Your Time

Chapter 28

{June 2027}

"Dad you broke another one!" Adam complained, going around the fence to shag the wiffle ball his dad just crushed.

"So!?" Harrison shouted back as he trotted around the bases for the third time this inning.

"But that's the 10th one you've broken this week! We're gonna run out!"

Harrison would hit the plastic ball so hard, it would crack or completely break in half. And Carrie was no better.

As Adam returned with another ball, Carrie moved from outfield to pitch and Ben ran out to the fence. Now Emma was up. She waited for Carrie to pitch it and crushed it over Ben's head, just missing a home run. Ben got to the ball quickly and threw a rocket to his brother at second base who put the tag on Emma to get her out.

Once Harrison, Emma, and Billie ran on the field, Ben grabbed his big barrel bat. Normal wiffle ball bats were very skinny, but Ben's was so wide if he made good contact, the ball would be gone.

"Come on Emma, pitch it."

She did and Ben took a big swing, sending the ball flying high in the air. "That's gone!" He shouted, starting his home run trot while flipping the bat high in the air.

The ball was well over Harrison's head, but there was a chance he could get to it if it stayed in the park. He sprinted back, jumped once he felt his body against the fence and caught the ball in his outstretched right hand.

Ben stopped his trot right at first base when his daddy landed, the plastic white ball in hand. "Daddy!"

"You just got robbed son!"

He couldn't help but smile. "That would've put me up two on you."

"Well now you're only up one. And I'm going to catch you."

Ben ran off the field, playfully glaring at his daddy as he did so. In the first week of having the field up, he had 10 home runs, followed by Harrison with 9.

Emma hit a double and then it was Carrie's turn. She crushed one way over Harrison's head, so high and far he didn't try to move for it. As she rounded the bases, she told both Ben and Harrison, "I'm making my way up the list."

With two runs already in this inning, it was Ben's turn again. "You can do it Ben. Tie it up."

Harrison, Emma, and Billie were up 9-8. The game was in the sixth inning which was the last inning. But they had to score to keep the game going and have it go into extras.

Stepping into the turf batters box, he waited for his perfect pitch and sent it flying over the fence and off the wooden scoreboard Harrison made for the field. "That's two now daddy."

After Harrison made a nice play on Adam, the teams switched. To end the game, Carrie was pitching. "Mom hold on!"

He ran over and whispered something into her ear before showing her something with the ball. "He won't hit this."

Carrie knew exactly what Adam was talking about when Harrison stepped into the batters box. "What now?"

"Nothing," his wife answered with a smile.

She pitched the ball right down the middle. He swung and missed by a lot as the ball suddenly dropped and landed just behind the plate.

"What the?"

Carrie threw another one, this time the ball curved away from him. He now had two strikes on him. As he got ready for the next pitch, Harrison tried peering around her back to see how she was holding the ball to make it move like that.

She didn't give him time to look at her grip. Carrie started her pitch and instead of throwing it overhand, threw it softball style. He watched the ball come in, rise, and his bat swing under it, missing it completely.

"Sit down!" Carrie teased.

"What the heck was that!?"

"I'm not telling."

"Throw me another one."

Although he was already out, Carrie agreed, for she wanted to see him whiff again. Harrison got ready for the pitch and swung and missed before the ball crossed the plate. She'd thrown him the change up.

Carrie struck out Emma and Billie leading the game to the bottom of the seventh inning. She was first up to bat and Harrison was pitching.

She couldn't help but laugh watching him try and figure out her grip. But he gave up and threw it. She crushed it. Gone, game over.

After the game, all the kids wanted to try and hit off her. But they all couldn't. "Mom's got some nasty movement," Emma said after swinging and missing again.

After the kids and Harrison each batted twice, nobody putting a ball in play, Carrie revealed her secret. "It's just where you place your fingers," she told them. "Then when you have a good release, you can do crazy things with it."

•••

Later that night, Adam had his girlfriend Rachel come over. They were playing a game of flag football with the rest of his family. And Rachel was really fast. There were a few times when she out ran Adam and scored a touchdown.

"Rachel you're too fast," he muttered as Harrison once again threw her a pass and Adam knew he wasn't going to catch her. He dove, attempting to pull off a flag, but was rewarded with a face full of grass.

When she turned around, she laughed at him all sprawled out on the grass with green stains all over the front of his clothes. "You look adorable."

Adam rested his face in his hands. "I don't feel like it," he said back with a smile.

Rachel held a hand out for him, which he happily took. And together they jogged back over to the rest his family for the next play.