Published: 3 Feb 2022

From Previous Chapter:

Around ten o’clock, the boy’s mom came upstairs to say goodnight to her son. Even though they already said their goodnights to one another, she went up there to make sur he went to bed at a reasonable time. She knew he would stay up all night watching those baseball YouTube videos if she let him, so she had to get him to turn the computer off and get into bed.

The two hugged one another, one more time, before Miriam went downstairs to her own bedroom and her husband. After she went downstairs, Mark headed to the bathroom to drain his bladder before jumping into his bed and getting a good night’s sleep to prepare himself for tomorrow’s long day.

Mark woke up refreshed. He had a great dream about his new ‘big brother’, and he couldn’t wait until his parents were called that they had an older boy they needed to place. Mark quickly relieved the pressure on his bladder, dressed for the day and then headed down for breakfast.

“Did they call yet?’ asked Mark when he saw his mom.

“No, honey, they haven’t called yet. They just called to tell us we were accepted into the fostering program, so I wouldn’t think they would call us right away with a placement. OK, honey?” replied the boy’s mom.

“Yea, I guess,” replied Mark.

“Mom … which room will he get?” asked Mark out of the blue.

“I really haven’t thought about it. There are two empty rooms upstairs with you. Which one do you think he would like?” was how Miriam turned the question back on her son.

“Hmmmm … if I was going to pick a room, mom. I think I’d want the front one. You know … the one that looks out over the street. That way … I could see when my friends are outside. I could also open my window and talk to them, so they wouldn’t have to come inside,” replied Mark, with a well-thought-out reply.

“I think you want him to have that room because you can then sneak between the rooms through the closets. Wouldn’t you my son?” answered the now smiling mom.

“No, mom, I didn’t even think about that. Anyway, if I were to try to do that, he’d hear me. The panels are tight and they make noise when you try to move them. It would make a good hiding place, though,” answered Mark, with a smile.

Miriam knew her husband had intentionally put that vacant space between the bedrooms as a ‘safe’ hiding space for them. When Levi was made a bank branch manager, he knew he could be the target for burglars thinking he had loads of money, or expensive things at the house. He wanted his family to be safe.

The vacant space was one of two the man had installed at the house. There was also one located in the master bedroom walk-in closet. There were also gun safes located within the house that he and Miriam had access too, but Mark was too young to use a handgun, they thought. Levi hoped they would never have to use either of them, but they were there in case something went wrong one day.

As Mark ate his breakfast, he asked his mom if she heard from dad about the weekend. She told him she hadn’t and didn’t expect to hear anything until lunchtime. She did ask him what were his preferences. All Mark said was he wanted to see a good firework show and it wouldn’t matter to him if they stayed there and had a Block Party with their friends, as long as they got to see the fireworks.

Miriam smiled and then asked her son what he had planned for the day. Mark said he was going to meet Corey at the playground by ten o’clock, and he hoped the rest of the guys would show up so they could play some ball. Mark then reminded his mom he had a game later and had to be at the ballpark by five, and he hoped she and his dad would be there by six for the start of the game.

The boy’s mom told her son his dad planned to take off from work early so they could be there. She told him they would get to the game as quickly as they could after his dad came home to get her. She added that they would go out for dinner afterwards. Mark smiled at hearing that.

Mark met up with Corey at the playground as planned. Corey again told his friend all about his game from the previous night and how well he’d done. Mark only wished he could do half as well as his friend had.

After talking the two boys played catch hoping their other friends would soon show up, so they could get some sort of game going. It wasn’t too long before Tanner, Reese, Jerry, Dana, Darren and Patrick arrived with their gloves hoping they could start up something between them. Soon Kieran, Reese’s soon to be nine-year-old brother, and Carter, an eight-year-old, the boy’s best friend, came along.

“Hey, Mark … did you hear anything about getting your new big brother?” called out Patrick.

