There was a definite look in her eye every time she called Tony's name. Between batters, both boys looked up into the stands toward the girl and waved. Then Lin's eyes slid over to her and locked with hers. She felt her heart stop beating for a second.

"Hey, Lin, wake up! Riccutti's up and he always hits down the middle. What are you staring at anyway?"

"That girl sitting near my sister. The blonde."

Tony ventured a quick glance. "There's nobody sitting anywhere near Elaine, Lin. Now look sharp!" Tony was right; Riccutti smacked a line drive down the middle. Lindsey ran back and caught the ball, firing it to first and just beating the runner to the bag. End of the top of the ninth, with the score tied at 3-3. St. Pat's trotted off the field. Rosemary noticed the boy called Lin was limping. Of course! His feet hurt terribly because his shoes didn't fit him properly. They were second-hand because it was all he could afford.

St. Pat's chances didn't look too good in the ninth, as there were three batters ahead of Lindsey and Tony, all of whom had gone hitless for the entire game. But, knowing this, Sacred Heart's pitcher got a little overconfident and accidentally hit the first batter, putting him on first base. The next two boys, first and second in the lineup, struck out, bringing up Lindsey. He wasn't a long-ball hitter. That was Tony, who batted in the cleanup spot. Lindsey was the percentage hitter, with a really great on-base percentage. And hit the ball he did, a gentle blooper between the third baseman and the shortstop. He got to first base easily, the pitcher just making it to second by the skin of his teeth. Then with Tony up, the pitcher threw garbage, hoping to catch the corners. But three balls and no strikes later, he tossed his sinker at the low and outside corner. Tony's bat met it solidly and drove it over the fence. Eddie, Lindsey, and Tony took their time coming home, bringing St. Patrick's a 6-3 win and a meeting with St. Aloysius in the finals. After a cheer for the other team and the ritual handshake, Lindsey and the rest of the team headed off the field. He stopped to look at the blonde girl in the stands. Their eyes met again. Tony didn't see her this time either because he only had eyes for Lin's sister Elaine. Not that he would have seen her anyway. Before she left the vision, Rosemary "saw" Lin take off his shoes. His feet were bleeding in several places from broken blisters. The game had cost him a lot in the way of pain, but she was the only one who knew it.

Walking home with Elaine and Tony, Lindsey asked, "Elaine, who was the blonde girl sitting close to you? She wore a uniform I didn't recognize."

"What girl, Lin? There was nobody close to me at all! You must be seeing things. Maybe you somehow got Aunt Maeve's ‘sight'."   Holding Tony's hand, she put her other arm around her brother's waist. The "Three Musketeers," as everyone called them, headed home.

Rosemary came out of her vision and heard her mother calling her. She headed for the kitchen and began gathering up dishes to set the table. "Mom, I had another vision. I saw a boy and I know he saw me. Our eyes met twice, and I heard him asking another boy who I was, but the other boy couldn't see me."

Kathleen Cassandra O'Brien crossed herself and then hugged her daughter. "That means you've just met your soulmate, Rosie. What did you see?"

"He's a little older than I am, maybe a seventh or eighth grader, plays baseball for a Catholic school team called St. Patrick's, and has a sister. He's a very good baseball player. And so good looking! He's poor, because he bought his shoes secondhand and they hurt him a lot. That's all I could tell. Oh, wait. His nickname is Lin, so his name must be something unusual."

"Who are you talking about, Rosemary?" her stepfather (who was also her uncle), who had just entered the kitchen, asked.

"She just saw her soulmate, Kevin. And don't you dare cut a piece of that cake. It's for St. Anne's bake sale tomorrow." She playfully slapped at his hand with the wooden spoon she was holding.

