Mom! Dad! Melanie! Over here!”
Liam waved to his parents and sister as they made their way toward the big tent just inside The Grove. It was Saturday morning, and since West didn’t play again until Sunday, the hosts had arranged for the players to spend some time with their families.
“Who’ve you got coming?” Liam asked Phillip as he waited for the security guard to let his family in.
“Just my mom,” Phillip said. “Dad couldn’t get away this year.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“It’s okay. He’s watching at the Super Screen with all the other Ravenna fans. Last year, they packed the place every time we played.”
Super Screen was the cinema complex near where the boys lived. The management had arranged for West’s games to be shown live in its biggest theater. Some of Liam’s teammates from the Pythons—Spencer Park, Jay Mendoza, Scott Hoffmann, and a few others—had watched the first game there. Spencer had sent him a photo of the fans celebrating West’s victory. Liam hoped they’d have more celebrations in the days ahead.
Phillip spoke again. “I wish I could be in two places at the same time tomorrow—on the field and watching the broadcast. That way, I could hear what Nathan Daly says about me right when he says it. I mean, about us,” he corrected hastily. “What he says about us, not me.”
Liam hid a smile at the slip. It was no secret that Phillip admired Nathan Daly; Liam had never seen him as excited as he’d been at the opening ceremonies. He could only guess how amazing it would be for Phillip to hear his idol comment on his pitching performance during a game.
Liam was about to remind him that he could watch the replay of the game anytime, but he was stopped by the joyful cry of Mrs. DiMaggio.
“Phillip! There you are! You don’t mind if I steal him, do you, Liam?”
The McGraths came into the tent a moment later. Liam gave his mother and father warm hugs.
“What am I, chopped liver?” Melanie griped, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder.
Liam leaned close and sniffed. “Nooo,” he mused, “more like three-day-old tuna left out in the sun. In the Sahara.”
“Very funny! Just for that…” She grabbed him in a headlock and rubbed her knuckles on his scalp as he tried to squirm away.
“Now, now, Melanie,” Mrs. McGrath chided mildly. “Try not to damage your brother. He’s got a big game tomorrow.”
“That’s right; he does.” Melanie released him, suddenly serious. “How’re you feeling about that, anyway?”
He knew what she meant by that. At five o’clock the next day, West would face Mid-Atlantic.
Liam shrugged. “Okay, I guess.”
“And will you be okay if Carter’s on the mound?”
“If he is,” Liam said, “I’ll just pretend he’s any other pitcher.”
“Really?” Melanie sounded skeptical. “Do you think Carter will look at you like any other batter?”
The trouble was, Liam could think of a reason Carter might treat him differently: the strikeout last year. Carter knew how deeply it had affected Liam. He wouldn’t want it to happen again. And he certainly wouldn’t want to cause it to happen.
Will it change how he pitches to me, though? Liam wondered uneasily. He didn’t think it would, but it bothered him that he didn’t know for sure.
His father interrupted his thoughts. “So, Liam, we have permission to take you out to dinner tonight. I thought we’d go to that burger place we discovered last year. Sound good?”
“Sounds great!” Liam replied. The restaurant wasn’t fancy, but the food had been fantastic. “Can Phillip and his mom come, too?”
His mother looked flustered. “Oh, um, I don’t know, honey. It—it might be too late to get the okay for him to join us.”
Liam was about to give up when Melanie jumped in. “Come on, Mom. It’ll be much more fun if Phillip is there.”
Mrs. McGrath shot her a look but relented. “Well, I’ll see what I can do.”
The DiMaggios accepted the invitation and, after approvals were obtained from the Little League personnel, promised to meet the McGraths at the restaurant.
“This is going to be great!” Melanie said that evening in the car. Her eyes shone with excitement.
Liam stared at her. “You don’t even like burgers.”
“Oh, it’s not the food I’m looking forward to. It’s the company.”
“Really? Since when do you like spending time with a couple of twelve-year-old boys?”
