Best of the Best

by Tim Green

  “I’ll try.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  JOSH’S FATHER TOOK A box of Cheerios from the cupboard and gathered up a bowl, a spoon, and a carton of milk from the fridge. He set them before Josh, then turned on the coffeemaker before sitting down across from him at the small round table tucked into the corner of the kitchen. A thick beam of early morning summer sun fell into the room through the window over the sink. Josh could see the lines of worry and age carved into his father’s face, lines he didn’t remember from before.

  “Believe me,” his father said, “the easiest thing for me would be to keep things exactly as they are, but I’m thinking of you, Josh.”

  “I want us all to be together, Dad,” Josh said, blurting out the words. “I want that more than anything.”

  His father sighed again and said, “I know. That’s what we all want, but things change. Here, get going on your cereal and just listen. The final decision will be yours, but I want you to hear both sides of the story.”

  Josh poured cereal into the bowl and spilled the milk in his confusion over his father’s words about the final decision being his. His father got a cloth and poured himself a cup of coffee before returning. Josh took the cloth and mopped up the spill with trembling hands. The worst part for Josh would be choosing who to live with, his mother or his father. He knew that was the question on his father’s lips. To keep from crying, Josh shoveled in a mouthful of cereal and began to work his jaw.

  “A lot of famous players used this as a stepping-stone to do great things in the majors,” Josh’s father said. “I mean, Derek Bell and Gary Sheffield, just off the top of my head. I think it’s the right thing for you, too, Josh. Even though it means leaving the Titans for the next couple of months.”

  Josh’s mouth fell open and some soggy Cheerios dribbled down his chin before plopping onto the table.

  “Josh?” his father said. “You okay?”

  “Titans?” Josh said. “I’m leaving the Titans? What are you talking about? I thought you meant you and Mom. That change.”

  Josh’s father’s face flushed and he looked down. “No, that’s not what I’m talking about. That’s another discussion. You said you heard me talking. I thought you meant you heard me on the phone with Coach Quatropanni.”

  “Coach Q?” Josh wiped his chin. “My Little League coach? Dad, what are you talking about?”

  Even though Josh spent countless hours practicing and playing for the Titans, his father had insisted that he also play for a Little League team in his spare moments. Josh convinced Benji to do it with him, and they both played for Coach Quatropanni and his Delmonico Insurance Little League team whenever they didn’t have to play or practice with the Titans travel team. With Josh’s exceptional talent, Coach Q had been happy to have them on the team, even though Josh and Benji never made a practice and missed many of the games.

  At the time Josh first heard the idea of playing Little League, he thought his dad was crazy. But his dad had been a first-round draft choice out of high school by the Mets and spent twelve years around the minor leagues before retiring. His dad knew the world of baseball as well as anyone, so Josh had agreed, even though he felt funny just showing up to the games.

  “Well, believe it or not, you actually made it to half the regular season games with Delmonico’s,” Josh’s father said, “and that qualifies you to play on the league’s all-star team. They gave Coach Q the Lyn court All-Stars this year, and they’ve already won the local round of playoffs while we were in Cooperstown. I guess a couple kids had to drop out, though, so…”

  “Dad,” Josh said, “no offense, but we just won the Hall of Fame National Championship. I was on HBO with Bob Costas. Why would I care about the Lyncourt Little League All-Stars?”

  His dad held up a hand and said, “I know. We won a national championship, and it was great, and we’ve got this awesome Nike deal and—believe me—we’ve got a lot left to accomplish with the Titans. But Coach Q has his sights set on playing in the Little League World Series. It’s a long shot, but, you know, Coach Q says that the Lyncourt all-star team this year is the best group he’s ever seen. They’ve got those Fries brothers and that kid Fedchenko, who can really sling it. I’m thinking about recruiting all three of them for the Titans. And Josh? With your bat, honestly? Anything’s possible. They see that, and I see something that you’ll never forget. Selfishly, do I want you to miss the next two months of tournaments with the Titans? Of course not. But for you, Son, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. You’ll never get it again. Hey, who knows? You guys might not make it through the districts in Albany next week, then everything will be back to normal.

