Play Ball!

by Matt Christopher

  He was still thinking about apples when he reached Liam’s house. But what he heard inside drove away that and all other thoughts.

  “What do you mean, we’re moving to California?”

  CHAPTER

  TWELVE

  Liam was sure he must have misunderstood. So he asked the question again, this time even louder.

  “What do you mean, we’re moving to California?”

  He looked from his mother to his father and then to his sister. It was when he saw Melanie’s expression that he knew he’d heard right. She was practically bursting with excitement.

  “Southern California, the San Fernando area to be exact!” she cried. “Just think! Warm, sunny days all year-round! Swimming pools, beaches, and best of all—movie stars, television stars, cable-network stars! Isn’t it awesome?” She sighed deeply and contentedly.

  “No! It isn’t awesome!” Liam retorted. He turned to his parents. “When did all this happen? Why is all this happening? How come she knows about it”—he stabbed a finger at Melanie—“and I don’t?”

  They explained the situation as best as they could. Last summer, when they were in California, his mother had reconnected with some old friends from college. Those friends now designed and sold eco-friendly toys.

  “I made some comment, a joke really, about how toys were small potatoes, that the big money was in eco-friendly playground equipment,” she said. “But they took it seriously and asked me what such equipment would look like and how kids could play on it. So that night I sketched out some ideas and sent it to them.”

  “And they liked what you drew?”

  She nodded. “They offered me a job in June. At first I said no, but they kept asking.”

  His father broke in. “After the third time, I reminded your mom that my company has a branch in the same area of California. If she wanted to take the job, I could get a transfer.”

  They’d learned the transfer had been approved just before the World Series tournament. They had decided not to say anything to him until after the Series was over. And with what happened there…

  “Well, we decided to wait a little longer,” his father said. “Was that the right decision? Maybe not. Then again, what would you have done if you’d known sooner?”

  “I would have talked you out of it, that’s what!” Liam cried.

  “And I would have talked them into it,” Melanie cut in. “Moving to Southern California will finally give me a real chance to pursue my acting career!”

  Liam glared daggers at his sister. “Great, so she gets what she wants? And I don’t even get a say?” He threw his arms in the air. “What about our lives here? What about this house and school and Carter and Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Peter? What about my Little League team?”

  His father reached into his desk, pulled out a folder marked Little League: Southern California, and handed it to Liam. “They play baseball out there all year-round, buddy. In fact, their spring season starts in February, so you’ll be there in plenty of time for tryouts.”

  Liam sprang to his feet. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, what do you mean, I’ll be there in plenty of time? When are we moving?” He nearly choked on the last word.

  His mother put her arm around his shoulders. “Right after Christmas,” she said.

  Liam couldn’t bear to hear any more. He wrenched free of his mother, ran into the hallway, and flung open the front door.

  “Liam!” his mother cried.

  “Let him go,” his father said.

  Liam ran outside and smacked into someone standing on his front steps.

  “Oof!”

  It took him a moment to make out that it was Carter. “Did—did you hear any of that?” His voice cracked.

  Carter nodded. “Not all, but enough.”

  They stared at each other. Then Carter started walking. “Come on. Let’s go to the hideout.”

  Liam followed in a daze. At the edge of his lawn, he turned back and looked at his house, silhouetted against the purple twilight sky.

  “I can’t believe it. I’m… moving.”

  Lucky Boy, trotting at his feet, gave a small whine.

  It took the boys fifteen minutes to reach their destination. The hideout was a natural shelter formed by boulders left behind by an ancient glacier. They’d discovered it one summer day when they were seven years old. That very day they’d made a secret pact to never tell anyone else about it, not even their parents. Since then, they’d brought a few things to make it more comfortable—a couple of old beach towels and two flashlights, sometimes food. They stored everything in a dark green plastic box with a tight lid. When the box was tucked deep underneath the overhang, it was impossible to see unless you were looking for it.

