Rick Castle was sitting at his desk, working on his latest serious book. (it was amazing how much that Simon Doyle got right) He had been in a writing haze for the last few days, barely taking meal and sleep breaks. He was a lucky man – when he got into one of these writing jags, Kate would call her dad or his mom or Alexis to help her out with the kids. Since their kids were so adorable, one of the three of them was usually willing to jump in and help.
But he was putting the last period after the last sentence. He scanned the last few paragraphs and then sent it off to Black Pawn. He got up, stretched the kinks out of his back just as Lily came running into the office. He couldn't help but smile. His daughter was decked out in full Mets regalia – her favorite Mets shirt, her hair in pigtails tied with blue and orange ribbons and Mets sneakers on her feet. "Hey Lily bug, what's happening?" he asked her.
She grinned a gap toothed grin. "Hey Daddy, time for lunch! Mama said you should take a break. So did Grandpa!" As she said that, she went over to him to grab his hand. As usual, he pretended he didn't want to leave his office, and resisted. Lily loved this game; they had played it since she could walk. She giggled as she tugged on him and he tugged back. She let herself fall into him, and he picked her up and gave her a loud smack on the cheek. "Come on, Daddy. The hot dogs are ready!"
"Hot dogs for lunch, huh? What's the occasion?" he asked as he carried her out of his office and into the dining room. The table was set with Mets paper plates and cups with a Mets napkin at each place. He walked over to his wife, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He muttered, "All done, it's on its way to Black Pawn!" He noticed she was wearing a Mets tee shirt (her favorite Noah Synderrgaard shirt) as well and figured something Mets related was going on. She smiled and took Lily out of his arms and set her down.
"Well, Daddy, if you hadn't been so busy you would know that if the Mets win today, they will be one of the Wild Cards for the National League," Kate informed him with a laugh. "Miss Lily Castle requested a good luck lunch and Grandpa and I agreed to the plan. We fans must do all we can to help our team, right Grandpa?"
Jim Beckett laughed at the look on his son-in-law's face. He knew Rick loved all sorts of magical things, and that normally his daughter did not. But she was a superstitious baseball fan, had been since her mother instilled the need for it when the Mets were in the postseason in 1986. "Yes we do? As a matter of fact, I found your lucky 1986 sweater in the back of a closet. Maybe Lily could wear it! It might even fit her." He laughed when Rick and Kate turned the heads to look at him the same way in the same minute.
"A lucky sweater? Kate Beckett had a lucky sweater?!" Rick's mouth was almost hanging open.
"Yep, I did. I first wore it to a night game in late August 1986, and the Mets won that night. To be fair, they won most nights that year, after all they won 108 regular season games." But then she happened to be wearing it when the Mets clichéd the division and again when they won the National League Championship Series as well. So when the Mets got to Game 7, well, her mom made her wear it and it worked. "So it became the lucky sweater. I can't believe you kept it, Dad!"
"To be honest, your Mom kept it. I had no idea it was still around until I happened to look in the closet in the room. And there it was!"
Lily had listened to all of this with a look of awe on her face. She knew the significance of Game 7 of a World Series. After all, her mom and her grandpa had been teaching her about baseball she was a baby. No-one had been surprised when she inherited the baseball loving (and specifically the Mets loving) gene from her mother. And now she had found out that Mama had a lucky sweater! "I want to see it! But first we have to eat our lucky hot dogs!" The adults laughed, but Lily was serious. The Mets needed whatever luck they could find. They had to win today so they could get to the postseason.
Kate smiled to herself as the family sat down to lunch. Jake and Reece were wearing Mets shirts too, but they weren't eating hot dogs, but they were enjoying their fruit and Cheerios. Lily and her dad were eating their hot dogs in between discussion of today's game so that Rick could get caught up. Rick had slowly become a Mets fan over the last few years. As he said, while it wasn't as annoying to Stephen King as being a Yankee fan, it was annoying enough. After all, the Mets did beat the Red Sox in 1986. She sat down to join her family and to join the discussion. Let's Go Mets, she thought to herself.
A/N: yes, the lucky sweater exists. However, it wasn't owned by a kid but by an adult. She is still a superstitious Mets fan, and she did wear it to a game in August, was wearing it when the Mets clinched the Eastern Division and wore it the day of Game 7 of the World Series. She still owns it too, but it doesn't fit anymore. After all, that was 30 years ago. And yes, that fan is me. Let's Go Mets!