Chapter 25: Most Likely To

Friday November 4
It felt good to not have a game this weekend. We’d played Thursday night to give us an extra day off before the state playoffs, which would begin on Wednesday. The other important upcoming event was the election on Tuesday.

Grandma Dawson had met with the city council because they’d had fears about how having a dog as mayor would work. She assured them she would have Duke’s power of attorney.

She explained two terms I’d heard before, de facto and de jure. De facto was Latin for ‘in fact,’ while de jure meant ‘in the eyes of the law.’ Grandma would wind up being the de facto mayor, while Duke would be the de jure mayor.

The whole council understood the difference, and with most of them being from the area, they were well aware of her political credentials. The council came out in favor of Duke’s candidacy after they learned who they would really be working with. After all, their alternative was to have to deal with Thomas Fox, who had mounted a write-in campaign. Or our former mayor, but no one expected him to be around for long.

Grandma told us the rumor around city hall was that Mr. Fox needed the income he would earn as mayor, or he might have to close his practice. I was eagerly awaiting the day he would be taking my order at the drive-through and asking if I want fries with that.

My grandma was as happy as I’d ever seen her. For a minute or two, I thought it was because she’d finally be out in front and not just supporting my grandpa Davey. The little discussion we had showed me I’d misjudged her, though.

“David, my favorite definition of politics is ‘the pursuit or exercise of power with respect to matters of governance.’ The problem is that most politicians spend all their time, energy, and money pursuing power. They give little thought to the actual exercise of it. As soon as they’re elected, they start preparing for the next election. This leads to skewed and shortsighted decision-making.

“A statesman focuses on the proper exercise of political power for the long-term benefit of his people. Right now, what we’re doing is a lark, but everyone knows it won’t happen again, and that I won’t be seeking reelection. That means I have the freedom to be a statesman, and I can make decisions based on the right criteria. The council members know that too, and it makes them happy because we might actually do something worthwhile.

“Davey’s statesmanship was why he never sought higher office and why he always was so well respected. This reminds me so much of those days, and of him,” she explained.

People looked up to my grandfather, and he had mentored several politicians in our state. It was too bad they weren’t more like him. He wouldn’t have put up with the partisanship that was prevalent today. Grandpa Davey had been the one who got things done because he wasn’t afraid to reach across the aisle and talk to the other side. He could never be the ‘face’ of the party and get out in front to spout the party line. Instead, he was the one behind the scenes who could make deals.

During first period, Jill and Becky checked all my injuries. That was not a pleasant experience.

“If you’re going to jab me, at least give me a Vitamin T shot,” I complained.

“Go get in the ice bath and then we’ll give you a massage,” Jill promised.

“Will you use the stuff that deadens the pain?”

“Yes. Now go soak.”

No matter how many times I’ve used an ice bath to help reduce swelling and bruising, it was hard to force myself to get in. I knew intellectually that when they were done, I would heal faster. But I’d had an aversion to cold ever since being buried alive in a mountain of snow. If I just got in and didn’t mess around, that was best. The slow approach made me more likely to crawl out.

I also had to make sure to take deep breaths when I first got in. If I didn’t, it seemed like my body would forget to breathe.

I’d checked out my injuries this morning after I got out of the shower. I’d protected my injured right side, and it seemed my left had taken the brunt of the beating last night. Percy was a big boy, and when he’d hit me from my blind side, I’d felt it.

Wolf joined me in the next tub.

“What’re you in for?” I asked.

“Took a helmet to the thigh in the third quarter. I’m glad we don’t have to play them again.”

“What did you think of the new plays?”

“I can’t believe Coach Hope is letting us toss the ball around so much. When he first came here, did you ever think he would even let you pass?” Wolf asked.

“Heck, he thought Brad was a better option at quarterback. I think he was afraid we might score too much.”

Brad was Coach Hope’s son and had been anointed the starter as soon as he hit campus. His biggest problem was he couldn’t throw an accurate pass past ten or fifteen yards. I chuckled.

“Remember when he wanted to trade seven-on-seven players?” I asked.

“He wasn’t the brightest guy,” Wolf admitted.

The best thing Brad did for us was to talk all his ass-hat buddies into using steroids. That allowed the rest of us a chance to play our sophomore year. I think that additional experience gave Coach Hope the confidence to let us get creative. I doubted he would give Trent the same freedom next year.

When Jill came and got me for my massage, I saw that Tim was next in line for the ice bath. It looked like most of us were dinged-up after our game against Broadview Academy.

“What are we doing this weekend?” Brook asked me at lunch.

“Cassidy and I have our written test for flying tonight. Why don’t you log some flight time while we do that and then we can go out afterward?”

“He finally has a Friday night free, and he wants to take a test?” Tracy asked.

