Throwing Strikes

Suddenly, the thought that calling her would be cause for her husband's arrest popped into her mind. Her husband could not call her. Would never call her again. That thought brought a physical pain to her stomach that caused her to gasp out loud.

"Jesus Christ, it's only high school," Barry said with disdain as he stood to follow Carol into the bar area. He had never been an athlete and did not understand what the big deal was. Fucking Texans and their sports.

The bar was packed but was eerily quiet as everyone watched the television. Every screen in the bar had been tuned to the baseball game. It was the top of the seventh and Amarillo was batting. Carol recognized the windup of her lanky son. Everyone in the bar could hear the "pop" as the ball slammed into the catcher's mitt and the batter just stood there with a confused look on his face. An insert appeared on the screen: 106.2 MPH.

The announcer commented, "According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the fastest pitch ever recorded in the major leagues was in 2010 by Aroldis Chapman at 105.8 MPH. Lee Larkin, a high school senior, just exceeded that by nearly a half mile an hour. And that's not even the fastest pitch he's thrown today. That pitch was in the fifth inning and was clocked by PITCH/FX at 106.7. Folks, we are witnessing something extraordinary today."

The visitor's half of the seventh inning came to an end and the camera panned around the players, catching Lee sitting by himself in the dugout. The camera cut away to a reporter who was standing next to Sloan and Grady Neal, Gary's dad.

"I'm here with Sloan Taylor, Lee Larkin's girlfriend and family friend Grady Neal who also happens to be catcher Gary Neal's father.

"You must be very proud of your boyfriend," the reporter stuck the microphone in front of Sloan.

"I am," she replied. "But not just for this. Lee is the smartest, kindest boy I know. He's going through a lot right now, but he's performing with grace and dignity and I love him so much."

"That's true love right there. Lee is a lucky guy to have someone like you supporting him." the reporter smiled. He turned to Grady Neal. "I understand that you are best friends with Lee's father. We're a bit surprised that his parents aren't here to witness this historic performance from their son."

Grady shook his head. "I probably should keep my mouth shut, but I'm not going to. Sloan said that Lee was going through a lot right now. That's an understatement. Lee came home early from school a few weeks ago and discovered his mother in bed with a younger co-worker. They didn't see him but he called his father to come home. When his father got there, he beat the crap out of his wife's boyfriend who then called the police. They arrested Lee's dad and now there is a restraining order against him. He has to stay at least 500 yards from his son, his wife, his wife's boyfriend, and his home.

"So Lee is dealing with all that and then he comes out here and does this..." Grady shook his head in admiration. "But you're wrong about his parents not being here. At least one of them is. Out past centerfield is his dad. Watching from 500 yards away just like the restraining order requires."

Carol felt physical pain. In the mirror over the bar, she could see the shame and mortification written on her face. The directors, VPs, and their wives had subtly moved away from her leaving Carol standing alone next to Barry.

"That's bullshit!" Barry shouted. "He didn't beat the crap out of me. He got in one lucky punch."

Everyone in the bar turned to them after hearing Barry's comment. Carol was having trouble breathing and felt like she was going to pass out. Jeannie took pity on her former protégé and escorted her to the restroom.

"Oh, Jeannie, I have messed things up so badly! I just want to die..."

"That's all your son and husband need...to have to deal with a selfish cheater killing herself. You need to suck it up and fix all the damage you've caused to the people who love you. If you don't? I'll buy you the gun and load the bullets into it myself."

+++

It was after midnight when Lee finally got home. He tried to be as quiet as possible while opening the front door since he didn't want to get into it with either his mom or shithead Barry. He was surprised to find his mother sitting on the sofa in the den in her bathrobe, a tissue wadded in her hand. Her eyes were red and she had been crying. A glass of white wine sat next to a bottle on the coffee table in front of her.

'Great,' thought Lee to himself. 'Mom of the Year; weepy and drunk.' Since he wasn't going to be able to sneak by her, he tried to ignore his mom as he walked past her.

"Hi baby," she said.

Lee ignored his mother as he continued towards his bedroom.

"Lee! Please stop and come talk to me."

"I don't want to argue with you are him tonight. I just want to go to my room and get some sleep."

"I heard you played tonight."

