“Next stop Kenmore Square! Next stop Kenmore Square! Doors open on the right!”
I hear this announcement almost daily but its days like this that they mean the most
These are the days where he grabs my hand and we wade through the sea of people.
“Tickets? Tickets? Buying Tickets! Selling Tickets! You need tickets! Who needs tickets?”
We go through the gate and he doesn’t let go.
Up on the concourse we are surrounded by red and green.
We meander through the rows upon rows of seats until we find the ones we are looking for
These are the days I wait from October to April for
These are the days I pine for during the off-season
My sneakers stick to the dried tonic on the concrete
He wipes the shells off our seats
These are the days when we are closest when we are inseparable
“Peanuts! Peanuts! Hot salty fresh peanuts!”
He buys a bag even though he’s allergic, it’s how I know he really loves me
It’s hot and muggy and our jerseys stick to the small of our backs and as we sit in our seats the sweat rolls off our brow.
The park starts to fill with thousands and people climb over me
But I’ll never complain because yet again he has brought me to paradise.
The anthem starts and he takes my hat off and puts it in my hand
You know the game is about to begin when they announce the line-up
My favorite player runs onto the field
“At Short Stop, Nomar Garciaparra”
He squeezes my hand and I look up at him and I say:
“Daddy, I’m going to marry him some day!”
