"Alright, now that everyone has had their fill," Coach stood up in the center of the tables so all of us could hear him. "Let's talk about the upcoming game. Balboa High School is well known for their baseball program, winning their conference for the last two years. They've won both of their first two games like us, but have a higher run differential so we need the win."
"Don't hold me to 50 pitches, Coach." Kyle straightened up in his seat. "Let me take them on."
Coach studied Kyle's face for a long second before nodding. "Alright. You have the mound until I think it's unsuitable for you to go on. We still have a few pitchers in the bullpen at our disposal so don't think you have to get us through all seven innings."
Kyle nodded; not giving any attitude for once.
Coach looked around at everyone. "Game is at 4pm. I want us all to meet up at the field at 2:45pm to get dressed and start our warmups off to the side. There won't be a whole lot of room to work with, so make sure you stay loose." He spoke a little more before dismissing us. He went back to his group of coaches and they left the restaurant together.
Jeremy turned to me. "Want to follow me to the car?"
I shrugged and nodded at the same time.
Jeremy turned to Dad. "Hey Wayne, Jake and I will be in the parking lot. You guys take your time. I already gave the manager my card."
Wayne glanced between the both of us and nodded. "Sure. We'll be out eventually."
I followed Jeremy out to the parking lot, giving head nods to my teammates that I passed or that were leaving at the same time. Jeremy took me to his black suv, opened the driver's door, and leaned in. He found what he was looking for, pulling out a baseball and a pen. "Here ya go."
I was handed the two items and stared at it blankly. "What should I do?"
"Sign your name, of course!" Jeremy laughed. He reached out and took my hat off my head. He swung the cap around in circles using his index finger.
I did my best to hold the ball steady in one hand and signing my name with the other. I finished my first name, then paused.
"Finished?" He asked.
I shook my head. "No. Just trying to think how to sign my new last name. It's my first time."
Jeremy stopped what he was doing. "Oh." He paused for a second. "Do you want to practice..?"
I clicked the pen a couple of times. "Nah...I think I'll just give it a try." I looked up at him. "Will it bother you if I mess up?"
He chuckled. "Not at all. In fact, it would make me feel better about my first autograph. I was so nervous and surprised that I nearly spelt my own name wrong."
Wow. I looked up at him, not completely believing him. "You were surprised?"
He gave a small shrug. "Well, yea. Training and practicing with every spare second; it's not like I remembered the fans aspect of the game. You can still see it now...how I'm not always sure what to do or say to fans."
I shook my head. "I don't see it."
He laughed again. "Thanks. Makes me feel like I've been improving then."
I signed the ball and gave it back to him, eyeing my new name. Jake Atkins. It didn't stand out or anything, but it made me feel good inside. No more ties with the woman who gave birth to me. Jeremy and I had seemed to move on from her for good. She was put away and neither of us had plans to visit her anymore. The only hiccup was...Uncle Jack...and his family.
I glanced down, looking at my feet, feeling unsure of how to ask Jeremy about them. "What are your plans for Christmas?"
Jeremy didn't answer me right away.
I looked up and found him looking unsure.
"I wanted to talk to you about that." He scratched his cheek lightly.
Oh. I waited.
"Rose and I are definitely going to stay with her family on the day of Christmas." He stated firmly. I nodded, understanding his decision. "But for Christmas Eve, I-I mean we-Rose and I, are going to visit my...family."
I raised both eyebrows in shock.
"Not focusing on Uncle Jack, but our cousins. Even Aunt Ilene. And her family." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "I don't know how to explain it to you, but I can't just cut ties with all of them just because of Jack. Aunt Ilene still raised me. Carson, Gabby, and Makenna were raised as my siblings. I have a lot of ties with them and-"
"You don't have to explain yourself to me." I finally caught up to what he was saying and jumped in to assure him that I would be fine.
"I do though." He told me. "I want you to know where I'm coming from. That I'm not on his side, nor am I forgiving him. Heck, I don't even want to talk to him yet. I just-" He paused. "I just don't want to give up all my family. All my memories. All my childhood."
I tried my best to channel my inner Dr. Moore. What would he say to Jeremy? Unfortunately, I'm not Dr. Moore. I'm just a teenager. I shrugged. "It's okay, Jeremy. I won't be upset with you."
"Rose and I will come visit you next weekend." He stated like it was already planned.
"Okay."
The conversation fell a little flat.
"Any special requests for Christmas?" He suddenly asked.
I slowly shook my head. I didn't need anything. Then it hit me. Christmas isn't just about receiving gifts. It's about giving too. And I haven't gotten anyone anything. I looked up at Jeremy, feeling a little eager. "What would you want for Christmas?"
He grinned. "Hey, if you're not helping me, then I'm not helping you. Guess we'll both be going into this blindly." He nudged me. "Willing to share what might make you happy?"
I shrugged, helpless.
"Jake!" Noah's shout could be heard across the parking lot. He stood with the rest of the Atkins and team, waving at me.
I lifted my hand to wave back. "Guess lunch is officially over." I looked up at Jeremy. "Thanks for doing this. It was pretty special."
Jeremy pushed down the bill of my cap. "This is nothing. Every team should have bonding meals like this every so often. Really builds chemistry within the team. Makes you feel more like friends."
My lips twitched. I wouldn't go that far. Some of the guys are not people I want to be friends with. At the very least, they don't want to be friends with me.
We split up in different cars again and headed back to the fields. We killed time by throwing the ball around, watching other teams in other brackets play, and just sitting around. Jeremy and Rose couldn't be with us for fear of being a distraction, but they promised to be back for game time. Mom and Dad spent their time talking with the other parents that could make the trip, coming up with plans for tomorrow's potential game.