Lunch went well. I thought Jeremy would have a breakdown after seeing our birth mother, but he must be stronger than I thought. Now that everything was out in the open, I actually felt a little bit happy. Jeremy might be in pain for awhile, but I'm glad that he was cutting Jack off. He wasn't going to be our uncle anymore. What a relief.
After lunch, Jeremy had to hit the road. He was running late as it was, but still talked to Dad off to the side. Almost like they were hiding something.
"They're definitely hiding something." Noah read my thoughts out loud.
I nodded in agreement.
Jeremy said his goodbyes then left.
"What were you and Jeremy talking about?" Noah went to pester Dad as soon as Jeremy closed the door.
Dad grinned. "Just talking about how many seats are available. I think we can afford to invite a few extra friends."
"We were originally going to bring Rhys." Noah said. "Should I still call him?"
"I'll do it." Zeke said, pulling out his phone.
"How many seats are available..?" Kyle asked, leaning against the wall. "Can I invite Marie?"
Dad looked at me. "What do you think?"
I shrugged, confused. "About what?"
"About who to invite."
I shrugged again, but also caught Kyle's pleading look. "If we invite Marie, we have to invite Kaylee."
Dad nodded. "Okay, we still have two more seats."
"If we invite Kaylee, we should also invite Alisha." Noah suggested.
"One more seat left."
"Hey, hey!" Dave interrupted. "Why are you three inviting girls?"
"Alisha is part of the team now." Noah said. "Plus, she's a friend."
"I don't have any other friends." I added. We hung out with the girls a lot in our free time.
"What about Garret??" Dave said.
Dad pointed at him. "Last seat goes to Garret. Make sure he can go." He looked towards his wife. "How should we drive there? Two cars? Three?"
It became a busy time as everyone started to make calls and plans for the drive there and back. Rhys said he would meet us there. Marie said she and Kaylee would come to our house right away. Garret was the same. Alisha needed to be picked up though since her parents were already gone for the night.
We started to get dressed in our A's gear and taking what we might need for the night.
Garret showed up first, decked out in his own A's jersey and hat. He checked in on me as soon as he saw me. "Jake! How ya doing?"
"Good." I nodded.
He was taken aback. "You sure?"
I nodded again.
"We didn't expect much from that crappy uncle." Noah explained. "Jeremy has it rough though."
Garret nodded. "I was watching the game last night. They said he didn't even show up." He looked back at me. "But he's an adult. He can handle it himself. I was more worried about how you were feeling."
"I'm okay. Really." I said. I've been hurt worse.
Marie and Kaylee showed up next.
With them here, we split into two cars. Zeke would drive the twins, Garret, and Marie. Dad and Mom were going to take Noah, Kaylee, and myself to pick up Alisha and then meet up at the stadium.
Kaylee got in the car first, getting into the last row. I made eye contact with her, and before she could say anything, I got in the backseat with her. I didn't want her to think that we aren't friends, and to remind her that I wasn't too scared of her. Plus, I know Alisha will be happy to sit in the same row as Noah.
Sure enough, when we stopped by her house to pick her up, her grin expanded seeing Noah in the middle row.
She climbed up and buckled in. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Atkins." She glanced to the back. "Hey, Kaylee!" Then she made eye contact with me. "You okay, Jake?"
I nodded. "Yea. It's fine. Or, at least, it's going to be."
"Good, I'm glad." She nodded. Then she turned to Noah. "Coach really liked what he saw in that scrimmage yesterday."
"Yesterday feels like a lifetime ago." Noah complained.
Alisha laughed. "Really? I feel like this summer has really blown by. We should hang out as much as we can before school starts at the end of the month."
The two started making plans on how to spend the last couple of weeks.
"Did you find out why your uncle was paying your birth mom?" Kaylee asked me, keeping her voice low like she was asking something she shouldn't.
I shrugged. "I only know that it concerns Jeremy. I think he was using him..?"
She made a face. "Wasn't it even profitable?"
I scratched my cheek. "It must have been. Jeremy spent the last of his rookie contract on Jack's problems. Jeremy's going to cut ties with him, I think." I sighed. "Jeremy isn't in a good state of mind. He went to go see our mom in prison."
"Wow!" Kaylee gasped. "I'm surprised."
I raised an eyebrow.
"He seems like the type to run and hide from his problems." She explained. "Good for him."
"I guess." I wasn't sure. "I wouldn't want him to visit that woman though. She's...not a good person."
Kaylee shook her head. "No. I think it's good for him. He hadn't seen her in how long?"
"Over a decade."
"It's a good reminder for him to see what you had to put up with." Kaylee stated. "I might change my 'dislike' to a more neutral position."
I cracked a smile. Kaylee and Noah are so similar sometimes. They hold grudges.
We were the last part of the group to show up at the A's stadium. The others were all waiting out front for us. Dad took the lead, getting our tickets from the 'will call' window, then had us wait patiently just inside the gates.
"I'm here! I'm here!" Rose came jogging over decked out in her work uniform, representing the A's in a more professional manner. She greeted Mom and Dad, taking all the tickets from them.
Dad introduced her to our friends that we brought.
Rose grinned. "You guys are in for a treat today. Jeremy had to pull some strings up top to get you this."
My stomach dropped. Jeremy really doesn't hold back when we come to the games. He should do more to save his money. I don't want him to lose this contract money too soon.
Rose noticed my discomfort right away. She lead the way, walking beside me. "Don't worry. This was a stipulation in his new contract. He wanted to celebrate by having you and your family come. This didn't cost him anything!"
I wasn't convinced. Nothing in this world is free.
Rose took us up, stopping on the floor with private suites.
"No!" Noah gasped. "Really?!?"
"Really." Rose grinned. She stopped at one of the doors and opened it for us.
"This is so cool!"
"Right behind home plate?!"
"Is all this food for free??"
"There's a fridge?!"
Everyone started to explore, but Dave and Noah were the ones to explore and exclaim about all the amenities.
The suite really had it all. A table full of food. A fridge full of bottled drinks. A giant screen tv with indoor seating, then normal stadium seating just outside the sliding door. It was a lot.
I glanced up at Rose as she closed the door. "Jeremy doesn't have to pay for any of this..?"
She grinned. "It's a small perk to his very big contract. Don't worry so much about his money. Jeremy is doing just fine." Her smile weakened. "He's about to drop a lot of deadweight."