  “But,” his dad said, his brown eyes losing their focus as he peered past Josh and blinked into the glare of the kitchen window, “if you do make it? Josh, you’ll be playing against teams from all over the world, the best of the best.

  “But I said the decision is yours, and I meant it. What do you think?”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  JOSH’S HEAD SPUN. PART of him felt giddy that the news had nothing to do with his parents splitting up, but he reminded himself that his father said that was another discussion. The breakup was still out there, creeping around like a serial killer in the bushes, looking for a way in.

  “Can Benji do it with me?” Josh asked, the idea coming to him from thin air. Benji Lido, Josh’s other best friend, was a heavyset seventh grader with a sense of humor as big as his appetite.

  Josh’s dad raised his eyebrows. “I can’t say. They didn’t ask, but I know they want you pretty bad. They might do it.”

  “I’m in,” Josh said, breaking out into a grin.

  “Even if Benji can’t?” his father asked.

  “I don’t know,” Josh said. “Can I think about it?”

  His father smiled and pointed to the cereal. “Sure. I’ll call Coach Q. We can meet with him after batting practice and see about Benji. Eat up. I don’t want to keep you from your work.”

  Josh gobbled down the rest of his cereal and rinsed the bowl. His mom shuffled in, the bottoms of her slippers scratching the linoleum floor. Josh’s little sister, Laurel, rested on his mom’s hip, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

  “Good morning, Josh,” his mom said, pointedly ignoring Josh’s father.

  “Hi, Mom,” Josh said, his heart aching at the sight of his mom’s sad face. “I’m going to cut Mrs. Cunningham’s lawn, then the Keegans’ and Jacksons’ before batting practice.”

  He kissed her cheek, then the top of his little sister’s head, then his dad before scooting out the door.

  From the detached garage, Josh dragged the lawn mower, pushing it down the sidewalk, up over the broken seams toward the first lawn on his list. As he walked, he texted Jaden to tell her to swing by if she had a minute. He wanted to tell her about the World Series in person. Jaden, more than even him or Benji, loved baseball and everything about it. She’d know the significance of a quest for the Little League World Series.

  Josh came to a stop in front of a chain-link fence surrounding a yard riddled with dog poop. The pale blue house belonged to a white-haired old woman who could hardly hear. Still, she paid twenty-five dollars for the job, five more than Josh’s going rate. He had five lawns he cut in all, including his own, and he was able to save a good bit of money from the work. It was his mom who insisted on him working, even though his dad said he preferred Josh spend all his free time on baseball.

  An evil part of him in the darkest corner of his mind thought that if his parents did separate, he might not have to cut lawns anymore. The better part of him squashed that thought, and so he began, stepping carefully and breathing through his mouth whenever one of the lawn mower’s wheels came up with a surprise. The thick grass bled green juice that stained Josh’s sneakers and filled the air, tamping down the smell of dog poop. Josh had worked up a sweat by the time he was done.

  He held his hand out patiently as the smiling old woman counted out twenty-five one-dollar bills,
then wiped his brow as he descended the porch. The sun peeked over the trees, promising a scorcher. Josh shaded his eyes as he wheeled the mower through the gate, and so the white Audi appeared as if by magic. Almost before the scene could register in his brain, Diane Cross popped out of her car and stood blocking his way on the sidewalk. She wore a tight black skirt and an even tighter white blouse. Around her shoulder she’d slung a big purse as red as her lips. Even though Josh stood just under six feet tall—more than half a foot over this woman, even with her high heels—she somehow made him feel small.

  Trying not to sound as ruffled as he felt, Josh glared down into her sunglasses and asked, “What do you want?”

  “Hello, Josh,” she said, smooth and soft. “We need to talk.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING to say to you,” Josh said, wheeling the mower up onto the grass and steering past her.