"Yes."

"You pitched."

"Yes."

Carol sighed. Her son was not making this easy on her. "Why didn't you tell me? I could have been there to support you."

"You know why I didn't tell you," Lee replied. "You wouldn't have come by yourself. You would have brought your boyfriend with you. I would rather have no one come to support me than have him there smirking at me. And anyway, Dad was there to see me play."

Carol's eyes opened widely in surprise. "Your father was there? He violated the restraining order?"

"No, he didn't violate your precious restraining order. He watched with his binoculars. From 500 yards away," Lee said with a bitter edge to his voice.

"The restraining order was not my idea," Carol said softly. "I thought he was going to kill Barry. I have never seen your father so angry and upset."

"Odd...I wonder what set him off? Oh yeah, catching his wife in his marital bed with her boyfriend. Go figure..."

"Lee...I know I'm not your favorite person these days."

Lee snorted at that. "Ya think?"

"Please, Lee...I know you're hurting. I'm hurting too."

"You're hurting?" Lee asked, in mock incredulity. "You set fire to our family by cheating on your husband, and then have him arrested and you have the nerve to tell me you're hurting?!" Lee took a deep breath to calm himself. "Where is shithead Barry anyway?"

Carol looked down at her hands. "You won't be seeing Barry around anymore. I told him that I didn't want to see him anymore. Jeannie Beaumont fired him after he called me the c-word in front of the other partners."

"You flushed your family down the drain and now you have nothing to show for it? Now you can't even pretend it was this grand romance and that love conquers all."

"It was never a grand romance. It was a cheap, sleazy affair between a selfish, stupid woman and an opportunistic asshole. The grand romance was what I had with your father. What I set fire to," Carol said as she sobbed into a tissue.

Lee sat down across from his mother. He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees; hands clasped loosely in front.

"Then why? Why throw us away? If it was because you found your soulmate, I could understand. I still wouldn't like it, but I could at least understand your motive. But now? You've got nothing. No husband. No boyfriend. No son. Nothing." Lee shook his head, a puzzled look on his face. "What was it all for?"

"It was so that an insecure, vain, selfish woman could prove to herself that she still 'had it'." Carol shuddered. "What I proved was that I was not worth the love and affection of the two best men I've ever known." Carol started sobbing again as tears streamed down her face.

"You're still my mother and I'll always love you, but I don't like you very much. I think maybe I should find somewhere else to live for a few months. I can get a dorm assignment at the end of August and move down to Austin. We'll be out of each other's hair and you can live your life and do whatever you want with whoever you want." Lee waved his hand toward his mother's bedroom for emphasis.

Carol started sobbing harder.

"Mom..." Lee said gently.

Carol reined in her emotions as she looked up at her son.

"Get the restraining order canceled. I want to spend time with my dad."

Carol nodded as her sobbing restarted.

+++

The baseball team had been directed to report to the locker room at 7:30 the next morning. Lockers had to be cleaned and any equipment that belonged to the school was to be returned. Coach Borden approached Lee as he sat in front of his locker sorting out the contents of his locker.

"Lee, can you see me in my office before you go?" the coach asked.

"Sure, Coach. I'll be done in five," Lee said.

After taking his seat in front of the coach's desk, Lee looked at the coach nervously. Being called into the coach's office was never a good thing.

Coach Borden reached across his desk to hand Lee a one-inch stack of pink slips of paper.

Lee looked at him in confusion. "Coach?"

"Those are phone messages that were left on answering machines in the principal's office and the AD's office. There would have been more but every machine was filled. Every reporter, university Athletic Director, and baseball coach in the country is trying to reach you. No one here has ever seen anything like it. Your disappearing act last night didn't help. ESPN wanted to talk to you."

Lee shrugged. "I didn't have anything to say to them. I just wanted to get away from everything and relax with Sloan before going home and facing that BS."

"Lee, you're a good kid. One of the best I've ever coached. I realize that you're going through a tough time at home right now. If there's anything I can do for you, I want you to give me a call. I mean that. I also know you've been upset about not getting any playing time even though you thought you were ready. Some things are more important than winning. I wanted to make sure that your arm had plenty of time to heal so even though you were cleared a month ago, I held off starting you. And I'm glad I did. Geez Louise son, what was that all about?"

