Chapter 3 third chapter

At first it sounded like distant thunder.It went on and on, almost rhythmically, and I learned that the thud was caused by someone banging on the wainscoting at the back of the house.Then I heard footsteps on the platform, and a voice yelled, John John, are you in there?Make a noise, please.Open the door quickly, any door will do, open the windows!John, I'm Bill.West.Can you hear me, brother? Bill.West?is it possible?He was my best friend growing up in Brantown, like a brother, from day one of Kindergarten with two scared little boys sharing a seat on an old yellow school bus , until my brother and I went to our high school prom with our girlfriends in Bill's dad's green Buick.Bill.West?Bill.West?My best friend, teammate, Boy Scout buddy, confidant and confidant.The person calling me on the platform behind my house is really Bill.West?Before Sally and I started looking for an apartment in Bran, I tried to contact him, but to no avail.Finally I learned that he still lived in town with his wife and two sons, but he himself was in Santa Fe, taking three months of sick leave with the company for heart bypass surgery that nearly killed him.

The knocking was getting closer and louder.I quickly opened the bottom drawer on the right side of the desk, threw the pistol and the box of ammunition on the phone book and seed catalog, and slammed the drawer shut.I don't want anyone to see me kill myself, especially my oldest and best friend. Suddenly he popped up and stared at me through the glass window, with his hands around his eyes, calling out: John, this is Bill.West, please answer me quickly.John! I stood up and moved closer to the window.Bill regained his composure after staggering back a few steps, pointing at me with a grin.hey buddy.Finally found you!John, it's me, Bill Bill.West!

I forced a smile and gestured for him to move closer to the window so he could hear me.There's a door at the end of the landing, I cried, pointing to the right.Go to that end, and I'll open the door for you! We hugged for a few minutes, then stepped back a little, releasing each other from our arms.Bill's palms patted my cheek, and my fingers locked tightly around his neck.We both cried. Bill took out a handkerchief and blew his nose before speaking first.Bad timing for this reunion, no?I feel so sorry for you, John. I tried to answer, but no words came out.Bill put his hands on my shoulders and said hoarsely: I've read everything about your ascension to Millennium Infinity.Aunt Jessie called in New Mexico to tell us there was going to be a family homecoming celebration in Bran, but my doctor was determined not to let me come back, saying if I really loved my family, I would Time to recuperate in a hammock in Santa Fe for a few months before returning.He also said that it would not be too late for me to have a nice celebration with my old friend later.However, when Aunt Jessie called me a second time with news of Sally and Rick's accident, it was impossible for me to stay there and not come back.

Bill, I say softly, you should have listened to the doctor.Thank you for your concern, but to be honest, I'm afraid no one can do anything for me.Hey, let's not just stand here, let's go into the living room, it's much more comfortable. We sat there in silence, and finally Bill stammered: John, your living room is um, nice. I stared down at the old Persian rugs from Hriz, Iran, and shook my head.Sally keeps promising me that by Christmas time this year, she'll make this our ideal living room.I think I have only been here once since the accident, and only for a few minutes.Wherever I looked, I saw my beautiful wife.I remember the Queen Anne armchair and walnut open-front desk we bought in Conway one afternoon, and that rainy Saturday morning when we went shopping for the holidays and ended up buying it It's this Chippendale sofa.

Bill slowly looked around the living room, his eyes stopped in sequence, looking at an oil painting depicting a clipper ship sailing in Portsmouth Harbor, a Shaker-style cushioned rocking chair with ladder backs, and an oversized fireplace with a carved walnut mantelpiece , and the rifle hanging above the shelf, and then to the eight-foot grandfather clock closest to us. It was grand, he sighed, as the grandfather clock struck its usual quarter-of-a-quarter chime.I nod.Sally's favorite thing about her is this piece of furniture. Bill forced a smile.How long has it been since we last saw each other?

The last time we met was at a high school reunion.The tenth class reunion, right?I've only been in that one time.Afterwards I was pretty busy. Bill shook his head.That was twelve years ago!What the hell, how are these days going? Dude, I don't know and I really don't care. I hear that no one has seen you in town since the funeral.Have you locked yourself at home all the time? No.Every night after dark, I would walk out into the driveway to clean out the mailbox.Other than that, I don't have any reason to go out.The fridge is well stocked and there is still some booze in the basement.

What about your company?I know they've had a lot of problems over the past few years, and I think they need a new leader at the helm almost all the time to bring the company out of the turmoil. I hesitated and didn't answer right away, because what I wanted to say was really hard to say.Bill, two days after the funeral, I wrote to my best friend on the board of Millennium Infinite to resign, stating that this company definitely deserves more than I thought I could contribute because, to me For me, just trying to get out of bed in the morning has become an excruciating struggle.When I wrote my resignation letter, I didn't feel any pain at all. That letter gave me a very clear idea of ​​my state of mind.I literally buried all my hopes and dreams with Sally and Rick.Now, weeks later, my feelings are still the same.

