𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 | 𝐛. 𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐳

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 - 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 | 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧

"JEEZ, Benny, we've been waiting for forever. Are we playing some ball or what?" Ham exclaims.
      I look at Lennon and she nods, smiling wide. We simultaneously let go of one another's hand, running to our positions. Lennon fills in for Bertram at Second base, one of her casual positions when we were younger. I drop my glove on the ground by the dugout and walk to the home plate.
      "You guys want me to hold back? Or go all out?" I ask, an eyebrow raised.
      Kenny looks around at everyone, smiling with a wide grin.
      "I brought a whole box of baseballs from the store, Benny. Go full out. I wanna see just how hard you can hit." Squints says.
      I nod, raising the bat up, warming up my shoulder, the throbbing sensation from today's game mostly forgotten until now. I step back, rolling my shoulder to relieve the tension. I twist my head and step back to the plate, nodding. Wendy and her nine children stand at the fence with the growing crowd, watching the game. The children cheer for their father in the outfield, their tiny voices barely carrying over the murmur of the crowd. Kenny's wife and son stand near them, smiling as they watch Kenny prep the pitch. Smalls' wife and children sit casually on the tailgate of her car, waving at everyone. I look back to the field and it feels like home. Kenny throws his arms back, then brings them forward to meet before his face. He raises his front leg and twists his torso, a low outside pitch headed my way. A heater. I smile and twist my body to hit. I plant my left foot in the dirt, spinning it as I twist. The bat connects with the ball, a loud crack echoing into the air. The ball soars up and over everyone's heads, soaring over the outfield, and over Mr. Mertle's house into the street behind the junkyard.
"Shit," Squints says, gasping at the sight. "Let's play some ball."
Kids cheer loudly in the streets and at the fence, talking about how far the ball went. I smile and wave to them. I reach into the box beside the dugout and retrieve a brand new ball, unboxing it. I return to the plate and raise an eyebrow.
"Ready for an actual game, here?" I ask, throwing the ball to Kenny.
They all nod simultaneously, getting low in their spot, prepping for anything.
"Let's get this going then," I say, raising the bat again.
Kenny throws an average pitch, knowing I'll probably hit whatever he serves. I bat, dropping the bat to run for the bases. I remember when we played here as kids, it felt like it took forever to run the bases whenever I got a home, but now, the bases are close and easily spaced. I run to home, sprinting straight for second where Lennon stands.
"Shit, guys, he's fast. Hurry, Squints!" Timmy exclaims at first base.
Squints nods to Lennon, raising his arm to throw the ball to her. I sprint to Second, desperate to reach third. Sure the bases are closer together, but this team is one hell of a team.
"Shoot," Lennon says, receiving the ball after it's too late. "Tommy, you're up!"
She throws to Tommy, and I back up, running back to second.
"Oh, so we're pickling now?" Ham asks at home plate.
Tommy throws the ball back to her and I sprint towards him. They pass the ball back and forth, slowly getting closer to me. When Lennon gets the ball, I sprint past Tommy, straight onto home.
"Ham, catch! Don't let him get to home!" Lennon exclaims, throwing the ball to Ham.
I sprint, sliding through the dirt into home. Ham shakes his head and smiles at me, pulling me up onto my feet.
"Man, you're just too good for us. You were good before, but this is Superstar level playing." He says.
I shake my head, clapping my hand onto his shoulder.
"I don't know about that, Ham. I mean, you guys just pickled me back there. I'd say we're all still pretty good players." I say.

* * * * *

The sun beats down on us, but we continue to play. We play for a few hours before we decide it's time to end the game, no score in mind, just the joy it brought. Squints picks up the box holding all of the baseballs and we walk with him to the store.
"This was the most fun I've had in a long time," I say, wrapping my arm around Lennon's shoulders.
Squints nods, shoving the baseballs away into the back storage room.
      "Okay, can I assume that you two are good now?" Han asks, an eyebrow raised.
      I look at Lennon and smile, nodding at him. She looks over at him, smiling too.
      "Yeah, everything's good again. We finally talked. By the way, who organized this game? There's no way we all just casually showed up for this." I say.
      Squints smiles and looks at Smalls, nodding. He leans against the counter and grabs the phone.
      "I saw you were back home, so I called Smalls. We called the boys and told everyone to hurry down." He says.
      I smile and exhale, a sense of closure washing over me.
      "Mike," Wendy says, approaching him with their youngest daughter on her hip. "The girls are dying to go to the Fair. Are we taking them tonight or tomorrow?"
      "Wait, Fair? That's tonight?" Yeah-Yeah asks, a smile on his face.
      Squints nods, taking his daughter into his arms, holding her on his hip now.
      "Yeah, the girls have been talking about it all week. They're real excited. Wait, Yeah-Yeah, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Squints asks, smiling even wider now.
      I furrow my brows and stare at the two men smiling at everyone.
      "Anyone up for a night of Fair rides?" Yeah-Yeah asks.