Date: Sat, 22 May 2021 23:14:06 +0000
From: Douglas DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: Mayfield Titans  Chapter 59

Greetings and welcome back. As school baseball for the Titans winds down
the boys start preparing for the coming of summer ball. Aiden takes a
special trip with his dads to Seattle in order to meet Lincoln, his new
brother. For more detail on Aiden's visit, watch for Aiden's Bros in
Chapter 7 of the "Emerald City Boys" series which I plan on posting this
week.

Please donate to the Nifty Archive to keep the stories flowing.

Your emails are always appreciated. thehakaanen@aol.colm
Douglas

CHAPTER 59
BABY BROTHER

FRIDAY, APRIL 24

<Aiden and Kalie>

"Is the Clark Pass baseball team as bad as their softball team?" Kalie
asked Aiden when he sat next to her on the morning bus to school.

"I told you, they're good enough to beat anybody who doesn't play well
against them. And they are 2-3 which is just a game behind us. Why, do you
think we're going to choke the game or something?" Aiden replied.

"No, I was just trying to talk about baseball and softball since it's game
day. And since we're undefeated and their team hasn't won a game, I thought
baseball would be more interesting. Especially since you're pitching
today."

"Well, I hope that I pitch well enough to keep the game interesting," Aiden
said.

"Me too. And tomorrow you're going to meet your new brother, right?"

"Yep, after our first Yard Goats practice. I thought you were thinking
about playing baseball instead of softball this summer."

"I was, but all my girlfriends play softball, and my mom says I only grow
up with them once, so we should enjoy our fun together."

"Do you think she's right?"

"I dunno. Kinda yes and kinda no. I mean, yeah, I do most of my friend
stuff with the girls on my team. But I think she thinks boys are only for
going out with and not playing on teams with. I mean, I wanted to try it,
but I like my friends a lot, too. Plus, our softball team is going to be
really awesome this summer."

"The Yard Goats will be good too. Plus, we are going to California," Aiden
pointed out.

"You sound like you want me to play for you guys."

"It would be fun in a lot of ways. But I kinda see what your mom is saying
too about how being on a team with really good friends pretty much happens
only when you're in school. Unless you're good enough for college or pro
ball, not that many Mayfield athletes are good enough for that."

The bus pulled into the bus zone. "Well, in case I don't get to talk to you
the rest of the day, good luck to you guys," Kalie told Aiden.

"Same to you. Kick some serious ass."

<Mayfield Middle School baseball field>

Since the Titans were the home team the players had to stay in class
longer. They were dismissed early enough to change into their uniforms,
warm up, and complete infield practice in time to allow the Clark Pass
Eagles to take their infield practice. As the starting pitcher, Aiden did
not take infield practice nor did Mac as the starting catcher; instead,
they were warming up on the practice mound behind their dugout.

"How do you think I looked?" Aiden asked Mac as the two walked around the
chain link fence and onto the field area.

"Hey, you know you better than I know you. I'm still new at this," Mac
protested.

"I guess what I meant was, did I put my pitches where you wanted them?"

"I hardly had to move my glove, so I guess the answer would be yes. And the
way your fastball was moving, that probably wasn't easy."

"Yeah, that's as much as it's zipped around all season. Even when it's
moving like usual it's way easier to control the sucker warming up than it
is with a hitter at the plate."

"You're right about it moving. I didn't see it move like that in our
workouts either. What are you doing different to get it to move more?"

"I'm not sure except I'm throwing it harder and with more snap," Aiden
replied.

What Aiden and Mac were referring to was how Aiden's fastball wasn't coming
at the plate in a straight line.  As it reached the plate it was sinking a
little and tailing slightly away from a right-handed batter.

Whatever control Aiden had displayed during his warmup left him as soon as
the Eagle leadoff batter saw his first pitch. It was a fastball low and
outside for ball one. Then came ball two. Two pitches later it was ball
four and a Clark Pass runner was on first. Aiden then walked the next
batter, putting runners on first and second with no outs. He then gave up a
run-scoring single on a bloop hit that dropped just out of the reach of
Barry, who was playing left field, and Gordy, who was playing center. The
runner on second left on contact, which was a baserunning mistake he got
away with because nobody caught the ball. The runner on first stopped at
second. There were now runners on first and second with no outs and Clark
Pass up 1-0.