The members of Millennium Infinity's board of directors are a bunch of old-timers who are not easy to get over.Brother John, six years ago I had a hard time getting a pension plan for them.I have 30 years of experience in insurance and retirement planning, but they're making me sweat every penny.How did they respond to your resignation letter? Totally unexpected.The board of directors does not accept my resignation.They gave me four months off, paycheck, and suggested I meet up with them after Labor Day.In my resignation letter, I recommended two deputy general managers as candidates for succession. Both of them were recruited by me. No matter which one takes my place, there will be no problem.The board did select one of them to serve as acting general manager and CEO during the four-month period.

So you'll be back at work in September? I said nothing. John? What can I say to him?Did you say that I no longer want to be the general manager of Millennium Unlimited?To say that I don't even care about living an extra day anymore is it to add that as soon as he leaves my house, I plan to finish what he interrupted earlier and kill myself? John?John, I'm so sorry.It's really too soon for you to think about going back to work.It is really inconsiderate of me to ask you such a question.I'm here to express my concern and sympathy, and at the same time to find out if there is anything I can do to help, and it would be nice if I could lighten your burden a bit.Just like back then, remember?

I patted his knee and mumbled thank you. Bill stood up and looked down at me with a frown.I'm here for another reason.I need a favor from you, and there is no one who can do it better than you. Just say it. My station wagon is parked in your driveway.Would you like to go out for a drive with me? What? go for a ride.I want to take you out for a drive in the car, just in a minute.We're not going out of town, and I promise I'll get you home in thirty minutes.I swear! thirty minutes.Such a little time.time.The most precious commodity in the world is getting more valuable every day.Franklin said that time is what life is made of. The time I have known the longest is only 30 minutes. This old friend has no idea that if he knocks on my window 30 minutes late, What he will find is my body.