“We could have taken it Saturday afternoon, but Dare told him he’d fixed his drone, and they plan to go fly it then,” Cassidy shared.

Why was it my new Jedi mind powers only worked on my little brother and Dare? Both Cassidy and Tracy should be clutching their throats as I snuffed the life out of them.

“There’s no football game, so if Brook is up for it...” Wolf suggested.

What were the rules about hitting people? Girls, only if they tried to kick you in the ‘nads. And guys were fair game. I slugged Wolf in the shoulder.

“Oww ... what was that for?” Wolf complained and then smirked. “We all worry that ‘fun David’ may have gone the way of the dinosaurs.”

I must not have hit him hard enough.

“You’re never around. You should come out and play with us,” Pam said to flirt with me.

“Sounds like we need a party,” Tim said. “Who can have it?”

“I can,” Dare volunteered.

Brook and I looked at each other and silently agreed that that wasn’t a promising idea. If anything happened, I would feel horrible.

“We could have it at the lake house,” Tracy offered. “That way, we wouldn’t bother the neighbors if the music gets loud.”

I would have to thank her for the save for Dare’s sake. He lived in an apartment building, which would almost guarantee calls to the police.

“How about we do it Saturday? David needs to take his test, and I want to log some flight time,” Brook suggested, agreeing with my original plan.

“Dare could bring your drone, and we would make a day of it,” Tracy said.

The girls ignored the rest of us as they planned the party. It sounded like we would cook out and relax. It was too cold to do much outdoors, but I was sure we would have a fun time flying the drone. If my friends flew it, it would stress-test Dare’s effort to make it idiot-proof.

For practice tonight, Coach Hope had recorded our game on ESPN. It was fun to listen to their take on our first three onside kicks.

“I’m not sure what to make of Lincoln’s game plan. Is it genius or just a gimmick?”

“I’ve never seen anything like it. Lincoln came into this game a decided underdog, and now they’re up 16 to nothing. If Broadview doesn’t figure out the onside kick, they may never get the ball. My feeling is this won’t last, though. Lincoln better get all the points they can now because I predict it’ll be a long night for them.”

“The talk before the game was how David Dawson would respond tonight. From what I heard, it was a game-time decision as to whether he would play. Dawson was involved in a serious hit-and-run collision when he was on a recruiting trip to USC. Initial reports were that he would need upwards of eight weeks to be on the field,” the color announcer shared.

“Dawson takes the snap from the shotgun. They’ve triple-teamed Wilkes, leaving just two receivers to go downfield. Dawson’s been flushed from the pocket and throws a long pass ... and it’s complete to Pearson. It looks like they might catch him ... no ... Touchdown!” the play-by-play guy announced.

“That’s just it. Dawson has all the talent in the world. What you worry about is whether he’s another Johnny Manziel. You saw him walking in with the sign that said ‘Irrelevant!’ Then he lifts his shirt and points to his crotch. I’d be worried about what you’re getting with someone like him.”

“Bullshit!” I barked.

I was embarrassed I’d said that out loud. I was even more embarrassed when I saw Jeff’s cameraman pointing the lens at me.

Thankfully, Coach Hope just let the recording run so I could get a chance to gather my emotions. All it took was one talking head to question your attitude, and suddenly it would be a problem. I sent Frank a text to see what I should do. He sent me one back admitting he hadn’t seen it yet, and that he would call me when he had something for me.

I was mad because of the comparison to Johnny Manziel. His problems seemed to be that he partied too much and then did stupid things.

Frank sent me a text back to call him when I had a chance. I stepped out of the team meeting to talk to him.

“Ideas?” I asked.

“Here’s my advice: ignore it. The people who count know your character and work ethic. If you make a big deal about this, you’ll only draw more attention to it.”

“The documentary crew caught me reacting to what he said,” I worried.

“Good. It was an honest reaction. I would bet they want to talk to you later. Explain to them you were shocked that that was how what you did was perceived. Tell them what really happened and then don’t talk about it again.”

I thanked him for his advice and returned to the room to watch the remainder of the first half. When the half was over, Coach Hope turned it off.

“I wanted to give you a chance to savor the win. That was a big one, and I want to give credit where it’s due. Coach Stevens did a heck of a job.”

Coach Stevens took a bow as we golf-clapped for him. He was confused until he saw Coach Rector smiling. Coach Rector had set it up so we could have some fun at Coach Stevens’ expense.

“By Monday, we’ll know who we’re playing on Wednesday. Word from the High School Athletic Association is that we’ll be on the road for the first game and then play at home for the rest. All-Conference selections will be announced on Monday, too.

“Have a good weekend, but not too good. I want you all ready to practice come Monday. If you need treatment, we’ll have the doors open both Saturday and Sunday morning,” Coach Hope said, and let us go home.

