Page 36 of The Way Love Heals

In the rearview mirror, I saw AJ looking at me. His eyes were lowered into slits, and I could tell he was trying to process everything. I didn’t expect him to immediately be receptive, but I also hoped it didn’t take him long to accept it.

“Does he make you happy, Mama?”

Without hesitation, Brittish replied, “Happier than I’ve been in a long time, Son.”

“Is he mean to you?”

“Not at all.”

“Do you love him?”

“I’m getting there.”

All her answers seemed to satisfy AJ because he simply nodded his head and changed the subject to Zaina’s grandfather. I listened to them go back and forth about everything. Hearing the subtle pain in AJ’s voice gave me an idea.

Once we arrived at the restaurant, we were there for a good hour before we were all done eating and ready to go.

“Do y’all mind taking a ride with me somewhere?” I asked.

“Where are we going?” AJ interrogated.

“Somewhere special, if y’all don’t mind.”

Brittish shrugged. “We don’t have anything else to do today, so I’m good with that. What about you, AJ?”

“I’m good with it too.”

“Perfect.”

The ride to Camden Cove was a lengthy one, but it would be worth it to see AJ’s reaction. He had fallen asleep on the way there, so I told Brittish where we were going. She was shocked and excited. She’d been wanting to take AJ to the Cougars stadium for a while but never had the chance to. As she was looking everything up, she saw that they had a game that night, so we decided to make it a day trip.

We arrived at the stadium, and Brittish woke AJ up. He sheepishly rubbed his eyes and looked around. When he realized where we were, he instantly perked up with the biggest grin on his face.

“Are we really here?” He all but yelled, unbuckling his seat belt and moving forward.

“Yes, we are. Nyle thought it would be a good way to keep your mind clear today.”

“Oh, wow! Thanks, Coach. This is dope. I can’t wait to tell my friends about this.” AJ gushed.

“Whenever we’re not on the field, you can call me Nyle. I don’t mind,” I informed him, and he gave me a thumbs-up.

I helped them both out of the truck and went to pay for our tour. It had been years since I’d visited the stadium, and they had done some major upgrades. AJ was fascinated with everything. The smile on his face never vanished, bringing an unexplainable joy to my heart. There was a moment where he and Brittish were looking at something. She had her arm draped over his shoulder while he rested his head on hers. I couldn’t help but to take a picture and capture the moment for them. It was priceless.

“Nyle? Is that you?” AJ pondered, pointing at a picture in one of the cases.

Swaggering over to them, I leaned in close, and sure enough, it was. “Oh, wow. I didn’t even know they had that here.”

“You got to play here before?”

“I did in college. It was for the college World Series, and it was one of the best experiences. We lost by two runs, but it was probably one of my most memorable games. Playing on the field was awesome, especially seeing everyone in the stands.”

“Why didn’t you play pro?”

“It wasn’t meant for me, and I accepted that early on. Playing all throughout college was blessing enough for me.” I peered down at him. “Do you want to go pro?”

AJ smiled. “I do. I want to be great like Banks Callahan. He’s one of my inspirations.”

“You know you can do anything you put your mind to, right? If you want to go pro, put in the work. But do you know what the biggest thing is?”