The DH

by John Feinstein

  Christine continued. “His dad’s gone. His mom is clueless. These agents have all of a sudden disappeared. I guess they think he’s damaged goods in some way because of what he did.”

  That surprised Alex. In part because it never occurred to him that agents would care whether an athlete hurt someone, as long as he wasn’t hurt, but also because Matt had indicated that at least one had offered free legal advice.

  “You sure about the agents?” he said. “My sense from Matt was they were still acting like they were his pals.”

  “I think that changed when ESPN and CNN did stories last night with Billy’s parents talking about how shocked they were that anyone could throw at someone’s head the way Matt did. Matt’s become a huge villain on Twitter.”

  Alex hadn’t been on Twitter much in the last twenty-four hours, but he was sure Christine was right. He tried—again—to picture what Matt might have been thinking when he threw the pitch. He was angry because Kenworthy had broken up his no-hitter by bunting. He couldn’t turn to second base and throw at Kenworthy, so he threw at the hitter—Twardzik. It was, to put it mildly, stupid. But even though he’d wondered for a second about Matt’s aim, Alex believed—wanted to believe—that Matt had never intended to hurt Twardzik. He had wanted to make him dive out of the way, eat some dirt, maybe even start a fight—but that was all. Matt had changed, but not that much. At least Alex hoped that was the case.

  Now Twardzik was in intensive care, his future in jeopardy, and Matt was apparently a national villain, his future in a different kind of jeopardy.

  “I don’t even know what to say about any of this,” Alex finally managed, realizing Christine had been saying “Are you there, Alex?” for several seconds. “This makes the whole PED thing last fall look like nothing.”

  “You have any plans tomorrow?”

  “No,” he said. He’d planned to be in Boston.

  “Good. We should all take Matt to lunch at Stark’s. Then, if they’re letting Billy see visitors by then, we’ll go see him. His parents won’t treat us the way they treated Matt when he went over by himself.”

  “You sure about that?” Alex asked.

  “No,” she said. “But we’ll try anyway.”

  “And what makes you sure Matt will go along with this plan?” he said.

  He could almost see her smiling when she answered the question. “Because,” she said, “I’m going to tell him I want him to do it.”

  That, Alex thought, settles that.

  Linda Myers, figuring her kids would be hungry getting off the train, took them to Tony’s Pizza, which had become the family’s favorite pizza place in Chester. Pizza two nights in a row was fine with both Alex and Molly.

  Their mom had apparently talked at length to her soon-to-be ex-husband about what had happened, and now, unlike in the past, she wasn’t defending him to her children.

  “He still doesn’t completely understand how wrong he is,” she said while they waited for their pizzas. “He knows the lying was just flat-out dumb, but he still doesn’t know that his priorities when it comes to you guys and Megan are a mess right now.”

  She sighed. “I know I’ve said this before, but you have to be patient with him. I’m not telling you not to be angry, but he’s going to come around. Your father’s a good man.”

  “If he’s such a good man, how can he be doing what he’s doing right now?” Molly asked.

  “Because sometimes good people do bad things. And dumb things. Sometimes they lose their way for a while. The past year’s been rough for all of us. I’m lucky because I have you guys to keep me sane. I suspect your dad was very lonely when we left.”

  Alex wanted to ask if their mom thought their dad had gotten involved with Megan Wheeler before they split but decided against it. At this point, the answer didn’t matter all that much anyway.

  He went to sleep with the pizza rumbling in his stomach and his mind filled with thoughts of his dad, of Megan Wheeler, of Billy Twardzik, and of Matt Gordon. It hadn’t been a good few days.

  Naturally, Christine was right about Matt. He walked into Stark’s two minutes late, with Jonas right behind him. Christine, Alex, and Max were already there, waiting.

  “What is this, an intervention?” Matt said, smiling.

  Apparently, Christine hadn’t revealed the entire guest list to him.

