"With the third pick of the 2022 MLB draft, the Detroit Ligers select… Ken Takagi, a switch pitcher from Columbia University."
Once his name was announced, the TV showed his reaction. Thankfully by that moment he had been able to regain his composure, he would hate to be caught crying on national TV.
He celebrated with his close family and friends. Even Steve whose name had yet to be called had set aside his anxiety and sincerely congratulated him on being drafted.
Yuki was crying happy tears, her head buried into her husband's chest after hearing the news. Seeing her son achieve his dreams filled her with indescribable pride and joy.
Yet not even a minute after the pick announcement, Steve received a phone call and had to step away. Since many were still focused on Ken being drafted, only Tara and Ken saw what was happening.
They happened to lock eyes and each could see the other's excitement.
Ken quickly told everyone to be quiet and pointed to Steve who was on the phone. The room went to silence and only now could they hear Steve talking.
"Thank you sir, I won't let you down."
Steve hung up the phone and almost dropped it. He stood in utter disbelief, his eyes moving to Ken who was nearby.
"Well?" Ken asked.
"That was the Texas Riders GM… They're picking me at number 4." His tone showed his disbelief, as if he felt like this was just a dream.
Ken rushed forward and hugged his friend, seemingly more excited than his own name being called. He knew just how hard Steve had worked alongside him to get where he was today, of course he would be excited.
"You did it man… I knew you would."
"I… I did it." Steve said.
"I DID IT!"
"I'M GONNA BE A MAJOR LEAGUER!" He shouted as tears threatened to spill from his eyes.
Tara and Ai joined in on the group hug and celebrated together. It was a joyous occasion and these 4 friends enjoyed it together.
Once he got some space, Steve's parents came over and congratulated him. His father was short and round with curly black hair, his roots clearly had some Asian descent. By his side was Steve's mother who was from England, they were an unlikely pairing, but they truly seemed happy in that moment.
Sure enough, the pick was announced and once more the room broke into celebration. With Ken being selected by Detroit and Steve set to remain in Texas, the two young men were set for the Majors.
The celebrations lasted well into the night and was filled with joy and happiness.
At some point Ken's phone began to blow up from some friends and acquaintances. He only took a single phone call from Daichi, letting the rest go to voicemail.
It was truly a wonderful night. Ken was aware that the following day they would all go their separate ways. Ai and Tara would return to New York, and Ken would head to Detroit, but he didn't let it affect him.
Tonight was a night for celebrations, tomorrow's worries were for exactly that, tomorrow.
People only started to leave just before midnight, leaving only Ken, Yuki, Chris and Ai remaining in the house. By now, Ken's social battery had been heavily depleted, but he couldn't remove the smile from his face.
He had been drafted by the team coached by his Grandfather like he wanted. Of course he would have to work his way up through the minor league to get there, but it was not something that he was afraid of doing.
In fact, Ken looked forward to making an impact at once.
"Are you happy?" Ai asked as she snuggled against him in bed.
"Mmm. This is the second happiest moment of my life." He admitted, wrapping his arm around her.
"Second? What's the first?"
"When you agreed to my marriage proposal." He said sincerely. This was in no way a lie. While he had been working towards the goal of being drafted and getting into the Majors, Ai was even more important to him than this, something he had realized since starting college.
Ai nudged him, "Don't go sucking up to me." She said, letting out a small giggle.
Ken shrugged, "I'm not lying. If I could only have you, or baseball… I'd choose you."
Ai was silent for a while. She brought up his hand to her lips and kissed it gently, "I believe you." She whispered. "Well thankfully you don't have to choose. You can have both."
Ken smiled genuinely, shifting his body and kissing her deeply. "I will miss you…" He said, some sadness in his tone.
They would have to spend a year apart. Of course during the off-season he would have some time to come and see her, but Ai would still be at college during this time and no doubt he would be training hard to get better.
"I will miss you too, but it is only temporary. We survived a year apart when you first moved to America, we can do it again." She assured him.
"Yeah but it sucked…" Ken complained.
Ai giggled at this since Ken sounded like a child. "No complaints. Once the year is over, I'll follow you to wherever you are. When that happens, you won't be able to get rid of me no matter how hard you try."
Ken laughed in good humor, "Why would I ever want to get rid of you?"
"I was just being completely transparent." Ai replied squeezing his hand. "Maybe once everything is settled we can start our own family…"
Ken gulped, suddenly remembering his dream the other day. There was definitely a child, and she had called him papa. For a moment he felt dread. Was the dream really of his future? If so, why did Ai look so scared of him?
"Hey, are you okay? I'm sorry I brought it up on your special day…" Ai replied meekly.
"No, I'm sorry, my mind drifted a little. I think we should definitely talk about it after we settle in a years time." Ken said, kissing her once more.