  When they got to the hideout, they pulled out the box. As they were spreading the towels and checking the flashlights to be sure they still worked, Liam’s cell phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and hit the “ignore” button. Then he turned it off completely and returned it to his pocket.

  Carter looked at him questioningly. He shrugged. “Just doesn’t seem like the right place for a cell phone, you know?”

  “That’s not what I’m wondering about and you know it.”

  Liam lay back on his towel and stared up at the sky. A few stars had popped out in the east, but the west still showed a nimbus of lingering light. Finally, he started talking.

  “My life stinks,” he said. “I lost us the game in Williamsport and looked like an idiot, too. You know that the clip of my strikeout is on YouTube, right?”

  Carter picked up a pebble and threw it. “Yeah, I know. I was hoping you didn’t, though.”

  Liam gave a short laugh. “Dude, I’ve watched it at least a hundred times. Every single time, I hope it’s going to end differently. But it doesn’t. And now we’re moving.”

  A lump lodged in his throat. He flung his arm across his face to hide the tears that had suddenly sprung into his eyes. “What am I gonna do?”

  Carter threw another pebble and then said, “You could hide here. Or in my closet!”

  Liam moved his arm and stared at his cousin. Then he sat up. “That’s it! Why didn’t I think of that before? I’ll live with you guys!”

  Carter gave him a dubious look, but Liam was undeterred.

  “Come on, it’s the perfect solution!” he said. “Shoot, I’m at your house all the time anyway, and you’ve got bunk beds, and my folks could give your folks money for my food and stuff! Man, it’ll be great! Like a never-ending sleepover!”

  Liam grinned. The loss at Williamsport had been a blow, and the news about moving to California had threatened to derail him completely. But now he had come up with a plan, and suddenly he felt in charge again.

  “Hey look, there’s the Big Dipper!” He pointed at the sky. “That’s my favorite constellation.”

  “Because it’s easy to find?” Carter asked, craning his neck to look at the stars, too.

  “Yeah. It’s always right where it’s supposed to be.” Liam pulled Lucky Boy to him. The small dog’s tail thumped in the dirt. “Kind of like I’ll be after we talk to our parents—and that’s right here in Pennsylvania!”

  CHAPTER

  THIRTEEN

  Carter stared at the stars so he wouldn’t have to look at the happiness on Liam’s face. It wasn’t that he didn’t want his cousin to be happy.

  I just wish he wouldn’t get his hopes up so high, he thought. Just because he thinks living with us is a good idea doesn’t mean our parents will go for it.

  In fact, judging from the looks on their parents’ faces later that night, they had expected the two of them to propose such a plan.

  “I’m sorry, boys. We’re not leaving Liam behind,” Mrs. McGrath said. Her voice was kind, but firm. “This isn’t just a trip. We’re moving. And while we’ll definitely be coming back for visits, there’s no way of knowing if we’ll ever move back here.”

  Carter’s mother took Liam’s hand. “I know it’s hard, honey. Believe me,
I know.” She glanced at her sister. “Except for college, I’ve lived near Amanda my whole life. Now she’s going to be across the country. It’s not easy. Not at all. But it’s the right thing for your family to do right now.”

  And that was that.

  The weeks that followed flew by. Carter watched helplessly as the place he’d treated like a second home transformed into just another house. Rooms were stripped of all family photographs and repainted neutral colors. Garish clay pots and other homemade treasures that Liam had created when he was little were wrapped in newspaper and packed in boxes. The dining room table, usually strewn with newspapers, magazines, and crumbs from food long since eaten, was now covered with a new tablecloth and set as if company were coming for a fancy meal.

  Even Liam’s room was down to the bare bones. Gone were the trophies, the sports posters and team banners, the books, games, and toys he and Carter had shared since they were little kids.

  “My dad says we have to make it look impersonal,” Liam explained dully. “That way, it’s easier for other families to imagine living here.”

  But I don’t want another family living here! Carter wanted to scream. But he didn’t have to; Liam already knew how he felt.