"I don't know coach. My arm felt great last night. It still does today. It feels like I could pitch another seven innings right now."

Coach Borden smiled. "Well, let's not do that, okay?"

+++

Ted Larkin sat at the small dining table with which his two-bedroom apartment came furnished. It was mid-year review time for his direct reports and this was one job that could not be delegated to a subordinate. He had completed his third evaluation and got up to get a beer out of the refrigerator when his doorbell rang. Ted opened the door to find his seventeen-year-old son standing there. Ted grabbed his son in a bear hug before taking a step back.

"You shouldn't be here Lee," he said.

"It's okay Dad. The restraining order was lifted."

"Are you sure? This isn't a trick that your mom and her boyfriend are playing to get me thrown back in jail?" Never in a million years did Ted Larkin think that he would be asking that question about his wife. Just the thought of it was a gut punch.

"It's not a trick. And shithead is out of the picture. Mom finally came to her senses."

Ted shook his head in frustration. "Too little; too late. I'll never understand why she blew up her marriage and her family for that asshole."

"I'm not sure she could give you a good answer to that. I know she's been seeing a counselor every day for the last week. She's trying to understand it herself. She says that you're the best man she's ever known and the best husband any woman could ever have. She just looks at me with a confused look on her face when we talk about it."

Lee and his dad chatted for the next two hours about everything that had been going on in Lee's life. Lee had been accepted to the University of Texas at Austin before baseball season began. Lee planned to go to medical school after getting his undergraduate degree so most of his courses were science and math. His parents were resigned to helping him with the loans for college and medical school but something interesting had happened. Lee, who had not planned on playing sports in college was being offered a free ride to play baseball at almost every college that had a baseball program. A couple had indicated that they would be willing to build a baseball program around him if he committed. That was a non-starter of course, but a free ride to UT would give him a huge start on saving for medical school.

"I'll support whatever you decide. If it was football, I'd say no, don't risk CTE. But baseball? That's different. What does your mother say?"

"Same as you; it's my call. I think I'll tell UT I'm interested."

There was a pause as Ted cleared his throat. "Other than the counseling, how is she doing?"

"Not good. She got served with the divorce papers a couple of days ago. When I got home, she was curled up on your side of the bed. She was hugging y'all's wedding portrait to her chest and crying pretty hard."

"Damn her!" Ted said in frustration. "Goddamn her for what she did!"

+++

The town of Ferguson had held a parade for the hometown baseball team that meandered through downtown before ending at Ferguson City Park. The high school marching band kept the revelers entertained while the crowd waited for the speeches to begin. The members of the baseball team and coaching staff sat in rows on the temporary stage as various speakers and sponsors told the assembled crowd how proud Ferguson was of their baseball team and how the speaker and their organization or business had sponsored and supported the team. Ferguson's mayor introduced each sponsor's speaker who had been allotted two minutes each to make their remarks. The final speaker was the representative from BKW Accounting Services. As the attractive forty-something blonde from BKW walked up the steps of the stage to the microphone, she was met by a chorus of boos from the crowd. Carol had begged the senior partners to be allowed to address the assembled baseball fans. To take the first steps to set right all the wrongs that she had caused.

Carol Larkin stood quietly but resolutely as the crowd yelled at her. She looked down at the stage as tears rolled down her cheeks. Eventually, the boos and name-calling died down, allowing Carol to clear her throat and begin her speech.

"I asked my employer to allow me to speak to you today. We, at BKW are very proud of the Ferguson Baseball team and are proud of our sponsorship of the team. As most of you probably know, my son is Lee Larkin who pitched the third game of the championship series."

The crowd cheered at the mention of Lee's name. After a moment, the cheering died down.

"I was not present at the game. I should have been at that game with my husband cheering on our son, but I was not. I don't know if that makes me a failure as a mother, a wife, or both. But I failed my son. I failed his father, my husband. I failed my employer. I disrespected both my husband and my son and I am ashamed for that."

Carol turned towards her son. "Lee, I am sorry. I hope you will forgive me someday. I understand if you don't and that will bring me unbearable sadness, but it is a sadness that I will have brought upon myself."

