520 Closer (1/2)

The rest of the food came for the others and soon the game had started. The announcement of the starting lineups. There was the national anthem. And then the home team was announced again as they took the field amidst the cheers of the crowd. A little boy yelled, \”Play ball!\” And the visiting team had their first batter step up to the plate.

Watching a game in person wasn't comparable to watching it on tv. For one, in person, I could constantly hear the crowd. Little side conversations going on behind me and both sides of me. Some chatter wasn't even decipherable. Next, there wasn't any commercials in between the switching of offense and defense. We were able to watch them jog in and the other team jog out.

\”Isn't this exciting?\” Noah asked as we went into the bottom of the first. The A's were able to have a clean first inning.

\”It is.\” I agreed on different reasons though. Noah was mostly excited about the baseball game itself. Me? I was blown away with how much my life had changed in less than four months. I was at an actual baseball stadium.

\”Are we going to cheer for Jeremy when he comes up?\” Noah asked.

I noticed that the twins leaned in to hear my answer as well. No matter how much Jeremy did for them or how much he gave, these boys always took my feelings into account first. I laughed. \”Aren't we here to cheer for the A's? If he's an A, then we don't have a choice, right?\”

\”As a fan, you can always hate a player or two on the team.\” Dave said. Kyle nodded. \”You don't have to like all the players. You just can't let others hate on them too.\”

\”Don't make things so difficult for Jake.\” Zeke slapped Dave on the back of his head. \”He said it's to cheer. Don't pick at it.\”

\”Sorry.\” Dave mumbled.

I smiled at Zeke.

The A's were able to get a person on, letting Jeremy, who was batging fourth, come up with two outs. Noah, who had been wildly clapping for every player, slowed up a little but he didn't make a big deal about it. In fact, the whole Atkins family seems to be taking my feelings into account, and only gave some polite claps. They must not want me to feel pressure.

Jeremy struck out to end the inning.

Noah rolled his eyes and slouched back. \”Figures.\”

I let out a laugh.

\”He can't be perfect. It's the MLB.\” Kyle commented.

Noah snorted, noncommittal.

The game went on. We ate to our hearts content as we watched the A's stack on some runs. Thanks, in part, to Jeremy. He crushed a three-run homer and the crowd stood up in unison as they chanted his name. It was surreal.

By the seventh inning, it got unreasonably cold. I took off the jersey in order to put on my sweatshirt. In the process, Rose Shimizu reappeared with a bag in hand. \”Hey all! I'm back with some gifts that Jeremy asked me to give.\”

\”It's no problem at all!\” She said cheerfully. She started to pull out smaller plastic bags and passed them out. \”Jeremy wanted to make sure you all had his jersey the next time you visit. It took me some time to get his message so I'm sorry I got back so late. Let me know if the sizes are okay.\”

\”We can no longer ignore that Jake's brother is a star.\” Dave mumbled holding the jersey out. \”This is the best game I've ever been to.\”

\”I wonder if we can adopt him along with Jake.\” Kyle whispered.

Noah still heard. \”Don't cave in so easily.\” He looked at me. \”What do you think? Should we keep them?\”

Looking at the twins pleading looks, it was kind of hard to refuse. Even Mr. and Mrs. Atkins looked unsure of what to do.

\”It's just a gift.\” Zeke spoke up. \”There aren't any strings attached or hidden conditions if you accept it.\” He looked at Rose. \”Thank you.\”

\”Thanks!\” The twins said simultaneously, happy that they could keep such a jersey.

Noah still wasn't convinced.

\”Wouldn't you wear my jersey if I gave you one when I go pro?\” Zeke asked.

Noah nodded immediately. \”Of course! But this is different...\”

\”And if we were fighting, would you still accept?\”

Noah nodded a lot slower this time. \”But Jeremy isn't you.\”

\”Okay, let me go one step further. I'm a pro. You're my brother. You come to my game with really close friends and I give you and your friends jerseys even though we're fighting. Are you going to deny your friends that happiness?\”

Noah shook his head.

\”Then why are you asking Jake to?\” Zeke sighed. \”Sometimes you can be so dense. Too protective that you can't see the bigger picture.\”

Noah looked to me.

\”It would just make things worse if I refused.\” I smiled lightly and handed him my jersey. \”Can you put this in your backpack for me?\”

Noah nodded and put mine and his away. Soon the rest of the family made him do the same with theirs.

The game wrapped up around 10:30pm, with the home team winning 10-2. Jeremy had a great game, living up to his moniker of being a star.

We left with the crowd, happy with the win. We got to the car and piled in with Mr. Atkins driving us back. It didn't take long for the twins to both pass out against their respective doors, and Noah closely followed. Even Mrs. Atkins started to doze off up front.

The quiet lasted all the way home. The twins and Noah almost slept walk to their rooms as soon as we got home. I slowly followed.

\”Jake. A minute if you're not too tired.\” Mr. Atkins held me back. Him and Mrs. Atkins stayed downstairs with me. He held out his cellphone. \”Jeremy was busy after the game with his work, but he asked that you called him as soon as we got home. What do you think?\”