Match Making
Julia and Monica Tucker had become smitten with Matthew Walker and Mitch Cartwright respectively. The girls had nothing to do with baseball but they had seen the boys in the local newspaper.
“You take Matthew, then Mitch is for me”, Monica said to her twin sister.
“Good. They are still young and single so if we go steady with them they are only young”, answered Julia.
“And we are also still young. And if they are of us are we run first with them to City Hall and then to the hospital”, said Monica.
“Why then to the hospital?”, Julia asked amazed.
“Because we must have their children then”, was the answer.
They screamed of laughter.
It was after a game and the players were still in the club house. They sat at a bit table eating and drinking and of course enjoying the winning. Troy Taylor saw the girls coming in and bumped Mitch.
“They probably come for you and Matt”, said the right fielder.
“Pity for them we are already taken”, Mitch reacted laughing.
Quickly he winked at Matthew who returned one. Their teammates knew that they had a relationship with each other and didn’t find it a problem. The guys were professional enough to their relationship outside the game.
“Ladies, the club house is closed for visitors”, said the barman.
“We didn’t know that”, said Julia.
“Besides we come for Mitch Cartwright and Matthew Walker”, said Monica.
Now all baseball players looked at each other amazed.
“Just say that we don’t have time because we have to pick up my little sister Rose later on”, said Mitch.
The girls gave their phone numbers to the barman and went away. Mitch and Matthew got the phone numbers from the barman.
“Matt, shall we arrange a date with them without letting notice that we are already taken?”, Mitch asked after a while and with laughing eyes.
“We do that”, Matthew said laughing.
Troy said, “You don’t treat a girl like that, do you? I know that you both fall for boys but then you don’t have to treat the girls like that.”
“We thought more about an usual meeting instead of an evening out”, said Matthew.
Everybody laughed.
Julia and Monica back home insulted.
“I just go and demand that father buys that club and then those 2 can leave. Besides it will become a field hockey club then”, answered Monica.
Her sister thought that was a great idea. But yet before they were home the cell phone of Julia rang.
She answered it and got to hear from Matthew, “Tomorrow we have a date to drink coffee somewhere.”
“That’s great”, Julia said very glad.
They got to hear the time and address and hung up. Then the cell phone of Monica rang. She got the same story told but now by Mitch. Monica agreed.
“Tomorrow we meet our Princes on the white horses”, said Julia.
“Father will buy the club anyway”, Monica said determined.
Mitch had arranged to meet at the port of San Francisco and was there early. To pass the time to come, he drew the ships there. When Monica came he did deposit his drawing stuff fast on in his backpack.
“Hello, I am Mitch Cartwright”, he said as innocent as possible.
Monica said, “Monica Tucker. So you play hockey? How nice. I do that too. My father is going to buy San Francisco Kings in a year’s time.”
“I play pro baseball and ice hockey as the baseball season is over”, said Mitch.
He knew right away that Monica Tucker was bad news but left not notice. He ordered 2 coffee with warm apple pie. The girl saw the scar on the left hand of the young Cartwright and was curious about it.
She asked shocked, “How did you get that scar on your hand?”
Mitch looked at it and said nonchalantly, “ When I was 14 I got a plastic prosthesis.”
“That seems to me terribly so walking around”, said the girl.
“There are worse things to walk around with”, reacted the young Cartwright.
Monica felt very personally addressed and looked at him furiously. “I'm already 5 times become Miss San Francisco so you do really not be embarrassed if we together walking down the street”, she snapped.
“I don’t do that but apparently you are ashamed because I happen to have a scar on my left hand”, reacted Mitch.
He stood up and grabbed his jacket and backpack. Next, Mitch went away, leaving Monica furious and insulted.
Matthew had also not affected with Julia. The girl had just as many or if not more imagination than her sister and spoke with a hot potato in the throat. Matthew, on the other hand, had still a rural accent, although he lived in the big city for more than a year and worked. That was largely the fault of Mitch who also spoke English with an accent.
“Matthew, do you really still live with your parents?”, Julia asked during their 1st date.
“Yes. I am a pro baseball player so away a lot. Then it’s very easy to have parents to fall back on Mitch lives with us”, answered the young Walker.
