“Grandpa,” Liam and Tyler both say, running into the arms of the man.
Samantha and Mike both stand to greet him, so I do the same, motioning for Nolan to join me.
We stand in waiting as everyone says their hellos.
“Dad,” Samantha says, turning to me, “this is Christy, who I told you about, and her son, Nolan.”
I hold my hand out to shake his, and he takes it in a firm grip.
“Nice to meet you,” I say.
“You as well. I’m John, but everyone just calls me Grandpa.”
He lets go of my hand and holds it up to Nolan, lifting it a little higher than Nolan’s height so he has to jump to high-five him. Nolan is excited at the chance to show he can do it and cheers when he does.
“Good job, little man.”
They discuss his drive, the parking situation, and the stadium while I sit here in awe that I’m getting to know Evan’s family before truly even getting to know him. I would assume most guys wouldn’t want to introduce you to his family, yet Evan hooked me up to sit with his family for the entire game without him even here.
The announcer comes over the loudspeaker, welcoming everyone to the Terrors stadium before they start calling out the players one at a time.
“Leading off and playing center field, please welcome number seventeen, Jake Reynolds!”
Everyone cheers, and we all walk to the balcony to wait for them to call Evan’s name.
“Batting second and playing shortstop, please welcome number twenty-three, Gunnar McNeer!”
Everyone claps again as Gunnar runs from the dugout to the third baseline, where they are all lining up.
“Batting third and playing left field, for the first time on the Terrors lineup, wearing number nineteen, please welcome Evan Parker!”
We all scream, jumping up and down as Evan runs to the field to join his teammates. To our surprise, once he’s in line, he turns to face us and gives us all an air kiss and a wave hello.
Liam and Tyler blow the air kiss back as Samantha grabs her dad’s arm, bringing it to her like a proud mom would. Even though she’s his sister, it’s evident she fills that mother role just by the tears that she keeps wiping away.
He continues through the lineup with Damien “Diesel” Donovan, who’s batting fourth and playing first; Lucas Hamilton, DHing; Chase Thorne, hitting sixth and playing third; Kelton James, playing right; Cassidy “Tripp” Nash, the catcher—whose birthday is today; and holding up the end of the line is Eric Wiseman, batting ninth and playing second base.
“And your starting pitcher is Max Murphy!” he finishes with a grand-finale tone to his voice.
Everyone cheers again for the new season to finally begin.
Once the game actually starts, I sit back, put my feet up on the chair in front of me, and relax. Knowing Nolan is locked in this room and has two other little boys to entertain him is like a dream come true. It’s rare that I get moments like this, and I plan on enjoying every bit of it.
Samantha joins me with a friendly grin. “Aren’t these suites nice?”
“Amazing. I’ve never been in one,” I respond.
“They offered us seats or a suite alone for his first game only, so unfortunately, we don’t get it every time we’re here, but it was a nice gesture. I jumped on the opportunity of a suite, so I wouldn’t have to worry about the boys,” she says with a knowing grin.
“Right?” I respond. “I was just thinking about how relaxing this is, knowing he can’t go anywhere.”
“I’m going to get some drinks. Want anything?” Mike asks, pointing at me.
I look at Samantha to see if she’s getting anything.
She nudges me. “He already knows to get me a beer. Lord knows if I get a chance to relax, I’m taking full advantage. The game will be close to two hours, and then you know we’ll stay to talk to Evan. Treat yourself.”
I grin. “Yeah, I’ll take a beer too.”
