Page 69 of Catching the Coach
I nod my head. “Thanks, Coach.” He watched me struggle with the reality that I may have to retire. He was the one who told me to get my head on right and figure my shit out. I know he’s probably as relieved as I am that my comeback is paying off. “Anything else?” I ask, bouncing my leg up and down, eager to head out.
He shakes his head and I all but jump out of my seat and head to the door. “Kessler,” he says as I’m pulling open the door.
“Yeah?” I ask looking back at him.
“I hear your brother’s going to be a free agent soon.”
I nod.
“See where his head is at with that,” he says, giving me a look.
I nod. “Sure, Coach.”
He gives me a nod “Now get out of here, go celebrate with your family.”
I leave his office and make my way to where Lucy and the rest of my family are waiting. I haven’t played ball on the same team as my brother since we were in high school. I’m lost in my thoughts when I push open the door to the family area. Cheers erupt when I step through and I push my conversation with Coach Dixon to the back of my mind. Hudson rushes up to me talking a mile a minute.
“Kessler! That was the most exciting game I’ve ever seen in my life! You killed it!” He looks at me like I hung the moon and I never want that feeling to go away. I set my bags down and open my arms for a hug. He rushes forward and I squeeze him tight. Pretty soon he’s going to be too ‘old’ for hugs. I need to get them in while I can. I look up and see my mom and Lucy watching us with matching expressions. Eyes glossy, but not letting the tears escape.
I release Hudson and my dad comes over giving me a back slap and a hug. “Great game, Kess,” he says, choking on emotion of his own.
“Thanks, Dad,” I whisper past a lump that’s formed in my throat.
“Hey, I thought there was no crying in baseball?” Lucy says jokingly, coming up to us.
My dad barks out a laugh and raises an eyebrow at me. “She has jokes now.”
I look between my dad and Lucy, feeling like I’ve missed something. My face must say the same thing because Lucy says, “I’ll fill you in later,” as she tucks herself into my side and wraps an arm around my waist. I lean down and place a kiss on the top of her head, inhaling her coconut and vanilla scent.
My mom comes up to us and I move out of Lucy’s embrace to give my mom a hug. “Oh, Kessler,” she whispers, choking back her tears. I chuckle and give her a kiss on her cheek.
“There is a lot of crying in baseball apparently,” I joke. She pulls back and lightly smacks my chest, chuckling. She backs into my dads embrace and I pull Lucy back into mine.
I look around and can’t help but think this is what I’ve been missing in my life, and now that I have it. I’m never letting it go.
Judd comes through the doors and Hudson runs up to him, giving him the same excited chatter he gave me. Judd laughs and gives him a fist bump and ruffles his hair. They make their way over to our group and my parents greet Judd with hugs.
Judd looks at me and gives me a shit eating grin. “Nice hit, brotato.” He holds out his fist for a bump.
I return the bump with my freehand. “Thanks. Your pitching was alright,” I tease. I decide to talk to him in private about what Coach said to me. There’s no need to discuss this in front of our parents until we know more. I don’t want to get my moms hopes up of Judd possibly moving home. Even though he only lives a little over an hour away, I know she would like him closer.
Judd rubs his hands together. “I’m starving, let’s go eat.” He grabs his bag and heads to the exit.
“Yeah, I’m starving,” Hudson says, rubbing his stomach and following Judd out the door.
“How can you be hungry? You pretty much ate the entire snack bar,” Lucy says with a laugh. I entwine her fingers in mine and grab my bags with my other hand, following the group.
Judd turns around and walks backward. “We’re growing boys, Mom,” he says, patting his flat stomach.
Hudson turns around. “Yeah, Mom, we’re growing boys,” he says, copying Judd.
Laughter erupts in the hallway and they turn back around and walk through another door. Lucy shakes her head, adding, “We are in so much trouble when he’s a teenager. He’s going to eat us out of house and home.”
I stumble and quickly catch myself. I pull Lucy to a stop and stare down at her, dropping my bags.
“What?” she asks, scrunching her eyebrows. “Did you forget something in the locker room?”
I don’t answer her, instead I grip her face with both hands and continue to stare at her, trying to wrap my head around the words she just said. “Did you mean it?” I ask.