Carol then looked down from the stage to the crowd, searching for the face of her soon-to-be ex-husband. "Ted, I am sorry. More sorry and ashamed than you will ever know. You are the best man I have ever known and you and Lee deserve so much better than me. I am truly sorry for everything I have done to you."

The crowd was mostly silent as Carol finished. There were a few desultory cheers as she departed the stage but for the most part, the crowd was quiet. Ted had not looked at Carol once as she spoke.

Lee and Sloan were walking hand-in-hand with Ted strolling alongside them as they met Carol walking down the sidewalk that framed the park.

"Thank you for saying that," Lee said.

"I meant it," Carol said. "I'll never be able to apologize enough for destroying our family." She had tears in her eyes. "Anyway, what are you three up to," Carol said. She smiled as bravely as she could.

"Sloan is going out with her parents and Dad and I are going to Esparza's for Mexican food," Lee said. "How about you?"

"I'm going home and will probably order a pizza and watch some TV," Carol said with a sad smile.

Ted had not said anything as Carol chatted with her son. As they said their goodbyes, Ted turned his back on Carol and walked away. He had not looked her way during her brief chat with Lee and Sloan.

+++

Lee and Sloan were walking hand in hand along a path in Ferguson City Park. Lee and Sloan were both home for Thanksgiving, Lee from the University of Texas and Sloan from Stanford.

"Seriously, Sloan...it's unfair for you to be stuck in your dorm every weekend. You're beautiful and fun to be around. You should be out having fun." Lee paused before adding "Going on dates."

Sloan side-eyed Lee. "Is that what you're doing in Austin? Dating?"

Lee shook his head. "You're the only woman I trust now. If my mother could cheat on my dad, then anyone can cheat on anyone. Between classes and staying in shape for baseball, I'm staying busy. I have no desire to date anyone. But that shouldn't have anything to do with you."

"It's hard to believe someone can be so smart and so dumb at the same time. Lee Larkin, you are for me. Don't you get that? There is no one else and there never will be anyone else. I am going to get my engineering degree at Sanford and you are going to go to medical school. We will see each other as often as we can and when we are finished with college, we're going to get married and have kids. That's our destiny. So shut up about dating other guys. You're starting to piss me off."

Lee's lips quirked up into a smile. "Yes ma'am. I'll shut up."

Lee had told his dad that he would stay over at a friend's that night, which his father knew meant that Lee and Sloan would be getting a motel room that night but Sloan's period had started so she was not feeling the romance.

Lee entered his dad's apartment and noticed the fire in the fireplace and two glasses of wine. Lee had started backing towards the door when a naked blonde walked out of his dad's bedroom carrying a bottle of wine. She screamed and dropped her bottle as she flung her hands across her breast and pubic area.

At the scream, Lee's dad came out of his bedroom, shirtless, wearing only jeans. The blonde ran back into the bedroom.

"I see you two have met," Ted said, dryly.

"I do have a few questions," Lee said. "Question one; who? Question two; how long? Question three; is this serious?"

The blonde woman exited Ted's bedroom buttoning up one of his dress shirts.

"Lee, meet Lisa Landry. She's vice-president of HR in our company. We've been seeing each other for a couple of weeks. Is it serious? It's early days. We're mostly having fun getting to know each other."

Lisa smiled and nodded her head. "I like your dad but I've been through a couple of nasty divorces and I don't intend to make that mistake again.

Ted smiled at her as he put his arm around her waist, hugging the cute blonde to him. "You never know what surprises life will bring you."

+++

Lee and Sloan managed their long-distance relationship as well as they could. Neither dated anyone else and they seldom went out to parties. They studied and frequently Facetimed each other. When they were in their dorm rooms alone, they would get naked and masturbate for each other. Lee loved the sight of a naked Sloan and for her part, Sloan would absolutely gush at the sight of Lee's cock.

So, their college experience continued. Lee played baseball for the Longhorns and Sloan concentrated on her engineering degree, although she did play intramural volleyball at Stanford.

The Longhorns sucked during Lee's first three years playing for them. The first two years they had no stick and the third year they had some hitters but their pitching sucked. It was not until Lee's senior year that all the pieces of the puzzle would fit together.