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“I’m going to hit the restroom quick. You okay to get this?” Patrick asked as he stood from their table.
“Sure.” David replied as Patrick turned on his heel away from the table in search of the lavatory. “Actually, no.” David countered. Patrick paused in his tracks and retreated back towards the table. “I forgot my wallet at home,” David finished his explanation.
“Here.” Patrick tossed his wallet to David and rapidly resumed his quest for relief. Surprisingly, David caught the wallet mid-air, not a drop of wine spilled in the course of his minor athletic act.
Focusing on the bill, instead of the slot from which he pulled Patrick’s debit card, David’s fingers brushed against something that was most definitely not a credit or business card texture. Instinct took over and his fingers whipped the strange strip from the wallet, flinging it unceremoniously onto the table in front of him. He leaned down, eye-level with the table using the waitress's pen to carefully flip over and examine the object.
It was no bigger than a movie stub, but had no specific shape nor color. It may have once been white but aging and wear had eschewed all traces of color. As David sat up, looking around to be sure no one had noticed his strange behavior, he caught Patrick’s glance as he was returning from the restroom. Patrick sat down across from him asking, “You take care of the bill?”
“Uhm, no. What is this thing?” David pointed with the pen to the object now in the middle of the table. Patrick looked to where David was pointing, a little taken aback.
“Where did you find that?” Patrick asked with a hint of embarrassment as he slowly reached across the table and picked up the scrap of whatever it had been.
“It was in your wallet. What is it?”
“It’s a little embarrassing to be honest.” David was intrigued and somewhat fearful. He’d hoped that whatever it was, he wouldn’t regret having touched it. “It’s my good luck charm.” Patrick held the scrap between his fingers, running his thumb and forefinger over the texture, bringing back memories from a time before David Rose and Shitt’s Creek and this entire life.
“Ok, but what is it?” David prayed he wasn’t going to have to run to the car for his emergency sanitizer.
“Oh, it's a piece of a baseball.”
“Oh.” David sounded both relieved and intrigued. “How is it good luck?”
“Well, back when I was a kid and playing little league, I loved the movie The Sandlot. It’s about a bunch of kids that get together one summer, play baseball and get into quite a pickle. Late one August, I was playing in a tournament and we were down by two, with two on and one out. I was up to bat and I was so nervous, because I had gone 0 for 2 that day. I took a deep breath, dug in my cleats and got ready for the first pitch. A zinger whizzed by and I caught a tip, sending it foul. I shook it off and got ready for the next pitch. I thought for a second how cool it would be if I could get a hit so hard that I would bust the guts out of the ball and get a run.”
“The pitch came in hard and fast and I swung with all my might, heard a ‘CRACK!’ and I took off running. It wasn’t until I was waved onto 2nd base that I realized what had happened. I actually had busted the guts out of the ball.”
“Is that hard?” David asked.
“It’s not common but it happens.” Patrick paused for a moment, reliving his glory. “I kept the ball after and it has always brought me a bit of luck; high school tryouts, first job interview, and the day I met you.”
“Really?”
“Yep. The morning I met you, I was digging through boxes I had hastily packed and came across it. The leather wore down after years of toting it around, but it reminded me of good times. Knowing how hard it is to start in a new place and not know anyone, I thought maybe it would bring me luck one more time. So, I slid it in my wallet and little did I know, I would meet you just a few hours later and my life would be completely changed.”
“For the better?”
“For the best.”