Chapter 13

Friday, May 21, 2032 – Scott Field, Coatesville, PA

The Avon Grove team did not need to travel far for the PIAA District 1 Championship. This year, Coatesville High School was hosting the two-day event. The schedule was different from what David was used to. The AAA Boys High Jump was at 10:00am.

The preliminaries/finals were all together. The bar was worked up to 6’-5”. David, a kid from Upper Moreland and the kid from Coatesville that beat him ten days earlier all cleared that height. The bar was moved up to 6’-6”. The kid from Upper Moreland cleared it while David and the Coatesville kid didn’t. Tied for second was pretty good, it got him a spot in the State Championships next weekend.

The 100m dash was up just before lunch. David easily placed in tomorrow’s finals with a time of 10.45 seconds. He had to wait until 1:30 pm for the 4x100m relay. Their 42.65 second time was third place in the third heat, but it was enough to get their team into the finals on Saturday.

The 200m dash was at 3:30 that afternoon. David placed fourth in the third heat of the preliminaries with a time of 22.40 seconds. That was not good enough to get him into the finals. Thankfully the day ended with time for him to get home and get ready for the prom.

Friday, May 21, 2032 – DuPont Country Club, Wilmington, DE

David parked his mini-van in the front parking lot and escorted Sara into the ritzy country club. The setting was over the top. The entryway floors were carpeted with plush red carpeting. The walls were finished with fine wood paneling. The place spoke of deep, deep pockets that kept this swanky country club in business.

It had taken David and Sara way too long to get here. There were the obligatory pictures when he stopped at the Bakers to pick her up. Penny and Kyle insisted that the couple had to stop by for more pictures at David’s house before they headed south. They met up with Adam and his limo at David’s house. Penny and Kyle took many pictures of the two couples before they were allowed to leave.

The prom was held in the Crystal Ballroom of the country club. The stunning, high-ceilinged room had floor to ceiling columns spaced along three of the ivory painted walls. The fourth wall had a row of tall arch shaped windows which looked out on the golf course. The windows were trimmed with elegant golden curtains. Five chandeliers hung from the high ceiling to light the big ballroom.

Adam and Jessie had arrived a couple minutes ahead of David and Sara. They were ahead of them in the line to check-in. Adam and Jessie were seated at Table #4. David stepped up and announced himself to the lady handling check-in. He and Sara were also assigned to Table #4. That was fine. David and Adam were both in Venturers together and had been football teammates too. The two couples headed over to their table. They were delighted to see Owen Hanrahan and Sophia Schiable at their table. Nick Dimao and his date, Charlotte Giordano joined them a few minutes later. Shawn Abernathy escorted Lilly Henderson, his long-time girlfriend, to their table a little later.

“A table full of football players?” Charlotte noted as Shawn and Lilly joined them.

“Why not?” Sophia replied. “They’ve spent so much time together for so many years. Why not spend this night with teammates and friends. None of the guys disagreed with her. David, Adam, Owen, Nick and Shawn had put in a lot of time together.

“Though these tuxes don’t quite fit what we are used to wearing,” Shawn noted, as he tugged at the tie around his collar.”

“Sweaty workout clothes like all of you guys are used to wouldn’t fit these fine surroundings,” Lilly replied as she patted her boyfriend’s shoulder.

The food at the country club was up to the standards of these fine surroundings. It was elegant, tasty and thoroughly enjoyed by the mix of seniors, juniors and the few sophomores attending the prom. After desert, the DJ got some music going. Everyone enjoyed some dancing along with socializing with their classmates.

There was a wistful note around the table as the evening wore down. All of the kids, except David and Jessie, had been together for thirteen years of school. Their time together would be over in a few short weeks ... forever. That was a humbling thought. The rest of their lives would start when they were handed their diploma at graduation.

Adam and Jessie rode his limo back to Landenberg. David and Sara drove to their hotel in Wilmington and checked in. They had some fun planned before they got to sleep. Sadly, they would not have time for too much fun. Both of them had to finish the District 1 Championships Saturday morning.

Saturday, May 22, 2032 – Scott Field, Coatesville, PA

Kyle and Penny drove David up to Coatesville for the finals in his two races on Saturday morning. The 100m dash final was run at 10:30 AM. David knew this potentially was his final opportunity to beat his dad’s record in this event, in the off-hand chance he did not make the state championships next weekend.

