ten-minute conversation, she agreed to the proposal with the same caveats as Grant’s mother.

 

Lance and Grant excitedly exchanged the good news when they saw each other at the Mayfield Baseball Club meeting. They had no doubt their friendship was taking off into the stratosphere.

 

That was how things stood when Grant, who was feeling a little shaky about the dinner engagement, went into the sixth-grade ghetto to make sure Lance was still coming after practice. What started out being a request Grant knew his mother would turn down became something too good to be true. He woke up that morning wondering what would go wrong and was still wondering that at lunch time.

 

As Grant and Lance walked to the lunchroom, Grant knew that Lance had expressed what he was thinking—everything was good unless somebody changed their mind. Well, I sure won’t be changing my mind, Grant thought.

 

Lance took a seat at the baseball table and Grant sat next to him. While the line was a little longer than usual for him, he hadn’t considered how fast the cooks slopped the lunch onto the tray, especially when lunch was Sloppy Joes like today.

 

The talk at the table was about baseball, of course. They wondered what practice would cover and talked the next day’s games against Meadow Park. They agreed the varsity game would be a tough one, but the Meadow Park JV team was in last place and was one the first-place Titans should win as long as they didn’t go out and beat themselves.

 

Practice was over earlier than usual. At this point in the season Coach Ecklund felt the goal of practice was to keep everyone sharp. In his mind, the team didn’t need an all-out, hour and a half practice session to do that. The players were not about to argue the point—they liked getting out of practice earlier.

 

Grant was happy to have some private time with Lance on their walk to his house and dinner. Once again, he thought about holding hands. He didn’t think it would be as dangerous walking on the sidewalk as walking down a school corridor, but once again he decided to be prudent.

 

“My mom really likes you,” Grant told Lance. “I think she likes you a zillion times better than any friend I ever had, not that I’ve had that many. If she didn’t like you a ton she never would have said yes to our dinner idea.”

 

“I’m way happy she does like me. My mom likes you, too. Does your dad like me?” Lance responded.

 

“Yeah, he likes you, but he says you gotta choke up on your baseball bat when you have two strikes on you. And trust me, if he’s talking about you and baseball, that means he’s really watching you close when you play, and that’s like saying he likes you.”

 

“Wow, my mom tells me the same thing as your dad.”

 

“Your mom knows stuff about baseball?”

 

“Hey, she was a starting shortstop on her college softball team.”

 

“Cool. What do you think of her being on the board for the Baseball Club?”

 

“I dunno. I’m glad she likes to get really involved in what me and Lenny do. It makes up for my dad acting like he doesn’t care about us,” Lance brooded.

 

Grant grabbed Lance’s hand on a whim and Lance accepted the gesture. They walked the last half-block to Grant’s house holding hands and didn’t let go until Grant opened the front door and entered the house.

 

“I’m home, mom!” Grant called out.

 

“You’re early. I’m in the kitchen,” she replied in her loud mom voice.

 

The boys walked into the kitchen and started drooling as they took in the savory smells of Carla Grant’s spaghetti sauce. Carla felt she couldn’t go wrong feeding two hungry, growing boys a hearty meal of spaghetti and meatballs. “Hi, Mrs. Foster,” Lance said.

 

“Hello, Lance. It’s nice to have you here for dinner. I would never have suggested this on a school night, but when Grant asked about doing it I thought it was worth the try since you’re both good boys.” Grant wondered where this version of his mother had come from, but he wasn’t going to fight it because he really liked it.

 

“It smells really good, Mrs. Foster,” Lance said.

 

“I wasn’t expecting the two of you so soon. I was just about to add the meatballs. It will be at least a half hour before everything is ready and for Grant’s father to come home from work. Do you boys have any homework?”

 

“I have some math problems to do, but it won’t take me long,” Lance told her.

 

“I just need to study my spelling words for tomorrow’s spelling test.”

 

Why don’t you boys take care of what you need to take care of. I’ll call for help setting the table when dinner is about ready to be served.

 

The boys went to Grant’s room and plopped on Grant’s bed. “I don’t know about you, but I’m too hungry to study,” Grant told Lance. “We have plenty of time to do what we need to do after dinner.”

 

“So, what do you want to do then?” Lance asked.

 

“I could crank up my computer and we can play some video games.”

 

Lance changed the subject. “Thanks for holding my hand. I get really down talking about my dad. He’s a nice person, he’s never mean to us, but it’s like he doesn’t care about us.”

