“I have to be at work by five-thirty, so I should get going,” I said.
“Did, uh, Gage go to bed?”
“He’s asleep on the couch in the front room.”
“You go to work pretty early. Where do you work?”
“At one-oh-one four.” When he tipped his head with question I added, “It’s a radio station.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You’re a radio deejay?”
“No,” I smiled. “Maybe someday. For now I do most of the behind-the-scenes stuff. You know, I do all the work and the broadcasters get the fun of delivering it on air,” I joked. “But I just started getting a little bit of on-air time in the mornings, so we’ll see where it leads.”
“Hmm,” he nodded his head. “So that’s why Gage is always listening to the radio in the mornings?”
With a smile I replied, “So he’s not just trying to make me feel good by claiming that?”
“No, I’m pretty sure he listens every morning.”
“I’m not on there for more than five minutes, though. It’s just kind of a trial thing right now.”
“Do you like it?”
“Yeah, I do. For the past year I’ve been doing most of the research on the social scenes, and doing restaurant and other business reviews, but one of these days I’d mostly just like to stick to the music.”
“Do you go to a lot of concerts and stuff? You guys get perks and stuff like that, right?”
“Yeah, it’s fun. I love live music. We have different artists that buzz through the studio on occasion, and others that we get to meet before shows and stuff.”
“Sounds cool. What kind of music do you listen to? Or who are your favorite artists?”
We talked about music for another ten minutes, and I even learned a few of Tyse’s favorite artists. I wasn’t surprised with some of them, but I was surprised that he also listened to stuff like Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Bob Dylan was actually one of his favorite musicians.
“Have you seen ‘No Direction Home’?” I asked him.
He slowly shook his head. “I don’t think so. What is it?”
“It’s a Dylan documentary. The most recent one, but it’s from a few years ago. I’ll bring it by sometime if you want. It’s interesting.”
“Hmm, sounds cool. I’ve seen a couple of his other documentaries, but not that one I guess.”
I looked at my watch again. “Sheesh, I really need to get home. Uh… Well, I’ll see you around I guess…”
He nodded. “Yep, I’ll be around. Either here or at the ballpark.”
“Do you, uh, know if you’re going to be pitching anytime soon? I heard that you were waiting on some kind of clearance to play or something.”
He eyed me for a second. Maybe he was wondering how or where I’d heard that. But eventually he replied, “Actually I’m pitching tomorrow. Got the okay,” he added, opening and closing his hand.
“Tomorrow, huh? I’d like to say I’d come, but I might be asleep on my desk at the end of the workday,” I joked. I couldn’t help it when I yawned for real.
He smiled and shook his head. “Nah, don’t waste your time. It’s kind of a trial outing to see how I do for my first game in a while. It might even be just for an inning, I don’t know.”
“Well I’d like to be there, so I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Tyse.”
He only nodded his head as I left the kitchen, and I realized that was the first time I’d even said his name out loud.
I found my jacket and purse in the front entry, and I glanced at Gage still sleeping on the couch. I wanted to cover him with a blanket or something, but I was afraid I’d wake him up. For some reason I was embarrassed to still be at his house an hour-and-a-half after he’d fallen asleep.
Wes was just pulling in as I got into my car. He told me goodnight and waved, but I felt obligated to warn him that Gage was asleep on the couch, and I didn’t want him to be woken up. He was planning on going through the back entrance anyway, so I was glad for that.
On my drive home I felt a little pleased. I felt like I’d accomplished a lot just by getting to know Tyse a little, and I hoped that he didn’t feel so excluded from his housemates anymore. Maybe he just needed a friend after all.
Chapter Eight
Gage was pretty surprised to see me on Monday evening when I showed up for the game at six o’clock. Occasionally I showed up to games he wasn’t expecting me at, but this time I had specifically told him I wouldn’t be there because I had extra work to take care of.
He kissed me hello when he saw me arrive, and he even stood and talked with me for a few minutes. On days that he didn’t pitch he claimed that he sure didn’t do much.
“So Wes said you were just leaving the house when he came home last night,” Gage mentioned. “He said it was after midnight. Did you fall asleep on the couch, too?”
I was wondering if Wes’s sighting of me would come up, so I wasn’t exactly surprised. “Uh, no. I watched the news for a little bit, and then I cleaned up the kitchen. I also talked to Tyse for a few minutes before I left,” I added. I figured Gage could possibly already know that if Tyse mentioned it to him.
“Tyse actually talked to you?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, a little.”
“About what? The best ways to avoid being around people?”
I smiled. “No, but I don’t think he hears you guys knock on his door because he’s always got headphones on,” I informed him. “Maybe you should find a different way to get his attention when you want to.”
“Why? He seriously doesn’t talk at all, Ellie. He’s just not a social guy. He doesn’t want to be around any of us. He just comes to play baseball, and when he’s done, he returns to his own little world—whatever that is.”
“Probably his music. But I have to disagree with you, Gage. I think he just needs friends or something. I don’t know, I’m no expert, but maybe he just doesn’t realize he could use some friends. He’s away from home, playing ball with a bunch of guys he doesn’t know—just like you. You’ve made friends easily, but you’re kind of from the area, so maybe that helps. And maybe he just has a different background that makes him feel like he doesn’t fit in.”
