Free Rivals (2010) by Tim - Baseball 02 Green Page A

the man asked.
    “I’ll give my dad a call and see if he can get me a car.”
    “Mickey, cut that out,” the man said, swatting at thephone with a hairy hand. “You know I give you whatever you want—I was just saying. Go ahead. Take your friends. The coaches can ride with me in my Town Car, and I’ll just send the driver back for Glenda and Missy.”
    The man even held the limo door for them before closing it and slapping his hand on the roof to let the driver know he was set to go. The dark car—a shorter version of the one that had stopped for Jaden—eased out onto the street through a crowd of people who’d come out in the rain, hoping to catch a glimpse of Mickey Mullen.
    “Who’s Glenda and Missy?” Jaden asked, her notebook in hand.
    “Oh,” Mickey Jr. said, waving his hand, “just my father’s stylist and makeup artist. Don’t worry, they won’t mind.”
    “Dude,” Benji said, “your dad wears makeup?”
    Jaden elbowed Benji in the ribs and he gulped.
    “For movies and when he’s on TV,” Mickey Jr. said, grinning. “You know, a press conference like today or an interview or something. That’s Hollywood.”
    “That’s where you live?” Benji asked.
    “Naw, Bel Air,” Mickey Jr. said. “It’s okay, I guess. Doesn’t rain much, though. I kind of like rain. You know, how it cleans everything and all that.”
    “Well, welcome to upstate New York,” Benji said, pointing his thumb out the window at the downpour. “Can’t get much cleaner than this place. Who was the apeman?”
    “Myron Underwood?” Mickey Jr. said. “He used to be my dad’s bodyguard. Now he’s kind of like a personal assistant.”
    “Assistant to what?” Benji asked.
    Mickey Jr. shrugged. “My dad, I guess. He does all kinds of things and he’s got, like, some tenth-degree black belt in jujitsu. What he really wants is a role in one of my dad’s movies. He takes acting lessons.”
    “I bet the guy could get a part in Planet of the Apes Two pretty easy,” Benji said.
    Jaden elbowed Benji again.
    “Thanks for saving us back there,” Josh said. He sat on the bench seat riding sideways while Jaden sat between Benji and Mickey Jr. in the back.
    “Jaden had the idea,” Mickey Jr. said, “but I was happy to help.”
    “Dude,” Benji said, “that lady was lucky she didn’t call my dad. He would have given her something to think about. My dad plays football.”
    “Wow,” Mickey Jr. said. “That’s great. What team?”
    “Oh, this semipro team where we live,” Benji said proudly. “They don’t get a ton of press, but last year they won the championship. I don’t know, you might have read about that somewhere.”
    “That’s cool,” Mickey Jr. said.
    “Lido,” Jaden said, “this guy’s dad won the World Series. Cut it out.”
    “Hey, he said it was cool,” Benji said. “You heardhim. Football is a whole different sport. You don’t just run around in a pair of knickers and socks when you play football. It’s men only.”
    “Good grief,” Jaden said, rolling her eyes. “I’m sorry for my friend here. He gets delirious if he doesn’t get fed.”
    “I could use a hot dog if that’s what you mean,” Benji said.
    “Just forget it,” Jaden said, crossing her arms.
    Josh tried to show her his smile to let her know Benji was just goofing around, but Jaden stared straight ahead for the rest of the ride out to the Beaver Valley Campsite. The only time anyone said anything was when they passed by Dream Park on their way out of town.
    “There it is,” Mickey Jr. said, touching the car window at the site of the enormous arched entryway to the sixteen fields. “I can’t wait to get out there.”
    When they pulled into the gravel drive of the Beaver Valley Campsite, Josh’s mom and dad were just walking up the path under an umbrella with Laurel wedged between them. They looked up with surprise at the limo.
    “Hey, thanks a lot,” Josh said.
    “Yeah, thanks, dude, but don’t expect me