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It was a beautiful fall day: not too hot, not too cold, light breeze, and just the perfect amount of sun. It was a Sunday morning and Cassie was standing in a park baseball dugout watching her son and the rest of his little league team run around.
When Harrison began middle school a year ago he had begged his mom to let him join his school’s baseball team. She had agreed and volunteered as the team medic to keep an eye on him at games when she wasn’t at the hospital working. The next thing she knew, Cassie was the assistant coach, then the main one while Coach Rebecca was on maternity leave.
Cassie had fun watching her son bond with his peers. She also had some baseball knowledge as a lifetime Pittsburgh Panthers fan and a former softball player in school when she hadn’t been busy studying or working. Sports were essential for burning off excess energy, building community, and practicing problem solving skills, Cassie always told the student players.
Today was the little league season championship qualifying games and Cassie had taken the day off months in advance. In the stands Dana and Mateo cheered super loudly every time Harrison was up to bat or caught a ball in the outfield.
Chad had a cold so he couldn’t be there, which was honestly for the best according to Cassie. She wanted Harrison to have a good relationship with his father, but that didn’t mean that Cassie had to like Chad. She was civil (mostly) and now that she had custody back there was no way she was going to lose Harrison again. He was safest and most comfortable with her anyway. These days he lived with Cassie for most of the month, spending every other weekend with his father.
The middle school team was on their first qualifying game of the day and everything was going well. The score was three to zero and they were at the bottom of inning four. Harrison was up to bat and had just hit the ball. His friend Sam was running to home plate from third base when they tripped and fell down hard. Everyone froze; the kids playing and all the friends and family members in the stands. Dana and Mateo began to rush over and Cassie jumped over the dugout fence to check on Sam, but the first person to reach Sam was Harrison. Cassie froze in the grass to watch what her son was doing. Dana and Mateo stopped next to her.
“What’s Harry doing?” Dana wondered aloud.
“Helping it looks like,” Cassie said fondly.
“Thatta boy!” Mateo cheered.
Sam sat on the ground clutching their knee. Harrison was assessing the damage, dabbing the blood with the edge of his uniform shirt, and producing a pokemon bandaid from his pocket. Sam watched his friend as Harrison put the bandaid on Sam’s scrapped knee. Harrison then stood up and reached out his hand to help Sam. Sam took his hand and stood up, brushing the dirt off their pants.
“I’m good!” Sam shouted toward Cassie, who was now walking toward them.
“Yeah they’re okay!” Harrison added, grinning.
“Way to go kiddo,” Cassie said, patting her son on the shoulder. “Quick thinking, now go wash your hands please.” Harrison smiled at his mom and then ran off to the park bathroom, fist bumping Dana and Mateo on the way.
Cassie then addressed Sam. “How about you go sit on the bench for the next inning to rest a little. I’d like to check for injuries as well.”
“I’m fine Coach McKay,” Sam said, grinning with a mouth full of braces. “Harry helped me see?” Sam showed off the pokemon bandaid on their knee. They were covered in dirt with scrapes on their arms too, but the knee cut was the only injury that had bled.
“Alright Sam,” Cassie acquiesced. “I’ll check on you in a bit.”
“Hey are we gonna play or what?” One of the kids on the other team shouted.
“Yeah,” some other kids on both teams agreed.
“Alright alright show’s over,” Cassie said, clapping her hands. “On to inning five.”
The teams switched positions, Harrison’s team now in the outfield and the opposing team up to bat.
Cassie walked over to Dana who had moved out of the grass and into the dugout. Mateo had gone over to the bathroom with a clean jersey for Harrison to check on him.
Dana squeezed Cassie’s arm fondly. “Great kid you’ve got there.”
“Thanks. I can see him working in healthcare someday, if he’s not too embarrassed about following in his mom’s footsteps,” Cassie said, blushing.
“Come on he’s not embarrassed; you’re a cool doctor,” Dana jokingly reassured.
“Cool? I wouldn’t go that far…” Cassie laughed. “Plus, between you and Mateo he’d probably choose nursing over being a doctor. You guys make incredible role models.”
“Thanks hon,” Dana bumped her shoulders into Cassie’s. Cassie had stopped watching the kids playing to stare at Dana with stars in her eyes. “You know you’re a great coach too,” Dana said, changing the subject. “Got any time to join a recreational softball team?”
Cassie looked at Dana, trying to mask her surprise. “You play? I haven’t since college. It was a great way to blow off steam.”
“Sure is and yeah my team meets once a month, low commitment,” Dana said.
“Great yeah I’d love to if I can find the time,” Cassie smiled. Dana clapped Cassie on the back.
“Sweet. I’ll text you the deets,” Dana started to walk back to the stands. “Talk to you after the game, coach!”
“Save me some peanuts!” Cassie shouted after her, then grimaced to herself. “Smooth Cass,” she whispered, then turned back to the game to see Harrison, in a bloodless jersey, run back onto the field, baseball mit in hand. Cassie took off her baseball hat to readjust her high ponytail then put the hat back on. What a wonderful day, she thought.