I’m hitting left-handed, for the record. And they arenotgoing easy on me.
“Who throws a brushback pitch to a dude who had Tommy John’s surgery?” I say to Lucas, kicking the snow and trying to square up. I’m careful not to use my right arm at all, which means Lucas is smoking me.
“Winners, that’s who.”
“It was a strike,” Bruce says, even as he pulverizes a snowball Logan threw to him.
“You’re not even behind the plate!” I cry. “Nepotism.” Lucas pegs me with a snowball, and I laugh. “You suck.”
“No, you suck,” Lucas says, throwing another pitch, this time to Liesel. She smacks it and then another, laughing all the way.
When it’s my turn to hit again, I square up and crush it. The ball explodes in a cloud of white powder that makes me laugh. “That’s how it’s done, boys,” I say, dropping my bat and trudging around the makeshift diamond. The tweebs boo me while Lieselcheers, and when I make it back around to Liesel—my home base—she jumps into my arms and kisses me.
Her brothers and Dad all throw snowballs at us, and I spin and shield her from the worst of it while she laughs.
But someone else claps.
Liesel senses it the same moment I do. I whip around, still holding her, to find the source of the clap.
A couple has come into the backyard from the plowed driveway. The man is about my height, with a handsome, weathered face from years of hard work. The dark eyed woman has beautiful ivory skin that hasn’t seen the sun in decades and that makes her look younger than she is. Her smile is warmer than a fireplace.
“Mom?” I whisper. “Dad?”
Mom starts laughing, holding her hands over her mouth, tears streaming down her face. Dad’s hands are on her shoulders, but he’s crying, too.
“I’ve never seen you hit a ball before,” Mom says. “You’re so talented!”
I run at full speed to them, almost tackling my mom when I dive into her arms. I sob in a way I haven’t in years, breaking down uncontrollably. The three of us hold each other tightly, and I don’t care that Liesel’s family is seeing this. I don’t care about anything else in the world.
“You’re here! How are you here?” I ask through my tears.
“We drove,” Dad says, sniffing back tears of his own. “I told you I was getting a Winnebago. Your mom’s gotten really comfortable in it over the last few months.”
“I’ve been practicing,” Mom says in my ear. The three of us are all still hugging, and I can’t let Mom go. She’s shaking like a leaf, and while I’m sure some of that is happiness at seeing me, I know there has to be real fear and anxiety to it, too. “I found a new therapist last year. I’ve been doing exposure therapy. I’dhoped I could make the playoffs, but I wasn’t ready.” She frowns, and tears gush out. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t ready.”
“I don’t care!” I cry. “You’re here now!”
“I’m here,” she says, trembling and squeezing me. “I love you and I’m finally here.”
“This is why we couldn’t take your calls,” Dad explains with an apologetic, watery smile. “We knew you’d hear the Winnebago in the background.”
“I’m so sorry you were hurting, sweetie,” Mom says. “I had to do this. When my therapist recommended that silly VR headset, it opened the world to me. It was terrifying at first, but also … life changing. It showed me that there’s so much beauty in the world that I’ve missed. But it was when I started watching your games that I realized I couldn’t go on like this anymore. I couldn’t stand to live another moment missingyou liveyours.” Her tears are freezing against my face, and I couldn’t care less.
“How did you know where I was?” I sniff when Mom and I finally break apart.
“Find A Friend,” Dad says with a chuckle. He looks past me to talk to Liesel’s family. “I hope you don’t mind us crashing.”
“Not at all!” Liesel says.
“It’s our pleasure,” Bruce says.
I wave Liesel over and tuck her underneath my arm as I introduce her to my parents. “You guys saw my message, didn’t you?” They nod. “This is Liesel.”
“We’re so happy to meet you,” Mom says, hugging Liesel.
Dad hugs her next. “I never thought I’d see the day when Coop introduced us to a girl. He’s never cared about anyone enough to even tell us about a date.”
Mom gives Liesel a full smile. I get my smile from my mom, and while mine is a little too cocksure, Mom’s makes people feel like they’re the only person in the room. In the world, maybe. “He clearly cares a lot about you,” Mom says.