Seeing the frustration building in Aiden, Mac asked for time out and
started out to the mound just as Coach Ecklund came out of the dugout
asking for time. Coach Ecklund told Aiden he was overthrowing which was why
his command was bad. "Do what you know," the coach told him. "And trying to
throw every pitch past the batter is not what you know. Let your stuff work
for you."

The ump stepped toward the mound and shouted that it was time to play
ball. Mac hesitated a moment after Coach Ecklund left the mound. "Throw
like you were throwing at the end of warmups, dude. They won't hit you."

"Come on, catcher, let's play ball," the ump yelled, and Mac turned and
hustled back to the plate.

The next batter hit a nubber into the middle of the infield that nobody
could field in time to make a play, loading the bases. Aiden then showed he
had another walk left in him, walking the batter on a full count. A ground
ball that Mason made a diving stop on became an infield hit when he didn't
have time to get a throw off. That scored another run, and the bases were
loaded with no outs, and the Eagles holding a 3-0 lead.

The next Eagle batter belted what ended up being the Eagles' only hard-hit
ball of the inning, a line drive that went directly into Trent's glove at
third. The runner on third, thinking the ball was going through the infield
for a hit, found himself too far off the base to get back before Trent dove
at the base and tagged it with his glove for a double play.

As Aiden set his feet on the pitcher's rubber, he thought about what Mac
had told him during the time out. When Mac signaled for a fastball, Aiden
wound up and took a little off his pitch, which crossed the plate at the
knees for a strike.

Mac gave Aiden a thumbs up. "Looked good, dude," he called out before
tossing the ball back. The batter swung and missed at the next pitch, then
took an outside pitch for ball one. He got a piece of the next pitch,
hitting a routine grounder to the right side of the infield where Mason
gathered it up and threw the batter out at first by four steps. The inning
finally ended, but the Titans were now down 3-0. Aiden walked off the field
kicking himself for pitching just as badly as the team had practiced before
Mac threw his little tantrum.

Mac caught up with Aiden. "Good job on the last batter. Now you're ready
for some great innings," Mac said.

"I kinda sucked out there."

"Hey, now you just have to quit sucking and suck it up. And we all have to
score some runs."

Aiden nodded and took his seat at the end of the dugout bench. Everyone on
the Titans knew better than to talk to him during a game he was pitching
once he sat there. Aiden thought about how good he had felt during his
pregame warmup and how nothing seemed to feel right as soon as he took his
eight warmup pitches from the regular mound. Then he worked to shake those
negative vibes from his mind by telling himself he had pitched better to
end the first inning and that those pitches were what counted.

His thoughts were interrupted when Trent stroked a two-out single to
right. Even though he threw right-handed, Trent was a left-handed
batter. Three pitches later, Muddy drove a 2-0 pitch over the left field
fence to cut the Eagle lead to 3-2. Aiden jumped up with his teammates to
cheer as soon as the ball left the bat. There had been no doubt that Muddy
hit the ball squarely.

The gloom that hovered after the Titan's bad start had suddenly lifted.
After Max struck out swinging to end the inning, Aiden shed his jacket and
dropped it on the shelf behind the bench. He picked up his glove and ran
out to the pitcher's mound to start the second inning.

Aiden faced only three batters in the inning, striking out one. The second
hitter in the inning had a one out single, but Mac threw him out attempting
to steal second on a 1-2 pitch that struck out the batter. It was a classic
"strike `em out, throw `em out" double play. Aiden and Mac traded low fives
as they walked off the field.

Calvin Loggins, the Eagles' pitcher, put the Titans down 1-2-3 in the
bottom of the inning.  Aiden, Mason, Miles, Trent, and even Gordy all
mentioned that the blond, seventh grade pitcher was cuter than fuck. Plus,
he was a decent all-around player. The Eagles went scoreless again in the
top of the third after stranding a two out double on second.

