First, one-shot of this series which will hopefully contain many others that surround around J.B., Dinesh, Rinku, Brenda, and Amit becoming closer as a family. This story is only based off the movie, not the actual, real-life story or people!
I don't own anything except a heart that loves baseball, this movie, and having an imagination.
Takes place before the final tryout.
Chapter One:
Baseball Practice
J.B. sat at his kitchen counter trying his best to determine if the food in front of him was actually the same food that he had consumed during his first trip to India. He twisted the handle of his fork between his fingers while reveling in the taste of the Ragi Idli and Dosa he had just taken a bite of when Amit nudged him politely.
"It is very good, yes, J.B. Sir?"
"Mmm," he mumbled around the bite he was swallowing while nodding his head. He wiped at his mouth with a napkin and took a swig of his coffee before glancing over at Amit and Rinku who sat on the other two barstools next to the counter. "Very. I wish my first experience with Indian food was this good."
"You did not like it?" Rinku asked around a cheek full of food and a slight smirk.
"Let's just say the time that you two threw up on me in the car was nothing compared to what I went through," J.B. grimaced, but rolled his eyes when Amit and Rinku tried to stifle their laughter. "Where's Dinesh? I'm surprised there's any food left. He loves this stuff."
"Still sleeping, I think J.B. sir. He did not feel well last night and did not want to be woken this morning," Amit replied while taking another bite of his breakfast.
The sports agent furrowed his brow with a bit of concern, "Is he alright?"
Rinku shrugged but his facial expression did not match the dismissive movement of his shoulder, "He missed yoga. Now, no breakfast. He never sleeps for this long."
"Huh," the older man said as he stood from the barstool and took his plate to the sink.
"Ah, Mister J.B. Sir, I will take care of that!" Amit happily suggested.
"Sure, but run the dishwasher," J.B. had no problem giving in. Well, except for one little condition, "But this time make sure to actually put soap in it...and only dishes."
Rinku's laughter drowned out Amit's respectful response as J.B. left the kitchen to check on Dinesh.
J.B. knocked on the closed door of Dinesh's bedroom. He waited out the silent seconds that followed before knocking again to the same lack of response. He twisted the door knob to find it unlocked, but didn't open the door. "Dinesh? You in there?" Nothing.
This time the sports agent turned the knob all the way and cracked the door before poking his head through. "Dinesh?"
Glancing at the bed, he could tell that the boy wasn't there due to the tangled mound of sheets hanging off one side of the bed so he opened the door wider and stepped in. "Hey, you in here?" He asked again looking towards the small walk-in closest, but seeing no sign of the ball player, he shook his head with a confused huff and exited the room.
He made his way down the hall looking around the house, but still no sign of the missing kid. He made his way back towards the kitchen, passing behind Rinku watching television from the sofa and Amit trying to figure out the dishwasher while exiting the house to the pool area unnoticed.
"Dinesh?"
Still not receiving a response, he made his way towards the gate door that led to the front yard and driveway just as Brenda came jogging up in a sweat drenched tank top and shorts. She smiled at him as he held out his hand to stop her. She must have thought that he was waving at first because she waved awkwardly before dropping it while pulling out her headphones and coming to a stop in front of him. "Hey, what's up?," she asked slightly out of breath.
"Have you seen Dinesh?"
"Um, yeah he's out on the lawn reading one of his books. I just passed him. Is something wrong?"
J.B. craned his neck to peer around the white minivan in the driveway to try to see the boy, but couldn't. "No, no. I don't think so. He wasn't at breakfast and Amit and Rinku said something about him not feeling well."
"Oh, I could check on him if you want..."
"Uh, I'll go but, uh...if he is sick..."
"Yeah. Just come get me?"
"Yeah, thanks." J.B. smiled but didn't move to walk away.
Brenda laughed quietly and started towards her place by the pool. "See you later, Mister J.B. Sir."
The older man couldn't help but smile at the familiar name that he couldn't imagine never being called again as he made his way across the lawn.
Walking past their "family" vehicle as Ms. Brenda called it, he spotted Dinesh sitting on the lawn with an open book in his lap. He walked over and sat down beside the kid, not caring if the fresh dew on the grass got his pajama bottoms wet.
Dinesh looked up from his book, not bothering to hide its contents because it was in his native language and gave a weak smile at the older man.
"Been looking for you," J.B. said with a curious eyebrow raised at the boy.
"Sorry, Sir. I did not know," Dinesh replied, focusing his attention back on the book while fingering the edges nervously.
The sports agent, well, scratch that because even Aash had started making father insinuations about him and the boys, nudged Dinesh with his elbow. "Everything ok?"
"Mmm hmm. Yes, J.B. Sir," the kid confirmed too quickly for J.B.'s liking.
"You sure? Rinku and Amit said you weren't feeling the greatest and then you missed breakfast."
"Please, do not worry so. I am well. I...just wanted to read. It is very hard...to read with Rinku and Amit."