Elijah Cooper found David as they were assembling for the start. “Are we going to be teammates next fall?” the guy from Council Rock South High School in Bucks County asked.

“We are, Elijah, if you are going to Penn too,” David replied, grinning.

“Good luck, future teammate,” Elijah laughed as he took his lane. “Not too much luck, I plan to beat you and your dad’s record today.”

“My plan too,” David agreed as the told the runners to get set. David felt he had a great start to the race. He pounded out the yards, giving every ounce of effort he had. He sensed Elijah was close behind him. David streaked across the finish line first, spent but certain he had given his best effort.

His time was 10.41 seconds. Elijah was 0.02 seconds behind him. The announcer informed the crowd “David Martin just tied the state record for the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.41 seconds. He is tied with his father, Kyle Martin.”

Elijah was talking with David when Kyle and Penny came down to congratulate David. Both boys had posted personal best times in the event. David introduced his parents to his future teammate. After Elijah wandered off to rejoin his teammates, Kyle commented, “It is great you tied me, son. You get one more shot at my records next weekend. I hope you beat me.”

“I’ll do my best,” David promised.

The Martins had an hour and a half wait until the 4x100m relay finals. Luke Allred fell behind Spring Ford and Norristown in the first leg of the relay. Downingtown West and Coatesville passed Joey Phillips on the second leg. Josh Frantz gamely ran Downingtown West down on the third leg. David accepted the baton with three teams ahead of him. David kicked into high gear and managed to catch the Norristown runner but not the other two. He crossed the line with an eyeblink behind the Coatesville runner.

The winning time was 42.10 seconds, by the Spring Ford runner, followed by 42.12 seconds for the Norristown runner. Coatesville’s time was 42.58, 0.01 seconds faster than Avon Grove’s time. District 1 sent five teams to the finals, so the fourth-place finish was more than enough to keep the relay team’s season alive.

Monday, May 24, 2032 – NovaCare Complex, Philadelphia, PA

The team and coaching staff loaded up on tour buses to head to southern Lancaster County for a day of paintball and team building. Kyle initially didn’t plan to repeat the exercise from last spring, but his group of senior players advised him that the team was looking forward to the day in the woods getting to know each other better. Dylan Harris reminded Kyle, “Some smart coach told me that football is supposed to be fun. This is fun.” Kyle agreed to put the outing on the team’s schedule.

The team spent the day running around the wooded, river hills near Conestoga, PA. They had fun. The team seemed loose and relaxed as they headed back to a big dinner at the NovaCare Complex. They were interacting more than they had previously in OTAs.

The team had the rookies put on their show after dinner. Most of the skits or songs weren’t good, but were good for a laugh. Monroe Payne, the rookie running back from Navy, blew everyone away with his singing. He was quite talented.

Wednesday, May 26, 2032 – NovaCare Complex, Philadelphia, PA

The team was in the middle of Phase 3 of OTAs. That meant the coaches had six hours a day with the players, there were no pads or hitting and the offense and defense practiced separately. The players practiced without opposition. Kyle noted that the team seemed pretty loose and happy as they broke before the final twenty-minute period.

The offense and defense were jawing at each, but in a playful way. Demarco Hunter was bragging about how much faster the defense was than the offense. Marques Williams, their sixth-year right tackle, was jawing right back, bragging about how the offense could dust the defense’s asses.

“These guys did well this week, Coach,” Ryan commented. “Why don’t we have a little fun. Fastest player’s group skips the last twenty minutes of practice today.”

“Why not?” Kyle laughed. “After all, football is supposed to be fun.” He waved for the team to gather around him. “All right, there has been a challenge for who is the fastest on the team. Defense, you choose a champion. Offense, you do the same. It will be a timed 40. The fastest player’s group skips the final twenty minutes of practice. Coach C, Coach North and Coach Fritz will be the official timers.

The defense naturally sent Marcus Davis out for their champion. Marcus was easily the fastest defender. The offense took a little longer to choose because they had three guys that stood a chance of beating Davis. Kyle smiled to himself when they sent his nephew Colin Weaver out to accept the defense’s challenge.

