Better Than Perfect (11 page)

“Of course.” She didn’t want to hurt the woman who’d been so good to her. Didn’t want to take away the only family she had left.

“But it’s not my family you need to worry about. It’s yours.” Frannie stood, gathering the cups. “You need to do what is best for Zach. And for Johnny.”

She’d thought she’d done that. Marrying Mel had seemed like the only choice at the time. If she’d gone to Johnny with the news of her pregnancy, he would have quit baseball. They would have struggled and he would have ended up resenting her. Especially if it turned out that Mel was the father of her child.

Mel knew the child could have been Johnny’s. He was no fool. But he didn’t want to find out. He proposed, with the understanding that if she took his name, the child would be his. But Mel wasn’t here anymore. And Johnny needed to know the truth.

They all did.

* * * *

Zach had done most of his homework in class and during his lunch period. He hoped Johnny still wanted to throw with him, and he didn’t want to let something as boring as schoolwork get in the way.

They drove straight to the ballpark after school. Johnny was already there. Ready for the day’s activities.

“Hey there, champ.” Johnny gave him an encouraging smile. “How’s it going?”

“Good. Can I tag along with you again?” He hoped like crazy that Johnny would say yes.

“Sure. We made a pretty good team yesterday.” Johnny clapped him on the back and for a minute there, Zach wished he could have Johnny around all the time. “Unless your mom needs you somewhere else.”

Johnny and Mom looked at each other. It was kind of weird. Like they liked each other, but didn’t. Mom looked away and shook her head.

“No. You can have Zach again today. I think that would be great.” Her voice was kind of thick. Like she was happy and sad at the same time.

“Great,” Zach and Johnny said in unison.

“You two have fun.” Mom smiled at Zach and then at Johnny. She seemed to smile at Johnny a little longer, but maybe Zach was imagining things.

They gathered the equipment and set up their station before the other kids got there. Today they were going to work some more on throwing and catching. Basic stuff, but really important. Nothing worse than making a perfect throw only to have your teammate drop the ball.

They wouldn’t get to pitching until Thursday. By that time they would know which kids had a strong enough arm to be good pitchers. They’d still give everyone a chance to try. Because that’s the kind of camp this was. It wasn’t like some coaches who’d decided before the first practice who would be their pitchers and who would be stuck in right field. Zach didn’t mind playing right field. He liked making catches at the fence or getting a ball on one hop and throwing the runner out at the plate.

But he really wanted to be a pitcher. He wanted to be like Johnny Scottsdale. To control the game. To get strikeouts or weak ground balls. He liked snagging come-backers to the mound without even thinking about it. He liked hearing the umpire yell “Strike!” He liked the tension of the battle between batter and pitcher.

But he wasn’t sure if he was good enough anymore. As his opponents got bigger and stronger and knew more about how to hit, he needed more than being able to get the ball over the plate.

Johnny could help. Maybe. He could teach him how to be a better pitcher. Help him be the kind of player that people other than his mom and grandparents would want to watch.

The camp was fun, and it went by quick enough. Johnny was great with the kids, no surprise there. Zach couldn’t wait to get his glove and learn as much as he possibly could from Johnny while he was here.

“Hey Johnny, you still want to warm up with me?” No, that didn’t sound lame or too eager.

“Sure. Let me get my glove.” Johnny smiled like he wasn’t annoyed at all to have some kid bugging him after a long day. “Is your mom going to join us?”

“No.” His mom was still acting weird. Maybe she was nervous about the camp going well. She’d told him one time that putting on the camp was kind of like playing in a big game for her. “She has some stuff to do, paperwork or something.”

“Well, let’s get to it, then.” Johnny patted him on the shoulder and led him down to the practice mound.

They started with a slow warm-up, tossing the ball back and forth. Like a kid playing catch with his dad. Stupid for even thinking something like that could happen. His mom was kind of avoiding Johnny. It’s not like she’d start dating him all of a sudden. It was starting to look like she’d never date anyone. Ever. For all he knew, she’d follow him when he went off to college. Wouldn’t that be lame?

“Okay, let me get some catcher’s gear on,” Johnny said once they were warm. “You throw too hard for me to try to catch you unprotected.”

“Really?” Zach didn’t think Johnny was the kind of guy to say stuff just to make him feel good. But he didn’t really know him. Just the image of him he had from watching him his whole life. But so far, the real guy was even better. He was cool. Not like a famous person, but just a regular guy. He didn’t show off or act like he was too good for anyone.

“Yeah, you’ve got good stuff. A natural.”

“You’re just saying that.” Zach felt his face get kind of warm.

“No. You’re good. Maybe you could be really good.” Johnny sounded like he meant it. “Are you planning on playing in high school?”

“I hope so.” But in high school, not everyone made the team. And he didn’t know if he was going to get much bigger. His dad hadn’t been very tall. In some pictures, it looked like he and his mom were almost the same height.

Johnny was, like, six-five. Zach wished he could be at least six feet tall. But since no one in his family was that tall, he figured he didn’t have much of a shot.

“I don’t know if I can throw hard enough.” Zach knew a kid who threw really hard. He threw a no-hitter twice in Little League. “I’m moving up to a bigger field. The same size the pros use.”

“You’ll get used to it real quick,” Johnny assured him. “Trust me, you’ll be ready.”

