Chapter 7 - Tyler

“Oh my God.” Molly’s whispered words filled with shock echoed my own voice in my head. The road ahead of us was mostly clear, but tree branches and bigger pieces of debris were still on parts of the road. Erick drove slowly as he maneuvered around the obstacles in the road. Silence filled the crowded cab of the van. We looked out the window at houses with whole walls torn off and littered on the ground all around them. A destroyed and mangled vehicle sat still in its parking spot with its front end torn off and the windshield filled with cracks. Next to that car sat a pickup truck on its side with a huge dent on the top of the cab and covered with tree branches. Bricks and cinder blocks were tossed around the yard where a house had once stood. I wondered if the family that had lived there had ever gone to Raptors games or to Molly’s bakery. I hoped they were all okay. The house next to the now-empty lot sat like it had a few days ago and didn’t seem to have been touched at all other than some tires, clothes, and other debris in their yard.

I noticed that Tanner was taking video of our reactions as well as everything we were seeing. Tanner was a little older than us, in his late twenties, and was pretty quiet as he sat in one of the captain’s chairs of the van. Erick, Molly, and I were all crammed together on the front bench seat. We were very lucky that Molly was so little, even with her baby bump. The rest of the van was stuffed with tornado relief supplies.

“Oh my gosh, there is Mrs. James! I’m so glad she’s okay!” Molly exclaimed and reached her arm across my body to point out of the window. “Can we stop to talk to her? I saw her the morning of the tornado.”

“I can’t believe that was only yesterday,” I replied. I was ready to get out of the van, so Molly could slide out of the middle seat and go check on her regular customer.

“There is no way that was just yesterday.” Molly shook her head in disbelief. I squeezed her hand to try and give her some comfort.

“We can talk to her in a few minutes,” Erick said as he went around a car that was turned upside down in the road ahead of us. “We need to find Cornerstone Church. That’s the tornado relief headquarters. Volunteers are scheduled to be there to help hand out supplies. We will walk back this way and make sure your friend gets supplies, and you can check on her then.”

Molly nodded and directed Erick towards Cornerstone Church, which was only two blocks away from where Batter Up! had stood. When we got to the area of Main Street that had once been lined with shops and trees, I felt my wife tremble beside me. Her bakery, the bookstore, flower shop, the dry cleaners, small grocery store, and bank were unrecognizable. Even the town hall in the middle of the square had the top blown off, but the walls were all still standing.

“It can all be rebuilt,” I told her while holding her tightly. “The town will be beautiful again.”

Molly nodded and took a deep breath. “At least Campbell Field is still standing.”

“The guys told me the locker rooms were damaged and one section of the seats would need to be replaced, but overall, the stadium got very lucky.”

“I still can’t believe Ashleigh McAlister didn’t make it,” Molly said quietly.

“If you had been here, it could have been you…” I tucked her under my arm and kissed the top of her head. “It’s a shock. Mack still hadn’t processed it all when I talked to him. He’s going to be staying by Nico’s side for a while.”

Molly nodded. “As he should! Who is going to coach the Raptors?”

“I think Snyder is going to step up. While I’m here, I told him I’d help in any way I can. I’m not a coach, but I know these players.”

“You’ll be a great coach someday,” Erick said. “I can see it. After you’ve had your time in the bigs, of course.”

As we pulled into the church’s parking lot, I was in shock at the number of trailers, rented moving vans, and other big trucks filled with supplies like what we were carrying. Several tents were set up in the field behind the church, and many were labeled with signs that said ‘Red Cross - Find Your Loved Ones,’ ‘First Aid Tent,’ or ‘Supplies.’ It was an amazing sight to see.

“Oh, Tyler!” Molly cried out and grabbed my arm as Erick pulled into an open parking spot. “Look!”

I looked where she was pointing, and without a second thought, I had my door open as soon as Erick stopped the van. I turned to help Molly down and grabbed her hand as we rushed over to the group of people standing by the Volunteer Tent.

“Mom!” I cried out, and my mom turned and grinned up at me.

“My baby!” Mom said as she wrapped her arms around my waist. She then turned and hugged Molly tightly. “My sweet girl! You’re so huge!”

Molly laughed. “It’s nice to see you, too. I can’t believe you’re here!”

“I couldn’t let Mike have all the fun cleaning up!” Mom said, and Dad turned at the sound of his name and grinned at us.

“I am so glad you’re okay!” he told Molly before he did the unthinkable and hugged her tightly. “How is my grandbaby doing?”

“Very good,” Molly said and gave me a wink.

I looked at my dad and then found myself walking into his outstretched arms and giving him a big hug. “Thank you for coming up and looking for Molly. It means everything to me.”

My dad nodded and pulled away from the hug while squeezing my shoulder. “I’m sorry about how I’ve acted. I am proud of you, Son, and I support your playing baseball and becoming a dad. I’m sorry it took a natural disaster and the thought of you losing the love of your life to wake me up.”

“He also supports my tattoo side business!” Carter said, walking around Dad. His best friend, Alec Kight, stood next to him.

“Carter? Alec? You’re both here, too? Holy shit! Who is watching the shop?”

