Daniel hands his empty beer bottle to his old friend Nick Andopolis.

"Got you ten cents," he jokes as Nick takes it.

"Want another one?" Nick asks before standing up.

"You know it."

The two men have been hanging out lately after Lindsay gave Daniel Nick's number three weeks back. Jackie knows her husband drinks a lot when he's with Nick, but she's thankful that he's not just drinking alone on the couch.

Daniel eagerly takes the fresh bottle from his friend and cracks it open as Nick sits back down. "Kids are back to school now."

"I can't believe they're so old," Nick admits. "Between you and Lindsay, and now Ken… kinda feels like I missed out on that part."

"It's not too late for you," Daniel tells him after belching. "Just find a young chick."

Nick shrugs. "Wound up being a good thing that Polly and I didn't have kids, I guess."

"Yep." Daniel, feeling his hand becoming numb, sets down the frosty bottle. "Yeah, so what about Lindsay?"

"What about her?" Nick asks, his face slightly flushing.

"You like her?" Daniel inquires.

"Well… yeah," Nick admits. "But she's not looking for anything and I mean, she's already dumped me once."

"That was in high school," Daniel points out. "Long ass time ago."

Nick chugs his beer and sets it down. "She's got two kids now. Her husband just died; I'm not just gonna, like, ask her out."

"It's been a few months," Daniel tells him.

"It's still fresh," Nick adds, giving his friend a knowing look. "Besides, I don't know, why would she like me?"

"You're probably exactly the type of guy she needs right now," Daniel says. "I know her, man. She likes to act like she's fine and independent but in the end she needs somebody."

Nick gives a little shrug. "Maybe one day. We're just friends, you know."

"For now," Daniel comments, leaning his head back into the couch. "Always thought the two of you together was pretty sweet." He frowns. "Man, Jackie's got me all messed up. She says she's going back to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving."

Nick smirks. "So?"

Daniel shakes his head in frustration despite a permanent, drunken grin on his face. "She was just there, like, last month. She's telling me she told her dad she'd come, but I don't know." He grabs his beer bottle and studies the label. "Just feels weird when she's gone."

"Aw." Nick teasingly punches Daniel in the arm. "You love your wife."

"Well, yeah, but… since we've been fighting so much, I just…" He trails off. "I don't know."

"You worried she'll realize she's happier without you?" Nick asks.

"Maybe," Daniel admits. "She lived there before and it just… makes me nervous. There was this guy she lived with who was, like, super into her, and she swears that nothin' ever happened, but… I just don't trust it. I don't want her running into him."

"You don't trust her?" Nick questions, pulling a cigarette out of the pack sitting next to him.

"She doesn't trust me," Daniel responds.

Nick suppresses a small laugh as he lights the cigarette. "Yeah, 'cause you slept with Kim."

Daniel rolls his eyes at the mention of his ex. "Guess I'm worried she's gonna try and get revenge on me one day."

"You told me that was, like, five years ago," Nick points out.

"Yeah, and she still brings it up just about every day," Daniel shoots back.

Nick gives a helpless smile and offers the pack of cigarettes to Daniel, who shakes his head.

"Can't have her smellin' it on me," he tells Nick.

"You're pussy-whipped," Nick says with a grin.

"Nah, I just can't lose her again," Daniel says sadly. "She keeps sayin' I'm on thin ice. Tells me I'm gonna lose her."

"You guys sound more messed up than Polly and I were," Nick comments. "Then again, we didn't even fight. That was the problem."

"Yeah, and Jackie and I fight too much." Daniel takes another swig of his beer. "Who'd have thought Ken would be the one with a normal marriage?"

"It's 'cause he waited," Nick points out, and the two somberly continue drinking.

…

"Okay, so… mac and cheese or Apple Jacks?" Matthew asks, holding out two boxes in front of his younger brother. "Those are our specials for the night; oh, and no substitutions." A teasing smile appears on his face.

"Whatever, I don't care," Oliver glumly replies.

Matthew gives him a weird look. "What's with you?"

"I wanted to try out for baseball today, but Mom had to work." He frowns and grabs the green cereal box from his brother's grip. "I told her Grandpa would probably take me, but she, like, never wants to call him up and ask anything." He stands up and heads to the kitchen with the box in tow.

"Oh. What time were they?" Matthew asks, following him into the kitchen.

"They're in an hour," Oliver says, opening up the fridge and grabbing the milk.

"Why don't you ask Justin's mom?" Matthew suggests. "Is he trying out, too?"

Oliver rolls his eyes at his brother's idea. "No, he hates baseball."

"So did you, I thought."

"Well, I changed my mind."

Matthew doesn't say anything. He remembers his stepfather's love of the sport and instantly knows why his brother wants to try out.

"If it's that important to you, you'd find a way," he finally tells Oliver.

Oliver snorts, pulls a spoon out of the drawer, and sits down at the table just as the phone begins to ring.

Matthew heads over and answers it. "Hello?"

"Hey, uh… is your mom there?"