A combination of timely Mayfield hitting and some sloppy Clark Pass
fielding led to a big inning for the Titans. Aiden led off the inning with
a single. Riley, who had been named the pitcher's designated runner, took
Aiden's spot on first. Coach Ecklund knew that Aiden was the better runner,
but he liked to have his pitcher resting on the bench rather than running
the bases. Gordy flied out to left and then the wheels came off for the
Eagles. A combination of two errors, three more hits, and a walk, led to a
five-run inning and a 7-3 lead after three innings.

The Eagles answered with a run in the top of the fourth when the Titans had
an error on the first play of the inning. Scott's throw from deep shortstop
to first was a little wide. Max came off the base and caught the ball but
fumbled it and then dropped it as he turned to tag the incoming runner, who
was called safe.  Gordy's mother, who was the official scorekeeper for the
game, scored the play an error on Max, a decision Coach Ecklund concurred
with when he checked the scorebook after the game. A one out walk and two
two-out singles led to an Eagle run.

It could have been worse. When the ball was put into play after the run
scored, the Eagles had runners on first and third with two outs. When Aiden
got an 0-2 count on the Eagles' batter, Mac called for a curve in the dirt
to see if the batter would go fishing. Aiden's breaking balls were still a
work in progress and he rarely threw one in a game. He mostly threw
fastballs and changeups. He knew he could bury a curve in the dirt and
nodded when he read Mac's signal. He uncorked a curve that hit the dirt a
bit too soon and a bit too far outside, but Mac deftly got down on the
ball, blocking it with his mitt and his body and keeping it in front of
him. That saved Aiden from a wild pitch and kept the runner on third. The
batter then struck out on a called third strike, a fastball right down the
middle. The fourth ended with the Titans holding a 7-4 lead.

"Whoa, great block, mister catcher," Aiden told him as he and Mac traded
fist bumps.

"Thank you, mister pitcher. I certainly didn't want to see a wild pitch get
marked next to your name in the scorebook," Mac grinned.

"Or let a run score,"

"Yep, that too."

They had a 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth. Coach Ecklund then made a planned
change, bringing Everett in as the pitcher. Aiden was moved to second base
and Everett took Mason's place in the lineup.

After holding the Eagles scoreless in the top of the fifth, they jumped all
over the relief pitcher who had come into the game for Calvin, scoring four
runs and ending the fifth with an 11-4 lead. The score was 12-4 at the end
of the sixth. With a big lead, Coach Ecklund brought in Riley for his first
varsity innings as a pitcher and sent Lenny in to catch.

Riley's nerves showed at the start of the inning when he walked the first
two batters. Lenny ran out to talk, knowing he had to talk to his friend as
a catcher and not as a friend. "Hey, dude who's ahead in this game?"

Riley wondered why he was being asked. "We are by seven runs," Riley
answered incorrectly, but Lenny didn't bother to correct him. All he wanted
was for Riley to get the idea that the Titans had a big lead and to pitch
accordingly. That was something Mac had learned from listening to Kevin,
that when his pitcher had a big lead all his pitcher had to do was throw
strikes.

"So, quit being worried about somebody hitting the ball and throw strikes,
otherwise you're going to have to really work. I know you're better than
these guys, so show them."

Riley nodded and threw his nasty fastball to the plate, uncorked a couple
of nice breaking balls, and limited the damage to one run. That gave the
Titans a 12-5 win and upped their record to 4-2.

After the traditional handshakes/fist bumps, friends and parents had left
the bleachers and their lawn chairs to offer congratulations and to
chat. Usually, they would all pause while Coach Ecklund held his postgame
meeting, but the coach had informed the boys right after the last out that
the meeting would be held in the locker room.

Two young men came out of the stands and approached Mac and Aiden as they
started their trek to the school gym. They were both Mayfield alums and
former Mustang baseball players: Eric Simmons and Kevin Corcoran.

"I thought you had left town," Mac told Kevin, the former catcher.