  Josh got to the next driveway hearing the click of her heels on the sidewalk, coming fast. She tapped his shoulder, and he spun around.

  “I know this isn’t easy for you, Josh,” she said, “but it happens. Sometimes people don’t get it right the first time. Your father and I, well, this is it. The real thing this time.”

  Josh’s mouth fell open.

  “And I want us to be friends, Josh,” she said

  “Are you crazy?” Josh said, almost to himself.

  A smile snaked across her lips. “Crazy for your father.”

  “Stop it!” Josh said. “Stop talking like that. You’re not my friend. You’re…you’re…”

  Josh dug deep for the word he’d heard his mother use.

  “You’re a tramp!”

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Diane said, snapping off her sunglasses. “And if you’re going to be nasty to me, you’re going to get it right back, mister.

  “But I’m sure we’ll figure a way to get along,” she said, batting her eyelids and looking innocent and beautiful, as if she’d pulled on a mask.

  Josh realized this wasn’t for him when he saw her eyes flicker past his shoulder. He turned and watched Jaden Neidermeyer close the gap between them on the sidewalk. Jaden was big for a girl of twelve but stood straight like she belonged there. Her hair was frizzy and dark, and she kept it pulled into a ponytail. Her skin was the color of coffee with milk, and the features on her face were delicate, almost elfish. Josh thought she was the prettiest girl in the whole school.

  “Hey, Josh,” Jaden said, her green cat eyes shifting with uncertainty. “You wanted to talk to me?”

  “You’re the girl from the batting cage,” Diane said, her voice syrupy sweet.

  “Jaden, remember?” Jaden said, extending a hand.

  “And manners, too.” Diane shifted her purse to shake hands. “Of course you’re Jaden. Do you know my son, Marcus? Marcus Cross? No, well, he goes to Bishop Grimes. He’s such a great kid. Everyone likes him, but I think they have a different set of friends than the public school kids, not that there’s anything wrong with public school.”

  This was the first Josh had heard about Diane having a son, and it only made his head swim faster.

  “Josh is going to be playing some baseball with Marcus on the Lyncourt all-star team,” Diane said. “In fact, that’s why I stopped, to congratulate him on being part of the team. Do you like baseball?”

  “I’m a Yankees fan,” Jaden said, “and I covered the Titans at the Hall of Fame tournament for the Post-Standard.”

  “Covered?”

  “I’m a writer,” Jaden said. “For the newspaper.”

  “Really?”

  “I want to win a Pulitzer,” Jaden said. “That’s one day, though.”

  “If you’re already writing for the paper,” Diane said, “you’re certainly on your way, and such a pretty girl. You should go into TV. You could be on a show.”

  “No,” Jaden said, “just writing.”

  “Well,” Diane said, “it was a real pleasure to meet you. And Josh, thanks for our little talk. I know how much you mean to your father, and it’s good to know you’re the kind of boy who thinks about his happiness, too. So many kids today think only of themselves.”

  Diane turned and marched down the sidewalk. She climbed into her car and pulled away with a toot and a wave.

  “Wow. She’s nice,” Jaden said. “Do you know her son?”

  Josh just looked at her.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “WHAT’S WRONG?” JADEN ASKED.

  Josh wiped the sweat from his forehead and started pushing the mower down the sidewalk, shaking his head.

  “Josh?”

  Josh kept pushing until he reached a big old white house with black shutters and two gigantic trees shading the entire front lawn. He bent down to pull the motor to life. Jaden poked his shoulder.

  “I’m not going away. You text me that you’ve got some news, then you start acting like a zombie?”

  Josh threw his hands up, walked over to the base of one of the big trees, and sat with his back against its rough bark. Jaden sat down, too, wrapping her arms around her knees and looking at him sideways. Bits of sunlight filtered down through the leaves.

  “I wanted to tell you about the Little League World Series,” he said. “My dad says I’d be playing against the best of the best in the entire world, but she told you before I could.”