J.B. chuckled. "Welcome to my world. So, what're you reading?"
Dinesh hesitated, but responded quietly. "Ms. Brenda, she ordered it from...the Amazon?"
"No, no. Just Amazon. Not the rainforest," the older man grinned, "what's it about?"
"Um...well, it is about a woman who travels across India to... find her son," the kid's soft reply could barely be heard above the passing car rushing by on the street, but J.B. heard it, although he didn't expect it. Then, a thought came to him. In all their time together, in getting to know more about Rinku and Dinesh's lives back in India, Dinesh had never mentioned his mother.
The 'guardian' was trying to think of a way to bring the topic up when the younger man spoke again. "My mother's birthday."
J.B. blinked back his surprise "What?"
Dinesh fumbled with the pages of the book in his lap. "It is...would have been her birthday."
The older man hesitated, but finally prodded, "What happened to her?"
Suddenly slightly watery, brown eyes were looking at him in sharp surprise but softened when the kid explained, "She became very ill...no one could help her."
"How...how old were you?"
"Eleven."
J.B. grimaced sadly and placed a hand on Dinesh's shoulder with a supportive squeeze. "I'm sorry."
Dinesh shrugged and grinned embarrassedly, "I found this book not long after she passed and as a child," he trailed off again, this time running a hand through his hair and chuckling. "I think I wanted to believe Mother was just traveling across India...searching for Father and I."
J.B. nodded and watched Dinesh for a moment, "You know... it's okay to talk about this stuff, right? I mean...you can come to me about anything."
Dinesh smiled though it wasn't up to its usual wattage, but it was an improvement in the older man's standards. "Where is your mother?"
J.B. was silent, the question a little more invasive than he preferred. The kid could talk to him about anything, but he found it hard for himself to do the same. He gave a grin, although it felt more like a grimace and Dinesh bit his lip. Suddenly, the kid stood and held the book behind his back as if he had just walked up and they hadn't had such a personal conversation. "Is it time to go practice?"
The older man studied the kid standing above him, surprised at the sudden change of topics and demeanor, before standing up himself. He shook his head. "Yes, but today's practice is going to be a little different."
Dinesh raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
J.B. smiled, "Round up Rinku and Amit and grab your stuff. Meet in the van in ten minutes."
Curious, Dinesh just blinked at him and had to be urged to go into the house by playful shove by the sports agent. "Go, hurry," he laughed as he walked in the opposite direction towards the patio gate.
J.B. knocked on Brenda's door. The woman herself opened it a few seconds later still wearing her workout clothes and sipping on a water bottle. She looked worried though. "Is Dinesh sick?"
J.B. was confused for a split second until he remembered telling her that he would come get her if the kid was in fact under the weather. He shook his head quickly, "No, no. He's fine. Just...missing home. So, um,...I thought I'd take them down to the park and throw the ball around instead of dropping them off at the University-"
"Really? Wow. I thought the minivan was a big step for you, but this-"
J.B. rolled his eyes, throwing out his hands in a defensive gesture to ward off his embarrassment. "Okay, if you're here to mock then we can't bring you along. It's about them having fun and letting them see that you care, or at least that's what someone once told me."
Brenda grinned widely, "Alright. I promise to show good sportsmanship only if you let me drive."
"You want to drive the minivan?" He asked, a bit humorously bewildered.
"What? I've never driven one and I've heard some people don't like your driving."
"Who doesn't like my driving?"
Brenda made a motion of zipping her mouth shut and headed back inside to grab her things.
Brenda drove the minivan down the road in the direction of the park. She turned at an intersection and glanced back in the rearview mirror at J.B. sitting slightly cramped between Amit, who was recording with the camcorder and Dinesh. He glared at her, although he tried to hide a smile creeping onto his face when she winked at him.
"Ms. Brenda when will you teach J.B. to drive car so well?" Dinesh asked, leaning forward slightly as he always does.
"Hey!" J.B. protested as everyone else snickered. He elbowed Dinesh softly in the ribs causing the kid to laugh more.
"Uh, Ms. Brenda? Where are we going," Rinku politely asked as he noticed that they missed their usual turn. She glanced back at J.B. in response.
"We're going to have a little fun with practice today. We're not going to the University."
"Where are we going?" Rinku questioned as he turned around to look at the older man.
"Here?" Dinesh asked looking out the window as they pulled into the park.
"Yep," the sports agent confirmed as Brenda parked and they all got out.
"Is Mr. Tom coming?" Rinku pondered grabbing his bag from the back of the minivan as Dinesh did the same and J.B. grabbed a bucket of baseballs and another bag.
"Nope. Just us," the older man replied as he led the way over to a big grassy area that wasn't occupied by other people. "It's going to be a laid back practice today, boys. Just throw the ball around, maybe bat a little. Sound good?"
Rinku and Dinesh blinked at him, though both J.B. and Brenda could see how relieved and excited they were.