  “More like a support group,” she said, not bothering to explain any further. “You need your friends right now.”

  Matt’s smile disappeared as he slid into the circular booth that was big enough for five—barely. Jonas squeezed in next to him.

  “You’re right,” he said. “I do need my friends. I also need a lawyer, apparently.”

  “Did you hear from Twardzik’s family again?” Max asked.

  Matt shook his head. “No, I heard from a lawyer—some guy named Pollock. He suggested I find a lawyer because the family had asked him to prepare a wrongful injury suit against me personally and against the school.”

  Alex sighed. He now felt worse about not talking to his father.

  “What happened to the agents who were going to help you out?” Jonas asked.

  Matt snorted. “Going, going, gone,” he said. “One of them told me that if Twardzik is okay and I get drafted in the first round, then he’ll be happy to represent me. But for the moment, it’s bad for their ‘image’ to be connected to me in any way.”

  “Their image?” Christine said. “Since when does an agent care about his image?”

  “It’s about attracting other clients, I think,” Matt said. “If they’re recruiting someone and his family asks, ‘Do you represent that guy who hit the kid in the head?’ they don’t want to have to say yes—unless Twardzik recovers and they can say—‘I only signed him after the player had recovered and he assured me nothing like that would ever happen again.’ Even then, I’m a risk they won’t take unless they think they’re going to cash in quickly.”

  They ranted for a few minutes about what bad guys agents were, then Christine—as usual—brought everyone back to the issue at hand.

  “Matt, what can we do to help?” she said.

  “I liked your idea about going with me to the hospital,” Matt said. “I’d like to try to go and see him and tell him I’m sorry. To be honest, I’m afraid to go alone again.”

  “It’s worth a try,” Alex said. “Worst thing that happens is we all get thrown out together.”

  They finished their lunch and then split up into two cars to drive to the hospital—Matt driving Christine and Jonas, and Alex going with Max. Since it was a Saturday, there was parking around the hospital. Matt had checked that morning and been told that Billy was out of intensive care and in a private room.

  When Alex and Max walked in, Matt was at the front desk, trying to act as if they were expected.

  “It’s William Twardzik,” he was saying to an elderly volunteer. “He was moved into room 436 this morning. Can you give us directions to find the room? I haven’t been here since he was moved.”

  The volunteer smiled at Matt and began tapping keys on the computer in front of her. Alex was thinking Matt was pretty smooth—it looked like they were going to at least get up to the room—when he saw the woman’s smile disappear.

  “Oh dear,” she said.

  “Something wrong?” Matt said, still trying to sound casual. “I’m pretty sure I’ve got the right room—”

  “Oh no, young man, you’ve got the right room,” the woman said. “But Mr. Twardzik’s not there anymore.”

  “Not there?” Matt said. “They just moved him there this morning….”

  “I know,” she said. “But it says here that he’s back in surgery.”

  Alex almost gagged when he heard what the woman was saying. Matt was white as a ghost.

  “Back in surgery?”

  “Yes, I’m afraid so. I can direct you to the surgical waiting area, if you’d like.”

  “N-n-no thanks,” Matt said, his voice very shaky. “We’
ll…we’ll check back later.”

  “Certainly,” she said. “I hope everything turns out okay.”

  Christine threw an arm around Matt as he turned away.

  “He’s going to be okay,” she said. “He will be. Let’s all go somewhere around here and talk.”

  Matt nodded, and they all walked slowly to the door. Once they were outside, Alex made a decision. “You guys go ahead. Text me and tell me where you are when you get there,” he said. “I’ve got a phone call to make.”

  While the others headed in the direction of a coffee shop Christine knew about, Alex found a small park area and sat down on a bench. It was mid-April, but the day was brisk and windy, so there wasn’t anyone else around.

  He called his father’s cell. His dad answered on the first ring.

  “Alex,” he said. “Is something wrong?”

  Apparently his dad figured the only reason Alex would call him at this point was if there was some dire emergency.

