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Andrew clapped his hands together. “Go, Levi!”

I put my fingers in my mouth, whistling for him, and then crossed my fingers behind my back, hoping he could get this hit. Impressing Caleb mattered so much to him.

The pitcher reared back and sent a curve ball Levi’s way. He swung again... and missed.

Strike three.

“I gotta go take a leak,” Caleb said, getting up from the stands. When I shot him a look, he said, “What? It’s not like I’m missing much.”

If my children weren’t with me, I would have said a lot of unsavory things to Caleb, but instead, I gritted my teeth together.

Cora patted my arm and said, “Maybe we should cross our toes next time too?”

A small laugh escaped my lips, and I hugged her tightly to my side, trying not to cry. “I think that’s agreatidea.”

23

Farrah

We waited by the stands while Levi went to the locker room to shower and change. Cora and Andrew took turns hanging on to Caleb’s hands and flipping backward, giggling as they did.

People were arriving for the game after Levi’s, but Levi's coach, Mr. Reynolds, approached us and said, “Hey, are you Levi's cheering section?”

Caleb nearly dropped Andrew in his haste to shake this man’s hand. “Caleb Elkins, Levi’s father.”

Coach shook his hand, saying, “Haven’t seen you at the games yet. Glad you could make it to this one!”

I was way too pleased at that comment, no matter how nicely it was delivered. “I’m Farrah, his mom, and these are my parents, Barry and Jenna.”

Coach Reynolds pointed at Dad. “I knew you looked familiar. You run that coffee shop over on Maple.”

Dad nodded, a shy smile on his face. “That's me.” Despite creating a local, family-run coffee shop that consistently outsold the major chains, he managed to be one of the humblest people I knew.

“Love your coffee,” Coach said.

“Thanks.”

Tucking his clipboard under his arm, Coach said, “I just wanted to tell you how great it is to have Levi on the team. I know he’s new to town and only a freshman, but he's a real hard worker. I know he gets down on himself when he doesn't perform the way he’d like, but just you tell him to be patient and keep working at it because I see a lot of potential in him, especially after the Ropers guys started working with him.”

“Ropers?” Caleb asked. “Like the professional team?”

Coach Reynolds nodded, seeming confused. Caleb’s cluelessness was a surprise to me too, since I knew Levi and Caleb talked on the phone at least once a week. “They've been helping out with practices this season,” Coach explained.

Caleb said, “Oh, right. I guess I get confused talking about Ropers in Texas.” He forced a laugh.

The coach chuckled and said he’d see us at the next game, and Caleb agreed amicably, but the second Coach walked away, he turned on me. “Why don't you tell me about the kids? Huh?”

Sensing the change in mood, my mom said, “Cora, Andrew, why don’t we go play at the park while we wait for Levi?”

They easily followed her, but my dad lingered, like he was holding something back. I gave Dad a slight shake of my head, and he blew out a sigh before following Mom and the kids.

“Why didn't I hear about aprofessional baseball teamhelping at my kid’s practice?” Caleb repeated.

“Maybe if you would call the kids more than once a week and actually act like you care, Levi would have told you.”

“Are you kidding me? A text was all it would have taken.”

Of course he was trying to pin this on me, just like always. “It's not my fault that you're not participating in their lives. You hardly ever answer my calls, and I leave the door open for you to visit every weekend.”