𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 | 𝐛. 𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐳

𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 | 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐧

I STAND OUTSIDE THE DOORS OF THE STADIUM, awaiting the players as they make their triumphant tour out of the building, through the gauntlet of fans, and onto the bus that will take them to the after game celebration, then drop them off at the hotel parking lot where they will all get in their cars and head home. Cal turns his head, our eyes meeting. A smile creeps onto his lips and he nods at me. He looks down at his watch, an obvious sigh passing his lips. Tony Marshall and Mark Smith step out of the Locker-room, smiling. They each high-five or hug Cal as they approach him. Following them is the second baseman, Rodger Hayes. Following Rodger is Gregory Thompson. Many others exit the locker-room, all holding their sports bags tightly to their bodies. I watch the door to the locker room as it swings open. A man in a deep navy button down rolled up to his elbows and black jeans as well as black boots steps out of the locker-room, brushing a strand of curly hair out of his eyes. Benny. Benny and Cal look at each other, a serious expression on both of their faces as they exchange unheard words. Cal says something and Benny's face twists to a frown. Cal shakes his head, sighing again. Benny nods, a smile creeping onto his lips. Cal says something else and a laugh escapes Benny's throat, barely audible beyond the glass doors. Cal looks back at the doors, then to Benny. Benny's eyes follow his. They land on me and his dark eyes stay put. Our gazes meet and a faint smile creeps onto his lips before he looks away. Cal looks at the others, an eyebrow cocked. He says something and they nod. I watch Benny, he stays perfectly still pressing his lips together firmly. Daniel walks my way, pushing the door open. his lips are parted, exposing a wide smile.
     "We still have about fifteen minutes until we leave for the celebration, but the boys have asked me to ask if you'd like to walk with them through the gauntlet and ride the bus to the party with them." He says. "They want to thank you for the game-winning strategy you created today."
     I watch Benny, a smile on my lips. He bites his bottom lip, an eyebrow raised as he looks at me. I think back to the good summer days.

Benny was walking down the street, his bat in hand. He holds a ball in his hand and tosses it up in the air, catching it on the way down.
"Hey, Benny!" I exclaim from my bedroom window on the second story of my house.
He turns around, his dark eyes fixed on me. He spins on his foot, facing me with his body. He wears a blue plaid button down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Beneath his button down, he wears a stressed Dodgers tee. He wears blue jeans with the ankles rolled up. On his feet, he wears the typical pair of shoes that he always wears, a beat up pair of P.F. Flyers. On his head is a weathered Dodgers cap, shielding his eyes from the sun.
"You're going to the Baseball field, right? We talked about it a couple weeks ago when we met." I say.
He nods, smiling up at me in the sun. His smile is lopsided and perfect all at the same time.
"Yeah. We usually just call it the Sandlot because, you know, sand?" He says.
I nod, smiling. I look around my room. It's empty and still needs to be unpacked.
"Can I come with? I don't really have anything else to do today and it would be nice to make some friends this Summer." I say.
He nods, waving me down. His smile is wider, probably because, at the time, I was the ninth person for their team. I made them closer to their goal of ten players. One batter and a full set.
"Yeah, just come on down and we can walk back to my place where I can grab an extra glove for you." He says.
Benny didn't care if you were the world's best sandlot baseball player or literally didn't know what a baseball was. If you showed any interest at all in the sport that he lived for, you were good in his book. Benny lived one block away from my house and just across the street from the house that Smalls moved into when he came to the valley. So, before Smalls moved to San Fernando, Benny would walk the one block by himself to my house and wait for me under the giant green tree out front of my house. Once Smalls moved to town, though, Benny would pick up Smalls from his house and, together, they would walk to my house and wait for me under the same tree.

     Manny knows the location of the party. He was Vincent's camera man long before I was here. He knows where they're going.
     "Yes, of course. That sounds fun. Thank you very much." I say.
Daniel looks back at his team and nods. They all begin to walk this way, shrugging the straps of their bags back up onto their shoulders. They push the other door open, walking in groups of two, holding hands as they walk through the gauntlet. Cal approaches me, a smile on his lips.
"You wanna walk with me to the bus and get the best seats?" He asks.
I look up at him, a smile dying to pop up onto my face. I look over his shoulder and spot Benny looking at us. I look back at Cal, allowing my suppressed smile to thrive.
     "Of course! Lead the way. I'm on your tail." I say.
     He reaches down, our hands touching. He grabs my hand, smiling widely.
     "I'm only holding your hand so you don't get lost, of course." He says, winking at me.
     I laugh, nodding in reply. I shrug, allowing him to lead me towards the bus.
     "Yes, of course. We can't lose anyone on the trip to the bus." I say.
     We step onto the bus and he leads us to the back row.
     "Only the cool kids get to ride in the back. Plus, it also has the most leg room." He says.