 

“Hey, you were there for me when I wigged out over Alex. It’s what friends do.”

 

“Especially boyfriends,” Lance grinned. He then started giggling.

 

“What are you giggling about?”

 

“Oh, nothing, really. I was just wondering how much your mom would like me if she knew I liked fucking your ass.”

 

Before Grant could answer his phone sounded the Beach Boys’ “Surfin’ USA”. “That’s my cousin Jaden’s ring tone. I better answer it.”

 

"What's up cuz?" said Jaden when Grant answered his Facetime call.

 

"Not much. I just got home from baseball practice and Lance is here with me. Where are you?" asked Grant. He didn't recognize the room Jaden was calling from.

 

"I'm at my friend Michael's. He's not going to be back for a while, and we found this." He held up the Astroglide for Grant to see. "So, we want to put this to good use but needed to call you for advice."

 

"Who's we? Do you have a boyfriend? Where is he?"

 

Alex opened the bathroom door and saw Jaden wave him over.

 

"We aren't boyfriends. We're just friends."

 

Alex joined Jaden on the bed and looked over his shoulder to see the iPhone screen. "GRANT?"

 

"ALEX?"

 

The two boys spoke at the same time. Words flew fast and furious and Jaden couldn’t keep track of what was being said. “Whoa!” he said causing the other two boys to stop. Alex and Grant stopped and looked at Jaden.

 

“So,” Jaden continued as he sorted things out in his mind, “my cousin Grant is your friend from back home that you always talk about.”

 

Alex, with a huge grin and tears in his eyes nodded the affirmative. Then Jaden turned to Grant who had a look of concern painted on his face. “That means you were in rehab and you didn’t tell me?”

 

“I… I… I… guess I was embarrassed. I’m sorry. Do you mind if I talk to Alex for a minute? We can talk about the other thing later. Okay?”

 

Jaden understood, from Alex’s side, that there were things left unsaid between those two, so he acquiesced and turned the conversation over to Alex and Grant.

 

“Grant, I’m so sorry for being an asshole the day I left. I know this is just an excuse, but I’d just met my mom’s new boyfriend and found out we were moving and was so mad. I’d looked forward to getting out of rehab and making amends to you and Aiden and everybody and when my mom and John came to pick me up, it blew everything to hell.”

 

Jaden reached out and put his arm around Alex’s shoulder to comfort his new friend. All the times Alex had talked about wanting to apologize to his old friend, he never was able to maintain his composure.

 

When Alex paused to catch his breath, Grant took that as the opportunity to make his apology. “I’m sorry too, Alex. I should have been a better friend. But when you were moving and all upset and stuff, I just walked away.” Jaden could tell his cousin was distressed and wished he was there to comfort him.

 

“What are you talking about?” asked Alex. “I was being such an asshole to you, and you didn’t even get mad at me. Grant, you’re the best friend I’ve ever had – my only friend. I was jealous of you getting your shit together and getting sober. And when I felt like you were making other friends and leaving me behind, I realized how much I needed you and just got angrier at you for leaving me behind and at me for being so stupid and mean to you. That’s when I tried to kill myself.” Alex’s composure faltered and the Hispanic boy sobbed uncontrollably. It was such a relief to finally be able to say those things to Grant. He’d meant to say them the day he got out of rehab and they’d been bottled up inside ever since. But the realization that his friend was over a thousand miles away and this might be the last time he’d ever see Grant felt like a boulder had rolled onto his chest.

 

Grant started crying too, he’d been so hard on himself about how things ended between him and Alex that he almost threw away his own sobriety. Alex’s words, however, confirmed what all his friends, his sponsor, and his drug and alcohol counselor had said – Grant had done all the right things no matter how he felt about them.

 

When the two former friends regained control of themselves, Alex asked, “So, from what Jaden told me, you came out and have a boyfriend?”

 

Grant sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “Yeah.” He smiled and nodded his head. “I’m going out with Lance.”

 

“One of the twins?” Grant nodded.  Alex tried to sound happy for Grant, but he was feeling sorry for himself for missing the opportunity to have Grant as his boyfriend.

 

“Well, since you already have a boyfriend, do you think we can still be friends?” asked Alex.

 

Grant thought it wasn’t a bad idea, but the words spilled from his lips before he could fully consider. “I’ll have to think about it.” He wanted to reclaim his friendship with Alex, but Grant knew that this fractured alliance had broken him in some way. His heart said he wanted Alex back in his life, but the voice inside his head said to slow down.