Colin ran first. He ran a very credible 4.34 second 40. There weren’t a lot of guys in the NFL who could match Colin’s speed. Marcus ran an excellent sprint. Coach C, Coach North and Coach Fritz all had 4.33 seconds on their stopwatches.

“Ain’t no fair!” Marques Williams protested. “This was fixed. Most of the judges were defensive coaches. I demand a rematch!”

“Coach Martin,” Aiden Anderson called out. “How about double or nothing? You beat Davis and Weaver on the 40 and we all stay for the final twenty minutes. You lose and we all get off early. What do you say, Coach?”

The defense protested immediately that they were done with practice. They won their challenge.

The coaching staff were laughing at the team putting Kyle on the spot. “Football is supposed to be fun, Coach Martin. What do you say. You up for the challenge?” Coach Fritz teased.

“All right,” Kyle sighed. “Defense, you won fair and square. You are dismissed. Offense, I will take your challenge in a couple minutes. If I win, you guys have forty minutes of practice. I lose and you guys go home.” They offense accepted the wager. “I can’t do a 40 in these shoes. Let me get some cleats on.” The team cheered. No one from the defense left the field. They wanted to see how their head coach faired.

Kyle came back out wearing workout clothes and a pair of cleats. About half the team gathered at the start to watch. The defense cheered on their head coach while the offense reminded him that he was retired and had not played in this decade.

Kyle got into the classic crouch. He took off at the whistle, arms and legs pumping. He knew he was going to feel it tonight, but he put out every ounce of effort he could to get a good time. As Kyle passed the three timers, he heard the call out 4.33... 4.32... 4.32”

Kyle raised his arms in triumph as the offensive players groaned. “Guys, this was fun. You’ve put in a good week’s work here. Dismissed! Go home and kiss your wives or girlfriends. Enjoy family time. Rest up and come back prepared to work hard on our final push, starting June 10th.”

Kyle purposefully set up the OTA schedule when they were permitted three days a week of practice for four weeks so that they players and coaches got the maximum time off between sessions. They would work out on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, take the weekend off and then work out the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. That gave the team a six-day break before their next block of three and threes. This break was the longest. They had off for twelve days before they did two more OTAs, a weekend off and then finished with a three-day mandatory mini-camp.

A lot of the players came by to congratulate Kyle on his time. There was more than little teasing too, including by his nephew.

Colin Weaver glanced at the clock overlooking the field before walking over to his uncle. “I’m off the clock now uncle,” Colin laughed. He always called Kyle either Coach or Coach Martin when they were with the team. “You’re old. I thought I could beat you ass. I thought you would have lost a step or two at your advanced age.”

“You forget, nephew,” Kyle responding, laughing along. “I ran a 4.25 forty when I was your age, so while I may have lost a step, I am still faster than you.”

“The 4.34 I ran today is my best time ever,” Colin noted. “I guess Coach Blanchard and his staff are doing their jobs.”

“Are you seeing any of your relatives over the break?” Kyle asked.

“The Weaver clan is going down the shore to Avalon for Memorial Day Weekend,” Colin said. “I hope to have a little free time to go up and see Andrew and Heather too.”

“Have a good break, Colin,” Kyle said. “Come back ready to take the top off the defenses we face. We need you for that.”

Most of the players were gone and the coaches were heading inside too. “You know, Coach,” Ryan Reynolds commented as he, Jordan Burke and Ed Fritz walked in together. “You ought to keep those cleats on. Think what I could do with someone with your speed, size and catching span. We’d blow up our division and cut quite a path through the league.” Ryan chuckled. “Just like in the old days in Denver.”

“You knew Coach in Denver?” Jordan asked.

“Ryan was my position coach my last year playing in the NFL,” Kyle responded.

“Coach and I go back a lot further than that,” Ryan added. “I was a grad assistant at Penn State and he was this green freshman with unreal speed. My job that season was to spoon feed him our offense so we could utilize that speed.”

“And you did a good job at that,” Kyle said.

“Connections really do matter,” Jordan noted. “I guess that makes me an interloper on this staff. Most of you have some previous connection to Coach.”

“You’re not an interloper,” Kyle said. “You worked with Kellen Brown and knew Ed. They both recommended you highly. They got your foot in the door. You interviewed well, so I offered you the job. End of story.”

“I’ve learned so much since I got here,” Jordan commented. “I hope I have done enough for you.”

