Chapter 20: Okay, I can Breathe Now

Monday November 2

This would be a huge week football-wise. We would play King High School in Indianapolis in a nationally televised game on ESPN. Because the game was on a Thursday night, we would travel to Indianapolis on Wednesday and practice there. Bud Mason, my quarterback coach and the former offensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders, would fly in today to help us get ready. I’d asked him several weeks ago if he would help Coach Hope and Coach Diamond put together a game plan that would give us a chance against King High School.

I had reason to worry about this game. King had been rated in the Top 25 nationally all year long. I’d read the current ratings and they had moved up to #3. While we might be the best in our state, we didn’t have the depth of talent that you would find in states like California, Florida or Texas nationally, or Ohio in the Midwest. King had a rich tradition of sending players to Division One colleges. This year’s team had eight seniors who had all received D-1 offers compared to our one, Jim. They had one player, Todd Davis, rated five stars, which meant he was one of the top thirty or so players in the country. I’d met him on my visit to Notre Dame.

I was driving to school when my phone rang.

“Answer,” I said so my Bluetooth would have the Jeep connect to my phone.

“David, we have a problem,” Ms. Dixon said.

“What now?” I asked.

“Kendal handed me a phone this morning and wished me luck. I wasn’t sure what it was for, but it’s been going off all morning,” she said.

Well, shit. That would be the recruiting phone. After we fired Brandon, Kendal had gotten it back. I needed to do something with that, because it would be a big week recruiting-wise also. I couldn’t see paying Ms. Dixon to deal with it at her hourly rate. Maybe I could pay Lily more to help with that, too. I didn’t want to hand it back to Tracy, because she’d been worried it would be too much for her.

“For now, turn it off. I’ll ask my mom to swing by and pick it up. It’s my phone that I use for football recruiting,” I explained.

“I’ve been reviewing everything Tom and Kendal do for you, and you’re going to have to hire some people to replace them. You need to hire a PA with a wide-ranging business background as a top priority. I think you also need an agent for the modeling side of the business. I talked to Tyler at AT Modeling and they’re willing to take over that part of the business for you. Kendal told me you would prefer that over using Ford.”

Tyler was also an attorney. She could help me with the review of contracts. My only problem with her and AT was they wanted a premium to represent me. I would need to talk to them about à la carte services. In many cases, it would be cheaper to pay Tyler by the hour than give them a percentage off the top.

All this was happening too fast. I relied on Tom and Kendal for almost everything, business-wise. “I’m pulling into school. If you need something, call my dad. I’ve got to go, but I want to thank you for all you’ve done.”

“No problem. I’ll talk to you later,” she said, and hung up.

I parked the Jeep and found Alan had waited for me. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. He saw my look and held up his hands.

“Don’t get mad. Tami called me and told me you planned to work things out with Pam and all the lawyers yesterday. I’ve been sent to find out if everything went okay.”

This was a very different Alan. He seemed much more restrained, and even admitted that he was Tami’s pawn. I tried not to be too hard on him because we’d been friends since kindergarten.

“You can tell Tami everything’s fine,” I said.

“So the baby’s yours?” he asked.

This was the Alan I knew.

“Yes, the baby’s mine,” I said.

“Wow. Does Pam plan to keep it?” Alan asked, and then blanched when he saw my look.

I couldn’t believe Alan would even suggest such a thing if he knew me at all. I took a deep breath, because I could tell I had overreacted with him. I still wasn’t over what had happened.

“Alan, this is between Pam and me,” I said.

Alan looked stunned. I didn’t know why, so I just nodded and walked towards the front entrance. A cold snap had come through after the rain, so no one was outside.

My day sucked. I was given quizzes in every class, it seemed. The teachers weren’t happy with the football team because we would miss three days of school for our away game. The last two years we’d only missed a half-day on Friday and played on Saturday. ESPN planned to treat this more as they would a college game, and wanted both teams in for a Wednesday-afternoon workout, and then we would meet the press. Thursday we would have a morning walk-through, and then kickoff would be that evening. It was decided that we’d come back home on Friday.