 

“Oh,” said Alex, barely audible. He didn’t let on to Grant how devastating his answer was. It wasn’t something Grant needed to know. Alex knew it was his fault Grant got into drinking. He knew it was his fault the two of them had grown apart. He also knew he had used his words and actions as weapons to hurt Grant. He remembered that Grant had come to the hospital to see him after his suicide attempt. Though Grant was truly being cautious about bringing Alex back into his life, Alex assumed Grant was simply being polite and letting him down easy. “I’ll let you talk to Jaden then.”

 

As Alex fought hard to control the hurt that was building in him, Grant remembered the words he had heard so often in rehab, from Sammy, and from Taylor, his drug and alcohol counselor. In their simplest form they could either be said, “first thought-WRONG, or “first thought—NO”.  Grant took off his glasses and wiped tears from his eyes—he had forgotten that simple little rule and hoped it wasn’t too late to backtrack.

 

Lance was surprised at how Grant brushed off Alex. The behavior was so unlike the person who had become his boyfriend. Grant was always willing to go out of his way to help his friends. Grant started to cry, and Lance knew that Grant didn’t like what he had just done to Alex. He wondered if there was any way his friend could fix it.

 

“Hey, cuz, that was pretty harsh,” Jaden said when he got his phone back. Then Jaden saw that his cousin was crying. “Are you okay?”

 

Grant ignored the question and cried out, “It wasn’t only harsh, but it was also WRONG! Tell Alex to come back, please tell him to come back. I can’t let this happen again. This time it would be my fault.”

 

Jaden heard sobbing from behind the closed bathroom door. “Don’t go away,” he told Grant. “I’ll be right back.” He walked over to the bathroom door and gently rapped. Lance gave Grant a tight hug as they waited to see what Alex would do.

 

“Go away! He hates me and I don’t blame him because I’m so bad and I hurt him so much and it’s why I’m so worthless,” Alex wailed between sobs. “He hates me and he’s right and all I wanted was to be his friend.”

 

Jaden looked at the doorknob and considered going in, then decided not to. “He’s waiting to talk to you,” Jaden said simply, not knowing what else to do.

 

“You’re lying.”

 

“Trust me. He asked me to come get you.”

 

The door opened and Alex tried to dry his face with the back of his hand. He saw where Jaden pointed, the phone was right where Jaden left it on the bed. “He won’t be there,” Alex said shakily as he brushed past Jaden.

 

“He’s there.” ‘At least I hope he will be there,’ Jaden thought. Then Jaden began to fret, ‘What if he didn’t hear what I said about not going away? What if he’s gone? What am I going to do if he’s not there? What will I do if he has a meltdown?’

 

As those thoughts whirled through Jaden’s head, Alex picked up the phone. He was afraid to look at it, afraid Grant wouldn’t be there, and he would never be able to make things up to Grant for as long as he lived. Alex kept his eyes closed and said as calmly as he could, “Grant?” Alex shook with a sob he couldn’t hold back, followed by more sobs

 

“I’m here, Alex.” Grant then added his own sobs. The two became a sobbing duet. Grant was the first to collect himself. “What I said was wrong. I walked away from you the day you moved, and I can’t do it—no, I won’t do it again. I want us to be friends forever and always and, shit, I love you, Alex even if we aren’t boyfriends. I love you because you’re you and have been my friend, like since forever. I’m sorry if I made you mad.”

 

Grant’s outburst was met by silence. “Alex? You there, Alex?

 

“Yeah, I’m here…it’s just…I’ve wanted this so bad and I thought it would never happen and…,” Alex paused to take a breath. “Why did you change your mind?”

 

“What did they tell you in rehab about your first thought?”

 

“They told me about it in a couple of different ways,” Alex responded. “But the way I remember it is that your first thought SUCKS! Is that what happened to you? You paused and figured out that your first thought sucked?”

 

“I paused and realized I walked away from you that last day because you were being an asshole and this time, I was walking away from you when all you wanted was for us to become friends and I couldn’t walk away from you again,” Grant said. He wiped the remaining tears from his face and put his glasses back on.

 

“We can be long distance friends, you know,” Alex’s tone was more hopeful. More so than any time Jaden had been around him. “But first we have to work on lots of amends and stuff, but I think we can do it even from a thousand miles away.”

 

“But, I gotta be honest and this is nothing against you, but Lance is my boyfriend. But I want you to be my very bestest of friends forever.”

