I sit and relax on a park bench a few feet away and watch Evan teach Nolan to throw a ball properly. His interactions with Nolan surprise me a little bit. I know he has nephews, but I also know he’s pretty much been on the road since they were born, so it’s not like he was around much. His level of comfort with Nolan is something I rarely see in men, unless they are the kid’s father.
Evan teaches him about stretching, warming up, arm angle, and how to move your body with your throw. When Nolan throws the ball and hits Evan directly in the glove, he runs over to me.
“Did you see that, Mommy?”
I give him a big smile. “I did! Great job!”
With every throw, Nolan gets better, and the smile on Evan’s face grows bigger.
“Okay, bud.” Evan catches the ball and starts to walk toward Nolan. “I think that’s it for right now. We have your game in a little bit, so we don’t want to throw too much. We have to build your arm strength.”
He rubs the top of Nolan’s Terrors hat, which he wears daily now—even in this instance while he’s dressed in his full Little League uniform for his game, where he’ll have to switch it to the team hat soon.
Nolan moves his arm up and down, rubbing his little muscles. “Yeah, I don’t want to throw my arm out.”
Evan laughs. “No, you don’t.”
“Want to throw more tomorrow?”
“We’ll find another day after we look at my schedule.”
Nolan nods, then looks at me. “Can I go play on the playground until the rest of my teammates get here?”
I tilt my head toward the play structure that’s close to the fields. “Yeah, go ahead.”
Nolan throws his glove on the ground and takes off running.
Evan leans down to pick it up. “And just like that, the glove means nothing,” he teases as he sits down next to me.
I nudge him with my leg. “That was pretty cool of you.”
He shrugs like it was nothing. “I love playing catch. Some of my best memories with my dad are of playing catch.”
“Well, get ready. These games are a hoot to watch.”
“I’m pumped,” he says, and I can tell he really means it.
We hang out until a few more players arrive, and I go to get Nolan. When we get back, a few families are talking to Evan.
Nolan runs up and grabs Evan’s hand. “Johnny, did you hear he’s arealbaseball player?” he says to his friend standing there.
Johnny bounces with excitement. “I did. And he’s going to watch our game!”
Evan looks at me with a cheesy grin, making me laugh. He’s so nonchalant when it comes to being a professional athlete when he’s around adults, but when he’s around kids, he eats that shit up, loving every second of their joy.
“Okay, boys, let’s go get warmed up,” Coach Tim says, then reaches his hand out to Evan. “It was nice to meet you.”
Evan shakes his hand. “Yeah, you too. Good luck out there.”
He laughs. “Thanks. We need it.”
Everyone walks away, leaving us alone.
I wrap my arms around Evan’s waist. “You’re pretty cool—you know that?”
“Why am I more excited to be here than I am at my games?”
“Because you consider what it would have been like to have someone like you at one of your Little League games.”
