Notes: Thanks to Mari and Sammy for being their always awesome selves. Special thanks to Mari for the idea and the assist!
Readers and REAL McRollers - Thank you for your amazing support! It is always appreciated.
Hope you enjoy!
A Few Thousand Miles from Wrigley (A McRoll in the REAL World Story by Mari and Ilna)
"Thank you," Michael said as he handed four tickets to the family who were standing at their double-sized card table outside of the Foodland entrance.
"Yes, thank you." DJ smiled as he carefully counted ten singles and passed them to the mom. "Forty dollars for the tickets and your change is ten dollars."
"What are you gonna do with the money you raise from the pancake breakfast?" one of the teens who was about Jacob's age asked.
"Some new equipment, and we need new uniforms because we're all getting taller," Michael explained. "Mr. Jirou was real nice letting us set up a table here. The whole team is doing shifts."
"Good luck, we got new band uniforms at our school last year after we had a tricky tray."
"Cool! I hope we raise enough," DJ said. "Then nobody's moms and dads have to pay a lot."
"You're a thoughtful young man," the mom said. "We'll see you at the breakfast."
Steve gave each boy's shoulder a gentle squeeze and nodded his own thanks to the family before they walked away.
A man in his late fifties was their next customer. He read the home crafted sign that read Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser $10 per person, All You Can Eat! and reached for his wallet.
"I'll take four."
"Great, thanks!" DJ said and shared a smile with Michael. "That's forty dollars."
He extracted a fifty dollar bill and handed it over. "My buddy and his wife will love a change of pace. My wife and I meet them for breakfast once a month, and who doesn't love pancakes?"
"Me and my sister love 'em. So do my mommy and daddy. We have them a lot. Mommy and Daddy even make pancakes for dinner sometimes when we're not home," DJ told him and Steve smirked at the unknown-to-his-son double meaning.
When Michael opened the cash box to count the change, the man waved him off. "You keep it. A little extra donation for a great fundraising idea."
"Wow, awesome, thanks!"
"My pleasure." He wished them luck and gave a short wave as he walked away.
A few minutes later, another man who looked to be in his late fifties approached the table. "The Cubbies?" he asked, looking at the sign on the table and their hats and t-shirts.
"That's us," Michael said.
"You're a few thousand miles from Wrigley, aren't you?" he said with a wink.
DJ grinned. "Yeah."
The man shook his head a little wistfully. "That was one of the best places to play."
DJ and Michael's eyes widened simultaneously. They looked at each other, and then back at the man in front of them. "You played at Wrigley Field?" DJ asked, awed. "Were you a Cub?"
The man smiled. "Yes … and no. I played for a few different teams in the Majors, though not the Cubs."
"Whoa!" DJ and Michael said together.
"That's so awesome," Michael said. "Who'd you play for?"
"I was originally called up by the Pirates, but I was traded the next year to the Reds. Had a bit of journeyman career."
"That means you played for a lot of different teams, right?" DJ asked.
"That's right. You know your lingo, don't you, son?"
"My Grandma Ang taught me," he replied proudly.
"Well, she's done a great job."
"Where else did you play?" Michael asked.
"Let's see … after Cincinnati I played in San Diego, Toronto, Kansas City, back to San Diego, Los Angeles, and then I ended my career in New York with the Mets. But I played Triple A ball right here in Honolulu."
Steve inhaled in recognition, nodding. "The Hawaii Islanders."
"That's right. I played a season and half before getting the call."
DJ and Michael looked between the two men, confused. "The Islanders?" Michael repeated.
"There's a Triple A team here?" DJ asked.
"Not anymore," the man said. "The team moved to the mainland in 1987, but they played here for about 25 years."
"The Islanders, wow," Steve said, shaking his head at the memory. "My dad used to take me to a couple games every season. When did you play?"
" '83-84," the man replied.
"Maybe you saw him play, Daddy!" DJ explained.
"I bet I did," Steve said.
The man held out a hand. "Gary Walk." He winked again at the boys. "Luckily I wasn't a pitcher or that would've been a pretty unlucky name, huh?"
DJ and Michael giggled.
"What position did you play?" DJ asked.
