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Fifty-Two
Noah felt like an idiot, walking along behind Nick and Robin the day after the turd torpedoing toilet incident.
He’d never played on a real baseball team before. There was a good chance he was going to screw up.
Robin patted him on the shoulder. She had Nova by the hand.
Nick had Robin’s daughter slung over his shoulder like Becky liked. The dork twins were arguing. Again. Noah was used to it, now.
“Ok, Noah’s team is on the big field. Phil and one of his sons-in-law are coaching. I think it’s Levi, I can’t remember,” Robin said. She had a paper with everything written down on it. Robin liked lists and paper and making plans, Noah had discovered. That was something Noah liked, too. It just made sense that way. “I’m still figuring out which Masterson brother is with which of my nieces.”
Robin was definitely the one in charge. She was a lot better at being in charge than Nick.
“The girls… their teams are on the two little fields. That leaves the twins on the middle field. How do you want to do this? I’ll stay between the girls’ fields, I think. Becky will need reminding of what she’s supposed to be doing. Nova, probably as well. And they’ll need closer watching than the boys.”
“I can take the boys’ fields. If the twins don’t mind me watching them instead of you?” Nick sounded…excited. Like he was happy to be here with them. What kind of dork wanted to spend two hours at a ball field with kids that weren’t his? Noah really didn’t understand Nick sometimes.
Nick should be following Robin around and stuff. That’s what Noah’s mom’s boyfriends had always done. Or spending time in his mom’s bedroom while Noah and Nova had to watch the TV up really loud.
Nick and Robin had never disappeared into Nick’s bedroom, not even once. Noah was almost positive they were boyfriend and girlfriend now, though.
Something had changed between them after Nova made the toilet explode. But in a good way. Noah was still trying to figure out what it was.
“We’re not babies,” Philip said. He spoke more than Wesley did. They weren’t that hard to tell apart. They didn’t act much alike at all. “And Uncle Phil will be with Patton. We’ll be with our own team. Ricky Weatherby’s dad is the assistant coach. And he likes Mom a lot, anyway.”
“Who?”
“Ren Weatherby is their friend’s father. Noah’s principal. He drove the boys home for me once last week after school when the van was acting up,” Robin answered, adjusting one of the twins’ bats in their bag. “The day I took off to go with Glenna to the pediatrician about tubes in Elly’s ears.”
She’d bought Noah a baseball bag that looked just like the twins’ but had written his name on the tag instead.
“Yeah, so he could ask her to go to dinner at the inn with him,” Wesley said. “Ricky’s dad likes mom a lot. We heard him ask her on a real date.”
“It’s just not going to happen—no matter what the man wants or thinks,” Robin said firmly. “So…Nick will watch between the two upper fields where you boys will be, if you need him. I’ll be with Nova and Becky. But everyone should be ok unless it is an ultimate emergency. If it’s an emergency, we have a plan. In a real emergency, everyone heads to the big field to Uncle Phil. The rule is: If you can’tsee me or Nick, Uncle Phil is at the big field where Noah is at—and you are to go there immediately. If you can’t find me or Nick, you go to Uncle Phil and Noah. Noah, if that happens, you keep everybody together right there and listen to Uncle Phil. Got me? After practice, everyone checks in, to see if the others are finished before running off with your friends. Understand, Philip and Wesley? Check in with me or Nick first.”
“Yes, mom,” they said together. “We gotcha. We’ll remember this time.”
Noah just nodded.
Nova wrapped her arms around his waist. “Bye, Noah! I’m going to go play softball with my friends. On a real team. Becky has to play T-ball, though. With a funny stick. Aunt Glenna will be there with Evey, Emmy, and Elly!”
Nova was settling in here just fine. Everything was going perfect for her. She got a new dad, and her dad’s girlfriend treated her just like a real mom was supposed to already. Robin was always brushing Nova’s hair, cuddling her, that kind of stuff.
That made him a little mad sometimes, that it was Robin and not his mom. Noah was starting to think about how his mom had made him feel at times. Like the counselor said.
His own mom hadn’t done that with Nova. Not very much, anyway.
But Nova’s dad’s girlfriend did. She tried to do it with Noah, too. But not in a way that was babyish or anything.
Noah was too old for that kind of stuff, but it was nice. When she hugged him sometimes.
Robin had her hand on his shoulder right now. Like she knew he was nervous or something. And she wanted to make him feel better.
No one had really done that before. Just Robin and Nick.
The twins took their baseball bags and ran off, their baseball bats almost hitting them in the head. Robin yelled at them to watch their bats. They didn’t slow down at all.
Robin took Becky and Nova by the hands, after adjusting the little pink bats they both had so they didn’t hit themselves in the heads, either. She’d written their names on the ends so they didn’t mix their bats up, even though Becky’s was a lot smaller than Nova’s.
