Page 5 of The Perfect Game

“What are we doing tonight, guys?” Dax asked as we walked to the parking lot.

“We should head out to the bluffs. I hear there’s supposed to be a bonfire.” Of course, Nate would know where all the parties were at.

Colt was nodding his head right behind him. “Let’s do it.”

Shaking my head, I said, “Sorry, guys. I’ve got to go to a play for English.”

Jake slapped me on the back. “Don’t tell me.Our Townfor extra credit?”

I frowned. “How did you know that?”

He shrugged. “I think just about everyone in Mr. Kendall’s classes is going to that. I think I’ll be okay without the extra points this time, though.”

My face must have told him I didn’t believe it because he said, “Miracles happen, people.”

Standing next to my small truck, I threw my bat bag in the back and waved to the others, all parked nearby. “You’re all invited to the show. I’m buying snacks.”

Nate’s laugh rang out. “I’m good. Candy and snacks are not enough to tempt me into going to a play I don’t actually have to go to. My mother forces me to enough of those ‘culturally stimulating events,’ as she puts it.”

I’d already known the answer, but I still would’ve liked at least one of them to agree to go with me. But I’d survive without them there. As much as I had in common with the group of them, we also had a lot of differences.

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Let me know what you’re all doing this weekend.” I waved again, slipping into the truck. My leg banged against the dash, and I bit my tongue to keep from yelling. It happened at least once every few times I drove, the disadvantage to being over six feet in a truck where the seat couldn’t adjust backward more than two inches.

Once I got home, I took a quick shower and pulled on a button-up shirt and a pair of nicer jeans. With my hair combed, I walked downstairs, breathing in the smell of pasta and garlic.

“Dinner’s almost ready,” my mom said, stirring a pot on the stove.

“Smells good, Mom,” I said, taking down several plates from the cupboard. As I laid them out on the table, I glanced around, looking for my younger brother. “Where’s Daniel?”

“He’s supposed to be picking up the toys he dumped out in the playroom. But he’s probably just playing with them.” I could hear the smile in her voice even though I was turned away. He was only seven, and it was something I would’ve done at that age.

After I’d set out the utensils and glasses, I said, “I’ll go check on him. Call us when it’s ready.”

I walked over to the spare bedroom down the hall, hearing Daniel’s little voice before I even got to the door. With a light knock, I twisted the knob and pushed it open.

“Hey, buddy! Looks like you’re having some fun.” I glanced around the room with a shocked grin on my face. Daniel definitely knew how to destroy a room. The bins our mother had bought when I was younger were all overturned, with big and little toys nearly covering the carpet.

His seven-year-old face beamed back at me, his slanted eyes disappearing with the expression. “Ben, you play with me?”

Sliding down to sit next to him, I nodded. “I can play for a couple of minutes, and then we need to clean up so Mom doesn’t get mad, okay?”

“Okay. I playing knights and dragons. You be dragons.” He shoved a plastic dragon into my hands and picked up two of the knights he had in a pile on the floor.

As much as I loved hanging out with my friends, this was one of my favorite places to be. I thought back to the years my parents had tried to have more children, with several pregnancies ending in miscarriage. When she’d made it to the twenty-week mark with Daniel, we’d all been overjoyed. And as hard as the news had been find out minutes after his birth that Daniel had Down Syndrome, we’d all come to know that life without him wouldn’t have the same amount of fun and laughter it did now.

Those first few years had been demanding on my mom with all the therapies he needed, and while he still had several appointments every week, his happiness seemed to rub off on me every time I was around him.

“Dinner’s ready,” my mom called a few minutes later.

“Okay, Daniel. Let’s see who can clean up this stuff the fastest. Ready, set, go!” I grabbed a bunch of the small figurines, throwing them into one of the boxes. Daniel went to work, always the competitor. There were times I thought he got more of that instinct than I had.

By the time we made it to the table, my dad walked through the door, leaving his briefcase next to it. “How’s everyone doing tonight?” he said, walking over to kiss Mom.

“Good!” Daniel said, his excitement causing the rest of us to chuckle.

“What are you all dressed up for, son?” my dad asked, his gaze taking in my clothes.

I pulled the bowl of salad toward me, nearly filling my plate. “I have to go to a play for English.”

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