“Well you’ve got that right,” he kind of murmured.
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing,” he shook his head. “I should join my team, Elle. I’m glad you’re here. I wish you could sit with me, though,” he smiled.
I returned the smile. “Me too.”
He kissed me and said, “Enjoy the game. It’ll be a good one.” His look suddenly changed and he studied me for a moment.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
“Is that why you’re here? Because Tyse is pitching?”
I didn’t answer at first. It was, but I loved being at the ballpark because Gage was there.
“Kind of,” I answered honestly. “I mean he said he was going to pitch today—like his trial outing or something like that—and I said that I’d like to see him pitch.”
His mouth sort of twitched funny and I decided he probably wasn’t happy to hear that.
“I love being here because you’re here, Gage. That’s the main reason I come.”
“But you just said you told Tyse you wanted to see him pitch. You’re here to see him pitch.”
“Yes, what’s wrong with that? And there’s no way I’d even be here if you weren’t here, too.” He didn’t say anything for a few seconds and I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. “I’m sorry if that bothers you,” I told him. “Maybe I should just leave. I’m sorry, Gage—”
“No, don’t leave, Ellie,” he said, lightly taking my hand. He sighed. “I’m not opposed to being friends with the guy—he’s my teammate and it’s good to get along with your teammates—but I don’t really want you being friends with him.”
“But I’m just trying to—”
“I know you’re just trying to be nice to him and make him feel accepted—and that’s fine because you ca
re about people in that way—but I’d rather you not spend any time around him, Ellie.”
“Gage that’s sweet that you’re jealous, but there’s nothing for you to worry about.”
He smiled but said, “I’m not jealous, Ellie.”
Oh, so it was a sympathetic smile because I’d totally jumped to conclusions. I felt like an idiot. “Oh, um…sorry, I just thought…”
“Ellie,” he said softly with a smile. “Yeah, under normal circumstances I would be jealous, but Tyse isn’t the type of guy I need to be jealous about. I don’t want you around him because I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“I don’t know what that means, Gage. –Because he looks a little rough around the edges? I was really judgmental the first time I saw him, too. I was unfair and automatically deemed him to be an ex-con or something,” I chuckled. “I feel bad I was that mean, but now that I—”
“He is an ex-con,” he said quietly. He gave me a long stare to make sure I’d heard him.
“What?” I said anyway.
Gage sighed. “Please don’t let this get out, okay? –Because we were told not to spread it around and stuff. Before Tyse arrived on the team, one guy made mention of it, everyone started talking, and coach put a gag order on us. It’s true, though. He’s served time, Ellie.”
I was a little speechless. I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d heard that twenty-four hours ago, but now that I’d spent time talking to Tyse…
“Time for what?” I asked softly.
Gage shrugged. “I really don’t know, but all I heard is that he served two years. That can’t be good. Now I know that everyone deserves a second chance, but I just want to make sure that you’re safe, okay?” He put his hand against my face and looked me in the eye. “Do you understand where I’m coming from?”
I sighed and slightly nodded. “Yes, I do. But—”
“But you still want to befriend him anyway,” he stated. He sighed and looked away for a few seconds. Then he returned his eyes to me and, surprisingly, said, “Yeah, we can do that. But I don’t want you alone with him, okay? Please?” I nodded and he gave me a kiss on the lips. “I really need to join my team, okay? And you look really tired, by the way,” he said with a tiny smile. “Maybe you should go home and get some sleep.”
He kissed me once more and then returned to the dugout. I’ll admit that my happy mood crumbled apart. I had felt terrible that I’d judged Tyse like that, and then it ended up being true? I couldn’t help but reflect on my conversation with him the night before. The things he had said about his family wanting to forget him, or “mistakes are made and lessons are learned.” Maybe Tyse really did have a rough upbringing—we can’t choose the life we’re born into, can we? But it sounded like he wanted to do the right things now, and I felt like those were the efforts I needed to appreciate.
Because Tyse had warned me his first “outing” might not be so great, I wasn’t expecting what actually happened that evening. But from the start I could tell that Tyse was doing well, and I had to conclude that his own prediction of the game was a bit humble and Gage’s assessment that it was going to be a good one was probably more accurate.
He struck out the first three batters pretty quickly, and then he did the same the next inning. We had two runs going into the third, and then Tyse wrung up the next three batters just as fast as the first six. I think the crowd began feeling an energy that they hadn’t felt before, especially because we were actually getting on base and advancing runners. The offense felt a spark of adrenaline, and they began producing hits they hadn’t been able to produce so far.
Tyse’s pitching continued on into the sixth inning, and only two batters had actually made contact with a pitch. By the seventh inning everyone was yelling “No hit! No hit!” and I had to ask the man nearest to me why they were yelling that.
“A ‘No Hitter’,” he told me. “If a pitcher pitches an entire game without giving up a hit to the opposing team he earns a ‘No Hitter.’ It’s a pretty big deal.”
“But two players already hit the ball,” I replied stupidly.