"I guess she's about the right age at that. You told me you saw Mikey when you were about 10, and Maureen said she saw me at about that age, too" For a minute both of them thought of their first spouses, both dead at too young an age. Kevin had married Kathleen because he wanted to take care of Mike's wife and little girl; although they loved each other, they knew they'd never really be in love as they had been before. But Kevin was as good a man as a woman could find, and he dearly loved Rosemary. "So do you think he lives here in Pittsburgh, Darlin'?"

Rosemary closed her eyes and thought hard back to the vision. "No, I think I saw palm trees. Florida, maybe, or California."

"Don't worry, sweetheart," her mother told her gently. "If he's your soulmate, you'll meet him when the time is right. Now, please set the table. Dinner will be ready in a minute."

"Good, I'm starving." Kevin gave his wife a little hug and a peck on the cheek. She was about two months pregnant with a baby that she would miscarry shortly. She knew it but wouldn't tell him that, as she knew he'd worry. She had already lost two. Evidently Rosemary was meant to be her only child. And she had seen her soulmate. I'm losing this baby, too. She's growing up so fast!

Back on the outskirts of Los Angeles, Lindsey finished his job mowing Mr. Edwards' lawn and took the bus over to his Aunt Maeve's house.

Maeve O'Malley was his father's aunt, and she had "the sight." Evidently it was very strong in her. Unfortunately it only passed through females, so his dad didn't have it. Maybe if he had, he wouldn't have made so many bad mistakes in his life. Maybe his mother wouldn't be dead. Maybe they wouldn't be so poor. Maybe he wouldn't exist, as his father would have never got his mother pregnant the summer before they were to enter college!

Maeve was a beautiful woman with the dark hair, now generously shot with gray, and blue eyes that ran in the family. She hugged her great-nephew and offered him a glass of milk, which he gratefully accepted. Somehow the sight hadn't made her any money, as she was almost as poor as his family! "So, Lindsey, my pet, what brings you to see your old Aunt Maeve?"

"I saw a girl at the baseball game. She was sitting near Elaine, but Elaine and Tony, who spends all his time looking at Elaine whenever he's not concentrating on the game, both said there was nobody there. She wore a uniform that wasn't from St. Pat's or Sacred Heart. She was small and blonde and maybe 10 years old. I looked right into her eyes twice and she looked back at me. What does it mean?"

Aunt Maeve shook her head and smiled. "You've just seen your soulmate, and she's seen you. Now you just have to find each other. But it will happen. She obviously has ‘the sight' and will find you when the time comes."

"Do you think you could see her for me? Maybe find out where she is?"

Maeve walked to the bookshelf and reached for her Bible, but pulled out the copy of Shakespeare's plays next to it. That's an omen, she thought. She opened it at random and, closing her eyes, put her finger down on a spot on the page. It was Hamlet. That must mean her name was either Ophelia or Gertrude (she hoped not Gertrude). But she saw where her finger had landed: "Here's rosemary, that's for remembrance."

"I think I know her name, Lindsey. It would appear to be Rosemary. That's all I can tell you. You'll have to leave in a few minutes so you don't miss the bus. It's the last one. Here, take this with you." She handed him a small jar. "Put some on your feet every morning when you wake up and every night when you go to bed. It'll toughen them so they won't blister and bleed."

"Thanks, Aunt Maeve. How did you know about my feet? Was it a vision?"

"It doesn't take a vision, the way you were limping."

"Do you know if we're going to win the game with St. Aloysius Saturday?"

"If I do, I'm not going to tell you. It's up to you and the rest of the team whether or not you win. Remember how the Sacred Heart pitcher got cocky when he threw to your pitcher & hit him? Do you want that to happen if I tell you you'll win. Or do you want to be demoralized if I tell you you're going to lose?" He shook his head.

Kissing his aunt, Lindsey headed for the bus stop, his feet aching but a song in his heart. I'll meet you someday, Rosemary. Then it'll be the Four Musketeers, you, me, Elaine, and Tony. Oops, Lindsey, watch your grammar. You know better than that! You, Elaine, Tony, and me! Catching the bus, he headed home, hoping that Artie wouldn't snore so he could get some sleep after he finished his homework. And maybe he'd even dream about this girl he would someday love.

