Daddy's All-Star

When Tommy's home run in the bottom of the ninth sent his team to the state finals, he was ecstatic. He celebrated as he ran the bases, celebrated when he touched the plate -- and he even celebrated afterward, when his step-dad picked him up in a bear hug and spun him around in circles, shouting, "That's my boy!" to anybody who would listen.

Embarrassed and humiliated, Tommy tells his step-dad that he's not welcome at the championship game. Tommy can't handle the stress of having him there.

When the big game doesn't go the way Tommy wanted, however, it is his step-dad who is there to comfort him. And comfort he will, in ways that Tommy never imagined...

This short story is roughly 4,200 words long