“You’re doing great, Jordan,” Kyle said. “Keep at it. We’ll make our receivers something special in time.”

“Thank you, boss,” Jordan answered. The coaches headed out soon after the players vacated NovaCare. It would be a rare, but special night when Kyle, Ed Fritz, Ryan Reynolds and Jeremy North made it back to Landenberg to enjoy supper with their families.

Friday, May 28, 2032 – Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA

Coach Phillips drove a van load of team members out to Shippensburg after an early departure from Avon Grove. David, Luke Allred, Joey Phillips, Josh Frantz, Nick DiMaio and Dan Bock all made the state championships. Nick was a shot putter. Dan ran the 3200m run.

David’s first event was the preliminaries for the 100m dash. The event started at 10:00 AM but David had a good wait for his turn. The AA and AAA Girls and the AA Boys ran before is AAA Boys preliminaries. David was assigned to the fourth heat. David met up with some old friends and competitors while he waited his turn. He introduced Elijah Cooper to Luke Reifsnyder.

Josh Frantz ran in the second heat. He posted a time of 10.73 seconds. David took it easy in the preliminaries, posting a 10.50 second time, easily putting him into the finals. Josh was in the finals too, until the last heat of the preliminaries. A kid from State College posted a 10.68 second time, moving Josh down to ninth place and out of the finals.

“You did well for a sophomore,” Josh counseled his fellow sprinter. “You’ll be back next year and place. I know it.”

“That is nice of you to say, David,” Josh responded. “Thanks for all your encouragement this season.”

“Just get your head in the relay,” David added. “You’re not done for the weekend.”

The 4x100m relay was scheduled for noon. The Avon Grove boys had a long wait while the girls and the AA boys teams ran their preliminaries. They ran in the second heat. Coach Phillips told the boys to run for all they were worth. They were long shots to make the finals.

Luke kept a good pace, trailing only a kid from Parkland when he turned the baton over to Joey Phillips. Joey lost two places when he handed the baton over to Josh. Josh ran down those two kids but could not close on the leader. David gamely tried to close on the kid from Parkland but could not catch him before the finish line.

Avon Grove had a time of 42.61 seconds, almost as good as any time this season. David and his teammates sweated as they watched the next three heats run. The Susquehanna Township team ran in 42.02 seconds, knocking Avon Grove into ninth place and out of the finals. Both Luke’s and Elijah’s teams made the 4x100m relay finals. David made a point of congratulating them.

The relay team and Dan Bock headed over to cheer for Nick DiMaio for the shotput just after the last heat in their event. Nick did pretty well, consider he was never considered a top shot putter in the state. He ended up with a 51’-2 ¾” throw, which placed him tenth for the event.

Kyle and Penny flew out to Shippensburg to watch David in his final high school meet on Saturday morning. Dan Bock’s 3200m run was up first for the day, at 9:00 AM. The run was a single heat for the finals. All twenty-eight participants ran together. Dan ran pretty well, but did not medal, which was no surprise. He squeaked into the fifth spot from District 1 ten days earlier at Coatesville. His 9:15.42 time placed him tenth in the race.

David’s 100m dash final was up at 10:00AM. The eight competitors included Elijah and Luke. “Good luck, David,” Elijah commented as they took their positions.

“Good luck to both of you, Luke and Elijah,” David responded as they got set.

‘This was my final race,’ David pondered as he waited for the start. He took off in a flash. In his peripheral vision, he could tell Luke to his left and Elijah, to his right, had good starts too. He pounded out the yards, more competing with his dad’s time than the other sprinters on the track. He willed himself to give everything.

David was still in first when he crossed the finish line. He slowed to a stop and turned to see his time. His face fell when he saw it was 10.42 seconds. He would share the state record with his dad until someone beat their time. Elijah had a 10.45 second time and Luke had 10.48 seconds.

Kyle and Penny met up with David after the race was done.

“I really hoped you would beat me,” Kyle commented as he hugged his son. “You and I are the fastest high school sprinters in our state ... ever. You matched the time of someone noted for being one of the fastest players in the NFL. That is no small accomplishment.”

“Yeah, you’re right ... I guess,” David agreed.