  Throughout autumn, the only bright spot in Carter’s life was playing baseball. Fall Ball in Pennsylvania wasn’t as competitive as the summer league—there were no big tournaments or national competitions—but that suited Carter just fine. He used the weeks on the field to hone his skills and, whenever he could, boost Liam’s spirits.

  Those spirits needed boosting, too, for Liam was off his game throughout the short season. He played well enough behind the plate, but he had far fewer hits than normal.

  “He’s having trouble concentrating because of the move,” Carter told their teammates whenever Liam was out of earshot. “Wouldn’t you?”

  His teammates had agreed. Still, Carter suspected they thought the real reason for Liam’s slump was what had happened in Williamsport. He didn’t blame them. After all, that’s what he thought, too.

  Fall Ball had been over for a week when, one afternoon in early November, the FOR SALE sign in Liam’s front yard changed to SOLD. Carter and Liam raced up the steps of the house to find Liam’s mother sitting at the kitchen table, stirring a cup of coffee and staring out the window.

  “Someone bought our home,” she said quietly. Then, to Carter’s horror, his always cheerful aunt started to cry.

  “Um, I think I’ll go home and, uh, get started on my homework,” he said, backing out the door. “You want to come, Liam?”

  Liam hesitated and then shook his head. “No. But let’s meet up later at the, um, you know?”

  Carter nodded his understanding. He left Liam standing behind his mother, patting her back awkwardly.

  That night, Carter sneaked out of the house. He met Liam at the end of his driveway, and together, they made their way through the woods to the hideout. It was a lot colder and darker than the last time they’d been there. Carter shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders. Liam kicked at the hard ground.

  “This is probably the last time I’ll be here for a while,” Liam said when they reached the shelter. “I mean, it’s going to be winter for real soon. That means Thanksgiving, then Christmas, and then…” His voice trailed off.

  “Yeah.” Carter shuffled his feet. “Listen, just so you know, I probably won’t be coming here for a while either. I mean, call me a dork—”

  “I always have.”

  “Shut up and listen, will you, you doofus?” Carter said. He cleared his throat and started again. “This is our place. It wouldn’t feel right being here without you. There, now you can make fun of me all you want.”

  But for once Liam didn’t crack a joke. Instead, he just said, “Thanks, man.”

  The McGraths hosted Thanksgiving that year because, as Liam’s mother pointed out, they already had a table set for a fancy dinner.

  “We might as well get some use out of that darned tablecloth!” she added with a rueful laugh.

  “Okay,” her sister agreed, “but dessert at our place!”

  After a delicious turkey dinner with all the fixings, the Joneses and McGraths joined other neighbors for a friendly game of touch football. Then the two families piled into the Joneses’ living room. Mr. Jones lit a fire, his wife served pie with ice cream and hot chocolate with whipped cream, and soon everyone was lolling about on the furniture, sleepy but content.

  A few days after Thanksgiving, Christmas light displays and decorations sprang up around the neighborhood. The Joneses trekked to a nearby tree farm and chose a perfectly shaped evergreen to set up in their living room. The McGraths helped decorate it, because this year they wouldn’t have a tree of their own.

  Carter wasn’t sure how Liam could stand it. No tree, no stockings, no outside light display, because all their Christmas decorations were already in California.

  On Christmas morning, Carter called to ask Liam if he’d gotten any good presents. Liam snorted and replied, “Good presents? I guess if you think gift cards to a bunch of California stores I never even heard of are good, then yeah, I made out like a bandit!”

  “Well, then come on over as soon as you can because I got you a real present,” Carter said.

  Liam barged in five minutes later, still wearing his bathrobe, slippers, and pajamas.

  “Brrr, you look chilly,” Carter’s mother said when she saw him. She stuck a bright red Santa hat on his head, complete with white pom-pom. “There, much better.”

  “Mom,” Carter said, rolling his eyes. “Leave him alone! Come on, man.”

