The Hitting Zone

At the dinner table Saturday night, Dad surprised all of us by telling us an agent called.

"Was it the one Jeremy was talking about?" Noah asked.

Dad shook his head. "It wasn't. So I reached out to Jeremy to send us the contact info for his friend. Then I called him to see if he was available to meet up with all of us." He looked around. "This agent would potentially only be for Kyle. At the moment. You guys are free to ask questions, opinions, and suggestions though." He looked specifically at Dave. "As someone going to college, you have to be careful. He can not represent you talking to pro teams or you might lose eligibility."

"Don't worry, Dad." Dave shrugged. "I don't plan to have any talks with pro teams or scouts. I'm going to Vanderbilt. The pitching coach there has been asking for my workouts and videos and even sends suggestions for me. This is definitely the guy I want to be working with the next couple of years."

"I'm glad that you're happy with your pick." Mom smiled.

"Thanks." Dave grinned. "Besides. I rather not be the first one through the system. I rather have a reference of how it'll go. Let Kyle take the lead." He raised his eyebrows. "The only question is will I go before or after Zeke."

"After." Noah rolled his eyes. "Zeke ain't wasting any extra time in college. He's probably going to take another round of online classes this summer."

"He could take some in person too." Mom said.

"Nah. He said he was going to play in a college summer league." Noah reminded Mom. "I looked that up. It's like a warmup to how the minors are. Travel a lot. Uses wood bats." He shrugged. "It'll have to be online classes."

Mom frowned. She looked to Dad. "Should we be preparing more for this? Has Zeke spoken to you about joining a summer league? Like where he'll be? Will he need to rent a place for the summer?"

Dad shook his head. "I haven't heard anything about it beyond that he has to apply with some teams. We can take a visit to see him and ask about his summer plans. It's still early so he might not even know." He looked to Dave. "Do you have an idea of what you want to do this summer now that you're committed to a team?"

Dave blinked. "Uh...wouldn't I just stay home?" He chuckled. "It's not like I need to showcase my skills anymore. Probably just do what Zeke did, right? Workout at home. I think I can show up early to get settled into the dorms like Zeke."

Dad wasn't convinced. "I think you should ask your pitching coach the next time you talk. Ask him what he likes an incoming freshman pitcher to do the summer before college? I'm sure they'll have some kind of plan. It's good to take the initiative."

Dave nodded. "Yea, you're right. I'll bring it up the next time we talk. Casually. I don't want him to think I'm not focused on my own senior season."

"So when would we meet Kyle's agent?" Grampa asked. "I want to see this man in person before I trust him with my grandson's future."

Dad nodded. "I was hoping Jeremy could introduce us in person so it would be less awkward and intimidating for him. We're a big group and not everyone is accustomed to having so many people at one table for lunch or dinner. Unfortunately, Jeremy is getting ready for his season and I don't want him to sacrifice what little free time he has left. So I got the contact info and explained a little bit of the situation. He has agreed to meet us at a restaurant tomorrow for lunch." He looked at us. "This is a formal meeting so you boys better make sure to have your nice clothes set aside for tomorrow."

"How nice?" Noah asked. "Like a suit? Or just a button up? Dress shoes or are my clean shoes good enough?"

"Minimum is some kind of collared shirt. Either button up or polo. Shoes being clean is also a minimum." Dad stated.

"I'm not wearing a suit to lunch." Dave laughed.

I shook my head too. "That sounds a little much."

"Yea, me neither." Noah joined in.

"I feel like Kyle probably should." Dave rubbed his chin. "After all, this could be his agent. The agent is probably going to wear a suit so it'd be weird if Kyle didn't."

"Kyle can make his own decisions." Dad spoke up. "That includes whether or not this gentleman will be his agent. This concerns Kyle's future. If he doesn't get a good feeling about this guy, Jeremy's friend or not, then we'll search out other options."

"Kyle's going to be so surprised when he gets home." Noah smirked. "I bet he'll be unable to sleep."

Dave laughed. "It's probably best that he didn't know before hanging out with Marie."

"What time do you think he'll come home?" Noah asked.

"Probably right at curfew. 11pm."

Mom frowned and looked to Dad. "Should we text him to be home by ten?"

"No, we shouldn't go back on curfew rules." Dad disagreed. "It's a good form of time management and responsibility. Kyle can decide on his own when to come back."

"So we should tell him about tomorrow's plans." Mom reached for her phone. "He might want to be home earlier."

"I think you should leave him on his own." Dave said between bites of his bread. "This will be a good lesson for the soon to be adult."

"You're going to be an adult soon too." Mom frowned.

"Yea, but I'm not running around with a girl on the weekend." Dave shrugged. "I'm also going to college. That's like a trial period for being an adult. Kyle's taking a more serious path. He'll be on his own, god knows where."

Mom put her phone back. "You're right. Kyle has his own choices. He has to know there might be consequences if he makes poor decisions like staying out late at night."

"But if you don't tell him..." I spoke up and all eyes went to me. I swallowed a lump in my throat, kind of scared that I spoke up in the first place.

"Go on." Grampa urged me.

With Grampa as help, I continued. "If you don't tell him, then he's not going to know if it's a bad or good decision. It's not good to be surprised like that."

"Jake has a point." Dad reached out and patted me on the shoulder. "In the future, Kyle might be surprised with a sudden move either up or down in the minors. He'll adjust. He won't make a bad decision like hitting up a bar after finding out."

"I'll text him then." Mom said more decisively. "I just don't want him to think I'm intentionally asking him to come back early and miss out time with his girlfriend."

"It's better to leave the decision up to him." Grampa nodded. "Just notify him in a neutral tone."

"He'll probably come home immediately now." Dave sighed. "Our quiet time will be ruined."

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