Wings of an Angel
"Oh, Christine," Mrs. Smalls said as she stepped into her daughters doorway, a smile touching her lips as she looked over the teenager. Christine looked up from where she was pulling on her converse shoes, the only thing that actually reminded her of normality. Her mother had bought her a dress for the fourth of July celebrations, forgoing shoes because she knew that she wouldn't wear them, and had told her that she had no choice but to wear at least that. "You're so beautiful."
The dress was a pristine white that brought out her tanned skin. There was a thick red sash that tied at the front in a bow to the left side, at her ribs. The neckline was modest and the length was to her knees in a flare. Whenever she would spin, even just turn slightly, the light material would flow open and ripple around her waist. But she would actually admit she liked the dress, it was one of the only times that she was able to feel feminine and not have a bunch of guys calling her a 'girl' in the form on an insult. It showed off her female side more than anything else she owned.
"Thanks," she said back with a faint smile, a blush coming to her cheeks. Her mother had curled her hair, even, into large rings that fell around her shoulders and down her back. Come to think of it, she didn't even remember ever wearing her hair down around the guys. She didn't mind at home, but it was always so hot at the sandlot and she preferred to have her hair away from her neck.
"You look so beautiful, honey."
"Do you…do you think he'll like it?" she asked quietly, pulling at the sides of the skirt and turning for her mom. The red converse shoes stood out drastically with the dress, but it was just so Christine that anyone who knew her wouldn't be surprised at the choice of footwear.
"He'll think you're magnificent," her mother assured as she walked over to her. She wasn't wearing any makeup, but her face was in the perfect stage where she didn't have any blemishes and her eyes stood out from her high cheek bones with her full lips. "Go and have some fun; relax. I'm sure you'll see him along the street somewhere."
Chris nodded her head and moved to walk passed her mom, pausing once to give her a quick hug before she rushed down the stairs. Scott was sitting with their stepdad, talking about Scott's latest game with the Sandlot gang, when Bill suddenly stopped talking at the sight of Christine. She smiled her greeting and spun around, showing him to dress.
"It's not too much, is it?"
Scott turned at the sound of her voice, watching as she turned for them to show the entire dress off. With her tanned skin and long legs, it suited her just right.
"No, you look perfect. Are you going out for a while?"
"Yea, mom says I should enjoy the festivities. I'll stay close to home, though," she assured, giving one last smile before she jogged out of the house, making her way into the crowds along the streets. There were sparklers that were being handed out to kids and parents, food at tables all along the sides of the road and bright lights illuminating the darkening sky.
She had barely made it into the crowd before a group of girls from the school scooped her up. "They're going to be doing dancing up the street, come on!"
Chris laughed along as she was pulled by each arm, her right wrist brace free, toward the area that they had a stereo set up to play different songs. The girls didn't hesitate to pull her into the fold, an entire group of them dancing together. There were some boys but most decided to hang back at the sidelines. They felt that it wasn't their place.
Chris felt free and light as she clapped her hands to the beat of the song, the itch of her brace for once not there. She felt that she didn't have a care in the world as she spun around in different dances with the friends she rarely ever saw. Karen and Samantha had become close friends with her when she first got to school, both of them also on the track team and immediately getting along with the sporty newcomer.
Karen hooked arms with Chris and began to spin them in circles, laughing whole heartedly as she did so. She could see Samantha was doing the same with one of the few guys that were dancing around the circle and briefly wondered where Benny was. When the song changed Samantha and the guy stepped into the center to lead the dance, Chris moving away at the unfamiliar steps.
"Come on!" Karen encouraged, but she shook her head.
"No, I don't know about this one-"
"Sorry," a familiar male voice said, an arm suddenly looping through Chris's. Benny grinned down at her before he flashes a smile to Karen that almost made the older girl swoon. He was known throughout the school as the guy that couldn't be touched; he just didn't seem interested in anything but baseball. "I'm going to have to steal Chris."