“Thanks.” Zach still couldn’t believe he was playing catch with
the
Johnny Scottsdale. “I know you’re only working with me because you knew my dad, but thanks.”

“Your dad was one of my best friends ever.” Johnny turned and looked right at him. “Your mom, too. But that’s not the only reason I’m helping you.” He smiled then. A real and encouraging smile. “You have something here.” Johnny grabbed his right arm. His pitching arm. “You remind me a little of myself.”

Wow. He couldn’t think of a bigger compliment.

“I guess I try to copy you.” Zach was a little embarrassed by the comparison. “I mean, we DVR every one of your starts.”

“Really?” Johnny seemed surprised.

“Yeah. My mom’s always been kind of crazy about you.”

Now Johnny looked like he was embarrassed. He looked down at his feet.

“Well, it seems like you’ve picked up some good habits.” Johnny grabbed a ball. “Let’s fine tune your mechanics and if you keep working at it, I think you’ll be great.”

“Cool.”

Johnny put on the mask and crouched behind the plate.

Zach tried to remember everything Johnny told him. But he was all jittery. Johnny Scottsdale thought he was good. Thought he could be great, even.

Johnny stood up.

“Sorry. I’m taking too long.” Zach tried to refocus. But Johnny walked toward him and put his hands on his shoulders.

“You’re in control. You decide when to make the throw. I’m just here to catch it.”

“I know, I’m just…”

“Focus. Breathe. Let it go.” Johnny closed his eyes, like he did when he pitched. “That’s what I tell myself when I’m on the mound. Sort of my mantra.”

“Focus. Breathe. Let it go.” Zach had always wondered what Johnny’s secret was. Now he knew.

Johnny returned to his spot behind the plate. He got ready and Zach felt like he was ready now, too.

Focus
.

Zach looked in at his target. Didn’t even think about who was holding the glove.

Breathe
.

He took a deep breath. Held it.

Then he let it go.

He fired the pitch and hit the target. It made a loud pop in Johnny’s glove.

“Great. Just like that.” Johnny tossed the ball back to him and got ready for the next pitch.

Zach repeated the whole routine. Again. And again. Each throw better than the last. Louder. Stronger. Maybe even faster.

They were getting into a good rhythm when Zach’s mom came up to them.

Johnny stood, tucking the catcher’s mask and glove under his left arm. He and Mom stared at each other, like they were surprised to see the other one here. Johnny didn’t even seem to notice that a reporter was there, too. The friendly one who did all the dugout interviews.

“Johnny. This is Rachel Parker.” His mom finally shook out of her trance. “With Bay Area Sports Network. She’s here to do a feature on you.”

“Sure.” Johnny put on his interview smile. The one that was a little fake, but not too phony. “Zach’s got a few more pitches to throw. Maybe Alice could catch him.”

He turned back to his mom and smiled for real.

“He looked like he was throwing pretty hard.” She didn’t like catching him lately; she flinched too easily.

“You used to catch me.” Johnny’s voice sounded different. Like he was sharing some secret between the two of them. “And I was pretty wild back then. Zach has good control. You’ll be fine.”

“He is pretty good, isn’t he?” She tore her eyes away from Johnny and smiled at Zach, totally embarrassing him.

“Yes. He is. If you can finish up here, I’ll be ready for that interview.” He looked at Rachel Parker, who was just standing there, probably taking mental notes. Zach really hoped she didn’t say anything about him in the interview.

“My cameraman is set up in the press room.” Rachel flashed her reporter smile at Johnny. “Maybe you could throw on a jersey and we’ll get started.”

“Sure. Give me ten minutes?”

“Sounds perfect.” She glanced briefly at Zach and then his mom before turning and walking toward the press room.

“I gotta go.” Johnny patted Zach on the back. “But your mom will finish you up. Say about ten, fifteen more throws.”

“Okay. And I’ll put everything away when we’re done.”

“I can take care of it,” Johnny offered.

“No. I don’t mind.” Zach was used to helping out, putting stuff away. He didn’t always remember at home, but his mom had him pretty well trained. Most of the time.

Johnny nodded at him and walked off for his interview.

6

“This is Rachel Parker, with Bay Area Sports Net.” The auburn haired reporter sat across from Johnny in the press room. She’d set up a couple of chairs to make it look like they were two friends, having a chat. “Today our guest is Johnny ‘The Monk’ Scottsdale, a right-handed pitcher for the San Francisco Goliaths.”

“Thank you, Rachel. I’m happy to be here.” He hoped he sounded sincere. He really would rather be working with Zach, though. He didn’t have a lot of time to get the kid ready for the season. He was close, but there were a few little things he could do to tweak his delivery.

“You’ve had quite a career so far. Two Cy Young Awards, numerous All-Star appearances and one perfect game.” The reporter let him know she’d done her homework. “What brings you here to San Francisco?”

“I think you probably know the answer to that.” Johnny gave his aw-shucks grin. “I’m looking for the same thing all athletes want. A chance to play in the biggest game of our lives. To leave a lasting mark on our sport. To earn a ring. I think I’ll be a good fit with this team, this group of players. I hope that together we can bring home a championship.”

“The Goliaths have one of the strongest rotations in the league. It’s almost not fair to add a starter with your credentials.” She leaned forward. “Some fans would say the team would be better off going after a big bat.”

Johnny took a deep breath. He’d heard that argument enough times, he should have a clever answer by now.