David, his parents and his coach and teammates waited for the AAA Boys high jump. The event kicked off at 12:30 PM. Twenty-four participants qualified for this event. All jumped in turn as the judges upped the bar inch by inch. David was among the nine jumpers who cleared 6’-5”. David, a kid from Chambersburg and a kid from North Schuylkill cleared 6’-6”. The kid from Chambersburg cleared 6’-7”. David and the kid from North Schuylkill did not. The Chambersburg kid cleared 6’-8” too before he was done.

His parents, his coach and his teammates congratulated David for his silver medal in an event that he was still learning, after only two months of competing. Coach Phillips drove most of the team back to Chester County after the awards ceremony. David rode the charter aircraft to Chester County with his parents.

Tuesday, May 30, 2032 – NovaCare Complex, Philadelphia, PA

Kyle found a note on his desk asking him to come to a meeting with Troy Vincent at nine o’clock that morning. He shrugged off the meeting. It was not unusual for him to meet with the team’s president. Perhaps there was a free agent that the team had a lead on. He headed for the weight room and did his morning workout, showered and they headed upstairs to see what Troy had for him.

Julian Lurie was sitting beside Troy, confirming Kyle’s hunch that the meeting would be about player personnel. “What’s up, guys? You got a free agent you want to sign?”

Kyle sat down in front of Troy’s desk.

“Yes, it is about a free agent signing,” Troy confirmed before looking over at Julian.

“I hear you made a little wager with the team on Friday afternoon,” Julian stated evenly. “You beat out the fastest players on our team in the forty.”

“I did,” Kyle laughed. “It was a little fun to build team spirit. The guys seemed to enjoy it.”

“So, the fastest guy on our team stands on the sidelines and never plays?” Julian asked. “That does not make sense.”

Kyle looked at Julian and then at Troy. Neither betrayed a smile. Julian looked at Troy and nodded. Troy slid a set of papers to the front of his desk where Kyle could see them. He could see it was a standard NFL contract. His name was filled in at the top of the contract. He noted it was a one-year contract for $1.570 million dollars, the league minimum for players with ten or more years of service.

“Guys!” Kyle protested. “What the? You’ve got to be joking.”

“Julian is right,” Tory said evenly. “The fastest man on our team should be on the field not on the side lines with headphones and holding a play chart.”

“I have not played in seven years,” Kyle protested. Surely these guys were joking.

“I researched it,” Troy responded. “You completed your contract with Denver before you retired. That makes you a free agent. You still know which end of ball is which and you know how to catch it. Why shouldn’t you be out there helping our team win?”

“The league will not allow a coach to play too,” Kyle said. “You know that.”

“I do,” Troy said, finally breaking a smile. “I was with the league and told the Broncos you could not coach and play back then. That will not be a problem here. You will take a sabbatical from your current job before you sign the contract. Coach C has agreed to fill in, in your stead. C recommends that Coach North step to be DC while you play.”

“Guys, you’re joking,” Kyle protested. Tory and Julian did not smile. “You can’t be serious. I haven’t taken a tackle in seven years.”

“Not since Trent McDuffie took you down on January 5, 2025,” Julian said. McDuffie was, actually still is, a cornerback with the Kansas City Chiefs.

“If my information is accurate,” Julian continued. “You made twelve Pro Bowls. No one on this team runs cleaner routes than you. You are great with contested catches. Why shouldn’t we put you on the field?”

“This is crazy,” Kyle protested.

“I hear you preach to the team all the time,” Troy interjected. “‘Do whatever it takes to make the team better.’ Kyle, the team needs you.”

That hit home. It was Kyle’s mantra going the whole way back to high school. He sighed and looked down briefly before looking up at Troy and Julian, but before he could speak, Troy and Julian broke up laughing.

“We had you, Kyle,” Troy cackled. “We really had you.”

“This was just a prank?” Kyle asked, relieved but also just a tad disappointed. Did any retired player ever not wish for one more opportunity on the field? To relive their youth?

“It was,” Julian laughed. “Still, it is something that the fastest man on our team is the head coach.”

“You are exactly where this team needs you to be, Kyle,” Troy added. “Leading them, motivating them and coaxing the best out of our players. That is what you should be doing today.”

“Can I borrow this?” Kyle asked, holding up the player’s contract. “I might decide to have some fun with Penny this evening.”

“Oh shit, no!” Troy gasped. “If you use that, I had NOTHING to do with it! Make that clear to Penny.” Kyle laughed and tossed the contract back on Troy’s desk.