“No. My mom … she said we shouldn’t expect them to call us right away, as we were just approved. My mom did ask me where I thought my new ‘big brother’s ‘room should be. So, I told her … I told her that front room that looks over the street would be good. That way he could see if his friends are outside, and he can open the window and talk to them without having them come into the house,” answered Mark.

“Yea, but I think you should take that bedroom and give him your bedroom. That way you could watch for us and we could talk that way,” offered Tanner.

“You’re getting a big brother?” asked Kieran.

“Yep. At least … I hope I’ll get one, and soon. He’ll be my foster ‘big brother’, but at least I’ll have a ‘big brother’ like you have Kier,” said a smiling Mark.

“Well, I have two big brothers and they can be a pain in the butt at times,” replied Kieran.

All the boys laughed, and Reese went over to his younger brother and teased, “I’ll be a pain in YOUR butt, Kierry.” Reese then started tickling his little brother.

After a short while, after Kieran squirmed and giggled and laughed, as his older brother tickled him, and when Reese let his younger brother go, Kieran said, “See what I mean!” laughed the eight-year-old.

The boys all laughed some more, but that was what Mark wanted, too. He thought having an older brother who would tease him, play around with him and do all the things he’d seen all his friends and their big brothers do together was what he missed.

Now with ten boys at the playground, they all wanted to play some ball. Kieran and Carter weren’t all that good, but if you asked Mark, Reese, Jerry and Patrick they’d say they weren’t all that good either.

They had just enough to play all the positions while one of them batted. Trouble was that the batter had to go to the backstop to retrieve the ball if he didn’t hit it. The boys played all the positions. After they batted, they moved to pitcher, who moved to play first base and everyone else moved to the next position. The right fielder then came into bat.

The boys played like that for about 2 hours. Everyone got to bat and hit six good pitches before moving to the next position. Doing it that way they all got to see how well they played that position and it gave them experience for this and next year.

It was while they played that a few of their cell phones went off and the boys learned it was time to go home for lunch. They talked about whose turn it was for the afternoon swim, before they went home. Mark said because he had his game tonight, he wouldn’t be over to swim and would catch up with his friends tomorrow.

Mark bounded into the kitchen and immediately asked if they had called yet. Miriam smiled at the boy’s question and had to tell them they hadn’t. The boy’s mom asked him if he was going swimming after he ate. But the almost ten-year-old told his mom that if he swam, he’d be too tired for the game, so he was just going to go up to his room and either read or play some computer games.

After Mark ate, he reminded his mom that he had to be at the field by 5 p.m. and the game started at six. He told her that so his parents would be at the field for his game. His parents didn’t usually miss his games, but with only a few more games left in the season the youngster wanted them there to see him play before there were no more games.

Mark did go up to his room and play some computer games, but he got tired of playing them, so he took out his book and he began reading. His mom found her son fast asleep on also top of his bed with the book open to the page where he must have fallen asleep.

“Mark … Mark … its 4:45 and you need to wake up and get into your uniform for the game, honey,” lightly said the boy’s mom, as she gently shook him wake.

As Mark awoke, he saw the time on his clock and said, “Why didn’t you wake me sooner, mom? Now I’ll be late.”

Mark then jumped up off his bed, went to use the bathroom and hurried back to change. “Mooom, I’m gonna change, so you can go now.”

Miriam smiled at what her son said to her. Lately, her son wanted his privacy, more and more, so she told him to give her a goodbye kiss before he goes off to his game. Mark smiled at his mom and as soon as she left his room, he closed his bedroom door and began to put on his uniform.

Mark stopped in the kitchen and gave his mom a goodbye kiss and then headed out to the garage to jump on his bike to pedal over to the ballfield. He was only ten minutes late.

As the home team that night, they had batting practice first and he almost missed it. He did get the chance to bat while he and his friends played earlier, but this was when it counted the most and he wanted to be ready. He did get a few pitches, but not as many if he had been on time.

