The Hitting Zone

"With Grampa moving in, there has to be some rearranging." Dad announced.

"Isn't it easy?" Dave asked, using his left hand to awkwardly stab his scrambled eggs. "Zeke is at college. Move Noah and Jake into the bonus room with us."

Dad slowly nodded. "That's what we were thinking. But first." He looked at me. "How do you feel about sleeping in the same room with the twins on a full time basis?"

I shrugged. "It's fine." It's not like I have to share my bed with them.

Dad looked at Zeke. "This will also affect you when you come back to visit and on breaks. Not sure what the summer will look like for you yet either. We can try to move our office out of the house and convert that as well."

"Too much trouble." Zeke shook his head. "I'll just sleep on the couch when I visit. Or make the twins share a bed and take one of theirs."

"Hey!" The twins responded simultaneously.

"Why not make Noah and Jake share when you come back?" Kyle argued. "They're smaller."

Zeke raised an eyebrow. "Jake doesn't like people in his personal space. You just got him to sleep in the same room as you guys. Don't push it." He looked at Dad. "Spring break, I won't be back because of baseball. As for the summer, I'm thinking about playing in the Collegiate Summer League so I wouldn't be around."

"Don't you have to apply for that?" Dave asked. "Like they only take the top players?"

"I am a top player." Zeke stated, staring at Dave.

Dave laughed. "You haven't even played one college game yet. God. And people think I'm the most arrogant one."

Dad redirected the conversation back to the main point. "Alright. That's a good goal to have. We'll definitely support you any way we can. If you do come home for the summer, it won't be too late to convert the office then." He continued. "Okay, so I'm thinking, after Gramma's memorial service, I'll take Zeke and Kyle home first to help rearrange the rooms. We'll have to switch the bunk bed with Zeke's bed. Then clean out the room so Grampa has enough space for his own stuff."

"What about me?" Dave interjected. "Why do only you guys go home?"

"Look at yourself." Kyle snorted, tapping his brace.

Dave pouted. "Doesn't mean I can't help."

"You'll be helping Grampa here." Dad said. "Dave, Noah, and Jake will stay with Mom and him to help pack." Dad started to organize our plan for the next few days if not weeks.

When Grampa and Mom got back, their eyes were a little red, but they soon jumped in to help the planning. Grampa wasn't going to be ready to say goodbye to his house, but he wanted to pack more than just essentials.

Gramma's memorial service was scheduled for Sunday December 29th. The days leading up to the service, Grampa received a lot of phone calls and visitors. There were countless introductions but Mom assured me that I didn't have to remember any names. Noah said he also didn't know all these people either so I didn't have to stress.

I did keep Jeremy in the loop and he did come to the memorial service on Sunday. He stood quietly next to me as we listened to the speeches talking about Gramma. He tried to keep a low profile, but there were still a few men who came up to Jeremy afterwards. He shared a small conversation with them as the rest of people started to leave the building.

We were the last to go. Grampa got to bring home his wife's ashes for the first time. He tried to be tough and straightforward, but he still let out a few tears when he thought no one was looking. The tears made an appearance all week as we helped him pack up some of his house.

Dad, Zeke, and Kyle got plane tickets home with Jeremy, saving Mom a drive to the airport. Jeremy took them in his rental car and off they went. New Year's was a bit dull without them, but having Noah around was like a party in itself. He really kept the atmosphere light as we watched some countdown on tv. It was very low-key, but I wasn't complaining.

A couple days later, we had the car packed with Grampa's stuff. His clothes, his pictures, his personal items that couldn't be left here. He decided to donate some of his furniture to a local shelter, along with items that he no longer wanted or needed. His house became an empty shell and it made him sad again.

With the car being so packed, Mom came up with the idea to drive Grampa to our house by herself. At first, no one agreed. It was a long drive and it was still winter. Going through the mountains with a passenger that wasn't in his best shape might lead to trouble. But Grampa said he wanted to go...and wanted to hold Gramma's ashes the whole way. With Mom being the only driver, they decided to only drive a few hours a day until they reached our house.

That meant Dave, Noah, and myself had to fly back alone. Mom booked the tickets and made sure we made it to the airport in time. It was still busy seeing as it was still around the holidays, but we didn't have to fight for a seat on the plane anymore. It wasn't cheap though. Noah got a glance at how much his mom spent per ticket and faked having a heart attack.

Jeremy was the one to volunteer to pick us up from the airport in San Francisco. It was the usual hour and a half drive back down to Watsonville and then finally home. It's been over ten days. Almost two weeks.

Walking in the house, nothing looked different. The Christmas tree was still up in the corner with gifts still perfectly wrapped.

"I'm surprised Kyle could hold himself back." Noah let out a small laugh.

"I heard that!" Kyle yelled from up the stairs.

"Let's go check out our new room." Noah grinned at me.

I followed him upstairs. Jeremy and Dave followed behind. The first room we saw was our former room. A bed, a dresser, and a desk. Not one personal item was left in there. It was ready for Grampa to make it his own.

Once we got a look at the big bonus room, we were stunned into silence. Dad and the boys didn't just switch beds and drag our stuff over. It was completely redone. Against one wall were two sets of bunk beds. Against another wall, four wardrobes were set up and organized, separating everyone's clothes. And noticeably, in one corner were my bats. Organized and arranged like they were before. I immediately went over there.

The cubbies that Dad had built with Zeke's help had somehow made it out of the closet that I had shared with Noah. The lower half had the bats, while the top had the shoeboxes of broken bats.

"We did the best we could." Jeremy came over with me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Wayne didn't know how to take care of your bats so I came over to take a look. Some are in great condition and I put those here first. These other ones are only in so-so shape. I'd be careful about using them." He pointed out how he arranged the bats for me.