The Sandlot // Benny Rodriguez

16.

The day after Squints' accident, we went back to the sandlot, leaving Squints' position empty as we continued our never ending game of baseball. Then, a few days after that, he was released from the hospital, he came to the sandlot everyday, one of us wheeling him in his wheelchair. Of course, he couldn't play, but we still wanted him to feel like he was a part of the game.

Now, almost two weeks later, it was finally the Fourth of July. According to Benny, this was the most important holiday of the year. Every year as soon as it got dark out and the fireworks started, we ran to the sandlot for a night game. To us, it was just another game of baseball, but with fireworks that would often distract us. To Benny, this was the biggest night of the year and he tried even harder than he did every other day. We all knew Benny was going to make it big in baseball. That, surprised none of us.

I waited for Benny to knock on our door to start the night game as I peeled off the wrapper on a cupcake I had gotten from the neighborhood barbecue. Just as I was shoving the whole cupcake into my mouth, there was a knock at the door and I mentally sighed to myself. Benny would finally show up just as I'm shoving an entire cupcake into my mouth like an animal. I quickly chewed it and tried to swallow it as best I could before opening the door. Benny stood on our porch, looking extremely impatient as he kept turning around and tapping his baseball bat against his leg. He finally noticed the door had opened and he smiled at me.

"Let's go," He said. "It's nearly dark, the fireworks are going to start soon." I called for Scotty and the three of us stepped out into the cool night air. "Oh, and Emmy?" I turned around to face Benny. "You've got a little frosting-" he touched his lip to show me where it was. I quickly reached my hand up to my face. "I got it," he smiled and his finger lifted to my lips as he gently wiped off the frosting. He brought his finger to his mouth and sucked off the frosting. "Hmm. Not bad." Scotty and I looked at each other and burst into a fit of laughter as we continued walking to the sandlot. Tonight was going to be a good night.

***
We all got to the sandlot at relatively the same time and we started the game right away with Squints at the dugout in his wheelchair. The loud fireworks lit up the sky with magnificent pinks and blues and reds. All of the boys kept getting distracted and Benny on the other hand, meant business. Every time the boys found themselves getting distracted by the fireworks, Benny would be there to call them back and that's when I definitely knew baseball was going to be a big part of his life for the rest of his life. He was the most dedicated person I had ever met and I admired him a lot for that. I found myself walking to him as he tried to call the boys back to reality. I wrapped my arm around his neck and he smiled down at me, his face lighting up from the fireworks. I pulled him close to me and pressed my lips onto his. He set his hands on either side of my waist and kissed me back even harder. I pulled away slightly, my face inches from his. "I love you, Benjamin Rodriguez." I said quietly so only he could hear over the fireworks.

"I love you, Emelia Smalls." He grinned at me and pushed his lips onto mine again. It was if the other boys weren't even there. It was just Benny and me alone together, the fireworks illuminating the sky all around us. That was easily the best Forth of July I had ever had and I wouldn't have traded it for anything. I was with the person I loved and nothing was better than that.

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AWWWWWWWW :,)