When the game began, Mark was playing right field and he was batting eighth. He knew that batting that late in the lineup he wouldn’t get to bat often unless his team scored lots of runs.

The boy’s mom and dad arrived a few minutes after the game started, but they did get to see their son play in right field. He did have a fly ball come his way and he caught it. He was all smiles and contributed that catch to all the help he got from playing with his friends at the playground.

Batting in the eight position, Mark’s parents probably wouldn’t get to see their son at bat until the end of the second inning, or possibly the beginning of the third inning. But that didn’t matter to them. They were there to support their son and his team.

Surprisingly enough, Mark did get to bat in the second inning. The visiting team had two of their older players on the All-Star team and thus were playing shorthanded and the team was making errors out on the field.

When Mark came up to bat there were two men on base, first and third, and there were two outs. Mark knew everyone was not only counting on him to bring in a run, they were also watching him bat. The youngster was nervous.

When the count got to 2 and 2, his manager came out to talk to him. The man told Mark that this was no different than when he and his buddies played at the playground, and he needed to show them he was just a good a batter as they were.

Mark thanked his coach for talking to him as it did settle him down, some. So, when he went back to the batter’s box, he knew he just had to connect with the ball and at least hit it, and let the other team catch it or put him out at first. He did not want to strike out.

The pitch was a ball and now the count was 3 balls and 2 strikes. He knew the next pitch would be the deal breaker for him. As the pitcher wound up Mark watched and as the pitcher threw the ball, Mark recognized it and was ready. So, when the ball came to the plate, Mark swung as hard as he could.

The bat struck the ball, but it went foul. Mark had gotten a piece of the ball and knew he could do this. The young batter waited for the next pitch. He was no longer worried if he would hit the ball. He knew he could, so he got ready.

When the pitch came to the plate, Mark had a good look at it and when he swung this time he connected and the ball sailed over the second baseman’s head and fell in for a single. He batted in a run and advanced the player from first to second and he was now on first. The home team crowd cheered him on as he had done what he was supposed to do.

His team went on to score once more, but left him stranded on third base. Mark was pleased with his hit and when he ran in to get his glove his coach congratulated him on his hit. The man then told him that was what he wanted the next time he got up to bat. Mark ran out to his position with a smile on his face.

Mark got to bat four times that game. He got on base all four times and he also batted in five runs. That was the best he had ever played and batted in any game. He knew, as he practiced and got older, he would get better. He also told himself that with an older ‘brother’ to help him he could be a whole lot better next year.

The Golderson’s went out for dinner that night. They asked their son where he wanted to go, but when he told them he wanted to go over to Four Corners, they told him that it was way too far away to go there that late at night. Mark was disappointed as he wanted to also either drive the Go-Karts or play the miniature golf. He’d only gotten to do that once before, and was hoping he’d get to do that again, and soon.

After dinner, Mark asked his parents if they didn’t go away for the 4th, could they go over to Four Corners to eat and let him drive the Go-Karts and play miniature golf. Dad Levi, told his son he wasn’t going to promise anything, but they would play that one by ear.

Once the Golderson’s arrived home, Miriam sent her son up to take a shower. She told him he was dirty from all that sliding he’d done on the bases and he needed to be clean when he climbed into his bed. Reluctantly, the boy did as he was told.

When the boy came downstairs after his shower, Mark asked his dad what they were going to do for the 4th of July. Levi told Mark that he had to work that Saturday, so it wouldn’t be practical for them to go anywhere. Mark asked his dad why, if he was the boss, he had to work. The dad told his son that as the ‘boss’ he had to make sure his employees were taken care of first, and thus his assistant was off and he had to work.

Mark was disappointed at hearing that. So, he asked what they were going to do. The boy’s mom told her son they would have a big Block Party Picnic on Sunday and it would be right there in the street. The dad added that they had applied months ago for a permit to block off that street for the day, just in case, and had gotten it. He said there would probably be twenty families coming with their grills and special foods.

