It was perfect. The ballpark seats were in front of the TV. The popcorn and soy hot dogs were ready. The kids had their baseball caps. Booth was going to teach his children the game of baseball.
Booth bounced Joey on his knee as they watched the game. "Ball four, and Revere trots down to first. Wacha better keep an eye on him. Revere's a threat to steal."
Christine asked, "Daddy, why are they letting that bad man play the game?"
"What?"
"They said he was going to steal something. Mommy says stealing is bad and people get rested if they steal."
"Arrested. He's not doing anything bad. He's just trying to go to the next place when the other players aren't looking."
"Mommy says if I do that when I play Candy Land, it's cheating, and that's not fair."
"But it's okay in baseball. Just watch for a minute, okay?"
The announcer continued, "Martin was hit by the pitch. He'll take his base. Two on and nobody out."
"Daddy, why isn't that man out? When we play Dodgeball if you get hit by the ball, you're out."
Booth sighed. This was almost as difficult as explaining the game to Bones. "Christine, different games have different rules. In dodgeball, you're out. In baseball, you're not out. There are a lot of other ways to get out in baseball."
Joey started to cry just as the center fielder tried to make a spectacular catch. Booth bounced the baby on his knee again as he explained to Christine what a ground rule double was. He missed a play at the plate because he had to sweep up spilled popcorn. The Cubs were beating the Phillies. It was going to be a long season, but it was going to be worth it to spend baseball time with his kids.