After school, Alan told me to go to the coaches’ conference room, and I walked in to find Bud Mason with the rest of the coaching staff. Seeing the old warhorse made me smile. I owed him and Bo Harrington a lot for what they’d taught me about how to play quarterback. I just wished he was here and not in LA. I surprised him when I gave him a hug. I don’t think many people had dared that over the years.

“Get off me,” he grumped, but didn’t fight it very much.

“Do you plan to work with us during practice?” I asked.

“Yes. Go get dressed and have everyone meet us on the field so we can get started,” he ordered.

I smiled and almost skipped out of the office. Normally we would have watched film this afternoon. I guess Coach Mason didn’t think we needed that today. I’d heard from Alan that he’d helped all the coaches out by sharing his knowledge of the game. I went to the locker room and found everyone putting on shorts and t-shirts.

“Change of plans! Suit up,” I announced.

We were dressed in full gear and about to finish stretching when the coaching staff came out with Coach Mason. Coach Hope blew his whistle to get our attention.

“Gather around!”

When we were in a semicircle on one knee, he introduced Coach Mason.

“Coach Mason has been helping David and the coaching staff this season. He’s agreed to help us get ready for King High School. Instead of looking at film, we all agreed that we needed to practice. We’ll look at film on the bus ride to Indianapolis. Offensive skill players and defensive backs go with Coach Mason and Coach Diamond, defense with Coach Zoon, and offensive line with me.”

“David, I need you to play defensive back for me,” Coach Mason said, which caused a stir.

I just did what he told me. He had me line up tight to the line and put Wolf across from me.

“I think we can agree that David is much bigger and stronger than most defensive backs. He’s also quick for this level. If we plan to beat King, we have to get off the ball. Their defensive backs aren’t David, but they’re bigger, stronger and faster than anyone you’ve played this year. If you can beat David, you can beat them. Begin,” he ordered.

Wolf tried to bull-rush me and use his size and strength. That worked against much smaller defensive backs. I popped his shoulder pads to stand him up and then got into his body so he didn’t have leverage. Wolf never made it five yards down the field. Coach Mason didn’t say a word.

“Next,” he yelled.

I could tell Wolf was pissed as he had to head to the end of the line. Next up was Ty. I did the same thing with him. He tried to wiggle out away from me, but when he shifted his weight I used it to unbalance him and put him on his ass.

“Jesus, David! This is only practice,” Ty complained.

“Only practice!” Coach Mason boomed. “So you only go full-out in games? Get out of my sight!”

Coach Diamond took Ty off to the side and coached him up. I’d seen this same pattern at the Elite Camp: Coach Mason would oversee the drill, and then someone would spend time with the player who needed some one-on-one coaching. I guessed that he’d talked to Coach Diamond about this before we came on the field.

Roc stepped to the line. He didn’t fire off the ball as I expected. He spun as soon as I reached for him. It might have worked, but I just reached over and shoved him into the turf. Coach Mason let me embarrass the rest of the team. I knew he wanted to get their attention, and that was why I’d been rough on them. When the last one went and had either been held to the line of scrimmage, or put into the dirt, he stopped practice to coach us.

“Getting off the line of scrimmage and making yourself available for a pass is what separates good receivers from just average ones. The key to you beating King is getting off the ball clean and getting down field. If they can tie up our receivers at the line of scrimmage, then they can pin their ears back and rush the passer. If you can come free and at least give David a chance, we can win. If not, it’ll be a long night.

“Are you ready to learn some things that can help you beat David?” he asked.

You would think they didn’t like what I did to them! Bunch of babies.

“First, who here thinks David is cocky?” Coach Mason asked.

Every hand went up and a few choice comments were made. I vowed to not make this easy on them.

“It’s that mindset that he’s using to beat you. He thinks he’ll win, and so he does. You have to decide that you’ll win against him. Believe me when I tell you that David has your best interest at heart, and he’ll put your dick in the dirt to make you better. King High School will try to intimidate you and get in your head. I’m here to tell you that if you can get off the line against David, you can stick it to them. So quit letting David beat you. Every one of you can get off the ball against him, and I’ll show you how.

