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  In the kitchen corner, a nest of towels held a large pot. Steady drops from the ceiling plunked into the pot, which was about to overflow. Jalen emptied it in the sink and put it back under the drip. Water now plinked against the bare metal bottom. He looked at the stream of water running across the ceiling and got angry.

  Dressing hastily, he went out, standing back to look up at the roof. He could see where the tarp had blown back in the night, exposing the bad roofing. No wonder the kitchen ceiling leaked! Jalen had had enough of waiting for the landlord.

  He raided his father’s tools for a hammer and nails, which he put in a bucket. Then he grabbed a ladder. He started climbing to the lower side of the roof, holding the bucket. His sneakers squeaked and slid on the narrow, wet ladder rungs, and he moved slowly up to the roof. Once there, he breathed a sigh of relief and crawled carefully over to the tarp. He knew his father would have a fit if he knew Jalen was doing this kind of work, but he told himself it had to be done.

  Pounding the nails felt good. After a bit, Jalen finished nailing the tarp back on.

  Back inside, Jalen took off his wet sneakers and put on dry clothes. The trees dripped with rain, and he wondered if the Yankees would be rained out tomorrow night. They were scheduled to begin a four-game series with the Orioles. He checked his phone for the weather. Rain was forecast to continue through the afternoon before clearing. Tomorrow was fifty-fifty. There were no new text messages. He wasn’t surprised about his friends, but he had expected JY to reach out and tell him about the lineup. Was he in it or not against Baltimore?

  Jalen had been glad to help JY for free for a few big reasons, not least the glory of assisting one of his heroes and his favorite team. There was the lucky calamari and the way JY had jumped in to get the Silver Liner fixed in record time after the fire. The Yankees star made the connection with Coach Allen that got Jalen on the Bandits. Then last week Cat had negotiated a contract that paid Jalen an incredible five thousand dollars a game!

  He shook his head in wonder and thought, Cat is really something.

  Jalen filled a bowl with Raisin Bran and splashed in milk. He sat at the table, crunching away and wondering if the thing that his father whispered about last night had anything to do with his mom. Did he know she was back? He sure seemed happy.

  Jalen couldn’t help hoping as he washed his clothes and started organizing his equipment bag. Humming with anticipation of his dad’s news, he gave his two bats a polish before stuffing them back inside. He zipped the bag tight just as the rattle of their van on the gravel announced his father’s return. Jalen ran to meet him on the front porch.

  “Hi, Dad.”

  His father wore scrubs and a faded jeans jacket. His bald head was shiny with the same rain that speckled his small round glasses. They hugged and kissed each other’s cheeks before his father said, “Jalen, is all wet out here—and you with no shoes. Come inside.”

  Jalen followed, bumping into his dad just inside the door.

  “Sit down,” his father said. “I make you some breakfast.”

  “I ate, Dad. I’m good.” Jalen stood, eager for the happy news.

  His father smiled and chuckled. “Okay, sit down. I got a surprise for you. You gonna be so happy.”

  “What is it, Dad?”

  11

  “THE YANKEES, THEY WANT A Silver Liner right there in Yankee Stadium, on the mezzanine. That’s your team!”

  Jalen stared at his dad. Finally he said, “What do you mean? You’re going to have a diner in the stadium?”

  His father’s stout arms—marked with burn scars from years of working over a stove—were crossed proudly over his chest. “Yes. A sit-down restaurant inside the Yankee Stadium! The franchise guys are making a deal today.”

  “With the Yankees?” Jalen tried to take it all in.

  “Yes, because of JY and the lucky calamari! The NYY Silver Liner Diner will be in Yankee Stadium!”

  Suddenly his dad looked at the clock. “I gotta go to work. I got three cooks coming today. They gonna learn to make nonna’s sauce and the calamari stuffing.”

  “Three cooks?”

  Jalen hadn’t considered what franchising really meant. He knew they were talking about opening Silver Liner Diners in lots of places right away to capitalize on the Yankees fan base, so of course they’d need other people to cook his father’s—or really his nonna’s—food.