On the way out, Jeff stopped me, and I sat down and explained how ESPN were the ones who asked me to display the sign. I was just carrying it to the locker room where we planned to post it. He asked me about the crotch bit. I just laughed and asked him how he’d seen it.

“I thought you were having fun and pointed at your stomach. At no point did I think you’d pointed further south,” Jeff said.

“I would never do something crude on television. If it had looked questionable, ESPN would have made me redo the intro video.”

“Our network would have. I can’t imagine ESPN allowing something they considered inappropriate to be shown during prime time,” Jeff shared and then wrapped up the interview.

“You’re never going to get everyone to love you,” Jeff reasoned. “There will always be someone trying to invent a story. Don’t let this bother you. It will get worse the higher up you go in competition.”

That was good advice.

Cassidy and I took our test and aced it. Brook was landing when we finished.

“Do you and Don want to go to dinner with us?” I asked as we waited.

“You had better spend some alone-time with Brook. Especially if you’re planning to be naughty tomorrow.”

“At no point did I say I was going to do anything like that. People just assume that I’m the same in and out of a committed relationship. I would never intentionally do anything to hurt Brook.”

“What if she wanted to play tomorrow?” Cassidy asked.

“No. I would be the one making assumptions, and it would be that you all forced her to agree to it,” I said as my girlfriend joined us.

“You look serious,” Brook said and then kissed me.

“Cassidy was saying that people expect we’ll join in something wild tomorrow. I was explaining that I wouldn’t even if you told me you wanted to.”

“Not that I want to, but why would you say that?” Brook asked.

“I might be half serious when I say I would love to have people join us. We both enjoyed our time with Pam, didn’t we?”

“Yes, we did,” Brook confirmed.

“If it happens and we’re in the mood, I’m game. What I don’t want is feeling like we’re being forced into it. I know that if I feel that way, you’re getting it even worse. I absolutely will not be a part of something where I feel you’ve been coerced in any way.”

“What if we’re in LA and Halle wants to join us?”

“That would be fine.”

“Why’s that different?” Brook asked.

“Because no guys would be involved,” Cassidy offered.

“Didn’t you say you had a date to get to?” I asked.

“Is she right? If Halle brought a guy, and we decided to all have fun, would you be okay with that?” Brook asked.

“I’m not going to lie to you, I would have a problem. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t go along with it if you could make me comfortable with what we were doing.”

“Is that why you don’t want to have fun Saturday? You’re afraid I’ll end up with Tim or Wolf?” Brook asked.

I considered that for a moment.

“You know what? I would probably be okay with them. Tim and I have shared girls in the past, and it worked out fine. Wolf is a good friend. I would trust them to treat you right and you not to fall in love with one of them and run off. Who I would have a problem with is Dare,” I stated emphatically.

That surprised both Cassidy and Brook.

“Again, not that it’ll ever happen, but why would you not want me to have sex with Dare? He’s such a little boy,” Brook said.

I laughed.

“You think Dare is harmless?”

Both Brook and Cassidy nodded. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

“Dare is a guy, if you hadn’t noticed. He’s a guy who’s secretly in love with you. If he had a shot, he would take it without thinking, consequences be damned.”

“No way,” Brook objected.

Cassidy thought about it for a moment.

“I’m with David on this one. It’s the quiet ones you have to worry about,” she predicted.

“You’re both crazy.”

I’m a guy. I knew exactly what kind of deviant Dare was.

After we dropped off Cassidy, we picked up Chuck and drove to Washington for crab. The waiter suggested that one Dungeness crab was probably enough for two people, so we ordered three because Chuck had to eat with us. The place was packed, and my celebrity only went so far. We were lucky they even seated us.

The crab came out with a wooden mallet, nutcracker, and a small fork. I picked up the mallet to whack the crab.

“Oh, please, no. Let me show you how to do it right,” Chuck said.

He turned his crab upside down.

“You want to remove the shell, clean out the organs, break the legs away from the body, and then break it in half,” he said as he demonstrated.

Once he had it apart, Brook slid her plate over to him and traded. I guess that’s a girl’s birthright. Chuck wasn’t upset at all as he pointed out what she needed to do.

“In the body, you’ll see tiny cavities where the best-tasting meat is. See the liquid inside the shell? That’s crab butter. It has a funky texture, but try it,” Chuck suggested.

To me, it looked like something gross, but Chuck was right, it tasted good. Chuck’s method was much better than using the mallet. It really irritated me when I would get some shell in the meat. This way, that never happened. Chuck explained that we could tell these were never frozen because the meat in the legs came out in one piece.

What I also liked about eating crab was you had to work at it to get all the claw and leg meat. It was like an adventure with a yummy reward at the end.

Saturday November 5
After breakfast, I took advantage of Coach Hope’s announcement that treatment would be available this morning. My ribs were on the mend, and I no longer felt the pain from my hip pointer. I’d turned a corner in my recovery and would be fine in a couple of weeks.