Before either of them could say a thing he was leading her off, his hand slipping down to thread his fingers through hers and pull her away. She was shocked at the boldness but followed after him, seeing the other guys up the road as they waved to them. They were heading to the lot, but she wasn't sure why. It was going to be completely dark out very soon. They couldn't play a game like this.
She marvelled at the sparklers and fireworks that they passed, lit up in the middle of the street. Benny pulled her through a set of them, the warmth touching her skin but not burning either of them. She smiled at the beautiful light that they gave off, something that was only seen on the Fourth of July.
Chris was just glad she had decided to wear her converse instead of sandals.
"Benny, what are you guys up to?" she asked once they reached the lot, moving to stand in their place.
"Night game," he explained, pointing upward. "The fireworks. They light everything up at night for us to have a game. It's amazing and we can only do it once a year. Just watch, you'll see." Chris opened her mouth to speak again but he was already jogging off toward home plate, his bat in hand. She moved to stand in her regular place, glancing over to where Scott was standing at left center.
He looked just as excited as all of the other guys.
DeNunez caught the ball that Ham passed to him, the guys all calling for the pitch. He wound up just like he always did before he threw a fast one to where Benny was waiting, ready. He hit the ball with a loud crack and a cloud of dust, the white orb flying through the air at breakneck speed; a shooting star. Chris's eyes moved to follow it, catching at the fireworks. She lost track of the ball in the bright, blinding lights. Reds, greens, yellows and whites all danced along the skies.
It looked like someone had dropped stones in the atmosphere and it was leaving ripples to break out on the surface, dancing about with the stars. It was a beautiful cosmic array of lights. The odd burst of blues and purples drew her forward, standing away from the sidelines that usually stood as her protection to watch the eruption of neon lights.
There was no other sight more beautiful.
The smile that had seemed ever present on her face since Benny had kissed her on the cheek rose up to her lips again, the curls of her hair falling back over her shoulders when she tilted her head to get a better view of the show above them. She felt so small and yet so warm as she watched the fireworks display.
Benjamin Rodriguez was still running, the fireworks lighting his way as he took the ever familiar route around the bases that he had run down into the ground himself. There was the familiar press of the base beneath his foot at every point in the diamond, the rush of air through his clothes as he sped forward. The guys had all stopped playing, lowering their mitts and raising their eyes to the sky. He knew what would be there; the bursts of light that were there every year.
There was no sight like the Fourth of July celebrations, but there was no game like baseball. Nothing could compare to the feeling of running along the baseline, tossing the bat aside after the vibrations of hitting the ball shake your hands. He could rather have his lungs burn from a homerun then to have his eyes blinded by the most beautiful of fireworks.
Every year he would finish his homerun, but there was something different this year.
Chris had stepped away from the sidelines to better see the show in the sky and was standing directly in the running line from third to home. She was smiling so peacefully, watching the fireworks with the rest of the guys on the team. The lights from the explosions in the air flashed along her dress, turning it different shades of red, green, blue and purple. He could imagine her bright blue eyes lighting up every time a blue firework erupted.
Not completely understanding why or when, Benny's feet suddenly began to slow along his run until he was walking toward her. She didn't tear her eyes away from the sky, too focused on the sight of it to notice him until he was right beside her. For the first time since beyond he could remember, he stopped his run and looked up at the sky. He slipped his hand into Chris's and watched the fireworks at her side, feeling as she laced her fingers through his and clutched his hand tightly.
They didn't look to one another, but stood side by side, knowing the other was there.
It was expected for things to be different between her and Benny after the kiss and then when they had held hands and watched the fireworks on the Fourth of July, but it wasn't to the point that it was strange. If anything, Chris was more at ease around the guys than she had ever been before. She walked next to Benny every time she went to the Sandlot with them and when she was with other friends she would always think of him at the Sandlot, playing the game he loved in the heat of the summer.
She was sitting at the table in Ms. Carson's dining room, watching as the twins ran circles around the kitchen after they had eaten their lunch. She had promised the guys that she would be by the Sandlot after she got off babysitting detail and she was getting anxious to hear Ms. Carson's keys in the lock.
