Home Run

xox

Mercedes couldn't wipe the smile off her face if she tried. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and the Evans family decided it would be the perfect day to take little Benji to the park. After a rather tiring game of tag and a run around the meri- go-round, Mercedes was exhausted. But Benji being the little ball of energy he was just wanted to play more and Sam was more than willing to help him burn off some of that energy.

"Let's play baseball, Daddy!" four-year-old Benji shouted, jumping up and down and giggling as he pulled his wiffle bat out of his bag that Sam packed with them.

"You want to play baseball, Benji?" Sam asked. Benji nodded in approval.

Mercedes watched as Sam set up a tee for Benji to hit off of, and tried not to laugh when she saw Benji with the wiffle bat.

"That thing is bigger than he is!" She said to herself, giggling slightly.

"All right, buddy, after you hit the ball, where do you run?" Sam asked, crouching down to Benji's level.

Benji put his finger to his cheek in an obvious thought process and paused for a moment before answering. "HOME!" he shouted in delight.

Sam shrugged. "Technically, yeah, you eventually run home, but where do you go first?" he asked patiently.

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Sam, I don't think he remembers without some sort of hint. You've been trying to teach him since he could walk!" She took a sip of from her bottled water while making herself comfortable on the bench to watch the events in front of her.

Benji picked up the wiffle bat and began poking it into the ground as he searched for the correct answer.

"Benji, you gotta pay attention. Where do you run after you hit the ball, before you run home?" Sam asked as he gently confiscated the bat.

"First base," Benji replied, pointing to brightly colored base that came with his wiffle bat directly to his right.

"And then?" Sam asked, gripping the bat in his hands and making a swinging motion.

Mercedes tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. She loved watching Sam when interacted with their son. There was something about Sam when he was Benji that was so different from his normal self. He became a protector, a softie, and a funny, caring father. Mercedes loved that side of Sam.

"Huh?" Benji asked.

Mercedes couldn't help but laugh when she saw Sam's heavy sigh of frustration. She was right. He taught Benji what the bases were called and which order to run them in countless times, but all Benji ever really wanted to do was take the shortcut, running around and jumping on home plate when he felt like it. Sam loved baseball so much, almost as much as comic books and super heroes. Almost. Mercedes thought it was so sweet how he tried to share his passion with Benji.

"What base is after first?" Sam repeated. "You run to first, then to…?"

"Second!" Benji answered enthusiastically.

"Right! And then?"

Benji smiled. "Third, and then you go HOME!" he said, staring up at Sam, seeking approval.

"Right, good job, buddy," Sam said, adjusting Benji's Red Sox cap that was surprisingly too big for his extremely curly hair and fell over his eyes. "Now, I'll help you hit the ball, but you're going to run, okay?" Sam asked, stepping to the right side of the tee.

"Okay!" Benji shouted, following his father.

"Now, make your home run face," Sam instructed. "We're gonna scare that pitcher, aren't we?"

Benji made a face and growled, trying to look intimidating. He dug his feet into the ground and assumed his stance, mentally scaring the invisible pitcher. Instead of being scary, he looked just plain hysterical. And adorable.

Mercedes covered her mouth with her right hand, trying not to distract the two. She swallowed her water and laughed out loud.

"Ready to hit?" Sam asked, looking down at Benji.

Benji gripped the yellow bat. "Ready," he insisted.

"Put this hand here… good. Put that hand here. All right. On the count of three. One… Two… Three… SWING!"

Sam helped Benji to tap the white ball off the tee. "Run, Benji!" Sam coached. "Where do you go first?"

Benji was off and running. "Go, Benji, run to second!" Sam instructed. Benji ran as fast as he could. He hopped on first base, paused, and heard Sam's calls. He finally made his way to second base.

"Go, Benji go! Third base, buddy!" Sam waved his arm like a third base coach, even though the ball sat inches from the tee.

Benji nearly missed second base, but managed to fall on top of it before getting up and attempting to tag third base.

"And now run home! Hurry! Go, go, go!" Sam cheered.

Mercedes found herself jumping up and down, trying not to spill her water. "Run, Benji! Go! RUN!"

Benji finally made his way home, jumping on the plastic base and throwing his hat on the ground. Sam swept him up and ruffled his hair. "And Benji Evans hits a home run to win it for the Red Sox! Can you believe it? The Fenway Faithful are going insane! Evans has done it again, ladies and gentlemen!"

Sam's attempt at being a baseball commentator amused Mercedes. "Can he be more adorable," she thought.

It wasn't long before Sam and Benji needed a water break. Sam picked Benji up and put him on his shoulders, walking over to Mercedes.

"Looks like we have a future baseball player on our hands." Sam said, putting Benji down and handing him a bottled water from his backpack.

Benji sat himself down next to his mom looking up at her with wide eyes, "I hit a home run momma, did you see?" He said in between sips of his water.

Mercedes held up her hand to give her son a high five. "I did see, I'm so proud of you!"

Benji tapped his mother's arm. "I'll teach you how to play baseball, Momma!" he insisted. "And then me you and daddy can all play!"

Sam smiled an evil smile. "That's a great idea, buddy! Why don't you go fix the bases, and set up the tee, and Mommy and I will be over in a sec?" Benji ran back to their makeshift baseball diamond, eager to begin instruction.

Mercedes's jaw dropped. "You are so mean, mister!" she insisted, poking Sam in the chest and pouting.

"I'm the nicest person ever," Sam replied sarcastically. Sam pulled Mercedes out of her seat and placed his arm around her waist.

"I'll make it up to you, somehow, I promise," he said, kissing her on the cheek.

"Hmm, you better." Mercedes giggled.

Sam laughed as he rolled his eyes. Walking over to Benji who was attempting to balance his plastic wiffle ball bat on his right hand, and failing, waiting for his parents to stop being mushy and play with him.