  “I’m fine, Dad,” he said. “So are Mom and Molly. But I have a problem I’d like to talk to you about if you have some time.”

  “All you want,” his dad said, and Alex was relieved because it felt like Megan—for once—wasn’t around.

  He walked his father through everything that had happened since Tuesday. It was hard to believe that it had only been four days….

  His dad listened, interrupting only a couple of times to ask for details. When Alex finished, his dad let out a long breath.

  “Wow,” he said. “As we used to say when I was a kid, that’s heavy.”

  “Is Matt in trouble?” Alex asked.

  “He could be, I’m afraid,” his dad said. “The Twardziks have no claim against the school because every family signs a waiver giving their child permission to play with the understanding that there’s no liability for the school—or an opponent—in case of an injury. The only exception to that would be if a coach told someone to intentionally injure a player on the other team, and there’s no evidence that happened here.”

  He went on, “So, you said that Matt admitted in front of witnesses that he threw at him on purpose but didn’t mean to hit his head.” He paused for a second. “Did he say he was trying to hurt this kid?”

  “No,” Alex said. “In fact, he said he wasn’t trying to hurt him.”

  “Well, that’s one thing in his favor. Still, even if his intent wasn’t to injure, his action led to the injury. That’s not good. And if there’s any permanent damage, then it gets worse.

  “And legalities aside, if there’s permanent damage, it’s going to be hard for Matt to live with himself.”

  Alex didn’t want to ask the next question but, under the circumstances, thought it needed to be asked.

  “Dad, what if Billy dies?”

  His dad didn’t answer that for several seconds.

  “Let’s not even think about that unless we have to,” he said.

  “So what should we do now?” Alex said.

  “Matt needs a lawyer. Not just because the Twardzik family is making these threats, but because he needs to feel he’s got someone on his side who can take care of him in all this. Protect him.”

  “You got any suggestions? Know anyone?”

  “Yeah, I do,” his dad said. “Me.”

  For a moment, Alex didn’t understand what his father was saying.

  “Alex, you there?” his dad asked.

  “Yes. Yes, I am, Dad. What are you talking about?”

  “I want you to tell Matt to call me—today,” his dad said. “I can help him. I’ll come down there if he wants me to, although I’m guessing I can deal with their lawyer on the phone, at least for now.

  “I can’t help Matt with his guilt. That’s a different story. But I can relieve some of the pressure he’s feeling.”

  “Dad, I don’t think his family has very much money,” Alex said. “His dad’s out of work and…”

  “I know that. I’ll do it pro bono. Matt’s your friend, and he needs help. This is the least I can do for you right now.”

  Alex was stunned. His dad was saying he would come to Philadelphia if need be and offer his usually very expensive legal services to his friend for free. This was a very different person from the one who had driven him and Molly to the train station twenty-four hours earlier.

  “That would mean a lot to me, Dad,” he said quietly.

  “Alex, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” his father said. “Think of this as my first step. Have Matt call me as soon as possible.”

  Christine had texted Alex while he was on the phone to tell him that they were waiting for him at a coffee shop called the Drexel, which was three blocks away on the edge of the Drexel University campus. He walked there fast, feeling better than he had in two days. He found them, sat down, and said, “Matt, get out your phone. I’m going to give you a number.”

  Matt complied. Alex gave him his dad’s cell phone number and then filled him in on the conversation he’d just had.

  “Wow,” Christine said. “That’s great of your dad.”

  “He’d really come down here if I needed him to?” Matt said.

  Alex smiled. “Why not? He hasn’t been here for months. He could use a change of scenery.”

  The mood lightened, although their concern about Billy was still palpable. Christine had texted Coach Birdy and asked him to get in touch with Coach Meese so they could get an update when Billy got out of surgery.

  They had all ordered ice cream before Alex arrived. Alex ordered a sundae, and Matt went outside to call Alex’s dad.

