There Must Be Something More

57 | Baseball

"So," my mom said when we all got quiet eating. "Where do you go to school, Liam?"

Liam looked up sheepishly at Mom and smiled. "West Shores Prep, Mrs. Borlock. I'm in the tenth grade."

"Oh, just like Charlie!" Mom raised her eyebrows and nudged me on the arm as if it was a big deal.

I knew what she was doing. She had always known about how closed I was to people. I bet she was real surprised when she found out I had personally asked Liam to come join us. She always said I acted like a real king or something; waiting for people to come up to me and make friends. She seemed proud that I actually made the first friendship move this time.

"Yeah, and I'm in the baseball team just like him," Liam said. He was beaming. I didn't know if it was the talk about me and him being so similar or the fact that Mom was as enthusiastic as a kindergarten teacher.

"How cute," Mom gushed. "Charlie has always told me he wanted a twin brother."

I groaned. "Mom."

"What? It's true."

Dad snickered. I made a face at him.

"Do you guys always have food this many?" Liam asked, looking around the table. "I don't mind eating a lot tonight, though."

"Only when we have something to celebrate," Mom said. "For example, today I got a good sale and my boss just gave me a two-day off."

"That's great news," Liam said. "Congratulations, Mrs. Borlock."

"Thank you, Liam."

Dad looked up this time. He was still chewing his baked beans. Finally he gulped it down. "So, Liam, can you tell us about your mom and dad? You know, their occupations?"

Liam flinched. I could tell this was a touchy subject for him. 

I had to do something. I couldn't scare him away on my first attempt to make friends. This wasn't just because for the sake of bringing someone to Jesus, it was also because I deeply cared for him and his family. It was as if the Holy Spirit had given me real sympathy and compassion.

And I knew He did.

Before I could ever change the subject, Liam spoke up.

"My dad's a production manager for films. Any film. You name it. Any genre," he explained. "And my mom's an actress. She acts in community theaters around their town."

"I've known a lot of theater actresses in my day," Mom commented. She tapped her chin and narrowed her eyes at him. "What's your mother's name?"

"Hazel Berry. It's the name she still uses even though she's married."

Mom just nodded. She apparently never heard of her.

I cleared my throat. It was obvious Liam didn't want to speak about his parents. I was already feeling the tension. I wished I could talk about anything else, but the topic seemed to already be decided.

"And..." Dad said, he cast me a cautious glance, but turned to Liam anyway. "Where are they... now?"

Liam squared his jaw, and I thought he was going to walk out of there. But he remained his composure and smiled timidly. "They're back in Colorado."

"Oh," Dad said. He must have sensed the collywobbles and pulled on a sketchy smile to ease the tension. "That's okay. Your sister must be old enough to take care of you, right? How old is she?"

"Nineteen," he said. "But she's always out even though the community college is right across the intersection. She usually comes home at midnight."

"Hey," I spoke up, sneakily nudging dad's leg under the table. "At least you're still going to school and playing baseball, right? We all need to be responsible and independent at times, right?"

Mom jeered at me, her mouth twisted down in a frown. "Something you need to work on, huh, Charlie?"

I smiled. "Why do I need to be responsible and independent, Mom? You're always there for me!"

Mom smiled and rolled her eyes. When I turned to Liam, he smiled morosely and looked down his plate. He started to stab his sausage with the fork and chewed without patent reaction. I couldn't tell if he liked it.

"Well, if you need some company, you can always hang out with Charlie," Mom said.

I grinned.

"It'd be a great thing," she continued, "considering he seems like he's always in church all the time. Always with his church people."

"Mom, they're my best friends," I said. I was galled. I hated it when Mom mocked my faith. But I kept my cool.

"Hanging with Charlie is a great idea," Dad added. "You seem like you're always alone at home all the time, boy. You can hang with Charlie and the rest of his friends. You know, even the religious ones."

"Yeah, Liam," I said, "We could hang out and play baseball in the neighborhood diamond. Nobody ever uses it. The only reason why I can't use it because none of my baseball teammates live near here. So we always have to play at school. We could have the whole diamond to ourselves."

"Now you're talking," Liam said. We bumped fists across the table.

----------

"I did it!" I cried, stopping beside Meredith with my arms spread wide.

She boggled at me, cradling a novel she was reading. Her eyes like big brown plates. "Did what?"

"What you implied," I said. "I did it, Mer. When God gave me the clue from saguaros and water and--"

"Charlie!" Meredith said, seizing me by the shoulders. "Calm down. Breathe."

I didn't even realize I was hyperventilating. I must have ran all the way from the parking lot.

I took a deep breath. And then I started again, "I did it, Mer." I explained the time in the sidewalk with the saguaros and the conviction God had given me through it and the dinner with Liam last night.

When I was done, Meredith threw her hands in the air with glee. "That's great!" 

"He really likes baseball too," I added, "I think I'm going to ask him to play with me in our neighborhood's diamond. Hey, what if we have our own Grace Club baseball game this Saturday?"

"You mean I'm going to play too?" Meredith boggled. For the first time she looked frightened.

"If it's okay."

"It is!" She exclaimed.

Huh, I thought. I could never read this girl.

"What are we so happy about here?" Samuel chimed in, falling in beside Meredith. He looked at me for an explanation about Meredith's excitement. Which was a little difficult, because she could be excited about a hundred billion reasons.

"Our club's going to have a baseball game this Saturday," I told him.

Samuel stared at me for a while. I did too. We stared at each other for a long time.

Then he ran away.

Meredith and I laughed.

"Do you think he'll be around this Saturday?" Meredith asked me.

I chuckled. "He should be. Or I'd have to carry him all the way to the diamond."

And then she started to rummage through her backpack for something. I knew what was coming. She looked up, smiled, and handed me a neon yellow sticky note. I read what it said:

To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. ~1 Corinthians 9:20

I smiled. I knew now that if I wanted to lead someone to Jesus, I had to find some common ground between I and the person. And I just did it to Liam through baseball.

Again, God had an amazing way of connecting everything with Him.

And they say He doesn't exist!