By the top of the seventh inning, we had a huge crowd. No one wanted to get near me on the bench because I had a perfect game going with 18 up and 18 down. We were now up 8–0. St. John’s was starting to make contact as I tired. Luckily, they seemed to be hitting it right at someone. I was worried because in JV ball we only played seven innings. I’d never pitched this much. Because this was the final four (the semifinal) of an open tournament, we had to go nine innings.
In the ninth inning, before I went out, El stopped me.
“They say this is the big one. I know you can do it,” she said, and reached up and gave me a hug.
It was really weird. The place was so quiet you could hear a pin drop when I got ready to pitch. Everyone held their collective breath as I tried to pitch a perfect game. You could hear the ball as it tore through the air and then popped into the glove.
“Strike one!” the umpire yelled.
The crowd would burst into excitement and then quiet down. Before I knew it, I had struck out two batters on six pitches. St. John had sent in a pinch hitter for their final out. The kid looked determined, so I got into my stance and settled. I wound up and threw my hardest four-seam ball of the day. I heard the unmistakable sound of the ball hitting a metal bat and the crowd gasped. I felt it hit me and I quickly looked around for the ball. I heard the crowd erupt and the St. John player threw his helmet on the ground. I looked down, and the ball was in my glove!
Suddenly Wolf had me in a bear hug, crushing the life out of me. He stumbled and then my team was piled onto me. Coach Hope came to my rescue and pulled me out of the pile. The stands were emptying onto the field. I found El, grabbed her, and put her on my shoulders so she wouldn’t get hurt. The cover of the Sunday paper was of her with her arms raised and me with a huge grin on my face.
I put El down when the crowd left the field so we could do the postgame handshake. I gave El the ball and told her to keep it safe.
The day was almost perfect, as far as baseball went. The only negative was that Richwood edged us out for the championship. We were out of pitching, and they won 4–3.
AFTER THE GAME, EVE gave El and me a ride home. El was a little chatterbox.
“What are we doing tonight?” El asked.
Eve gave me an amused look. I was obviously on my own with this one.
“Well, I was planning on going on a date with Eve and two of our friends.”
“Can I go?”
How do you tell a ten-year-old you want to go get laid? I guess you don’t. Plus, I only saw El about once a year. I looked at Eve and she nodded yes.
“Tell you what. The first part of the date is going to dinner. If your mom says yes, you can go. The second part we’re watching a scary movie. I know you don’t want to stay up all night, so only the big kids’ll do that. Does that sound okay?”
“Do we get to dress up? Mom got me a pretty dress, but we have to be careful and not get it dirty.”
“I think you need to show the dress to Eve, so she knows how dressed-up she needs to get.”
Eve shot daggers with her eyes. She was a jeans-and-t-shirt gal; she hated to wear a dress. We got home and El went to talk to her mom. I kissed Eve.
“Thank you.”
“You owe me big for this.”
“Yes, ma’am. Do you have some ideas on how I can pay up?” I said, and nuzzled her neck.
She shivered.
“Maybe one or two.”
We walked into the kitchen to see El holding court. She showed everyone the ball I gave her. Wait, I said to protect. I guess I’ll never see that ball again. She then told them that we were going on a date. Eve giggled and asked what she was doing tonight.
Julie was none too happy to hear her little sister was going on a date. She complained that she had to wait till she turned 16. El grabbed both Eve and her mom’s hands and pulled them to where they were staying tonight to show Eve her dress.
I went to Angie and asked her if they could take Julie to dinner so she didn’t feel left out. She waved Greg over and asked him. They were planning on going to a party. I offered to pay for dinner for info on the party. It was one of Angie’s friends from the junior college. I gave them some money but decided to pass on that party. Angie said there would be pot-smoking, and knew I tried to stay away from drugs.
I called Tracy to see if she knew of any parties. She always knew what was going on. Turned out Kim Sun’s parents were away and she was having a little get-together. Since my apartment was currently housing grandparents, this sounded like a nice place to get some alone time with Eve.
EVE MET ME AT MY PLACE in a nice skirt and blouse. El had her hair fixed by her mom and she looked like a little princess in her pink dress. I had opted for jeans, black t-shirt and sports coat. I figured I could lose the jacket after dinner.
I almost laughed when Jim showed up in a suit and tie. He took one look at me and gave me a dirty look. I had told him that we were going to the Blue Dragon. It’s an upscale Asian place that Eve wanted to try. I could tell that we’d be swinging by Jim’s place to change before we went to the party.
When we got to Cassidy’s house, Brad answered the door. It seemed his visit to the big house hadn’t made him any nicer. It could be that he blamed me for bailing out half the party but not him. His father (and coach) had grounded him for the rest of the school year.
I was completely unprepared when Cassidy was ready. She was in a nice dress and ready to go. I pulled her aside.
“Hey, after this we’re going to a party. You might want to grab some jeans and a t-shirt. I don’t think your dad will appreciate us coming back to change.”
She went upstairs and brought a backpack with her. Everyone was ready, so we loaded up and went to dinner.
The Blue Dragon was downtown and backed up to the park. We got lucky and were seated on the second floor overlooking the lake. El was being the perfect little lady. She kept watching Eve and following her lead. I reached out and held both of their hands.
“David, I’ve never had Chinese food before,” El confided in me.
“Do you like noodles?” I asked her.
“You mean like pasta?”
“Yes.”
“I love that. Do they have something like that?”
“Yes. Do you like peanut butter?”
She nodded yes.
“How about you try peanut butter chicken with noodles?”
I ended up ordering a bunch of different appetizers so everyone could try a variety of dishes. I was surprised that none of them had gone to Chinese places. Jim about killed himself with the spicy mustard he put on the eggrolls. I taught them how to use chopsticks. El and Cassidy were naturals. Let’s just say that Jim was a work in progress, and Eve made me feed her.
For dinner, I ordered family-style so nobody was stuck with an entrée they didn’t like. Jim loved the barbecue. I personally thought it was too sweet. El didn’t want to share her peanut butter chicken. I finally convinced her to try a few other dishes. She also liked the lobster tails.
“You’re good with her. You’ll make a great dad,” Eve leaned in and told me.
“I look forward to it,” I confessed.
“This is fun. Do you do something like this every Saturday?”
“We try to go to a new restaurant each week and then do something fun afterward. I have to say I’m enjoying introducing you all to new foods.”
“I never imagined combining Chinese noodles and peanut sauce. I’m glad you had me try it.”
“I didn’t think El was going to share.”
“The little pig ate most of it. She can really pack the food away.”
“My aunt says she’s growing like a weed.”
I got whacked by El.
“Hey, it’s not polite to whisper.”
“I agree, we were just talking about how well you did on your date tonight. I just hope you can give me a nice kiss at the door when we get home.”