The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride

At home, Murray listens to a message from his agent, who offers him more unwanted modeling work. On an impulse, Murray goes up to the attic, where he has not been in years. He finds a record that features commentary on one of his baseball games, and he examines his most precious baseball card. He loved his sports career, but it often took him away from Jenny and their two sons for much of the year. As a result, he was never close to his sons. He becomes emotional and wishes he had been “the kind of man who [could] say the things he feels in his heart” (114).

The next day, Murray goes to Jason’s mother’s house to pick him up. Jason rushes out of the house wearing a suit, but Murray insists on meeting his mother before they leave. Her name is Anna. A neighbor, Della, is on the porch with Anna. She has short blonde and purple hair. Before Jason and Murray leave, another child Jason’s age arrives. Her name is Tiegan Rose Marie Atherton, and she is Della’s daughter. Tiegan is wearing a baseball uniform. She and Della greet each other with something that sounds like “Es-bee-kay.”

Murray drives Jason to the football stadium, where Jason almost loses his nerve. Murray gives him a pep talk about how he worked up the courage to ask Jenny out many years ago. Galvanized, Jason goes up to Mindy and tells her that he has a message from the quarterback. When she leans down to hear the message, he kisses her for several seconds before running back to the car. Mindy is thrilled because she thinks her crush returns her feelings. Murray and Jason drive away.

Murray drops Jason off at his father’s house. The two men speak again, and Jason’s father introduces himself as Benedict. He is horrified when Murray tells him about the kiss. Murray criticizes Benedict for smoking when his son is ill; Benedict retorts that he is doing everything he can to pay for Jason’s expensive medical treatments. Murray and Jason brainstorm how to fulfill Jason’s next wish. Later, Jason emails Murray to ask him to come to the hospital the next day. Jason has a heart treatment appointment, and neither of his parents can attend.

Jason and Murray meet again at the hospital. Tiegan is there, too. Although she is not sick, she has also made a list of five wishes: enough Milk Duds for a year, a ride in a convertible, playing every position in baseball, kissing a beautiful man on the cheek, and raising a million dollars to help people experiencing homelessness. Murray learns that Tiegan’s great-grandmother was a professional baseball player: “La Vonne [sic] ‘Pepper’ Paire” (143). He realizes that he saw her play several times. A doctor arrives and asks Jason how he is doing. Murray thinks the doctor seems worried about Jason’s condition.

Della arrives. Murray is perturbed by how affectionate she is with Tiegan. Murray drives to the grocery store and buys all of the Milk Duds he can find for Tiegan. When the cashier tries to be friendly, he grumbles at her because she has facial piercings. He returns home and finds an email from Jason inviting him to dinner. Tiegan is also invited.

Murray gets dressed for dinner and realizes at the last minute that he has not taken today’s pill. He takes it, and then Chance rings the doorbell. He says he just wants to spend some time with his grandfather but then admits things are difficult at home and he needs a break. They start to argue because Murray disapproves of Chance’s divorces. Chance informs him that the world has changed. They more or less patch up their fight, and Chance agrees to drive Murray to dinner.

Anna is preparing dinner when Murray arrives. Her affectionate tone with Jason makes Murray remember how Jenny used to speak to him. Tiegan and Della are already there. He hears them say “Es-bee-kay” to each other again and asks about it. Tiegan explains that they are saying “SBK,” which stands for “strong, brave, and kind” (166). When Tiegan was little, her father was abusive. Della got them both away from him and told her young daughter that from now on, she would need to be strong, brave, and kind to survive. The two of them use SBK as “a reminder of how to live” (166). Jason is supposed to be setting the table, but he draws Murray into his video game instead. The doorbell rings unexpectedly; Jason has set his mother up on a surprise date to fulfill his wish of getting her a boyfriend.

A man arrives and tries to give Anna roses, but the gesture makes her uncomfortable. Della and Tiegan leave in a hurry. The man, Derek Lester, is a doctor Jason met at the hospital. As dinner progresses, it becomes clear that Jason has made up all kinds of stories about his mother’s life: He has told Derek that Anna is a “Zen grandmaster” who modeled in Paris and studied the Kama Sutra. Embarrassed, Anna sets the record straight and asks Derek to leave. She asks Jason not to meddle in her love life again. Later, Murray emails Jason and Tiegan, asking to set up a practice for Jason’s home run. The Cubs will soon let him use their stadium to fulfill his wish of hitting a home run.

Murray picks up Jason and Tiegan for some baseball practice. All of the nearby fields are full, so he brings them to his neighbor’s large back garden. Murray pitches, but he finds it much more difficult than he used to. Unfortunately, Jason is terrible at hitting the ball since he has never played baseball before. Tiegan, on the other hand, does an excellent job until Murray’s neighbor catches them and chases them out of her yard.