Chapter 8 — Henry’s Second Baseball Team
After the memorial service, Noah took Rebecca and Thomas to the field where Henry had spent his final years volunteering.
It was nothing like Field 4.
No grandstands.
No scoreboard.
One dugout had mismatched benches.
The outfield fence leaned slightly.
But inside a small equipment room…
Henry was everywhere.
His handwriting appeared on shelves.
LEFT-HANDED GLOVES.
BATTING HELMETS.
PLEASE PUT THE BASEBALLS BACK WHERE YOU FOUND THEM.
Rebecca laughed through tears.
“That last one is definitely Dad.”
Noah showed them a bulletin board.
Dozens of photographs covered it.
Teenagers.
College acceptance letters.
Trade-school certificates.
Team pictures.
One handwritten note read:
COACH HENRY — I DIDN’T QUIT.
Rebecca touched it.
“He never told me about any of this.”
Noah smiled.
“He didn’t think it was a secret.”
“Then what did he think it was?”
“Tuesday.”
Rebecca looked at him.
Noah laughed.
“Seriously. That’s how he talked about it.”
“Can’t have dinner Tuesday. Got the field.”
“Need new baseballs Tuesday.”
“Noah, stop whining and show up Tuesday.”
To Henry, helping had become routine.
That was why Rebecca never understood its scale.
Then Noah showed her one final object.
A blue equipment bag.
Rebecca froze.
“Is that…”
Noah smiled.
“Not the original.”
Henry bought it years later.
He deliberately chose blue.
Across the side, in black marker, Henry had written:
NO ASSUMPTIONS. ASK FIRST.