AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No. He hasn’t.”
She almost started telling him about the disastrous flyball, but she was acutely aware of the ladies behind her, and as Bryce and she lapsed in the silence when the first batter came up, she heard them quite clearly.
“Is that the famous baseball player?”
“The one who lives in Sweet Water? Looks like him.”
“He was the one who had those racial slurs on social media, lied about it, and cancel culture took care of him.”
“I can’t believe he showed his face around here. Especially as ugly as it is.”
“I think the accident was karma. The universe was getting him back for the things he had done. Can you imagine saying the things that he did? And putting them out there for his millions of followers to see.”
“I don’t think he had millions of followers. I think they made him out to be more popular than what he actually was.”
“I know he had over a million. He had that endorsement from that big shoe company. His face was on all the TV commercials.”
“Maybe you’re right. Whatever. I’m glad he got knocked down. Someone like him doesn’t deserve to be an example to our children.”
“I agree.”
The batter hit the ball. The stands cheered as it went over the outfield fence. A home run.
Peyton clapped loud and long, not because she knew the kid, or because she was exceptionally happy with the home run, but more because she was trying to drown out the sound of the people behind her.
As soon as they started talking, Bryce had stiffened beside her. She wasn’t sure whether it was the mention of his face and how ugly they thought it was or the mention of how he got what he deserved, but she could almost feel him withdrawing.
She had swallowed down her anger when they talked about her son. Trying to excuse it away. Trying not to get upset. Owen wasn’t there and couldn’t hear them, and they weren’t doing it to be deliberately mean.
It was different with Bryce because he could hear them. And they had to know it.
She wanted to turn around, give the ladies a piece of her mind, and tell them that they could keep a decent tongue in their head. That they shouldn’t talk about stuff they didn’t know anything about.
Actually, she wanted to turn around and grab them by the throats and knock their heads together so badly she almost couldn’t breathe.
She fought the urge.
That was not the way God wanted her to behave. God wanted her to be humble. Wanted her to love them the way they were.
After all, how many times had she said unkind things about people? How many times had she been frustrated and angry and let things come out of her mouth that she shouldn’t have?
It wasn’t right for her to judge those people, even though they were hurting someone she...cared for.
She found herself biting a nail and yanked her finger out of her mouth as Owen came up to bat.
They’d practiced batting even less than they’d practiced catching and throwing because they had to go to the park to do that.
She wanted to pray that he hit the ball, and she knew God cared, but when there was so much suffering in the world, she wasn’t sure whether that was appropriate. It was a selfish prayer.
Instead, she prayed that whatever happened, Owen would learn the lesson that God wanted him to learn and come through his trial with courage and character. That God would be glorified however events unfolded.
And then she said a little prayer for herself, that she would be able to also go through this trial with courage and character. And then, she added a little aside, asking God to give her the self-control not to punch anybody’s lights out as well.
“Nervous?” Bryce leaned down and said, a smile on his lips. There were shadows in his eyes, though, almost as though he regretted coming.
She couldn’t blame him, after what she’d overheard.
Her fingers were squeezed together as her son came out of the cage carrying a bat.