“The key is to be patient. Get your left foot up and your right foot back and get into a nice balanced position. Get up here, Roc, and show them what I mean,” Coach Mason said.

He had Roc get into his starting stance.

“The first thing we’re going to work on is called the speed rush. We use this for defensive backs that are really aggressive. I think you all experienced that,” he said, and smiled at me. “When he comes straight at you, my counter is to step to the side and use your hands to help him along, and then speed release up field.”

“Like Cassidy teaches in Tai Chi,” Wolf said.

“Exactly!” I said, as I got excited. “Coach Hope’s daughter teaches us not to take on force directly, but to redirect it.”

“Do it half-speed so everyone can see it,” Coach Mason said.

I came at Roc again, and he sidestepped me and pushed me to the side and was off to the races.

“Okay, everyone try it one time at three-quarters speed,” Coach Mason ordered us. “David, this is a coaching moment.”

I just grinned and let them all beat me.

“They’ll mix it up when they get beat with that move. Instead of rushing in to make contact, they’ll be patient and use their quick feet to hold their ground. What they want you to do is to commit your move early, and then they’ll react. To beat this you have to close the gap and go straight at them. Once you’re close enough, use the same move to push the defensive back one way or the other, and then release around them.”

They didn’t get it, but I had been to enough camps I understood what Coach Mason was trying to explain. I had Wolf line up and I had my feet moving so I could glide either left or right. Wolf made his move at the line like he had before, and I was able to glide over and get in front of him. I then switched with Wolf. On the snap, I ran right at Wolf and when we started to come together, I popped his pads and stepped around him. It was fun to see the light bulbs go on for about half of them.

We ran that drill three times before everyone understood what was supposed to happen. Coach Mason also taught them what he called the ‘double jab move’ for the more patient defensive backs. Ty had it mastered after the first try. You went in one direction, faked to the other, and then you used the defensive back’s bite on your fake to push him that way and get around him. It was like a dance step: left, jab right and then left again. Ty had been using similar moves as he danced in the hole while running.

“Okay. Now I want David four yards off the ball. The techniques are the same, but you have to close the gap and then make your move once he’s right in front of you,” Coach Mason said.

Coach Mason had me go back to quarterback and put the whole thing together. He’d taught them how to create separation and get a step on the defensive back. When they started to put moves on our defensive backs and come free, I would feed them the ball. While I watched, they started to remind me of Bill from last year. Now if they could learn to catch as well as he did, we’d be unbeatable.

The difference between what Coach Mason taught us and Coach Diamond’s approach was that Coach Diamond relied on us to run precise routes to get open. Coach Mason wanted us to win the battles to get open. We would need both to beat King, but this gave us one more option to use. Everyone was excited when practice ended.

After practice, I took Pam to the bank, with Cassidy and Brook riding along. Mom had stopped in earlier and set up an account for Pam. Pam needed to sign the signature card. She’d receive a debit card in a few days. We used the drive-through, because the office wasn’t open, and completed what she needed. We were then off to the dojo to practice.

Coach Mason had arranged to stay at Coach Hope’s house, and the entire coaching staff planned to go over for dinner. It sounded like the perfect evening for a bunch of coaches to tell stories.

Fritz didn’t have anyone to spar with, because both Coaches Hope and Zoon were with Coach Mason.

“I think David’s no longer a danger to you,” Cassidy said. “He needs to spar with someone more his size.”

Fritz was six feet tall and weighed more than I did. I would guess he had twenty pounds on me. We pulled out our practice Bo staffs and faced off. I’d run each morning with a much heavier staff than I held now, and my wrists, hands and forearms were stronger.

Cassidy didn’t let me spar as much recently. I think it was because she’d figured out that if I could get ahold of her, all the fancy moves in the world didn’t matter, because I was much stronger than she was. With the grip I now had, it was almost impossible for her to get away without actually hurting me.

We got into our stances and faced each other.

“Protect yourselves,” Cassidy warned us.

Fritz and I both nodded to her.

“Begin,” Cassidy said.

