When the Stars Align (Anthony Rizzo)

52| Drops of Jupiter

Anthony

After a few days at camp I started to get into it. No matter my personal feelings about being apart from Kelsey, there was no denying that this team had something special. There was young and exciting players like Schwarber and Bryant and Baez and so many others like them who were these high draft picks we've had from years of sucking. Then you add in the high end free agents who signed here and it's starting to look like a decent team again. And it's finally coming together, Theo worked hard to make sure he got the right guys in drafts and in free agency's and for the first time its all kind of coming together. We got the perky manager with a old soul and a want to be young at heart. Then you have a dominating pitching staff that has the capabilities of being something incredible. We got guys like Dexter Fowler and David Ross who knows what he's doing and how to do it. They can teach us so much and I couldn't wait to hit the field with my team.

But the season still doesn't start for what feels like forever. So in the mean time we were going to hang out as a team. We were already pretty close, there was no separation between new and old, rookie and veteran. I hung out with all the guys equally, they were all pretty great and I'm happy I get to be here with them.

So we have a bonfire at Dexters house he has in Arizona. The backyard was wide open and there was chairs that sat around the fire. About 20 guys just sitting around it hanging out and having fun. I couldn't keep the smile off my face as for the first time since I left Chicago I felt happy.

"You want a beer" Jon Lester asks and I happily take one. He sits down next to me to start up a conversation.

I've met Jon before, when I was drafted by Boston when he was out there running the show. Him and Rossy. I watched him pitch a lot and I looked up to him. When I was diagnosed with cancer he was there for me, so was Theo. We all kinda drifted over from Boston to Chicago at different times and were put back together again. It's cool that I have someone who is so longevic and wise in the world of baseball. And that I get to call him a dear friend of mine.

"Man... look at the stars out here" he gasps and I smile. I look up and see all of them sitting up there like flies caught in a web. They start to twinkle and I couldn't help but to think about my girl.

"You know those aren't all stars. We can see five planets from here. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter" I explain. Everyone kind of gets quiet as they look at me weird. It's not often a professional baseball player just lists off facts about the sky. But I was far from the average baseball player.

"How" Starlin asks.

"Well Jupiter is in the libra constellation and is actually the brightest thing in the sky. So when you look up and see that bright star, it's not actually a star, it's Jupiter. And stars don't move across the sky, planets do. So if a star is in one place one night and another place another that's a planet. They also don't twinkle like stars do" I explain.

"Wait a second, how do you know all of this" David asks me. Rossy and I have gotten close over the past week and some and I've told him a lot. But I haven't told him everything.

"My girlfriend works at a planetarium and I help her out with her tours and go to her shows a lot. Partially because I love her so much that I just want to be around her all the time. But also because this stuff is interesting to me and I like learning these things" I defend.

"Does she have a degree in astrology" Jon wonders.

"Nope," I shake my head. "She doesn't need it. She had her mom who knew more than any professor and her heart that is more powerful than anything you can find in a text book. She didn't need it" I insist.

"Obviously not if she was able to teach you something" Starlin jokes and the guys just laugh. But I let them because I don't care what they think. What I know is beautiful and fun and I don't need everyone to understand it. I do and that's what matters.

"Didn't you hit your girlfriend in the head with a baseball" one of the new kids Kris asks and I laugh.

"Unfortunately I did. I haven't felt that bad in my entire life. Luckily for us it turned out better than either of us could ever imagine" I insist.

"That's kinda crazy" Jon admits.

"It is, but I've learned that life works in mysterious ways. And maybe it seems awful at first, but there's a purpose. As much as I hate that I hit her, I would have never been able to meet her if I didn't. And thinking about what my life would have been without her for this past almost year, well it would have been awful. Sometimes baseball is unforgiving, but she never is. She always picks me up after a bad game and she goes to as many as she can. Her family has become mine and I've learned so much from them. Even if it is just about the stars and it doesn't seem like I'll ever really need to know which light in the sky is mars and which one is Jupiter, I'm still happy I know it. I only know this stuff because I know my girlfriend and that's what makes it so special" I explain.

"Wow, Those were some deep words" Kris notices.

"We've been through a lot. Yet I think the hardest thing we've ever done is be apart like we are right now. I never thought I would miss something like I miss her. I guess I should be thankful, that I have something so special that it makes it so hard to get over. But at the same time I just want her here" I sigh. And all of the sudden I was back to being lonely again.

"Where is she" Jon wonders.

"In Chicago working. She wouldn't leave her family for two months, she could never. She loves her job and her family so she's staying back with our puppy for a month. Then she'll be down here with me again so we can be together like we're supposed to be. I still miss her like crazy though" I insist.

"Well I can't wait to meet her. She sounds amazing" David admits.

"That's just the beginning of it" I smile.