“Queens can wear whatever they want,” Margot said.
“Mine can’t. She has to wear purple.”
Nearby, Robbie sat cross-legged with a book calledThe Physics of Baseballopen on his lap. He hadn’t looked up at the actual game once.
“Robbie,” Esme said. “You could watch your friends play.”
“I am watching,” Robbie said, not looking up. “I’m studying the theoretical framework.”
Grady caught my eye and shrugged. “He’s learning about spin rates. Fascinating stuff.” He lifted his eyebrows.
Up on the bleachers, I could see Annie, Grace, Bella, and Mia clustered together, as far from the parent zone as they could manage. They’d waved when they arrived and hadn’t looked our way since.
Alex was in the dugout with the team, clipboard in hand. As a volunteer assistant coach, he took direction from the high school coach, but, from what I’d observed, Alex was the heart of the team. Even from a distance, I could see how the boys looked up to him and relied on him for emotional support.
By the third inning, our team led by two. Tyler was up to bat.
“He looks good,” I said to Seraphina. “Great stance and focus.”
“His focus is one of his strengths. That and he knows how to keep his emotions in check. Some of the other boys are hotheads, but he keeps his emotions in check.”
“Hard to do.” I called out to Tyler. “Go, Tyler. You’ve got this.”
Tyler glanced our way just for a split second, smiling, then set his gaze on the pitcher.
The pitch came in. Tyler swung and connected with a sharp line drive over the shortstop’s head. He took off running, rounded first, and slid into second just ahead of the throw.
The bleachers erupted. Our little group all cheered. But no one as loud as Madison.
“Yay, Tyler. Yay, Tyler.” Then she got up from her coloring project to do celebratory cartwheels down the sideline.
“Thank goodness she’s wearing pants,” Esme said. “One time she had a dress on and everyone and their mother saw her panties.”
Leo opened his eyes and let out a squawk. Gillian patted his back and he went back to sleep. “I’ve got to get him on a better schedule,” Gillian said. “He loves to sleep during the day and not so much at night.”
I noticed Esme and Grady locking eyes for a second or two. I had a feeling baby Leo might get a friend soon.
Tyler stood at second base, brushing dirt off his uniform. He gave me a quick wave, his young face showing exactly what he was thinking. It mattered to him that I was there. I wasn’t sure anything had ever made me as proud.
The next batter struck out, and the inning ended with Tyler stranded on base. He jogged back to the dugout, not visibly disappointed. Alex said something to him as he passed, and Tyler nodded.
Peter was pitching well. His curveball was dropping beautifully, and the opposing batters kept swinging over it.
“This is fun,” I said to Seraphina.
She looked up at me. “I’m glad you think so because there’s like a million games in the spring.”
“Maybe you could write a song about baseball,” Robbie said to me, looking up from his book. “One with a story about the underdogs defeating the best team in the league through determination and heart.”
“I think that’s a movie,” Grady said.
“Seraphina told me there are only seven stories,” Robbie said, shrugging. “It’s impossible to come up with anything completely fresh.”
Seven stories? I put that aside to think about later and grabbed a piece of cheese.
I could get used to afternoons like this.
“It’s really nice you’re here,” Lila said in her soft voice. “Mia told me Tyler was telling everyone that you were coming to his game.”