 

Grant was met by another long silence and was just beginning to worry that he had once again said the wrong thing when he noticed a glint in Alex’s eyes that hadn’t been there from the time they restarted their phone chat. “Do you know what I need to do about that?” Alex finally asked.

 

“What?”

 

“Find me a boyfriend,” he grinned.

 

“I’ll be happy to help you,” Grant offered.

 

“And you know what else?”

 

“What?”

 

“If you’re going to be my bestest best friend who loves me then you need to know I love you, too.”

 

The boys ended the phone calls. Lance and Jaden waited to see how Grant and Alex would react now that they had cut off their connection with each other.

 

This time when Grant took off his glasses to wipe away tears, he was wiping away tears of happiness. Alex felt the same way and he couldn’t wait to tell Dr. Meijer about what had just happened between Grant and himself.

 

Alex turned to see what Jaden had to say and saw him sitting in Michael’s overstuffed beanbag at the end of the bed wiping away his own tears of happiness.

 

Lance scooted in close to his boyfriend and put his arm around his shoulder. “Wow, that was intense,” Lance whispered. “Are you okay?”

 

“I am now. I was so scared I did the wrong thing again. I don’t know what I would have done if Alex didn’t come back.”

 

“It would have been different than what happened after Alex moved, I hope.”

 

“I think so. I mean, I got Sammy my sponsor and his dad who can help me. Plus I got Taylor my drug and alcohol counselor, and Aiden, and most important I got you. You help me because you love me and I love you.”

 

“I don’t know exactly how to help you, but I know who to call. And I know that squeezing you helps you.” Lance gave Grant’s shoulder a tight squeeze.

 

“Lance, I didn’t know that when he went in the hospital after that overdose that he tried to kill himself. I didn’t know and I might have been the reason.”

 

“Nobody knew,” Lance told his friend. “And there’s no way you were the reason. Maybe you should talk to that Taylor dude, or to Sammy’s dad, or even Sammy. All I know what to say right now is I love you and you need to ask for help, because everybody will tell you what Alex did was never your fault. Never.”

 

“I’m sure he doesn’t think so now, but he did then. You’re right, I’ll talk to Mr. B and tell my mom I want to talk to Taylor. She always says yes when I tell her that and never asks me why. She did for a long time, but I think he told her not to. Anyway, I know what I wish for now.”

 

“What?”

 

“I wish you could fuck me right now. I mean really fuck me big time.”

 

“I don’t think you want me to fuck you like that right now.”

 

“Yes, I do. I swear, I do.”

 

“I think I know what guys like Aiden and Nolan mean about making love instead of fucking. I’m not sure because I haven’t done it enough, but the next time we do it, which I hope is, like, really soon, I want to make love to you like boyfriends do. And I want to do it when there’s nobody around to bother us—we have to do it when we’re alone. I know what I want to do, I just don’t know how to explain it.”

 

“Hold me tighter.” Lance gave Grant’s shoulder another squeeze. Grant placed his head on Lance’s shoulder and sighed.

 

“I didn’t know Alex moved to California.”

 

“I didn’t either,” Grant shrugged. “But if Jaden is his friend, even if they’re not boyfriends, then he moved to the right place.”

 

“My mom says the world can be a small place sometimes. Alex living in the same town as your cousin…I guess that’s what she means about a small world.”

 

“I love you so much, Lance,” Grant whispered.

 

“I love you more.”

 

The boyfriends planted their lips together and Lance fondled Grant’s flaccid cock, which started to stir. Before things could move further Grant’s mother called out to the boys to help set the table.

 

“Before you go out there you might want to wash your face first,” Lance said.

 

“Thanks. I wouldn’t know what to say if my mom saw my face all teary.”

 

“Just tell her you’re upset because I creamed your sorry ass playing video games.”

 

“In your wildest dreams, dude.”

 

“BOYS!” came another shout.

 

“I’ll go out and start while you wash up.” Lance went to the kitchen and told Carla that Grant was in the bathroom. Carla told him what to do to start and Lance went right to work, giving Grant’s mother one more reason to think Lance was the best friend her son could have found.

 

Lance didn’t stay long after dinner. He said beating Grant at video games had worn him out and he still had math to do. Grant went with Lance to his bedroom where Lance had left his backpack.

 

“Beat me in video games,” Grant grumped. “You are sooooooooooo dead.”