I snapped the tip of my staff to the center of Fritz’s forehead. It was easy to either block that move or slide your head to the side. I guess I was quicker and stronger than I realized, because I hit Fritz with a solid blow and he went down. His arms did this weird alligator-like flop, and he stiffened up for a moment.

“Fuck!” I yelled.

Of course, Shiggy’s beginner class saw the whole thing. I think they’d gotten the wrong impression about martial arts. It was about self-defense and building your confidence. It wasn’t about what I’d just done, even if it was an accident. Shiggy got a wet towel and put some smelling salts under Fritz’s nose. He came around and shook his head.

“I forgot to duck,” he said.

“No shit,” Shiggy said. “Go get checked out. You can’t come back until you get the all-clear from a doctor.”

“I’m sure I’m fine. I’ve been hit harder while training,” Fritz complained.

“I also have insurance issues when something like this happens. Are you okay to drive?”

“Yeah,” Fritz said, and then turned to me. “It was my fault. I should have been able to stop that. It happens, so don’t worry that you did anything wrong.”

“I should have taken it easy on you.”

“What does that mean?” Fritz asked, with an irritated look on his face.

“You’re getting older and your reflexes aren’t what they used to be,” I said.

Fritz gave me a hard look and then saw I was teasing him. I would have to be careful the next time we sparred. That is, if Cassidy let me.

I was correct in that Shiggy and Cassidy didn’t let me spar the rest of practice. She had me do my forms with my bare hands, batons and the Bo staff. Shiggy then had me help him as a crash test dummy for his beginner class. They were learning to do hip tosses, and he needed someone bigger for them to practice on. I was eager to help because they didn’t have proper technique and you could land awkwardly. It helped me practice the proper way to fall without getting hurt, a valuable skill when you played quarterback.

After practice, we dropped off Cassidy and Brook while Pam and I went to my house. Lacy helped my mom make dinner. Ms. Dixon joined us shortly after Pam and I got home. Our moms had made a baked chicken breast with avocado and tomato, topped with a melted Mexican cheese. For sides they prepared wild rice and Brussels sprouts with bacon, onion and green olives. The olives made the dish.

While Pam and I cleaned up, Ms. Dixon updated us on what she’d done today.

“The paperwork has been signed by the other side. I have it with me so we can get what we need signed now. I’ll file the documents with the Clerk of the Court tomorrow.

“I just want to tell you how lucky you are to live where you do. If this had happened almost anywhere else, I would have expected you would’ve been charged, and this would have been dragged out for months. It’s easier for the police and the prosecutor’s office to go ahead and charge you because of their caseloads and resources. It also didn’t hurt that the community knows your character, and your family’s connections,” Ms. Dixon said.

Pam looked troubled by what had almost happened to me. I had no doubt that Ms. Dixon was right. I was lucky things hadn’t gone the way Cal had planned. I could tell that Ms. Dixon made those comments for Pam’s benefit. It was important that she realize how poorly this could have gone. I felt she needed to get help for her issues, or something worse might happen to her in the future.

“Your dad and I found a CPA to handle your books and those of the two charities. He’ll also take care of the day-to-day bookkeeping duties for you. We talked to Tyler at AT Modeling, and she’ll take over your internet sales of photos and the income for the client overrides you receive,” Ms. Dixon continued.

I was glad that was taken care of. I trusted Tyler to look out for me.

“Your mom suggested that we talk to Rita James about what you might need when you go to LA to shoot the movie. Ms. James said you’d need an agent that handles that part of the industry; neither Ford nor AT Modeling has the specialized expertise. She said you would also need security, a driver and a personal assistant. She can take care of security through who she has. She said her agent wouldn’t be right for you, but she would get back with some recommendations. We want to get you a PA soon, because of your recruiting.”

“I might have an idea for a short-term solution: I’ve a friend who’s helped me with my social media and websites. I think she could help filter the calls, texts and mail into something manageable for me. For the long run I want someone I can rely on who has a broader knowledge base. I must have someone who can look at things like my financials and make sense out of them for me. Not that I couldn’t learn to do it, I just don’t have the time,” I said.

