The GHOST and Charlie Dusenberry

PG. 93 TGACD R. ZEIS

Two days had passed since the 2-1 loss to the Angels and it was time for practice again after school. Charlie was wondering if Gus was going to show up after he disappeared from the game Saturday.

The ghost was nowhere to be seen as practice began. Without Gus there, DD once again volunteered to hit the ground balls and fly balls to the kids. The players’ mood varied from kid to kid. Tommy and Wally appeared down in the dumps but were still trying their best. Charlie was grateful for that.

Practice ended without any major tribulations, except for another colossal verbal war between the Helmuth twins. They never seemed to tire of it. With what he hoped was a pep talk over with, the team headed their separate ways with orders to come back for another practice tomorrow. They were reminded that their next game wasn’t until next Saturday.

“We play the Red Sox again, right?” asked Mohammad before he left.

“Yeah,” replied Charlie. “We play each team twice. For some reason, we get to play them for the second time on Saturday.”

DD and Grego were walking home, so Charlie was left alone to pack up the equipment. Suddenly, he sensed someone standing behind him and turned to see Gus standing there.

“Dad!” yelped Charlie. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Sorry, son. I didn’t mean to surprise you.”

Charlie sensed a change in his father. He actually appeared thoughtful. It was a way he never would have described his father before.

“Practice is over, Dad.”

“I know.” Gus walked over and started to help Charlie pack up the equipment. “We need to talk. In fact, I need to talk.

Again, Charlie sensed a change in his father as they walked to Charlie’s car with the equipment bag. After putting the bag in the car, Gus suggested they walk back to the field and sit in the stands. Charlie’s curiosity was raging wild by the time they reached the stands.

“What’s up, Dad?”

PG. 94 TGACD R. ZEIS

Before Gus could start to speak, a car pulled into the field’s parking lot and a man got out. Gus and Charlie watched the man approach them. When he got nearer, Charlie recognized him as Skinny’s father.

Charlie stood up and extended his hand. “Hello, Mr. Mickelson, it’s good to see you.”

As Danny Mickelson shook Charlie’s hand, Charlie again noticed how much Skinny resembled his father with the same brown hair and eyes. Danny was a big man standing around six-four.

“Danny, this is my….I mean, this is Mr. Baxter.”

The two men shook hands. “I’ve seen you helping Charlie out,” said Danny. “You seem to be all business.”

Gus nodded and looked at the ground a moment. “I try my best.”

Danny turned to face Charlie again. “Look, I came to apologize to you about Billy leaving the team the way he did.”

“There’s no need for that. I hope he’s OK.”

“Billy is doing fine. I’m the one that isn’t,” said Danny.

Charlie could sense a battle raging inside of Billy’s father. A hurtful battle.

“I’ve talked to Billy about coming back to the team,” began Danny, “but I don’t think he’s ready to play baseball for a while.”

“I’m sorry, Danny,” said Charlie. “I know how much you must love the game. Billy told me you played a lot of ball when you were younger.”

“Yeah, I did. Played all the way through college. I was a pitcher.” Danny paused a moment. “That’s what the problem is.”

“What’s that?” asked Charlie.

Danny peered out at the field’s pitcher’s mound before answering the question. “I guess I wanted Billy to follow in his old man’s footsteps. You know, be a pitcher too. I pushed too hard. You probably don’t know what I’m talking about.”

Charlie looked over at Gus. The two men looked into each other’s eyes before Gus broke eye contact and looked away.

PG.L 95 TGACD R. ZEIS

“You might be surprised, Danny.”

Danny shook his head. “I don’t think you do. Billy loved baseball ever since he was able to join little league. We got along fine until he got a little older and baseball wasn’t the only thing he liked to do. He started to like to read, text messages on his phone, and go to the movies with his friends. Baseball became secondary and he didn’t want to spend the time to practice so he could get better. I didn’t like it. Baseball had consumed me and my time when I was growing up. I couldn’t understand why Billy wasn’t exactly like me.”

“Maybe he’ll miss it,” offered Charlie.