“Mitch lives with you in the house? Is he happen to be an orphan?”, Julia asked with a dirty face.
“Nee, but he is also pro baseball player. Only his parents have 3 more younger and school attending children”, Matthew explained.
“Oh, That’s so. Fortunately. I was already afraid that you had something with Mitch”, Julia chuckled relieved.
‘You must know how close you are to the truth’, thought Matthew. He looked at the clock and saw that it was time to go away.
“Sorry Julia. I have to go away”, said Matthew.
He got up, grabbed his jacket and bag and went away. Julia boiled of anger.
Matthew picked up Mitch on and together they drove to the baseball stadium.
“Matt, what am I glad that I go with you. That Monica Tucker is really a fool on the top shelf. She saw that scar on my hand and at once she was ashamed to be walking with me on the street. How was your date with her sister?”, asked Mitch.
Matthew answered, “That chick talks so stuck-up that we have an even worse rural accent. Because you live with my parents she thought that I had something with you. I thought right away that she should know how close she was to the truth.”
They laughed.
Then Mitch asked seriously, “Would those girls be related to George Tucker?”
“That one of that bankrupted school bus organization in Virginia City? It could be. Doesn’t your father know that? Or grandpa?”, was the counter-question of Matthew.
“Stop there for a moment. Then we phone to the ranch”, said Mitch.
Matthew stopped at a parking lot and Mitch phoned to the Ponderosa ranch where he got his grandpa Ben Cartwright on the line at once. The rancher got to hear everything and promised to sort it out. Mitch hung up and Matthew drove ahead to the stadium.
Ben had on request of his 2 eldest grandsons found out where George Tucker lived and if he had 2 daughters. Joe Cartwright, the youngest son of Ben, had searched on internet and had gotten a whole lot information.
“Pa, George Tucker has indeed twins Monica and Julia. They live in San Francisco”, said Joe.
“Mitch said that Monica demands that her father buys the baseball club to be able to fire him and Matt that way”, said Ben.
“Why don’t you buy that club and let them move to our stadium?”, Hoss Cartwright suggested.
He was the 2nd son of Ben.
The rancher looked at him and answered, “Hoss, that is not even such a bad idea of you. Our stadium is right for it so I am going to try to arrange it.”
After their failed dates the twins came home very upset.
“What has happened?”, their father George Tucker asked amazed.
“They aren’t even interested in us. They don’t play field hockey but baseball. Matthew talks like a hillbilly and behaves like that too”, Julia said crying.
“That Mitch has an enormous big scar on his hand. The way he talks doesn’t suit us sort of people”, said Monica.
“How is that Mitch called by his last name?”, George asked worried.
“Cartwright. Why?”, asked his daughter.
“Just like that. Maybe they change when they get to know you a bit better though”, said George.
He went to his working office and searched on the Internet for more information about mainly Mitch Cartwright. But he couldn’t find anything useful to his annoying.
A week later. The girls hadn’t heard from the baseball players the whole week at all. Monica went with her sister to the stadium to see her boyfriend. Outside the club house Julia saw Matthew talking to a boy. “Doesn’t Mitch play today?”, the boy who turned out to be the brother-in-law of Matthew, Benji Cartwright, asked.
“No, he has too much trouble with his hand”, answered Matthew.
Julia boiled of anger when she saw that her boyfriend was talking to someone else and went to the couple, followed by Monica.
“Matthew, where is Mitch?”, asked Monica.
“At home. May I introduce you to my brother-in-law and the younger brother of Mitch, Benji?”, Matthew asked on his turn.
“He is your brother-in-law? You are not going to tell me that you and Mitch are a couple, are you?”, Julia asked with a dirty face.
“Yes, I have now 2 older brothers”, Benji said yet before Matthew could give an answer.
“Yuck! I am going to make sure that you get fired here”, said Monica.
“You can try that but they know about our relationship all along”, said Matthew.
The girls went insulted to the tribune.
Benji asked whispering, “Is that chick in love with you?”
“Yes, unfortunately. Don’t you worry because I stay with your brother. And he with me”, answered Matthew.
