head.
“ OK,” he said. “But we’re
going to have to figure this out soon. I don’t like telling you
goodnight and having you leave … especially when you’re taking my
son with you.”
“ I know, Dan,” she said,
putting a hand to his face. “It’s all going to be OK. We’ll come
see you again tomorrow, OK?”
Dan nodded, but her words
stung and made him feel like an invalid and a burden. Why should
his girlfriend and son have to “come see” him like he was an old
man in a nursing home?
Gabbie climbed in the car,
pulled the door shut, and spent a few moments situating Troy in the
seat beside her before starting the engine. She waved to him as she
turned onto Deer Run Road and disappeared, and Dan stood watching
the vacant corner for a couple of minutes before heading back
inside.
It was clear to David when
Dan walked through the front door with an almost frantic expression
and fidgeting with his jacket zipper that there was something on
the boy’s mind.
“ Dad,” the boy said,
grabbing David by the elbow, “I need to talk to you …
alone.”
Dan shot a look at his
mother.
“ Oh,” she said, startled.
“I, uh, need to do some, uh, laundry.”
She had been waiting
alongside her husband for Dan, but now she turned and took a couple
of strides toward the back of the house.
“ No, Mom, stay,” Dan said.
Then, turning back to David, “Let’s take a walk outside,
Dad.”
—
The two men strolled
around their block four times that evening, talking about all that
had happened in the last nine months and the uncertainty of the
future. Most of their conversation, as it had been since Dan was a
Little Leaguer, was couched in baseball terms and, in particular,
the fortunes of the Cincinnati Reds.
“ Do you think the Reds can
win the World Series this year, Dad?” Dan asked at one
point.
“ Well,
if the New York Mets can make it to the Series with the team they
fielded last year,” David answered, “just about anything is possible. The
Dodgers are going to be tough, though.”
Dan was quiet for a
minute, then asked, “What does the Reds’ lineup look
like?”
David thought for moment
before replying: “It’s pretty much the same as it has been the last
few seasons. Bench, Concepcion, Morgan, Perez. I think Morgan is
really a great little ballplayer, Dan.”
Dan nodded. “What about
Pete Rose? He’s still there, isn’t he?”
“ Oh, sure,” David said.
“And guess who won the National League MVP award last
season?”
“ Rose?!” Dan was excited
by that, because Rose was his favorite Red, and maybe his favorite
player overall.
“ Yep, he won the batting
title, and that was enough to get him the trophy, even though the
Reds tanked in the playoffs.”
“ Well, that all sounds
pretty good,” Dan said, “but they’re going to have a rough time if
they can’t find someone to play third base.”
David was already shaking
his head before Dan finished his sentence. “Nope, they have third
base covered this year, Dan. Probably for the next 10 to 15 years,
too.”
“ What, did they move Pete
back to the Hot Corner?” Dan asked.
“ No way! He’s an All-Star
left fielder, which means his best defensive days are behind him,”
David said. “No, they have a young up-and-comer at third — Dan
Driessen.”
“ Dan Driessen!?” Dan
reacted as if he had just been told a ghost would be in the Reds’
lineup. “I forgot all about him! I know he was supposed to be
pretty good, but he doesn’t have any experience. What kind of
season did he have last year?”
“ Let’s see … he hit over
.300, and I think he had about 50 RBI and maybe the same number of
runs scored. He was pretty solid at third base, too,” David
said.
“ That sounds pretty good,
but he’ll probably need better numbers in the minors before he can
hope to make the Big League club as a starting third
“ OK,” he said. “But we’re
going to have to figure this out soon. I don’t like telling you
goodnight and having you leave … especially when you’re taking my
son with you.”
“ I know, Dan,” she said,
putting a hand to his face. “It’s all going to be OK. We’ll come
see you again tomorrow, OK?”
Dan nodded, but her words
stung and made him feel like an invalid and a burden. Why should
his girlfriend and son have to “come see” him like he was an old
man in a nursing home?
Gabbie climbed in the car,
pulled the door shut, and spent a few moments situating Troy in the
seat beside her before starting the engine. She waved to him as she
turned onto Deer Run Road and disappeared, and Dan stood watching
the vacant corner for a couple of minutes before heading back
inside.
It was clear to David when
Dan walked through the front door with an almost frantic expression
and fidgeting with his jacket zipper that there was something on
the boy’s mind.
“ Dad,” the boy said,
grabbing David by the elbow, “I need to talk to you …
alone.”
Dan shot a look at his
mother.
“ Oh,” she said, startled.
“I, uh, need to do some, uh, laundry.”
She had been waiting
alongside her husband for Dan, but now she turned and took a couple
of strides toward the back of the house.
“ No, Mom, stay,” Dan said.
Then, turning back to David, “Let’s take a walk outside,
Dad.”
—
The two men strolled
around their block four times that evening, talking about all that
had happened in the last nine months and the uncertainty of the
future. Most of their conversation, as it had been since Dan was a
Little Leaguer, was couched in baseball terms and, in particular,
the fortunes of the Cincinnati Reds.
“ Do you think the Reds can
win the World Series this year, Dad?” Dan asked at one
point.
“ Well,
if the New York Mets can make it to the Series with the team they
fielded last year,” David answered, “just about anything is possible. The
Dodgers are going to be tough, though.”
Dan was quiet for a
minute, then asked, “What does the Reds’ lineup look
like?”
David thought for moment
before replying: “It’s pretty much the same as it has been the last
few seasons. Bench, Concepcion, Morgan, Perez. I think Morgan is
really a great little ballplayer, Dan.”
Dan nodded. “What about
Pete Rose? He’s still there, isn’t he?”
“ Oh, sure,” David said.
“And guess who won the National League MVP award last
season?”
“ Rose?!” Dan was excited
by that, because Rose was his favorite Red, and maybe his favorite
player overall.
“ Yep, he won the batting
title, and that was enough to get him the trophy, even though the
Reds tanked in the playoffs.”
“ Well, that all sounds
pretty good,” Dan said, “but they’re going to have a rough time if
they can’t find someone to play third base.”
David was already shaking
his head before Dan finished his sentence. “Nope, they have third
base covered this year, Dan. Probably for the next 10 to 15 years,
too.”
“ What, did they move Pete
back to the Hot Corner?” Dan asked.
“ No way! He’s an All-Star
left fielder, which means his best defensive days are behind him,”
David said. “No, they have a young up-and-comer at third — Dan
Driessen.”
“ Dan Driessen!?” Dan
reacted as if he had just been told a ghost would be in the Reds’
lineup. “I forgot all about him! I know he was supposed to be
pretty good, but he doesn’t have any experience. What kind of
season did he have last year?”
“ Let’s see … he hit over
.300, and I think he had about 50 RBI and maybe the same number of
runs scored. He was pretty solid at third base, too,” David
said.
“ That sounds pretty good,
but he’ll probably need better numbers in the minors before he can
hope to make the Big League club as a starting third
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