 

Lance started to giggle, Grant joined him, and before they knew it, the two boys were rolling on Grant’s bed with laughter. For all its ups and downs, the evening had been a huge success that helped cement three different friendships.

 

<Aiden and Marty>

 

When Aiden came home from school, he went to his room, stripped naked, and came back downstairs to see what he was supposed to heat up for dinner. Phil had left instructions telling him what to warm up in the eventuality he needed to eat before either he or Larry had arrived home.

He read Phil’s note, took a freezer bag of beef stew out of the freezer and nuked it. Phil cooked a lot of meals with extra helpings for leftovers that he could freeze and use during baseball season. Neither of his dads was home but he wanted to eat, do his homework, and be ready for a possible call from Marty.

 

As he ate, he thought about how practice had gone and felt it had gone very well. Everybody seemed ready to play. The Titans had won the first meeting with Winton 7-4 at Winton Middle School in their first game of the season. That had been the Wildcats’ only loss of the season and they had won all six of their games since. Coach Ecklund had reminded them that their win a month ago didn’t mean a thing once the first pitch that counted was thrown in their game tomorrow. Everybody knew that, but Aiden knew how coaches often liked to tell everybody something that was obvious just to make sure the whole team was thinking about it. Having two dads who were coaches gave him a good look at how coaches think.

 

Aiden was putting his dishes into the dishwasher when Phil came home. He got a hearty hello and hug from his dad. Phil was about to ask how practice went when Larry arrived home, giving Aiden a hug as well.

 

“I’ll leave you guys to eat,” Aiden told his dad. “I’ve got homework to finish. Today is an off day for the Mariners and Marty said he would call between seven and seven-thirty. I want to be done with my homework when he calls so I don’t have to worry about it later.”

 

“Good thinking, son,” Larry said.

 

“Must be the good teaching I get,” Aiden grinned. He wiggled his bare ass and then headed upstairs to his room.

 

He had finished his homework and was checking his email when Marty’s Skype call came through. He set his camera so that it showed his entire naked front and clicked on the video icon.

 

“Hi, Marty,” Aiden greeted.

 

“Hey, sport, how’s it hanging?” Marty replied. “I guess I don’t need to ask that since all I have to do is look,” he laughed. He noted that Aiden had an erection. “How about hiding the distraction,” he asked.

 

“You know you like looking at it, but I’ll do whatever you want only because you’re my big bro.” Aiden grabbed the small blanket draped over his chairback and placed it over his groin.

 

“I’ve got no problem looking at you naked while we chat, but your boner is a bit of a distraction.”

 

“Whatever. I love you big bro.”

 

“I love you back, little bro. Now, let’s talk baseball.”

 

“Five and a half years,” Aiden said.

 

Marty knew what his little bro was referring to. “It’s always nice to have something to look forward to in the distant future.”

 

“I just don’t want you to ever forget.” Aiden had talked Marty into fucking him as soon as possible after he turned eighteen, which was five and a half years away.

 

“I won’t forget. Now, let’s talk some baseball.”

 

Aiden started out by telling Marty that Mac had been voted onto the Mayfield Baseball Club board.

 

“No shit?” Marty said in surprise. “I mean if it happened in next spring’s election, I’d have to praise the boy for working his ass off for a year and getting something he earned. But getting elected a month after the big visit to his house, that’s hard to believe.”

 

“Well, it happened.”

 

“I know. I think you can take some credit for it. I’m willing to bet you making amends to him and having him come to your house to work on his catching, helped him a lot. I just hope this isn’t too much too soon and that the whole thing goes to his head and he backtracks.”

 

“I don’t think Trent, Scott, Barry, or Max are going to let that happen. They’re ready to kick his ass if goes off track and he knows it. And he knows I’ll be right there with them.”

 

“You can give him my phone number. Tell him I’m willing to talk to him anytime if he needs a neutral ear to talk to.”

 

“Wow, that’s awesome,” Aiden gushed. “Thanks for being you and being willing to help.”

“It’s the least I can do for my old alma mater.”

 

Marty and Aiden then spent the next half hour talking Mariner and Titan baseball with a little bit about the Mustangs thrown in.  Aiden’s cock had gone flaccid as they talked and he pulled off the blanket.

 

“Okay, bro, I’m heading on out. But first I am going to email you something, so hang tight. Once you see you might need to cover yourself with that blanket again,” Marty said.

