Knowing there’s no way Eddie can be around, I inhale a deep breath, then let it out. “Evan comes home tomorrow. How about I bring Nolan to the game on Saturday?”
I hear her choke back tears as Charles responds, “Saturday will be perfect.”
“Okay, I’ll want Evan there, so we’ll come early when he does. I’ll have him let you know when that will be.”
“Sounds good.” There’s a brief pause, and then Charles speaks again. “And, Christy?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of our grandson’s life.”
I take a few breaths. “We’ll take this slow, but I’m excited for him to meet you guys,” I admit. “After this phone call, I feel better about the situation.”
“Us too,” Mary says. “We’ll see you on Saturday.”
“Yep. Saturday.”
I hang up and drop back on my couch, knowing my life is about to change and praying Charles and Mary are nothing like Eddie.
Early Saturday morning, we all get ready to go to Nolan’s game. Thankfully, it starts at eight thirty, so we can go to that, then hightail it out of there to get to the stadium by eleven.
“You ready, little man?” Evan says, holding up his hand to high-five him.
“It’s so cool that you get to watch me play, and then I get to watch you play,” Nolan says, making us both laugh.
“Right?” Evan states while holding up his hand to high-five him again. “High five to us both getting to play today!” Evan unzips the jacket he’s wearing and grabs both sides, swinging it open like he’s Superman. “And look what I got!”
He continues to remove his jacket completely, turning around to show us the back of the Little League shirt he’s wearing, which was made to support Nolan’s team and even has Nolan’s name written on the back, along with the rest of the players.
“Hey, that’s my name!” Nolan says in celebration.
“It sure is.”
“How did you get this?” I ask, knowing you had to order them the same time as the uniforms.
“I might have made a slight donation to the league with the only stipulation being that I got a T-shirt,” Evan says with a grin.
I lean in to kiss him. “You’re too sweet.”
Nolan grabs his bag, which is twice his size. “Let’s go!”
We drive to the field and during the entire game, I sit there, picking at my fingers nervously. Nolan has no clue what’s going to happen today. He just thinks we’re going to watch Evan play.
Evan wraps his hand around mine. “Relax.”
I inhale, then exhale it all out. “I’m trying.”
“It’s going to be fine. I had a talk with Charles again yesterday. It’s going to be all right.”
I press my lips together and nod, looking into Evan’s eyes. When he leans over to kiss my lips, a sense of calmness washes over me. I place my head on his shoulder and focus on my breathing while he continues to hold my hand and we watch Nolan’s game.
When we arrive at the ballpark, I have to really focus on my breathing so I don’t throw up.
Evan was able to get us a private suite so my sister and her family could come to the game as well, just in case I needed the support while he was playing. I agreed that I wanted her there, but thought it would be too much to have them all come meet Eddie’s parents for the first time, so I told them we’d meet them in the suite after we finished up.
Evan puts the truck in park and looks my way. “You okay?”
I open my eyes wide and let out a long, slow breath. He gives my hand a squeeze, then opens his door and hops out. Nolan andI do the same. When Evan places his hand out to Nolan, I fall back a few steps, needing to compose myself. Seeing the two of them hold hands—with Nolan in his uniform and Evan sporting the Little League T-shirt—the tears I’ve been holding in all day finally fall.
