the greatest game on earth

[notplaying]

Toby had walked out of the compound feeling satisfied with the day. He was done. Basically. He just needed to corral the island's citizens in one place for an hour and tell them that. More or less

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[with_diamonds]

Despite her having never been a huge fan of beaches, Lucy had taken to spending more time there. As such, she was sitting cross-legged on a small blanket with a book of Thoreau's essays when she noticed Toby, looking up only when she heard the bat hit the ball.

"Nice one," she called, shielding her eyes from the sun with one hand, a bright smile on her face. "Presents from the island?"

[notplaying]

"Yeah," Toby called back. "Go get that ball back and I'll let you hit a few."

This was great incentive for fourteen year olds. He didn't know if the same applied to young women.

[with_diamonds]

It was a little-known fact that, having grown up with a brother only two years older than her, that Lucy had been fairly athletic up until she left school. So, folding over the corner of the page she was on, she hopped up to grab the ball.

"Sounds like a deal," she said, as she brought it over to Toby. "But you better go easy on me, I haven't played in ages."

[notplaying]

"Fair enough," he said, handing her the bat and grabbing a mitt. He headed off for the pitcher's mound, such as it presently was.

"As long as you don't go find Mickey mantle and get him to play on your team, I'll go easy."

[with_diamonds]

Lucy figured she'd been in 9th grade at the oldest the last she'd held a baseball bat, and probably younger, before Max had gone off to college; having never thought she'd play again, it almost seemed a bit weird, but also maybe the sort of fun she needed. It definitely beat just sitting, anyway.

"I won't," she promised, laughing, as she took the bat and held it up in position. "I don't think he's here, anyway, or I'd be tempted."

[notplaying]

"The President cheated," Toby said, thunking the ball into the glove a few times to get a good shape to it. "He'd get professional athletes to come in for a day and pretend to be temps."

"This one's gonna be low and outside," he told her, winding up and then letting it go.

[with_diamonds]

"That doesn't sound fair," Lucy said, with a bemused laugh. "But then, he is - was - whatever verb - President." Not that she thought that entitled him to do whatever he wanted, but things were good, and she wasn't about to go off on another LBJ tirade.

"Low and outside," she repeated to herself, under her breath. She could do low and outside. And she did -- not a particularly impressive hit, but it was contact, the ball actually traveled some, and that was more important than just how good the hit was, just then.

[notplaying]

Toby watched the ball go and smiled. He nodded, once, and grabbed a second ball from the bag.

"High, over the plate," he told her, still smiling, however minutely, and wound up, and pitched.

[with_diamonds]

Lucy repositioned the bat in her hands before the second pitch came, and bit her lower lip in concentration as she swung.

It was better than the first, steadier, and she couldn't help but beam as she watched it, jumping about an inch off the ground.

[notplaying]

Toby smiled at Lucy's smile, before he turned his head to pass it off as a squint as he watched the ball.

"Good," he said, nodding approvingly. "You have to go get these, you know. When we're done."