"How will we pitch?" Dinesh questioned. "No padding-," he began to say, but was cut off by J.B. dumping out his bag and revealing catching gear that looked brand new.
"You catch, J.B., Sir?" Amit questioned from around the camcorder.
"Use to."
"As in a long time ago," Brenda smirked, causing the boys to snicker.
"Hey! I still got it. Now, Amit put the camera down. Grab a glove, and a ball."
"Me?" The wishful baseball coach asked excitedly.
"Yes. Brenda, you too. Come on."
The five of them threw the ball around for a good twenty minutes with Amit surprising them and being pretty decent. Brenda was good at it as well, but no one was that surprised. But the time came where Dinesh was standing with the ball in hand looking down at J.B. in his catching gear, glove at the ready waiting for him to pitch. He fingered the stitching nervously and swallowed, looking anywhere but J.B. and the other three watching from the side. He shook his head and relaxed his stance.
J.B. stood up and jogged over to him while pushing his mask back. "What's the matter?"
"No..no good," Dinesh shyly responded, shaking his head.
"What? What's no good?"
"I..do not wish to pitch. If it is not good-"
"Hey. None of that. We're just having fun, okay? Just throw your stuff. There's no pressure. Got it?" J.B. encouraged, trying to ignore the feeling in his stomach at the thought that the boys were still worrying about letting him down. "If it'll make you feel any better, Amit can give it a go." The older man smiled when that drew a small laugh out of Dinesh and although Rinku probably would have agreed being the more jovial of the two, Dinesh shook his head.
"No. I will pitch."
"Good," J.B. responded while giving the kid's head a playful shove before jogging back to his place and getting ready to catch.
Dinesh pitched well, with only a few wild pitches. One of which grazed J.B.'s arm causing Dinesh to apologize many times until Rinku hit the older man twice during his time on their imaginary mound. Amit tried his arm at pitching with quite humorous results although no one laughed too hard because they all knew of Amit's baseball dreams. Rinku even spent some time catching as J.B. pitched fairly good, though not as fast as a major league pitcher needed to be. Brenda threw a few balls and called it pitching, before they started to bat and field balls.
J.B. and Brenda weren't sure how long they 'practiced' baseball but eventually the sun was sinking down as the two sat in the grass watching the three from India play some sort of game native to their country. It appeared to be a game similar to football, but they weren't quite sure. Either way Rinku tackled Dinesh sending them tumbling on the ground with loud sounds of laughter, until they managed to get back on their feet. Dinesh shoved Rinku impishly for tackling him which resulted in verbal teasing in Hindi for a good three minutes until they were back chasing each other again.
Amit was a pretty quick runner, but Dinesh was quicker as they ran towards where J.B. and Brenda lounged on the grass. Dinesh caught Amit and they went tumbling to the grass beside J.B. who moved over out of the way of their flailing limbs. Rinku suddenly appeared and jumped into the mess, seemingly going for Amit as more Hindi was shouted.
Brenda chuckled as she watched them. "I don't speak Hindi, but I think you should intervene at least for Amit's sake." J.B. watched a few seconds longer laughing along with Brenda until Amit was clearly pinned by both ball players.
"Boys. Boys! I think that's enough. You got him."
Rinku taunted something in their native language down at Amit, causing Dinesh to laugh and what sounded to be agreeing. "Rinku. Dinesh," J.B. warned and instantly the boys clambered off their translator and friend with impish grins. J.B. rolled his eyes and stood up.
"So how is it you play this game?"
"Tag?" Rinku laughed.
"That was tag?"
"Yes. How we play in our village."
"Well if you boys are going to play like that, you better run," J.B. forewarned before taking off after them.
Brenda laughed as she watched them and Amit exhaustedly sat next to her.
"They needed this," she said and grimaced when she saw J.B. trip over something causing Rinku to double over with laughter.
"Ah, yes, Ms. Brenda. It is easier to be away from their real families when they are with their second."
J.B. tackled Rinku, making sure not to be so rough as to injure him and end their baseball days, but as soon as Rinku was down, he wasted no time in standing up and going for Dinesh. It took a bit of time to catch him, but eventually Dinesh was tumbling to the ground and bringing down J.B., too. Rinku piled on top of them much like he had Dinesh and Amit earlier, before all three started taunting each other again.
Brenda rolled to a stop at the intersection under the red light. The minivan was quiet. The radio played softly under the sound of Amit's snores from the seat behind her and Rinku was asleep against the passenger window. She glanced back at J.B. in the rearview mirror to see Dinesh completely out of it and his head resting on J.B.'s shoulder where it had fallen off the headrest. The older man caught her gaze and smiled.
"You're very good at driving, Ms. Brenda," he complemented in a whisper.
The light turned green and she began rolling forward.
"You're very good at letting them see that you care, Mr. J.B., Sir."
AN: Thanks for reading! Hope you'll stick around for more. Let me know what you think!