“But it wasn’t a hit. If the fielders get the batter out, it’s not counted as a hit. The batter has to get on base and then it’s considered to be a hit. So if Tyse Morgan can get the next seven batters out, then he’s earned himself a ‘No Hitter’ for the game.”
“Oh.”
Yeah, I was pretty clueless when it came to baseball. I couldn’t believe that my brother had played for so many years and I still didn’t know much. I went to a lot of his games and cheered for him like the rest of my family, but I never took the time to really learn the game. I knew a lot of the lingo and the general aspects of the game, but the little things—like when players bunt and why—weren’t things that I really understood.
When there were two outs in the top of the seventh, the Bears’ coach made a trip to the mound to talk to Tyse. I was surprised when everyone on our side of the stands began booing and getting all riled up.
“What’s going on?” I asked the guy next to me. I hoped he wasn’t getting sick of me.
“Oh, everyone just wants to make sure Coach Baxter leaves Tyse in the game.”
“Is he out there to take him out of it?”
“Maybe, but he’s probably just checking to make sure he’s feeling all right. You know, checking to see how his arm is holding up. If a pitcher is on his way to a No Hitter a coach usually won’t take him out unless his arm needs a break. That’s what he’s asking him right now; how his arm feels to keep going.”
“Oh.”
I returned my eyes to the field just as the crowd began cheering and the coach was walking back to the dugout. It appeared that Tyse was there to stay and he struck out the next batter in four pitches, keeping the game at 4-0.
I’d never been to a Bears game where the crowd was so explosive. Generally it was pretty quiet, and there would be cheers when someone did something good, but tonight was a different story. Maybe it was because we were winning for once!
But there sure was a lot of grumbling going on when the top of the eighth began. Tyse wasn’t on the mound, and I heard the people around me bickering about why in the world the coach wouldn’t let him keep playing.
“I’m not sure it was really the coach’s choice,” the guy next to me offered voluntarily. “The kid’s arm might have been getting pretty tired and he just wanted to finish that last batter in the seventh. It’s his first real game after recovering from a broken hand, so I’m sure he might not have been ready to continue on. It might not have been safe to even play him for that long if he’s not used to the workload. But I’m sure he’s been putting the time in at practice, though. I don’t know,” he shrugged.
I nodded like I knew what he was talking about. But I had to agree that Tyse’s arm was probably getting tired or sore. Or maybe his hand was hurting him or something. I knew that Gage usually only pitched about six innings, and then the relief pitchers came in. He often said that he could pitch longer, but that wasn’t up to him some of the time.
I kind of felt bad that Gage did so well on the mound too, but hadn’t really received any run support in the past. When Gage pitched it usually came down to a pitchers’ duel (Gage’s words, not mine) and the score of the game was pretty low, like 1-0. I kind of got excited that the guys were finally starting to hit the ball, and I hoped that they could help Gage win a game for once.
Relief pitching for that night wasn’t perfect, and the other team ended up scoring two runs, but we still won, and I was excited for Gage and his team. I met him on the field when he motioned me down, and after talking to him for a couple of minutes, he gave me a hug and a kiss goodbye. He hadn’t pitched that game, so he was heading for the bullpen to rake the dirt.
I saw Tyse and I really wanted to congratulate him for such a good game, but he seemed to have people around him doing the same. I was happy that others were finally starting to interact with him, and I hoped that it would be a good thing. Befo
re I left I asked Gage to pass along my congrats for me, and even though I wasn’t expecting him to get upset over it or anything, I was surprised when he only shrugged and said, “Sure.”
Gage pitched on Friday night, and I traveled down to Corvallis to see the game. Dawn even came with me, and I was really glad to have her company. Wyatt was apparently up in Seattle again for another Mariners series.
If I could have predicted the future, I wouldn’t have gone to the game at all. But life would be a little too perfect if we could predict the future, right?
The problem was the opposing team’s fans. They kept yelling things over to a group of our fans, and then those guys would yell things back. I don’t know if they all knew each other and were already enemies, or if something had occurred before the game, but the game almost became more about what the fans were doing than what the players were actually doing.
Gage did great anyway, and for that I was glad, and when he sat in the dugout at the end of the seventh, we were ahead 2-1. By then two of the fans had even been kicked out of the game for shouting profanities at each other. I couldn’t decide if I felt like we were at a high school game versus our bitter rivals, or a major league game amongst die-hard fans that were drunk. It was a toss up.
I was thankful when the game was over and we were able to leave with a 3-1 victory. Dawn and I met Gage near his dugout to talk to him before he headed home on the bus, and that’s when some of those obnoxious fans ended up getting into it again. From a distance it wasn’t so bad, and a near brawl was broken up before things got too bad.
But when my sister and I were walking across the parking lot a few minutes later, an actual fight really did break out. Dawn and I were about thirty feet from Gage’s team bus when two guys pretty much threw each other against my car. The only thing I could do was jump out of the way, but while other coaches and players that were nearby tried to break up the fight, I somehow got an unopened can of beer thrown at me, and it hit my right hand straight on. I saw who did it too, and he flipped me the middle finger right after it happened. I had no idea who he even was, but I knew he’d just broken my hand.
Summer Swing Page 9
