In our last episode, Alan was surprised to learn that his Uncle Gerald and Aunt Tammy were going to be their houseguests for the remainder of the summer. Alan felt uncomfortable because Uncle Gerald was his father’s identical twin brother, and his presence reminded him of the accident that took his father’s life.

Uncle Gerald reveals his own love for baseball and is determined to see Alan get a chance to play on a team.

Last week, Alan decided to take his mom’s advice and go over to the ball field. To his surprise, the boys had lost another baseball and were desperately trying to find it. After praying for God’s help, Alan located the prized baseball and for a moment was a hero. His popularity was short because when Jimmy Fishburn showed up and took the ball away from him, Alan found himself standing alone with no invitation to join the game.

In Chapter 3, Alan’s mom refused to call his Aunt Gwen, so he finally had to accept that his cousin Hannah was not coming back to visit. Trying to take Alan’s mind off wondering why they hadn’t heard from Miss Ginny, his mom suggested he go over to the baseball field and introduce himself. She even said she would walk him over, but Alan protested and decided to go on his own while wondering if this would be the day he would get to play baseball.