  “I know.” Jaden shrugged. “What’s up with her? She’s your dad’s Realtor, or his friend?”

  “Supposedly like you and me are friends,” Josh said, avoiding Jaden’s eyes. “But my mom doesn’t think so. They’re talking about splitting up.”

  “Oh,” Jaden said, and they sat quietly for a minute. “Is that what she meant about your dad’s happiness?”

  Josh shrugged. “I guess so.”

  “Parents can be weird.”

  “My dad wouldn’t even be out looking for a house if it wasn’t for me,” Josh said.

  “That Nike contract is a great thing. Think how bad you wanted it, how hard you worked. Even playing with a cracked bone in your face.”

  “And this is what I get.”

  After another pause, Jaden said, “I met a kid named Zamboni Cross once who goes to Grimes. His father was a hockey player or something and named him Zamboni after the ice machine. Maybe this kid is Marcus’s brother. He was a little offbeat.”

  “There could be a whole nest of them for all I care,” Josh said. “I didn’t even know she had a son, and now I find out that he’s playing on the Lyncourt all-star team that my dad thinks I should play on?”

  “Wow,” Jaden said, “I never even thought about you playing on the all-star team.”

  “I qualified,” Josh said. “All you have to do is play in half the league’s regular season games, which I did.”

  “Can you imagine if you really made it to Williamsport?” Jaden said. “I mean, they’d probably send me to cover it. What a story, a national championship and a World Series title?”

  “It’s a long way from that.” Josh scratched his ear. “I don’t even know if I want to do this. It takes a whole team to win, and most of these guys haven’t even played together before. You see how hard we all work together on the Titans. Who knows if this team could win anything.”

  “The way you hit the ball? Josh, it’s like three automatic runs a game. You’re a freak.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You know what I mean. Freak in a good way. You know you are. You can see the laces when the ball leaves the pitcher’s hand and you’ve got the skill to hit it, wherever it’s thrown. Do you know how unusual that is?”

  “Lots of baseball players have that,” Josh said.

  “The great ones,” Jaden said. “You’re right.”

  Josh felt his face get hot despite the shade.

  “But there’s more holding you back than just a raw team,” Jaden said, “something you’re not telling me.”

  Josh glanced at her, those big green eyes seeing into him the way they did. He knew the on
ly way to deal with them was to give up something, and something was better than all of it. He was ashamed to even admit it, but Diane’s appearance and her message shook him up. If him being away in Albany gave her more opportunities to be around his dad, then Josh didn’t want to go, but he was too embarrassed about the whole thing to say that to Jaden.

  “I’m not doing this for sure,” Josh said. “I told them I wouldn’t do it unless Benji can play, too.”

  “Really?”

  “It’s a lot of traveling around. My dad will be with the Titans. I just don’t feel like doing it by myself.”

  “I said I might be able to cover it for the paper,” Jaden said.

  “I know, and that would be great. But, a teammate, you know?”

  “Sure.”

  “Benji’s funny,” he said.

  “No arguments there.”

  “So, I’m just hoping it works out.”

  “With your parents, or you mean Benji?” Jaden asked.

  “Both,” Josh said, rising and dusting off his hands. “Well, I better get it into gear. Batting practice at one. Thanks for swinging by, though.”

  “I had to get my dad some ink for his printer anyway,” Jaden said, waving her hand. “Text me when you decide what you’re doing. And Josh?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Congratulations. This could really be great.”

  Josh got to work but still had to race the mower down the last block, getting home just in time to swap out his green-stained sneakers for his cleats, grab his bat bag, and hop into the front seat of his dad’s silver Taurus.

  “Set?” Josh’s dad asked, starting the engine.

  Josh nodded and searched his father’s face for signs that he might know Diane had stopped by to see him. His father seemed distracted, though, and Josh tried to figure a way he could bring her up without being obvious. As they drove, Josh’s dad switched from station to station on the radio.

  Finally Josh said, “You know any of the other kids on this all-star team, Dad?”