"Take Me Out to the Ball Game.."

Chapter 2

Taking a deep breath, Charity smiled, "That was a great game, wasn't it?"

"Of course, any game they win is a great game." cracked Jazelle, smiling as well.

"What game?" Bethany stuffed her cowboy hat further down on her brow as she walked down the sidewalk ahead of them.

Behind her they all groaned.

"Really, is it necessary to bring her?" asked Lidia, gesturing to Bethany with a look of contempt on her face.

"Yes, she's my best friend..like a sister to me. Okay, so she doesn't know ANYTHING about baseball, but...she wants to come. So..here she is." Charity back peddled, hoping Lidia wouldn't further question Bethany's place in the group.

"Aw, come on girls, lighten up on Bethie." Andre chipped in a smile on his face as he strolled behind them.

"Yeah, she's really a nice kid...aside from the cowgirl hat in the Bronx!" exclaimed Jazelle, tugging the hat off of Bethany's head. With the breeze, she let her hand dangle the dark hat over the street filled with buzzing cars and lots of traffic.

"HEY! That's not even right!" fought Bethany, tugging on Jazelle's arm and rescuing her precious hat.

"Come on, Jazzi, be nice." called Keely.

"Nice? Nice isn't in her vocabulary." shot Andre.

"Shut up!" Jazelle called back.

"Make me!" he called back.

"I say BOTH of you should shut up, I'm getting a headache!" Lidia rolled her eyes and shot evil glares at them both.

Keely bit her lip to keep from laughing, but Charity couldn't help it. She bursted into laughter, "Sorry, but you all sound about eight years old." she said, hoping they didn't gang up on her. With that, Keely and Bethany joined in. Charity shrugged and kept laughing as finally the rest of them softened up and began laughing as well. "Where to now?" she asked finally, surveying the traffic speeding past them.

"My house?" Jazzi piped up, gesturing toward her street.

"Sounds good." said Keely.

"What sounds even better is some relaxation time, is it hot out here or is that just me?" asked Andre, fanning himself with his hand.

"Sure is, y'all I don't know if I can stand one more second of this heat." put in Bethany with a fake drawl.

"That has to stop. Immediately." decided Lidia, looking over at Bethany as they crossed the street.

Bethany bit her lip and looked around at them, her blue eyes worried.

"Oh she's just kidding." Andre was quick to pipe up.

"No! I'm not!" added Lidia, shooting a death glare at the wanna-be-cowgirl.

"Home at last!" shouted Charity over the fight hoping to get their attention and take away the tension between them.

"Yee-haw!" drawled Bethany.

"OYE VEY!" groaned Jazzi and Lidia in unison.

"Inside, all of ya'!" shouted Keely, herding them into Jazelle's house.

--

Harper let his bum leg drag behind him, uncaring of the stares and muffled laughs. Who cared anymore? He didn't. Deciding to walk to the stadium hadn't been the best decision he'd made in his life. Probably ranked second to joining the military instead of staying in pro-ball. Shrugging it off, he kept walking fighting off the temptation to sit for a while and rest.

Finally the end goal was in sight, the tall, red brick apartment building couldn't look any more welcoming. Walking up the stairs, he opened the heavy glass door and hobbled into the hall way. He slipped into the elevator and pressed the button for the second floor. With a ding the doors swooshed open, and he slid past them hobbling toward his apartment. "I'm home!" he called, closing the door behind him.

Before he'd even gotten the words out, two tiny bodies slammed into his legs. He smiled down at the two without a word, signing hello to them.

"Hiya!" exclaimed four year old Cole, a large smile spreading his face.

Two year old Ava tried to imitate her brother, yet hardly a sound escaped her tiny rosebud lips. A protective surge raced through his veins, and he knelt hugging the two to himself. He'd been taking care of his niece and nephew for most of Cole's young life, and all of Ava's. Apparently his sister hadn't turned out the best, he still refused to believe that she was beyond coming back to take care of her own children. Shrugging away from that course of thought mentally, he enjoyed the moment. "How was your day with Miss Julie?" he asked both in words and with his hands.

Ava nodded excitedly, pulling on his hand, while her more reserved older brother explained. "We played with some puppets she brought, and she gave us apples."

"Well that sounds like a good day." he put in setting a hand on Cole's slim shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess..." Cole's words trailed off as he got a far away look in his brown eyes.

The less than subdued Ava was again tugging at his hand, then she was racing across the room showing him with quick jerky movements the array of puppets that littered the living room floor. "And Miss Julie, let us make up stories.." she was signing, her hands moving quicker than she ever could.

"That's great baby." he signed, smiling at his little niece as she gloried in his attention.

"They were really good, Alex." said Miss Julie from her seat on the couch, she was smiling down at Ava. Miss Julie was an older woman who he'd met when he first moved into the apartment building with a year-old Cole. She'd been the nicest, kindest human being he'd ever met. Right away, she'd taken a liking to Cole, explaining that her own grandchildren lived far away. He'd known then that he'd be all right, and when Ava had come along a few years later, Miss Julie had been happy to take classes to learn ASL.

Smiling now, he patted the woman's wrinkled hand, "Thank you for caring for them, Miss Julie."

"Never a problem, I just love having them around Alex."

"Me too." he agreed, and went back to watching them. This was his family, and his life. Nothing else, no wanting for anything.