Mark asked if there was going to be any swimming. Miriam said that their pool, Reese’s, Patrick’s, Jerry’s and Dana’s would be available for people to cool off in. Mark was happy to hear that as the 4th of July could be a hot and humid day and swimming was a good way to have fun and stay cool.

Mark went up to bed around 10 p.m. School was out and he would normally have been in bed by nine, but his parents allowed him to stay up this late as long as he did his chores and stayed out of trouble. They also rewarded him for having such a good baseball game that day.

Mark woke up after having another great dream about him and his new foster ‘big brother’. He couldn’t wait until his parents were called to tell them they were going to get his ‘big brother’.

Mark got dressed and headed down to breakfast where his mom would fix him something he liked. Today Mark’s mom had pancakes, crispy bacon and orange juice waiting for him.

“What do you have planned for today, honey?” asked Mark’s mom.

“We’ll probably play some ball, then swim. Oh, and today … it’s our turn to host the guys for swimming. That means there’ll be about twelve of us in the back yard. And we’ll need lots of cold lemonade, or something like that, and a ton of cookies, mom,” advised Mark, with a smile.

“Oh, OK, I’ll get the lemonade and Kool-Aid made and I already have the cookies. Wait … that’s too much sugar with cookies and a sugar drink. I think I’ll make flavored water instead,” announced Miriam.

“Mooooom, the guys want something cold and refreshing. We always have lemonade and cookies, or something like that,” argued back Mark.

“Well today, young man, you’ll get what I make, or you’ll have to drink the pool water to quench your thirst,” said the smiling mom.

“Mooooom! You’re mean. … Well, OK. But what flavors will you make?” asked mark.

“Well, I think I have cherry and lemon. All I have to do is add it to water and mix in enough to give it the flavor. I might also mix the two together to make a special drink. What do you say to that?” asked Miriam.

“I guess that will be OK, mom. I know I don’t want to have to drink the pool water,” said a smiling Mark.

After finishing his breakfast, Mark thanked his mom for fixing it for him, then grabbed his glove and ball, jumped on his bike and headed over to the playground. He knew the fellas would be there eventually, so he would throw his ball into the air and catch it before it hit the ground.

“So, I hear you did real good last night,” announced Corey, as he arrived at the playground where the boys played pick-up ball.

“Yeah, their team was down two of the best players and they made a bunch of errors. I got four hits and drove in five runs. That was my best game ever. I wish I could do that every time I play,” offered Mark.

“Yea, with all the better players practicing for the first round of District play they have left their teams shorthanded and with them gone the rest of the players have to play much better. I guess the team we played and the team you played didn’t play up to their potential,” laughed Corey.

“Well, we could be in the same situation in a year or two, Corey, so we shouldn’t gloat,” reminded Mark. “I know it felt good to get four hits, four, but how do you think the other guys felt making all those errors?” asked Mark.

“They rely too much on their bigger, older players to make the plays. That’s why with us changing position all the time, when we play, we’re getting to know what it’s like to be in those positions and learning how to play from them.

“Shortstop and second base are the two positions that get the most plays and you need to know where the runners are and where the ball goes to get the lead runner. There’s a lot to know and be able to do from them,” replied Corey.

“Yea, you’re right. I hope to be a pitcher one day. But I have no one to help me. My dad isn’t home enough to work with me. So, when I get my ‘big brother’ I hope he’ll work with me,” added Mark.

‘But what if he doesn’t like baseball? What if he’s more interested in girls, you know, like Alexa?” teased Corey.

“Well, she’s fifteen and my parents said they were going to ask for a ‘big brother’ for me who is twelve or thirteen. If that’s who I get, then she’ll be too old for him,” countered mark.

“Yea, your right. I wonder where the guys are?” asked Corey.