Aunt Maeve's salve worked, and his feet felt much better when he helped St. Pat's beat St. Aloysius and win the city championship. The coach told him that he and Tony would be offered full scholarships to Holy Cross High School. Great! They had the best baseball team in the city. Even better, they were outstanding academically, so he should have a chance at a college scholarship. Then Coach Murray had another amazing announcement. Because they had won the city championship, they had earned the right to go to the state tournament! As the team cheered, Coach dropped what would be the bombshell right on Lindsey. Each player would need $100 for a room, meals, and his share of the bus transportation. Well, that kills it, Lindsey thought. I can't go.

When the players left, Coach Murray held Lindsey back. "I know this is hard for you, Lindsey. I'm aware of the fact that the parish is paying your tuition. I'd even pay your way myself, as I know how much the team needs you, but we just had a baby and had to put a new roof on our house. I think our car is dying, too. I already asked the principal if the school would pay your way, but Sister Frances said they couldn't. I hope you can find the money. We need you, and you'd have a great time too!"

Lindsey sadly walked home. He looked in his secret hiding place and found $15, which he had been saving for new baseball shoes. Elaine offered him her babysitting money, which would have been $20 more. That left him $65 short. Oh, well, it would have been nice.

Walking to school the next morning, he found a wallet full of cash on the ground. Opening it, he found about $120 in cash and no identification. He didn't know that it had been deliberately dropped by a man in his early 50's, balding, with a face like a frog. Holland was giving his future protégé his first temptation. Lindsey stuck it in his backpack with a quick, "Thanks, St. Michael," to his patron saint. Suddenly in front of him he saw the blonde girl, Rosemary, looking at him sadly and shaking her head. She looked so disappointed in him. He looked at her, smiled, and nodded. On his way into the school, he dropped the wallet off at Sister Frances' office, asking her to please notify the police that he had found it. The entire contents were intact. Sister Frances wondered to herself if there couldn't be some way to reward Lindsey's honesty by raising the money for him to go to the tournament.

After school Elaine had a plan of her own. She took the bus to Grandfather Lindsey's and asked to borrow $100, offering to pay it back on a weekly basis from her babysitting money. That's how Lindsey had managed to come up with the money to buy the bike he needed for his paper route. "Isn't his birthday coming up soon? I'll give him a little gift." Grandfather left the room and came back in a minute with some money. "Here's $100 for him and $10 for you for being such a loyal sister." Elaine threw her arms around him and kissed him. Maybe I should have forgiven Mary Margaret & Michael, he thought. I've missed so much. "Elaine, when Lindsey comes back from the tournament, please come over to see me so I can hear all about it. Also tell him I said to come back ‘with it or on it'." She kissed him again and left.

Tears filled Lindsey's eyes as he took the money from his sister. He thought to himself how lucky he was to be her brother. "What did Grandfather mean, Lin? What does ‘with it or on it' mean?"

Lindsey laughed. "In ancient Sparta, that's what mothers said to their sons or wives to their husbands as they left for battle. Come back victorious, with your shield on your arm, or dead, lying on your shield as your comrades brought your body home!"

The next day he gave the money to Coach Murray and took off for the tournament with the team. They got to the championship game and would have won, except the lying little sneak of an outfielder from St. Jude's pretended to have been hit by an inside ball, falling to the ground in simulated pain and groaning a little too much to be believable. So the winning run was walked in. I'll remember you, Lee Mercer, you little weasel. Someday we'll meet again! Up in the stands, Holland Manners was having the same thought. That kid just might have what it takes at W&H! Lee Mercer. I'll remember that name & keep an eye on him.

Rosemary was up in the stands, too, but nowhere near Holland. As Lindsey's team left the field, she smiled at him, letting him know that she was proud of him. He smiled back. Someday, Rosemary, someday.