Chapter 3

On the way to school Thursday, I told Kim about my conversation with Vince the night before. She seemed sorry for him rather than surprised. Neither of us knew what was going to happen. We didn’t even want to guess.

We got our answer or at least a pretty good indicator at lunch that day. Kim and I sat across from Marty and Jan so I could ask him some questions about triathlons. We hadn’t really started the conversation when I felt soft hands on my shoulders, then a kiss on my right cheek. I looked right to see Lani, smiling at me. She didn’t say another word. She just smiled and walked across the cafeteria to sit with a bunch of seniors, most of whom were regulars in the music or drama department.

“I guess she got a phone call last night,” Kim said.

“I guess so,” I answered.

“What was that all about?” Jan asked. “You’re not ticked at Lani?” Kim smiled and shook her head.

“Probably best if you ask her,” I said. “She’s happy. We’re happy. That’s pretty much it.”

Jan told Kim about their experience at the cheerleading competition and what she thought they could do better. Marty told me about how he was going to be training for the Savannah Half Ironman. I told him it was interesting but thought it would take away from my other interests too much. He seemed disappointed, until I offered to help him with his swimming. I asked him what his one-mile swim time was and he shook his head. Half mile? Same head shake. We had some work to do.

That afternoon at PE, Coach Carter said we were going to have our scrimmage a day early. A tropical depression was coming our way and we would probably get high winds and some rain. We had a little time to talk with our teams and then Coach Carter explained how we would play the game. He flipped a coin to see who would start with the ball on their own twenty-five. We lost and were on defense first. We hadn’t spent much time preparing to be on defense.

Not surprisingly, they lined up with Allen at quarterback. I took their fastest wide receiver and our biggest guys rushed. That was about the extent of our strategy. They made a couple of first downs on running plays. Allen threw the ball my way and I got my fingers on it and tipped it away. On the next play, they tried a lateral and their running back fumbled it. One of our guys grabbed it and immediately had his flag pulled. Our turn.

We got together in a huddle. “We’re going to try to get the yards all at once, guys. The more plays we run the more chances we have to screw up. We’ll do a fake sweep to the right. Eddy, just do that stop and go thing and then cut to the outside.”

I caught the snap a little high, faked a pass to the left and saw a couple of guys look for it but no one was there. I started running right, keeping my eye on Eddy. He did the stop and go, then cut to the outside on a slant. I planted and threw it, probably thirty-five yards in the air. Eddy caught it, did a little tightrope thing to stay in bounds and then sprinted for the end zone. One pass, one score. It was a thing of beauty and we celebrated like we’d just won the Superbowl.

The more we played, the better each team’s defense got, and the harder it was to move the ball. Neither of us scored for a long time. We got the ball back with about five minutes left in class. We ran a sweep to the left and made six yards. More importantly, we were on the left side of the field.

“Same play as our first score but we’re going to fake a sweep to the short side of the field. Eddy, I want you to run this route,” I said, drawing it on my hand. He got it and we lined up.

I got the snap and we started the sweep to the left. I could see Allen watching Eddy, debating whether to go with him or try to stop our run. Another one of their players, Glenn Forsythe, took off with Eddy and Allen started working toward where he thought the run was going to go. We were completely jammed up on the left and Eddy wasn’t free yet, so I scrambled to my right. I could see the whole field in front of me but Eddy was open. Run or pass? Eddy was open. I threw. Everybody turned to watch. He was too far down the field for anyone but Glenn to catch. I knew I’d thrown the ball too far. It was going to go over his head. Eddy didn’t know that. He kicked into high gear, and surprisingly managed to run under the ball, making a great catch, and sprinted for the endzone. It was his second touchdown of the day. Eddy spiked the ball and it bounced up weirdly and almost took his head off.

Coach called us in and we talked about the game. He asked all the right questions. We agreed that it happened a lot faster than we’d expected. We also agreed that we’d spent longer preparing to play offense than defense and it showed.

“Who’s the quarterback on defense?” he asked. “Who is in charge? Pierce, you play baseball. Who’s in charge?”

“The catcher,” I answered.

“That’s your homework. Watch a game on TV and come back Monday, ready to tell me who’s in charge on defense. No PE tomorrow. I think they’re going to dismiss at noon because of tropical storm Dennis.”

We started walking together toward the gym. Allen told me how they could have destroyed us if only this or that. I knew it wasn’t true so I egged him on. We were about to pass the bleachers when I noticed Coach Littleton for the first time.