Shaking his head no, Danny went on. “No, I don’t think so. I pushed too hard and when he failed the other day he’d had too much. I wasn’t there for him. I’ve got a lot of making up to do.”

“I understand,” Charlie said. Boy, do I understand, he thought. “If Billy changes his mind he’s welcome back anytime.”

“Thanks,” said Danny. The three men shook hands and Danny walked away.

Charlie and Gus sat back down on the stands and remained quiet as they digested what they had just heard.

Gus was the first to break the silence. “I’m sorry, Charlie.”

Charlie could not remember his father ever saying he was sorry. He sat quietly and waited for Gus to say more.

“I was sent here to answer one of your prayers for help. I don’t think I’ve been very helpful…for a long, long time.”

“What do you mean, Dad?”

Gus looked his son in the eye and this time did not break that contact. “I mean exactly what you just heard from Billy’s father. That could have been me talking about you. It’s amazing he showed up just as I was searching for words to explain myself to you. Like Danny, I haven’t been there for you. If it wasn’t for you asking for help, I might never have gotten this chance to say I’m sorry.”

Charlie interrupted with, “Dad, I’m sorry too.”

“No. You should not be sorry. Your mom tried to tell me to ease up, but I would not listen to her. Just because I was good at baseball didn’t mean you would be too. Like Danny, I pushed too hard and like Danny, I lost my son.”

PG. 96 TGACD R. ZEIS

Both men had tears in their eyes now as Charlie tried to think of something to say. Gus beat him to it.

“You turned into an amazing man, Charlie. You are a teacher. You help shape children’s lives. I don’t think you could have done that just being good at baseball.” Gus then stood up and walked a few feet away before turning to face Charlie once again. “During the game when Mohammad and that catcher nearly caused a riot, I was ready to jump in and add my two cents. I was ready to pour gas on the fire. I was about to tell off the Angel’s coach when you brought sanity to the situation.” Gus paused and walked closer to Charlie. “YOU were the adult. I wasn’t. YOU calmed things down and allowed the game to resume. No punches. No more hurt feelings.”

“I was glad I thought of something intelligent to say…” Charlie offered.

“That’s the point!” Gus said. “You used your brain and didn’t let your mouth overload your brain…like I was about to do.” Gus wiped his eyes with the back of his hands as tears started to dribble down his cheeks. “What really makes me sad, Charlie, is that I was so mad at you for keeping the peace I had to leave. I left you high and dry in the middle of the game. I was mad because you didn’t act like the type of man I am…a man who lets anger dictate my actions.”

“But you came back…today,” said Charlie.

“Yeah, here I am with my pride on my sleeve. For years I waited for you to apologize to me for the way you acted. Now, I have to ask you for forgiveness.”

“Dad,” Charlie began, “For years I’ve tried to come to grips with my having let you down. Maybe I could have tried harder and played baseball longer. Maybe if I was less selfish and thought how you saw things…”

“NO!” Gus jumped in. “No, I should have listened to your mother and tried to see things as you saw them. I was the adult. You have nothing to be sorry about.”

“Now what, Dad?” asked Charlie as he wiped away a tear.

“Now, you decide if you will let me stay with you and to allow me to do what I was supposed to do.” A small smile cracked Gus’ lips. “I need to listen and learn.”

The tension seemed to fade as Charlie, too, cracked a smile. “Who told you to do that, Dad?”

PG. 97 TGACD R. ZEIS

“If I told you a very patient angel, would you believe me?

Charlie broke out in a laugh. “Of course I would believe you! You are a ghost aren’t you?”

The two men laughed together and then did what they hadn’t done for a very long time. They reached out for each other and hugged while tears again flowed. After a minute they separated.

“I guess this means I’m staying?” asked Gus.

“Yeah,” said a still choked-up Charlie. “I don’t want you to get into any more trouble with an angel!” Both men laughed. “Where do we go from here?”

“Now,” Gus began, “We get to work on answering that prayer of yours. I’ve got some ideas for you. Care to listen?”

“Yes, Dad, I’m ready to listen.”

The two men talked for the better part of an hour with each one taking the time to listen to the other.