 

Twenty seconds later, Aiden received notification of the arriving email. He saw that Marty’s email had an attachment. He opened the email and then opened the attachment, which was a picture of a boy who looked twelve or thirteen, wearing nothing but a pair of swimming trunks. The boy had jet black hair that looked wet from swimming, an athletic build, and a brilliant smile.

 

“That dude is really hot,” Aiden told Marty. “Who is it?”

 

“I told you about Wade Whalen having a thirteen-year-old brother named Tim.”

 

“Whoa, and that’s Tim?”

 

“Yep. Sorry it took so long to send it. Wade was a bit slow sending it to me and I didn’t want to beg for it. Last week, I gave in to my curiosity and mentioned the picture to him. He apologized for forgetting and sent it to me a couple of days ago. Anyway, I’m sure you’ll enjoy looking at it.”

 

“You know it,” Aiden gushed. 

 

Aiden and Marty said their good-byes and Aiden immediately contacted Nolan. Nolan confirmed that his dad would bring him to Mayfield Saturday afternoon, and he would be able to spend the night. That was great news for both boys.

 

“I have somebody for you to see,” Aiden said.

 

He sent the picture of Tim. Nolan had the same reaction Aiden had when he first saw the half-naked boy. They agreed that Marty needed to find a way for them to meet him. They also agreed that he could be their jerk off fantasy for the night.

 

As the naked boys watched their boyfriend jerk off on their computer screen, they wondered how many boys Tim might have jerked off with. Nolan shot the first cum twenty-three seconds faster than Aiden. 

 

FRIDAY, MAY 1

 

<Aiden>

 

As soon as Aiden’s alarm woke him up, he called his cousin Chase to wish him a happy fifteenth birthday. “Happy Birthday, cuz,” Aiden said as soon as Chase answered the phone.

 

“Thanks for calling,” Chase said. “I had a feeling I’d hear from you this morning since we both are probably going to be busy all day with baseball and whatever. And here you are, the best cousin a guy could have.”

 

“Sorry I can’t make it to your party, tomorrow. You were right about being busy.”

 

“Starting with what I guess is a big baseball game for you guys.”

 

“We have to win to have a decent chance at first. I guess that’s big. Don’t you have a game, too?”

 

“We played yesterday. Won 7-3. Still tied for first. And you’re still coming for the big Cuz Party Memorial Day weekend, right?”

 

“Nolan and I will be there. I can’t wait for all of us to drive Uncle Troy and Aunt Sue crazy,” Aiden giggled. “Hey, birthday boy, who do you get to fuck tonight?”

 

“Dillon and Logan have both called first fuck, so I think I might just get to double up. Hell of a birthday present.”

 

“Sounds like it. Nolan is spending the night tomorrow so I should get my weekend fun, too. Okay, I gotta go shower and eat since I have a bus to catch.”

 

“Thanks again for the call, cuz. See you in three weeks.”

 

<Mayfield Middle School Baseball Field>

 

The Seamount League looked at the Winton at Mayfield game as important enough to merit two umpires. The Lewis County Umpires Association assigned their best two umpires available. Many of the top umpires were assigned to high school games, but that didn’t preclude two of their better ones working the best middle school matchup in the county that day.

 

Scott and Mac had another chat at lunch. This one was about Scott’s strengths and weaknesses as a pitcher and how Scott liked to pitch. It wasn’t their first time discussing the topic, but they both felt it wouldn’t hurt to review.

 

One thing much of the staff and many of the students at school noticed about the Titans that day—the baseball players on both the varsity and junior varsity were keyed into the upcoming games. A couple of the teachers wondered if the players in their classes had a clue as to what had been covered. There was no doubt that the boys had gotten totally serious about baseball.

 

Coach Ecklund could see that serious demeanor as the boys changed into their uniforms in the locker room. He could see it during their warmup. He could see it during infield. There was no doubt that the varsity was mentally ready to play—now they had to see how that played out on the field.

 

The Winton Wildcats looked much looser during their infield, making Ecklund wonder if his boys might be too tight rather than focused in. But as he looked back at warmups and infield, he remembered that there was a lot of chatter and encouragement while at the same time there was no wasted energy. They were as ready as a group of middle school boys could be.

 

There were some interesting differences between the Wildcats and the Titans. The Wildcat varsity players were all eighth graders except for two seventh graders who split time between JV and varsity. Four of the twelve regulars on the Titans were seventh graders and three of those were starters. Coach Ecklund brought up one or two players from the JV each game for some varsity experience. For this game Lenny, a sixth grader, was one of the players and Rusty was the other. The coach had Lenny suiting up varsity to add catching depth.