“Mr. Conrad. Mr. Pierce,” he said.

“Sir,” we echoed.

“Not bad gentleman. In fact, you both looked pretty good.”

“Thank you, sir,” Allen said and I nodded.

“Either of you think about playing football in a more demanding environment?” he asked.

“No sir,” I said.

“I think you could, if you wanted to.”

“Coach Littleton, you know better than we do that the season starts next week,” Allen said.

“It does, and our roster is full and filed with the league office. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t put a couple of talented athletes to work.”

“What do you have in mind, Coach?” I asked, cautiously.

“You’re both solid athletes. You looked good today. We could use some help prepping for games. We have one quarterback. If he gets injured, we’ll be running every down. It’s not quite that bad but you get the idea. If you were interested, you’d practice with the team, learn the plays, and run some in practice. Next season, you’d be caught up with players who have been at it for a lot longer. Practice starts in fifteen minutes. You’re welcome to watch, or more.”

It was flattering but I wasn’t interested and said so. “Thanks, Coach. I appreciate the offer but football season overlaps swimming. Even if I wanted to, I just couldn’t.”

“You’d rather swim than play football?” he asked, as though swimming was somehow a lesser sport. Maybe it was. It didn’t matter.

“Yes sir. Thanks, though,” I said.

“I’m going to stick around for practice,” Allen said.

“Up to you.” What else could I say? I excused myself and went inside.

I found Coach Miller in his office, knocked, and went in. I told him about our PE class and the conversation we’d just had. When I finished, he had a smile he was trying to hide.

“Football players get the cheerleaders, you know?” he said.

“I already ... You’re messing with me, Coach.”

“Maybe a little. It’s going to be a tough year for our football team and I doubt next year will be much better. Football gets the visibility and he’s just doing his best.”

“You knew he’d be ought there?” I asked.

“Coach Carter told me Monday that he thought you two had some talent. Littleton talked to me before he went out. If you want to play football, play football, Pierce.”

“No, sir. I’ve got some goals and made some promises. I’ll swim.”

“I thought you might. Just so you know, I’d support you if you chose to play football.”

“Thanks, Coach. I need to scoot. My cheerleader is waiting.”

He smiled and nodded and I raced for the parking lot. On the way back to the house I told Kim about the afternoon at PE and Allen and my conversation with Coach Littleton. She wasn’t surprised at the offer or my response. “I’m glad, Baby. I know you could do it but you already have enough on your plate.”

“I think so too, and I’m not used to saying that.”

“I know. More things, faster, and better.”

“Dane and I were talking about what it meant to be a Renaissance Man but he also said they had a friend that wanted to be one but ended up being a jack of all trades and a master of none.”

“And you don’t want to do that. You only want to be a master of thirty or forty things,” she said, ribbing me.

“That’s right.”

“I was joking,” she said and looked over.

I didn’t say anything. I just gave her my best poker face. She looked back at the road to turn left into our driveway, parked, and looked back at me. I still had my poker face going. I tried but I couldn’t keep it up and we both laughed. Mom was waiting for us to lift.

“The sky’s going to open up at any minute,” she said. “Let’s not waste time.”

I pointed out a large golf umbrella I’d brought out to the gym after the last big storm. “Do you know what else we should do?” I asked. “We should get a bunch of those disposable rainsuits and maybe some of those rubber boots. I don’t know what they’re called.”

“Galoshes. Not a bad idea. It’s probably the only thing about this house I don’t like. We don’t have an attached garage.” We looked back at the house to see where one would go. Nope. Our garage was huge and it was between the house and the street. I could see where we might put a single-car garage or maybe even a carport to the right of the house but that wouldn’t solve our problems.

We had a good lift. Kim went home to do chores and Mom and I walked in together. The answering machine had just picked up and we could hear the start of the message. I raced to the kitchen to pick up.

“Hey, Vince.”

“Hey, Aquaman. I just called to say, thanks.”

“Lani gave me a kiss at lunch so I have a hunch whatever you’re thanking me for might have something to do with that.”

“Yeah. I’ve been a bonehead. I thought about my life timeline, you know? I’ll get my bachelor’s in 1985. I’ll still have sixty years of life in front of me.”

“It does put things in perspective, doesn’t it? Vince, I can’t even imagine being twenty-five, let alone eighty.”

“But you know that when you’re eighty, you’ll still have Kim.”

“Exactly,” I said but I thought, unless we get hit by a truck or something. Sheesh. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to finish the semester and transfer. I might try USC or even Coastal. I might even finish my year at College of Charleston, then go to USC. I’m not sure yet. Either way, I’ll be closer.”

“Good for you, Vince. I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks. Yeah, I’d get to my room at the end of the day and the same question kept taking up space. What are you doing? I felt empty, you know?”

“That would truly suck.”

“Yeah, but it’s not going to happen. Lani was really excited when we talked. And I asked myself the two questions you told me. What else do I need to know about her? And, if I thought I could do better, what would that look like?”

“You sure you’re not just chasing dopamine?” I asked and we both laughed. That should have been his line.

“Okay, that was pretty funny. I had that coming. Maybe we end up getting married and maybe we don’t but for right now, she’s the one. Hey, what’s going on in your life? It’s been all about me.”

I brought him up to speed, telling him a little about my summer, our vacation to Puerto Rico, talking to Sally and her dad, asking Kim’s dad for permission, and then asking Kim to marry me, and taking her out to the land. Finally, I told him about school and everyone’s reaction to our engagement, including Mr. McClusky telling me that Vince had left a big hole.

“I didn’t sign up to take your place, Vince. Coach Littleton was at PE today and tried to recruit Allen and me for the team, for practice this year, and then to play next year. I said, ‘no’ but Allen might. He’s pretty good. I’ve got people asking my advice and all kinds of stuff. I didn’t sign up for that.”

“Like me?” he said and it dawned on me that it would sound like I was complaining that he called.

“Holy crap. I didn’t even think of that. I didn’t mean you.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Aquaman. There’s a reason McClusky talked to you. You don’t have to do anything different. Just do like you did with me. You didn’t tell me what to do. You just sort of laid out the possibilities in a way that made it obvious what I should do. Kim told me about bowling and your epiphany that everything doesn’t have to be a competition. Just do your best, celebrate other people’s achievements, and if someone asks for your advice, do what you did for me. You can do that. You’re already doing that.”

I didn’t have an answer. The phone got quiet and Vince waited. I thought about it and wished I had longer to think about it before I answered. “I don’t want to be responsible for other people’s success or failure. I don’t need that stress.”

“You’re not. You told me what you told me but it’s up to me to make choices and decisions. Do you think if I come back, go to school at USC, and get back together with Lani, and then it doesn’t work out, that I’m going to hold you responsible? No way.”

“Crap,” I said, knowing he was right. He laughed.

“That’s it. That’s my big advice. You’re not responsible for the results. Just your own.”

“Simple as that?”

“Simple as that. If things don’t work out for Sally, it won’t be because of you. You gave it your best shot. Pretty gutsy, really, talking to her dad that way.”

“I’ll think about it. You coming back for Thanksgiving?”

“Sooner. I’m going to surprise Lani and come home for Labor Day.”

“We’re having a party at my house that Saturday. You’re invited.”

“Sweet. What’s the occasion?”

“End of the summer. Remember when we had my work crew for the Fourth of July? I’m inviting them for Labor Day.”

“Oh, man. Do I need to brush up on my Spanish?”

“Ha. We had a lot of fun last time. You’re welcome but definitely not obligated.”

We talked for a few minutes about school and he gave me some insight about Coach Littleton. He agreed to call me before he came back and we hung up.

Friday was a weird day. Tropical Storm Dennis was coming our way. With a tropical storm there is always danger but we’d been through hurricanes before and this didn’t seem nearly as threatening. People would prepare for it just as though it was a hurricane. Home Depot, Lowes, and Walmart would have pallets of water, flashlights, and batteries, for sale and people would buy it all, along with staples like bread and eggs. We were prepared without all that.

We had a generator in case we lost power. We had collapsible water jugs we would fill up at the last minute. Our range was gas and we had the grill with a bunch of propane tanks. Dane had filled the cars up with gas the night before. We moved some of our supplies from the garage to the house so we wouldn’t have to brave the weather to get to them. It was all pretty standard preparation. Franklin and Karen were invited to our house if it looked threatening. Ours was a brick house and we had turned the library into a safe room. It didn’t have any windows and we’d replaced the normal doors with solid-core exterior doors. Stuff like that. Ronnie wanted to be prepared for the worst. For some reason, we hadn’t changed the generator to come on automatically so if we lost power, I’d have to start it up from out at the pool house.