  “It’s great of your dad to do this,” Max said. “I think it will help Matt a lot. But I wish he had someone to talk to about all that’s going on.”

  “Maybe my dad can help with that too,” Alex said. “Once upon a time, he was a good sounding board for me.”

  “Not so much lately, though,” Jonas said.

  “No, not so much lately,” Alex agreed.

  Then he had a thought. “But you know what? A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

  He smiled when he said that.

  Word on Billy Twardzik didn’t reach Alex until that evening. He had asked Christine if she wanted to go to a movie since he was back in town, but she was spending the night with her dad and her brother.

  “Maybe next weekend,” she had said—three words that made Alex feel about six inches taller.

  He had gone home and had dinner with his mother and Molly and was watching the Phillies play the Pirates when his phone rang. It was Matt.

  “He’s out of surgery,” Matt said, not bothering with a hello. “They say he’s listed in critical condition, but Coach Birdy told me that’s routine after surgery like this.”

  “Any idea if what they did worked this time?” Alex asked.

  “From what Coach Birdy told me, they won’t know until he’s awake—which he’s not.”

  “Who did Coach Birdy talk to?”

  “Coach Meese. He’s been pretty good through all of this. He even called me a couple times to tell me that he knew I didn’t mean to hurt Billy this way.”

  “That was nice of him,” Alex said, a little bit surprised.

  “Yeah. It’s not like he said ‘Don’t feel bad’ or that there are no hard feelings, but he wanted me to know that he understood my intent wasn’t to hurt Billy, even though he did tell me he was going to ask the conference to suspend me for the rest of the season if Twardzik can’t play again.”

  “Wow. What did you say to that?”

  “I told him I understood why he might feel that way but that it sounded pretty harsh.”

  Actually, Alex didn’t think it sounded entirely unfair. If Twardzik couldn’t play because Matt had been hotheaded, maybe Matt shouldn’t play. Of course, if Matt didn’t play, Chester Heights’ season was, for all intents and purposes, over—especially with Bailey Warner still hurt. He didn’t say that, though, because he knew Matt didn’t need to hear his friends
saying anything negative.

  Matt read his thoughts through the silence. “You think I shouldn’t play, either, don’t you?”

  “No, I don’t think that,” Alex said. “I guess I can just understand why Coach Meese would feel that way.”

  “Yeah,” Matt said.

  “What do you think they’ll do?” Alex asked.

  “Coach Birdy thought the other day that I’d be suspended for five games,” Matt said. “But that was before Billy had to have surgery.”

  Twice, Alex thought.

  “I called your dad again,” Matt said. “He told me that as soon as we know exactly what’s going on with Billy, he’ll come down here to see me.”

  That was news to Alex. “Good,” he said.

  “He didn’t tell you?” Matt said.

  “No, not yet,” Alex said. “I’m sure he’ll call and let us know.”

  He didn’t mind that his dad hadn’t called. Actually, it made him feel good. His dad didn’t know yet when he was coming down, and he wasn’t just calling to let Alex know what a good guy he was for volunteering to give up time in Boston to come down and help Matt. Alex knew that his dad had always done a lot of pro bono work—helping people who couldn’t afford a lawyer—but almost never talked about it. He remembered when he was much younger asking his mother why Daddy would work for free.

  “Because it’s the right thing to do,” she had answered.

  It had been a while, at least in Alex’s mind, since his dad had done something just because it was the right thing to do. He was proud of him. He liked the way that felt.

  By Monday morning, there was finally some good news on Billy Twardzik. He was out of intensive care and awake and talking. Most important, the doctors believed he hadn’t suffered any brain damage as a result of the bleeding caused by the pitch Matt had thrown. All this news came in a text from Coach Birdy, who was still communicating regularly with Coach Meese.

  Alex was relieved when he saw Matt walk into the cafeteria at lunchtime. He’d wondered if Matt would show for school after what had happened over the weekend, but he sat down at the table with a smile on his face.