The Hitting Zone

Dave knew his twin well. Not even twenty minutes after the text, Kyle was running into the house, shouting. "Dad! Mom! Dad! Is it true? Am I really going to meet an agent tomorrow??"

We were just finishing dinner, eating the last of the rolls.

"Yes." Dad answered with a nod. "I was telling your brothers; plan to wear something nice."

"Of course!" Kyle sat down at the table and started to ask his questions. "What's his name? Where's he coming from? The Bay Area like Jeremy and Rose? Is this their friend? Or just an acquaintance?"

Noah got up and so did I. We already knew that Dad didn't know much. It was better to escape Kyle's rambling and save ourselves the headache. Unfortunately, we shared a room with him and couldn't completely escape. Going to sleep with him talking about tomorrow wasn't the best of lullabies, but at least he wasn't terribly loud.

The next morning however...

"Get up, get up, get up." Kyle made a racket. "Todays the day I meet my agent."

"Shut up." Dave grumbled. "We don't even see him until lunch."

"Yea." I muttered, pulling my comforter higher.

Noah was the only one to actually get up. "Thanks Kyle. I'm going to use this time to go for a run. Anyone want to join?"

I almost held my breath, praying for sleep to come back to me.

"You know what? I'll go." Dave started to move. "Anything to get away from Kyle's excess energy."

The three of them made started to move around the room and I finally started to slip back into dreamland.

The next time I woke up was because of Mom. "Good morning, Jake. Do you want to come down for breakfast? Or wait until lunch to eat?"

I stretched and got up. "I'll have breakfast." I know how much effort Mom puts into Sunday breakfast and I couldn't pass that up. I followed her downstairs where Dad and Grampa were already eating. "What happened to Kyle?"

"I made sure he left with Noah and Dave." Dad smiled. "He's a little overwhelming with his excitement today."

"It's a big deal." Grampa said. "It's his future. Like when Zeke committed to his college and coach. Kyle is taking a different kind of commitment."

"Well, it's just the first meeting." Mom said. "Who knows if this is the right agent for him. He might want to explore other options."

The three adults talked casually about what the next step would be if Kyle liked the guy or didn't.

"Rose gave me quite backup options." Dad reassured them. "Heck, we can meet with all of them separately and then make a decision too."

Eventually the twins and Noah came back from their run and ate breakfast. The twins took turns showering first while Noah went to the garage to lift some of the free weights. Seeing them all doing their own thing, I went to the living room to watch some spring training baseball with Grampa. He dozed off within minutes.

The rest of the morning was much quieter after the boys ran. Everyone seemed to calm down. Most importantly, Kyle. Because with him calm, Dave wasn't so annoyed. Noah also felt good after his workout so he didn't stir up any trouble. A couple hours later, we were all dressed semi-formally and packed into the family car. Mom gave up her spot in the front passenger seat for Grampa and sat in the middle row with the twins. She also explained to Kyle that he didn't have to commit to this guy right away. Let him explain who he is and what to expect.

We showed up to the restaurant early. Surprisingly enough, we weren't first. The guy was already here. The host brought us to a big table that sat eight. Near the head of the table, a man in a navy blue suit was typing away on his phone. He was unexpectedly young, looking like he was still in his 20's. I guess I was expecting someone Dad's age or older.

The man saw us coming, put his phone away, and stood up. "Hello, how are you? I'm Ryan Ward." He reached for Dad's hand first.

Dad shook his hand. "I'm Wayne Atkins. We spoke on the phone." He turned his body to show us. "This is my family. My wife, Mary. My father-in-law Lynn. Four of my five boys: David, Kyle, Noah, and Jake."

Ryan shook each of our hands very briefly before focusing on Kyle. "Kyle, your the potential client, correct. Looking at entering the draft this summer?"

"Yes." Kyle answered stiffly.

Noah nudged me and whispered. "Looks like he's getting cold feet."

I shrugged and whispered back. "He's talking to a complete stranger about his future. How comfortable can you be?"

Ryan gestured to the seat at the head of the table. "I understand that you'll be the main focus of today's meeting. Let's have you sit there. I'll sit on your right and your parents on your left."

We all started to find out seats around the table. Kyle at the end. Dad. Mom. Dave. Grampa on the far end. Me. Noah. Then back to Ryan on the other side of Kyle.

A server came around to get our drink order and ask if we want appetizers. Noah looked hopeful but Mom gave a shake of her head. After the server left, Ryan started to speak again.

"I'll tell you guys about myself first to get acquainted." Ryan said. "I understand you got my information from Jeremy, but I actually went to college with Rose on the east coast."

"What made you move out west?" Mom asked politely.

"I was born and raised near DC." He answered. "I stayed on the east coast for college. I'm a former college athlete that got hurt and had to retire. Thought of a few friends who were from California or moving to California and I thought why not give it a go? The weather is more mild; not a whole lot of snow. And the summers are great. Plus, there might be more opportunities out here for someone like myself."

"What sport did you play?" Noah asked, interested.

"Why wouldn't you go to LA to become an agent?" Dave asked. "Aren't there like big agencies there you can join?"

"I played football. Wide receiver." Ryan answered Noah first. "Blew out my knee in the worst possible way."

"Why didn't you rehab it and try to continue on?" Noah hurried with a follow-up question.

Ryan chuckled. "Maybe I could have if I had the motivation for it. I wasn't passionate about football. I was honored for the opportunity it provided me. Lifetime friends. A sense of achievement. And even paid for some of my college. But I knew I didn't have the drive to make it to the pros." He looked to Dave. "As for why I didn't choose an agency in LA or something similar, I just didn't think I could start as an errand boy. There's a hierarchy in any big company. I thought I would just skip that step and find a few players I could represent on my own and start at the bottom by myself."

Dad frowned.