I needed to call Lily and see if she could pick up the slack for now. I didn’t want to rush into hiring a PA because of how much I had come to rely on Kendal. In many ways, it was too bad that my relationship with Tom and Kendal had ended. I couldn’t see a way that I could entrust my business to them anymore. I would make a clean break and build a relationship with someone else. I suspected that I would be much more cautious in the future.

I’d found that my trust in people had been shaken this fall. It started when Mike had messed with Mona and sent me pictures, because in his words, I ‘needed to be taken down a notch.’ Then Alan and Tami had hit me in a deeply personal way.

Then I’d found out what Candy had done to Flee. Even though we joked about her being out of his league, I’d never dreamed what she and her sisters were into.

Of course there was Angie, who’d had her first baby for the wrong, and secret, reasons, and then harmed my relationship with Tami, again for her own selfish reasons. And finally, there was Cal and Rigby, Thompson and Associates. Before this, I could not fathom that a father could go to such lengths. I began to realize why people with money protected themselves by investigating anyone that got close to them. I worried that if the movie were a success, I would need to do the same.

What kept me from being too worried were the friends I had and the town I grew up in. I counted on them to treat me like anyone else and let me not have to grow up too fast. Halle had told me stories about living in LA and being the daughter of Rita James. She’d had drivers just to take her to and from school. Her mom had it worse, and never went out without some kind of security – even to the grocery store. The press constantly followed her, and it only took one crazed fan to ruin your day.

I knew that I’d need to find a balance. Uncle John was right. The movie would change my life, but I would find ways to be me. I planned to enjoy the experience to the fullest.

Tuesday November 3

I woke to find a prancing boy doing the potty dance. He needed to go now, so I took him down and let him out. I heard my phone ringing so I hurried back upstairs. I picked it up and answered it.

“This is David,” I said.

“David, this is Coach Dallas from the University of Iowa football program. I’d like to schedule you for a visit.”

I’d picked up the recruiting phone by mistake. I would need to change the ringtone to something different so I would never make that mistake again. I heard my boy scratch on the door to let me know he was done. I went down the stairs as I answered.

“I honestly don’t know when I could arrange it,” I said as I opened the back door.

“We have two more home games on November fourteenth and twenty-first. Would either of those dates work?”

“Fuck!” I exclaimed as Precious darted in the back door and ran up my stairs with Duke.

“Sorry, the neighbor’s cat just ran in the back door,” I explained. “If all goes well I’ll be playing those days in the State Tournament.”

“I understand. Would you and your family have time to sit down with us when you go to Indianapolis?” Coach Dallas asked.

“I guess I don’t see the point. I’m a year and a half away from a decision, and I need to focus on what I’m there for. Plus my interest in Iowa has fallen in the past week,” I said, to let him know that when they canceled my visit, it hadn’t gone over well.

“That’s one of the things we’d like to talk to you about. Would you have time to talk after the game, or could we come to you on Friday?” he suggested.

This guy wouldn’t take no for an answer. I was worried he could talk me into a commitment if he got my family and me alone. One of my life goals was to learn to say ‘no’.

“I think I’ll pass. It was made clear that you didn’t want me to visit with any clouds over my character. I think it says volumes about the type of support I’d receive if I went there and someone accused me of something,” I said.

“You need to understand where we were coming from. Since then you’ve been cleared of all suspicions. That puts you in a much better light. I think if you gave us a chance, you’d see that Iowa would be an excellent fit for you, both academically and football-wise. Can I pencil you in for after the game on Thursday?” he asked.

I had to smile. I’d heard my mom when she went into sales mode, and he wouldn’t give up until he had an appointment. At the very least, I admired him for his tenacity.

“No. I’ll wait to see if you can actually deliver the goods and win the Big Ten. If you can do that, and get into the National Championship hunt, it’ll clear up any suspicions I have about your program. I think that’s only fair, don’t you?” I asked.

Two could play at this game. I smiled when he didn’t have a snappy comeback.

“I understand,” he conceded. “We’ll be at the game. Maybe we’ll bump into each other.”

