Play Along(80)

“Good to see you,” Reese adds before following her grandfather to their table.

Kennedy drops my hand, though I tell myself it’s because she needs to use her own to pick up her dress. “I like her.”

“Yeah, she’s cool. She’ll be good next year.”

“Part of me wishes I was going to be here to see it.”

The statement is thrown out so easily, whereas every part of me wishes she were going to be around next year to see it.

We find our table closest to the stage. Miller in her dark green dress, sitting on my brother’s lap. Kai and Monty in their suits, but the cutest of them all is Max in his bow tie.

He’s clearly sleepy as it’s getting close to his bedtime, resting against Monty’s shoulder.

“Ken, you look good!” Miller whistles.

“Same to you!” Kennedy wraps an arm over Miller’s shoulder from behind, squeezing her in a hug before bending down to pop a kiss on the top of Max’s head, as if it were the most natural thing for her to hug her friend and kiss my nephew. She then takes her seat, leaving an open chair for me next to her.

Miller stands from my brother’s lap and retakes a chair, she and Kennedy leaning over my empty seat to chat among themselves.

“You ready for this?” Kai asks quietly, standing to his full height.

I huff a dry laugh. “Nope.”

He studies me. “Tell me the truth, Isaiah. Are you going to be okay with this?”

“Kai, if this is what’s going to make you happy, I will learn to be okay with it.”

A soft smile ticks up on the corner of his lips as he nods. “Yeah. This is what will make me happy.”

“Then do it. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”

He cups the back of my head, pulling me into him for a hug. “I love you, kid.”

“Yeah. I love you too.”

“Thank you for everything.”

“Fuck,” I exhale. “Don’t start that now.”

“Kai,” someone says, and we separate. “Are you ready to start?”

He nods, running a hand over Max’s hair then bending to give Miller a kiss before following the emcee to the stage.

We take our seats, Kennedy to my left and Miller to my right with Monty and Max across the table.

Arthur Remington says a few words, welcoming the crowd and introducing my brother before stepping to the side and giving him the stage.

Kai clears his throat before leaning down to the mic, pulling out his notecards from his suit jacket, then bracketing his hands on either side of the podium. “First off, I want to say thank you to the Remingtons for hosting this night. I’ve worked under different team ownership before, have had teammates of mine tell me about their experiences, and it’s no question that here in Chicago, we’re lucky to have such generous team owners. So, thank you.”

My brother pauses, clapping for the crowd to join him, and once it dies down, he begins again.

“I want to say thank you to everyone who took the time to come here tonight. My teammates who weren’t too stoked to dress up.” The crowd laughs. “The team staff who we couldn’t play this game without, and my family who are the center of my world.” His attention goes right to Miller.

“Three thousand strikeouts is a milestone I never dreamed of reaching. There are some legends who came before me that did the same, and I wouldn’t dare imagine putting myself in the same category as them. They paved the way for me to be here tonight, so I want to say a huge thank you to the nineteen guys who did this before me.” He flips to his next notecard. “Some of you are players that I grew up idolizing, and I know for certain that I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for you sparking a dream in me to play this game as well.”

Kai exhales a deep breath, clearing his throat. “To my son.” His attention swings to Max with a smile. “Who is about to pass out on Monty’s shoulder because it’s past his bedtime. You are by far the best thing that has ever happened to me. I once thought that my life goal was to play this game, maybe break some records, and hope that my body would allow me to do it long enough that I got my fill, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. You are everything I didn’t know I needed, and you bring this contagious joy and meaning to my life every single day.”

I catch Miller wipe her cheek out of my periphery.

“I couldn’t think of a better group to raise my son around.” Kai nods, looking over our teammates. “There are not enough words I could say to thank my teammates for getting me through his first year. When I didn’t know what the hell I was doing, you all were there, offering babysitting or bringing me groceries. Cody even learned how to change a diaper for me, and I’m not sure he’s ever fully forgiven me for that one.”

The crowd laughs again.

“But the biggest person who helped me with him that first year was this guy right here.” He points to Monty. “Before I was picked up by Chicago, I had only ever played for field managers or coaches who were just that—coaches. Outside of baseball, they didn’t necessarily worry about you or care about you. But this guy.” Kai clears his throat and I just know he’s trying to choke back his emotion. “This guy is not only my coach, but he’s also my sounding board, he’s a father figure to me and my brother, and most importantly, he’s my friend. They don’t make them much better than Emmett Montgomery, and I’ll be forever grateful that Chicago drafted my brother because that’s the whole reason I’m here in a place where I got to meet him and his daughter. And lucky for Monty, he’s stuck with me forever because he’s not only my coach, he’s also about to become my father-in-law.”