Carter laughed and tilted his head towards Dad. “It’s closed. He said this was more important.”

“We figured people might need their cars worked on, or we’d be able to help in other ways, too,” Alec said and gave me a head nod.

“First time it’s been closed except for Sundays in fifty-seven years. My dad would be rolling over in his grave,” Dad explained. “But you know what? I would rather be here helping your town, and our customers will understand.”

“And if they don”t, who gives a rat’s ass?” Mom said with a very serious look on her face. My mom never cursed, so we all looked at her and laughed.

“Tyler! Molly!” Another unexpected but familiar voice called out. I had barely turned around when I felt my sister wrap her arms around me.

“Julia! Holy shit. This is insane!”

“Rob and I figured we’d come and help out with any first-aid needs,” my sister explained. “He’s out with search and rescue to see who needs assistance.” She turned to Molly and gave her a huge grin. “I’m sorry we weren’t able to make the dinner when you came. It’s so great to finally meet you!”

“You, too!” Molly said and gave her a big hug.

“Now, I want to know what all this shit is about you calling her your wife!” Julia asked as she poked me in the arm.

“Julia! You promised you weren’t going to bring that up right away!” Mom chastised.

“Well, I want to know! I know you do, too!”

“We’ll explain everything later,” I said. “First, we want to get everything unloaded from the truck and start helping. Maybe we can get dinner together tonight and explain everything.”

“Everything?” Dad asked.

“Yeah, there is more to tell,” Molly said as she linked hands with me.

“We can have dinner at my place,” Penelope offered as she came over to where we all were. “My apartment complex has a room residents can rent, so I’ll see if it’s available.”

Molly thanked her friend and introduced Pen, Peyton, and Camden to my family. My mom immediately took the kids’ hands and led them through the volunteer area to show them where to put all the pillows and teddy bears that they would be in charge of passing out. Both kids had huge grins on their faces as they took the bags of sewn items to the area my mom pointed out. My mom was going to be the best grandma!

Carter, Alec, Dad, Erick, Tanner, Julia, and I began to unload all the items we brought while Molly went to check in at the Red Cross tent. She needed to let them know that she was okay and wanted to find out any other information she could about where to go from here. While I was unloading cases of bottled water, I heard a familiar shout followed by my girl’s giggle. I didn’t even have to turn around to know that Cooper had found Molly.

I shook my head as I turned and saw Cooper had Molly in his arms and was spinning her around.

“You scared the shit out of me. Don’t ever do that again!” Cooper was saying as he hugged her tightly.

“I’m so, so sorry,” Molly said with remorse in her tone. “You know I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“I know you didn’t. We were so relieved to hear you were okay.”

“CJ!!!!” a little voice said from behind me. Cooper gently put Molly down on the ground and grabbed Peyton as she jumped into his arms. He twirled her around, just as he had Molly, but only faster and longer. Then Peyton burst into tears as she wrapped her small arms around his neck.

“PJ? What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?” Cooper looked at us, scared he had hurt the little girl by twirling her too fast.

Peyton shook her head and whispered something in his ear. Cooper pulled her away from his body a little and let her know he didn’t understand what she had said.

“I left your thank you drawing at the bakery, and now the bakery is gone, and so is your letter.”

Cooper wiped a tear away from her eye and shook his head. I had never seen this tough, tall man cry before, but I saw a tear leak out of his eye. “A letter that important and special always gets to the best friend somehow.” He placed her on her feet and pulled something out of his pocket.

“You found it?!” Peyton squealed in delight.

“I found it,” Cooper said with a huge grin, but he still had watery eyes. He pulled the little girl in for a hug. “And I’m going to get a special frame for it. This means so much to me.”

“He lost it when he found the letter,” Hayden said as he came over to stand next to me. “Like he had a full-on panic attack. It was bad. We thought -”

I put my hand up to silence his thoughts from being said out loud. “I’m sure you guys thought the same as me. Thank goodness they are okay.”

Hayden nodded in agreement. “I can’t imagine what you were going through.”

I shook my head and sighed. “It’s going to be awhile before I can let her out of my sight.”

“Can she go with you on the road?”

“If they want me to play, they will let her,” I said with a little chuckle. “My manager said that she can as long as she gets a doctor”s permission to travel with the team. She’ll have to pay for her own hotel room, and they asked her not to hang out at the hotel bar. Neither of those should be an issue since insurance should pay for her hotel rooms, and because she can’t drink, staying out of a bar won’t be hard for her.”

Hayden laughed in agreement. “How the hell is Double-A? We miss you, man. Endicott is doing okay and learned a lot from you, but the new backup catcher who took his place doesn’t even try.”

“That sucks. Double-A is different. The guys are okay, but it’s definitely not the same as being with you guys. I have one bro on the team, Montgomery, who would fit in with our group, but other than that, we mostly keep to ourselves and just play ball.”

Suddenly, we were surrounded by the Raptor players I had only left a few weeks ago. I really missed these guys and how well we had played together. Lots of hugs were shared between myself and Molly.