Several other players showed up. It was a testament to how hard we’d had to fight to win the game. When it was my turn in the ice bath, Ty was in the other one.

“I talked to the coaches at Michigan last night. They asked about you, and I told them you, Wolf, and Tim all were very interested in joining me there.”

I smiled at him.

“Do you get brownie points for helping recruit?” I asked.

“I’m sure it’s something like getting first shot at dorm rooms and comes with a bevy of babes.”

“A whole bevy?” I asked.

“Sure, why not? I mean, if Louisville can afford strippers and prostitutes, I’m sure Michigan can pony up a whole bevy.”

“What else did Michigan offer you? Better yet, what’s in it for me?” I asked.

Ty rolled his eyes at me.

“They did say that word on the street is you regained your number-one ranking with the recruiting services. They asked whether your throw to Roc was a fluke or if you were back, health-wise. I told them I’d seen you make that throw in practice on a regular basis.”

We both knew Ty was stretching the truth on that. I put it down to the miracle called Vitamin T. If it weren’t for the pain relief, I would have short-armed that pass.

Duke said in puppy-speak that he would like to go for a car ride with me, so Paul drove both of us to pick up Brook. Duke had been stuck in the big house while Precious held court in my apartment. I brought his tennis ball, knowing his buddy Wolf would throw it for him.

After we picked up Brook, we drove to Dare’s apartment building. I walked up to get him and had to help him break the drone down so it would fit into its carrying case. I wasn’t exactly pleased with Dare’s craftsmanship. It looked like he’d put it back together with a hot glue gun and duct tape. I wasn’t sure it was safe to fly. Then I remembered what his mom told me.

“Do you have any extra parts?” I asked.

Dare reached into his front pocket and pulled out a baggy that had something in it.

“What’s that?”

“I’m not sure,” he admitted.

“I guess we’ll find out when this thing goes up in a ball of flames,” I predicted.

“That only happened once.”

Like that reassured me.

While I put the drone’s case into the back of the SUV, Dare claimed the seat next to Brook. I gave her a knowing look as I climbed all the way into the back. I about laughed when Duke bailed on riding shotgun and bounded over the seats so he could sit next to me. At least I knew he loved me. Duke received a chest and ear rub for being such a good boy.

When we arrived at Tracy’s lake house, it looked like we were the only ones around. It made sense, given that most people only used their cabins as weekend getaways, and early November meant it had started to cool off. While Dare, Brook, and Paul went inside, Duke and I decided to take a walk. He needed to burn off some energy, and I wanted to enjoy nature.

While Duke and I were on our walk, other people began to arrive. Besides Tracy, the rest of the gang showed up: Cassidy and Don, Tim and Tami, Wolf and Sarah, Phil and Jill, Yuri and Jan, with Pam rounding out our group. The guys must have seen Duke and me return because they all came outside. I tossed Duke’s ball to Wolf so he could throw it for my hound.

What had the guys’ interest was Dare had brought out the drone’s case. It was a hard-shell carrier that the drone sat in to protect it when traveling. Dare took the drone out and then had to attach the propellers, camera, and batteries to the frame.

“You ready to show us what it can do?” I asked Dare.

He set it on the ground and flipped a couple of switches to power up the computer he’d installed; that computer linked to the sensors he’d added. The model I’d purchased had a range of over four miles, according to the manual.

Paul had a tablet that was linked to the camera. I’d upgraded the camera, my justification being that it would be used for my mom’s real estate business. The picture was crisp and clear. The drone looked like it would work for her needs.

Dare had a controller with two joysticks that handled altitude and direction, with a video screen so you could see where you were flying. When Dare was satisfied everything was ready, he started the four props, and it lifted off the ground. The smile on his face told you all you needed to know. He was happy as it lifted ten feet into the air and then shot out over the lake.

When Dare brought it back, he flew it right at a big tree. My breath caught as I had visions of it exploding into a bazillion pieces. I had a big grin on my face when it stopped on its own. He’d explained that it had sensors to keep it from running into stuff, but he’d upgraded it so it was safe for me to fly.

“You think it’s safe for me now?” I asked.

Dare nodded.

I noticed he hadn’t attached the solar panels, so I asked him about those.

“I wanted to test it first. With the upgrades, it has a flight time of a little over thirty minutes. With the solar panels, I’m hoping to extend that quite a bit,” Dare explained.

He finally let me fly it, and I put it through its paces. I had a bad feeling that once my mom figured out how much fun it was to fly, I would never see it again. Mom had signed up for the classes with Dare so she could get her license to use the drone for commercial pursuits. From what I saw of the video feed, it would give her a decided advantage in winning listings. She could create aerial videos to help sell homes and tour subdivisions.

Tracy stuck her head out the back door to tell us lunch was ready.