Parker laughed. “You say that every year.”
I nodded. “Yeah. But this year I mean it.”
One of the best parts of being a coach was getting to know the players who I would spend the next months with—and their parents, which could be good or bad depending on what they were like. If someone had told me what parents would do to try to get their kids a little extra playing time, I never would have believed it. I had gotten Final Four tickets and fishing expeditions, free meals from restaurant owners, vacation offers, and some of these moms… Well, let’s just say, I have received some amazing yet appalling photographs that I have deleted like the gentleman I am. Even still, I tried to be fair because, in the end, we all wanted the same thing: a winning season. But I won’t lie, I was only human, and, after those floor seats to the Duke–UNC game, I had probably let Michael Saunders play a little more than he deserved. But, come on, we were going to beat Hillcrest High no matter what.
But largely, I tried to be the coach who gave these kids a little extra. Which was why, right now, we were embarking on this fishing expedition. I had learned that, yes, it was important for me to bond with the boys. But what was most important was for them to bond with each other. They were different ages and races, from different socioeconomic backgrounds and wildly different family situations. But, on the field, they transformed into one cohesive unit. They spoke the same language, sensed each other’s movements, could read each other’s minds. Well, ideally. And that was what days like today were for. Sport was so far beyond the fundamentals. It was all about trust. It was all about knowing the guy on first has your back while you’re on the pitcher’s mound.
And these two guys right here beside me, helping me out at 5 a.m.? They’d had my back since the day they were born. Talk about speaking a language? Trusting the people beside you? Nothing would ever compare to these two.
“You think we’re going to win States this year?” Robbie asked.
“Wow,” I said. “Way to dive in. Just ruin my calm moment with all your questions.”
He held his cup up to me. “The two things I’m serious about are coffee and baseball. You know this.”
“I do.”
“Of course they’re going to win States,” Parker said. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Well, theBaseball Todaypodcast sure thinks so,” Robbie said, winking at me.
I groaned, but it didn’t quite take. First, the article inInside Pitch. Then,Baseball Today, my go-to listen, had asked me to be a guest. I was flattered and thrilled, but I tried to play it cool.
“You’re really a media sensation again lately,” Parker said. “That must feel good.”
I rolled my eyes, but he wasn’t wrong. Apparently, that wasn’t enough for me to move up in the coaching world, though. I hadn’t told my friend or my brother that I had even applied for those college jobs. So I just said, “Well, since tomorrow night is our first game, maybe let’s get a few under our belt and reassess.”
“Nah,” Parker said. “You could win with your seniors alone.” He smacked me on the back. “And the great Mason Thaysden is leading them into battle. There’s no way you can lose.”
I smiled. He was a good brother. We’d moved way, way on from the mess of the past now. That was probably the best part of my whole getting-my-life-together situation. I’d gotten my brother back.
Robbie sat down on the bench seat closest to us. “Man,” he said, looking out over the vast expanse of water, “we really won the lottery, didn’t we? We live in paradise.”
I felt uneasy. That was the thing: We did. We lived in paradise. I lived in the most beautiful place in the world with a boat tied up at my dock and fish outside my door, and my two best friends nearby. I loved my job and, by all accounts, I was happy. Was it even right or fair to want something more?
“Do you guys ever think about, I don’t know… leaving?”
“Nope!” Parker jumped in. “I did leave. And Palm Beach was great and all and, sure, New York is New York, which is awesome. But Cape Carolina is the best place on earth.”
He leaned back just a little in the captain’s chair, looking so at ease at the helm of this boat he’d learned to drive when he was just a little kid. “Wait. Are you thinking about leaving?”
I shrugged. “Nah. Yes. I don’t know. You guys both went off and had another life, and—”
“And we sprinted back to Cape Carolina, begged, borrowed, and stole to get back here as quickly as possible,” Robbie said. “Believe me, man, the real world isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
“I think it’s just, like, no one takes me seriously here or something. And I’m not sure they ever will.”
Parker cocked his head to the side. “Mason, you are a legend. Everyone here worships you.”
Robbie added, “And, with all this press you’re getting lately, they’re not alone! You won the jackpot, man: doing what you love and getting notoriety for it in the place you love.”
I guessed that was true.
Parker pulled the throttles back and, just like that, without a word, Robbie and I knew: It was game time. See? Private language.
I climbed down the ladder and opened the door to the salon as Robbie began to set the spread of baits we had rigged on the way out. “Boys! It’s about that time! If y’all want tacos for dinner, we’d better get to it.”
A few of them groaned or opened one eye. Luke, one of my freshmen, made a beeline for the cockpit. I thought he was super excited—until he leaned over the stern of the boat and threw up. Three other guys sat up to rib him, but then it was like a chain reaction. Two of my seniors joined poor Luke over the stern. I sighed and said, “Glad everyone took my Dramamine suggestion.”
