Ace's Wilder

A dream, a jersey, a question, a toast (right around the corner)

It was irrationally hot and miserably humid, even for September. Jase was glad the Minor League season was over. He'd driven over to the field—the big league one—to get in a quick workout. It was an off day for the Orioles. Jase had walked out of the Warehouse into the sun and regretted ever having chosen the black leather interior for his black SUV.

Back home, the dashboard had said it was 104 degrees when he parked on the curb out front, saving the garage spot for Ace. But when the house's front door flew open, unbelievably cold air rushed out, nearly knocking Jase backwards off the front steps.

Had he not experienced this before, and known exactly what, or who, rather, was responsible, he might have been alarmed, but Ace had given him the news last night, and he'd been looking forward to this reunion all morning.

"JAY-DUB!" Nico exclaimed, having seen him coming up the sidewalk, throwing his arms out to embrace his favorite coach of all time.

"God, you're the only one that calls me that," Jase laughed. It got him every time.

Nico squeezed tighter before finally letting go, and they both took a step back. "We made it."

Jase pressed his lips together, shook his head, then let a giant smile explode across his face. "Nah, you made it, Neeks. All I did was watch it happen."

Major League rosters expanded yesterday, and Nico had gotten the late-season call up, though Jase suspected he'd likely never go back down. A couple of perennial roster guys were retiring or in the last year of their contracts. The Triple-A Tides had been on the road, so Nico had to get back to Norfolk before heading up to Baltimore, but now that he was here, he was right back to staying with Jase and Ace, as he'd done for the majority of his Minor League career. Only Delmarva had been too far a drive from the city before he'd gone to the International League—the last stop before joining the parent club.

Nico stood on the front steps and grinned, stretching his arms overhead and rising to his tiptoes, grinning all the while.

"Let me in, man, you're letting out all of your sub-artic air," Jase laughed.

Nico turned for the doorway and moved back inside, and Jase glanced up at the larger-than-life photo print of Javy that hung right inside the doorway of this house in Fells Point. Ace had offered to take it down after Jase moved in a few years ago. He didn't let her. Now, as he'd done every time since that day, he touched the brick wall beside the picture and said a silent thank you. He had so much to be thankful for.

Jase glanced at the thermostat as he rounded the corner into the house. Nico had it set at 60. He laughed, shaking his head as he bumped it back up ten degrees. When Ace got home, she'd shoot it up another four. It had become a running gag with this guy. It was nice to have him back, though Jase wondered if he should be worried about the HVAC freezing.

Four years ago, Rich Dyer and Ace had conceptualized and negotiated a three-team post-draft trade to get Nico Perez to the Orioles. Boston's front office was disappointed as hell, but Rich had known how much Ace wanted him with her, and after everything she'd done for him and the team, this was one thing he could get done for her.

Plus, it wasn't like the kid wasn't a future ace himself. From the Perez Academy and the Puerto Rican National Team, Nico was a phenom from the start. He spent two months in Single-A before moving up to Bowie, and that's where he really caught fire.

The entire baseball world knew why – the Ace Whisperer of days gone by was now a pitching coach, and Jase Wilder could take a talent like Nico Perez and make him a flamethrower.

And he did. Of all the pitchers Jase had worked with, both as a catcher and a coach, Nico was by far his favorite.

He knew a lot of that had to do with how well he knew the kid, and how much he and Ace loved him, but Nico was on another planet talent-wise. That said, Nico never thought he knew it all—he was a true student of the game. He'd ask Jase questions that Jase had never even considered before. They challenged each other, and in the end, they both grew.