  “You’re teaching them to do what you do?”

  “Yes,” said his father. “Is why they pay me the money.”

  * * *

  Back at the restaurant, his father went into the kitchen while Jalen helped Greta, the waitress who’d been at the Silver Liner since the day it opened. Today Greta wore a flowery dress, and her dark, wavy hair was held back with a headband.

  “Pretty dress,” Jalen said as they set up the tables for lunch. Ever since the diner’s popularity had exploded, Greta had upped her game on the wardrobe front.

  “Wash those hands, young man.” Greta snapped a towel at him, stinging his leg behind the knee.

  “Ouch! When did you get so fussy?”

  “After I looked up and saw Aaron Judge at table six. What a sweet young man,” she called after Jalen as he slipped inside the men’s room to escape.

  The stall was in use, so Jalen began washing his hands. He was drying them when a man came out of the stall and said, “Hey, Calamari Kid. Nice to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you, too. Are you here for the calamari?”

  “Sort of.” The man turned to the sink but caught Jalen’s eye in the mirror as he scrubbed his hands. “I’m point man for the investors, overseeing all the pieces—design concepts for interiors and exteriors, all the advertising, staffing, accounting, and the menu—which is why I’m here today.”

  “My dad said you’re gonna have our diner in Yankee Stadium.”

  The man shook the water from his hands and grabbed some paper towels, but he wasn’t done with his fast-talking. “Yes, a fabulous idea. The Yankees came to us with it last week. They want it to be—for style—‘NYY Silver Liner Diner,’ which I like. Made me realize this one should be named specially too. Either ‘Fabio’s Silver Liner Diner’ or the ‘Original Silver Liner Diner.’ ” You have a preference?”

  “I… I don’t know,” Jalen said. Changes were coming so quickly. “Maybe you should ask my dad.”

  “Right, I’ll make a mental note.” The man’s excitement actually increased. “This whole thing is a sprint like I’ve never seen, but I like it, all the elements, the backstory about an immigrant dad and his young son who collide with a sports icon struggling to hang on. Add a pinch of magic, some incredible social media numbers, and a huge shout-out in the New York Times, and you’ve got yourself a winner, right?”

  The man winked at Jalen.

  “Uh, yeah,” Jalen said.

  “Well, I’m back at it. Nice to meet you.” The man pushed past him.

  Jalen’s mind was whirling as he finished setting up the tables with Greta. JY had made the Silver Liner Diner famous. What would the Yankees’ owner say when he saw the video? Would he still go ahead with the stadium deal?

  His phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out and saw that it was Daniel. He felt light-headed and slightly sick. He held his thumb over the green button, then the red, then green again before he tapped it.

  12

  “HEY.” THE WORD WAS AS flat as Jalen could make it.

  “Hey,” said Daniel.

  They were both silent.

  Outside the dining room’s big picture window, the clouds had begun to thin and the rain had lightened. The sun was trying to break through.

  “What’s up?” Jalen finally asked.

  “So, we got practice today. You believe that?”

  “That’s how you get better,” Jalen said.

  “I know,” Daniel said, “but we’re gone all weekend and next day we got practice?”

  “I like practice.”

  “Yeah, I get it. Yo
u’re devoted. You’re a star. I called to see if you wanted a ride.”

  Jalen hated the tension between them. “Look, I’m sorry Gertzy said that. I didn’t think you heard him. And yes, I want a ride. You know I need one.”

  Daniel said, “Cat told me what happened on the bus, that you never got my messages. I feel kinda bad about that. My dad kept asking if I was sure you didn’t need a ride, and I thought I was.”

  “So let’s go play ball.”

  Daniel paused before he spoke, “Yeah. Okay. Okay, amigo. Even if I’m just here to make you stars look good.”

  “You’re the real deal. Wait till I see you and tell you what’s happening.”

  “No worries. We’ll pick you up at twelve thirty,” Daniel said drearily.

  As soon as Jalen pocketed his phone, it buzzed. Without looking, he answered.

  “I can’t say anything now—I have to get back to work.”