"I wrangled a three-day weekend and came back so I could watch this game,"
Kevin said. "I wanted to watch my protégé at work. And since Aiden is
Eric's protégé and this was a regular day off for him, we came
together."

"Eric? You mean Eric Simmons, the pitcher?" Mac was slightly awestruck at
being in the presence of one of Mayfield's baseball legends.

"One and the same," Eric said.

"And you two were the battery for the perfect game at State," Mac said in
what was as much a statement as a question.

"That we were," Kevin responded. "I know you've gotta meet with Ecklund,
but I just wanted to tell you, Mac, I was impressed with how you
played. You got Aiden turned around after a rocky start, made a couple of
nice blocks and one great one, and threw a runner out at second. What did
you say to Aiden to turn him around?"

Mac felt embarrassed by the question from the Mustang icon who was in the
school's Athletic Hall of Fame.

Eric could see that Mac was nervous and gave him a moment to gather himself
by tossing in a comment of his own. "I know what Kevin would have told me,"
he said.

"What?" Aiden asked.

"Get your head out of your fucking ass, Simmons, and do what you know,"
Eric grinned. Eric was also in the Hall of Fame.

Aiden and Kevin chuckled as Mac answered Kevin's question. "I told him he
was throwing too hard and to trust his stuff." Mac then waited for Kevin to
criticize the instruction he had given Aiden.

"Smart, very smart and oh so right," Kevin responded.

"Did you hear that, Aiden?" Eric asked. "That's what I wanted to tell
you. But you seem to have a pretty smart catcher. Now, get going before you
have Coach Ecklund getting on your ass for lollygagging out here on the
field with a couple of old alums."

Aiden thanked the two for coming to watch the game and for talking to
them. "Yeah, thanks," Mac said. He traded fist bumps with Eric and Kevin
and left the field feeling like he was walking on air.

After a game, Coach Ecklund liked to have a quick meeting with the team on
the field or in the bleachers, but this time he met with the team in the
locker room. The weather was becoming blustery, and he liked his players to
be as comfortable as possible during a team meeting.

"Good job, everyone," he said as soon as everyone was seated on a bench in
the meeting corner of the locker room. "I thought we played quite well. One
thing that is important for us to think about is that Clark Pass played you
better than the score indicates. One bad inning did them in." He could have
said that the one bad inning was the result of the Eagles' lack of pitching
depth, but he wanted the meeting to focus on the strong points of his team,
not the weak points of the opposition. He warned the boys attending the
first Yard Goat practice the next morning to not get hurt, which he knew
was a bit silly since nobody set out to get hurt. But he also knew that
boys tended to push things too hard sometimes and he reminded them that the
Titans were their primary team until the last game of their season. He then
complimented some of the players, including Mac, Aiden, and Riley, gave the
team a final "atta boy" and dismissed them to go home.

Lenny and Riley walked out of the gym together and both hopped the activity
bus for the short ride to their houses. Even though they each lived close
to the school and normally walked home, by riding the bus they didn't have
to walk with their equipment bags and backpacks.

"Are you still coming to my house with me after practice tomorrow?" Riley
asked. Riley had asked Lenny at Wednesday's lunch if he could come to his
house for lunch after the Yard Goat practice and spend the afternoon at his
house. Lenny said he would check with his mom and let him know. The answer
was yes. Riley was overjoyed and was confident that Lenny would pass the
mom test.

"I'm coming," Lenny said. "Remember, when I say I'm going to do something
it means I'm going to do it. And if something happens that I can't, I'll
let you know right away."

"Gotcha. I can't wait for lunch tomorrow," Riley grinned.

"Neither can I. Oh, one other thing."

"What?" Riley asked with a tinge of anxiety.

"Nice job on your first time pitching varsity."

Riley grinned and said, "And nice job being a sixth-grade varsity
catcher. When you came out to talk you knew exactly what to do."

Lenny returned Riley's grin as the driver started up the bus and pulled
away from the busway. Both boys were eager for lunch at Riley's house the
next day.