“You’re probably right,” Kyle acknowledged. “Nothing good ever comes from trying to prank my wife. Anyway, if you guys are done abusing me, I have work to do.”

Friday, June 4, 2032 – Avon Grove High School, West Grove, PA

The whole Martin family was seated in the stands of the football stadium to witness David and Sara graduate from high school. Thankfully the weather was perfect for the outdoor ceremony. The crowd was immense, to watch the 448 graduating seniors. The ceremony dragged on due to the size of the graduating class, but the school officials did their best to keep things moving along.

David had a 3.97 GPA for his high school career. That was not good enough to earn him the valedictorian spot. David ranked fourth in his class. Sara, no slouch as a student had a 3.85 GPA and ranked twelfth in the class.

Kyle, Penny and the rest of the kids tracked David and Sara down after the ceremony was over. The Bakers joined the Martins. They took a million pictures of the new graduates. Robbie was antsy from all the sitting. Kyle and Penny took the other kids home. David and Sara headed out to celebrate with their friends, most of whom they would not see again for years.

Late in the evening, after all the kids, including David, were in bed, Penny commented to Kyle, cuddled against her back in their bed, “Can you believe how time flies? How could we possibly have a son who is heading to college?”

“Time does fly,” Kyle agreed, kissing the back of Penny’s neck. “A lot of water has passed under the bridge since that day out in Lone Tree when we learned you were pregnant with David.” Kyle chuckled as he nuzzled his wife again. “Thanks to Robbie, we will not be empty nesters for another dozen years.”

“Mother to a son who finished high school,” Penny sighed. “It makes me feel old.”

“I have the perfect solution to that problem,” Kyle laughed. “We should do a hundred miles of backpacking in the mountains in New Mexico to remind you that you’re still young.”

“There is that,” Penny laughed.

“Only three weeks until we leave,” Kyle stated as he rolled Penny over and gave her a kiss. “Want some fun before we fall asleep?” He tweaked a nipple through her filmy nightgown.

“Men are incorrigible,” Penny teased.

“Yes, we are,” Kyle laughed. The two made love quietly before going to sleep.

Sunday, June 6, 2032 – New Garden Township Park, Avondale, PA

Kyle and Penny rented out half the New Garden Township Park for a massive graduation party to celebrate David and Sara’s accomplishment. The entire extended Martin clan made it down to New Garden. Kyle even arranged a jet to bring Hunter in from Colorado Springs, where he was preparing for the Olympic trials. Nothing was scheduled for the weekend, so Kyle’s baby brother could attend.

The Bakers invited all their relatives to the big party too. Niki and Adrian made it up from Charlottesville with their two kids. A slew of David’s great aunts and uncles from the Martin and Edwards families were there. David and Sara invited a lot of friends from school.

Kyle and Penny had the party catered. Otherwise, they would have gone crazy trying to feed the crowd of over a hundred guests. The caterer did well. The guests enjoyed the food. The huge crowd gathered in circles of friends and acquaintances.

Not unexpectedly for a Martin family gathering, Zoe Martin, Charlie Henry and Danny “Jay” Martin hung out together. The three cousins were thick as thieves, owing to their closeness in age. Danny’s birthday was August 15th, Charlie’s was October 12th and Zoe’s as December 2nd. All were born in 2018.

The threesome shared another trait, all were uncommonly tall. Zoe was 5’-8” and the tallest girl in her seventh-grade class at Paradise Middle School, a trait she inherited from her dad. She was already two inches taller than her mom. Charlie was 5’-10” and the tallest boy in his seventh-grade class at J. Witherspoon Middle School. Danny’s was 5’-11” when his mom last measured him back in April. Danny suspected he had grown some since then because the legs on his jeans were getting short again. He’d find out for sure next week when he did his annual doctor’s physical for sports at Avon Grove, for football camp at Penn State and for Scout camp in July.

“You still dating that girl from last fall?” Danny “Jay” asked. “What’s her name?”

“Ellie ... Ellie Greene,” Charlie grinned. “Hell yeah, we’re still together. You know how many girls in my grade go all the way with a guy? I can probably count them on one hand. As long as Ellie is willing to put out, I’m just about her slave. It’s that or go back to my left hand for relief.”