  “Should I call back after your work?”

  Jalen’s throat knotted up at the sound of a woman’s voice. “Mom?”

  13

  “YES.” HIS MOM’S VOICE WAS warm and comforting. “I’m sorry if I called at a bad time.”

  “No, no, no. That’s okay. I thought you were Daniel. I can talk.” Jalen turned and walked straight into the parking lot with the phone pressed to his ear.

  “But what about your work? I don’t want to get you in trouble,” she said.

  “You just… disappeared yesterday.” Jalen looked around for a rock to kick before he said, “I thought maybe, like, forever.”

  “Oh no! I was so late, I panicked.” She took a deep breath. “I’m so sorry, Jalen. I had an interview with Downbeat. That’s like Sports Illustrated in my world. I just couldn’t be late.”

  “Still following your dream, right?”

  “Could we meet somewhere and talk? Did you tell Fabio I’m here?”

  “I… should I have?”

  “Not necessarily.”

  “He works all the time, and he’s doing a really big deal with these money guys. They’re franchising the Silver Liner.” Jalen realized how fast he was talking. He tried to slow down, but he wanted to let her know how well his father was doing because he’d wanted his parents to get back together for so long. “That’s his restaurant that got famous from JY tweeting about the lucky calamari.”

  “You both must be so excited,” she said. “You know, your father came to America to work hard and be a success. He’s always been great at the first part. Maybe now he can get the second. His dream is coming true, thanks to you.”

  Pride bubbled like soda fizz in Jalen’s chest. “Well, a lot of people helped, and if his food wasn’t amazing, none of it would have happened anyway.”

  “Absolutely. The man can cook.” She paused. “So, can I pick you up somewhere? Is there a good time?”

  “Mornings in the summer, I work at the restaurant.” Jalen started walking back to the Silver Liner with the phone to his ear. “Where are you?”

  “We’re headed for White Plains, the Ritz.”

  “JY took me to lunch there.”

  “Well, it’s close to Bronxville, so…”

  “I live in Rockton.” Jalen stopped on the restaurant’s front steps. “But the Rockton team coach wouldn’t let me play, and his son’s a bully, so when the Bronxville coach recruited me, I switched over right away. That was the Rockton team—my old team—you saw us beat in the championship yesterday.”

  “It was very exciting,” she said, “you showing up at the last minute like that.”

  “Yeah.” Jalen hoped he wasn’t bragging. “I’ll be at the Bronxville Middle School for practice by one.”

  “That works. We’ll see you then. Can’t wait!” she said.

  “Wait, ‘we’? Who’s ‘we’?” Jalen asked quickly. It was such a small word, but still, Jalen nearly choked on it as he said it aloud.

  But his mom had already hung up.

  14

  HIS WHOLE COMFORTING IMAGE OF family togetherness got flushed in an instant. Jalen stuffed the phone in the pocket of his sweatpants, then got back to work.

  When he finished a quick lunch, his dad was in the kitchen stuffing a squid for his audience of chefs. Jalen gave him a signal that he was leaving.

  His dad looked up and grinned. “Everyone, this is my son, Jalen.”

  Heads turned. One said, “Hey, Calamari Kid.”

  Jalen introduced himself and shook all their hands before turning to his father. “I’m so excited for you, Dad.”

  His father laughed. “Yes, I know you’re excited. Me too.” Fabio turned to the chefs. “My son’s gonna play major league baseball someday!”

  They had some general comments that Jalen pretended to pay attention to before telling his dad good-bye. The rain had stopped, and the sun shone through the clouds.

  Walking home, Jalen buzzed Cat.

  Cat knew all about the YouTube video.

  “Yeah, well my dad just inked a deal to have a Silver Liner in Yankee Stadium. What if the Yankees owner finds out about the video and pulls out of the deal with my father?”

  Cat was quick to see the possibilities. “He could pull out of the deal, I guess. But he could really, really want to go ahead. He’s big—he could get YouTube to pull the video.”

  Jalen pumped his fist. “You nailed it! That could happen.”

  “If he really cares. After all, publicity is good for business.”