Aiden found Eric waiting for him outside of the gym. "Coach Phil asked me
to give you a ride to the Bear," Eric told Aiden. "A bunch of us are going
to enjoy pizza there."

"My dads told me not to ride alone with strange men," Aiden responded.

"And, yeah, I'm as strange as it gets except for one thing," Eric said.

"What?"

"I happen to be your number two big brother, so it's okay if you ride with
me. Besides, if you can ride in my locomotive, you can ride in my car."

"Good point," Aiden grinned.

Eric then saw Mac coming out and issued him an invitation as well. "I'll
have to call my parents first," Mac said.

"Already done and already approved."

"How did you know their number?"

"Hey, I know people in high places." Mac gave Eric a questioning look. "My
dad is your dad's boss, and I got it from him."

"Whoa, that's right. Eric Simmons and Mr. Simmons and I never connected
it."

"Now you have, so let's go get pizza."

Eric, Aiden, and Mac, met Phil at the Bear. As much as Kevin would have
liked to attend the pizza feed, he had to leave for home after the
game. Coach Ecklund soon showed up and Gordy arrived along with his
dad. Mac was surprised when he saw his dad enter the restaurant. He looked
over at Eric with another questioning look on his face.

"I invited him," Eric said. "I figured the worst he could do was say no."

Larry soon joined them. The Mustangs had played an away game at Kentburg,
scoring three runs in the top of the seventh to take a 5-4 win over their
rivals and move into a tie for first in the Seamount League.

As the adults talked baseball, the boys had some baseball chatter of their
own. They had their phones out and were checking the Seamount Middle School
site for the league scores.  Gordy showed Mac where to go on his phone,
chiding him for waiting this long to get the information.

"Hey, I have the info for our Titans site," Mac said.

"Which doesn't post the league scores as fast as the league site," Gordy
told him.

The scores were a mix of the expected and the surprising.  Winton edged
Meadow Park 5-4, giving the Coyotes their second straight loss. That score
was considered a surprise. Kentburg's 18-5 pasting of Gardner was expected
of course. Evans surprised Monte 3-2 at Monte, another surprise. It was the
first loss of the season for the Bulldogs. Harborview beat Chinook and Pine
Lake defeated Barrett in games that would probably have no bearing on the
playoff race.

Winton was now alone in first place in the Seamount East Division with a
5-1 record. Mayfield, Meadow Park, and Kentburg were in a three-way tie for
second with 4-2 records. Evans and Monte were now tied for first in the
West with 5-1 records with Harbor View in third at 3-3. The middle school
season had now reached the half-way mark.

The bad news that the boys shared with the adults was the JV score. The
Titan JV suffered their first loss of the season with a 7-2 shellacking by
the Clark Pass Eagles. They were still in first place, but only by a game,
over Clark Pass and Kentburg.

Mac was pleased that his dad seemed to be getting along with the coaches,
especially with Coach Ecklund. Neither one seemed to hold any grudges over
their disagreement on the contract earlier in the month.

"Who do you play next?" Mac's dad, Arnold, asked.

"We play the big bad Royals from Kentburg," Mac replied. "We're tied for
second with them."

"I can see why Dennis said he was okay with me taking Tuesday afternoon off
when I hadn't even asked for it." Dennis was Arnold's boss Dennis Simmons.

"What did you tell him?"

"To charge it to my personal leave time," Arnold grinned. Mac didn't think
his day could get any better but hearing that his father would be at his
game on Tuesday made it perfect.

SATURDAY, APRIL 25

<Yard Goats>

The first practice for the Mayfield Yard Goats started on time. The Yard
Goats were Mayfield's entry in the Southwest Washington thirteen and under
league. Like Coach Ecklund, Coach Hallion demanded punctuality. He was also
a stickler for hustling in practice and for playing fundamentally sound
baseball. The boys did note that Coach Hallion smiled and joked more than
Coach Ecklund.

Collin had told his Titan teammates he wouldn't be playing summer ball. He
was planning to be a paid counselor at the Capital Nudist Camp and wouldn't
be able to devote the needed time to baseball. Rusty would help Collin at
times as a volunteer, but he wanted to play baseball. Barry and Everett
planned on playing baseball, but their birthdate made them ineligible to
play for the Goats. They would be playing fourteen and under for Phil.

