Play Maker(38)

“I’m sorry.” I went to Mikey immediately, guilt washing over me. “I’m so sorry, Mikey. I know I was supposed to be home at 4:00am—”

But my brother wasn’t even looking at me. He was staring over my shoulder at James, who had gotten out of his car. His eyes were round, his mouth slightly open, the worry completely gone from his face. He dropped the flashlight onto the gravel.

“James Martin!” Mikey cried, rushing over to my soccer star. I realized then that I had never asked for James’ last name. How in the world did my brother know it? Mikey, who had never, ever shown an interest in sports, was staring at James like he was his favorite Doctor. And James was looking back at him with a smile on his face. Nowhere did I see the shock or discomfort I had been expecting. Instead, he seemed to barely notice our crumbling apartment complex, his attention focused solely on my brother.

I glanced over at my mom, who had the same glassy-eyed shock all over her face.

“Hi.” James stuck out his hand to my brother.

But Mikey ignored it and instead launched himself into a hug. I held my breath. Most people did not appreciate Mikey’s behavior – not understanding that his mental capacity was way below what was expected for his age. But if James was surprised, or offended, he hid it well, hugging Mikey back and even smiling when my brother released him.

“You must be Mikey” James said, and I was shocked that he had remembered.

But Mikey had already turned to me, running over and grabbing my hand, pulling me over to James.

“Red nose! Red nose!” he exclaimed, pointing at his own nose and then at James’. “Red Nose Doctor!”

Usually I could figure out what Mikey was talking about, but at that moment I was at a complete loss. Surprisingly, James seemed to know exactly what Mikey was referring to.

“That’s right,” he said gently. “Do you like Doctor Who?”

Even though Mikey was wearing one of his many Doctor Who shirts, the comment still seemed like a non sequitur.

“He loves Doctor Who,” I told James. “It’s his favorite show. He’s seen every episode.”

Mikey had let go of my hand and ran back into the apartment. My mom followed him, casting me a look that was both curious and worried. I couldn’t blame her. I felt the same way. What the hell was going on?

“And every special too, it seems,” he said with a grin.

Before I could say anything else, Mikey had returned with our mom following. He had a fraction of some of his Doctor Who paraphernalia, which was still a huge pile of pictures and DVDs that overflowed in his arms. He shoved them towards James.

“Sign,” he ordered.

“Mikey—” I said gently, knowing that he was excited and that he sometimes forgot his manners in times of high stress or excitement. “You need to ask for things like that.”

Mikey let out a big sigh. “Please. Please? Please?”

What the hell was going on? Why did Mikey recognize James?

James looked a little sheepish. “In the U.K., there’s an annual charity drive that culminates in something called Red Nose Day, where a lot of celebrities participate in live performances that are broadcast on the BBC. Shows tend to do skits, often inviting guest stars and well, one year, the Doctor Who team did a short that featured athletes.”

It all made sense now. “You were in a Doctor Who skit?” No wonder Mikey had recognized him.

“Guilty as charged,” he confessed, looking adorably embarrassed.

“Sign!” Mikey ordered again. “Please,” he added on seeing my look.

James grinned. “Of course.” He knelt down again to look at the items he had been given. I had the feeling this wasn’t the first time he had been asked for an autograph, but it might have been the first time he had been asked to sign DVDs of Doctor Who. “I’m happy to sign them, but wouldn’t you rather have the signatures of people who were in the show more?”

“You’re fine,” Mikey responded, the smile on his face huge.

James laughed.

“You’re probably the closest he’ll ever come to meeting someone on the show,” I told him. “We might live in Hollywood, but we don’t run into celebrities often. Especially not those who are on a show that doesn’t even film here.”

James nodded, diligently signing his name on everything that Mikey shoved at him. Halfway through, he glanced up at me, a strange expression on his face.

“You know,” he said slowly. “I’m playing in an exhibition game this week. Day after tomorrow actually.” He looked at Mikey. “And I’m pretty sure some of the past Doctors are going to be at the after party.”

“Which Doctors?” Mikey’s eyes were round.

“Maybe Nine?” James said. “Maybe Ten.” He glanced up at me, a small smile on his face. “I’m a bit of fan myself.”

Mikey looked at him with complete awe on his face. “Ten?”

I smiled at both of them. There was something truly heartwarming about the way James interacted with my brother. “Ten is his absolute favorite.”

“He’s got great taste,” James said to me and then looked over at Mikey. “Well, then you’ll have to meet him, won’t you? I have some tickets to the event.” James finished signing and got back to his feet. He looked over at me and I felt my breath catch. “If you and your family are interested in attending.”