“Well, it is a three-day weekend, you know, and maybe some of them are going away. I wish we were. We were talking about doing that, but my dad has to work tomorrow, so we’re going to be at the Block Party on Sunday,” bemoaned Mark.

“Yea, my mom told me we’re going to be there as well. She said they applied for a permit back in May and got it this week. Our parents are going to block off the street from noon until nine and we’ll be able to play street hockey, throw ball around and play other games,” explained Corey.

“Yea, my mom said that ours, Reese’s, Dana’s, Jerry’s and Patrick’s pools would be open for swimming. She told me there could be about twenty families there. I guess there are people from other streets being invited,” added Mark.

As the two boys talked about the 4th of July Picnic, their friends began to arrive.

“You played a good game last night, Mark,” said Darren. “And you got on base all four times and batted in five runs. You were their best player last night, that’s for sure.”

“Thanks, Darren. I think all the practice I get coming here has helped me a lot,” replied Mark. Were you at the game last night?”

“Yep, we’re playing your team next week, too. Then the season is almost over. Two more weeks and we’ll all have to get ready for soccer season,” chuckled Darren.

“Or, we’ll get ready for football,” chimed in Dana, who rode up as the three boys were talking.

“That, too,” laughed Darren.

As the four boys talked the other boys arrived. They talked about last night’s ballgame and how well Mark had done. Mark, of course, had to tell his friends how he did it, forgetting to tell them how scared he was when he went to bat that first time and his coach had to calm him down.

The boys did what they usually do at the playground. Without enough for two teams, they each took different positions on the field and took turns batting as they rotated through the eight field positions, with the exception of catcher, as the batter retrieved the ball if he didn’t choose to hit what was pitched to him.

Each boy got six good hits and the others played as if there were men on certain bases. They made their own practice rules, and they each got something out of it because they learned so much from playing all the different positions.

When they finished playing, the boys talked about what positions they preferred. Kieran said he wanted to be a catcher, but no one ever practiced that position, so he didn’t know how good he’d be. Mark said he wanted to be a pitcher, but again no one had ever worked with him on his pitching.

“It sounds like you two need to come over here and practice together,” spoke up Tanner. “I’ll bet that if you do that between now and next season you two could be pretty good. And if you can get someone to coach you, I bet you’d be even better than that. You do know a good catcher plays just about every game and a great catcher will play every game.

“As for being a pitcher,” started Tanner, “each team needs at least three good pitchers and maybe one reliever. We usually only play two games a week, so three pitchers are what a team really needs.

“But … there are those games where the pitcher is off and the other one can’t pitch because of pitching rules. That only leaves one more pitcher and if he’s off then you’re in for a long night.

That’s where a good relief pitcher comes in. Mark, that’s where you’d come in until you moved up to being one of the three pitchers the team has,” finished Tanner.

“Kieran looked over to Mark and asked, “You game? Because if you are, I could be your catcher and then … and then we could be the battery that a team could be looking for next year. So … what do you say?”

Mark thought about what he just heard. He liked the idea of having someone who he could practice pitching with, and if Kieran was interested in catching, they could work out together and hone their skills together.

“Yea, I think that would be great. We could start as soon as you get a catcher’s mitt. That way we have until the start of next season to get really good,” offered Mark, with a smile.

“My birthday is next month and I’ll ask for a catcher’s mitt. In the meantime, I can use my glove to get used to getting down. And that way you can get used to throwing pitches. Slow at first to get your arm used to pitching. Then all you’ll need to do it get someone to coach you,” replied Kieran.

The boys knew that Mark’s house was where they would swim that day, so they all went home to get lunch, changed into their swimsuits, get a towel and then head over to the Golderson’s to swim the afternoon away.

By one o’clock the boys were in the Golderson’s pool having fun and making lots of noise. Each of the boys whose pools they used on a rotating basis are different in one way or another. Reese’s pool has a diving board. It sticks out over the water and thus keeps the boys from using that area for some of their games.