Two JV players, Warren Meadows and Emmett Haskins, who had no varsity
experience, came to the Goat turnout. They were too old to play on the
Explorers, the eleven and under team, so they had to take their shot at
making the Yard Goats. Coach Hallion felt they were good enough to make the
team, but he couldn't guarantee them a lot of playing time beyond what he
was required to give them by league rule. Both boys could petition for a
waiver to play on the Explorers, but they wanted to play against the better
competition. Most of the Explorer players would be fifth graders when the
season started and in the ten and eleven age range.

One pleasant surprise for the Goat players was Eric Simmons helping
coach. He said he would help when he could since he was involved with his
intern work with the railroad as well as some class work. "He obviously
wasn't nearly busy enough," Larry commented later when Aiden told him the
news.

For Coach Hallion (not to mention the players) punctual meant ending
practice on time as well as starting it on time. As soon as practice ended
at noon, Aiden pulled his phone out of his equipment bag to call his
dads. The maneuver wasn't necessary since Phil was already parked in the
school parking area waiting for him. Aiden should have known—his parents
were coaches and had taught him punctuality.

<Aiden>

Phil drove Aiden home where he showered and dressed in a Mariners Marty
Carlson t-shirt and jeans. He grabbed his overnight bag, which he had
packed the night before, and joined his dads downstairs. They were soon on
the road to Seattle.

"It's too bad Mayfield doesn't have a twelve and under team," Aiden said as
they zipped along Highway 12. "Guys like Warren and Emmett have to try
playing for the Goats and that's going to be tough."

"Not enough kids showed interest," Larry replied. "Those two could play for
Kentburg which has a twelve and under. Strangely what Kentburg doesn't have
is an eleven and under."

"But why? Mayfield has a great rec program for the younger kids, our school
teams are good, teams like the Explorers and Goats are good. I mean we've
got ten, eleven, thirteen, fourteen and under and the two high school teams
in the Legion program, but no twelve and under."

"In the years I've been coaching, I've noticed a couple of things about the
summer programs. First, Mayfield does really well in getting kids to
play. Compared to a lot of small towns, we have a lot of participation in
baseball. But different groups growing up together have different interests
and talents, as well as numbers of kids. In small towns like Mayfield and
Kentburg, that sometimes leads to a certain age group not having enough
players to form a team which is why Mayfield kids can play for a Kentburg
team if Mayfield doesn't have a team in an age group."

"And the other way around," Aiden noted.

"But you will often have kids like Warren and Emmett who want to play with
their friends in their own town."

"And I don't blame them. I mean, who would want to play with a bunch of
Kentburg kids, right?"

"I seem to recall one of the twins having a pretty good friend from
Kentburg who also visited our place a few times," Phil said.

"That was Keith. He was okay for a Kentburg dude, at least until he ended
his friendship with Lenny. Then he became just another loser from
Kentburg."

"The fact that the Titans are playing at Kentburg on Tuesday doesn't happen
to have you all frazzled does it?"

"No way, because we plan on kicking their sorry asses on Tuesday."

Larry and Phil decided to drop the matter there before Aiden got himself
too cranked up. They arrived at the Miller residence in Kirkland a little
after two-thirty, close to their expected time. Drake came out the front
door before Phil turned the engine off. Following him was a stunning blond
teen who was well-dressed and wearing a big smile.

"Hi Uncle Larry and Uncle Phil," Drake said as his uncles stepped out of
the car. When Aiden exited out of the rear door, Drake stepped up to him
and gave him a big hug.

After they broke the hug, Drake turned and waved his arm at Pierce. "This
is my boyfriend, Pierce. Pierce, meet my Uncle Larry, Uncle Phil, and my
brousin, Aiden." There was an exchange of handshakes between Pierce and the
two uncles and fist bumps between him and Aiden.

