Casey at the Bat

Story by srb

Well people, here’s my latest story. I’ve been working on this for the better part of two months.

First I want to tell people that this is NON EROTIC literature. As in THERE IS NO SEX.

Okay, now that 99.9% of the reading population is gone, my other notes. I want to make sure to give a big thanks to Theromen for his help in beta reading. It’s been invaluable. Crudebuster’s insight on the story has been helpful as well, from the POV of someone who isn’t firmly entrenched in the lore of baseball. Not that I went into too much detail of the infield fly rule or a balk.

Now I want to say that this story is set in the same universe as my other two ‘What You Need’ stories, ‘Jamie and Phillip; Promises’, and ‘Joan’s Baby’. Reading either of the stories is unnecessary to enjoy this one. I wrote them intentionally so that they would be one shots that could fill in some detail, but not be necessary to enjoy. Going into that fact, this story actually happens after ‘Jamie and Phillip’ but before ‘Joan’s Baby’, chronologically, as its fall and not winter. Not that it has any bearing on this story.

Without much further ado, I’ll give the story. I intend to include everything in the first post as I will edit it as I post each chapter. I don’t want to overwhelm people.

Thanks for reading.

PS I've finished the whole story, still working on a couple of corrections. I will post it all in time but I don't want to overwhelm people.

There was no love lost on the diamond between opponents, especially against the greatest competitors on the field.

Prologue

William Brown forgot to duck; and now he was paying for it. He pulled his baseball cap off his noggin, rubbing his aching forehead. The old office building was built almost two centuries ago, back during the population boom of the twenty fourth century, when space was at more of a premium. Now that Mars had a population about three billion people, and after a nuclear war killed nearly a billion, the population problem was relieved, but not the stinginess of government. They were focused with things they considered more important than Child Services.

He seemed to come into this office everyday, although he knew it was much more like once a month. Ever since he had taken up adopting so many children, the meetings were unavoidable. He simply had to see Alexandra to do follow up appointments on each of the children under his ward. And he had a lot of adopted children.

She, on the other hand, couldn’t hide her amusement at the red mark growing on his skull. Her dark black hand, covered by the sleeve of a bright yellow dress, covered her mouth as she guffawed.

“I’m sorry Bill, but that is just too funny. That’s exactly what I needed,” she said, cackling as she waved him in.

He sighed, toss his coat onto the back of the old office chair and gently placing a gift-wrapped box on top of it. The entire office was old, an ancient plastic desk, two old but comfortable chairs, a computer terminal that seemed ancient, and perhaps most importantly, of course, was Alexandra’s wrinkled body. Though she moved well and did more than most eighty year olds, she was many years past her retirement date. But there was work to be done, and someone had to do it. It wasn’t like the turn of the millennium. The average lifespan had increased to a hundred and twenty, if you don’t include deaths related to the results of nuclear bombing. In fact the only new thing in the office was her computer terminal, something she complained about to no end after she finally got used to the old system.

“Is that a gift?” she asked, looking at box, sizing it up.

“Maybe later. So how’s the family,” he asked, dropping down in his chair.

“Good Bill. Charles has taken up painting. Now I have drops of paint everywhere on the floor. The other day the dog was trying to clean paint off his tail…I tell you the man thinks he’s Picasso, but he can’t even paint a bowl of fruit,” she said, shaking her head.

“One of these days you’re going to have to stay home and teach him,” Bill said with a grin.

“Oh? So I can have a hundred bad portraits of my old mug taking up the place? No thanks Bill. I’m sure you’re just trying to kick me out of here, probably hoping they bring in some cute twenty year old, just desperate to help these children,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes to mock him.

“I don’t need some new pain in the ass. I like my old pain in the ass just enough,” he said with a laugh. “Besides Alex, you do more for those kids than anyone I’ve ever known.”

“You’re a close second there Bill. I’m too old to take ca

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