Dana’s pool is free-form with lots of curves and is only five feet deep at the center. They can play water volleyball in that pool and a few of the other games such as Horsey. Patrick’s pool is kidney shaped with a spa attached on one side. The pool is 35 feet long and 18 feet wide, not counting the spa. Lots of space for the boys to have fun in.

Jerry’s pool is kidney shaped and is 32 feet by 18 feet. It gets a bit crowded with all the boys there, so they have to sort of take turns being in the water. Carter’s pool is also free form and is larger than Jerry’s, but not by much. The pool is thirty-five feet by twenty feet and has a beach entrance and is only five feet deep at the center.

Mark’s home pool is the biggest of all of his friends. The pool is rectangular, 40 feet long, 20 feet wide and seven feet at its deepest part where a diving board once was. But Levi had it removed for safety reasons. This extra-large pool gave the boys tons of space to play Sharks and Minnows, Marco Polo, and many other games.

Today all of the boys and their older and younger brothers came over because they had so much more room to play all of the games they knew and devised themselves.

Miriam liked it when the boys played in their pool. It gave her the opportunity to see what type of boys her son was hanging around with, and if there were any bullies. For the most part, she was happy with Mark’s friends. Today when he told her he and Kieran were going to start pitching and catching to get ready for next year, she wanted to get to know Kieran better.

When she learned that the almost nine-year-old was Reese and Briggs’ younger brother, she was relieved. She knew the family as they had done many family things together and knew that Kieran was a sweet lovable youngster.

The boys swam and played until about 5 p.m. when Mark’s dad, Levi, was due home. The boys thanked Miriam for the cookies and the flavored water. They told her it wasn’t so sweet that it over powered the taste of the cookies. The boys told Mark they’d see him at the playground tomorrow. Kieran told Mark they needed to start practicing their pitching and catching.

At dinner, Mark asked his parents where they were going to watch the fireworks on Sunday night. Levi told his son that Randy Oxtter knew of a place over by the lake that they have awesome fireworks. The dad added that they would follow them over there to watch them and it was about an hour’s drive away, so they would be leaving around eight.

Mark was happy they were going somewhere new to watch the fireworks. He’d seen the ones at SeaWorld and Fiesta Texas and the local ones, but seeing something new and different would be fun.

After dinner, Mark told his dad that he and Kieran were going to start practicing with him as the pitcher and his friend as the catcher. Mark explained that’s what they both want to be and Kieran has a birthday next month and was going to ask for a catcher’s mitt. Mark then asked his dad if he would get him a new baseball to throw with. Mark also asked his dad if he could coach him when he had the time.

Levi knew he didn’t spend enough time with his son, so he promised the boy he’d make time at night after work or dinner to have him throw to him in the back yard. The dad did tell his son that he didn’t know all that much about pitching, but they could both search the internet for pointers and other help. Mark went over to his dad and hugged him tight for saying what he had.

The Golderson’s usually watched some television together at night, but that night Mark went up to his room to start searching the internet for pitching help. He wanted to know how to throw different types of pitches and knowing what to do. He would start practicing them tomorrow.

Miriam went up to her son’s room, as she always did before going to bed, to say goodnight to the boy. She found him fast asleep lying on his bed with his clothes still on. She was going to take them off of him, but remembered how he wanted his privacy now, so all she did was take his shoes off and put the covers over her boy.

Miriam gave Mark a kiss on his cheek, turned the computer off, then the lights and closed the bedroom door as she went down to her bedroom at the back of the house on the first floor.

Miriam and Levi talked some about their son’s desire to learn to pitch and Miriam told her husband that he better spend some time with Mark as he promised, or he’ll be sleeping up in one of the spare bedrooms.

The husband and wife shared a few kisses before climbing under the covers and going to sleep themselves.

The saga of Three Finger Cove continues. Let Chowhound know you are reading his story: Chowhound at CastleRoland dot Net

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