The gathering went into the house where they were greeted by Keegan and
Natalie. Keegan gave Aiden a big hug, happy that his son didn't try to push
him away as he would have at one time. He then exchanged a loving hug with
his brother, Phil. Not long ago that hug would not have been full of
love—in fact they probably would not have hugged at all.

"Well, where is he?" Aiden asked.

"Natalie and Drake just went back to get him," Keegan replied.

"It takes two people to carry a baby?"

"One to do the carrying and one to play the fanfare."

"The fanfare?"

Aiden's question was answered by Drake stepping out of the nursery and
calling out, "TA DA! PRESENTING THE ONE AND ONLY LINCOLN CLAYTON MILLER!"
His fanfare was followed by Natalie carrying the two-month-old bundle of
joy into the living room.

And so, Aiden spent an afternoon and evening getting to know his
two-month-old brother, Lincoln, as well as his cousin Drake's fifteen year
old boyfriend, Pierce. Aiden liked them both. It didn't take him long to
learn the big advantage Pierce had over Lincoln—he didn't need to have
his diaper changed. He also learned one way in which they were
equals—both complained loudly when they were hungry.

Aiden also met Fido, a beagle puppy, who had two obvious loves in his
life—the Miller brothers, Lincoln and Drake. Aiden was pleased that the
dog liked him as well and wondered if the time was coming in his life for
him to have a pet.

After watching Drake and Pierce change Lincoln's diaper, Aiden was informed
by Drake that he should have been taking notes, because he would have his
turn on his next visit. Aiden didn't think that was much of an incentive to
return, but he also knew that his new brother was such a cute critter that
there was no doubt that he would be back.

<Aiden and Drake>

Pierce couldn't spend the night. As planned, Aiden spent the night in
Drake's bed. The brousins were naked and hard when they clambered under the
covers.

"By the way, you understand that you got a free ride on your first little
bro visit," Drake said.

"I think I know what you mean. I got to watch Lincoln get his diaper
changed. Next time I get to do it."

"You're not a true big bro until you've done it. You've seen it, next time
you do it."

"Hmm, I could practice on somebody at home, I guess."

"Like Nolan?"

"No, I was thinking more of Mason. He's goofy enough he might do it once."

"Whatever. How about we take care of these hard-ons?"

"Like with a sixty-nine, maybe?"

"That works."

Aiden came first, giving Drake a taste of his sweet tween cum. Drake
followed by three minutes and Aiden received a mouthful of Drake's thick
but flavorful teen cum. The brotherly cousins cuddled up and quickly fell
into a sound sleep.

SUNDAY, APRIL 26

Aiden and Drake were showered and dressed by nine. They joined Keegan and
Natalie in the living room. Keegan took Lincoln to his car and strapped him
into his car seat. Natalie, Aiden, and Drake joined them as they finished.

They met Larry and Phil at the IHOP near the motel where they stayed and
enjoyed breakfast together. The talk was about the Mariners 6-5 loss the
night before. Marty went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

"That's two straight games that he's got the collar," Aiden said.

"It happens to the best," Larry reminded him.

"I know, but he is Marty after all and should get hits every game."

"Seriously?" Drake asked as he wondered if Aiden was losing touch with
reality.

"No, but one can hope."

"Then he would end up chasing Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak record
and what a circus that would be," Larry observed.

"But it would be a fun circus. Anyway, we should be home in time to watch
this afternoon's game and if I actually watch it all this time maybe I'll
send him some good karma."

"Well, I'll watch it then, too. Then we can send him double karma," Drake
said.

Aiden slept during half of the ride home. But he didn't sleep through any
of the Mariners game as the M's defeated the Twins 5-2 with the help of a
two-run homer by Marty.

"The double karma worked," Aiden told his dads.

"Well, in that case, let's go out for pizza tonight to celebrate," Larry
suggested.

Aiden couldn't argue with that bit of parental logic. They went to the Bear
soon after. Aiden found himself thinking about pet names and, as much as he
loved pizza at the Bear, his favorite bear was the Sugar Bear who lived in
Meadow Park.

Next: The Bleeping Royals