  Jalen’s happiness evaporated when he told Cat about the meeting he was going to have with his mom and whoever was the other part of “we.”

  “I never thought she’d have someone else. I thought she’d want to be with us—me and my dad.”

  “You want me with you?” Cat asked. “So you won’t be alone?”

  Jalen paused. Part of him didn’t want to share his mom, even with Cat. The other part of him worried about going it alone, especially since she was going to bring an extra person.

  “Oh, come on,” Cat said.

  “Sure,” Jalen said. “We’re going to meet before practice.”

  “Sweet. I’ll get my mom to drop me off.”

  Jalen was home grabbing his gear when his phone buzzed. This time it was a text from JY.

  15

  I’M OUT FOR TONIGHT.

  In the excitement about his mom, Jalen had forgotten all about JY’s game. Now the complication was gone before he even had to face it. He was glad, but he couldn’t say that to JY.

  Sorry to hear.

  JY replied: Thx. maybe tomorrow. Did u see the YouTube Squid Kid video? Not good.

  Jalen texted back, explaining that he and his friends had no part in the video. He could see that JY was reading it. Then came the reply: Hey, not a deal breaker. Still, maybe we should take a break for a while. See what I can do on my own.

  A week ago, that text would have shattered Jalen. Now, with his mom back, his father’s overnight success, and his own clear path to baseball greatness, Jalen felt like the pressure was off to be JY’s baseball genius. He texted back: kk.

  He gathered his gear and headed for the center of town, where Daniel and his dad pulled up in their big white truck within five minutes of his arrival.

  Jalen got in back and Daniel’s dad spun around. “Jalen, I am so sorry about last night.”

  “That’s okay, Mr. Bellone. I shouldn’t have had my phone on silent” Jalen said.

  “Well, next time I won’t be listening to this knucklehead son of mine.” Mr. Bellone winked and turned his attention to the road.

  “What?” Daniel sputtered, but before he could protest, Jalen spoke up.

  “If anyone was a knucklehead, it was definitely me.” Daniel broke into a smile as Jalen continued, “I should have been with my main man, but I got lost in a video game.”

  * * *

  Daniel’s dad dropped them at the school parking lot, and Jalen said, “Amigo, I’ve got to rush through this because my mom is coming. But maybe things will be good. My dad told me the Ya
nkees’ owner wants to open a Silver Liner Diner at the stadium! I thought he’d pull out because of the YouTube, but Cat thinks he’ll shut down the video.”

  “Cat’s smart,” Daniel said. “I bet the owner will keep JY and kill the video.” Giving Jalen a fist bump and a “Good luck,” he headed off to the locker room, leaving Jalen to meet his mom.

  The Range Rover pulled up to the field while Jalen was standing there looking for his mom. He checked the time on his phone as Cat and her mom sat talking back and forth. They seemed to be arguing. Finally Cat got out and her mother pulled away.

  “What’s up?” Jalen asked.

  Cat bumped fists and rolled her eyes. “My mom thought she should also join us. I was like, ‘No way.’ I’m sick of this ‘You’re only a kid’ garbage.”

  A text from his mom came in.

  Almost there!

  “She’s almost here!” Jalen shouted.

  “Easy, Jalen. You look like you stuck a knife in the toaster.”

  He looked into her eyes. “You know what I’m afraid of.”

  “Yes. I know.” She took his hand and squeezed as a black Mercedes sedan pulled into the parking lot.

  He took a deep breath. “Well, here goes.”

  Jalen could see his mom through the passenger window, but the driver was hidden by the reflection on the windshield. Jalen’s mom waved him toward her, signaling to him as she got out. Jalen glanced back at Cat. He paused and gave her a questioning look.

  She shooed him on.

  Once she was out of the car, his mother gave him a huge hug while Jalen looked past her. Sitting behind the wheel was Jalen’s worst nightmare, live and in the flesh.

  16

  THE MAN GOT OUT AND circled the car. He was tall, at least six foot six, and thin. He wore a light blue suit, a crinkled dress shirt, and no tie.