It has to be Nick; that guy who has been over a few times. Matthew has met him and thinks he's a pretty cool dude. It'd definitely be weird if his mother starts to date again, but he knows she wouldn't jump into anything too quickly. She's always been very rational.

"Oh, um, no. She's teaching tonight," Matthew responds.

"Oh." Nick is quiet for a moment. "Okay. I was just hanging out down the street and thought I might stop by if she was home."

"Yeah, sure," Matthew replies and then has an idea. "Wait, are you busy tonight?"

"No," Nick says, sounding curious. "Why, what's up?"

"Is there any way you could take Oliver to baseball tryouts in an hour?" Matthew asks, looking over at his brother who has a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Baseball tryouts?" Nick inquires. "Where are they at?"

"Up at the middle school," Matthew tells him, ignoring the death glare that Oliver is sending him.

"Yeah, that's no problem," Nick responds. "There's about a minute left in the Lions game. I'll head right over when it's done."

"Cool. Thanks." Matthew hangs up the phone and raises his eyebrows at his little brother.

"Was that Nick?" Oliver asks.

"Yup." Matthew goes over to the table and sits beside him.

"Why, of all people, would you ask him?" Oliver questions, hostility evident in his voice.

Matthew shrugs. "I didn't think it was a big deal. You don't like him or something?"

"He's so obviously trying to date Mom!" Oliver cries out. "This is only gonna earn him more brownie points with her!"

Matthew rolls his eyes. "So?" He sighs. "Mom's smart, okay? She's not gonna start dating any time soon. He's her friend and he's a nice guy." He notes the scowl still present on Oliver's face. "Sorry, I didn't think it'd bug you that much. I thought you'd be happy you get to go."

"Well… no, I'm not!" Oliver exclaims. "Why couldn't you have just called Grandpa or, like, Uncle Neal?"

"Sorry," Matthew says again. "But you get to try out, dude. That's what you wanted."

Oliver just rolls his eyes in annoyance and picks up his half-eaten bowl of cereal, taking it into the kitchen and dumping it down the garbage disposal.

"Now what are you doing?" Matthew asks as Oliver storms past him.

"Getting ready, I guess!"

Five minutes later, Nick arrives.

"Hey, thanks for doing this," Matthew says, greeting the man as he enters the house.

"Oh, it's no problem at all," Nick replies, standing in the foyer.

"And, uh… sorry if he gives you a hard time," Matthew adds, lowering his voice.

Nick looks confused for a moment, and then he realizes what Matthew means. He nods and gives him a sad smile.

Oliver appears, walking out of the hallway and sees Nick standing by the door.

"Hey," Nick greets. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Oliver mumbles, throwing his bag over his shoulder. He looks at his older brother. "Are you staying home?"

"Alex is coming over," Matthew tells him.

"Okay." Oliver gives him a look before walking out the door, and Nick follows behind him.

"So, you play baseball before?" Nick asks as they get in his truck. "Or, uh… I don't know, Little League?"

"My dad signed me up for tee ball when I was four," Oliver replies flatly. "But I only lasted a month."

"Oh." Nick starts the vehicle and begins backing out of the driveway. It's silent until he puts it in forward and they begin heading out. "Listen, uh, Oliver… I get why you don't really like me."

"I never said that," Oliver points out, his voice monotonous.

"You didn't have to," Nick admits. "And, um… I'm not tryin' to date your mom; I just want you to know that." He glances at Oliver, who is staring down the windshield. "She needs a friend right now, and I know she's not ready to date. I'm not ready to date, either… I mean I just got divorced."

Oliver shifts in his seat and finally looks at Nick. "Really?"

"Yeah," Nick tells him. "I just… your mom is an old friend of mine and I know it sucks to not have many people when you're goin' through a tough time. I'm just trying to help her out, you know?"

"Yeah." Oliver exhales slowly. "I know."

"So, your dad," Nick comments, "Big baseball fan?"

A small smile appears on Oliver's face. "Yeah. He wanted to go pro after he graduated college."

"Did he play in college?" Nick asks, happy that the conversation was beginning to go smoother.

"He went to community college," Oliver mentions. "I think he wanted to transfer to, like, U of M and play for them but he met my mom, and… yeah."

Nick nods. "I was always a basketball guy myself. You like basketball?"

Oliver shrugs. "I'll watch it, but I'm too short to play it."

"Yeah, well, you're probably right around the corner from a growth spurt," Nick points out.

"I've played soccer every year since I was eight," Oliver tells him. "Well, me and Justin did."

"You any good?" Nick inquires.

"I was usually defense," Oliver says. "I guess I was okay. Justin doesn't want to play this spring, though, so I don't think I will either."

"Justin, Daniel's son?" Nick asks, and Oliver nods.

"He starts high school next year and said he'd rather do football," Oliver responds. "I don't know if he'll even be good at it. I think he's just trying to be cool."

Nick smirks as he pulls into the lot of the middle school, thinking about his younger years when he decided that he'd rather smoke pot and play drums rather than keep pursuing basketball. "I know how that goes."