 

Another difference was that the Titans had started the season with the attitude that they were playing to win the division and then the league championship. Instances like the visit to Mac’s house by members of the team when turnouts began or the gatherings for pitchers and catchers at Aiden’s house showed how serious the boys were about making their goal. Plus, the Titans were part of a program with a long tradition of winning.

 

The Winton players were certain they would have one of the better teams in the league. They were surprised, however, to be in first place as the second half of the season commenced. What they were lacking was the commitment to setting and meeting goals that the Mayfield players had. The Titans’ confidence was on more solid ground than that of the Wildcats.

 

Winton’s effort didn’t always equal their talk. A big part of that was leadership. They didn’t have leaders like Trent and Scott, or a rising leader like Mac was proving to be. Even Aiden, as a seventh grader, was looked up to by the team for the examples he set on the field if nothing else.

 

All of this is not to say that the Titans were a lock to defeat the Wildcats. Once the first pitch is thrown the baseball gods could be cruel. A funny bounce here, a momentary mental lapse there, a day when hard hit balls were caught by the opposition while the opposition’s popups and bloopers drop in just out of reach. What it did mean was that the Titans were better prepared to deal with adversity.

 

That was how things looked when Scott threw the first pitch of the game for a called strike. The batter swung at the second pitch and hit a comebacker to Scott, who turned and threw to Max at first base for the first out. The second batter swung at the first pitch thrown to him and hit a lazy fly ball to Everett in left. The third batter struck out on a 1-2 pitch—the Wildcats had gone down 1-2-3 on seven pitches.

 

“They sure weren’t very patient,” Trent said as the Titans ran off the field.

 

“I’m sure their coach will be telling them the same thing,” Mac said. “We gotta play it an inning at a time.”

 

“Gotcha,” Trent said. Not for the first time Trent was impressed by Mac’s newfound take charge attitude.

 

The bottom half of the first inning all but sealed Winton’s fate. Gordy led off the inning with a four-pitch walk. He stole second on the first pitch to Aiden. Aiden then lined a shot on the next pitch that fell between the center and right fielders, scoring Gordy. Trent hit a hard shot to shortstop that had double play written all over it. Instead of dropping the anchor and getting his butt down to make the play, the shortstop elected to scoop up the easy grounder. The result was the ball skipping under his mitt and through the wickets, as the players liked to call a grounder going through a fielder’s legs, for an error. Muddy got a fat pitch down the middle and launched a ball over the outfield at the 315-foot sign in left-center field. The Titans had put a quick four runs up on the scoreboard.

 

The Wildcats finally settled down and played more to their ability as the next three Titan batters went out. The Titans scored two more runs in the fourth inning for a 6-0 lead. The Wildcats used two hits and an error by Trent at third to score a run in the top of the fifth to make the score 6-1. Because Scott had pitched on Tuesday, Coach Ecklund had Aiden pitch the sixth and seventh innings of what ended up being a 7-1 win. After getting over their first inning jitters, the Winton Wildcats played good ball, but it was too little, too late. The Titans and the Wildcats were tied for first place with 6-2 records.

 

“What happens if we end up tied for first place?” Everett asked Aiden after Coach Ecklund finished up the post-game meeting.

 

“You should learn how all this stuff works,” Aiden answered.

 

“Why should I, when I’ve got smart teammates like you to tell me the answers?”

 

“You mean you’re placing your trust in a seventh grader?”

 

“Well, you’re not just any seventh grader. I mean you’ve got no problems jerking off in the showers or on road game bus trips with us eighth graders.”

 

“That’s as good a reason as any to trust me, I guess,” Aiden grinned. “So, to answer your question, if we tie with Winton, we take first place and go to the league championship game.”

 

“Is it because we beat them both times we played them?”

 

“See, you don’t need me at all. You’ve got it all figured out.”

 

“Do you want to hang around and jerk off with the horny eighth graders in the shower?”

 

“Who is us?”

 

“Me, Max, Barry, and sometimes Trent,” Everett answered.

 

Aiden noted that he hadn’t mentioned Mac. “Sounds like fun, dude, but my dad was able to watch the game and is waiting for me.”

 

“Our next trip is to Gardner on Thursday. Think about joining us in the back.”

“Okay. I’ll see you on Monday,” Aiden said as he turned to leave the locker room.