One former teammate I had yet to see was Ivan, and I found myself looking around for him. I wasn’t surprised to see him standing by my woman and showing her baby pictures. I walked over to them, wrapped my arms around Molly, and looked at the picture of a little Valentina trying to eat her own foot. We both couldn’t stop laughing and smiling as he scrolled through pictures.

“Your baby coming soon?” Ivan asked. “You so big! Not being asshole.”

“Not until the end of October or early November,” Molly explained.

Ivan looked like he couldn’t believe we still had that long to go. “You name bebé Ivan, right?”

Molly laughed. “We’ll see. No promises.”

“What are we not promising?” Cooper asked as he came over to us.

“Naming the baby after him,” I told him, honestly.

“Cooper would be an awesome name!”

Molly and Ivan both just rolled their eyes.

“Hey, guys!” Penelope said as she came back over to us. “The community room at my apartment is reserved for us. I talked to the diner I used to work at. Luckily, they weren’t affected by the storm, so they can cater our dinner tonight.”

“That’s awesome. Thanks for setting that up, Pen! Do they realize how big of a group we’re going to have?” Molly asked and gave her friend a big hug.

“Yeah, they know. I’m going to ask if anyone is able to bring a side dish, drinks, or a dessert. I know some people don’t have homes, and I wouldn’t expect them to bring anything.”

“I can bring some drinks,” Cooper said a little too eagerly before looking over at Pen. “Hey, Penelope. I have to tell you how happy I am that you and your kids are okay.”

Penelope shifted on her feet like she wasn’t sure how to respond. “Thanks. Sorry for scaring you guys.”

“Mommy! Mommy! CJ found his letter!” Peyton said as she came running over to us. “Can you believe it?!”

Penelope just shook her head and smiled down at her daughter. “I can’t believe it.”

“You’ve got great kids,” Cooper said, with an unusual seriousness to his voice.

“Thanks,” Penelope replied. “Oh, guys, this is my sister, Shiloh.”

I knew Molly had met Shiloh a few times, but this was my first time meeting her. She was about the same height as Penelope, and you could definitely see their sisterly resemblance. Penelope’s hair was a bit darker, and Shiloh had dirty blonde hair, but they shared their beautiful brown eyes.

“Pen, what time is dinner?” Molly asked. “And what can we bring?”

Penelope looked at her watch and said, “Probably in a few hours, around 6. If you want, you can bring a dessert, since that is your specialty. Crap, you don’t have a way to make anything. You can always borrow my kitchen, if you want to.”

Molly just waved her off. “We’ll figure something out. Ty, baby, I have an idea. We have to go over to Springville anyway so we’ll get something to bring from there.” Springville was a few towns over and had the big box stores, an actual mall, and a lot more than we had in Riverbend.

“Why don’t we check into our motel room first, and then we’ll go over to Springville,” I suggested. “I have an idea, too.”

“Sounds good to me,” my girl said, and we asked around to see if anyone needed anything before getting into Molly’s car, which miraculously survived without a scratch, to head the twenty-seven minutes to Springville.

As soon as we got into the car, we turned to each other, and I said, “We need to make shirts to announce that we got married and are having twins.” At the same time, Molly said, “We can buy stuff to make personalized shirts about being married and about the twins!” We both began to laugh, and I leaned over the console of the car and kissed her lips. “Baby, you were put on this earth for me.”

“We are super corny, but I don’t care,” Molly said with a laugh. “We really are meant to be together.”

As we walked hand in hand through the big box store, I marveled at how much fun we had just shopping together. There were stolen kisses in empty aisles, throwing crazy things like handcuffs and whipped cream into the cart, and getting all the supplies we would need to make our shirts. Molly also got a tray of premade cookies, frosting, and sprinkles and said she was going to make fancy store-bought cookies in our hotel room. It killed her to have to buy pre-made items, but at the moment, we didn’t have many options. I told her we would all love whatever she brought.

Soon, we found ourselves in the baby aisle, and I watched my wife glide her hands over the double stroller and cribs that were on display. “Oh, Ty! Look!” she called out with excitement.

I grinned as she held up a box with a baby mobile that had baseballs and bats on it and played, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

“And holy shit, look! They are ‘buy one get one free’ right now, too. How perfect is that?”

Molly nodded but then brought the mobile to her chest as her eyes got watery. “Where will we store it until our home above the bakery is rebuilt? I can’t even think about buying any baby items until we have a place to keep them. What are we going to do if our place isn’t rebuilt by the time they are born?”

“Shhhh, baby, one day at a time, remember?” I said as I soothed her while pulling her against me and rubbing her back. “We’ll figure out where to store everything.”

I knew I sounded a lot more confident than I felt. Molly had a valid point. The guys I had lived with had a tiny apartment with no extra space to store baby items. Penelope lived in about the same size apartment with her sister and two kids, so we couldn’t ask her either.

“You know what? We’re getting the mobiles. I’m gonna rent a storage unit close to our home, and if we want to buy something for our children, we’re gonna do it. And the insurance will pay for a place for you to stay if everything isn’t rebuilt when our babies are born. We might not bring our babies home above Batter Up!, but we’ll bring our babies somewhere safe and warm.”

“I love you, Ty.”