“Sounds good. I’m excited to see just how much we can make at once, since they’re larger than the old ones, plus more efficient.”
“I’m still getting used to the first one, so I’m extra excited to have both up and running,” Lacey tells her.
We get things set up and Nathan starts grilling the burgers and hot dogs, just as Lacey’s parents and kids arrive. I suck in a breath; this is go time. I know if I don’t pass their test, then I can kiss any chance of a relationship with her goodbye.
“Hi, you must be Benjamin,” I greet her son. He looks me over as I crouch down to his level.
“Who are you?” he asks, his eyebrows drawn together in a quizzical expression.
“My name is Garrett and I’m a friend of your mom’s and Harper’s.” I add Harper for good measure.
“Oh, do you want to play with me?” he asks.
“Sure. I brought my baseball glove and ball, do you want to toss it with me?”
His eyes light up at the word baseball, and I think the kid might jump out of his own skin. “Really!?” he asks excitedly.
“Really!” I confirm, doing my best to match his excitement. “I just need to go grab my glove and ball from my truck. Do you have your glove?” I ask him.
“I think it’s in my mom’s van.”
“It is. I’ll unlock the van and you can walk over and get it, just watch for cars,” Lacey interjects.
“Okay, Mom,” he tells her before skipping off toward the parking lot. I jog to catch up to him and watch to make sure he follows Lacey’s directions. He finds his glove and takes off for the grassy field near the picnic pavilion we’re using.
“How far can you throw?” I ask Ben once I catch back up to him.
“Really far,” he tells me confidently.
“How about you show me?” I suggest, tossing him the ball. I step aside and watch as he lobs the ball from over his shoulder. It only makes it maybe five or so feet, but with some practice, I’m sure we can improve that distance.
“Good job, little man. Can I show you some pointers on how to throw it farther?” I ask him.
“Sure!” He twirls around in a circle before I show him how to hold the ball in his hand and then how to stand. I wind up my arm and throw the ball. I didn’t even put much power behind it, and it still went a good distance. “Wow!” he exclaims when he sees how far it went.
“With a little practice, you can be throwing that far in no time,” I tell him before I retrieve the ball. I show him a few more times how I did it, then help him out. Each time he throws the ball, it goes a little further. “You are doing such a good job,” I praise.
I move to stand a few feet away from him so we can toss the ball back and forth. He’s got a pretty accurate throw for a five-year-old, for about ten minutes, but starts to get kind of wonky as his arm tires out. “How about you go play on the playground until food is ready,” Lacey suggests as she comes up to where we’re playing.
“Okay,” Ben agrees, and hands her his glove. She tosses the ball he was holding back to me.
“Thank you for doing that.” She smiles up at me. It takes every bit of strength I have to keep from bending down and stealing a kiss from her right here.
“It was fun. He’s got a good little arm,” I tell her. “He should have fun playing baseball.”
“If you say so,” she states.
“How’s the food coming? Need any help?”
“It is almost ready, and we’ve got everything under control.”
“Alright, I guess I’ll just hang out, then,” I tell her, and we make our way back to the pavilion.
Her family is all very welcoming. I get sucked in to a conversation with all the adults, each of them taking the initiative to grill me in their own ways, which I can completely understand and appreciate them doing. I’m the unknown and I like knowing they’ve got Lacey’s back.
“So, you live out in California?” I ask Nathan.
“Yes, but I find myself back here in Sweet Valley a lot more often now that Harper is back in my life. Until she can move out permanently, I make the trip every couple of weeks, if not weekly, as my schedule allows it. Perks of being the boss, I can sometimes work from anywhere I choose to do so.”