“She would've been so proud of everything you’ve done.” I kiss the back of his hand and he looks out his window as he nods silently. We get to a red light, and when I turn his face to mine, I swear my entire soul is crushed by the sight of tears in his eyes.
He blinks them away and before I can voice any comforting words he brings his lips to mine. “Don’t say sorry.”
I smile against his lips and kiss him harder. Someone behind us honks, and when I pull away, Liam leans in again and kisses me one more time.
I hold his hand for the rest of the drive, and by the time we make it to the kids, they’re all here, and they aresofreaking cute.Some of them run to Liam, and I didn’t peg him as the type to be good with kids or like them at all, but he bends down and hugs all of them.
“How is everyone doing today?” He looks around at all their excited faces and a few of them waste no time to go on a tangent about how they’re doing.
“And my hot dog hadmustardin it!”
I glance down at the little boy in a wheelchair and smile at the shock on his face.
“Is that good or bad?” Liam asks before lifting another little boy when he keeps pulling on his arm.
“It was great! Ilovemustard!”
We laugh at his excitement, and Liam tells him we’ll get him more mustard before he starts the tour. Their parents are with them, and I can see how happy they are to see their kids so excited.
“What’s everyone’s name?”
The little boy in the wheelchair is the first to answer as he screams his name. “Kyle!”
I let out a soft laugh, and all of the other kids share their names before the tour starts. All of them ask an insane amount of questions as we start walking, and a lot of them have nothing to do with the stadium or baseball, but Liam answers them all patiently. Considering he’s someone who is insanely impatient with adults, it’s like watching a different person as he interacts with them.
One of the kids has Tourettes, and when she has her tics while Liam is explaining something, the other kids clearly get distracted.
“Would you bequiet?! He’s talking!” One of the boys turns sharply.
I feel my eyes slightly widen as I take a step forward. “Oh– that’s not–”
Liam calls the little boy's attention before I can finish my sentence. “Bren.”
He turns to him, and from Liam’s look alone, he shuts his mouth, but I don’t feel too bad. I know he’s a kid, but he’s been mean to the other kids the entire tour. Rather than his parents trying to correct him or, at the very least, apologize for him, they're on their phones, taking pictures of Liam and the stadium. I'm sure his outbursts are a result of them completely ignoring him.
“Remember what I said about being kind on the tour?” Liam reminds him. “Nora can’t control her tics so let’s be kind andnottell her to be quiet.”
The little boy apologizes and Nora seems to shrink as everyone looks at her so I hold my hand out to her and nod towards the huge mirror behind her. She takes my hand and her mom smiles at me appreciatively as we walk a few feet away from the group.
“Did you pick out your outfit on your own? I love your dress.”
She studies herself in the mirror, and a smile touches her lips as she runs her hand down her dress. “Thank you! Mommy–” She has a tic, and I give her a few seconds before trying again.
“Mommy helped and–”
I wait for this one to pass, and she lets out a breath before going on.
“And I picked my shoes!”
I glance down at her red rain boots and laugh quietly. “I love them!”
She taps her heels together, and her mom laughs quietly from behind her. When I glance back at the group, they start walking again, so I take her hand and catch up to them.
We make our way around for another half hour. In each room, Liam set up an activity for the kids and I’m surprised he’s able to keep their attention for so long. Before I know it, we make our way to their favorite part, the field.
There’s just enough of us to play a small game so we moved up all the plates since the kids would get way too tired running all the bases and I pitch to both teams as Liam squats behind home base and catches. They made Liam put his gear on and it’s hilarious seeing him in full gear with seven-year-olds running around him.
When my watch starts buzzing I glance down at it and notice Angie is calling me. I hit the automated message and tell her I’ll call her back before throwing the ball, and Kyle hits it pretty damn hard.
