The next morning, Jason and Daniel were up around nine. They had bowls of cereal for breakfast along with large glasses of orange juice. Their plan for the morning was to go off to the basketball courts they found yesterday and spend an hour or two playing hoops together. Their parents had decided to go over to the main building and have a leisurely Sunday brunch, something that was touted in the resort brochures. In the afternoon, they were planning to drive around to some scenic locations near the resort and have the boys join them for the tour.
Around nine thirty, Jason and Daniel took off for the basketball courts. Although it was cool in the morning, it was clear outside, and was expected to warm up substantially later in the day. When they arrived at the courts, they quickly got into playing. Getting together for one-on-one games had always been an important part of Jason and Daniel’s friendship, and was a way for them to work off tension, and clear their heads when they were concentrating on solving a problem, especially one associated with one of their cases.
Now that Jason was a member of the varsity basketball team at Merriam High School, and a regular member of star athlete Chauncey Jackson’s “A-list” players, it was harder for Daniel to keep up with Jason, whose skills on the court had really developed over the past year. Daniel did his best to keep up with his friend, and to his credit never gave up, even when Jason would get on a scoring run of multiple baskets. They also liked to play set shot games, where Daniel could be just as accurate a shooter as Jason when he concentrated.
After ninety minutes of play, the two friends decided to take a break and drink the bottles of water that they had brought along. “That was great, Daniel,” Jason said enthusiastically as he wiped the sweat off his forehead and face with a towel. “You still give me a good game every time we play together.”
“You are definitely more of a challenge to play against than you used to be,” Daniel said after taking a long drink out of his water bottle. “I always feel good after putting in the effort. The good news this time is there isn’t a problem to be brainstormed. None that I am aware of anyway.”
Jason and Daniel continued their small talk together, when they noticed a young boy walking over to them. As the boy approached, Jason looked up at him and smiled.
“You guys are really good!” the boy said, coming up to them and putting his hand out for a high five. “You must play on a team together.”
Jason and Daniel returned the high fives. Daniel said, “Jason here plays on the champion Merriam High School Team. I just try to keep up with him! What’s your name?”
“My name is Jamie,” the boy replied. Jamie was eleven years old. He was about five feet four inches tall, had curly brown hair, a freckled face with a pug nose. He was wearing an Oakland A’s baseball cap, a little league team tee shirt, shorts, and a pair of well worn, white Nike basketball shoes. “We are staying in the cabin right next to yours. I saw you guys dribbling the ball on your way here, so I thought I would check you out. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not a problem, Jamie,” Jason said. “Did you come to get some basketball tips or something?”
Jamie looked down at his sneakers for a few moments. He shook his head ever so slightly back and forth. “No, not exactly.” He paused for a moment more and then said, “What I really wanted to do was ask you guys if you would be willing to play catch or throw a baseball around for a while. There is no one else around for me to play sports with, other than my little sister. And she’s no good at baseball!”
Jason laughed at Jamie’s response. “Well, Jamie, maybe we can help you out. I don’t know about Daniel, but I believe my mitt is in the trunk of our car. Do you have a bat and ball, Jamie?”
“Oh yes!” Jamie said excitedly. “I always try to bring my baseball stuff with me when we go on trips. It would just take a few minutes to go get it. And there actually is a baseball diamond with a batting cage area off to the side. We could go there and play if you want.”
Daniel got up from the bench where he was seated. “That sounds like a good idea for the two of you. I am going back to the cabin and work on my guitar for a while.”
The three boys walked back to the cabin area together. Daniel went inside the Hunter’s cabin to play his guitar, while Jason and Jamie got their baseball equipment. Jason retrieved his baseball glove from the trunk of his father’s car and went over to the front porch of the cabin where Jamie was staying. Playing on the porch was a nine-year-old girl wearing a light blue sundress and print canvas sneakers with flowers, hearts, and other shapes in bright neon colors.
A minute later, Jamie came back outside along with his mother. “This is my mom,” Jamie said in the way of introductions, “and that is my little sister, Olivia.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Jason said with a smile. “My name is Jason Hunter.”
