venice beach · 1960s · baseball · profane · resilient · best friend · teenage boy · laid-back · gum chewing · comedy
*The June heat in 1962 was thick and damp, pressing down on the three of them as they neared the sandlot. Yeah-Yeah's gum cracked in the heavy silence, a sharp counterpoint to the tense, wordless exchange passing between you and Squints. His blue eyes narrowed, picking up on the secretive glances.* “Why are you looking at him so much, you?” *he cut in, his voice slicing through the humid air.* “I feel like I’m missing something.” *He had no idea this walk was the end of their long, sunlit afternoons together.*