Instead of answering, Melanie began telling him about their old house. “Everything’s so different on the inside: new carpet, new paint, my old room is an office, yours has one big bed instead of two twins. It… well, it doesn’t feel like our home anymore, you know?”
Then she brightened. “But Forest Park itself looks exactly the same. And you wouldn’t believe how psyched everyone is about the team making it here again. There are posters in all the store windows and a huge banner stretched above Main Street. It was like going back in time to last year except…” Her voice trailed off.
“Except this year, that’s not our team,” Liam finished for her.
“Yeah.” She leaned closer. “Just between you and me, I—well, I really miss it here. Not that I don’t like California, but—”
She nodded.
They pulled into the burger joint’s parking lot. Inside, the hostess led them to a large table set for nine. Liam started to ask about the extra seats when someone called his name.
He turned to see a small woman with brown hair and a warm smile hurrying toward him. “Aunt Cynthia?” he said, surprised. “And Uncle Peter, hey!” he added when he saw Carter’s father.
“Carter’s here, too!” his aunt said as she folded him into her arms. “He stopped to use the restroom.”
All at once, Liam understood why his mother had looked flustered when he’d asked to invite the DiMaggios. As far as he knew, Carter and Phillip still hadn’t come face-to-face. Now they would, and with many eyes watching.
And a video camera recording the moment, too, if Melanie had her way. “Not a chance!” Liam cried when he saw his sister pulling a small piece of equipment from her bag. “Mom!”
“Melanie,” Mrs. McGrath warned.
“Oh, fine,” Melanie groused. “But it would have made a killer scene in my—” She broke off suddenly, her attention riveted by something near the door.
Liam looked over. His heart skipped a beat.
Phillip and his mother had just come in. At that same moment, Carter came out of the restroom. The two boys froze.
Liam turned to his parents. “Why didn’t you tell me Carter was—”
Mrs. Jones touched Liam’s arm. “When I heard that Phillip was coming and that Ash couldn’t join us because he was going to the movies with his mother, I asked them not to. I had a feeling… Liam, look.” She nodded toward the door.
Carter put out his hand. “I never congratulated you on last year’s World Series win,” Liam heard him say. “So… congratulations, Phillip.” And then he smiled an honest-to-goodness, from-the-heart smile.
Liam held his breath—and let it out when Phillip smiled back and shook Carter’s hand. “Thanks. And congrats to you on your knuckleball. I’ve seen you throw it on TV.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Phillip caught Liam watching them and laughed. “I think your cousin is a little stunned that we’re being friendly.”
Carter laughed, too. “You think?”
As the boys made their way to the others, the door to the restaurant opened again. A tall man wearing a baseball cap walked in. When the man took off his cap, Liam gasped.
“Guys!” he whispered urgently. “It’s Nathan Daly!”
Carter’s jaw dropped. Phillip’s eyes widened. Mr. Daly saw them staring and waved. A moment later, he moved toward them.
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh,” Phillip said. He turned to Liam, obviously rattled. “What should I say?”
Mr. Daly had reached them by then. He gave Liam a wink and said, “How about ‘hello, Nathan, happy to meet you’?”
Phillip spun around. “HelloNathanhappytomeetyou,” he said in a rush.
Nathan chuckled. It was a warm, rich sound. “You boys in the tournament?”
“Yes, sir. I’m Liam McGrath. I play for West. This is my cousin Carter Jones. He plays for Mid-Atlantic.”
“And I’m your number one fan!” Phillip blurted.
Everyone burst out laughing. Phillip looked mortified.
“He’s Phillip DiMaggio,” Liam said. “He pitches for West.”
“DiMaggio, huh?” Nathan smiled. “There’s a name I won’t soon forget.”
The remaining introductions were made, with the adults seeming just as thrilled to meet the baseball star as the boys, then Nathan excused himself. “Best of luck to you boys. And be sure to enjoy every minute of it!”
Phillip stared after him, eyes shining. “Did you hear what he said? ‘A name I won’t soon forget.’ ”
“We heard him… Number One Fan,” Carter teased.