“Hello, Jason,” Jamie’s mother replied. “My name is Abigail Newton. Jamie says that you are willing to play some baseball with him.”
“Oh yeah,” Jason answered. “We are going to walk over to the baseball diamond. Jamie says that there is a batting cage there also.”
“I hope that Jamie didn’t pester you into doing something you didn’t want to do!” Abigail went on. “He really loves to play ball whenever he can.”
“No problem and no inconvenience whatsoever, Mrs. Newton. Jamie isn’t the only one around here who likes to play ball. We’ll be back in an hour or so. Don’t worry about us!”
“All right. Have a good time,” Mrs. Newton said as the boys started to walk away.
Despite their age difference, Jason and Jamie had a good time together. Jamie was fairly skilled for his age, and once they determined a good distance to throw to each other, they started playing catch in earnest. Then they went over to the batting cage and worked on their batting. Whoever wasn’t batting would retrieve the ball, so even though they only had one baseball, they each got a lot of turns batting the ball. Next they went out onto the baseball diamond and worked on hitting and fielding.
* * * * *
Back at the cabin area, Daniel played his guitar for a while, and since no one else was around, decided to sing some of his songs. Across the road on her porch, Olivia heard Daniel playing the guitar and singing. Enthralled with the music, she went over and sat on the steps of the cabin where Daniel and Jason were staying. Olivia held her doll and swayed to the music Daniel was performing.
Finally, unable to resist any more, Olivia knocked on the cabin front door. When Daniel answered, she said, “That was the most beautiful music I have ever heard. Could I listen to some more? I hope I am not bothering you or anything.”
Daniel was a little surprised and flattered by this unexpected attention. “Hello, little girl. What is your name?” he said to Olivia.
“My name is Olivia, and my doll’s name is Annie,” Olivia said a little shyly.
“Okay, Olivia and Annie. I guess it is okay for you to come inside.” Olivia followed Daniel inside the cabin, and then over to his room where he had been practicing. Daniel then sat down on the bed with his guitar and sang several songs that he had been working on with his band. Then he put his guitar on the bed and talked to Olivia.
Daniel asked her about where she went to school, and whether she was involved in performing music at all.
“Not really, other than some singing that we do at school. I don’t take any music lessons.”
“Well, Olivia, music is something everyone should get involved with if they can. Are you interested in doing something with music in the future?”
Olivia looked away, as if she was preoccupied with something. Then she turned toward Daniel and gave him this enigmatic answer: “Oh yes, I am very interested. I will remember what I have heard today when I go through hard times in the future!”
Jason and Jamie put in a good half hour workout at the baseball diamond, and then decided to take a break. They sat down on one of the benches and talked for a while. Jason asked Jamie about what school he attended and what else he liked to do for fun.
“I go to Lanceford Middle School, which is okay. I get along okay and no one picks on me, so I am happy about that. My favorite thing outside of school is when I get to play baseball or other fun games like going on a scavenger hunt.”
“Do you get to play catch on a regular basis, like with your dad or on a Little League team?” Jason asked.
“I don’t get to very often now that my parents have divorced,” Jamie replied.
“Oh, sorry to hear that,” Jason said. “I hope I didn’t bring up a sore subject for you.”
“It was really hard to deal with at first, but I am used to it now.”
“It has to be tough on you when your family breaks up,” Jason said sympathetically. “Are other things troubling you as a result of the divorce?”
Jamie’s face darkened a little, and he paused to gather his thoughts. “Yeah, I guess. This whole thing about which parent we spend time with on any given day is confusing. I hardly see my dad anymore.”
“Anything else?” Jason followed up.
“No, not really,” Jamie answered.
“You mentioned that you liked playing scavenger hunt games. Tell me about that,” Jason went on.
“That is something I usually do with my dad. I don’t know what else I can tell you about them,” Jamie replied vaguely.
“Where do you play these games?”
“I really can’t say. Every time we do them, they are a little different.”
It was now time to walk back to the cabins, as Jason’s parents wanted to leave for their afternoon drive by one. Jason and Jamie walked back to the cabin area. When they reached Jamie’s cabin, Jason gave him a hit of knuckles. “It’s been fun playing ball with you, Jamie. Take care now.”