“Maybe. I have to go,” I said, and hung up.

I called Lily as soon as I hung up, and she agreed to take the phone from me. I told her to keep track of her hours because I planned to pay her for her time. I already paid her to help with my social media, but I wanted it made clear I wouldn’t take advantage of her.

Duke and I couldn’t find Precious, so we went for our run. Brit was in my drive when we got back. “She’s in my apartment,” I said as I began to stretch after my run.

Brit went with Duke to find her wayward cat. I just shook my head when she opened the back door and Precious was right there, acting like I’d trapped her inside. There were a lot of sad meows and Brit had to love her up. Even Duke gave me a dirty look when our neighbors went home.

I went into the kitchen, and there was a large envelope with my name on it on the counter. I opened it and it was a wedding invitation to Devin and Cora’s wedding. They would hold their nuptials on New Year’s Eve. Last year they’d had a huge party for all their key employees from all over the country. It made sense that they would do it at the same time to coincide with the annual event.

I started the coffee for my parents and put on a pot of water for my tea. I put on another pot to make oatmeal. While everything heated up, I called Sandy Range.

“Good morning,” I said cheerfully.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?” she complained.

“I figured that since you lived on a ranch, you’d already be up.”

“We pay people to do that,” she said, and then sighed. “What do you want?”

Someone was grumpy.

“I wanted to confirm my invitation to Devin’s wedding.”

“There was a card and a self-addressed envelope with a stamp on it for you to send your acceptance. Didn’t you get one?” she asked.

“Let me check,” I said, and made rustling noises to irritate her. “Yep. Here it is. I think I want the beef. Fish or chicken is usually iffy at events like this.”

I think she growled at me.

“I guess I should just fill this out and send it back,” I suggested helpfully.

“Would you?” she asked sarcastically.

“For you, anything,” I assured her. “What do they want for a gift?”

“Didn’t it also say where they’re registered? All you have to do is go to the website and check off what you want to give them. They even wrap and deliver it for you.”

“That doesn’t seem right. I would think they’d appreciate something from the heart.”

“I think I’m about to hang up on you,” she threatened.

“So, do you have a date to the wedding?” I asked.

She dropped the phone. I heard her scramble to pick it up.

“Are you asking me?”

“Yes, the question was if you had a date or not.”

“No.”

“Oh.”

“Well, are you going to ask me?”

“Oh, you want me to take you?” I asked.

“Not if I have to beg.”

“Yeah, why not? I think we’d have fun.”

I could almost hear the steam come out of her ears.

“I’m confused. Did you just ask me to be your date for the wedding, or not?” she asked.

“I guess.”

She finally figured out I was winding her up.

“There will be certain things you’ll be expected to do if you’re my date. You do know that Cora’s sister will also be there.”

I might have pushed her too far. Who knew what she might come up with? I just hoped what she expected would be fun. Then there was the issue of Pam.

“I obviously didn’t think this through. Am I expected to bring my baby’s mama as my date to something like this? I wondered if I’m somehow going to be related to you through the baby. Wouldn’t you be some kind of cousin or aunt or something? Is it even legal for me to be your date?” I asked.

“It’s too early to talk to you when you’re being goofy. I’ll call you when it’s closer to the big event to explain everything to you,” she suggested.

Mom had made it down and heard me teasing Sandy. She just rolled her eyes at me and grabbed herself a cup of coffee. I said goodbye to Sandy and finished making breakfast. I added brown sugar and raisins to the oatmeal. Dad joined us, and we got our day started.

Today Coach Mason taught the receivers how Bill had beaten me several times last year with a technique called the swim move. It was similar to what he’d taught us yesterday, but I felt it was more effective.

“I want your lead foot to step just outside of the defender’s shoulder pads. I want you to be in position so you end up on his outside shoulder. Then with your outside forearm, I want you to push his arm towards his body. This will keep his arm down. With your inside arm I want you to reach over his shoulder as if you’re swimming, and when your arm comes down I want you to put your elbow in his back. Make sure you clear your hips, and you’ll be past him,” Coach Mason explained.