"Look! Look! Ciss, Ciss!" Daniel, the 'older' of the twins cried as he pointed over to the window where a small bird hand landed for a moment in the shade. The two twins rushed over to the window to see if they could get a better look but the quick movements startled the animal into flight.
"Slow down now, you scared her," Chris said softly. The boys looked sad for a moment at missing the bird before the familiar sound of Mr. Carson's keys unlocking the door drew their attention away and immediately brought smiles back.
"Mummy!"
Chris almost felt like crying out in happiness as well. She didn't stay much longer aside from passing pleasantries along to Ms. Carson and saying goodbye to the twins before she was jogging down the street toward the Sandlot. She missed her boys, it had been a couple of days since she'd seen them and she had to skip out again the next day because of her doctor's appointment.
Keeping up a steady jog and she was at the lot in no time, making her way around the long fence to where the unofficial entrance was. She had barely made it a few feet around when she froze in place, the sight of a group of boy on their bikes across from the Sandlots gang. Face off.
She knew that the Sandlot boys could see her there and she watched as Scott discretely motioned to the side, telling her to go back the way she had come. She stepped back until she was out of view and quickly jogged back the way that she had come but stopped along the fence. Pressing her side against the fence, it wasn't hard to hear the yelling between the rival groups.
"…You ain't good enough to lick the dirt off our cleats," an unfamiliar voice sneered. The leader of that baseball gang, no doubt. She had heard of them, but never met any of them before. Phillips had a rep for how rude and snobbish he was. The sound of his voice only proved that.
"Watch it, jerk," Ham snapped back.
"Shut up, idiot!"
"Moron!"
"Scab eater."
"Butt sniffer," Ham snapped, clearly losing his patience with the other boy. She repressed the urge to roll her eyes at the boys' insults. It was such a masculine thing to do. It was disgusting to say the least, more of a way to disturb the other team and not insult them. She had never heard a team fight verbally with another in such a way. Although, her team was usually more for physical fights than this. The boys cheered Ham on.
"You play ball like a girl!" Ham finally yelled, drawing pause to Chris as her smile dropped. After all this time, that was still the biggest insult to a male baseball player's ego. She pulled away from the fence and shook her head, unbelieving. Looks like things hadn't changed a bit. She was just 'Smalls' older sister after all.
She jogged back toward the house, not even caring if the guys had seen her and would wonder where she went. She was glad that her mom was out back when she got home, rushing up to her room without having to deal with her. Her mother had a strange sense about her that always made it impossible to hide hurt feelings. She slipped out onto the roof outside her room, tearing off her brace and throwing it inside. She was not going to play ball again.
It was easy to tell when Scott got home, yelling out to their mom to tell her about his day. That had become routine for him; he liked to brag about everything that he did. He didn't tell her about the mini verbal fight that had happened but he told her that they were going to play a game against another team the next day.
"Do you know where Chris is? I haven't seen her," he called as he made his way toward her room. She remained laid out on the roof so he wouldn't see her. He opened her door and peaked his head inside, but didn't notice where she was and soon closed it behind him again.
"She probably went to hang out with some other friends; she needs to be around girls, too, Scotty."
When asked to come down for dinner she used the excuse of not feeling well. She sat herself on the floor beside her bed and spread the photo albums that were tucked away in her closet all around her. The smiling faces of all her friends from back home met her eyes, the guys from her team all circling her own face as they caught one last photograph before she had to move away. They had nearly tackled her to the ground.
Leaning back against her bed, she smiled as she pulled a photo from its place to look at it more closely. It was of her entire baseball team all sitting on the top of the fifteen foot fence that sat behind the back catcher. They all had grins on their faces and their feet hooked into the fence so they didn't fall. Chris was in the middle of them, her arms thrown out behind her. At the time she was trying to catch her balance but in the photo it came out with her looking like she was about to take off in flight.
Ironically, her team was known as the Angels.
No kiss this time, but I updated much sooner so I don't have to make it up to all of you wonderful readers as much. I always love the scene in the movie when they're playing their night game. They chose the perfect song, too.