  Carter led the way to his bedroom. He went to his closet and pulled out a large rectangular package wrapped in Christmas paper and decorated with a frilly ribbon.

  “Nice bow,” Liam commented. “Did you get it out of the new hair-and-makeup accessory kit you got for Christmas?”

  “My mom made me stick that on, doofus,” Carter said. He thrust the package into Liam’s hands. “Here. Open it.”

  Liam did. Inside was a framed photograph. Liam studied it for a moment and then looked at Carter. “Um, it’s… what is it?”

  “It’s an aerial shot of the area,” Carter explained. He began pointing to places on the photo. “See, there’s our school. That’s the police station. That’s your house and that’s my house.” He swung his finger to a wooded area beyond their houses. “And even though you can’t really see it, that’s where the hideout is.”

  “Wow. Oh, man, wow, Carter. This is really awesome!” Liam said, his eyes darting all around the photo. He gave Carter an apologetic look. “I didn’t get you anything. Oh, wait, yes I did!” He reached into the pocket of his robe, rooted around, and pulled something out. “Hold out your hands.”

  Carter did as he was told. Liam dropped a fuzzy ball of lint into his cupped hands. “There’s more where that came from, if you play your cards right!”

  Carter looked from the lint ball to his cousin and burst out laughing. “Merry Christmas, doofus.”

  “Merry Christmas, dork.”

  Two days later, the McGraths were gone.

  CHAPTER

  FOURTEEN

  Your webcam is just picking up the top of your head,” Liam said with a grin. “Move it down a bit.” He watched his laptop screen as Carter’s image shifted into better view, then added, “Nice haircut. Glad to see you’re keeping up your dorky appearance.”

  “Speaking of appearances,” Carter replied, “take a look at yourself, doofus. What’s with the clothes?”

  Three weeks had passed since Liam and his family had moved to the San Fernando Valley. He and Carter had talked and texted several times. Now they were testing out Skype, a video-chat service their parents had agreed to let them use.

  Liam glanced down and groaned. He’d forgotten he was in his school uniform.

  Back in Pennsylvania, he’d worn T-shirts and jeans to school every day. Here, he was enrolled in a private academy beca
use, his parents said, they didn’t want him to get lost in the big public school. The academy wasn’t bad except that all the boys were required to wear a light blue button-down shirt, a school tie, and khaki pants every day. The girls had similar outfits, except instead of pants, they wore plaid skirts.

  “I have to wear it for school,” he mumbled, yanking off the tie and throwing it across the room.

  “Yikes,” Carter said, laughing. “So what’s your fancy-schmancy school like, anyway?”

  Liam shrugged. “It’s all right, I guess. Some of the guys seem pretty cool. The cafeteria food is decent. The teachers are okay. How’re things back home?”

  Carter’s smile vanished. “They moved in last weekend.”

  “Oh.” Liam knew they were the people who’d bought his house. “And?”

  “And it’s totally freaky seeing them going in and out of your home,” Carter said. “They have a boy our age. His name is Ashley.”

  Liam made a face. “Ashley? Blech. Who does that to a kid?”

  “Mom heard that he goes by Ash.”

  “Still. Does he play baseball?”

  Carter shrugged as if he didn’t know or care and changed the subject. “What’s going on with your baseball stuff, anyway?”

  “I get evaluated the day after tomorrow,” Liam said. “Then practices start in February and the regular season begins in March.”

  Carter looked confused for a moment. Then his expression cleared. “I keep forgetting the weather is different out there. We’ve got six inches of new snow here and it’s still coming down.”

  “Lucky! I’ve got exactly none, unless you count what’s up in the mountains.”

  “Yeah, but you get to play baseball outdoors in January,” Carter countered. “If I want to get in any playing time now, I have to go to that indoor sports place. And it might not even be open. Last time my mom and I drove by it, there were construction trucks everywhere.”

  “They’re probably there to tear it down. That place is a total dump!” Liam said.