I shake my head.Sorry, old friend, I don't think I'd be much of a ride-mate, even for as little as thirty minutes.The last time I rode in a car, I was following a hearse in a stretch black Cadillac. You give me a break, John.You don't have to be a good playmate.If you don't want to speak, don't say a word.Please, just go for a ride with me.Please. I actually went. Neither of us spoke until the car got on the main street of the town, passing the town square and the bandstand, and Bill said: I heard that our old town held a grand homecoming welcome party for you. .As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he immediately made a grimace, thumped the steering wheel hard, and said angrily: Sorry, John, I shouldn't have mentioned this! I didn't answer.After passing the Baptist church, Bill turned right and crossed a small covered bridge when we passed the historic town cemetery, where many of the thin flagstones were tilted, and I understood Where is Bill taking me.Within a few minutes, we pulled into a paved parking lot. At the far end of the lot there was a chain-link fence, at least twelve inches high, with a long blue and gold plank hanging from it. Engraved in old English, let us know that this is the Boulang Town Little League baseball field, as if I am afraid that without the sign I will not know what this place is. I followed Bill through the open door on the right-field side of the field between the end of the barbed wire and the wooden home run wall, feeling my heart pounding as the home run wall curved into a gentle curve. An arc that extends from the right field sideline to a point deep in center field to the left field sideline.The bright yellow Arabic numerals 202, freshly painted on the left and right ends of the home run wall, indicated that the distance from home plate to the end of the sideline was two hundred and two feet.I remember, my last year in Brandon Township Little League, hitting a home run to center field and the next day my uncle went to measure how far the ball went off the wall two hundred and forty-seven feet! Bill and I came to center field, and he stopped, held out his hand, and said eagerly, "John, now you're really home." I took a deep breath and slowly turned to the right until I made a full 360-degree turn.Then I turned around again in the opposite direction, and said, almost as if in a whisper: It's amazing, it's really amazing.The course looks almost exactly the same as it did thirty years ago!Lots of repainting, new wood, smooth home run wall, lots of landscaping in the parking lot, but it's still our old ballpark!Look, Bill, the right field and center field home runs still have sticky billboards on some of the companies that advertised them back in the days we played.Also, the left field home run wall is just green paint and there's no advertising about that green monster left field home run wall at Fenway Park exactly the same. I reached over our heads and pointed at the scoreboard hanging high in center field, and actually smiled.Remember when your dad and my dad had to climb up the ladder next to the scoreboard platform every round and hang up the scores one by one?The parents of the players had to draw lots before the start of the game, and whoever was drawn would be called an unlucky guy. The number boards pasted on the wooden cubes were all given to him. A ladder, and put the score of that round on it. Well, it's still the same now, John. I walked slowly to the infield until I got to my old spot, which was shortstop.Bill stepped back onto the turf, just to the right of where second base should be, and we looked at each other.Suddenly, on impulse, I clapped my hands and squatted down, as if I was going to catch a strong ground ball. I swept the invisible ball into my hands, and turned around and passed it to the direction where it should be first base.Double kill!I applaud. We crossed our arms and walked slowly toward the mound.Look at the stands in front of me, I said with a sigh.It really hasn't changed a bit!Counting from the barbed wire fence blocking the ball, there are about twenty rows, from the back of the third base all the way through the back of the home plate, to the back of the first base.Wow! Bill nodded.The number of seats has not changed.The grandstand can seat nearly a thousand people.Not bad for a small town with a population of only 5,000 people.Let's sit down, he said, pointing to the dugout behind third base. It's different now, I said.In the past, there were only benches here, but now the rest area is made of real concrete, embedded under the court, and steps are connected to the court, with a ceiling above the head.Just like the big leagues! We stepped into the lounge area and sat on large green benches.The course is well maintained, I say.The place must have been looked after with great care. Yes, they're all set up and ready for the season, which is just three weeks away.There will be a test session this Saturday morning.The stadium is ready but I worry the league is not. you mean? Well, with the exception of one year in the last twenty years, there's always been enough kids in attendance to round up our four-team Little League, each with at least a dozen Players, it seems, the number is enough this year, just barely enough. Where is the problem? John, my two sons are in college now, and it's been years since they played Little League.As for their dad, I haven't been away for so long.You should also remember that a lot of players' fathers can't help out as coaches or managers because they have jobs and it's hard to be there for most of the practice, and I spend a lot of time with the practice.I've been coaching year after year, and if the manager of any of the four teams needs me, I'll be there for a whole season. I think that's great, Bill.Based on your knowledge of the schedule and your experience dealing with these kids, I think that no matter which team you are in, you must be the treasure of the town team. I hope so, he said.All in all, a few months ago, last year's league star catcher's father Tom.Lanley, who was chosen by the league president and board of directors to be one of four managers this year, asked me to help coach his team.Of course I agreed.Then I had an angina attack, and I thought, if I don't never come back, I'm definitely going to miss this year.But when I heard about you, I had to come home and see if I could be of any help, and besides, I had another reason for staying at the moment.The league in town needs me.It seems that Lanli has been promoted in the company, maybe a month ago, and he has put his house on the market, and the family has moved to Atlanta.So, one of the four teams is missing a manager, and there's not much time left to find someone to replace it. Bill and I have been friends for many years.I was almost sure, could feel what he was going to say.Bill leaned closer to me and said, John, remember I told you I needed a favor from you? I can't look at him.I thought, you just wanted to take me out for a ride. Bill laughed softly.Hey, in a way, that's true.Come out for a ride with a dozen ball games.The officers of the alliance are a little afraid of your status and achievements, and are hesitant to contact you, especially since you just lost a loved one not long ago, so I volunteered to check your tone, wondering if you have May serve as team manager this season. My friend, my tone is full of sadness.I can't even cook my own breakfast. How can I handle twelve lively children who are trying to get rid of their parents' authority.I absolutely can't do it. John, we all believe you'd make a great little baseball manager.You have a background and are very familiar with the schedule and goals of the competition. You will be a great teacher and role model. Players will definitely learn a lot of playing skills from you, how to face victory and defeat, and how to get along with teammates and opponents.I remember a lot about you, old friend.I know kids will love you. But Bill, emotions have to go both ways, and I'm afraid my emotions are all buried in Maplewood Cemetery by now. I will help you, John.I am a very good coach.Now that Millennium Infinity is letting you take an entire summer off, leading the team should be a good way to fill the time in the next few months.For you, it may be the best treatment. I shake my head.Sorry, I whisper, I just can't do it. Bill stood up, walked up the steps of the rest area, and walked towards home plate.Suddenly he stopped, turned to me, and said, John, the last year we played Little League together, do you remember?We didn't lose at halftime and won the league title.Do you happen to remember what our team name is? of course I remember.We are the Angels. Bill nodded.Well, the lack of a manager this season happens to be the Angels! I closed my eyes for an unknown amount of time.Then I heard myself ask: You said the test would be this Saturday morning? Bill leaned over to me and said softly: Nine o'clock Saturday morning.John, please think about it.I'll drop by your house around 8:30 that morning, maybe you'll change your mind, what do you think? What day is it today? Thursday. I was a few steps behind Bill, and the two of them walked slowly across the thick turf toward the right field entrance and parking lot.All of a sudden I saw Bill stumble, then quickly regained his balance.He turned around, holding one of the most dented, scuffed, and faded baseballs I've ever seen in my life.He shoved the ball into my hand and turned away without saying a word.