Benji was at ease. They went inside to start with the batting practice. Benji and his twin sister Lisa were batboy and batgirl of the San Francisco Kings.
Quite soon it became clear that Julia and Monica never had been to a baseball game. The 2nd half of the 2nd inning was about to start when Monica looked amazed around her.
“Julia, is there no rest with this sport?”, she asked bit to out loud.
Everyone who heard it began to laugh hard. Even the stadium speaker got to hear it.
He said through the microphone, “Unfortunately for 2 female visitors the rest of this game has been cancelled.”
Again there was laughter at the stadium .
Lisa, who was batgirl with the opposite team Los Angeles Wolves batgirl, said to coach Ken Johnson, “It’s now really a pity that my brother can’t play.”
“Why?”, he asked worried about the answer.
“Mitch hits the ball out of the stadium and usually breaks a car window with that. I saw a very expensive Rolls Royce standing close by the field. What would it be fun if he broke those windows”, answered the girl.
Ken said, “I would like that too. I happen to know the reputation of your brother.”
The coach hadn’t said it or Matthew had hit the ball away. The ball flew with such a speed through the air that the object came through the Rolls. Rose found the ball near the car and kept it with her.
“A homerun for Matthew Walker and a few broken windows for the pink Rolls Royce”, said the stadium speaker.
“That’s our car! Well, then Matthew can pay for the new windows of his salary”, Julia said angry.
The love was over for good at once. And that also the case for Monica.
While Matthew, Benji, Lisa and Rose were at the stadium Mitch got a visit from Ben. The boy was a bit surprised to see the rancher. But that was Ben too.
“Mustn’t you play?”, asked Ben.
“No, my hand hurts and then especially the scar. The coaches know about it and when it hurts I must stay at home of them”, answered Mitch.
“I am here to see you and to buy the San Francisco Kings. The latter was an idea of your uncle Hoss. Uncle Joe discovered that George Tucker is the same person as the one who let you walk home 4 km”, said Ben.
“You are going to buy our baseball club? And then we are the Ponderosa Cowboys, aren’t we?”, Mitch asked amazed.
De rancher nodded and continued, “All players move to Virginia City. You and Matt come to live with me again. If you want to.”
“You must have lack of personnel? That you say that we come to live with you”, his grandson reacted sarcastic.
“This remains between us!”, Ben said semi-stern.
Mitch nodded diffident. He made coffee and showed then his latest drawings. Ben was very impressed by them.
Suddenly Mitch said deadly serious, “As soon as it is possible in Nevada Matt and I want to get married. And then we want that our wedding takes place at the ranch. ”
“Is it so serious between you?”, asked the rancher.
The young Cartwright nodded.
“Then hereby it’s arranged. Your parents also married at the ranch”, said Ben.
Yet before someone knew it the name of the San Francisco Kings had been changed into Ponderosa Cowboys. The location of the club was changed. Strange enough everyone of the San Francisco Kings agreed of the with the move.
One evening Mitch and Matthew were visiting the parents of Mitch, Adam and Sally Cartwright.
“Daddy, mom, very soon we are going to move back to the Ponderosa ranch. Grandpa has bought our club on condition that we went to play there as the Ponderosa Cowboys”, Mitch said suddenly.
Adam looked amazed at his eldest son.
“So you are going back to the ranch, aren’t you?”, Adam asked when the news finally had come through to him.
“Yes. And seeing as Benji and Lisa were batboy and batgirl with the San Francisco Kings they actually should go back as well”, answered Matthew.
Sally suggested, “They still have vacation so then they can start a new school in September. And Rose can get to know her other family members better and the other way around.”
Adam gave in and said, “Just order the movers.”
Just after the complete move of the San Francisco Kings the news of the sale of the move got published in the newspaper. Monica read the news as 1st and became white-hot.
She said furious to her father, “You would buy that club!”
“I would buy it next year. The stadium would be torn down anyway for a new field hockey stadium”, answered George.
“Well, as long as we don’t have to see those Cartwrights anymore everything is fine by me”, said Julia.
It was a very good move of Ben Cartwright to buy the San Francisco Kings and to change the name into Ponderosa Cowboys. The club became more successful and better than when they were still playing in San Francisco.