The Hitting Zone
chapter-1023

Mom and Dad grilled Dave more about his coaches and Dave happily answered. I was happy that he liked his future school so much. It must be nice knowing what your next step is. Meanwhile, Kyle had it different. He didn't know what round he would be drafted, where he would go, for how long he'll be there, who or what the coaches would be like. That sounded intimidating.

After the game, we went back to the hotel together. Mom wanted us to change into warmer clothes before we walked to the ice hockey rink.

"All of you better have your phone on so I can reach any of you at any time." She nervously moved around the room.

"You can track our location through the phone." Kyle reminded her. "And the arena isn't even a full mile away. We'll be fine."

"New city, new worries." Mom looked to me. "Don't leave any of their sights. If you feel...unsteady...at all throughout the night, you send me a 911 text and we'll come get you immediately."

I nodded obediently.

"Come on, Mom." Dave said. "We know how to take care of Jake. And each other. I know you think we're unreliable, but just think of all the times we've gone to the A's game without you guys."

"That's different. I knew Jeremy and Rose were there." She said. "There were multiple backup plans in case something went wrong. Rhys's parents were nearby too. Out here, it's just us." She frowned and looked to Dave. "You'll be so alone out here your freshman year. Maybe-"

"Mommmm." Dave rolled his eyes. "I'll be okay then like I'll be okay now. Now are you going to let us go or do you want us to be late?"

Mom looked at Dad. He smiled and took over. "Okay, let them go. We know where they'll be and how they're getting there and back. If anything is out of the ordinary, we'll go find them. And Dave's right, they are very cooperative when it comes down to it."

We said our goodbyes and Mom gave out more safety tips. She ended up walking us down the lobby with Dad, watching us leave as a group.

"Man..." Kyle shook his head as we walked to the hockey rink. "Mom is going to lose it when we leave this summer." He glanced at me and Noah. "You two better be prepared to have a helicopter mom."

Noah shrugged. "I don't mind."

"I like it." I piped up. I felt the twins look my way. "It's reassuring. That someone will come looking for me."

Noah laughed and threw his arm around my shoulders. "You know I would come. Heck, I should already be with you."

The walk to the arena really was quick. We all sent Mom a confirmation of arrival text and sent a group pic of when we reached our seats. We weren't up against the glass around the ice rink, but we did have a good overall view on the second level. I knew less about hockey than I did football, but Noah had the all around knowledge and passed it along throughout the first period. It wasn't a good feeling see how aggressive the players got doing all kinds of body checks, but it also made me grateful that I didn't play a contact sport.

During the first intermission, the twins were responsible to get us dinner and snack since Dad gave them the extra money. Meanwhile, Noah and I both sent Mom updates through texts.

"I think you'll be okay if you make the team and I don't." Noah laughed to himself.

I frowned. "Team?"

"Yea, the regional team." He relaxed in his seat. "You're all worried that you would be alone without me. But even if I don't make it, I don't think Mom would let you be completely alone."

I smiled.

Noah laughed again. "Hey now, you've got to work on your independence before graduation otherwise how will you ever go pro?"

I scratched my cheek. "I don't know about going pro. I kind of like the idea of college more." If I had to choose.

"What do you like about it?" Noah raised an eyebrow.

"I like how there's a set plan." I told him. I explained all the benefits I saw in Dave's choice and disadvantages I saw in Kyle's choice.

"That make sense." Noah nodded along, not writing off my feelings. "But there's still two years before you have to make that decision for good. We have to commit to a college before our senior season no matter what. Like Ryan said, it's a good negotiation tool." He grinned. "Which school do you prefer so far? Stanford or Vanderbilt?"

"Stanford." I didn't hesitate.

"Same." Noah agreed.

I blinked at him in surprise. "Really?"

"Sure." He shrugged. "It's nice looking. I'm familiar with the area now." He grinned. "It's not too far from the A's stadium. Also not too far where Mom feels like she needs to call me every day."

I laughed. "Yea, I guess it's the same for me. Plus, I like Coach Leroy. He's friendly."

"Yea, having a relationship with the coach and knowing what he is like beforehand definitely helps."

We talked more about the benefits of going to college until the twins got back with the food. They complained about the lines and prices as we happily ate. The hockey game was made up of three 20 minute periods with intermissions in between. It was a fun night even if I did cringe and wince every time the players made harsh contact. At least I wasn't scared. These guys knew what they were getting into and were getting paid for it.

We sent updates continuously and walked back to the hotel after the game. Mom and Dad weren't out for much longer than us, coming back as we prepared for bed. As soon as Mom confirmed that we were all in one piece, she seemed to relax and go back to normal. That's when I realized she didn't let fear stop her. I wanted to be as brave as her, I thought to myself as I started to fall asleep.

Sunday was our last full day in Nashville. After a hotel breakfast, we took the car just outside of the city to go on a morning hike. We also visited the Parthenon which was a full scale replica of the one in Athens. Mom always found ways to sneak in a history lesson or two. Next up was Belle Meade Plantation and winery. For obvious reasons, we couldn't see the winery part.

We had lunch at a bbq spot where I went out of my comfort zone to try ribs with different rubs. It was good and I would never say no, but I can't say I would intentionally eat there again. Thankfully Noah talked Dad into letting us get ice cream afterwards. Kind of a palate cleanser. Our afternoon activity was a surprise visit to a treetop adventure park. At first the twins acted like they were too old for something like that, but seeing me and Noah getting ready, they made excuses to join in. It was another thing I hadn't tried before and I was happy to say I enjoyed most of it with the only exception being nervous of the tight enclosed spaces. I didn't stay there for long though. We were always on the move.

We killed a couple hours there before going back to the hotel to relax. Dinner was a restaurant with a live music show. When we got back to the room that night, we were able to catch the end of Jeremy's game...a sad lost to a division opponent. I sent him a text to say that he'll get them next time and went to bed.

Monday was check-out and travel back. We had a flight over four hours long but went back two hours so we got to the Bay Area just in time for lunch. Zeke and Rhys got back to town before us, late last night. We went from the airport to a restaurant near their campus so we could all eat lunch together.

Zeke's team won two out of their three games this past weekend. He hit for his average, adding another home run to his stats while Rhys did five innings, giving up three hits and one run. When the twins wanted to start giving Rhys a hard time, he smirked and stated that he had ten strikeouts in those five innings. They rolled their eyes and animatedly started a discussion about which stat is the most important to a pitcher. Noah said 'wins' but all three of them quickly refuted him. Zeke had to save him from their lecturing saying wins only mattered to a team. Stats were for the individual.

After we dropped the college students off back at school, we officially headed home. To the house. Gramps met us at the door and it suddenly felt like I was gone for much longer than I really was.