The Hitting Zone

Mrs. Atkins has caught her husband off guard, but Noah and I kind of felt it coming. Jeremy had skipped his game to show up and say a few words to me after my practice? With Coach cutting him off, I'm sure he still had more to say.

They both went into a discussion as Noah and I snuck away. As soon as we got to our room, he turned to me. "You didn't want to stay? And have a say in whether you see him or not?"

"I trust your mom and dad." I replied simply. I put my backpack in the corner. "They wouldn't do anything to hurt me. At all. So if they think I shouldn't see him, then I won't." I smiled at him. "You guys are more family to me than he is anyways."

Noah smiled proudly. "Yea, they are great, aren't they?"

We completed our routine of taking turns in the shower and getting dressed for dinner. Once everyone was gathered around the table with food on every plate, Mr. Atkins cleared his throat.

"I know you boys have a big game coming up on Monday, so I would like your input on something." He looked at me. "Especially you Jake. Your opinion matters the most."

"WOW." Kyle said obnoxiously. "I see how it is."

Noah rolled his eyes. "It's obviously pertaining to his biological family."

"Right." Mr. Atkins nodded at Noah. "Jeremy wants to meet with Jake. I've called Doug to get a grasp on the situation. As this is last minute, we're allowed to turn him down and make him go through the proper channels."

"Let's do that." Dave munched noisily on his asparagus. "He doesn't give off a friendly vibe. I don't want Jake to get all mental before the finals." He glanced at me. "No offense."

"None taken." I shrugged, eating my mashed potatoes.

"The problem with this, is his occupation." Mr. Atkins frowned. "His season has just started. Doug told me that he's already taken this weekend off purposely after getting the results."

"What does that mean exactly?" Noah asked.

"He wants to see Jake." Kyle answered, looking at me. "He took some days off work when he got the news. That's surprising. If he didn't care, wouldn't he keep working?"

I paused, no longer feeling the need to eat. Does he really care? I glanced at Mr. Atkins.

Mr. Atkins looked helpless. "Who can say for sure? What I do know, is that we can either arrange a meeting this weekend, or tell him that it won't work. That's the first step."

Slowly everyone stopped eating as well. All their eyes were on me as I thought it over in my head. "I guess...I would like to just get it out of the way." I sighed. "Instead of it just hanging over me like a rain cloud." I glanced at Zeke. "Can we still go to the cages tomorrow though?"

Zeke cracked a smile.

"Of course!" Mrs. Atkins smiled, nice and wide. "He is working around your schedule. He may be a busy person, but if he wants to make the effort, we won't let it go to waste." She looked at her husband. "Tell him Sunday. Mid morning should be good."

Mr. Atkins nodded.

"Should we invite George too?" Mrs. Atkins asked. "Normally, we wouldn't, but..." She glanced my way.

"No, I think we'll be fine." Mr. Atkins told her. "Doug will have to be here. Plus, it might make Jeremy uncomfortable if we have a lawyer around but he doesn't."

Noah snorted. "Who cares whether he's comfortable." Then he hurriedly looked at me. "Right?"

I nodded. "As long as you all are comfortable."

"Will you boys want to stick around? Or should-" Mr. Atkins tried asking his other sons.

But Dave was quick to cut him off. "Heck yes, I'll be here!" He banged the table with his fist causing his mother to send him a dirty look. "Sorry." He mumbled.

"Me too!" Kyle shifted like crazy in his seat. "I definitely have to be here. Jeremy Patterson is a star baseball player after all. I can't just not be here when he's in my own home."

"I have no plans for Sunday." Zeke said, much calmer than the twins. "I'll be able to keep an eye on Noah too, while you both focus on Jake."

"Hey!" Noah hollered. "What do you mean by that?"

"He's saying you're a loose cannon." Dave smirked.

"More like a rabid dog." Kyle corrected. "You bite anyone who gets too close to your only friend."

"That's called being protective." Noah said proudly.

"It's probably best you keep him on a tight leash." Mr. Atkins said plainly to Zeke, causing the twins to crack up and for Noah to throw a fit.

Being surrounded by their craziness made this seem a little too surreal. I was going to properly sit down with Jeremy. What should I say? What should we talk about? Feeling a little flustered with these thoughts, I looked up to Mr. Atkins next to me. "Do you think Dr. Moore has some time to see me tomorrow afternoon? Or maybe Sunday morning before I see Jeremy?"

The table quieted down, sensing my uneasiness.

"I'm sure we can work something out." Mr. Atkins smiled and told me, giving me some reassurance.

"Maybe Sunday morning is better?" Mrs. Atkins suggested. "That way he can stick around for the meeting." She gave me a weak smile. "I'm not saying you'll need him, but it would make me feel more secure in having him around. Just in case."

I nodded, understanding what she was saying. The first time I saw Jeremy, I had a breakdown. Who knows what will happen this time.

With a tentative plan set, Mr. Atkins made the calls after dinner while his wife cleaned up. The rest of us moved to the living room to watch the A's play without their relatively new star player. The broadcasters even mentioned his absence last night, but didn't seem to speculate why he would be gone. They just briefly mentioned that he took the weekend off for personal reasons and is expected back on Monday.

Hearing them talk about him on the TV made me feel even more nervous about the upcoming gathering. What if things go south? Is every sports news channel going to announce it? What if they find out he did a blood test and that I'm really his brother? Are they going to make things difficult for him since he told them we weren't related?

I shared some of my worried with Noah before bed, but he just laughed it off. "That isn't for you to worry about. All of those things are Jeremy's problem. He's an adult, he can take care of himself by now."

True. Noah's words of comfort allowed me to get some sleep. No worries and no overthinking. Got to keep it simple. A good nights sleep led to a great day at the cages, surrounded by the Atkins and some of the guys from the team. Saturday was filled with excitement, laughs, and jokes. It was a sharp comparison to Sunday morning.