Free Alive on Opening Day by Adam Hughes

with that agreement because it gave him a natural
“out” in case he met someone else. After all, they were very young,
and what were the chances a high school love could last through
four years of college and maybe a fledgling baseball
career?
     
    But Gabbie had stood by
his side, if not literally then certainly figuratively, while he
had been dead to the world for nine months. More than that, she
gave him a son, so the two would always be bonded even if they were
married to other people. He was confused, and it didn’t help that
he felt some hesitancy from Gabbie, too. She was not as
affectionate as she had been a year before, and Dan wondered if she
was having the same types of doubts he was.
     
    So they spent their
evenings talking about Troy’s future, and about their future, too, but usually only
in the context of what it meant for their son. One of them would
bring up the question of where the two of them were heading, but
the other would invariably steer the conversation back toward Troy,
or to the events of the day. By the time he left Gabbie at her
doorstep Wednesday night, Dan’s head was swimming with
possibilities but clouded by the consequences implied by any of
them. More than ever before, he needed his dad.
     
    Back at home, Dan told his
parents good night and confirmed with David that they were set to
leave early the next morning, then took a shower and climbed into
bed. He was too anxious about Gabbie and the game and his future to
sleep, so he turned on his nightstand light and opened up his
tattered copy of “The Boys of Summer.” He had already read Roger
Kahn’s opus three times, but it seemed like the perfect night for
one more go-round.

CHAPTER TWELVE
    Road Trip
    The trip from west central
Indiana to Cincinnati followed a familiar path down US-231 and then
east on US-50. It was the route David and Dan had taken since their
first game together in the early 1960s, and, even though Dan
realized by 1974 that there were much quicker routes to the
ballpark, he never mentioned that fact to his father. He was sure
David had carefully crafted each of their baseball outings to
ensure they had plenty of time alone in the car to talk about
whatever might be on their minds. As they headed toward what might
turn out to be a historic Opening Day, there was more for them to
discuss than ever.
     
    Still, the general mood of
the drive was one of leisure, and both men were more relaxed than
they had been in months, notwithstanding Dan’s long hibernation.
Their conversation meandered from the Chicago Bears — David and
Dan’s favorite football team — to the Reds, and even to the Indiana
Pacers, though neither of the Hodges was much of a basketball fan.
They also touched on politics, and Dan could tell the Watergate
scandal weighed heavily on David, who had voted for Richard Nixon
in three presidential elections. Eventually, their discussion came
back around to the Reds, as it always did, and they spent the
majority of their time split between filling in the gaps in Dan’s
knowledge of the 1973 season and breaking down what they expected
from 1974.
     
    By the time they were
within 50 miles of Cincinnati, they had decided there was really no
reason the Reds couldn’t get back to the World Series that fall,
and that their opponent would likely be the Oakland A’s, just like
in 1972. In order to win the rematch, the Reds would have to corral
the Oakland bats AND figure out how to hit Vida Blue, Catfish
Hunter, and Ken Holtzman.
     
    “ Well, having Driessen in
the lineup all season should help with that,” David
said.
     
    “ Do you really think he’s
going to stick at third, Dad?” Dan asked.
     
    “ I don’t see why not,”
David said. “He hit well enough last year, and the Reds don’t
really have an alternative right now. It looks like Driessen has a
chance to be around awhile.”
     
    “ You know who I really
like, Dad?”
     
    David shot his son a
sideways look, then grinned: