Chapter 12: Oops

Monday March 17, 2014 – Freshman Year

Today was the monthly school board meeting. They had the upgrades to the athletic program on the docket. Alan had sent an email to everyone, and a copy to their parents. The email gave a brief synopsis of what Tom and Dad hoped to accomplish and asked everyone to call the office to confirm attendance. The principal had asked him to do that. They needed a rough head count so they could get a large enough room.

At lunch, I was happy to see Eve since I needed to talk to her. She left every Saturday afternoon and was back from Nashville on Sunday evening. I took Eve to a vacant table. I needed to talk to her about what Tami told me. In my mind, I had already started to pull back from falling in love with her. I loved my best friend, but sometimes she told me stuff I didn't want to know. In the long run, I was sure it was for the best. I was also sure that I needed to get a handle on this falling in love at the drop of a hat.

"How come we are sitting over here?" Eve asked.

"We need to talk," I said suddenly seeing the irony of me saying those four words that I so dreaded.

"Are you breaking up with me?"

I could see those words had the same affect they had on me when I heard them. I gave her a smile to let her see it wasn't that.

"No, I'm not breaking up with you. I just need to tell you some things about me that Tami pointed out Sunday. We also need to talk about what kind of relationship we are having."

"So the all-powerful Tami is messing with our relationship!" Eve groused.

That hit me all wrong.

"The three of us have been good friends. You know that Tami and I are closer than most married couples. I hate to say it, but if it comes down to a choice between you and Tami, there is no contest. So if that last statement is any indication of how you really feel, tell me now."

I think I was as shocked as Eve was by what I said.

"I know what kind of friendship you two have. It just pisses me off sometimes to see her running your life for you. If she is the one that is going to be calling the shots in our relationship I won't have it. You need to be your own man."

Did she just call my manhood into question? I saw red. If I didn't get up and walk away right now, and have a chance to cool off, Eve and I would no longer even be friends. I left my tray, got up, and headed for the door.

"Don't you walk away from me!"

I froze. I felt everyone's eyes on me. I spun around and marched back to the table.

"If we have this conversation right now, you and I will no longer be friends. Don't believe me? Call the all-powerful one, and let her clue you in. Since I'm not man enough to handle my own affairs, you might want to talk to the source, anyway!"

She went as red as I was. I turned around and walked out of the cafeteria. What the heck just happened? Did we just break up? No one had the right to talk about Tami that way. Tami could certainly manipulate me into doing just about anything. But she had earned that right over the last nine years.

Beth and Gina found me under my favorite thinking tree. They didn't say a word. Beth handed me a peanut butter sandwich. They had those for kids that either couldn't afford lunch or wanted something extra. They also had apples set out. Gina had one of those for me.

"What, no drink?" I teased them.

Gina pulled out a bottle of water out of her purse/school bag. They waited me out. I finally started to talk. I told them the whole story, the one I wanted to tell Eve. I told them what she had said and how I had overreacted. By the time I was done I was drained.

Beth made me give her my phone. She called Tami. I could only hear Beth's side of the conversation.

"No, it's not David. This is Beth."

"Yes, he is a little upset right now ... From what I hear, for good reason."

Beth listened for about five minutes. She wasn't giving anything away.

"Okay, I'll tell him."

I looked at her waiting for her to tell me what Tami said. Beth gathered herself.

"Eve called Tami and yelled at her for interfering in your relationship. Tami finally got her to calm down and explained what you were going to tell her. Eve was embarrassed," Beth said and then I saw her mood darken. "I had no idea about the last song, or I would not have gone along with Eve's plan. She admitted to Tami that she needs a breakup song."

"What? What is this about songs?" Gina said, as she joined the conversation.

I hadn't told Gina that part. I was a little embarrassed that I fell so hard for Eve based on the song she wrote.

"The record label wants Eve to write three songs. The first is Home Town Hero. It is about a girl longing for a guy that doesn't know she exists. The second one is supposed to be about love. The last is a breakup song. Eve has never had any of those experiences. She is getting them from me," I shared, feeling like a fool.

"Tami told me to tell you that you are not breaking up with Eve over this. She said your first reaction is usually wrong. So take the rest of the day. You'll realize that you care for Eve. You and Eve are supposed to talk to each other after baseball practice," Beth said giving my marching orders.

I glared at Beth.

"Don't get mad at me. Talk to the boss if you have a problem," she said with a big grin on her face.

I was being a jerk. Tami was right. I needed a few hours to calm down. The bell rang and I went to art class.

On Monday, Moose gave us some more players. These were guys that wanted some playing time, and didn't see it coming their way, on varsity. We got the guys that were on our seven-on-seven roster; Bill, Trevor, and Lou. Now we had enough players that Coach could make some moves.

Our updated roster:
Tim Foresee – Catcher
Lou Davis - Catcher
Wolf Tam – 1st Base
Jim Ball – 1st Base / Right Field
Mike Herndon – 2nd Base / Pitcher / Catcher
David Dawson – Shortstop / Pitcher / Closer
Kelly Holcomb – 3rd Base
Trevor Millsap – Infield
Bert Nelson – Right Field
Eve Holiday – Center Field
Jeff Rigger – Left Field
Bill Callaway - Outfield
Bert Nelson – Pitcher / Outfield
Justin Tune - Pitcher / Infield

We also got Coach Herndon for the day. He was working with the pitchers on holding runners. Justin had the most experience so he was also helping. The one thing they were stressing was not to balk. That's when you act like you are going to pitch but instead make a move towards the runner. This results in a dead ball. The key was taking your foot off the rubber. There are several ways to balk. Coach told us as long as we stepped off the rubber, we were okay.

Picking off a runner at first base for a right hand pitcher is not as easy as it looks. First of all the runner is behind you. Then you have to turn your body to throw. Coach Herndon told me how to do it.

"First you get into the stretch position. While you are getting the signs from Tim, look over and see where the runner is. Do this by putting your chin on your shoulder. When you bring your hands up, bring your left leg towards first base slightly. Move the ball to the tip of your glove. Then step off the rubber and throw at the same time."

Sounds easy, doesn't it. I was struggling to figure it out. Justin saw what was going on and took me aside.

"You are over thinking this. Let's make it simple. Think of your dance class. Are there moves that you do that mimic your turn towards first?" he asked me.

It was like a light bulb turned on! I thought of it as dance steps. That seemed to relax me. Kelly had been embarrassing us all by being the base runner. He was getting pretty good at stealing second. It really wasn't stealing if we were giving him huge leads and not holding him at first.

After working with Justin, I got set in the stretch position. Tim was asking for a high fast ball so he had a chance to throw him out. I put my chin on my shoulder and saw that Kelly was taking a big lead. I moved the ball to the tip of my glove and in one fluid motion I took my foot off the rubber and threw to first.

Kelly didn't even try to get back. He just laughed.

"What the hell, Dawson? Where did that come from?" Kelly yelled over to me. "Bet you can't do it twice."

His taunts were music to my ears. I got set again and went through the routine. Bang, I nailed him again. This time he had a face full of dirt from diving back. Coach Herndon came running out to stand next to the mound to watch what I did. We did it again. This time Kelly made it back only because he was no longer taking a very big lead.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Coach Herndon asked me.

"Dance class," I answered.

I was expecting him to laugh at me. Instead he got a serious look.

"Can you teach that move?"

"Maybe, but the girls in my dance class taught it to me. I would ask them to teach it."

"Do you think they would help?" he asked.

"Sure! They need me for their dance recitals, since I'm the only guy. I'm sure they would help me out with baseball if I asked them."

He looked nervous.

"Hang on, I'll be right back."

I watched him jog over to the other field. He came back with Magic and Moose. When Coach Hope saw Moose coming over he signaled for Coach Haskins to come over to see what I was up to. Moose was all business.

"Magic, step in for Kelly, and I want you to steal second."

"It will be a pleasure, Coach," Magic said as he nodded at me to tell me the game was on.

He was being cautious. He must have overheard Coach Herndon talking to Moose. I went ahead and threw home. Magic wasn't going anywhere. I think he was trying to see what kind of move I had. The second pitch he snuck out to a nice lead. I did my thing and Wolf tagged Magic out.

Over the next five pitches, I picked him off once and made him eat dirt four times. Magic was shaking his head.

Moose came up and took the ball from me.

"Can you get your dance class to teach our other pitchers to do that?"

"They can make them better. Heck I'm sure they can make me better, once they understand what we want. A couple of them are really into kinesiology," I said. I saw the confused look on his face and added, "I know. They stumped me with that one, too. It's the scientific study of human movement. They plan on eventually going to college for it."

"I'm not sure about the scientific stuff. Ask them if they will help," Moose said and he headed back to the varsity practice.

When I was done working on holding a runner, Coach Herndon had me pitch to Tim. He was working with us so we could get deeper into a game. I was feeling much better about my pitching. I was much more consistent at hitting my spots. My four seam fastball was showing more movement. Coach Herndon had been working with me on my change-up. I was starting to feel comfortable on the mound.

After practice, I went to dinner with Eve. She chose the little diner in my neighborhood. I started off the conversation.

"Hey, I guess we had our first fight. Are you talking to me yet?"

"Yeah, I think we both got kind of mad. Can we hit the reset button and forget this morning ever happened?" she asked.

"We could, but I think we need to talk about the root of the problem, and that's Tami," I said.

Eve took a deep breath and said, "Yeah, we should. She seems to be a flash point for both of us. I know that you two are very close. Heck, I like her a lot. When you said you talked to her about us, I got uneasy. She has a lot of influence over you. More than a girlfriend would normally want another girl to have over her guy.

"You said it. You would choose her over me. I know that to be true, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. In fact, it made me a little crazy earlier today. I knew I was pushing your buttons and I knew the reaction I should have gotten. I was surprised when you manned up and stood your ground. For that, I want to apologize."

"Apology accepted. I also want to apologize for getting so mad. You have seen me. I blow up then think about it and then I'm fine. I think our biggest issue is not Tami. I think we need to decide what we want out of this."

"I agree. I actually talked to Tami. She explained some things to me. The one that surprised me was how deeply you felt about me. I thought we were going to be more casual. I know she told you what I plan to do. The last thing I want is you getting hurt. It would kill me if you felt deceived."

"I did a little bit, but I understand what you're doing. I'm, in my own way, doing the same thing. I'm trying to gain life experience so I know how to handle it when it happens again. It's why I'm doing the friends with benefits thing instead of getting into serious relationships. You just caught me off guard with that song."

"I know, I should have warned you. But I felt your love and suddenly that was all that mattered. Just so you know; Friday was something I'll remember forever. Thank you for making it special. I'm so happy you were my first."

"I got a little carried away. I'm sorry if we did some things you weren't ready for."

"No, I was fine. You did surprise me at first, but once things were happening, I was glad we did it. After all, I'm trying to experience everything right now. I hope we try several things," she said and then I could feel the vibe change. "I don't know how long we will be together. My career will need to come first. So I can't promise you forever. I just want to have fun while I'm here, and I would hope you were the one I was having fun with."

"You have a deal."

So we had a nice dinner, and when we were done, we went to the school board meeting.

The meeting ended up being in the auditorium. Over three hundred students and parents showed up. Mrs. Sullivan, the president of the booster club, asked to speak first.

"I don't want to steal Mr. Dole and Mr. Dawson's thunder, but I want to congratulate them, and Coach Hope, on improving athletics at Lincoln High. I have had several parents tell me what an improvement they are seeing in their kids both academically and physically. I also love the emphasis that is being given to find scholarships for the kids that want a college education.

"I want the school board to know that the booster club is 100% behind their efforts. I urge you to listen to what they have to say and support them, also."

The crowd was obviously behind her. Then it was Tom and Dad's turn. They did a power point presentation. It started off showing what was possible. Wesleyan was featured prominently. Their facilities were second to none. Then they laid out the vision of making Lincoln High a force to be reckoned with athletically and academically. They covered all our hopes and dreams and then Tom showed them how they could do it.

The thing that surprised the board was our request. We were not asking for funds, but instead, we were hoping for matching funds. I had written a nice sized check that I wanted to remain anonymous. I was surprised when Tom's firm and the Sullivan car dealership both matched me. The caveat was that the school board had to allow us to make donations directly earmarked for facility improvements.

The donations were in no way able to cover everything on our wish list. But it was a start. The first things on the list were new weight and locker rooms. The old equipment and lockers were going to the local YMCA. Work could begin as soon as school was out.

Mrs. Sullivan was also planning a big fund raiser for the Fourth of July weekend. She wanted to do a Taste of Lincoln High booth/tent/food court and get the local restaurants involved. There would also be a concert and a carnival. This woman planned big! After upgrading the weight and locker rooms, they wanted to build a Fieldhouse like Wesleyan had. That would give us a year-round place to practice and work out, regardless of the weather.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 – Freshman Year

Coach Hope called me into his office at lunch time. He had a room full of boxes. I read a label, and it was addressed to me in care of Lincoln High.

"What is all this?" Coach Hope asked.

I gave him a sheepish grin. I had been keeping this a secret. One of the boxes had a big shipping envelope. I noticed the boxes were all numbered. I opened the envelope. It told what was in each box. I found the one I was looking for and handed it to Coach Hope.

He gave me a curious look and then got out his pocket knife and cut the box open. It was t-shirts for all the coaches. The logos that Stacy designed were great. I dug through until I found his t-shirt. On the back it had his name and on the front it had the elite dog logo and under it was the words Coach.

The blue camouflage looked much better than Sandy Range had described. I saw that Alan had given her a list of all the participants in the program. He even gave her a list of everyone currently involved in a sport. Everyone was getting a t-shirt.

"Coach, do you think we can get these distributed today?"

"Sure. What did you have in mind?"

"Could we get everyone to wear them tomorrow? We have a game and I want us to start showing some school spirit."

His comments about the letter jackets still bothered me. We needed to change how people felt about Lincoln High.

"Great idea, who can we get to help?"

I gave him the packing list.

"These are broken down by team. So you could give it to their coaches, and have them hand them out. Also, Cassidy could take care of the after school crowd that is not currently in a sport. That way no one person would have to give all them out."

The task suddenly didn't look so daunting. There was a box marked for me. I grabbed it and opened it. They had sent their prototype new sweats and sweat shirts. On the arms there was reflective tape so I would be more visible when running. Sandy and I had talked about how to improve the sweats before the first of the year. I couldn't wait to try them out.

I left Coach's office with a smile on my face.

At baseball practice Coach Haskins handed out our new t-shirts. Everyone was excited about wearing them tomorrow. He then surprised me. There were two more boxes. These had new baseball uniforms. Our school colors are Orange and Blue. There were a home and away uniforms. The home ones were white with orange numbers with blue trim. The away ones were blue with white numbers with orange trim. The logo was our bulldog mascot chewing on a baseball.

There was an extra hat for everyone. Devin had told Sandy to add them because he knew we would want to wear them outside of the games. They were the same camouflage design as the t-shirts. We all put our hats on for practice.

They let me throw for batting practice today. My goal was not to throw hard or try to strike them out. It was more to just get the repetitions in. Like anything else, you have to put the effort in to get the results.

After practice, Eve took me home with her. They were having a small party with family to celebrate the release of her single. At least that is what she told me. When we pulled up to their farm, there was hardly anywhere to park. There was a big tent where everyone seemed to be. She led me into the house. Angel was there with my cowboy clothes. I was ordered to go change.

"Eve, darling. What is going on?"

She smiled at me.

"You love me. Just go with the flow tonight, for me."

I went and changed. Angel came in while I dressed and handed me talking points ... enough with the mystery.

"Tell me what is going on," I ordered Angel.

"You're going to escort Eve in. There are several labels here. What we did in Nashville was practice a few songs. Eve is going to sing. Then afterwards there will be a press conference. You will be a part of it because the song was based on you. There may be some questions they will want to ask you."

My first instinct was to head for the hills. Tami said my first instinct was always wrong. I think she also said guys were always wrong. So I thought of what my second instinct was. It was to head for the hills. I was looking to bolt when Eve came in and grabbed me. I guess it was too late to make a run for it.

We could hear a band playing. Angel had a headset on and she told them we were ready. We went around the back of the tent and they had a back entrance to the stage. The song ended and a DJ from one of the local Country stations was acting as the MC. He was praising the band. Then he introduced Eve.

"I know you have been waiting for a very special lady to arrive. She has been a fixture at local talent shows for years. Today she released her first single on iTunes. I was given the honor of playing it first on my morning show. Could you give a warm welcome to Eve Holiday?"

She pulled me out on stage with her. I could feel she was nervous. I squeezed her hand to let her know I supported her. There must have been a hundred people in the audience. I suddenly didn't feel out of place in my cowboy gear. The place was full of people dressed like me. Eve released my hand and went to the mic.

"Thank you for coming out tonight and sharing my special day with me..."

She talked for a few minutes while I scanned the crowd. I saw Tami and Harper in the audience. I also saw Beth and Suzanne. Then in the back I saw my family. Mom had a big smile on her face. Then I was really happy to see the JV team there. They had kept that a surprise for me. Even Moose was in the crowd.

" ... Dad roasted a hog..."

That caught my attention.

"If it is okay with you all, I will sing a few songs while you eat. And then I'll sing my new song."

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Eve started out with Miranda Lambert's 'The House That Built Me'. Angel said I could go eat, as Eve was doing a thirty minute set.

I went for the buffet and filled a plate and headed to where my family was sitting. Kyle was fussing so Angie handed him to me as I ate. I bounced him on my knee. Greg and Angie joined several couples dancing.

After I cleaned my plate, I took Kyle onto the dance floor. We had turned my room into a dance floor on many nights and he loved to dance with his Uncle David. Harper came out to dance with me.

"Who is your cute dance partner?" she asked me.

"This is my nephew Kyle. He's a big fan of dancing."

He reached for her, so I handed him over. She had a look that said she wasn't sure what to do. Kyle reached out and grabbed her breast. The little twerp beat me to them! She gave me a look, and I just busted out laughing. Kyle thought it was funny that his Uncle David was laughing, and giggled. Angie saw what was going on, and rescued Harper. The next song was a slow song. Eve did a cover of 'How Do I Live Without You'.

Halfway through the song Angel caught my eye and I excused myself and headed back stage. When the song ended Eve asked me to join her.

"Ladies and gentlemen I would like to introduce my very good friend, David Dawson."

I walked out on stage and waved.

"I told David that he had to go with the flow tonight. Like a good boyfriend he didn't take off when he saw the crowd. A good friend told me that, once I got him on stage, he wasn't going anywhere. David just pretends to be shy."

As she said that, the screen behind us started showing pictures of me modeling. The crowd laughed at some of my goofier shots. Then I saw Tami's hand in this. There were pictures of me when I was younger.

"Well, David is a special guy. I have to admit I've had a crush on him for a long time. So I wrote this little song. After he heard it, he asked me out, and made me the happiest girl alive. It's called 'Home Town Hero'. I hope you enjoy it."

While the song played they played video of me playing football. Every once in a while Eve would look over and smile at me. I could tell she was enjoying every second of her night. I was just happy I could be a part of it. I do think though, that if this was the first time hearing the song, the video would have freaked me out. It also helped that we were dating. Otherwise it would have had a stalker vibe.

She got a standing ovation when she was done. That song was going to be a hit.

We did a press conference for the local guys. Everything went off without a hitch. I met several of Eve's relatives. They seemed very nice. Not long after that, I saw my Mom dragging. I told Eve I needed to get going and my parents took me home. Overall the evening was a success.

Wednesday March 19, 2014 – Freshman Year

The camouflage t-shirts were a big success. The only people pissed were next year's seniors who were working out with Brad. I had anticipated that and had Sandy make up t-shirts that said varsity. I didn't want to be the one who ruined the team chemistry for next year. They went and changed. They couldn't help being ass-hats. They declared that they were the real deal.

They did seem to be bulking up. It sure seemed that whatever Brad had them doing was working. If I could stand to be around them, I might want to work out with them. But they made my skin crawl. I also knew if I spent any time alone with Tommy Cox I would kick his ass.

Our next game was at home and everyone looked good in the new uniforms. As captain, I had a 'C' on my left sleeve. Across the front was the word Bulldogs and your number was on the left side under the bulldog. Each sleeve had the logo of our bulldog mascot mauling a baseball. On the back was your number. I was #2. My favorite pro player was Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies who wore that number.

I was disappointed when Coach announced that Trevor was getting the start at shortstop. Actually all the new guys were getting to start. Coach Haskins said he wanted to see all of them in a game situation. I really wanted to play tonight because we were playing Wesleyan. The good news was that Eve was on the bench with me. We were making eyes at each other so Coach Hope told us we were not allowed to sit with each other on the bench.

Wesleyan had a good team. It was obvious that having an indoor facility really helped them. Mike got a shot at starting. He was very good at hitting the corners. The good news was that tonight's umpire had expanded the strike zone so Mike was getting the benefit of the doubt on a lot of calls.

Wesleyan was up 1 – 0 in the fifth when Mike reached his pitch count. You could see he was getting tired. Coach had me warming up. My ribs felt a lot better and I could tell I had more pop on the ball when I threw it. Mike survived the fifth by getting their catcher to hit into a 6-4-3 double play.

Mike was up first in our half of the fifth inning. He had a hot bat in practice so Coach let him stay in. Mike responded by hitting our first homer of the season. I inherited a tie game going into the sixth inning.

From the start, I was throwing harder. I struck out the first two batters I faced. The third one hit a tremendous shot that went just foul. I was watching it leave the county when Tim came out and handed me a ball.

"Shit, Cap, he hit the heck out that one. How about you just strike him out so we don't have a repeat of that?"

Tim thought he had a future in comedy.

If my next pitch was a repeat, and he straightened it out, we were in trouble. I hadn't thrown my changeup yet. I figured this was a good spot. It fooled him big time. Tim jumped up and rolled the ball to the mound and we were out of the inning. We had another first milestone for the season; I was the first to strike out the side.

Jim hit a double in our half of the seventh to score Bill from first to give us the lead. In the bottom half, I was facing the meat of their order. Their lead off guy was their center fielder. He was fast. He had run down a couple of sure doubles. On the third pitch, I tried the changeup to strike him out. He was waiting for it and laid down a perfect bunt.

The next batter was their first baseman. He was the one that had hit the towering shots, earlier in the game. I got set in the stretch and Tim was calling for a fastball high and inside. He wanted to back the batter off the plate. I put my chin on my shoulder so I could see where the runner was. He had crept out to a large lead. I eased the ball to the end of my glove, and made my move to first. The throw just beat him back. He got up and just shook his head at me. He did not expect me to have that kind of move.

The next pitch was a towering shot almost straight up. Kelly camped out under it at third and we had our second out. The next guy fouled off four straight pitches. He was working hard to make contact. The next pitch Tim called a fastball right down the middle. He wanted me to blow it by the kid. I threw the fastest pitch of the day and the kid hit a screaming line drive right at me. It was pure self-defense as I put my glove up. The ball bounced off it, and went right to second baseman for the final out.

We lined up and shook hands. They gave me good a natured ribbing. The kid that hit the towering shots told me next time he would straighten them out.