 

Phil was waiting for Aiden in the parking lot. Aiden tossed his backpack and equipment bag into the back of the pickup and then sat in the backseat. “Nice game,” Phil said. “You guys played a great game—a game worthy of a first-place team.”

 

“Thanks, dad. We really had everything together today. It’s like the whole team was in a zone. And Winton looked like they were scared to start the game.”

 

“Being in big games like that was a new experience for them. You guys are used to them. You might not always win them, but you never play scared.”

 

“And now we have another big game coming up on Monday with no practice in between games. Monte is playing Barrett and there’s no way they lose to Barrett, so they’ll either be in first or tied for first depending on how Evans did against Harborview. Monte is in first place in the west, so, we’re going to play another first-place team.”

 

“It doesn’t get any easier, does it?” Phil laughed.

 

“Nope. But I know we’ll be ready this time, too. One thing about playing Monte is I’ve got two friends on the team, which will make it extra fun.” Aiden felt his phone vibrate saying a text had arrived. He read it and said, “And Skyler, who is one of one of those friends, just texted me. Monte 15, Barrett 0. Looks like they’ll be ready for us, too.”

 

Dinner was leftover lasagna and salad. Larry was in a good mood since the Mustangs whomped Parkview 7-2. “We’ve got three games next week since we have a make up to play,” Larry said. “It’s going to be a busy week for sure.”  

 

“And I get to join the action tomorrow with my first turnout with the Dynamos,” Phil said. After talking it over with Larry, Phil decided to coach a league lower than he usually did by taking charge of the fourteen and under Mayfield Dynamos. His players would be mostly players off the freshman and JV teams with a few eighth graders from the Titans thrown into the mix.

 

After dinner, Aiden spent a lot of time texting and talking on the phone with his friends. The JV had shut out Winton to remain in first place. Dayton Reed, Grant, and Emmett had split the pitching duties, with Grant getting credit for the win. The Mustang JV and freshman teams had also won their games, making it a big day for Mayfield baseball.

 

When Aiden finally connected with Nolan on Skype, they started out talking baseball, of course. Not surprisingly Meadow Park had ended their three-game losing streak with an 11-4 win over Gardner. “Gardner might still not be very good, but they’ve really improved since the start of the year,” Nolan said. “They play Chinook next, and they might have a shot at beating them.”

 

The big surprise in the Eastern Division was Clark Pass’s 5-4 win over Kentburg. Both teams now had 4-4 records and were two games out of first with four games left to play. “Clark Pass is decent this year,” Aiden told Nolan, “but they’re going to be the team to beat in the East next year.”

 

“Maybe, but I’d put my money on you guys next year,” Nolan said.

 

“We’re losing most of this year’s team, and Clark Pass is only losing a couple of players,” Aiden reminded him.

 

“Yeah, but they still have one major thing going against them.”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“Their biggest problem is they happen to be Clark Pass,” Nolan chuckled.

 

In the West Division, Harborview beat Evans 6-5, which knocked Evans out of a tie for first with Monte and into second place with a 6-2 record. Harborview now had a 5-3 record.

 

“Well, we play Monte on Monday and you play Harborview,” Aiden said. “We’ve both got tough games coming up. Plus, Kentburg plays Evans, which is another good matchup. If Evans wins that game, Kentburg would have a 4-5 record. Who would ever have predicted a losing record for Kentburg this late in the year? They’ve got a lot of talent there.”

 

“Not to mention their new coach being a dumbass coach. I heard that once the athletic director read the protest, he told the coach there was no way the school district was going to pay the fee since they were guaranteed to lose the protest.”

 

“Yep, you can leave the base as soon as the ball is touched,” Aiden said. “I heard from a baseball coach who happens to live in the same house I do. I also heard   that the Kentburg coach said he was going to pay for the protest out of his own pocket and the athletic director said the league wouldn’t allow coaches to pay—the protest had to be backed up by the school’s athletic office. The A.D. told the coach it might help if he read the rules and made an attempt to understand them. So, yeah, like you said, he seems to be a dumbass coach.”

 

“Your coach might be the best one in the middle school league,” Nolan said. “I disagree with some things our coach does, but he is no dumbass. He knows the game.”

 

“Are we going to jerk off together?”

 

“I want to save all the cum I can for tomorrow might. Our nights together are pretty special, and I want to get off at least twice and go after three.”

 

“Sounds good. I’ll see you around dinner time. Night, night, Sugar Bear.”

 

“Night, night, Sweet Cakes.”

 

Next: Dealing