"Second base, mostly. But I could play third or first, and left in a pinch."
"You were a utility player," DJ said.
Gary smiled. "Your grandma really has taught you well."
"She's actually my great-grandma, but everyone calls her Grandma Ang," DJ explained.
"Yeah, our whole team calls her that," Michael said. "She comes to all our games."
Gary nodded. "So, you boys any good?"
"Michael is an awesome outfielder," DJ said immediately.
"And DJ hit his first home run a couple weeks ago!" Michael was quick to add.
Gary smiled at how the two friends focused on each other's accomplishments rather than their own.
"I hope you kept the ball," he said to DJ.
"I gave it to–"
"Let me guess," Gary interrupted with a smile. "Grandma Ang."
DJ grinned. "Yep."
"That's very special," Gary said. "And I can tell you two are great teammates. You must have a great coach."
"We have three great coaches!" Michael said, as DJ smiled up at Steve.
"I had a feeling," Gary replied, flashing Steve a smile. "So you're doing a pancake breakfast to raise money for your team? That's a great idea. Wish we'd thought of that back when I was your age." He took out his wallet. "I'll take ten tickets."
Both boys' eyes widened again. "Ten?" DJ repeated.
"You must have a big family," Michael said.
Gary smiled as he handed over two fifty dollar bills. "Nope, just me. But I've got some guys I play softball with who I'm sure would love to support your team." He grinned. "Not to mention eat some pancakes."
"Thank you very much!" DJ said as Michael counted out the ten tickets and handed them over.
"That's very generous," Steve said with an appreciative nod.
"I'm happy to help," Gary replied. "Baseball was my life, and I'm glad to give back to help the next generation of players."
"Um … Mr. Walk?" DJ asked, after he and Michael had exchanged a quick look and silent conversation. "Could we have your autograph, please?" He held up the pad of paper and pen they'd kept at their table to keep track of ticket sales.
Gary looked surprised, but then smiled. "You know, that's the first time anyone has asked me for an autograph in … many, many years." He took the notepad and signed two of the pages. "There, one for each of you."
DJ took back the pad, holding it reverently. He and Michael looked at it in awe.
"Thank you," DJ said.
"Yeah, thank you," Michael echoed.
"Thank you," Gary replied, genuinely touched by the request and their obvious appreciation. He smiled at the two boys and shook each one's hand. "You know, something tells me in a few years, I might just be asking for your autographs." Both boys beamed, and he smiled again. "See you at the breakfast," he said, and with a final wave, headed into Foodland.
"How about that?" Steve said, smiling at the two boys who were watching Gary disappear into the store.
"We met a real live major league baseball player!" DJ exclaimed.
"That was the coolest!" Michael agreed.
"Wait'll Grandma Ang hears!"
Steve chuckled. "She's gonna love it." He grew thoughtful. "You know, when I'd go to the Islander games with my dad, we'd usually get our program autographed by some of the players."
DJ's eyes widened. "Do you think Mr. Walk was one of them?"
"It's definitely possible."
"Do you still have the programs?" Michael asked.
"Oh, I don't know," Steve said. "That was a long time ago. I don't know what happened to them after I moved to the mainland."
"Grandpa John might have kept them, though, right?" DJ said hopefully.
"You know, your grandpa held on to a lot of things that surprised me, so it's possible. There's a box or two in the garage of papers and other mementos. We can take a look when we get home." He checked his watch as the two boys grinned at each other excitedly. "Our shift is about done, and if my math is right, I think we've raised more than our goal."
"We did!" DJ confirmed. "We set a goal of $100 for each shift and we raised way more than that!"
"Woo!" Michael cheered.
Steve grinned back. "And I know just how to celebrate," he said.
"Pancakes?" DJ asked.
"Pancakes."
Hope you enjoyed!
Find all our stories (in chronological order!) on our website: marirealmcroll dot wixsite dot com backslash real-mcroll
Or in the McRoll in the REAL World community here on fanfiction dot net
Find us on Tumblr: mcrollintherealworld dot tumblr dot com
You can still join our mailing list by emailing us realmcroll at yahoo dot com with Add me, please! in the subject line.
And find Mari on Twitter at Mari21763 and add #REALMcRoller
